Van Augur tightly gripped his musket, using a house as cover to shield himself from the barrage of bullets flying outside. He occasionally leaned out to fire a shot at the Marines on the other end, but he was quickly forced back by a hail of bullets.
Breathing heavily, he ignored the cold sweat on his back and scanned the surroundings. Seeing that many of his comrades were still alive, he let out a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, although there were no civilians living in this area, there were numerous slave cells. In such intense close-quarters combat, even the Marines wouldn't find it easy to break through.
"Hajrudin!"
"Hajrudin!!"
At that moment, Van Augur spotted a familiar figure and immediately shouted. There was no other way—his voice wouldn't carry otherwise.
"What is it?"
The man named Hajrudin was hiding behind a crate. He pulled a grenade from his waist, yanked out the pin, and hurled it with all his might.
A second later, a loud explosion rang out. Whether it hit anyone was unclear, but it would certainly slow the Marines' advance.
"Any word from above? When are our reinforcements coming, or when are we pulling out?!" Van Augur shouted while exchanging fire with the Marines.
Hajrudin yelled back, "Nothing! No response at all!"
"Looks like we've been abandoned. We need to find a way out."
Van Augur wasn't angry at this outcome. Having spent half his life as an enforcer, he'd been through this kind of situation many times. His first instinct wasn't to rage but to figure out how to escape.
"Wait, the keys!"
He suddenly turned his head, looking at the trembling slaves in the cells. A glimmer of hope flashed across his face, and he shouted to Hajrudin again.
"Tell everyone—those with keys, open the slave cells! Those without, smash them or shoot them open! Release all the slaves and make them run toward the Marines!"
Hajrudin pondered Van Augur's suggestion for two seconds before understanding what he was planning. They were going to use the slaves as human shields, decoys, and living bombs. The Marines were clearly here to rescue the slaves, so they wouldn't harm them. Plus, with so many slaves, releasing them would undoubtedly cause chaos and obstruction.
Each slave wore a bomb collar around their neck. If they ran too far without permission, the collars would automatically detonate, with an explosive force equivalent to two cannonballs tied together!
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the abandoned enforcers would have time to retreat. It was a cold-blooded plan, but after only a few seconds of hesitation, Hajrudin's survival instincts won out. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out his Den Den Mushi and relayed Van Augur's orders.
"Great idea!"
"Well done, Van Augur!"
"When we get out, I'll buy you both a drink!"
The message spread first through the Den Den Mushi, then by word of mouth, reaching most of the enforcers. Their faces lit up with excitement as they cast mocking glances at the slaves in the cells.
"You're worthless now, but at least you can still be of some use to us, you trash!"
Soon, one after another, the locked cell doors were opened in various ways. Some of the slaves inside immediately ran out without hesitation, while others stubbornly refused to move, shrinking back further into their cells.
They weren't foolish. If they didn't have collars around their necks, they might have been willing to risk their lives and fight. But with the collars, it was better to wait for the Marines to arrive and rescue them. Why go out and cause trouble?
However, in a life-or-death situation, the enforcers weren't going to negotiate politely.
"If you don't come out, I'll kill you all right here! Choose: die now or die outside!" With that, he immediately shot a male slave through the forehead.
"Ahhhhhh!"
A woman's scream erupted, and more and more people ran out in fear. Even those who still had some sense of reason, though unwilling, were swept along by the crowd and left their cells.
In an instant, the streets of GR27, GR28, and GR29 were flooded with panicked men, women, and children, all wearing pitch-black iron collars around their necks.
"Colonel Eric, what should we do?"
A captain stared in shock at the chaotic scene, but Colonel Eric himself had no idea how to handle it. It was clear from the slaves' expressions that they weren't in a state to listen to reason.
Would they really stop moving if he shouted at them to stay still?
[Whoooooosh————]
Just as the Marines, caught up in the battle, were thrown into confusion by the sudden appearance of the large group of slaves and slowly halted their attacks, high above the Yarukiman Mangroves...
A series of faint green whirlwinds suddenly appeared. The sound of the wind grew louder, and the force of the gale intensified, evolving from small whirlwinds into the scale of a hurricane.
When these green-tinged gusts swept across the area, they resembled a "tsunami" surging in all directions, engulfing all the fleeing slaves and the enforcers trying to escape.
In this sea of wind, even the Marines could only struggle to maintain their footing, though their hats were inevitably lost, flying up like white seagulls.
Colonel Eric shielded his face with one hand to block the wind, while with the other, he grabbed a Marine who had lost his balance and was about to be blown away. His legs were firmly planted on the ground as he laughed excitedly, "This ability belongs to Vice Admiral Dragon!"
In his line of sight, one by one, the slaves were restrained by the wind, unable to fall or move. All around them, green currents of air flowed rapidly, while the enforcers were swept into the air by the whirlwinds, spinning wildly and screaming before eventually passing out, their eyes rolling back.
The next moment, Monkey D. Dragon, clad in his Justice Coat, emerged expressionlessly from the wind, looking down at the entire slave market from above.
He hadn't wanted to intervene initially. After all, this was a rare opportunity for his subordinates to earn military merit. As their commanding officer, it was best not to interfere unnecessarily and steal their chance.
But now, he had no choice. If he didn't act, these many slaves would surely suffer heavy casualties, and that was not something he wanted to see.
"Detain all resisting individuals!"
"Find the keys and remove the collars from all the captives. Then separate them by gender and keep them under watch. Do not allow them to move freely for now. Wait for government personnel to arrive and handle the arrangements!"
As Dragon issued one command after another, the wind between heaven and earth quickly subsided. Although it still caused people's clothes to flutter noisily, it no longer hindered the movements of the marines and the slaves. Of course, the slaves, who had been disheveled by the strong wind, regained their composure. Feeling the cold sensation on their necks, no one dared to move a muscle.
The thugs, one by one, foamed at the mouth, rolled their eyes, and collapsed to the ground unconscious. Those with stronger willpower were also dazed and completely incapacitated, easily handcuffed by the marines.
"Stella!!!"
Just as the gunshots faded into the wind and all the chaos settled down in the gale, the marines began to disperse in an orderly manner when a thunderous shout echoed across the area.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the source of the sound and saw a young man, about sixteen or seventeen years old, sprinting toward a blonde, blue-eyed female slave.
"Tesoro—!"
The female slave also looked at the young man with excitement, her arms already wide open. But when she tried to run toward him, the swirling wind around her wouldn't allow it.
"Wow, she's so beautiful. How could such a stunning woman end up here? Shouldn't she be in the auction house?"
Some people were immediately struck by Stella's beauty. Although she was only wearing a thin, sleeveless blue tank top, her perfect figure and delicate features remained unaffected.
In the sky, Dragon couldn't help but smile at such a heartwarming scene.
Then, just before Tesoro embraced Stella, he withdrew the wind around her, supporting the happy reunion of the two lovers.
In the next moment, the two kissed amidst the dissipating wind.