Chapter 274: The Other Side, Descent and Stand Off

Chapter 274: The Other Side, Descent and Stand Off

_________ POV Narration _________Vissit novelbin(.)c.om for updates

"Hahaha!" Tree roots spread throughout the surroundings like lightning, both through the earth and on the surface.

Thorny vines and spiked bark spread everywhere around a tall brown-skinned and green-haired man as he did his best to vigorously train his devil fruit.

The man in question was none other than current Fleet Admiral, Aramaki.

Of course, the state of the Marines was so pathetic that there were no other Admirals currently under him, but some Vice Admirals still stuck around, and they too were now gearing up for war.

Aramaki had done his best to get into the mindset of a leader, but he was nothing like his mentor, nothing like Akainu.

Unlike him, Akainu had managed to win the respect of all of his peers, even that of Aokiji who was once in direct opposition to him.

But Aramaki didn't have any guidance in his role... Well, almost no guidance.

"You know, constantly training your devil fruit won't help you much at this point..." Kong is still stuck around the Holy Land.

He was now the guiding figure of the Marines, as well as the Commander of all forces underneath the World Government... Well, all forces except for the Seraphims, God Guards, and the 5 Elders.

"I know... But I can't seem to progress much when it comes to haki..." Aramaki sighed, his face twisting into a frown as he looked at the ground and retracted his roots.

"Bah, you just don't have the right mindset..." Kong snorted and looked to the side, where the war preparations were still ongoing.

Gigantic walls surrounding the Holy Land stretched as far as the eye could see. The architect behind them was of course none other than Vegapunk's rogue satellite, York.

The lazy part of Vegapunk had been given a lot of tasks in the past months. York had to both prove her loyalty and usefulness to the Elders.

Of course, although she only possessed a small part of Vegapunk's mind, she was still leagues above all other scientists that the World Government employed.

It was thanks to her that they were able to reprogram the Seraphims too, for the most part anyway.

And it was also thanks to her that they were able to build such a perimeter around the Holy Land.

Pluton cannons adorned every corner, Dyna Stones were at the ready, stored in new containers laced with seastone, much more difficult to destroy, in order to prevent their ammunition from being used against them.

Gigantic armoured speakers were pointed outwards at the sea in front of the Holy Land.

The lands were remodelled and the Holy Land itself was pushed out slightly. allowing it to be a tad closer to the sea.

Precautions were taken, for just about anything that they thought Enel and his army could throw at them.

IMU himself was prepared to counter any preemptive attacks that Enel had in store for them. It was only really a matter of time before the war started.

Hell, they had already seen Enel's fleet of islands flying in the distance as they passed by Sabaody.

They all heard the drums, they were essentially relying on limited intel to find out whenever Enel was going to attack them.

But the past few weeks it had all been deathly quiet.

It was no surprise, they knew it was impossible for their agents to hide from Enel at that point. He had passed by all islands, raining down lightning as far as his eyes could see.

No corner of the Grand Line was left untouched at that point.

Thankfully, losing their contact with their agents at least gave them an idea of where Enel was and how much time they had left to prepare.

At least that was the case at first, all the way up until a few islands were hit at the same time.

They had suddenly lost all ability of locating the opposing army, the war could begin at any point.

Thankfully, the 5 Elders and the Seraphims didn't need sleep. They stood vigil at the wall for days on end while awaiting for their preparations to be completed and overseeing everything.

The Seraphims were another issue entirely. Them taking on the image of one of their greatest enemy was annoying enough, but the most annoying part was that one of them was like a statue.

It wouldn't listen at all to any of their commands. Not even York could tweak him out and get him to fulfill the commands of the elders.

Still, they had quite a few Seraphims left, all Lunarians, all relatively powerful despite not being fully grown.

All of the elders were dressed in their usual attires. It felt as if they were more prepared for a meeting than a war...

"We do have the advantage of knowing that the Nika Devil Fruit User is still in his infancy... Even one of us can stall him at this point, against Lord IMU he'll likely only be baggage for the Sky King."

Saint Masato Hirano, nicknamed Warcury, spoke with a rather high level of confidence.

And Saint Noda, the one that had fought Nika, couldn't help but nod. Although the fight had admittedly ended in his loss, it was still a close match.

The 5 Elders were far below their Lord, so the only real concern they had was the Sky King.

"Estimated time of arrival... 10 minutes. Prepare the Pluton Cannons, they will be in range im two minutes!" Kong immediately shouted orders to his subordinates as he assessed the situation.

Lined across the wall, each cannon started shining with a strong red light as the soldiers manning them started loading up the stabilized Dyna Stones within them.

But before the islands even got into the range of their cannons, the Elders all felt their senses tingle.

"IN THE SKIES!"

The stormy skies above them broke instantly, revealing dozens of nail-shaped islands descending upon the Holy Land at breakneck speeds.

"Shit! The cannons won't turn in time!" Kong shouted as white fur started growing from his body.

He was about to assume his full Mythical Zoan transformation, but before he could, a red light shot out of the depths of the Holy Land.

It acted as a barrier, spreading out at speeds that most could barely comprehend.

Even Kong only managed to feel it when it passed through him, it sent shivers down his spine as he felt his Lord's aura.

The barrier quickly grew to cover the entirety of the Holy Land. And the island-sized nails of packed dirt seemed to bounce off it and slide into the sea in front of their grand walls.

The shockwave of the nails hitting the wall still managed to blow away all of the nearby clouds, even if only temporarily.

Still, the people below could not even feel a tremor, and the red barrier barely even budged from the attack.

The red energy that formed the barrier flowed like water, it formed a constant rotation which was also what had pushed the island nails into the sea.

"We have our Lord's Protection! Everyone stay calm and continue aiming for the approaching enemy!"

Aramaki shouted at the men on the walls, he was also preparing for the fight in his way, deeply planting his roots into the Holy Land and spreading them all over.

He could feel their Lord's Barrier even underground.

Despite the island nails failing, the Sky King's army seemed intent on continuing their assault. Kong sweated a bit, realising that Enel had not planned a slow war.

'They're planning to crush us quickly... But they're in for a surprise.' Kong's lips trembled as he looked at the clouds that had already gathered once more.

Lightning quickly started raining down on the thin red veil that IMU had set up, but it seemed ineffective, which visibly raised the morale of the surrounding troops.

And just before Kong gave everyone the order to fire their cannons...

"Shishishi~" A faint laughter could be heard from the skies, as a distinctive and joyful beat thundered throughout.

The former marine had already been briefed on it. The drums of liberation. He was told what to look out for, what to expect from their enemies.

But this time, Kong barely had the time to blink when he looked up, a gigantic hand larger than the Holy Land itself was rushing towards the earth, threatening to crush any and all resistance.

"That... Wasn't part of the reports..."

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Hope you liked the chapter! It was a bit harder to write, lately, Grammarly has been acting up tbh. Anyway, I'll finish uploading and go to sleep. Me tired

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