Chapter 77: Boarding Action
"Dynamic Braking!"
Electric sparks bloomed from Renettia's hands as she slammed them fiercely onto the deck. The Death Omen Star seemed to accelerate, charging directly towards the three warships.
Ordinary sailing could, of course, also be used to evade the warships' cannon fire and close the distance, but using her ability at this time was faster.
*Boom!!*
Before the three warships could adjust their angle, the Death Omen Star, exceeding the size of a large warship, rammed into the slanted front corner of one of them. The impact created a dent in the hull, sending wood chips and iron plates flying.
The materials used for this ship were naturally superior to standard warships; the heavy collision caused no damage whatsoever to the Death Omen Star.
Renettia extended her tool hammer into a long, sheep-horned hammer, leaped down from the front of the deck, and swung it horizontally towards the Marines gathered on the enemy deck.
*Boom!*
Under the effect of her dynamic power, the hammer face suddenly urged forward a wave of force the moment it swept past, sending the entire front row of Marines flying into the sea.
Renettia landed on the deck, baring her small tiger teeth. "Smash 'em to pieces for me!"
Excluding the unlucky subordinates knocked out by Sag, the remaining five hundred or so pirates drew their weapons and leaped towards the warship one after another.
These were Marine HQ warships, though not the largest class, but standard patrol warships iconic to the Grand Line. The standard crew should be upwards of three hundred. Three warships meant roughly a thousand men. Five hundred versus a thousand…
"The advantage is mine," Sag mused, holding a wine glass as he came out of the captain's quarters. He walked to the front of the deck and sat cross-legged on the edge, looking down at the battle below.
He couldn't see from his previous angle, so he had to come out.
"The Starry Sky Jolly Roger! The Black Ship! It's the Natural Disaster Pirates!"
"It's Natural Disaster!!"
The Marines also spotted Sag above and quickly raised the long flintlock muskets in their hands, about to pull the triggers.
*Clang!*
*Spurt!*
Just then, the muskets of the front row were sliced through. A cold gleam cut through them, and a spray of blood erupted from the Marines' chests.
Lily appeared at the Marines' flank. The moment her feet touched down, she vanished again. Shirai in her hand was like a thunderbolt, flashing rapidly through another rank of Marines, cutting open their chests, blooming fountains of blood.
Five hundred pirates clashed head-on with the Marines gradually gathering on the warship decks. Swords clashed, gunshots roared, and they all fought together.
Sag watched them engage in battle, swirled his wine glass, took a sip, and said with surprise, "Oh… their quality isn't bad. Worthy of being HQ Marines."
The slave laborers from Bridge-Top Kingdom had endured the highest intensity physical labor daily, carrying building materials far exceeding their strength, and were beaten for any mistake. On that giant bridge, the climate was considerably colder.
Those who could survive in such an environment and still had the physical strength to jump onto the ship when Sag arrived were naturally extremely tough individuals.
Yet now, against these Marines, they were merely holding their ground.
Sag vaguely remembered something. For HQ Marines, just the basic training for recruits involved something like two thousand push-ups, a hundred back-and-forth rope climbs, and running two hundred laps within an hour, frantically honing their stamina, followed by continuous combat training that didn't end until fainting.
Their training regimen was quite intense.
One warship held over three hundred men, but there were three here. During the boarding action, the other two ships quickly moved closer, docking side-to-side, allowing Marines from the other warships to swarm over.
In terms of numbers, things seemed somewhat unfavorable.
However…
"If battles at sea were decided solely by numbers, wouldn't that be a bit too naive?" A smile touched the corner of Sag's mouth.
"Fire!"
A Marine Lieutenant, leading a unit, had just moved into the battle zone and was about to raise his hand to give the command when a black shadow smashed towards him violently.
*Boom!!*
The object struck the Marine Lieutenant's chest, unleashing a huge impact force that sent his body crashing into the Marines behind him, even smashing a large hole in the deck, causing them to fall through.
Marika showed a gentle smile, throwing another solid cannonball from her hand. The immense strength turned the solid shot into an afterimage, once again bombarding the arriving Marine unit. Like forcefully throwing a bowling ball and getting a strike, it sent this arriving unit flying and scattering – either crashing into deck structures or being smashed into the sea.
"Ara, please come one by one. If there are too many…"
Looking at the Marine units still rushing forward, Marika reached out and hugged the thick mast. With just one breath, a muffled sound was heard, and the huge mast was uprooted from the bottom by her, held in her arms.
This scene made the arriving Marines stop in their tracks, teeth clenched, dumbfounded.
"Then it would be too unfair!"
*Boom!!*
The huge mast was thrown forward forcefully, like a giant javelin. Its front end violently smashed through the Marine unit, continuing backward, sending a large number of Marines flying.
On the other side, about ten Marines surrounded Gin, their swords and blades either slashing or thrusting towards him.
"Kami-e."
Gin's body rippled like paper, swaying with the force of the attacking swords and blades, dodging all the attacks. His body straightened, and the twin tonfas with iron balls danced in a rotation, the iron balls crashing onto their heads, sending them tumbling to the ground.
Simultaneously, his body lowered, sprinting like a leopard. With each step on the deck, he linked several movements, making his speed extremely fast. He quickly rushed in front of a Marine unit, the iron balls dancing in circles with the tonfas, carrying impact force, and smashed down violently.
*Bang!!*
The ground cracked open into a huge crater, and that unit was sent flying in all directions by the impact force.
*Bang bang bang!*
A Marine unit pulled their triggers, firing forward, only hitting an iron shield, creating sparks.
Pearl flicked the crescent-shaped hair on his forehead and laughed loudly, "Give up! You can't hurt me! I'm the handsome man, and the invincible man, the absolutely defensive Lord Pearl!"
"Die!"
Two Marines attacked from behind, their swords striking the neck area not covered by the iron shield.
"Tekkai."
*Clang!*
The blades hit as if striking iron, unable to advance an inch.
"Hmph hmph hmph, did you think I only have shields? Right now, my body is also very strong!"
Pearl bared his teeth, swinging the small round shields on his fists, fiercely smashing the heads of the two Marines, making their eyes roll white as they fell.
"I am the invincible Pearl!"
He spread his limbs, flicking several fluorite stones clamped between his knuckles in all directions, igniting flames on the deck.
"I am also Flame Pearl! How about that, pretty cool, right!"
*Bang!*
A sheep-horned hammer struck the back of his head hard, making his mouth fly open, directly spitting out blood, his head slamming straight into the deck.
"La-Lady Renettia…"
He effortfully lifted his head, looking pitifully at Renettia who had attacked him.
"Idiot!"
Renettia said angrily, "Why use fire! What if the ship burns? We're still on board! You guy, do you want Sag's robbery plan to fail?! Hurry up and stick your head in seawater, let the parasites drill in! Maybe after they eat your brain pulp, your head will be a little clearer!"
"Su-Sumimasen!" Pearl shouted.
Sag took another sip of wine, looking towards the Marines where one had just knocked down a few pirates and was now approaching this way.
That Marine wore a 'Justice' cloak on his back. Judging from his aura, his rank was not low.
Sag glanced at Lily and the other officers, chuckling softly, "Saa (Come on), don't disappoint me."
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