43 Slaughter

After sailing for several hours, Nicholas and his crew finally arrived at the Enies lobby based on the coordinates.

However, the scene before Nicholas left him speechless. The Enies lobby was surrounded by a circle of iron fences.

It looked particularly interesting, especially since Nicholas saw no practical purpose for these iron fences.

After the ship docked, Nicholas slowly approached the Enies lobby. Soon, Nicholas and his companions reached the front island.

The front island primarily served as the first main gate, heavily guarded by many soldiers.

Through the main gate, there was a narrow passage leading directly to the second main gate, suspended above the waterfall. Passing through the second main gate (the island's main gate) would lead to the main island, with a narrow passage and the main island fully suspended over the abyss of a huge waterfall.

Just as Nicholas was about to reach the main gate, a group of people suddenly appeared in front of him. These people were muscular, armed with iron chains, had the word "guilty" carved on their left arms, and many of them were riding giant police dogs.

The guards of Enies Lobby discovered unfamiliar people landing on the island without receiving any prior notification of a ship's arrival, so they immediately rushed to semi-surround Nicholas and his crew.

"Who are you people, and why are you here in the Enies lobby at this time?"

Before Nicholas could speak, someone cleverly recognized Nicholas's identity.

"Albert Nicholas, Captain of the Seventh Division of the Rocks Pirates! What is this guy doing in the Enies lobby?"

As more people recognized Nicholas, panic spread rapidly among all the guards.

Even though they lived comfortably in the Enies lobby, they understood that someone like Nicholas from the New World wouldn't be here just to tour and eat.

"What else can I do? This is the captain's mission."

Nicholas replied casually. The Rocks Pirates were brought together by Rocks's strengths and interests. If Rocks hadn't offered something that interested Nicholas, he could have refused to attack the Enies lobby.

"This is the Enies lobby, close to both the World Government and the Marine Headquarters. Nicholas, I advise you to leave now, or else we won't be polite."

The leader of the guards trembled in his legs as he spoke loudly.

Nicholas was surprised by their bravery. Enies Lobby was one of the three major institutions under the World Government, but anyone who understood the nature of Enies Lobby knew it was just a facade.

Inside the Enies lobby, there was a famous but meaningless court established by the World Government. Anyone brought to the Enies lobby was already deemed guilty.

Those prisoners would only be escorted through those empty courts and eventually reach a cold, giant steel gate, known as the Gate of Justice. The prisoners who passed through this gate generally never returned, symbolizing the absolute justice of the World Government.

Prisoners sent to the Enies lobby had never returned alive because, after passing through the Gate of Justice, they could only reach two places: the Marine Headquarters, the main combat force of the World Government, or Impel Down, the deep-sea prison that imprisoned the world's most heinous criminals.

The Enies lobby was more of a formality; it wouldn't show any mercy to prisoners. It would only send them to Impel Down to suffer or execute them directly, and then throw them under the great waterfall.

The combatants in this institution could go for more than a decade without encountering a fight, so their combat power and will were quite weak. Otherwise, how could an institution like Enies Lobby, guarding the hub of the Gate of Justice with over ten thousand combatants, be easily breached by pirates like Luffy and his crew?

If ten thousand soldiers from the Marine Headquarters were there, Luffy and his crew would probably all be kneeling.

"You have one minute. Disappear from my sight immediately, or we will start the attack officially after one minute."

Nicholas took out his pocket watch and silently counted down, while Vista took out his giant axe and shield from his back. Simon began to check his firearms, and Katie pulled out her short sword.

For Nicholas, attacking the Enies lobby was just a task from Rocks; it didn't mean he had to slaughter everyone on the island.

Moreover, the display of combat power from the guards of the Enies lobby didn't spark much fighting spirit in Nicholas.

Of course, he had given them a chance, and if these guys didn't know how to cherish it, he wouldn't mind using a few more AOE skills in the fight.

The guards of the Enies lobby seemed to be intimidated by Nicholas's aura. Despite living in the calm of the Enies lobby, they understood that pirates from the New World like Nicholas were beyond their league.

Some of them even started whispering.

"Hey, should we run? How could we possibly be a match for such a guy?"

"Yeah, he could take our lives with a single blow."

"I haven't finished paying my mortgage; my wife just had triplets; I still have parents to support; I don't want to die."

...

As these guards whispered, it was evident that they were starting to have second thoughts. The reason they hadn't escaped yet was because there were superiors and staunch supporters of the World Government among them. These superiors and some brainwashed guards were absolutely loyal to the World Government.

And those guards who were trying to retreat quietly couldn't escape. After all, the position of the World Government in their hearts had always been unshakable. They knew that if they were caught deserting, not only they would be in trouble, but their families would be in trouble as well.

So these people were in a dilemma for a while.

But Nicholas didn't care about them. He had given them a chance, and whether they could seize it was up to them. He looked up at the sky over the Enies lobby.

The Enies lobby was called the Island that Never Sleeps, and it was always daytime there. So Nicholas was quite curious about how they managed to maintain perpetual daylight. If Newton were in this world, he'd probably be at a loss.

Nicholas's eyes, however, were still within human limits, and after looking for a while, besides being irritated by the sunlight, he found no other gain.

Rubbing his eyes, he glanced at his pocket watch and found that a minute had passed, but the people opposite him were still standing there.

Nicholas put away his pocket watch and raised his right hand towards the guards in front of the gate.

"It's a pity. Time's up, so is this your choice?"

As Nicholas's words fell, a giant bird made of thunder appeared, flapping its wings and stirring up a gust of wind with immense energy contained within, causing thunder to roar and plasma to surge.

Due to the tremendous power of Nicholas's blow, almost all the guards of the front island fell, and even those close to the impact suffered severe injuries, some of them even charred due to the excessive damage.

The shockwave of the attack even opened the front gate of the island. Through the gap, the judicial tower behind it could already be seen.

These people were shocked by the terrifying scene. In front of such a powerful opponent as Nicholas, they were completely powerless to resist.

This was also because Nicholas wasn't really serious. If Nicholas got serious, no one present would survive.

"Demon, you're a demon! The guilty shall be judged!"

As Nicholas walked towards the gate of the island, he suddenly heard a curse, apparently from a fanatic supporter of the World Government.

As Nicholas turned his head, the World Government's fanatic supporter cursed even more vigorously, as if he could demonstrate his loyalty to the World Government this way.

And when the surviving soldiers around him saw Nicholas's face darken, they looked at each other and reached a consensus. Then, they drew their weapons and killed the fanatic who continued to shout.

Seeing this scene, Nicholas just smiled and continued walking towards the interior of the Enies lobby.

The soldiers, holding blood-stained knives, quickly rushed to their other colleagues loyal to the World Government.

If they wanted to survive, someone had to die!