Chapter 57: The Queen Makes a Move

Amidst the strumming of that 'poet,'

Clad in full plate armor with no inch of skin exposed, the iron-clad knights charged down the street!

The pirates who had just rushed onto the pier, imagining burning, killing, and plundering, stared in horror at the unstoppable tide of steel before them. Their faces trembled violently as the hooves of the oncoming horses quivered, contorting into a terrifying expression.

"Damn it!"

"Retreat quickly—"

"For goodness' sake, don't push me!!"

The pirates at the front desperately tried to retreat, while those who had just climbed onto the pier behind them pushed forward.

As a result, those pirates at the very forefront could only raise their flimsy weapons with despair, using their chests covered in tattered cloth to meet the enemy's lance.

Peng!

Squelch,

"Ah—"

Two forces finally collided violently!

In an instant, countless flintlock guns snapped, sailor's blades shattered, and together with their crowded owners, were torn apart and sent flying by the long spears!

In front of the charging knight battalion, the chaotic pirate formation instantly crumbled, like an anthill being bulldozed, with numerous bodies and limbs mixed together, soaring into the air.

Then, like raindrops, they were scattered back into the sea!

With just one charge, thousands of pirates were taken down—

"Hmm?"

Facing such a spectacular scene, even couldn't help but tilt his head and take a look, causing a glint of joy in the eyes of the 'Black Skull' elite pirate he was fighting.

Death!

In the midst of his powerful stride, a pirate swung his cutlass towards ! However, had already turned around, presenting his back to this elite pirate.

?!

Squelch,

In the next second, the pirate's exultation froze on his face, showcasing a "divide and conquer" performance.

Several blood-stained threads, which had appeared in the air unnoticed, formed a deadly trap set by Doflamingo at an unknown moment.

", why do you care so much about those tin cans?"

On the other side, Doflamingo beckoned with a curl of his finger, and the resilient threads he had woven around them became the most deadly weapon against these 'high offense, low defense' shirtless pirates.

"Look, the cavalry—"

The pirates who had climbed onto the deck had already been cleared out, and , who had ceased fighting, pointed towards the pier. The well-trained cavalry were transforming into torrents, repeatedly slaughtering any pirates attempting to land.

"Their stamina, and the endurance of their horses, is obviously extraordinary."

Judging from the thickness of the armor that could ignore flintlock guns and shatter sailor's blades, at least one set weighed over a hundred kilograms!

In this world, the strong could easily handle weights exceeding even tens of thousands of kilograms, lifting warships and surpassing even the Sea Kings that dwarfed aircraft carriers. However, that was in the New World. To assemble a knight order that could effortlessly fight while all members wore armor weighing over a hundred kilograms, in the Northern Sea, would require the backing of a major power.

And the 'Land of Fairy Tales,' Alcanaria, clearly wasn't a powerful nation. At least, there had been no mention of this city being renowned for its 'valor.'

"Devil Fruit ability?"

Doflamingo thought of this possibility first,

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, it's likely the 'Inspire Fruit.'"

There were many Devil Fruits, but the vast majority focused on enhancing the user's strength. However, the 'Inspire Fruit' was an exception:

The consumer could awaken the hidden potential within others by waving flags and shouting, even causing a continuous surge of power to flow out of them.

As the solemn man next to Doflamingo sang his hymn by Jora's side, the armored knights on the pier grew more courageous with each passing moment! They had even reached a point where the pirates would rather jump into the sea to escape than face them.

"It's a pity,"

If this were an opponent, 's 'Silent Shield' ability could easily turn the other's 'Inspire Ability' into a mute comedy.

But unfortunately, they are allies now... No, it's quite evident that the 'Inspire Ability' hasn't affected and the others.

So, did they intentionally withhold their 'blessing' from themselves and their group, or do they need to align with the other's ideology?

recalled that this fruit, the 'Future' fruit, should have been consumed by the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army Commander, Belo Betty.

She used this ability to stir the fighting spirit hidden in the hearts of countless oppressed people, making her a figure akin to the 'Banner' of the Revolutionary Army.

However, even the leader of the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon, is still a star admiral in the Marines. Newspapers speculate when he will become an Admiral, and the Four Emperors are also playing in the mud somewhere.

With such speculation—

This stern 'poet' would most likely meet his end in this battle.

Boom!!

Just as was contemplating the opponent's ability, another change occurred on the battlefield:

"Roar! Gedi will smash you all—"

A pirate who stood five meters tall, resembling a giant, swung a colossal chain ball weighing several tons in his hand, creating a massive gap in the formation of the armored knights.

"Look, it's 'Bloody' Gedi!"

On the other side, silver light streaked through the air. Several valiant knights suddenly went limp and fell to the side, and the warhorses beneath them sprayed two jets of blood from their eyes!

"Hmph, these iron cans are full of vulnerabilities."

Amidst the knights falling, their masks oozing blood, a man with a silver rapier, captain's coat, and a magnificent tricorn hat walked through the bodies.

"Oh oh oh oh, it's Captain Swift—"

The 'Battle Captain,' 'Bosun,' 'Captain' and other strong figures belonging to the pirate crew appeared, and despite the already crumbling pirate forces, cheers resounded from the pirates. 'Courage' had returned to them once again.

With these leaders, generally on the scale of millions, at the forefront, the pirates organized their assault once more.

Though the city's armored knights were formidable, their numbers were their weakness. After being thrown into disarray by the powerful pirates, they quickly found themselves surrounded by a multitude of pirates.

"Cut their horse legs, cut their horse legs!!"

"Entangle these iron cans with fishing nets—"

"Knock off their helmets and stab through the gaps in their armor!!"

Slashing at their horse's legs from below and lifting people up, then using sharp blades to strike through the gaps in the armor. As long as they could survive, pirates wouldn't care about the fairness of the means, let alone the appearance of the fight.

Once again, the balance of victory tilted toward the pirates' side.

"Doflamingo, , the situation doesn't look good~~"

Diamente, a tall figure, sliced two pirates into four pieces with a single stroke of his sword, his gaze sweeping across the entire battlefield.

Numerous merchant ships on the sea had gradually given up resistance, most of their crew falling to the bloodthirsty pirates. Only those captains who had been prepared, leading a few trusted followers, managed to fight and retreat.

On the pier, armored knights and pirates clashed, resembling a rapidly devouring meat grinder. On one side, they fought to defend their homeland, and on the other, they fought to unleash their primal instincts, both with bloodshot eyes.

But the truth remains: compared to a dozen pirate crews and thousands of desperate criminals, the city's defense forces seemed quite weak.

"Still no contact with the Marines?"

"What are you people doing? Can't even make a simple call?!"

On the high platform of the harbor, amidst the reprimands of several officials, the staff of the city hall were drenched in sweat, repeatedly dialing their Den Den Mushi, yet all their efforts seemed to vanish into thin air.

"No need to try anymore,"

Joela, as the ruler, intervened to stop the officials' blame. At this point, she had fully believed Pic's words. So—

Boom, boom,

A series of explosions suddenly echoed from the rear of the battlefield. Amidst the billowing smoke, the windmill cannon tower 'Bishop,' acting as the city's second line of defense, was now enveloped in dark smoke.

"How could this happen..."

"It's impossible! Those cannons were expensive weapons we acquired with most of our city's budget; they shouldn't misfire so easily!!!"

While other officials were in a panic, Joela closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

Everything was true; CP was behind this!

Five countries formed the vigilant 'Entegray Alliance,' trading their celestial gold for the protection of the World Government. The money saved was invested in improving the people's quality of life... Did I really make a mistake?

"Miss Joela... Queen Joela."

Beside her, the 'Inspire Fruit' user who had been playing the lyre set aside his instrument and looked at Joela, who was sitting confidently on her throne, supported by his efforts.

In the blink of an eye, she had transformed from a naive young girl into a mature woman.

But for the sake of this city, for the sake of this country, she remained single to this day...

"Joela, stand firm in your beliefs!"

"If any wrongdoing has been done, it's the fault of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons!"

If it weren't for the extravagance and desires of the Celestial Dragons, if it weren't for the omnipotent World Government, how could there be so many pirates?

Most pirates were ordinary people forced into bankruptcy by the 'Celestial Gold.' However, they had turned around and become oppressors themselves.

If this middle-aged poet knew that CP3 was behind this pirate attack on the city, he would probably be furious and compose poems cursing the entire World Government!

"It's meaningless to discuss this now; I'm about to join the battle—"

"Deploy the 'Queen'!"

Seeing that the 'experts' among the pirates were mercilessly slaughtering her people, Joela, the highest ruler of the city, could no longer stand idle.

Clang,

A resounding note emanated from the strings as the voice of the middle-aged and solemn poet became impassioned.

"Evil runs rampant, shadows lurk, the majestic Queen is about to step onto the battlefield, elegant as if entering a dance floor!"

???

So, the 'Commander-in-Chief' is being mobilized so quickly?

Although the 'Inspire Fruit' was remarkable, it needed others to hear the user's voice to take effect.

Not to mention 's ability to negate sounds through his 'Silent' fruit, just the spread of this voice across the entire battlefield almost extinguished the possibility of taking opponents by surprise.

"Sunder the furious winds, suddenly—"

Rip,

Amidst the roaring pirates charging onto the pier, it was as if an invisible enormous blade had struck, instantly creating a vast open space!

Even a pirate captain wielding a giant cleaver was sent flying, his weapon shattering into pieces.

After tearing through dozens of pirates with invisible shockwaves, the force ended up dissipating in the sea, creating towering waves several meters high.

"...Piercing the earth, the trail of glass!!!"

Glass?!

What a terrifying kicking technique.

With a single kick, she had torn a radiation-like gap of over ten meters through the midst of the pirate group, taking out nearly a hundred pirates and a captain. This was executed by a pair of crystal-clear glass shoes!

Her skirt billowed like petals, and with both hands supporting her, Joela kicked forcefully, slicing a scarlet 'carpet' into the battlefield.

"Wow, that's incredible—"

The speed and power of the attack scared tears out of Trebol, followed by a delighted expression.

"Hehehe, it looks like we're going to make a sure profit this time!"

With the display of strength from this 'Lord Joela,' she might even be able to contend with 'White Dragon' Bartholomew Kuma in battle, right?

The Donquixote Family had bet on the winner, naturally being able to share in the fruits of victory.

No, quite the opposite!

While Trebol's expression remained nonchalant, 's face grew more serious. In his predicted 'future,' Joela most likely ended up defeated, and her temperament underwent a significant change after that defeat!

So—

The stronger this city's power becomes, wouldn't their enemies...

Turning his gaze towards the black behemoth of a ship situated amidst the many pirate vessels, 's mood grew even heavier.

Just how terrifying is the power of that black-haired woman in white attire?

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(End of this chapter)