#495 - Chapter 495: It's better to be calm
After receiving permission from the Five Elders, the various hidden forces of the Holy Land Mariejois finally emerged, like a long-dormant beast suddenly awakened.
“Rumble...”
The stone statues around the palace suddenly came to life. Those giant guards originally standing by the roadside were actually ancient war puppets, their bodies covered with indestructible metal shells, their eyes gleaming with a cold light.
“Don't even think about taking another step forward!”
“Entry is prohibited!”
At the same time, teams of elite warriors poured out of the underground passages, each clad in silver-white armor symbolizing the highest military power. Their appearance seemed to carry the force of a thunderbolt, instantly changing the direction of the battle.
With these mysterious forces joining the battlefield, the pirates' offensive was immediately suppressed like never before.
“What's going on? How could the World Government have so many hidden cards up its sleeve!?”
“Where's Kaido? He was the one leading the charge, why can't I see him now?”
Those pirates who had been fearlessly charging forward suddenly realized that they were no longer facing ordinary naval forces, but the World Government's true trump cards.
“I came here to enjoy myself, not to die...”
“Ah!!!”
The pirates' screams rose and fell.
These World Government warriors were all fearless and moved as swiftly as lightning. Almost every strike accurately took a life.
And those war puppets were like immortal monsters. No matter how cannons bombarded them or swords tore at them, they still steadily advanced, crushing any enemy in their path.
“What's going on?! Are these guys not afraid of death?”
One pirate widened his eyes, his gaze filled with horror.
He originally thought he was facing human troops, but he never expected to encounter such opponents with no weaknesses.
The surrounding pirates also began to feel uneasy. Their proud combat skills and fearless courage seemed so insignificant in the face of these supernatural beings.
The atmosphere on the battlefield gradually changed. The pirates, who had been in high spirits just moments ago, began to hesitate, their attacks no longer as decisive and powerful as before.
Whenever a warrior fell, more elite soldiers in silver armor immediately filled the gap; whenever a laser tore through the air towards the enemy, new war puppets emerged from the mist.
The pirates gradually realized that these opponents seemed endless, emerging wave after wave, with no sign of exhaustion.
“Truly, Mariejois lives up to its reputation.”
An experienced pirate muttered to himself, gripping his long sword tightly.
He had heard countless legends of the Holy Land, but only now, having experienced it firsthand, did he truly understand the city's terror.
The guards here did not seem to be protecting any wealth or treasure, but rather defending an unshakeable theocratic rule.
“How boring.”
Under the Five Elders' stern gaze, the various forces in the Holy Land ruthlessly harvested the lives of the invaders.
The smoke and blood drifting in the sky gradually wove a tragic tapestry. The towering Holy Land spires, like an insurmountable barrier, declared its inviolability to the world.
As time passed, the pirates' line was forced to retreat step by step. The victory they had thought was within reach now seemed unattainable.
And every inch of Mariejois was using iron and blood to proclaim a truth—the world's order could only be defined by them.
“Ah!!...!”
Before long, the battlefield was filled with a thick, bloody atmosphere, littered with corpses.
“I don't want to die, I haven't even spent all the treasure I plundered yet!”
“The World Government is a devil! Run!!”
Those pirates who had been so high-spirited in the beginning were now mostly abandoning their armor and fleeing in a disheveled manner.
The ground beneath their feet was soaked with blood, becoming a muddy, deep red. The air was filled with the stench of death, making one feel a deep chill.
Those once arrogant pirates were now running around like headless flies, their eyes filled with horror and despair.
“Retreat! Retreat now!”
A pirate roared, his voice filled with unconcealable trembling.
Their originally fierce offensive was shattered by the merciless counterattack. They were horrified to discover that, faced with the true power of the World Government, their courage and arrogance were nothing more than paper shields, easily broken.
Some pirates desperately ran back, even abandoning their weapons, wishing they could grow wings and immediately fly away from this hellish battlefield.
Each time a laser swept across, several fleeing individuals instantly fell to the ground, blood splattering everywhere; and those silver-armored warriors coldly reaped the remaining lives, like falcons swooping down to prey, clean and efficient.
A severely wounded pirate staggered and fell to the ground, his arm already severed, blood dripping continuously from his shoulder.
He looked at the approaching silver-armored warrior, his eyes filled with despair and unwillingness, “Damn it… is this hell…”
Before he could finish speaking, a cold light flashed, and his last hope of survival was ruthlessly severed.
“Leave no one alive!”
The voices of the silver-armored warriors were as cold as iron, as if announcing a routine task, rather than a cruel order to kill.
As these words fell, the pursuit on the battlefield intensified. The pirates' flight was like a desperate struggle, trying to escape the omnipresent shadow of death.
The remaining pirates, seeing that defeat was inevitable, simply gave up resistance, kneeling on the ground and raising their hands in surrender.
However, the World Government's warriors had no intention of letting them go—those hands raised high did not even have time to utter half a plea before being swallowed by the cold light.
The Five Elders on the distant tower watched this tragic scene, their expressions cold and without a trace of emotion.
To them, this massacre was nothing more than a necessary cleansing operation, and no amount of bloodshed was too much to consolidate their rule.
The pirates' rout and wails were nothing more than the final struggles before the dust settled.
“It seems these clowns are no threat at all.”
One of them snorted contemptuously, turning to walk into the tower, as if the battlefield's clamor was irrelevant to him.
Their gaze had already moved beyond this purgatory of blood and fire, and began to focus on the deeper enemies and the mastermind behind the scenes.
With the suppression of this rebellion, the Five Elders regained their confident and composed demeanor.
They sat in the high council hall, before a heavy long table, each person's expression as if they had never been shaken in the slightest.
The large windows on the wall cast a soft light, shining on them and reflecting the gorgeous details of their robes, appearing so calm and majestic.
“Nothing more than that,” one of them said dismissively, his voice filled with undisguised contempt, “These pirates are indeed nothing more than clowns.”
He raised his hand, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a light sip, his movements as elegant as if the war just now was a pastime during an idle afternoon.
“Indeed, our real enemies are still in the shadows. These wastes are far from enough to shake the foundations of the world.”
Another of the Five Elders picked up the conversation, his tone indifferent, as if he had already seen through everything.
Those who thought they could shake the World Government were just ants crushed mercilessly time and time again.
After this battle, their strength and courage were completely disintegrated, leaving them with no energy to stir up new waves.
Steady footsteps echoed in the council hall as the other Five Elders rose from their seats and strolled to the window, overlooking Mariejois in the distance.
Even after this turmoil, the Holy Land remained towering and motionless. Those exquisite palaces and statues were still as they were, as if nothing had ever changed.
The sunlight洒在恢宏的建筑群上，映照出神圣而不可侵犯的光辉，就如同世界政府的统治，依然高高在上，不容质疑。
“Continue to be vigilant,” one of the Five Elders said coldly, “Although this incident has been quelled, the manipulators behind the scenes have not yet surfaced. We need to remain clear-headed about these undercurrents.”
His gaze swept over the others in the room, his tone calm and unquestionable.
“That's right,” another of the Five Elders echoed, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, “We are the true masters of this world. All conspiracies and tricks will eventually be resolved by us. As long as we are willing, any resistance will be ruthlessly suppressed.”
He placed his hands behind his back, his eyes revealing an unwavering firmness.
As his voice fell, the council hall fell silent again, as if this clamor had never happened.
The Five Elders returned to their all-controlling posture, their eyes carrying a deep confidence, as if examining every piece on a chessboard.
They believed that they were still the masters manipulating this game, and no matter how those seemingly dangerous pieces jumped, they would eventually escape the shackles of fate.
They were confident of victory, as if the entire world was still operating as they had foreseen, without the slightest deviation.
“At least now the strength of the various forces on the sea is stable again.”
“It's good to be stable.”
...
