#681 - Chapter 481 The Desperadoes' Defeat
The cannon fire on the sea poured down like a torrential rain, and deafening explosions rang out one after another.
The firelight illuminated the night sky, and pirate warships broke apart and capsized under the impact. The burning wreckage floated on the blood-red sea surface, resembling a scene from hell.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of seawater and gunpowder, and screams, roars, and bellows intertwined, plunging the entire battlefield into chaos.
"Retreat! Retreat now!"
The vice-captain of the Big Mom Pirates had a pale face and a hoarse voice.
At this moment, he stood on a dilapidated warship, staring in horror at the New Navy fleet slowly advancing in the distance.
The once powerful Big Mom Pirates, now facing this surge, finally began to waver.
Just a few hours ago, they were still trying to organize a counterattack, trying to use their past prestige to deter the New Navy.
But when the first flagship was sunk, when comrades who had once dominated the seas fell one by one, when Jin An's warship approached like the Grim Reaper, all the bold words and vengeful fury had long turned into bone-chilling fear.
"Weren't we going to fight back?!
Where will our reputation be if we flee in such a panic now?!"
Someone roared angrily.
But more people chose to remain silent, even with mockery in their eyes.
"Reputation? Do you think dead people care about reputation?"
A pirate sneered, his tone filled with irony and despair.
He gripped the helm tightly, his palms covered in sweat, afraid that he would be a step too slow and become charred wreckage under the artillery fire.
The defeat of the Pirate Alliance was already inevitable. The remnants of the Big Mom Pirates, the main force of the Aegveitan Pirates, and scattered other pirate groups now had only one thought: survival.
Their fighting spirit had collapsed, and all that remained was the instinct to survive.
The pirate captains, who were once high and mighty, no longer cared about strategy, or even the lives of their allies. They only wanted to escape with their remaining fleets.
"Retreat quickly! All ships gather on the southern route!"
"No!
Head east!
There are reefs on the east side, we can use the terrain to shake them off!"
"Damn it!
Don't go that way, the Navy has already blocked the east!"
The captains of the various pirate groups were arguing with each other. Everyone wanted to control the situation, but in this rout, no one could truly command the entire fleet.
They were once overlords who dominated their respective territories, but now they were like a group of stray dogs, struggling on the edge of life and death.
"Boss, our men are still on the battlefield, they—"
"We can't take care of that anymore!!"
A captain of the Big Mom Pirates roared, interrupting his subordinate, his face twisted and his eyes filled with madness.
His voice trembled with fear, but his actions were decisive—he directly cut off the communication channel, silencing all cries for help.
He didn't want to hear those screams, he didn't want to hear the stupid words of those who were still trying to counterattack.
He only wanted to escape, he had to escape.
Even a veteran powerhouse like the Big Mom Pirates had become the most cowardly deserters in the face of death.
The scene on the battlefield became even more terrifying. More pirate warships were being sunk, and more comrades were being swallowed by the waves.
Every explosion was like tolling their death knell, filling the hearts of all those who tried to resist with despair.
However, just as they were trying to retreat, a cold voice came from afar, piercing through the noise of the battlefield—
"You think you can escape?"
On the sea, the New Navy fleet advanced like a torrent of steel, the ship cannons roaring continuously, accurately striking the fleeing pirate warships.
Whitebeard and Kuzan stood at the bow of the ship, their eyes fixed on the defeated enemy.
"You're thinking of running now?
What were you doing earlier?"
Whitebeard snorted coldly, his hands gripping his long sword tightly, his muscles tense, ready to fight at any moment.
There was no pity on his face, only cold fighting spirit.
"Since it has come to this, don't let them run away."
Kuzan slowly raised one hand, and the temperature in the air suddenly dropped. Cold mist spread across the battlefield.
"Ice Age."
In an instant, violent cold air swept across the entire sea surface, and the seawater instantly solidified. The retreating pirate warships were frozen in place one by one, as if the whole world had been frozen in time.
The fleeing pirates watched in horror as their warships gradually lost power, screaming in panic, but no matter how hard they struggled, they could not escape this deadly icy prison.
"Damn it!
We're trapped!!"
"Smash the ice!
Quick!
Use cannons to blast the ice open!!"
"It's useless… we're finished…"
Despair swept over every pirate. They were like beasts trapped in a hunter's snare, roaring and struggling in vain, but unable to escape the shadow of death.
Jin An watched all this coldly in the distance, without a trace of pity in his eyes.
His voice was low but full of murderous intent:
"This war should be brought to an end."
He raised his hand and decisively ordered—
"The entire army presses on, completely annihilating all the remaining enemies."
With Jin An's order, the New Navy fleet rushed towards the already frozen pirate fleet like a tide.
There was no suspense in this battle. On the blood-red sea, there was only a remnant of wailing and artillery fire.
The sea breeze howled, and the cold salty taste permeated the air.
Shamrock stood on a lonely sailing warship. Behind him was a chaotic pirate fleet, and in front of him was the New Navy, sweeping in like a tide.
He shook his head slightly, a hint of irony flashing in his eyes. The pirates on the battlefield were fleeing in all directions. The once high and mighty great pirates were now like frightened birds, defeated by the New Navy's pursuit.
"Pirates are just pirates… they can't achieve great things."
Shamrock sighed indifferently, his tone revealing a hint of disdain.
His gaze swept over the group of guys who were retreating in a sorry state. Every face was filled with fear and panic. They were scrambling to command their respective fleets, trying to escape to safer waters.
"So, Lord Im has been allowing these pirates to grow all along, not because they are valuable, but because they are… beyond redemption."
Shamrock's tone was somewhat sarcastic and somewhat disgusted.
Standing at a high place and looking down, he knew better than anyone that these so-called "great pirates" were just a rabble in the guise of strongmen.
——They are indeed strong. In terms of individual combat power, the Big Mom Pirates, the Aegveitan Pirates, and many forces that once dominated one side all possessed powerful combat power.
However, what they lacked was the true spirit of the strong.
"They have great power, but they don't have the magnanimity of the strong."
Shamrock murmured, his eyes flashing with some disappointment.
He had seen real strongmen, those who could charge with a smile even in the face of death, and who could burn the last trace of their lives for their beliefs even in defeat.
But what about these pirates?
They were easily dispersed and devoured by fear under the siege of the New Navy.
They couldn't even organize a decent counterattack, only caring about their own escape, even abandoning the most basic alliance.
This made Shamrock feel disgusted.
