Chapter 1042: Remnants

Chapter 1042: Chapter 1042: Remnants

"Slaughter them!"

"Kill them all!"

"Attack! Leave no one alive!"

Without another word, the two sides clashed. A dozen super-soldiers and dozens of animated constructs immediately engaged the intruders in a fierce, brutal skirmish.

The men in black suits fought with practiced efficiency, utilizing standard Rokushiki techniques. Many of them had mastered all six forms, and even the weakest among them had mastered at least four, a level of skill rivaling that of Jabra, a former CP9 agent. There was no doubt; this coordinated squad of experts could only have been trained by the World Government. They were clearly agents from the Cipher Pol agencies.

AWOOOOOOO—!

Suddenly, a wolf’s howl pierced the air.

A middle-aged man with a long, tapering face tilted his head back and roared. His physique ballooned, his skull elongated, and coarse black fur erupted across his entire body. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a four-meter-tall, bipedal black werewolf. His eyes burned with a blood-red light, his maw bristled with fangs, and his black suit strained against his monstrous frame as he emanated a vicious, predatory aura.

"A Devil Fruit user! A Zoan-type?"

"That guy looks familiar!"

"Damn it! That’s Puda the Pillager, a remnant of the Demon Mask Pirates! He was the Commander of the Second Division, one of their top five officers. He ate the Mutt-Mutt Fruit, Model: ’Black Wolf’!"

"Ever since he escaped from Impel Down, Mina’s External Affairs Department has been hunting him. I never expected him to show up here!"

The guards inside the palace, all veteran members of the Elite Strike Team who had completed multiple high-stakes missions, recognized him immediately and exchanged panicked whispers. Some of them had even participated in the pursuit of this very man.

"All of you, DIE!"

A low, guttural growl rumbled in Puda’s throat. His crimson eyes scanned the hall before he pounced with feline grace. He slammed a clawed hand down, effortlessly crushing the head of a metal knight statue into a flat sheet of iron.

A super-soldier and several stone knights rushed in to surround him, but Puda cut through them with ease, tearing their bodies apart.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, a dark silhouette cut through the air at a speed the naked eye could barely track. A piercing shriek erupted as a projectile tore through the air, instantly piercing the throat of a super-soldier. He fell to the ground, dead, his lifeblood pooling beneath him.

"An arrow?!"

The crowd gasped. The super-soldier was pinned to the floor by a black shaft, his eyes wide in the shock of his sudden demise. Standing nearby was a cold-faced man with disproportionately long arms, clutching a massive black bow. A quiver of tempered steel arrows hung at his back, and his bowstring was still vibrating with residual tension.

"The Black Bow, Kataror Obes!"

"Another remnant of the Demon Mask Pirates!"

"I heard his ’Black Dragon Bow’ was confiscated and locked in the captain’s vault. Is he here to take it back?!"

The cold-eyed archer was quickly identified: he, too, was a fugitive who had escaped from Impel Down alongside Puda.

THWIP! THWIP! THWIP!

Deadly arrows whistled through the air. Each shot found its mark, shattering the heads of stone knights or piercing the skulls of super-soldiers with ruthless precision.

In less than a minute, Kataror Obes moved like a cold-blooded reaper, dismantling a dozen stone knights and executing five super-soldiers. These two high-bounty pirates were far beyond what a handful of guards and animated constructs could handle.

BOOM—!

Suddenly, the ground shuddered violently. A massive section of the floor bulged upward, spiderwebbing with cracks that revealed a metallic luster beneath the marble tiles.

CRASH—!

Seconds later, the wall blew outward in a storm of debris. A figure burst through, dragging nine tails behind her and leaving a trail of blood on the floor.

"Kugh—!"

Catarina Devon sprinted forward a dozen meters before slowing to a staggering, unsteady walk. She spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground. Moments later, Daren materialized from the floor like a specter, appearing beside her and pressing a hand to her shoulder.

At that instant, a silver blur streaked through the air, crashing toward Devon. Daren’s expression shifted, and he lunged in front of her, raising his blade to parry the strike.

CLANG—!

Sparks erupted in the air. Gabriel the Holy Angel was knocked backward, his arms crossed against the blow, before he quickly flapped his wings to hover in mid-air.

"Filthy thieves! You won’t leave this place!"

Gabriel’s voice rang out with righteous indignation. Through the hole in the wall behind him, Gorbo’s massive frame surged in like a whirlwind. He threw a thunderous punch aimed directly at Daren and Devon.

The sheer pressure of the wind forced them to break apart, scrambling to either side to avoid the blow.

BOOM—!

The ground buckled violently. Gorbo’s terrifying strength shattered the marble tiles, exposing the reinforced steel floor beneath. Even the thirty-centimeter-thick steel was punched through by his fist, the surrounding floor plates buckling and cracking under the impact.

THUD!

Another roar shook the hall as the massive, scorpion-tailed form of the Manticore crashed through the wall, widening the breach and sending rubble flying.

As he landed, Gorbo’s gaze fell upon Puda and Obes standing in the hall. His expression darkened further.

"Damn... that was a close one."

Daren, spotting Puda and Obes as well, let out a sigh of relief.

"The two dragons outside, one red, one black. Do you know what’s going on?" Obes asked, turning to Daren with a grim look.

"The red one is Aeolus Amphitrite-sei. One of the strongest members of the CP0 and a man dubbed the ’Strongest Shield of the Celestial Dragons.’ He is a user of the Zoan-type Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: ’Red Dragon’!" Daren said, his voice low and grave.

"A Saint... a Celestial Dragon?!"

Obes looked stunned, and Puda turned his head toward Daren in disbelief. They never imagined that the red dragon that had appeared so suddenly would be one of those arrogant, despotic Celestial Dragons.

They were known as the absolute dregs of humanity. If not for the protection of the Marine Admirals, their own arrogance and incompetence would have seen their clan wiped out long ago. To think that such a monstrously powerful being existed among them!

"As for the other, the black behemoth... it is not a dragon. It is called Calamodus. It is an ancient beast captured by Golden Ring Aeridar from an island in the Calm Belt. They say its strength rivals a Marine Admiral; the fire it breathes can turn the ground into molten lava. The famous SS Serum and the latest XT Serum seem to be linked to it," Daren continued his report.

Utilizing his Devil Fruit powers over the past few years, Daren had infiltrated the most secret areas of the Chris Pirates and obtained a wealth of intelligence. Had it not been for Alvis’s airtight defenses, the total surveillance of the secret archives, and Calamodus’s keen sense of smell that could track any stranger on the island, Daren would have already stolen every secret file and research blueprint the Chris Pirates possessed.

"Hmph. So, you’re the one who’s been stealing my intelligence," Gorbo said, his face cold. He rotated his wrist, clicking a dial on the silver watch he wore.

It was a signal transmitter, broadcasting a very specific, high-priority alert.