Chapter 1322 - 33: Only the Fated Shall Be Blasted

Chapter 1322: Chapter 33: Only the Fated Shall Be Blasted

The crimson flames burned along the coastline, painting the nearshore area of Dressrosa in a fiery red, and the area near the explosion point was as bright as daylight.

The terrified civilians were awakened by the sound of explosions. They stood at their windows in shock, staring at the scene on the shoreline.

In the nearshore area, several large ships were quickly distancing themselves from the waters of Dressrosa. Katakuri stood at the stern of one ship, his expression extremely grim.

Before Apollo was thrown to the shore, Katakuri had foreseen this scene. He immediately ordered a retreat, but it was too late. He could only watch as a large number of ships and subordinates were vaporized by the high temperature.

"Ka... Katakuri-sama, should we... continue attacking here?"

A Pirate Boss stood behind Katakuri, with large areas of burns on the skin he had exposed. Just before Apollo exploded, he was approximately 300 meters from the explosion center. Even so, the temperature spread from the periphery almost burned him to death.

"We... must take this place."

Katakuri clenched his fist, making a cracking sound. The war had reached a point where it was no longer a matter of mere profit but also a matter of face.

For the Big Mom Pirate Group, such a top-level pirate group, they could suffer a cut from the enemy, but they absolutely couldn’t be slapped by the enemy.

The Big Mom Pirate Group controlled nearly one-fifth of the islands in the New World, with a vast territory. With so many territories, the Big Mom Pirate Group certainly couldn’t station pirates on every island, at most leaving the Big Mom Pirate Group’s flag on the island to let enemies know this was Charlotte Lingling’s territory.

Once their face was damaged, the deterrent effect of these flags would be greatly reduced, and they might even be subject to burning, killing, and looting by some reckless pirates.

Charlotte Perospero died in a naval battle. Charlotte Cracker died in Dressrosa, and the ordinary pirates who died in this war were countless. The illustrious Katakuri was also repelled.

The war had reached such a degree that it was no longer something that could be resolved by one-sided surrender. The Donquixote Family couldn’t retreat. Retreating would mean annihilation. The Big Mom Pirate Group also couldn’t retreat. Retreating would result in losing face, and their subordinate territories would be threatened.

Actually, neither side wanted to continue the war, but neither could stop. The war couldn’t be stopped.

Either the Donquixote Family would be annihilated, or the Big Mom Pirate Group would suffer a heavy blow, temporarily withdrawing into All Nations.

After all, Charlotte Lingling was one of the Four Emperors, and with the strength of the Donquixote Family, they definitely couldn’t wipe her out.

That they could fight to this extent was mainly because Charlotte Lingling couldn’t land in Dressrosa, as both Kaido and Red Hair were holding her back, the former for profit and the latter for stability.

Don’t think Red Hair is a heartless pirate. To sit on the seat of one of the Four Emperors, he must have extraordinary qualities. Even Whitebeard wouldn’t underestimate Red Hair’s Conqueror’s Haki.

Of course, besides fighting to the death, both sides could also negotiate for a truce, provided one party handed over heavy compensation. Looking at the current situation, neither side would choose reconciliation.

Katakuri’s fleet retreated to a distance, and before they could fully understand the information on Apollo, they would never launch a large-scale attack again, only occasionally sending small forces to harass.

As soon as the people of the Big Mom Pirate Group retreated, a small submarine surfaced. This thing was not a submarine in the true sense. It would be more apt to call it a small ship capable of submerging underwater.

Two figures emerged from the small submarine. They used telescopes to observe the situation on the coast and took out a camera Telephone Worm to record it. Telephone Worms are a peculiar biological species in the Pirate World. Their physiological structure allows for long-range communication and even projects and records images.

After recording the scene on the coast, the two figures quickly re-entered the small submarine. The hatch closed, and the small submarine sank back into the sea, as if it had never appeared.

A full half hour passed, and the flames on the coast continued to burn. Large areas of sand were heated by the high temperature to vitrification, appearing splendid and magnificent under the moonlight.

To bring the sun to the ground was Apollo’s creator’s initial concept. This concept was absurd. Not to mention whether this idea could even be realized, if the sun were indeed brought close to a particular star, not just one or two stars would be incinerated.

The second-generation developer didn’t inherit the initial generation’s mindset. He realized that bringing down the sun was too absurd, but this madman intended to create an artificial sun.

After this concept emerged, the second-generation developer died half a month later in a massive explosion.

Subsequently, several generations of developers either died from explosions or radiation. After more than thirty generations of development, one developer found a way. Why was there an obsession with an artificial sun? Why not use fragments of the sun to imitate one?

Clearly, this was the most successful concept on the way to creating Apollo, without exception. Compared to dozens of developers in previous generations, that developer died the most gloriously. He was blown up by a half-finished Apollo; at that time, Apollo was too unstable.

His successor began enthusiastically stabilizing Apollo, reducing Apollo’s original fifty-kilometer explosion diameter to half a kilometer, and extending the activation time. From then on, Apollo truly emerged.

To create Apollo, a total of 267 Alchemists sacrificed themselves. Three cities were razed, with over 200,000 casualties. In its later stages, researching Apollo had become a taboo.

After overcoming numerous obstacles, Apollo was finally created, but the Apollo that Su Xiao now made wasn’t the one of original envisioned power.

Su Xiao certainly understood this, but expanding Apollo’s explosion range was very challenging, especially while ensuring Apollo’s stability.

Su Xiao could make an Apollo with an explosion range of about five kilometers at most, but with his current level of alchemy, he would absolutely not attempt such an Apollo. Not to mention creating a finished product, even during the production process, Apollo might explode.

Su Xiao needed Apollo to be stable enough while expanding its explosion range while ensuring its structural stability, a task akin to reaching for the stars.

The warm night breeze blew through the window, and Su Xiao closed it. He never expected Doflamingo to use Apollo so quickly. This situation could only indicate one thing: the Donquixote Family’s casualties were so heavy that they were unwilling to engage in large-scale warfare with the Big Mom Pirate Group again.

As Su Xiao was lost in thought, there was a knock on the door, the knocking was very loud, and A Mu got up to open it. It was Jack who came calling.

Jack marched into the room unceremoniously, his expression very displeased.

"Is this the special bomb model?"

Jack seemed to have just woken up, with a large piece of eye gunk at the corner of his eye. Seeing this, Bubu Wang instinctively stepped back a few paces.

"That’s right, this is the weapon I’ve recently developed. This time counts as a test detonation."

"..."

Jack’s eyes widened angrily. He tore off the black bear fur cloak on his back, revealing a muscular, scarred back covered with burn marks, a shocking sight.

"The Navy once dropped one of these on the island I was guarding. This color of flame... there’s no mistaking it."

The situation briefly became very awkward—Jack had actually been hit by Apollo before and seemed to have unforgettable memories left by it.

It seemed Jack was indeed unlucky. Of the two types of bombs that Su Xiao made, he had ’tasted’ both—one had left him lying on the seafloor for half a month, and the other had burned him crispy outside, tender inside.

PS: (The next five Chapters will be released shortly.)