Alucard stood at the bow of the ship, still maintaining his form as the Impaler. However, as they drew closer, he considered deactivating this state. If he maintained Blood Inheritance mode, he effectively remained without his "immortal body."
He was still uncertain if Kong could mobilize the power of the National Treasure. In a state where he could technically be killed, caution was the better part of valor.
However, deactivating the Impaler state ant regaining the substitutes of the River of Death, but it also ant losing the powers of the Float-Float Fruit. The ship would sink.
Seeing the Governnt base in the distance, Alucard made a decision: Cram it down their throats.
They had laid traps in the surrounding jungle, but surely they wouldn’t have mined their own headquarters?
"That cursed Immortal... he still had such a trick up his sleeve."
Standing at the base’s highest vantage point, Kong cursed under his breath. He waved his hand and bellowed, "Artillery units, ready! Shoot those ships out of the sky!"
Instantly, countless muzzles erged from the fortress walls, all swiveling toward the dozen or so pirate ships in the air.
BOOM!!
With the roar of explosions, massive black shells streaked through the sky.
But the Governnt wasn’t the only side with firepower. Cannons are a staple of any pirate ship. Under the command of their respective captains, the ships began a fierce exchange of fire with the ground batteries.
As the fortress walls and the pirate ships traded blows, the vessels began to gradually disintegrate under the relentless bombardnt.
"Strange. Are they not planning to land?"
The stout and short Vice Admiral Chaton looked up, puzzled. The ships were less than two miles from the base and showed no signs of slowing down or descending. Even as one ship began to break apart, it maintained its trajectory.
Suddenly, a terrifying thought dawned on Chaton. Don’t tell they intend to...
The mont the ships breached the two-mile periter, their bows dipped simultaneously. Like bullets, they began a steep, diagonal dive directly toward the base.
Chaton realized his guess was spot on—this was a kamikaze charge!
"Do you care nothing for the lives of your subordinates? Alucard, what kind of madman uses a tactic like this?!"
Kong was fuming. While the tactic wasn’t hard to guess, it was a double-edged sword that could cause more damage to the attackers than the defenders upon impact.
"It’s too late! We can’t stop them!"
Even though the army possessed fighters on the level of Admirals, stopping a fleet of plumting ships was a tall order. They could only watch as the vessels lood larger and larger.
"Seize the mont! JUMP!"
At the final second, everyone aboard the pirate ships leapt off. Monts later, the ships slamd into the unfinished Governnt base, instantly turning the massive complex, which had cost the Governnt a year of effort, into a sea of flas.
BOOOM!!!
The fire engulfed over half the base. Countless Governnt soldiers were caught in the blast, their screams echoing through the inferno.
Alucard slowly erged from the flas, having reverted to his original appearance. He had stayed on the ship from the dive until the crash; he had lost a "life" in the process, but to him, it was a negligible price.
"You bastard!"
The building below him was half-consud by fire, so Kong could no longer stand atop it. Using Geppo, he leaped down to the ground. Around them, the Immortal Pirates and the Governnt troops had already locked in close-quarters combat.
The traps, tactical distributions, and troop placents Kong had prepared, anticipating a ground assault, had been rendered completely moot by Alucard’s opening move.
The battle had bypassed the preamble and jumped straight to the climax.
Alucard and Kong stood a hundred ters apart. Alucard took a deep breath, an intoxicated expression on his face. "The sll of war, the scent of the Governnt’s ruin... how delicious."
"Commander-in-Chief Kong, the surprise attack has shattered the n’s resolve. Morale is plumting. If we don’t do sothing fast..." Momousagi said, her face grim as she landed beside him.
Having the final line of defense breached so suddenly was a disaster. The Governnt’s greatest advantage, their numbers, was being neutralized by the chaos.
"CALM DOWN!!!"
Kong’s roar snapped the dispirited soldiers back to attention. "They’ve only breached the inner line! What is there to fear? The war has only just begun! The Governnt has unlocked the secret of Alucard’s immortality! I will personally capture him... no, I will deliver Judgnt!"
The secret of his body has been cracked?
Hearing this, the Governnt side erupted in cheers, while the Immortal Pirates were struck with shock.
The greatest pillar of the Immortal Pirates was the legend that Alucard could never die. No matter how many tis he was killed, he would revive. This made them believe their captain was invincible.
Ivalis, Law, and the others stared at Alucard, waiting for his response.
"Hmph. Arrogant fool." Alucard’s lips curled. "There is no such thing as a truly eternal, immortal being in this world."
The Governnt side grew more excited, while the faces of the Immortal Pirates paled. Was he admitting it?
"EXACTLY!!!"
Kong seized the montum to bolster his troops. "Your legend of immortality ends today! I will deliver the sentence of Justice here! Victory for the Navy on the sea, victory for the Governnt in the sky! This dicine will be injected into the veins of every foolish pirate to end this Great Pirate Era once and for all!"
In a flash, Kong vanished. He reappeared instantly, his right hand clenched with his index and middle fingers extended. "Shigan: Blast!"
Those of lower rank didn’t even see the movent; they only heard a sound like a balloon popping.
When they looked again, a massive, gaping hole had been punched through Alucard’s chest, blood spraying outward.
"C-Captain..." Aranea’s brow furrowed, clearly shaken by Kong’s words.
"A bunch of idiots," Ivalis, who had followed Alucard since the Rebellion War, said coldly. "How could that man be defeated so easily?"
———————
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over here ——— pa-tre-on.c-om/AlexandrusTL [remove the hyphen for normal access]
User Comments
0 comments from readers