Chapter 156: Collecting the Undead Army
The sky was a vast, clear azure, with wisps of thin white clouds streaked across it. A refreshing breeze blew past, carrying a few red maple leaves that slowly drifted down.
The Merry was docked at the coast on the outskirts of the island cluster. Reiner and the others began to set foot on one of these mysterious islands that had fallen from the sky.
This place was a desolate ruin. Scattered marble statues, stone pillars, and altars stood, all broken and covered in moss.
The group walked along a stone-paved road overgrown with vines, flanked on both sides by a forest of fiery red maple trees.
Bzzzz~~
A massive hornet suddenly flew out from the adjacent woods, its eyes glowing red. Its stinger, sharp as a sword, glinted coldly, and its several pairs of transparent, thin wings flapped rapidly as it charged towards them.
"So these are the things that attacked the East Blue? In other words, if we defeat that Golden Lion, the incident in the East Blue will naturally be resolved, right?"
Clack!
Zoro's gaze hardened. He flicked his sword out of its sheath with his thumb, stepped forward to meet it, and in the instant he drew his blade, a green slash spiraled out.
Clang—!
As the sword hummed, a gash suddenly appeared on the hornet's body. Its downy fuzz scattered and floated away, and its body plummeted to the ground, sliding past the group.
Looking at the giant hornet on the ground, Chopper frowned deeply. It had only been a short while since they landed on the island, yet they had already been attacked by several abnormally powerful beasts.
"All the animals here seem to have evolved into ferocious beasts and birds of prey. Not only are they powerful, but their temperaments have also become savage and brutal."
Although various fierce beasts existed in this world, an entire island full of such animals was clearly not normal.
Even some docile animals had become extremely savage.
"It's probably all man-made. To find out the truth, I'm afraid we'll have to go to the largest island at the center of the archipelago."
Robin rubbed her chin in contemplation. "When we first landed, there were also many pirate ships converging there. Golden Lion has gathered such a massive force; what kind of conspiracy are they plotting?"
The legendary great pirate, Golden Lion. After he was imprisoned back then, the forces under his command were also struck down and annihilated by the Marines. It was unexpected that he would become active on the seas again.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
At this moment, the sound of giant footsteps erupted, causing the ground to shake.
A giant black bear burst out from the maple forest. A hideous scar ran diagonally across its entire face. When it stood upright, it was about ten meters tall.
"Roar!!!"
The bear opened its blood-red maw and let out a deafening roar. The powerful blast of wind swept away the red leaves before it, and its imposing might made even the air tremble.
"So scary!" Chopper's face turned green with fright. He hid behind Reiner, trembling, his hands on Reiner's legs but most of his body still exposed.
Everyone's expression instantly turned grave.
"There's even this kind of monster. No wonder they could easily wipe out several towns overnight."
Sanji slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. Even from dozens of meters away, he could feel the powerful aura from the opponent.
"If thousands of these beasts from these islands were all unleashed upon the East Blue, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"Hee hee hee, let's catch it and eat it," Luffy said with great interest, stretching his long arms as he charged forward.
"Gomu Gomu no... Pistol!"
Bang!
The fist, flying out after rapidly retracting, slammed into the black bear's chest. After a dull impact sound, it was actually sent flying back directly!
"Roar!!"
Seeing the provocation from the small human before it, the black bear roared angrily and charged.
Its massive paw swung with a whistling sound, as if descending with the force of a thunderbolt!
"This is bad!"
Before Luffy's terrified eyes, the bear paw, larger than his entire body, slammed down in an instant!
Bang!!
This blow seemed capable of shattering even the invisible space. The massive impact transformed into ripples that spread through the air. Luffy's body spun rapidly as he was sent flying backward.
Boom!!
Luffy crashed straight into an altar. The already crumbling structure collapsed with a roar, and countless falling rocks buried him, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Are you kidding me!!"
"Even Luffy is no match for it?!"
"What exaggerated strength!"
Franky and the others exclaimed in shock, looking at the giant beast before them in disbelief.
"You bastard! I'm definitely going to eat you today!"
Luffy gritted his teeth and shouted angrily, pushing away a giant rock with one hand. He took a deep breath and bit his thumb at the corner of his mouth.
However, someone was faster than him!
A blue figure streaked past Luffy, the fierce wind it generated making his black hair dance wildly.
"Let me handle this, Luffy!"
Reiner transformed into a streak of azure light, flying straight towards the charging black behemoth.
His gaze hardened, and in an instant, he was in front of the black bear. The muscles all over his body bulged as if about to burst his shirt, his fist clenched tightly, veins popping on his entire arm.
A powerful punch exploded directly on the black bear's chest, his strong arm piercing through like a pillar!
Bang!!!
A powerful impact shot out through its body, and a blast of wind sent countless pieces of rubble flying.
"Roar!"
With a mournful howl, the black bear's eyes rolled back. It slowly fell backward, crashing to the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"In terms of pure strength, it's only slightly weaker than the Blue and Red Ogres. The beasts of this world really can't be underestimated," Reiner said faintly as he landed lightly, looking at the giant behemoth before him.
He wondered how the beasts here compared to those on the deserted island near Amazon Lily.
"Reliable as always."
Robin smiled faintly and walked forward with the others.
"After all, he's Reiner."
"That's right, that's right, our strongest ace," Chopper said with an adoring expression.
"We should get moving. It'll probably be more troublesome at night," Franky said, looking around.
Sanji lit a cigarette, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:
"We still have too little information. Should we split into two groups? One team goes to the main island, and the other team targets the pirates anchored outside."
Before landing, they had discovered a large number of pirate ships surrounding the main island.
Usopp's reconnaissance revealed that only about forty to fifty people from each ship had landed on the main island, with quite a few remaining on their ships.
Within the ultra-wide-range Observation Haki of the Frieren undead, no particularly powerful auras were detected. Golden Lion was clearly not here for the time being.
As for where he went and when he would return, they would probably have to go straight to the source and ask his subordinates.
"I'm planning to stay on the island."
An azure flame appeared on Reiner's hand, covering the fallen black bear. He was the first to speak. "The beasts here are quite strong. I can select some to collect and form a small-scale undead army."
Golden Lion's years of research were not in vain. These strange animals were indeed strong enough. Some of them even required Luffy to use Gear Third to fight. If their numbers grew, their effect would be very significant.
In a way, Golden Lion had just done him a favor.
"An undead army!"
"That sounds really cool!"
Luffy's eyes shone with a golden light. He walked over and patted his shoulder. "Do your best, Reiner! Our first army is in your hands!"
"Then let's form groups. The team with Reiner will be responsible for infiltrating the main island. The rest will go to the pirate crews anchored in the nearby sea."
Sanji quickly scanned the group and then added, "The ones left on the nearby pirate ships should be some small fry guarding the ships, so it will be relatively safer. Let's leave the main combat power here on the island. The battle will probably be very intense then."
"Ahem, in that case, I will take on the most dangerous mission: gathering intelligence from the nearby pirate ships."
Under the contemptuous gazes of the others, Usopp spoke with righteous conviction.
(End of chapter)
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