The cannons were roaring.
The Revolutionary Army was under heavy bombardment.
Though Dragon was shielding them, and no ships had been hit since the second wave, the terrifying explosions from the high-caliber shells around the fleet still left everyone trembling in fear.
After all, these weren't veteran soldiers who had followed Dragon for years.
Just over two weeks ago, they were ordinary civilians.
Roused by revolutionary rhetoric, they had joined the uprising.
After successfully taking the royal palace and executing all the nobles, about 10,000 of them—selected from hundreds of thousands for their strong physiques and zealous loyalty—had eagerly followed the Revolutionary Army away.
Forget iron willpower. Most of them had never even experienced real warfare.
You might say they "conquered the Kingdom of Arkado," but in the One Piece world, most affiliated kingdoms had little to no standing army—just a handful of palace guards at best.
A country like Alabasta, with a standing army of hundreds of thousands, was a rare anomaly.
As the nobles of various kingdoms often said:
> "We pay the Navy huge sums each year for protection. Why should we also fund our own military?
If there's a problem, the Navy should handle it. Otherwise, what's the point of the money?"
So the so-called "conquest" of Arkado was basically tens of thousands of people rushing in and wiping out a royal guard force of fewer than a thousand.
And even then, any competent guards had already been dealt with by Revolutionary officers.
So, strictly speaking, it hadn't been a real battle.
Now, many were collapsing on deck, holding their heads and crying, calling for their mothers.
"Mr. Dragon, this can't go on!"
"Even if you can change the weather and neutralize incoming shells…"
"You can't keep this up forever!"
Sabo was visibly anxious.
He knew that if the enemy could hit them so accurately from such extreme distances, they surely also realized their shells weren't doing much damage.
And yet the bombardment hadn't stopped.
Which meant one thing:
The enemy had plenty of ammo—and full confidence that they could outlast Dragon.
Thinking of Dragon's abilities and strength, Sabo sighed again.
If it were just Dragon alone, without all of them dragging him down, those cannon shells wouldn't be a problem.
Dragon could've already tracked the source of the shelling and struck back directly instead of staying here on the defensive.
"Mr. Dragon, this isn't a viable plan. You need to charge in!"
"No," Dragon shook his head. "If I leave, casualties here will skyrocket."
This force wasn't just 10,000 new recruits—it also included over half of the current Revolutionary Army's core officers.
Baltigo had only just suffered devastating losses from a joint Navy and World Government assault.
If they failed to protect this force as well…
The Revolutionary Army might be done for.
Even if not completely wiped out, it wouldn't recover for years.
So Dragon wasn't ready to give up yet.
Of course, if it came to a critical point, he wouldn't need Sabo to tell him—he would retreat and preserve what he could.
Still, Sabo was deeply moved by Dragon's resolve.
"Mr. Dragon, if you stay, none of us will survive!"
"But if you strike back, and we intercept the incoming fire with whatever we can, there will be losses—but it's better than total annihilation!"
Sabo's eyes were firm.
Several Revolutionary officers nearby nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Dragon sighed.
"Fine. After the next wave of shells, I'll move out."
"Once I go, the safety of these recruits is in your hands…"
---
Aboard the Second Fleet's flagship.
After Viola finished her report, Luo Lan hung up the Den Den Mushi.
He turned to look at Hina, and behind her, Ace and Zoro.
"Electromagnetic railguns(cannon)."
"Second-generation ones. Do you know why only the Second Fleet's flagship is equipped with them?"
Luo Lan ran a hand along the gun mount beside him, a smirk forming on his lips.
Of the six battleships currently active in the Second Fleet, five were firing conventional artillery non-stop.
But the flagship? It hadn't fired a single shot.
Look closely, and you'd see—while it looked like the others, it was completely different.
This flagship didn't use regular cannons. Instead, it had three railguns mounted.
Just like Luo Lan said—Fleet 1, led by Momousagi (Gion), didn't have this kind of fancy toy. Only Fleet 2 did.
After all…
The three users of the Goro Goro no Mi (Rumble-Rumble Fruit)—Hina, and her subordinates Ace and Zoro—were all in the Second Fleet.
That's why this ship replaced all its main cannons with railguns powered by their thunder abilities.
"Get ready," Luo Lan said. "Time to give Dragon a real headache."
The three nodded and headed to their assigned railgun stations.
They opened the hatches and stepped in.
The next moment—
All three railguns began to glow with lightning.
Targeting systems engaged.
Shortly after—
"Fleet Admiral(Marshall), the railguns are fully charged!" a soldier reported as he ran over.
"Fire."
"Yes, sir!"
Moments later—
Three bolts of lightning streaked from the flagship.
Three custom railgun shells were launched.
Much faster than the first-generation ones—these exceeded Mach 20.
And unlike the first-gen's 8kg rounds, these fired 17.5kg metal slugs.
With that speed and weight, the kinetic energy was terrifying.
Even modern supercarriers from Lorlan's previous life—those 100,000-ton behemoths—would be obliterated by a single hit.
"Recharging railguns now. Estimated time: 60 seconds," the soldier called out.
Luo Lan simply nodded.
---
Eight nautical miles away.
"Sabo, once I leave, you're in charge of coordinating all interception efforts."
"I understand, Mr. Dragon!"
"Good. I'll do my b—"
Hmm?
Mid-sentence, Dragon suddenly paused.
He had sensed something.
He turned his head sharply toward the front of the ship.
"This is bad—move—!"
From the moment he sensed the threat to when he spoke those three words…
That was Dragon's limit.
Because he never had the chance to say a fourth.
Three railgun slugs had already arrived.
Two hit the sea—unleashing explosive force like small meteors crashing into the ocean.
The third hit the very ship Dragon stood on.
It tore the vessel apart instantly.
Wood and wreckage exploded skyward.
Every soldier watching from nearby ships was stunned.
Even Dragon himself was thrown high into the air.
In his mind, the same question echoed again and again:
"What the hell was that?"
---
📢 2 NEW STORIES AVAILABLE ON PATREON! 🎉
Hello, everyone! ❤️ I have two new stories available on Patreon! They'll also be posted on Ko-Fi soon.
📚 New Stories:
❄️ While Everyone Starved, Their Village Even Rejected Fatty Meat
🔥 In Battle Through the Heavens, Prepay to Become a Dou Di
Feel free to check them out if you're interested! Thank you for your continued support, and happy reading! 💖