"Why is everyone so scared? Didn't they create this ice surface just to let us land in advance?!"
"Leave the ships here. Everyone charge across the ice together. Once we capture Sleeping Island, we can come back and retrieve them."
Pizarro stepped forward to boost morale and led the people from his ship onto the ice.
The ice was extremely thick. Stepping on it felt even more solid than stepping on land.
"All hands, leave one quarter of the men behind to guard the ships. The rest will attack Sleeping Island."
Retreating was out of the question in this situation. First of all, it would be a huge loss of reputation. Their fleet had charged in aggressively to attack, only to slink away in embarrassment just because they were frozen in place. If word got out, where would he put the face of the Hachinosu Island pirate admiral?
Secondly, even if they wanted to retreat, it wouldn't be easy. His own ship was manageable, but some of the others were frozen quite firmly.
"The ones staying behind, send some men to chip the ships out of the ice."
"Charge! Whoever reaches Sleeping Island first gets the most spoils!"
"I want the pretty women! Nobody better fight me for them!"
Three quarters of the forces began advancing toward Sleeping Island under their respective captains—over 5,000 men in total. It was still a massive number.
...
On several watchtowers at the dock.
"Sniper squad, freely select targets and eliminate them."
The sniper squad led by Lena wasn't large—just over thirty people. They were equipped with the best sniper rifles crafted by Meowth.
"Isn't 2 kilometers already beyond our effective range? During training, not many people could complete a snipe at this distance."
"Are you stupid? They're not exactly spread out. As long as you control the distance properly, even if you miss the target, hitting someone nearby works too."
There was a bit of luck involved. But as the enemy kept approaching, the hit rate would rise sharply.
Bang! Bang! Bang…
A string of single-shot sniper fire rang out. Bullets streaked across the ice. Some hit their targets—those struck let out miserable screams before collapsing on the spot or rolling on the ground in agony.
But in a force of several thousand, the number wasn't significant.
"Only trash would be defeated by those bullets."
A particularly fierce pirate swung the large blade in his hand and deflected the bullet aimed at him.
"Here comes another one. Let me—"
Boom!
He had intended to replicate his earlier feat of deflecting the bullet, but the impact of this one was like a cannon shell. It blasted him flying.
"What's going on? Are they firing cannons?"
"No, it's definitely bullets. They're just insanely powerful!"
Lena held the powerful Dog-Gun Lassoo, continuously loading it with special ammunition.
With her sniping ability, there was little difference between 2 kilometers and 200 meters.
Under Lena's use, Lassoo kept firing relentlessly. If this duo hit you, even elite units could be sent straight to the afterlife.
"Don't get too cocky! Green Giant!"
The Tree-Tree Fruit user activated his ability. His body began to swell and turn wooden. Soon, a ten-meter-tall dark green wooden giant stood upon the ice.
Armament Haki and Observation Haki were activated simultaneously as he deliberately went to block Lena's bullets head-on.
Boom! Thud! Thud!
Explosions kept erupting across the Green Giant's body. Despite the blasts, his powerful defense meant he only staggered slightly—his body suffered little actual damage.
After several attempts and confirming she couldn't injure the ability user, Lena immediately gave up on him and shifted her aim elsewhere.
The Tree-Tree Fruit user's speed was a weakness. Once she redirected her barrel, only the stronger captains could handle the defense.
"The vanguard has entered the 1.5-kilometer range. The formation stretches roughly 700 meters."
The fastest runners were 700 meters ahead of the slowest. Of course, most were clustered within about 200 meters in the middle.
"Battery cannons—projectile mode!"
Fifty emplacement cannons raised their muzzles.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
A series of deep, muffled blasts spread across the dock.
Those with sharp eyesight could see a cluster of black dots soaring into the sky.
...
Observation ship.
"The battle has officially begun. Sleeping Island is using their new weapons."
"The shells have been fired… The shells are flying into the sky??"
"Wait! The shells are starting to plunge downward at high speed!"
After the battle began, the observation ship had moved much closer, nearing the frozen edge and observing through telescopes.
They saw the soaring shells quickly descend straight into the middle of Ochoku's formation.
Boom—Boom boom boom—
Massive flames shot skyward from the center of Ochoku's forces. Fifty shells landed concentrated within one area. The enormous explosions were enough to throw even those untouched by the flames into confusion.
The vanguard assault force came to a halt.
They turned around just in time to see the rising inferno—then a wave of heat slammed into their faces.
Whole bodies—or fragments of them—were flung through the air before crashing down onto the ice.
"My leg is gone!"
"My hand—my hand's been blown off!"
A vacuum zone suddenly appeared in the middle. Those who could still howl in pain were the lucky ones. Many others said nothing at all… they were dead.
They weren't protagonists. Not righteous characters. They didn't have the qualification to bounce back up.
"This round alone killed at least a hundred and left over three hundred unable to fight."
That was only because people in the pirate world were tough. In the real world, with such dense formation, fifty shells would likely have doubled that number or more.
"Those weapons—they're heavy firepower weapons."
Ochoku and his men had faced massive cannon bombardments before. But those cannons always fired head-on. Powerful captains could swat the incoming shells aside—or at worst, tank them.
They hadn't expected the enemy's weapons to be indirect fire, targeting not them, but the men behind them.
Ochoku felt both troubled and delighted. Troubled because this assault would not be won at a light cost as imagined. Delighted because such firepower would eventually fall into his own hands.
"Don't panic! Cannons take time to reload. Use this opportunity to attack!"
Cannons did require time. Once everyone realized this, they resumed their charge.
But before they had even advanced 200 meters, they heard the special cannons firing again.
The pirates of this world could run fast. Otherwise, if they had only advanced 100 meters, they would already have been blown apart.
"The shells are coming again!"
"Don't block me! I need to get out of the center!"
"Captain! Captain, save me!"
Unlike the first time, when everyone had been caught off guard, the chaotic pirates now tried desperately to flee the center as soon as they heard the sound.
Boom boom boom—
Another string of explosions erupted across the ice.
On the dock, after observing the situation, Lena reported to Meowth:
"Meowth, in the future, when we encounter situations like this, we can train for two-stage or even three-stage firing patterns."