aircannonsinc Chapter 46 The Barrage of Artillery Fire, the Glow of Triumph
Chapter 46 The Barrage of Artillery Fire, the Glow of Triumph
"Stop it, all of you! This is Loguetown!"
Smoker's rough and loud voice was, at this moment, nothing more than the buzzing of a mosquito.
He waved his hands violently, sending smoke billowing everywhere, shattering one incoming shell after another, even though the explosions injured him.
Not far away, a residential building that had been damaged by artillery fire and was on the verge of collapse suddenly collapsed!
Amidst the smoke and firelight, the heart-wrenching cries of a child echoed: "Mommy! Mommy!!"
"Not good!" Zoro's eyes flashed with anger, and without even thinking, he used his legs to propel himself forward.
In the burning ruins, he saw a little girl being shielded by her mother's body, while a huge roof beam was falling on them.
"Break it!!" Zoro roared, unleashing three sword strikes in quick succession, the blades flashing. The massive roof beam was cleaved into several pieces mid-air.
Ignoring the scorching flames, he dragged the terrified little girl and her unconscious mother out of the rubble!
Almost at the same time!
"Lamb shot!" Sanji's figure appeared like a ghost at another fire scene!
An elderly man was trapped under a collapsed shelf, and flames were spreading rapidly! Sanji precisely kicked the shelf with his right foot, shattering it, and scooped up the old man with one hand.
He narrowly escaped just as the flames licked at the corner of the old man's clothes! A patch of his suit was charred on the back.
Even the Buggy Pirates nearby were rescuing people.
Bucky gritted his teeth, his split hands frantically digging through the rubble: "Hold on! I'm coming to get you all out of here! Those damned Marines! They're even bombing civilians!"
This group of pirates, being hunted by the Navy and facing imminent danger themselves, recklessly rescued the civilians of Loguetown amidst the raging inferno of gunfire!
This scene struck Smoker and the Navy like a thunderbolt.
"Are...they...rescuing people?"
"Pirates...are saving the people of Loguetown?"
"Why...aren't they enemies?"
"What...what are we doing? Watching our town be destroyed? Watching our compatriots be bombed? Watching 'pirates' save our people??"
A tremendous sense of shame and a primal sense of justice, ignited completely, erupted in the hearts of the naval soldiers like a volcano!
Lord Smoker's figure rushing towards the warship was still in the distance!
"Charge, brothers! How can we lose to pirates? Let's rescue them together!"
Amidst the towering cannon fire, the navy's battle-ready roars opened up a whole new world.
In the center of the square, Roger and Garp silently endured this hellish scene.
Roger gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with fierce malice. He sensed Luffy's strength gradually returning, and he picked up his scimitar once more.
This place is his hometown! It has so many innocent people living here, and the World Government wants to destroy them all.
"Garp, you ice brats. Is this the justice you seek?"
The chilling aura emanating from Aokiji surged violently!
The ice beneath his feet crackled and crumbled as it spread and thickened. The tragedy of O'Hara resurfaced before his eyes like a nightmare!
Cold, hard commands, burning towns, desperate civilians... history is repeating itself!
And he, Kuzan, once again stood before this "absolute justice" machine of destruction!
"Indiscriminate...destruction..." Aokiji whispered, his voice icy cold, but beneath that frozen face lay an unparalleled resolve.
The "justice" he believed in was not a cold-blooded massacre! It was not about burning everything to the ground just to eliminate a threat!
He suddenly raised his hand! No longer aimed at Roger, but at the sky!
"Ice Wall!"
A terrifying chill instantly erupted, forming a defense! A massive, arc-shaped ice wall, tens of meters thick and over a hundred meters high, shimmering with a deep blue light, stood erect.
Like a wall of sighs, it instantly rose from the ground on the east side of the deep pit, where the residents had taken refuge.
The ice wall exuded a chilling cold that froze souls, separating civilians from the impending destructive barrage.
He hesitated in Ohara last time, but this time in Loguetown, he did nothing... and yet suffered such a devastating disaster.
A flame burned in Han Bing's heart—another understanding of "justice" that had not yet been completely extinguished!
"Kuzan! You?!" Garp stared in shock at Aokiji's almost "insubordinate" act.
"Mr. Garp!" Aokiji's voice remained cold, yet carried an undeniable resolve.
"An order to destroy Roguetown... I will absolutely not carry it out!" He maintained the massive ice wall, his gaze fixed on the sea and the impending barrage of artillery fire in the sky!
"The Buster Call... isn't over yet! I haven't seen the Pirate King; he's probably already dead from the gunfire..."
Aokiji's ice wall was a faint ray of hope erected in purgatory, temporarily blocking some of the death. This time, he chose to stand on the side of civilians and "humanity," even if it meant going against the highest orders of the Marine Headquarters.
However, the artillery fire continued, and the massive ice wall that blotted out the sky was a target, with countless cannon shots flying in, making it teeter on the brink of collapse.
Garp's face was covered by a large shadow, making his expression impossible to see.
He silently turned his back to Roger, his tone devoid of the hostility he had shown towards his arch-enemy, instead carrying a relaxed air and a plea to his old friend.
"My grandson... I'm entrusting Luffy to you, my old friend..."
After saying that, he leaped up and rushed toward the direction from which the screams were coming.
Roger chuckled softly, recalling the scene when he entrusted his son to Garp years ago.
"You're still the same as you were back then..."
After saying that, Roger activated his spirit form and instantly arrived on the Going Merry.
The ice wall crumbled little by little, houses burned in the distance, civilians cried out in despair, and soldiers wavered in grief and indignation…
All of this shook Nami and Usopp to their core.
"Oh no, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die!!!!"
Nami took a deep breath and looked first at the civilians desperately calling for help on the distant shore, and Zoro and Sanji constantly rescuing people on the shore.
Finally, his gaze was fixed, unwaveringly fixed on the unconscious Luffy!
Luffy, just like those civilians, lay there vulnerable, about to be "purified" by the Navy's cannon fire.
But the last chance lies with him.
If we can think of any way to help him regain his strength to supply Roger, it might be the only chance in this desperate situation.
"Let him use a Command Spell. This kid recovers his stamina pretty quickly, but he still can't keep up with my output."
The sudden sound startled Nami and Usopp, who clutched their hearts and hid in a corner.
"Uncle Roger! When did you come in?"
Roger didn't answer the question, but simply patted Luffy on the head.
"Hmm...give him something to eat, that should sustain me for another battle and help me break through the encirclement of the warships ahead, but there's not much to eat right now. I guess I'll have to use Command Spells after all."
The timid duo's eyes lit up: "Then we can get out, right? Hurry up and use it!"
Roger stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought. The sound of gunfire swept past outside, and after a long while, Luffy's snoring could be heard.
"We need to wake him up..."
The timid duo instantly exploded: "Why are you pretending to think?! Lufly, wake up! We're going to die if you don't wake up soon!"
Just as the two of them were rocking the fast-sleeping Luffy, Roger raised his eyebrows and looked out the left-hand window of the ship.
"Hmm, it seems like something big is coming..."
A very unusual shell flew through the air, tracing a beautiful arc, like a star illuminating the night sky.
The moment the shell hit the warship, the warship was torn to shreds by an incredibly powerful force, and flames shot into the sky.
From the firelight, a small boat, about the size of the Merry, slowly emerged.
On the ship, Sabo, with one hand covering his hat, had a piercing gaze.
At the bow of the ship, a tall and muscular man holding a cannon in his right hand spoke with a bold voice.
"Master, you who trample on others, witness our triumphant return amidst the gunfire!"