The Return Strike (1)

In the Mechanism City, amidst a misty expanse, a towering robot appeared.

It was over two meters tall, entirely blood red, and resembled a demon god, giving people a terrifying and chilling feeling.

It is the Blood King, the First King of the Mechanism City, a decisive and ruthless being.

However, even so, it feared Fanxin. Because Fanxin desires were no weaker than its own, and if it were to fight Fanxin to the death, it would definitely suffer a greater loss.

Therefore, it had no choice but to grant the Fanxin's request and send him away as soon as possible.

Seeing that Fanxin had left, the crimson robot stopped talking and immediately left for the distance.

After leaving the Mechanism City, Fanxin crossed the long bridge and left the central area.

He turned around, looked at the center of the Mechanism City, frowned slightly, and said, "Hmph, there must be a great secret hidden here. However, now is not the time to uncover it; we must wait for the right opportunity."

He had previously used his Observation Haki to sense things, although his Haki was blocked by a mysterious layer. However, he still vaguely saw some things.

Fanxin saw the mark of the Hoof of the Celestial Dragons. Fanxin had seen this mark before; all his former slaves had it.

Therefore, he couldn't be mistaken.

Although Fanxin couldn't guess what was inside, Fanxin understood that this was definitely Celestial Dragons' territory.

"Hmph, it's clearly our territory, yet they insist on calling it a hideout for criminals. What exactly are the Celestial Dragons doing?" Fanxin stared at the spot, pondering for a long time. However, he still couldn't figure it out.

The Celestial Dragons do things in such a strange and unpredictable way that they are impossible to fathom.

"He wants me to become the Ninth King, but that's absolutely a pretense. I think the Celestial Dragons are mostly after my power," Fanxin said. "Only that would make them want to attack me."

"Forget it, my strength isn't enough to destroy this place for now, so I won't linger here." Fanxin snorted and said, "However, this place absolutely cannot be left standing. When my strength surpasses that of Admiral, I will return and destroy it completely."

"Celestial Dragons, I don't care what you're doing, but whatever you're researching, I won't let it exist," Fanxin Xin chuckled and said.

This isn't because he's prejudiced against the Celestial Dragons, but Celestial Dragons utterly untrustworthy. The Celestial Dragons don't treat people as human beings at all; they only recognize the Celestial Dragons' status.

As for the rest of the people, they all considered them lowly, and they could do whatever they wanted with them.

They brought so many prisoners here; they certainly didn't bring them here to enjoy themselves. Fanxin Xin was certain that the Celestial Dragons were using them for various kinds of research. He just didn't yet know what kind of research the Celestial Dragons were conducting.

However, he couldn't be bothered to investigate further. The Celestial Dragons would never do anything good. Therefore, he thought it best to destroy it.

"Let's go, let's get everyone away from here first." Fanxin pondered for a moment, then left and went outside.

Everyone is still in danger, which is why Fanxin readily agreed to leave.

If he were alone, he wouldn't bother leaving. He would definitely stay and investigate.

Once outside, Fanxin found all the crew members. Just as the owner of the voice had said, they were only wounded; none of them had died in battle.

"Alright, everyone, go back to my Diamond Space." Seeing that everyone was alright, Fanxin was quite happy. He didn't want to see his crew members die here.

Although these crew members couldn't compare to the Little Black Cat and his companions, they were still his crew. As the captain, he couldn't simply ignore them.

Upon hearing this, the crew immediately began to take action.

Soon after, everyone arrived at Fanxin's Diamond Space.

Fanxin took one last look at the Mechanism City, then left without turning her head.

Once on the boat, Fanxin immediately had the Little Black Cat steer it away from there.

They only surfaced after they had traveled a great distance from the Mechanism City.

"Boss, what did you find out?" Everyone was puzzled. They didn't understand why Fanxin gave up halfway.

"That's Celestial Dragons territory; they're probably conducting some kind of experiment there," Fanxin said after a moment's thought.

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. The crew members, who were originally slaves of the Celestial Dragons, all wore expressions of fear; clearly, they were terrified.

Even after more than a year, they still couldn't remain calm when facing the Celestial Dragons.

"The Celestial Dragons' territory? If that's the case, isn't that deceiving the world?" the Little Black Cat immediately said.

The Celestial Dragons claimed that the area was a haven for criminals. However, it turns out that it's now Celestial Dragons territory, and they are in control of everything. This news is truly astonishing, and if it gets out, who knows what kind of impact it will have.

"Hmph, I think those prisoners were deliberately released from the Impel Down. Once they were out, they were immediately sent here," Fanxin said. "Because what they said was so terrifying, and the information was released in an official manner, almost no outsiders come here."

"Those Celestial Dragons are truly despicable, repeatedly fooling the world and treating it like idiots," Qiangwei said unhappily.

She had suffered at the hands of the Celestial Dragons, so she harbored deep resentment towards Celestial Dragons. Hearing about Celestial Dragons actions filled her with rage.

"Yes, this is probably just the tip of the Iceburg of the Celestial Dragons. There are many more, we just haven't discovered them yet," Fanxin said. "Alright, don't be angry. Getting angry now won't help. We can't wipe them out right now, we can only endure it for the time being."

"That's true." Qiangwei gave a wry smile upon hearing this.

Although the Celestial Dragons are despicable, they wield immense power. Without corresponding strength, it is absolutely impossible to contend with them.

With their current strength, it's a pipe dream to think they can take down the Celestial Dragons. So, she can only endure it for now.

"Are we just going to leave like this?" Qiangwei asked, still somewhat unwilling.

Although she couldn't eliminate the Celestial Dragons for the time being, she felt she couldn't just leave quietly like this; she had to teach Celestial Dragons a lesson.

"What do you want?" Fanxin asked curiously.

"I want to attack that place," Qiangwei said.

"Oh, is that so?" Fanxin pondered for a moment, then said, "To be honest, I also want to attack that place. However, the main force must leave here to avoid being caught in the crossfire."

"Oh, why?" Qiangwei asked, puzzled.

"I tried it out. The one I fought before was just one person. But they said they had nine kings, and one is dead, so there are eight left," Fanxin said. "I couldn't kill them even by fighting just one. If all eight of them come at me together, I'm definitely no match for them."

"You are not as strong as I am. If you stay, you will definitely suffer a great loss. Therefore, I think the main force should leave here first and go elsewhere. Only those who stay to attack can get closer to that place."

"Alright then," Qiangwei nodded and said, "You choose who launches the attack; the rest of you, just leave here by boat."

"Alright, of those who stay to attack, I choose Chen Yuning," Fanxin said.

"Huh, is she the only one?" Everyone was stunned for a moment, somewhat incredulous.

"Yes, just her." Fanxin Xin chuckled and said, "Don't underestimate her. She's worth countless people. Plus, her attack power is very strong. She's the perfect candidate."

Chen Yuning can now control the weather in an area. When she makes her move, it's a group attack; no one within that area can escape.

Of course, there was another important reason why Fanxin chose only her: he could only protect one person at a time. If there were too many people, he wouldn't be able to protect them all.

"What about me?" Qiangwei asked. She really wanted to go, because she hated the Celestial Dragons.

"Are you really going?" Fanxin asked immediately, seeing how stubborn Qiangwei was.

"Yes, I will make sure the Celestial Dragons know the consequences of offending me," Qiangwei said firmly.

Fanxin pondered for a moment and said, "Alright then, you go too. However, you must bring the Little Fox with you; only then will I feel at ease."

The Little Fox is no weaker than him. With the Little Fox around, even if Qiangwei is injured, she will definitely not lose her life.

"Okay, I'll listen to you," Qiangwei said, nodding.

"Alright, then everything on this ship will be handled by Ren Fang, Little Black Cat, and Lin Haicheng," Fanxin said. "You all stay as far away from here as possible, understand?"

This place is about to become a battlefield, and if they stay here, they will definitely suffer heavy losses. But if they leave, he can finally feel at ease.

"Okay, no problem," Ren Fang said.

"Alright, you also need to go underwater, and you absolutely cannot be exposed, understand?" Fanxin said.

If Ren Fang and her companions were to travel by sea, it would be extremely dangerous. If those kings were to walk on the water and discover them, they would likely be Ren Fang.

Those kings are no weaker than him; Ren Fang and the others have absolutely no chance against them. If that happens, they'll be in real trouble.

Fanxin didn't want to see such a tragedy happen. But if they went to the bottom of the sea, then none of this would have happened.

Even if those kings were incredibly powerful, they couldn't possibly see them underwater through the seawater.

"Okay." Ren Fang nodded in agreement.

"Hehe, let's go then." Fanxin Xin waved and called over the Little Fox, Qiangwei, and Chen Yuning.

Afterward, he placed them all into the Diamond Space. After saying goodbye to Ren Fang and the others, he returned to the sea.

After Fanxin left, Ren Fang no longer held back. She immediately ordered the ship to submerge and head to the deep sea.

Once in the deep sea, she had the ship skim along the seabed. This way, it would be impossible for others to find them.

Fanxin swam in the sea, and after more than ten minutes, he arrived at the island where the Mechanism City was located again.

"Alright, let's split up now. Little Fox, you're in a group with Qiangwei, and I'll Yuning, understand?" Fanxin said.

The Little Fox and the Qiangwei nodded, indicating that they understood.

"Okay, that's good. Here are your Vivre Card. If they get scattered in the end, we can rely on these to reunite." Fanxin tore a Vivre Card into four pieces, giving one to each person.

This was just in case, although they were all quite capable. However, no one could guarantee a 100% success rate. After all, those kings were all very powerful.

After everyone had received their items, Fanxin Xin led Chen Yuning away.

The Little Fox, however, took Qiangwei to the other side.

After leading Chen Yuning for a while, Fanxin said, "Alright, little one, go ahead and use your abilities! My job is just to protect you."

His attacks are now limited in range; once they exceed that range, it's impossible for him to hit his opponent.

He was far from the Mechanism City, making it unlikely that he could attack the people inside. To succeed, he needed to get closer to the Mechanism City.

However, doing so would expose his whereabouts. Their main purpose in coming here was to launch a surprise attack. Therefore, they cannot make such a big show of it.

Moreover, Fanxin didn't want to fight those guys at close range, because they were invincible. Although he knew the reason, he couldn't catch them; it was pointless anyway.

Therefore, he planned to have Yuning launch an attack.

Yuning's attacks have a range; once she makes a move, the entire area becomes her target. In this way, those people will have nowhere to hide.

With him protecting her, Yuning had no need to worry about being attacked.

"Okay, big brother." Yuning nodded obediently.

After saying that, she stopped wasting time and immediately used her ability.

Moments later, the once clear sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds, followed by lightning and thunder.

As time went by, the sky above the Mechanism City was completely covered by dark clouds.

After a while, countless raindrops began to fall, and they grew larger and denser with each drop.

This area looks like it's been hit by a tsunami; anyone who sees it would be unsettled.

This area was completely submerged, especially the ditches, which were filled with water.

Meanwhile, the Qiangwei on the other side weren't idle either.

She started working on the edge of the island, planting small yellow flags as she walked.

She's preparing to take control of the island; she plans to use her abilities to manipulate it. She used this ability before on Onigashima, and Fanxin unfortunately fell victim to it.

When Fanxin entered the area she controlled, he encountered meteorites and heavenly fire.

Although those are all ordinary things, not real heavenly fire and meteorites, if you were shrunk countless times to the size of an ant, these very ordinary flames and meteorites could potentially burn or crush you to death.

You were burned, you were smashed, that's for real. If you died inside, then you're really dead.

Qiangwei wants to use this ability to destroy this place. Of course, whether she succeeds depends on how well she prepares. If she does, there will be no problem. If she doesn't prepare well, she will definitely fail.

She planted a small yellow flag there, while the Little Fox followed beside her without saying much.

They're preparing here, while they're attacking there.

The Mechanism City is destined to be in turmoil. Because Fanxin has launched a surprise attack this time, specifically to destroy it.

He hesitated earlier, not because he was afraid, but because he worried that his crew would suffer a great loss. He couldn't let his momentary anger lead to the destruction of the entire pirate crew.

Now that he has sent the pirate crew away, he has nothing to fear. Therefore, he is ready to have a proper fight here.

"Hehe, the Mechanism City is about to be completely destroyed. I wonder how ugly the Celestial Dragons' faces will be when they find out." Fanxin seemed very excited, because this was the Celestial Dragons' territory. If he destroyed it, the Celestial Dragons would definitely be furious.

He can't completely destroy the Celestial Dragons right now, but he can certainly annoy them! That's something he can easily do.

The storm continued and intensified.

The sea level is slowly rising, and the island is gradually being submerged. Before long, this place may disappear completely.

Fanxin looked on, a hint of joy on his face.

"Oh dear, this is terrible! The tide is rising so fast, my little yellow flag is being washed away!" Qiangwei was working diligently when suddenly she saw the tide rising rapidly, and her little yellow flag was being submerged step by step.

If her little yellow flag is taken away, she won't be able to use her powers. At that point, it will be impossible for her to use her powers to destroy this place.

"It must have been that little girl who did it; her abilities are truly terrifying," the Little Fox said with a smile.

"Yes, it seems I'm a bit redundant to be here," Qiangwei said somewhat dejectedly.

"It seems so. If it doesn't work, then let's just watch the show," the Little Fox said. "Whether she takes action or you do, it's all the same; we're both dealing with Celestial Dragons, aren't we?"

It felt there was no need to compete, since they were all from the same pirate crew.

"Alright then!" Qiangwei nodded helplessly and said. Although she was unwilling, she understood that there was no point in arguing like this.

"In that case, sit on me!" said the Little Fox. With that, it immediately grew larger, transforming into a very large fox.

Qiangwei nodded and immediately sat on the Little Fox's back.

The Little Fox carried her on its back and immediately left, heading straight for where Fanxin was.

Since they can't launch an attack from here, there's no need for them to stay any longer.

Before long, they arrived beside Fanxin and Chen Yuning.