Loki's Defeat and... Pluton's Deployment!
Feeling the terrifying aura behind him, as if it were an abyss or a prison, Loki's mind went blank. If he took the attack head-on, he might die, or he might drag his broken body into the sea and unlock the final treasure. But if he dodged and was entangled by the enemy, there would be no chance to change the fate of Elbaf.
He had no idea what the man called "Nightmare" was thinking, and he dared not gamble. All he could do was use all his strength to run towards the sea, even if it meant exposing his back to such an extremely powerful enemy.
Boom!
The earth before Roy was cleaved into nothingness by this sword strike, and the sea was split in two, the wounds failing to heal for a long time. A massive arm, dripping with blood, fell to the ground, and an extremely horrific and hideous wound appeared on Loki's back, as if it had severed his body in two. Only by sheer willpower kept his body forcibly connected. Although the Giants have strong vitality, they are not as monstrous as Kaido. This level of injury was practically a death sentence for Loki!
But Loki did not falter. The instant Roy sheathed his sword, he leaped into the sea, with a death wish and unwavering resolve.
Roy remained silent. He made this choice precisely because he understood Loki's mindset; otherwise, he could not have severely injured a powerful figure like Loki with just one sword strike.
Next, it was just a matter of waiting—waiting for the secret of 800 years to surface, waiting for the Pluton, known as the Extremely Evil Battleship, to reveal its hideous face.
The fighting atmosphere in the Giant Royal Court had gradually subsided. Although the twelve giants had gained power to contend with Enel and the others in a moment of explosive power, that power was not their own. As time went by, their momentum weakened. When the first giant collapsed due to exhaustion, it was as if Domino effect had been triggered. All twelve giants fell one after another, and blood stained the entire earth red.
Of course, these giants did not die. On the one hand, the Giants has strong vitality, and on the other hand, Enel and the others did not kill them. After all, these giants were their spoils of war. If they were to die so easily, their gains would be greatly reduced.
However, defeating the giants was not an easy task for them. After witnessing Prince Loki being struck down into the sea by Roy's sword, Big Mom's heart finally shattered. A terrifying aura swept across the land, and she launched an attack on them in a daze.
Roy didn't pay much attention. Big Mom in this state was not invincible. In addition, he needed to conserve his strength as much as possible to deal with the more terrifying battles to come, so he had no intention of intervening in the battle.
"BigMom is such a terrible teammate. If she could regain her senses and maintain her full combat strength, even if the legendary Extremely Evil Battleship Pluton is terrifying, the ten of us would be able to handle it. But now, not only has she not played any role, she has also tied down most of our combat strength."
"An increasingly terrifying time bomb? And what about the agreement from three years ago... It seems she's no longer of much use to me. Why not burn her last body to light the way for me?" Roy's face was cold, and evil flames flickered in his eyes.
"If used properly, even an idiot can be useful. However, the operation must be carried out discreetly. If Katakuri and the others discover any clues, the difficulty of bringing the Big Mom Pirate Crew under our control will increase dramatically!"
Suddenly, the calm sea began to boil. Centered on the sea ahead, waves crashed against the shore one after another. Under the moonlight, it seemed as if a terrifying monster was emerging from the hidden sea.
However, as more and more of its body was revealed, Roy's lips began to twitch. This was no warship; it was practically a continent, perhaps even larger than the Mechanical Giant Turtle he had seen at Vegapunk's place...
"Wait!" Roy suddenly realized something was wrong. The part that had surfaced was radiating a life force. If you added the hazy light reflecting the soft moonlight, it was clearly a semi-mechanical creature, or rather, an epic behemoth transformed into a war fortress.
Roy couldn't help but gasp, not because of the terrifying aura emanating from Pluton, but because of Vegapunk's scientific research capabilities. No wonder he hadn't thought much of lunar technology back then; it turned out that Vegapunk himself had already reached that level.
It's important to understand that even 800 years ago, the Three Ancient Weapons bearing the title of "gods" were undoubtedly the most advanced technological products of that era. Moreover, Pluton was likely the result of several generations of research by the Lunar People, while the Mechanical Giant Turtle was created by Vegapunk himself. A simple comparison of the difficulty involved makes it easy to imagine.
Roy even had a vague suspicion that the World Government's support for Vegapunk's research might be so that one day they could use the power of the Mechanical Giant Turtle to fight against Pluton, who was lost in history.
However, Roy did not underestimate the Extremely Evil Battleship in front of him. After all, Vegapunk had told him that the modified Giant Soldier was only a half-finished product, and many of the envisioned functions had not yet been developed. Otherwise, he would not have been able to infiltrate it so easily.
"Waaaaah!"
With a roar, the enormous creature in the sea was finally fully revealed. It was an ancient whale that had undergone mechanical modification. Even the giant Island Whale Laboon that Roy had seen before paled in comparison to it, appearing like a child.
Roy's eyes turned slightly cold. Although he didn't know the extent of Pluton's power, he had no intention of standing there like an idiot waiting for the enemy to launch an attack.
Infiltrate the interior of this Extremely Evil Battleship and seize ownership of Pluton using decapitation tactics!
Roy flashed and leaped near the continent-like hull of Pluton, his body Virtualization as he prepared to merge into it.
Bang!
Roy's eyes widened as he exited the Virtualization state. His usually unstoppable Reality Conversion between reality and illusion was blocked by some unknown barrier. Unconvinced, Roy tried to traverse through the barrier using a spatial jump, but was once again blocked by that invisible force.
"It's the power of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit, the power of the Barrier-Barrier Fruit that appeared on Bartolomeo in the future trajectory!" Roy took a deep breath and realized, "Is there Devil Fruit item inside Pluton that has eaten the Barrier-Barrier Fruit? Those Lunar People made full use of this ability and used it as a protective shield for this warship."
However, the level of development of this Barrier-Barrier Fruit is far beyond what Bartolomeo can match. At least, Roy absolutely does not believe that Bartolomeo's barrier can also block his supernatural abilities such as dream travel and space jump. Moreover, the range of Bartolomeo's barrier is limited and cannot be compared with this protective shield that almost covers an entire continent.
"However, every barrier has its limits. Since we can't get through, we might as well break this protective shield!" Roy didn't think that a rigid Devil Fruit ability could stop him for long.
Suddenly, Roy glimpsed a corner of the future and, without thinking, teleported away in an instant.
"Annihilation Ion Cannon!"
Boom!
A terrifying wave of light swept past Roy's original location, grazing the edge of Elbaf. Even so, that stretch of coastline seemed to vanish into thin air, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
The terrifying power almost made Roy break out in a cold sweat. Even he couldn't withstand such an attack. If he hadn't moved away in time, he would probably have been buried at sea.