Five Elders: Vice Admiral Bane Is Truly a Loyal and Valiant Man!
Every two hours, Rayleigh took out a signal flare, raised his hand and fired it into the air, where it exploded into a brilliant firework in the fire-lit sky above Mary Geoise.
As soon as the fireworks appeared, 'Shiki,' who was engaged in a fierce battle with Ortolan, seemed to receive a signal and flew rapidly towards the outside of Mary Geoise. At the same time, a large number of the Revolutionary Army members joined Fisher Tiger and others and began to evacuate as well.
It seems that Dragon has no intention of lingering here.
Ortolan transformed into Inazuma, roaring as he unleashed a barrage of thunderbolts in the direction of Shiki, relentlessly pursuing Shiki's figure before disappearing into the night sky.
Only the fire still burned fiercely over Mary Geoise.
The guards on Mary Geoise, who had previously fought fiercely with the Revolutionary Army members, did not pursue them too far. After the enemy withdrew, their first priority was to put out the fire as quickly as possible and rescue the nobles trapped by the flames, rather than chasing after the enemy.
As dawn approached, the fire on Mary Geoise was brought under control and gradually extinguished.
At this moment, in front of the main hall of the Imu's throne at Panger Castle, Old Star and others stood in a guarding posture, protecting Im-sama who lived in the Flower Garden.
To be honest, Im-sama didn't show up or give any orders all night, so much so that the old stars were wondering if Im-sama was even in Mary Geoise today.
However, regardless of whether Im-sama was there or not, they dared not go in to investigate without being summoned. They could only assume that Im-sama was inside and dutifully protect the place.
Soon, the CP Agency's chief arrived with a group of CP Agency executives and knelt directly before the old stars. Spandine, who had survived, was also among this group, not daring to raise his head.
Despite his anger, Saint Figarland asked in a calm tone, "How is it?"
"The fire is under control, but the entire noble street has been reduced to ruins, and the administrative district has also been captured. We killed 243 Revolutionary Army thugs..." the CP Director quickly reported.
"That's not what I want to hear. Have you captured any leaders?" Saint Figarland asked in a deep voice.
"This..." The CP chief, cold sweat beading on his forehead, swallowed hard before stammering, "There have been no reports of any progress in this area so far..."
"A bunch of useless trash!" Saint Figarland sneered, then asked, "Where is Vice Admiral Bane?"
"Vice Admiral Bane has gone to pursue Shiki, and there has been no news of him..." the CP Director quickly said.
"Kessler?" Saint Figarland asked after a moment of silence.
"The Commander-in-Chief... has died in the line of duty. He was killed by Shiki," the CP Chief said with a sorrowful tone.
Just as Saint Figarland was about to say something, an Inazuma struck the sky, and then Ortolan appeared before everyone.
At this moment, Ortolan looked extremely disheveled. His black suit was torn to shreds by the slashes, and he had a deep, bone-revealing knife wound on his chest that was bleeding profusely. He also had a slashed wound on his shoulder, and you could even see his slightly broken shoulder blade!
Even the Justice Cloak behind him was stained red with blood.
But none of that mattered. In his hand, he carried a corpse, which looked even more gruesome. Large areas of the corpse had been charred by the power of Inazuma. But this did not prevent everyone from recognizing the corpse as the mastermind behind the burning of Mary Geoise... Shiki the Golden Lion!
As soon as Ortolan landed, he staggered and almost fell, but was caught by Spandine quick reflexes.
Then, Ortolan said weakly, "I'm sorry, I couldn't capture the other culprit, Dragon, I only managed to kill Shiki..."
When Saint Figarland faced Ortolan, he was much gentler than when he faced the CP Chief. He even stepped forward and, together with Spandine, helped Ortolan to his feet, saying, "Being able to kill that guy Shiki is enough, Vice Admiral Bane. We have all witnessed your loyalty and bravery. You truly deserve to be called a loyal and righteous warrior of our World Government!"
Ortolan was a true actor; when the Five Elders helped him up, he trembled with excitement, as if everything he said at that moment was worthwhile.
His eyes were filled with gratitude, but his face showed a hint of shame. His voice choked with emotion as he said, "But... but the Commander-in-Chief was killed right before my eyes... by Shiki. This is my duty..."
"Kessler is old and hasn't fought in a long time, so he was caught off guard for a moment... It's not your fault. He was a loyal and brave man. We will hold a memorial service for him later to commemorate and acknowledge his loyalty and bravery. You don't need to blame yourself too much. You've done enough." Saint Figarland patted Ortolan on the shoulder and then held his hand.
Just then, the Admiral Sengoku arrived with Zephyr. As soon as they stepped through the gates of Panger Castle, they saw the Five Elders shaking hands with Ortolan and saying words of thanks. The scene was quite harmonious.
This left the Admiral Sengoku dumbfounded. If he hadn't known that Ortolan was most likely the mastermind behind this incident, he would have almost believed Ortolan's loyalty and bravery!
Seeing Sengoku arrive, Saint Figarland shook Ortolan's hand reassuringly before saying, "Sengoku, your arrival is timely. Kessler has already died in the line of duty, and Mary Geoise now needs someone to oversee the overall situation. You should come and clean up the mess; we also need to rest..."
Upon hearing this, Sengoku froze on the spot, and after a moment, exclaimed in astonishment, "Commander-in-Chief Kessler has died in the line of duty?!"
Saint Figarland nodded and said, "Yes, he was brutally murdered by that bastard Shiki last night. However, Lieutenant Vice Admiral Bane also killed Shiki, which can be considered revenge for him. At the same time, it at least gives us an explanation to the outside world, so that the government doesn't lose face..."
Upon hearing this, the Admiral Sengoku glanced at Ortolan, then at the corpse beside Ortolan, his face twitching almost imperceptibly. He then nodded and said, "Yes, I understand. Should we also summon Fleet Admiral Kong?"
"Come here. The position of Commander-in-Chief is of paramount importance and cannot remain vacant. We had originally planned to consider this matter, but now... Although your Marines also made mistakes this time, you ultimately salvaged the situation to some extent. At this point, there's no point in saying anything more. The most important thing is to restore order to Mary Geoise as soon as possible, summarize the damage caused by this incident, announce to the outside world that Shiki has been executed, and also condemn the Revolutionary Army!" Saint Figarland instructed.
After saying this, the Five Elders didn't linger and left.
The CP Agency chief looked at the situation with some embarrassment. He knew that this was not over yet, and if he did not handle this well, he might very well be dragged out and shot later.
Therefore, facing Sengoku, his former adversary, he unusually showed a fawning smile and said, "Admiral Sengoku, thanks to your Marines last night, I would like to express my gratitude to you..."
After exchanging a few pleasantries with Sengoku and making overtures, he left with the CP Agency members.
As soon as they left, Sengoku rushed over to Ortolan's side, completely ignoring the guy's injuries, and pulled him to a corner, saying, "Are you crazy? How dare you do such a thing!"
Upon hearing this, Teacher Zephyr looked at Ortolan and Sengoku with some confusion and asked, "What's wrong? What do you mean by that, Sengoku?"
Sengoku released his Observation Haki to confirm that the surrounding area was safe before whispering, "You're asking me? I'd like to ask him too. The whole story of Shiki's escape from Impel Down was orchestrated by this lawless bastard. And now Mary Geoise is in this state again. Do you think it's possible that he wasn't behind all this?"
"Admiral, now that the Five Elders have entrusted you with handling this matter, there's definitely no risk involved. This is great news for our Marines! Fleet Admiral Kong will surely be promoted to Commander-in-Chief immediately after this, and you will also become a Fleet Admiral for the Marines!" Ortolan quickly said.
"I wouldn't stoop so low as to let you elect Fleet Admiral in this way!" Sengoku said angrily. "Tell me honestly, why did you do such a thing?!"
After a moment of silence, clutching his wound, Ortolan spoke softly, "It was the vengeful spirits of Mary Geoise that summoned me, nothing more."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sengoku and Zephyr fell silent.
After a long silence, Sengoku patted Ortolan on the shoulder and said, "Is this your justice?"
A bright smile appeared on Ortolan's lips as he said, "I don't know. To this day, I may never have understood what justice I am pursuing."