One.
Two.
Thousands upon thousands...
Dandelion E. Dwyane stared blankly at his surroundings.
The knife in his hand had already broken off.
His entire body was already covered in blood.
The marine's short-sleeved shirt was stained with blood.
The thick layer of blood plasma made even the slightest movement of Dwyane unbearably nauseating and sticky.
The intense shouts of battle still echoed all around.
It sounded like the explosion of a missile, the clash of titans.
Dwyane felt he couldn't hear clearly anymore...
Yes, I can't hear you clearly...
We've been playing for so long that we've even forgotten how many sunrises and sunsets it's been.
My ears had been torn apart by the shockwave long ago.
And whose wails did I hear?
Dwyane stared blankly down at the thick layer of blood on his arm.
The fresh blood had already congealed into clumps, layer upon layer, firmly covering his thick, goosebump-like hair.
No, I don't have any body hair left.
How long ago?
It seems like it was a day or two ago?
Because the dried blood plasma was affecting his combat ability, he had already torn off the blood from his arm several times.
That blood is even stickier than resin, isn't it?
But I don't remember the pain from my hair being torn off.
Look to the left.
I can no longer see the friends I know.
Of the team members who had always lived together, only he remained.
There wasn't a single familiar face around me...
All he could see was two marines, dressed in the same clothes as him, lying limply on the ground, about thirty or forty meters away.
Before them, the pirates continued their charge, their numbers seemingly endless, as if no matter how many died, it wouldn't affect their next charge.
Yes, that's how pirates always are.
Because they were never a unified team.
Pirate crews gathered together, but those guys only cared about their own crews.
A pirate crew was routed and fled.
The pirate crews behind them have only just entered the battlefield...
The two fallen marines faced the pirates' raised knives.
They didn't make any retaliatory move whatsoever.
They lay on the ground, in the wet blood, stretching their necks freely.
Even if it makes it much easier for the pirates to cut down enemies.
They probably just wanted to feel good for a fleeting moment...
Yes, death may be like sleep, and right now, aren't I just like them, longing for the taste of sleep?
If that's the case, why not just lie down? It's just a matter of sleeping a little longer, as long as you can get some proper rest...
Have a good rest...
No!
Dwyane turned his head away with difficulty. Such a coward was not someone he should learn from!
He frantically searched for his next object of attention, hoping to find something different from what he had just seen, something that would give him the courage to persevere a little longer.
In the distance, Admiral Sakazuki is locked in a fierce battle with Big Mom. Their war has lasted for two days and two nights, and Admiral Sakazuki has not yet gained a decisive advantage.
That's Admiral, a legend in the navy.
Even such a powerful figure is already locked in a fierce battle?
Further out, on that vast and alluring sea, Whitebeard's ship had long been reduced to ruins by his war with Gawain.
Amidst the ruins, Lord Gawain, bare-handed, relentlessly pounded on Whitebeard's face.
He would often unleash a dozen or so blows before Whitebeard could retaliate against Lord Gawain.
Are we going to win?
No.
That's Whitebeard; nobody knows how much longer he can hold on.
Gawain Gawain's figure was indeed inspiring, but my heart had already vanished.
I'm so exhausted...
I'm so tired...
Fourteen years ago, his hometown was attacked by passing pirates.
I was on a shopping trip to a neighboring island with my mother when I narrowly escaped that ordeal.
But there are also my deceased father, grandparents, and many other relatives and neighbors.
Their deaths robbed her of the will to live, and she died of illness less than two years later.
He didn't even know who his enemy was, because there were too many pirates passing through his hometown during that period!
There are just too many!
He had no choice but to join the navy, hoping to gain the power for revenge!
Fourteen years have passed since then!
Have I acquired that power?
Dwyane took a deep breath and struggled to lift the broken knife in his hand.
It seems he has succeeded, as he has become a sergeant and has even killed nearly twenty damned pirates in this war!
With that thought, Dwyane suddenly let out a long sigh.
I think I've already done it, haven't I?
Did I fulfill my dream?
Does that mean the revenge was successful?
So...
Can I finally get some rest?
No!
No, because the war is still ongoing!
But even if he couldn't, he didn't owe the Navy anything anymore, right?
I... I really have no strength left...
Click!
With a crisp crack, Dwayne, completely exhausted, died at the hands of a pirate.
After killing two more marines, the pirate was killed by another marine.
No one remembers Dwyane's name, because his squad has long since vanished.
Dwyane was just one part of the battlefield.
He was just a soldier.
But don't forget.
Soldiers are a group.
At this very moment, just as the rising sun begins to peek over the horizon.
The marines are struggling in the darkness!
Compared to pirate crews numbering over 60 million, none of which are under a unified command.
As the marines watched their comrades, dressed in the same uniforms as them, fall one by one before them...
The marines' hearts have become something the pirates can't understand!
How could the pirates understand? They simply stood in their positions, and only after the pirate crews in front of them were defeated and fled did they, led by their captains or vice-captains, truly charge forward!
Before they charged, they even mocked the fleeing pirates ahead.
But when they watched one familiar comrade after another die, when they could hardly find anyone they knew around them...
They finally understood what their fleeing predecessors were thinking as they ran away.
They finally became their predecessors, the object of ridicule by the pirates preparing to charge from the rear.
But by then...
Just like their fleeing predecessors, they no longer care about others' ridicule, nor do they need others' understanding!
There are simply too many new pirates, and even now, more and more pirates are still heading towards the battlefield.
During the two-day, two-night live broadcast of the war, how many pirates in the New World displayed the glimmer of humanity?
Those pirates who dared not participate in the battle, or who simply planned to wait until most of the fighting was over before venturing out to feast on the dead.
They displayed the brilliance of humanity, overcame their fear and desires, and completely placed themselves within the pirate community, resolutely heading to the battlefield in the hope of bringing more support to the pirates.
But, alas.
Everything, no matter how beautiful, has two sides. Just as the world isn't simply black and white, the enemy's glory is the very flame that scorches us, isn't it?
When Whitebeard, Shanks, and the others launched this war, they knew that in terms of the scale of the strong, they would never be a match for the Navy.
So, are they all fools who, knowing they'd lose, still fought?
Neither the Dyna Stone that Shanks stole, nor any other safety measures, were the real reasons why Whitebeard and his crew were determined to fight.
The real reason they decided to fight lies in the hearts of the pirates who are now constantly heading to the battlefield!
Even if we lose, we must fight. As long as we burn ourselves out completely, the remaining ashes will be enough nourishment for future generations!
Shanks has a deep desire to completely ignite the flames of resistance among the pirates of the New World, even if it means defeating all the current top pirates!
Shanks needs a New World and a pirate faction that are vibrant and have great potential!
The Grand Line has been occupied, and the New World is isolated?
It seems the pirates have no new members to fill the ranks?
Those are not the fundamental issues!
Don't forget, the New World itself occupies nearly a quarter of the world's land and resources!
Of the World Government Member States worldwide, the New World even occupies one-third of the seats, and of the top fifty Affiliated Nation qualified to attend the meeting in Mary Geoise, a full twenty-two stand in the New World!
Fight bravely, pirates!
As long as we gain the approval of the people of the New World, as long as we awaken the fighting spirit of the pirates in the New World!
Even relying solely on their own territory in the New World, pirates can go further and strive to occupy a more important position in future key wars!
Even if you lose, you have to keep playing; it's not because you like losing!
That's about exchanging the present for a brighter future!
There are fewer strong individuals than the navy and the Dark Bird Ship.
The strong are no match for them at all?
As long as the strong resist the enemy tenaciously.
As long as ordinary pirates stubbornly charge the Navy's lines.
If ordinary pirates were to turn the tables and win the war, that would certainly be the best outcome.
Even ordinary pirates lost, just like the strong ones.
The hope they ignited through their relentless charges, along with the courageous sacrifices of the strong, could transform into the flames that ignite the free will of New World!
As for the navy...
That's right, whether it's Gawain or the Sengoku.
They're not stupid either!
While they held an advantage in superior combat power, they were also well aware that their side had far too few marines!
Firstly, although the navy in the past had the habit of stationing troops all over the world, their territory was too large, and 80 percent of the navy could not provide support from Four Blues in time.
But can the Grand Line rely solely on its own naval strength?
Sorry, but the Grand Line only has a few dozen branches. In the past, the Navy mainly relied on strong individuals to maintain the Grand Line!
Even with the support of just a few dozen branches, plus the elites stationed at headquarters, it's impossible to outnumber the pirates!
So, what were Gawain and the Sengoku period after?
Is it possible for them to wipe out the current top-tier fighting force of the pirates in one battle?
Is it possible for them to wipe out all the pirates in one fell swoop?
No way!
So what are they after, to fight a war with a high probability of victory, but one that could potentially deplete their own lower and middle-level fighting forces?
Besides the fact that victory would completely block the strategic objectives of the New World pirates!
Gawain is fighting for something even more significant!
What Shanks wants to attack is the fire that has been ignited in the hearts of the pirates of the New World!
What Gawain wanted to attack was the support and... pity of the world's people for the Dark Bird Ship and the Navy!!!
The masses!
The most important thing is always the masses!
In other words, it's the will of the people!
Shanks needs the support of the New World pirates!
What Gawain wanted was for the general public worldwide to feel pity and support for the Navy and the Dark Bird!
In the distance, more and more naval forces were being routed.
Even those troops that Sengoku had left behind, those with lower combat strength and less experience, have been mobilized by Sengoku!
Only by relying on those trembling newcomers can the ever-growing collapse of the naval front lines be barely sustained!
Two days and two nights have passed, and the naval soldiers are now on the verge of collapse!
They're not just one team, they're a whole team of pirates!
They could not remain indifferent to the deaths of other naval personnel!
They all wore the same clothes and had the same leader!
Even if they are complete strangers, the death of each navy officer can stir the hearts of the rest of the navy!
Seeing the increasingly dire state of the naval lines, Sakazuki was practically grinding his teeth to powder!
However, contrary to what others assumed, he did not continue to berate or even kill the fleeing navy!
It wasn't that he couldn't bear to do it.
Instead...
He's done that many times already!
Over the past two days, on this battlefield without traitors Koby, whenever the Navy showed any signs of defeat or desertion...
Even while battling Big Mom, Sakazuki will still throw a Great Eruption in the direction of the retreat!
But by now, the number of Marines killed by Sakazuki is approaching six thousand!
Even Sakazuki had to admit that the course of the war, which was in complete disarray, was far beyond what the ruthless supervisory teams could reverse!
Not to mention...
To stand in a higher position.
Sakazuki knew the limits of the navy perfectly well.
With the navy suffering nearly 20% losses, Sakazuki decisively took action to punish deserters.
When the navy suffered nearly 50% losses, Sakazuki's hand softened!
Now...
Looking at the rising sun on the horizon.
How many marines will the approaching sunlight fall upon as well?
Sakazuki counted them briefly.
Less than five million people!!!
It's important to know that even with fewer personnel, the Navy and the Dark Bird Ship still have a total of over twelve million!
Now, however, less than five million people remain!
In just two days and two nights, the navy and the Dark Bird soldiers have lost seven million men!
Their flesh and blood mingled with that of the pirates, almost turning into a bloody paste under the feet of those still fighting!
Each thud of footsteps landing in the mud was the last trace left by a comrade-in-arms...
By now, the navy's combat losses have reached nearly 70%!
With 70% casualties and not yet completely routed, this is practically the limit a formidable army can achieve!
Even Sakazuki could no longer demand the same level of strictness from his soldiers.
Since the Navy and the Dark Bird Alliance are on the verge of total defeat in the battle between the middle and lower-level forces.
So.
Are the Navy and the Dark Bird Alliance about to lose?
It certainly seemed that way; the marines had almost no hope left.
But...