Destruction and Rebirth (Seeking Follow-up Reads!)

Late at night, a sudden chill permeated the town, and a blizzard shrouded several streets, waking unprepared households.

Jacobites, cursing, pushed open their large gates to survey the situation outside.

However, all they saw was a street of stark white. Snowflakes, exuding a biting cold, fell like raindrops, covering the street and freezing the water.

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At this moment, many who had opened their doors were stunned on the spot. The biting cold rushed in, stealing their body heat in an instant, turning their faces red and hot.

By the time they reacted, the invading chill had already taken over their homes, condensing into frost.

Everyone was frozen at their doorways, and those who hadn't lost consciousness watched helplessly as the ice and snow spread deeper into the streets.

They lost consciousness completely without ever knowing what had happened.

Miles from the towns of the Kingdom of Jacob, on the coast, Shanks stood at the bow of his ship, his expression solemn, silent.

He let the salty sea breeze mess up his red short hair, his eyes piercing through thousands of meters, watching the lights of the distant town extinguish without a flicker of emotion.

Behind him, most of the Red-Haired Pirates were scattered across the deck, also quietly watching the distant town descend into destruction.

Just then, Ben Beckman, the second-in-command of the Red-Haired Pirates, pushed open the cabin door and slowly emerged. As he walked, he took out a cigarette and matches, lighting one up.

Then, he walked past his crewmates and went straight to Shanks' side, bending over and resting his arms on the railing, silently smoking.

"Is Uta asleep?" Shanks' eyes were fixed on the distance, his gaze deep and profound.

Beckman exhaled a puff of smoke and replied in a deep voice, "Yes, she's already asleep."

"That's good. We shouldn't let her witness something like this."

A moment later, Beckman turned his head, looking at Shanks' profile, and asked thoughtfully, "If Yelena hadn't chosen to act, what would you have done?"

In response, Shanks reached up and pressed down on his straw hat, casting half his face into shadow, and said expressionlessly, "Anyone who harms my crewmates or friends, I will not let them go..."

As he spoke, his other hand unconsciously rested on the hilt of his sword.

Just then, Hongou approached with a worried expression, looking at Shanks' back and asking, "Boss, Yelena's illness hasn't been resolved yet. Is it really okay to let her act alone?"

Shanks heard this, turned to look at his trusted ship's doctor, and smiled, "It's fine. Little Louis is there too."

"Besides..."

"Supporting each other in battle is the best time to build a partnership!" As he spoke, a peculiar smile appeared on Shanks' face.

"Partners? Will they become partners?"

Lime Jones, with his golden hair and sunglasses, raised a hand to stroke his chin, lost in thought.

"Of course! Otherwise, how could little Louis have stayed here for so long? He barely bothers with us!"

"That makes sense... Hahahaha!"

"So that's what Louis was thinking?"

"Nonsense, do you think he stayed because of us?"

Shanks' smile deepened as he overheard his companions talking behind him. He cast a long glance at the golden dawn light rising over the city.

Then, he turned and headed towards the ship's cabin.

Approaching the cabin door, Shanks paused again. Under the watchful eyes of his companions, he turned sideways and said, "Beckman, contact Morgans and ask him to obscure Yelena and Louis's appearances."

"If it's impossible to conceal them... then blame it on us? The Marines already know we've arrived here anyway."

"Got it!" Beckman nodded.

The others had no objections either. The infamy of destroying a member nation of the World Government was a bit too heavy for a pair of young teenagers.

For Shanks, a pirate with a bounty exceeding one billion Belly, it was a case of "the more the merrier" when it came to bad reputations.

However, the burly man with the sharp, serrated features scratched his head and said, "But it's so late, the World Economic News Agency won't know what happened, will they?"

Yet, he was met not with agreement from his companions, but with quite a bit of disdain.

"After being at sea for so long, you still don't know how formidable those crazy reporters from the World Economic News Agency are?"

"These reckless lunatics are everywhere in the world. Even if they die, they'll transmit the news before they do!"

Golden light bloomed, enveloping the sky above Jacob City like an aurora.

Countless Life Forces, flowing from the corpses, felt a summons. They materialized, transforming into wisps of light gold streams that ascended, merging into the aurora.

Then, they descended from mid-air, surging like flowing water. They directly connected to the back of the man-eating behemoth that was pursuing the fleeing ships across the frozen sea, providing her with an endless supply of stamina.

Louis sat cross-legged atop the tallest building in the Kingdom of Jacob. A four-meter-long spear, with a teardrop-shaped blade, lay across his knees.

After Yelena's request, Louis had agreed to help her annihilate this kingdom. However, he did not intervene himself, but instead continuously replenished her stamina from afar.

Louis believed it was more fitting for Yelena, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Canaan, to personally carry out her final revenge.

It was precisely because of this that Yelena was able to gradually shroud the entire city in a blizzard, trapping countless people, stripping them of their body heat, and turning them into rigid ice sculptures.

"..."

Unknowingly, the morning light rose at the edge of the sea, dyeing a large expanse of the sky golden yellow.

At the end of the street illuminated by the dawn, a humanoid behemoth, covered in pale fur, with straight demon horns and terrifying antlers, walked step by step towards Louis.

This was Yelena, the last monarch, who had completely ended the century-long grievance and returned.

At this moment, her body was stained with large patches of blood, and the black smoke left by the artillery bombardment lingered. The blood on her battle hammer and sickle-like claws had frozen.

When she returned to Louis's vicinity, she had completely transformed back into human form. The heavy armor inherited from generations of kings was completely shattered, and her black sports vest was stained red with sweat and blood.

She leaped up and sat down beside Louis.

Looking at the rising dawn in the distance, Yelena's eyes flickered with an inexplicable brilliance. She knew that the suffering of the Kingdom of Canaan was completely over today.

Louis looked at the blood-stained Yelena. After some thought, he ignited his own flames, melting the nearby ice, and then handed her a bucket of warm water.

"Here..."

Yelena was stunned by Louis's smooth movements for a moment. It wasn't until the hot water was pushed in front of her that she understood what had happened.

She raised her hand and tucked a strand of blood-stained white hair behind her ear, took the hot water, and a gentle smile appeared on her face, stained red with blood. "Thank you."

"..."

After a long while, half the sun hung at the edge of the sea, and warm sunlight shone on both of them.

Louis stood up, facing the sun, then turned to Yelena, extended a hand to her, and smiled as he made his invitation.

"Yelena, I'm leaving."

"Do you want to come with me?"

Louis was bathed in sunlight, his golden hair flying, his white wings slightly retracted, appearing as sacred as a true angel.

Yelena looked at Louis's current posture and was momentarily stunned.

But soon, she came back to her senses. She smiled and said, "My remaining subjects are still here..."

Louis was not too disappointed upon hearing this.

Ever since he saw the close connection between the Ganan Remnants and Yelena, he had roughly expected this outcome.

This time was merely a final attempt.

However, just as Louis was about to bid farewell and leave, Yelena reached out and took Louis's hand.

The slightly cool touch made Louis subconsciously lower his head, meeting her red eyes.

Under the warm sunlight, Yelena slowly stood up, a gentle smile appearing on her face.

"Because my subjects are still here, I must first find a place for them to settle..."