The Golden Land of Shandora
Teach sensed that it was about time, so he punched the ground with a powerful impact, shattering the Island Cloud beneath his feet.
A crater appeared on the Island Cloud, and looking down, sure enough, just as Teach had said, there was another world beneath the Island Cloud.
However, they did not see any gold. Due to the limited field of vision, what appeared before them below was the ruins of a settlement, full of historical significance, with vines growing on the rock walls of these houses.
These ruins, like those ahead and those on the giant vines, all belong to the city of Capadia. However, due to the giant vines and the Sky Island and Island Cloud, they are somewhat layered and distributed in different areas.
From afar, you can see the enormous vines reaching straight into the sky, their tops completely obscuring the view.
"Let's go down," Teach said, jumping down into the hole, followed closely by the other members.
The Island Cloud was at least a hundred meters above the basin's surface. This height was no problem for the crew of the Night Pirates, who easily descended from the Island Cloud to the underground, which was the basin.
"Look, what's that! It's really gold!" one member exclaimed, looking ahead.
From afar, he saw the dazzling golden light, which was extremely bright.
The other members noticed it too, and their hearts jumped, pounding involuntarily.
Even from such a distance, they could see the golden light. It was unimaginable how much gold there was. They also knew that the Golden Land was just ahead.
"It's right there, haha, that's the real Golden Land, the true heart of this ruin, Shandora." Teach saw the gleaming light in the distance and couldn't contain his excitement. He laughed heartily and strode forward.
This city, built of gold, is just ahead.
The group walked forward. The ruins of the entire city were vast. They paid no attention to the ordinary ruins on the outskirts. What attracted their attention was the golden city, "Shandora," which was getting closer and closer.
After about half an hour, the entire Shandora was finally revealed to the Night Pirates.
The ruins of Shandora.
Just like the meaning of "Shandora," these are magnificent cities.
The light before my eyes was a dazzling golden brilliance, and even after four hundred years, it had left no trace on it, nor had its light dimmed.
After all, gold is a much better material than ordinary stone, and in the environment of the Sky Island at an altitude of 10,000 meters, hidden under the Island Cloud, there is basically no dust.
Even if it exists, it cannot obscure the dazzling brilliance of Shandora.
Looking at the building in front of me, which was made of gold, even the central road was inlaid with gold bricks.
Everyone was shocked, staring wide-eyed at the beautiful golden city. Even Beli, who had seen so much treasure with the Night Pirates, couldn't help but marvel at the scene before him.
"Gurgle, gurgle!"
The air seemed to freeze, and the sound of swallowing could be clearly heard.
Just how much wealth is this? They can't even estimate the total value of the gold; even hundreds of billions of Beli can't compare.
The total amount of gold in the world today is less than the amount of gold we have now, not even half of what it is today.
With so much gold, if all moved to the sea, it could easily buy a kingdom, or even a major one.
The ruins of Shandora are remarkably well-preserved. In the entire golden city, only some buildings are leaning, likely due to the violent impact of the Sky-Rending Current at the time.
However, this does not affect the overall integrity of the golden city of Shandora.
All the gold was still there, unlike later when Enel used his powers to take it all and used it to build the Sky Ship, "The Ark Maxim."
This is undoubtedly a bit wasteful, but the "Ark Maxim" can convert lightning into power, while Enel's ability requires metal to conduct, and the only metal available on Sky Island is gold.
"This is the legendary Golden Land!" Standing there quietly for a long time, it took someone to come back to their senses and stare blankly at everything before them.
"Am I dreaming?" Some people couldn't believe it. Even though they had known about the existence of the Golden Land for a long time, it was still not as shocking as seeing it with their own eyes.
The Golden Land before them far exceeded their expectations, stimulating their minds and bodies.
Standing in the heart of the Golden Land of "Shandora," the towering landmark before you is surrounded by gold, making you feel as if you are in a sea of gold.
"Hiss! We're going to be rich!" One member pinched his own flesh, the pain jolting him awake from his daze. Looking at the immeasurable golden city before him, a fiery light flashed in his eyes.
No one could resist what they were seeing, no one could resist the allure of gold. Even Teach couldn't help but click his tongue, unable to hide his inner shock.
There is so much gold here.
"Haha, you've certainly struck it rich, but it's not that exaggerated. All this gold is inlaid in these buildings," Teach laughed excitedly.
"Even so, that's still a lot. No wonder it's the legendary golden city of Shandora; it truly lives up to its name," Rediat exclaimed.
"They've really become wealthy. However, with so much gold flowing into the sea, its value will undoubtedly depreciate," said Xiouyapufu after a moment's thought.
"Haha, that's not something we need to worry about."
"Everyone, get moving! Take all this gold and pile it up. This is a huge project; it'll take a long time," Teach said, looking at the golden city.
The other members were already eager to try, and upon hearing Teach's words, they cheered and couldn't wait to get started.
Holding weapons, they scattered around, knocking down the ground and the gold embedded in the buildings.
"The rest of you, come with me. Let's go see the Golden Bell, the Lamp of Shandora. It's a bell made of pure gold." Teach laughed, flying into the sky and then towards the giant vines in the distance. The Golden Bell was located at the top of the giant vines.
The gold mining operation officially began, but even with over a thousand people, it wouldn't be easy to dig out all the gold.
However, everyone was working feverishly for the gold.
Meanwhile, Teach Rediat had reached the top of the giant vine, where there was a cloud. This cloud looked much like the others, very ordinary. Even Enel hadn't been able to find the Golden Bell in six years.
I never imagined that the Golden Bell was located above Enel's Temple. However, the temple is not yet on the vines. It must have been built by Enel after he came to Angel Island and replaced the gods there.
The first thing that catches the eye is the enormous Golden Bell, with vines wrapped around it. Both the Golden Bell and the two golden pillars on either side are hundreds of meters tall.
Below, there is a three-tiered golden staircase. This entire Golden Bell is supported by two huge pillars, and there are two smaller golden pillars in front of it. In addition to the huge staircase below, unlike the buildings on the surface of Shandora that are inlaid with gold, the entire bell tower is made of pure gold.
It's hard to imagine how such Golden Bell was made. It's a huge project, and it certainly wasn't built by these Shandia natives; they don't have that kind of capability.
The history of the Golden Bell must be over four hundred years, reaching eight hundred years, or even earlier, after all, there are Poneglyph on it.
The Poneglyph was very conspicuous and caught the attention of Teach and his group. It was a huge, square stone embedded in the golden steps below the steps, with mysterious text engraved on it. The moment they saw this stone, the members who knew some information about it had four words in their minds: Poneglyph, which engraved the true history of the "Void Century".
Stepping forward to the Golden Bell, standing before the Poneglyph, even having seen the Golden Land Shandora below, I was still awestruck by the Golden Bell before me.
The Golden Bell is the most important treasure of the Golden Land "Shandora," a symbol of the Shandia people's faith, and is also known as the "Lamp of Shandora."
The sound of the Golden Bell is very beautiful, melodious and can travel very far. Even when the Golden Bell is rung on Gaya Island, it can be heard on Sky Island, which is 10,000 meters high. It is this sound that the Skypieans believe to be "the voice of God".
However, it requires great strength to ring the bell and for the sound to travel very far.
The sound of bells, like a beacon, guides those lost at sea. After all, the waters around Gaya Island are still somewhat dangerous, with swift currents, many reefs, and frequent Sky-Rending Current.
It is precisely this environment that has become a barrier protecting Gaya Island.
The Golden Bell is also a symbol of the profound friendship between the great warrior Calgara and Venbula Noland.
Lighting the Shandora lamps is equivalent to ringing the Golden Bell.
Looking at the Golden Bell, apart from the few flying officers who arrived first, the other officers soon followed suit, reaching the top of the giant vine and coming behind Teach and the others.
The fastest was Pito, with his agile figure and powerful jumping ability, leaping hundreds of meters high in a single bound. After several consecutive leaps, he was so fast that his shadow could not be seen. He followed Teach and the others to the Golden Bell.
The others arrived a little later, but Lafitte had already completed the task Teach had given him. Under the Island Cloud, on his way to the Golden Bell, Lafitte had already returned, carrying an undeniable aura of bloodlust.
"This is the Poneglyph. Although it's not red, it records the road signs to the Laugh Tale, Laugh Tale Road Poneglyph, but it also records the true history—the buried 'Void Century'." Teach crossed his arms, looking at the Poneglyph. "Rediat, translate it."
Having acquired the information from Ohara archaeologists regarding the Void Century and their memories of the Poneglyph, Rediat, after a period of study, was able to decipher the Poneglyph.
Nodding, I stepped into the Poneglyph gently dealt with the moss growing on it.
"It seems someone has been here in recent years; the moss on the Poneglyph is all newly grown, and there aren't many of them," Rediat remarked, looking at the Poneglyph.
"It can only be Pirate King Roger, the Roger Pirates knew the whereabouts of all the Ancient Weapon, so it's normal that they came here," Teach replied. He knew this and didn't think much of it.
He knew that the contents of the Poneglyph were about Poseidon, the sea god. Every few hundred years on Fish-Man Island, a mermaid princess with the ability to communicate with and control Sea King would be born. And this mermaid princess was the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon.
Furthermore, there are categories that introduce the Poneglyph, one of which records information about the Great Kingdom from eight hundred years ago, and another is the ordinary blue Poneglyph containing Ancient Weapon.
The second type consists of only four red Road Poneglyph about the location of the Laugh Tale.
While Teach didn't care, the other crew members were different. This was the Pirate King! They were surprised and excited that the Pirate King Roger had once been here. It was probably the path the Pirate King had walked.
Then, Rediat slowly deciphered the information on the Poneglyph, which was exactly as Teach had imagined, shocking the other crew members. The Ancient Weapon, Poseidon, was actually a mermaid, but with the ability to communicate with and control Sea King —an ability that was terrifying enough.
In a world where 90% or more of the land is ocean, the Sea King are the true rulers. Most Sea King reside in the Calm Belt, and no one knows how many Sea King live Calm Belt. If someone could summon and command the Sea King, they would undoubtedly possess the power to destroy the world.
"It seems the mermaid princess is a crucial part of the plan. Roger needs Aquaman's power to do what he wants. However, his timing is wrong. The mermaid princess hasn't been born yet, and he doesn't have much time left to live," Teach couldn't help but say.
"Yes, that's right. So, to pass on the will? And thus usher in the Great Pirate Era." Rediat nodded and smiled faintly.
The others were a little confused, not knowing what Teach and Rediat were talking about, but they also knew that some things were not for them to know. From what Teach and Rediat were saying, it seemed that it was related to the Pirate King Roger.
"It seems the Roger Pirates really did come here. There are even some words left by the Roger Pirates on the side." Rediat turned his head to look at the corner of the Poneglyph.
"What did they say?" Lafitte asked, curious as were the others.
"I have come here to take this text to the ends of the world – Gol D. Roger," Rediat chuckled softly.
"Haha, how boring." Teach couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this.
Nelson's eyes lit up. "Captain, let's carve something on it too." This was a golden opportunity to go down in history!