Evening.
The sun had not yet fully set.
An urgent report came from the sentries at the northernmost point of Whale Tail Island.
The enemy had arrived.
A huge fleet of more than fifty warships had appeared on the sea. Their snow-white sails stretched out in a dense mass, like an endless sea of clouds, as they raced toward Whale Tail Island at full speed. Though they were still quite far away, the sentries standing guard in the watchtower could already feel the fierce killing intent rushing toward them.
The warships slowly approached the steep cliffs along the shore.
It was impossible to land a large force in a place like this. The warships could not even get very close, so from a considerable distance, they fired a single threatening volley at the watchtower perched on the cliff. Most of the cannonballs fell into the sea, and only a few struck the cliff, blasting away a large patch of rock that tumbled into the water like rain.
While the sentries in the watchtower were completely distracted by the firing warships, two figures slipped into the water. Like fish, they swam swiftly toward the shore, dodging reefs and the predatory fish in the sea.
The fleet continued south along the coastline.
The vast fleet, stretching as far as the eye could see, continued to hold the sentries' attention.
They had no idea that two "big fish" had already reached the base of the cliff. The pair emerged from the sea without exchanging a word, then climbed the nearly one-hundred-and-twenty-degree slope on all fours, their soaked bodies silent as they went. Their nimble, swift movements were every bit as agile as those of geckos and other climbing creatures.
Scaling the fifty-meter sea cliff did not take them long.
Gripping a jutting rock, the dark figure lightly pushed off the cliff with his toes and sprang into the air like a black seabird, landing atop the cliff first. His companion followed right behind him and climbed up as well. The man, clad only in a pair of extremely short swim trunks that left his lean, muscular, fair-skinned body exposed, landed and steadied himself.
"You work fast!"
The man in the swim trunks walked to the doorway of the stone watchtower and peered inside. As expected, it was a scene of crimson splashes and scattered bone fragments, as if a hundred elephants had tap-danced through the place. Bloodied flesh was strewn everywhere, leaving no recognizable human shape—and it was impossible to tell how many people had died inside.
There wasn't a single body here that was even remotely intact.
He gave his nose a slight twitch.
The air was thick with the strong, fresh stench of blood, and an instinctive look of disgust appeared on his face.
"Beasts are beasts, in the end!" he said, watching his companion descend the stone steps. The man, wearing only a pair of black swim trunks, left bloody footprints with every step. His dark body was smeared with gore, and a short length of intestine hung over his shoulder. He looked like a hideous demon who had just crawled out of a blood pool.
He couldn't resist taunting him.
"Want to become my food, too?"
The dark man bared two rows of bloodied, sharklike teeth. His pitch-black eyes brimmed with savage, ravenous malice.
"Get lost. Come near me, and I'll snap your neck."
Swimsuit Man waved him away in disgust and backed five or six meters from the watchtower entrance. He watched the revolting fellow emerge, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
He hated this sort of man from the bottom of his heart. This beastlike, graceless way of fighting was truly disgusting. Unfortunately, they were both under Lord Umit, so no matter how much he disliked him, he still had to work alongside the disgusting beast.
"I'll eat you one day."
The dark man said it with a grin, then turned south before Swimsuit Man could fly into a rage.
"More food's coming our way."
Swimsuit Man made a mental note of that, then looked south. A stony path ran from the watchtower into the island's interior. At the end of the path, two figures—one tall and one short—had appeared.
Whale Tail Port.
"More than fifty warships... That's frightening!"
When he received the news, Aleus was eating a cold dessert. He scoffed, put down his cup and spoon, then turned to the attendant standing beside him. "Where are Dick and Eschbach?"
"We contacted them three minutes ago. They were four kilometers from the northernmost watchtower. By now, they should have seen the Amento Kingdom fleet." The man speaking was Dillon. He had a sufficiently imposing build, stood two hundred and fifty-two centimeters tall, and had arms as hard as steel. His bristly black hair was neatly combed, without a single strand out of place.
He was the stubborn, dependable, dutiful sort.
He firmly believed in the importance of rules and order in this world, so he loved using the iron fist of rules and order to knock some sense into lawbreakers. He believed that unless he did so, they would never understand how important rules and order were to the world.
By the way, although his name sounded a lot like Dick's—as if they were twins—they were not related by blood at all.
"Tell them I don't want to see the island's residents harassed in any way!"
Before Whale Head Island and Whale Belly Island fell, they had sent back a good deal of useful intelligence. Some of it mentioned that powerful fighters had evaded the sentries and landed in places unsuitable for a large-scale landing. They had caught the island's garrison off guard, then easily smashed the defenses the troops had built with an attack from both inside and out.
It was a simple trick.
An island naturally had only a limited number of beaches suitable for large-scale landings. But for a small number of fighters stronger than ordinary people, as long as they could reach the shore, neither sheer cliffs, reefs, nor swirling currents could stop them from coming ashore.
It seemed like a simple trick, but used well, it was extremely effective.
So,
To prevent the same thing from happening on Whale Tail Island, Aleus had already sent his two attendants to the island to watch the Amento Kingdom fleet as it headed south. If they spotted any sneaky claws reaching onto the island, they were to kill every one of them. No survivors.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Dillon stepped aside and took out a Den Den Mushi to contact his companion on the island.
But although the call went through, no one answered.
He did not call a second time. Instead, he returned to Aleus and reported the situation.
"No answer? Looks like they've caught the sneaky little mice trying to slip ashore."
Aleus chuckled softly.
His emerald eyes were as clear as the purest jewels, reflecting the dusky glow of the setting sun. "Dillon, go get ready! Since Dick and Eschbach have already made their move, things here will probably get lively before long. We don't want to be scrambling around when the time comes..."
"Oh, and don't forget that lazybones, Kappas. He should get some exercise, too."
"Kappas will fight hard," Dillon said seriously. His clenched fist, larger than a cooking pot, showed he was already prepared to teach him a lesson. Whether Kappas wanted to or not, he would have to fight hard.
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