The Party Began
Just as Ponlrick was about to announce "the party begins," a commotion erupted at the entrance to the Tree of Sighs.
Silver Axe chuckled coldly, then glanced at Ponlrick, who immediately understood and said, "Given that those humanoid sea creatures are currently going berserk, everyone who helps eliminate any Fish-Man on the island will receive three points... and some of them have bounties, so the full amount of the bounty paid by the Navy will be given to you."
Scream! Party! Let the party begin!
Following Ponlrick's grand declaration to liven up the atmosphere, a row of cannons fired in salute...
Spandine immediately jumped onto the table and shouted to the onlookers, "Points board or those damned Fish-Man... one point can be exchanged for three million Beli! The Fish-Man Pirates' bounties are doubled on Axe Island!"
Most of the slave traders were unaware of the hidden meaning behind Silver Axe's mysterious "promise," and they didn't believe they could be the "king of the party," so they showed little interest.
However, Spandine's "bounty" immediately made their eyes light up...
Wouldn't that mean an ordinary Fish-Man Race would be worth nearly ten million?
Normally, in the slave market, ordinary Fish-Man Race and Mermaid only cost around one million, this is ten times the price!
Unlike the "King of Parties" who could be seen but not touched, this slave trader could make a fortune with just a little effort, and the slave traders immediately became excited!
Of course, a female Mermaid without her legs spread would be worth tens of millions, and she certainly wouldn't trade with Spandine...
Spandine had his own calculations in mind—what did these penniless paupers know? Buying the entire value would only amount to three or four billion. If he only needed to take half of it, he could easily obtain the title of "King of Parties."
This money is nothing to the World Government; it's a huge achievement for them!
At that moment, Spandam felt that the position of a high-ranking official in the Mary Geoise central government was beckoning to him.
The slave traders rushed out in a swarm, most heading towards the direction from which the commotion was coming, preparing to hunt down the large group of Fish-Man, while a smaller group scattered to search for their party prey.
Some, however, were smart enough to plan to go back and exchange their own stockpile of Fish-Man Race slaves for points, or to raid other people's Fish-Man Race slaves.
"Vice Admiral Momousagi! From now on, the Navy's operations in Aix must also cooperate with me!" Spandine then looked at Momousagi.
After a slight hesitation, Momousagi said, "No, I came to Axe Island this time to verify the legality of slave capture with Captain Silver Axe, and then..."
"Enough! On behalf of the World Government, I declare that all slaves on Axe Island are legal slave property protected by the World Government!" Spandine stopped Momousagi without hesitation, glaring at her with Momousagi eyes.
Momousagi didn't want to participate in the "hunting party," lest it reveal that the Navy was also endorsing the Giant Axe Pirates' actions...
Of course, she also remembered the orders she had received and did not intend to immediately turn against or stop what was happening.
However, Spandine that idiot...
Momousagi simply couldn't understand why this fool would believe Silver Axe's verbal promises so readily!
Just then, the Golden Lion suddenly stood up, and Momousagi immediately became alert, ignoring Spandine who was glaring at her. Spandine, seeing that Momousagi was ignoring him, became even more dissatisfied.
The Golden Lion swayed his neck from side to side, as if warming up, then said to himself, "I wonder if this old bone of mine can still participate in parties... Hahaha, I'll just keep up with the young people for a little longer!"
The Golden Lion floated up and rose into the air.
Silver Axe also appeared very wary at this moment—this wasn't what he and Golden Lion had agreed upon before.
Gage stood up at this moment, with the clone soldiers behind him lined up in neat rows.
"The application to join the World Government was submitted earlier, but it hasn't been approved yet. It seems that the blood of four kings isn't enough. The Germa Kingdom's reputation needs to be further enhanced!"
The Golden Lion was also in the air at this moment. He looked around, then unleashed his Conqueror's Haki at full power and stretched out his right hand...
"Lion's Might - Earth Strike!"
Even inside the Tree of Sighs, a violent "earthquake" occurred, as if the ground was about to be lifted up.
Silver Axe immediately flicked his cloak, stood up, bent over, and pressed one hand to the ground. "ROOM - Source Movement!"
A faint ripple spread out from the Silver Axe...
While Momousagi and the others only vaguely sensed something, Sig, who was quietly making his way to the side gate of the castle, felt a chill run down his spine—at that moment, Sig sensed that the despair in the City of Sighs had begun to boil over!
Most of the "heads" trapped in the City of Sighs had lost consciousness and were only driven by instinct. Naturally, their "emotions" were not strong, and they were in a daze. However, at this moment, their consciousness and despair seemed to be stimulated and erupted together.
Sig didn't know what had happened either. All he saw around the castle were mounds resembling the heads of lions, formed from the shattered houses and the ground...
The next moment, the lion heads from all directions, seemingly roaring and twisting, pounced towards the central castle!
Seeing this, Sig abandoned all pretense of concealing his purpose and charged straight into the castle...
Just as Sig charged into the castle, a loud crash came from behind—countless grains of sand poured in through the door behind Sig, and the surrounding outer platforms and windows were also flooded with sand and gravel, isolating the entire castle from the outside!
The surrounding pirates, at this moment, also used shouts and curses to cover up their panic, not understanding what had happened.
Sig, combining the Conqueror's Haki he sensed, vaguely deduced some of the cause and effect...
Golden Lion's Float-Float Devil Fruit ability can theoretically only make things he touches float, but the "Lion's Might" technique is clearly not something he "touched" every single grain of sand before using—unless Golden Lion ran around naked last night, he couldn't have touched that many grains of sand.
Actually, I sensed something when Sieg was "taken" back to the house by the Golden Lion last Sig.
Golden Lion can use Conqueror's Haki instead of "contact"!
Among the top fighters, Shiki is undoubtedly a versatile type—excelling in both Swordsmanship and Devil Fruit ability.
Before his time travel, Sig had heard that the original work stated that "the ultimate application of Conqueror's Haki is to directly enhance physical attacks, just like Armament Haki Infusion." Shiki probably hasn't reached that point yet, but his Conqueror's Haki is already able to assist his Devil Fruit abilities.
By using the range of Conqueror's Haki to mark numerous inanimate objects as if they were "contacted," and then using the power of the Float-Float Fruit to "levitate," one can then use the terrain to launch attacks, hence the "Lion's Might."
Otherwise, once the object scatters, it will be impossible to control unless every single fragment is "in contact".
Sig even suspected that the reason why "floating" had such a strong sense of power was due to Conqueror's Haki —if it was just floating, he wouldn't have been lifted up by his clothes, since Shiki couldn't make any living person other than himself float.
If his Conqueror's Haki already has a property that slightly interferes with the physical realm, then with the addition of the Float-Float Devil Fruit ability, it's not surprising that he can do this.
Just now, Sig suddenly sensed an outpouring of despair around him, which was likely due to something Silver Axe had done...
Sig speculated that the Golden Lion's attack was originally intended to encircle the entire castle, or even the entire City of Sighs, but it was mostly stopped by the Silver Axe. Therefore, only the part that was detached from the Tree of Sighs was swept up by the "Lion's Might"!