The bombardment of Starting Island paused briefly, giving the Marine Headquarters fleet enough time to react.
Under Borsalino's orders, the warships that had landed in the sea ahead of time began to spread out and race at full speed toward Starting Island.
Once the distance between the two sides had closed, the warships at sea also began bombarding Starting Island.
With Issho's ability, the island floating in midair was nearly a hundred meters above the sea. Ship cannons simply could not reach that far. The Marine Headquarters soldiers naturally understood this, but they did not stop firing.
Countless shells struck the rocky mass beneath the island. Though the explosions were fierce, they had no effect whatsoever on the New Marines on the island.
Marine Headquarters attempted to ease the pressure through suppressive fire, but their bombardment was utterly useless against a rock fortress like Starting Island.
"Land on the island!"
Through his telescope, Borsalino saw that the fleet under his command posed little threat to the floating island and swiftly changed tactics, ordering the soldiers to board the island and fight.
The Marines they had brought to the New World this time were all elites among elites. Though their numbers had been cut by more than half, fighting atop an island a hundred meters in the air was difficult, not impossible.
Under Borsalino's orders, more than a dozen figures shot into the air from ships near Starting Island. Long ropes were strapped to their bodies as they rapidly approached the island.
More than a dozen grappling hooks pierced the rock wall. The officers who had swiftly reached the top using Moonwalk secured the ropes, then tossed them down toward the sea below.
The long ropes swayed violently in the sea breeze. Soldiers aboard the ships grabbed the ropes thrown down