PS: Thanks to '释灬魔' and '零白月' for the donations. Thanks for your support.
PS: The Revolutionary Army storyline will take a temporary pause in the next volume, and the Grand Line storyline will begin...
I can't write war scenes to save my life. This is a total mess. Please forgive the parts that don't make sense, everyone... like setting up camp in the deep forest...
"Cough, cough, cough..."
"What... cough, cough... is going on?"
"Help!"
"Ahhh! I don't want to die—"
"..."
Screams rang throughout the camp. Nearly a thousand military tents had suddenly caught fire, setting alight many Kingdom Army soldiers who hadn't had time to react. They ran through the sea of flames. The thick, black smoke from the burning plastic tents made their eyes stream with tears, and many soldiers even choked unconscious.
"You bastards! You're vicious!!!"
Vincent cursed. He grabbed the long sword at his waist and shouted furiously, "Everyone, listen up! Follow me and charge out!!!" With that, he led the way toward the side where the fire was less intense.
Hearing his shout, the Kingdom Army soldiers who were nearly choking unconscious seemed to find someone to rally around. They scrambled after Vincent, stumbling and crawling as they charged out of the forest.
Even in the direction where the flames were less intense, some men were inevitably burned and fell, while others were caught in the blaze and burned alive. After all, these soldiers had taken off their armor, and most of them were naked.
Only a small number were fully clothed and armed. They followed Vincent at the front, using their weapons to clear a path. Cannons fired nonstop into the sea of flames ahead, blasting open a route wide enough for them to pass through.
But even so, by the time they were about to escape the forest, fewer than three thousand remained. The other nearly seven thousand had all perished in the flames...
Just outside the forest where the Kingdom Army was breaking through, a force of nearly seven hundred men stood ready.
"Are you sure this is the direction they're coming from?" Bai Ina asked Loxi at her side, her expression cold.
Loxi sniffed and nodded. "That's right. This is where they're breaking through. They'll be out in a few hundred meters."
Bai Ina nodded and raised her hand, saying coldly, "Prepare your guns!"
Click, click—
A neat chorus of weapons being loaded rang out. Everyone raised their guns and stared without blinking at the inferno. The scene fell utterly silent!
Rumble—
With a loud explosion, the trees at the outer edge of the forest were blown apart, opening a narrow path. One ragged, utterly bedraggled soldier after another streamed out.
"Fire!"
At Bai Ina's shout, gunfire instantly shattered the silence and echoed through the forest.
The Kingdom Army soldiers who had just escaped the sea of flames had let down their guard completely. The sudden gunfire gave them no time to react. They fell in droves like stalks of wheat, blood spraying into the air as their screams pierced the sky!
"An ambush!!!"
Vincent yanked a guard beside him in front of himself and backed away, shouting again and again, "Fight back, damn it! What are you idiots standing around for? Fight back!"
But no matter how much he shouted, only sporadic gunshots came from his side. Most of the men who had escaped were unarmed and naked. In those circumstances, he could shout himself hoarse and it still wouldn't help.
However, the gunfire behind Bai Ina soon stopped as well. It wasn't because they meant to spare the Kingdom Army. They were out of ammunition; the first batch of supplies issued by the Revolutionary Army hadn't included much.
The guns here were all they had, and their ammunition had run out after nearly a minute of firing.
"Kill!"
Bai Ina shouted coldly and drew Black Blade Dawn from her waist, charging at the Kingdom Army soldiers.
"Kill, kill, kill..."
The Guard Unit behind Bai Ina roared as if to summon their courage. With their shouts splitting the sky, they charged after her.
Seeing this, Vincent's face lit up. "They're out of bullets! Damn it, fight back! Charge!"
The nearly two thousand soldiers who remained heard Vincent and looked at the seven hundred Revolutionary Army troops charging toward them. Frenzied killing intent spread across their faces.
Their enemy was vastly outnumbered!
That realization sent the Kingdom Army's confidence soaring. In the next instant, they charged toward the Revolutionary Army like a raging flood. Every one of them was seething with anger. They had lost eight-tenths of their force without even seeing the enemy, and they had nearly died themselves. Anyone would be furious after that!
"Tornado Flash—Black Flame!"
Bai Ina, charging at the very front, was the first to meet the Kingdom Army. The instant she plunged into the crowd, she spun around.
A huge black tornado formed around Bai Ina, stretching more than ten meters in every direction. Scorching Black Flame streamed endlessly across its surface. Countless Kingdom Army soldiers charging toward her were swept up by the black tornado, which looked as if it had surged straight out of hell. They became a rain of blood, while severed limbs and scraps of flesh fluttered down around them.
"How is this possible?"
"He's a demon..."
"Why is he so strong!!!"
"..."
The Kingdom Army, who had dismissed the little kid at the front as no threat, now wore expressions of pure terror. That single strike had made their hands freeze in place. And it wasn't just them—even the seven hundred men behind Bai Ina stared at him in fear... and relief, too, that Bai Ina wasn't their enemy!
But their terror did nothing to soften Bai Ina's heart. Amid the rain of blood, his white hair stained red, Bai Ina charged forward, slaughtering enemies like a machine built to reap lives.
Wherever he went, blood sprayed and severed limbs littered the ground. He tore through the ranks in a violent frenzy, like the bloodthirsty Asura himself—a white-haired Asura...
The men behind Bai Ina charged in too, brutally hacking down the naked Kingdom Army soldiers one after another.
"Kill—"
Just then, screams suddenly erupted from the Kingdom Army's rear right. A figure as elusive as a ghost charged out from behind them, rampaging through their ranks like a demon pouncing on its prey.
Behind that ghostly figure, one bloodthirsty, vicious face after another followed close behind. They hacked down every Kingdom Army soldier in their path as easily as chopping vegetables, utterly bloodthirsty. It was the Ghost Squad, led by Zongcilang—a force made up entirely of bandits.
"Kill..."
The battle cries split the sky. The Kingdom Army had been completely broken. Many began to flee, no longer even having the courage to fight back.
"Bastards, fight! Any deserter will be executed!!!"
Vincent cleaved a soldier trying to run away in two and shouted furiously.
"So, you're the leader!"
A voice that sounded as if it had come from the depths of the underworld made Vincent's body stiffen. Instinctively, he swung the broadsword in his hand behind him.
Clang—
With a sharp clash of metal, Vincent felt his hand go numb. His broadsword nearly flew from his grasp. The slender tip of a black blade entered his field of vision. Following the blade, he saw a little kid with striking white hair stained with blood.
"Ha!"
Bai Ina gave a cold shout and suddenly pressed down with both hands. Vincent dropped to his knees.
"How is this possible..."
Vincent stared in disbelief at Bai Ina, who was only level with him now that he was on his knees. It felt like a dream.
Bai Ina couldn't be bothered to waste words. As he pulled his blade back, he kicked the broadsword out of Vincent's hand, then suddenly swung Black Blade Dawn down!
Splurt!
Vincent's enormous head soared into the air. Bai Ina held it upside down and raised it high.
"The enemy general is dead! Kill them all!!!"
Vincent's death immediately stripped the remaining Kingdom Army soldiers of any will to fight. They scattered and fled. In the end, apart from a few stragglers, the rest were all killed by the Guard Unit and Ghost Squad working together!
"Leave two hundred men to clean up the battlefield and collect all the weapons. The rest, return to camp!"
Before you continue