World Government, Celestial Gold!

Magnus hadn't expected that after more than a month at sea, his pirate crew hadn't encountered any other ships, but instead ran into a World Government vessel first.

And it didn't seem like an ordinary vessel either.

"Captain, besides that strange steamship, there are two Marine warships!"

Flanking the massive steamship, two dark green Marine warships protected its sides. Seeing this, Ripley and Rocks' hearts sank.

"Let's steer clear of them!"

Magnus frowned and gave the order.

Although he was a pirate, he wasn't so deranged as to attack the Marines proactively. Even if some called the Marines lapdogs of the World Government, it couldn't be denied that the Marines protected many countries from pirate incursions, and many Marines joined the force with the idea of protecting civilians.

Clearly.

The two Marine warships were escorting the steamship in the middle. With a mission in hand, Magnus didn't believe the two Marine warships would initiate an attack.

What Magnus didn't expect was that when he ordered Rocks to steer the Black Pearl, the three ships opposite them also turned their bows in their direction.

What did that mean?

Magnus was a bit bewildered. Had the White Wolf Pirates lost their deterrent power after not appearing for nearly a year?

Magnus hadn't expected the three World Government and Marine ships to turn towards them, and the Marines on those three ships hadn't expected it either.

Even though they had proactively turned, the pirate ship flying the White Wolf Pirates' flag had actually followed suit and turned.

The last glimmer of hope vanished.

"Damn it, that's the White Wolf Pirates' ship, the Black Pearl! White Wolf Magnus must be on that ship. They're coming for us!"

"How did the intel leak? We were using a top-secret route!"

"Quickly request backup from Headquarters!"

"."

Chaos erupted on the two Marine warships. Vice Admiral Howard Ackerman, responsible for escorting the cargo ship, had an ashen face.

"Everyone, calm down!"

Howard Ackerman slammed the table forcefully.

"I've already contacted Headquarters, and an Admiral will be here to support us. What we need to do is resist the White Wolf Pirates' invasion until the Admiral arrives!"

He said it, but Howard Ackerman had no confidence in his heart.

That was White Wolf Magnus!

Who in the entire Marines didn't know that the White Wolf Pirates hadn't disbanded, and that White Wolf Magnus was so powerful he had injured a Marine Admiral?

Even Headquarters was preparing to further increase the bounties for the entire White Wolf Pirates crew.

He was just a small Vice Admiral. It was fine for him to repel some pirates with bounties over a hundred million with the warships' powerful firepower.

But to deal with White Wolf Magnus? Wasn't that suicidal?

However, the arrow was nocked and the string pulled; there was no turning back.

Howard Ackerman didn't believe the White Wolf Pirates were just passing by. If they were truly passing by, why block their path?

This was the question Magnus also wanted to ask.

There were only pirate ships that avoided warships, never warships that avoided pirate crews.

It was like two cyclists meeting on a one-way street; you want to avoid me, I want to avoid you, and the result is that both crash into each other.

"Prepare to fire!"

Howard Ackerman made the first decision.

"As long as we stop the White Wolf Pirates from boarding, when the Admiral arrives, it will be our victory!"

"Yes!"

Magnus didn't want a naval battle.

This was because the Giant craftsmen from Elbaf had carefully inspected the Black Pearl. Despite being meticulously maintained, after decades, many cracks had appeared on the Black Pearl's keel.

If possible, Magnus wanted the Black Pearl to complete its final journey safely. He would avoid all naval battles as much as possible.

But clearly, the Marine warships opposite didn't share his sentiment.

"Captain, they're attacking!"

"Rocks, Ripley, block all these cannonballs!"

A hint of ferocity flashed in Magnus's eyes.

He was no longer the old man who didn't even dare to attack proactively a year ago.

Just two warships...

"I'll be back soon!"

Magnus wouldn't attack the Marines proactively, but if the Marines attacked him, he wasn't so saintly as to hold back.

"If you're going to blame someone, blame your superiors!"

Magnus leaped from the Black Pearl.

Skywalk!

The Black Pearl was still about five kilometers away from the three World Government ships, yet the cannonballs from the Marine warships could still accurately land at the Black Pearl's location. This showed that the Marine gunners on the warships were elites.

But they shouldn't have provoked them!

"Slash Wave!"

A narrow blade light flew towards the two Marine warships. Compared to Nation Splitter, this long-range, low-consumption slash was better suited to test the strength of the two warships.

Because it was easy to block.

"Iron Body Impact!"

A dark silhouette leaped high from a warship and smashed a fist towards the blade light Magnus had swung.

The familiar posture made Magnus's gaze sharpen.

Then, he saw the figure get sent flying by his slash.

Wait, buddy?

Magnus, still in mid-air, was stunned.

You're this weak, how dare you block my ship? Are the current Marines not afraid of death?

His slash...

Even a pirate with a bounty over 100 million could block it easily.

"As expected of White Wolf Magnus!"

After being sent flying by Magnus's slash, looking at the bone-deep wound on his arm, Vice Admiral Howard Ackerman's eyes flashed with deep apprehension as he looked at Magnus.

He had overestimated his own strength and underestimated Magnus's terror.

"Surrender!"

"Vice Admiral!"

"Vice Admiral Ackerman!?"

"..."

Howard Ackerman waved his hand.

"The White Wolf Pirates are known for not killing. As long as a Marine surrenders, they will never show mercy. Although I don't know why they targeted this batch of Celestial Gold, you saw it yourselves; even if we continue to resist, it will only lead to more casualties."

They were in the middle section of the New World. It would take at least half a month for an Admiral to reach them. Even if the nearby Marine bases could provide support, what could a mere Marine base's reinforcements do against the White Wolf Pirates?

"Don't worry, although the items we are transporting this time are very important, we are facing White Wolf Magnus. Even if it gets stolen, the responsibility won't be ours."

He was a monster who could even defeat an Admiral. What could they do against such a monster?

So, the Marines surrendered.

When Magnus saw white flags flying on the Marine warships.

He initially thought it was a Marine ploy.

Then, after he stopped attacking, he saw two Marine warships quickly leave, leaving only the cargo ship in the middle.

Magnus began to realize something was wrong.

Finally, Magnus saw a dazzling array of high-end goods filling an entire ship, as well as chests upon chests of gold and silver piled up in the warehouse.

Magnus finally understood.

This ship was escorting "Celestial Gold."

He had just robbed the Celestial Gold that the World Government's affiliated nations paid to the Celestial Dragons!