Prince nodded slightly to him, pushed open the side door and walked back into the hall. His pace was unhurried, and the hem of his robe trailed on the sandstone floor, just as it had been before he entered through the side door.
He walked through the hall without looking back to see if Fisher had followed.
He wasn't worried.
He pushed open the main gate of the palace, and was greeted by the dry wind of the desert night.
In the square in front of the palace, torches stretched as far as the eye could see, forming a boundless sea of light.
Eighty thousand rebels stood in neat formation under the cover of night, with Fisher's mercenaries at the front, their short spears standing tall, their tips gleaming coldly in the torchlight.
The central army was a regular force personally trained by Charles, with neat formations and clearly visible flags.
On both flanks were the militia of the Dolovich Sand Ant Party, their uniforms inconsistent and their weapons varied, but their numbers were vast, forming a dark mass that covered every street outside the square.
Of the 100,000 rebels, 20,000 were responsible for garrisoning key cities and strongholds and managing logistics, while the remaining 80,000 were used to attack Alubarna.
Prince walked onto the reviewing stand, a makeshift structure erected by rebel engineers using timber salvaged from the Rainbase Casino, which creaked when stepped on.
He stood in the center of the platform, removed his hood, and revealed his entire face.
The torchlight shone on his face, illuminating the faint scar under his left eye and his deep-set, bright eyes.
He didn't use a megaphone; his voice itself was the megaphone.
"Children of Alabasta, you are the bravest people in this desert."
"You come from Yuba, from the Rainbase, from those oasis villages whose names have been forgotten by royalty."
"You dug irrigation canals under the scorching sun, planted spice fields in the sandstorms, and carried sacks heavier than your own weight at the docks."
"And the Nefertari Royal Family sits in the palace of Alubarna, not even knowing the name of your village, yet they know how much tax you owe each year."
The crowd below the stage fell silent for a moment, then a deep, suppressed roar came from somewhere.
That roar was like a fuse being lit, and the entire formation erupted with a roar like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down.
The roar of 80,000 people combined, causing the flames on the torches to flicker.
"They told you I'm dead, that I died three years ago."
"They show you the obituary, they show you the state funeral, they show you the entire city of Alubarna flying its flags at half-mast."
Prince spread his hands, leaned forward, and lowered his voice by half an octave, but the impact was even stronger.
But I stand here today, and I am not dead.
"The Nefertari Royal Family deceived you for three years because they were afraid."
"They fear that a prince who is truly willing to stand up will shout out all the resentment and anger you've swallowed all these years, until the golden palaces of those self-proclaimed superior Celestial Dragons collapse."
The roar from the audience grew louder, and torches danced above countless raised arms.
"The walls of Alubarna are very high, Nefertari Royal Family has occupied that city for hundreds of years."
His tone softened slightly, and his gaze swept slowly across the sea of torches, as if searching for someone's eyes.
"But that city was nurtured by this land beneath our feet, built with the blood and sweat of our ancestors, and supported by the flesh and blood of our deceased parents and starving children."
That's not their city, that's our city.
"Tomorrow, we will knock on the gates of the royal palace. We will let them know that this is not just Alabasta's choice, it is the people's choice! It is the world's choice!"
He raised his hands above his head, the sleeves of his robe slipping down his wrists to reveal the fine, crisscrossing old scars on his arms.
Those scars were inflicted by thorns during a desert journey, cut by stone fragments while digging ditches in the fields, and bitten by myself on some unknown night.
He didn't say anything more, he just held his arm up there.
The roar of 80,000 people turned into rhythmic shouts, each one more synchronized and louder than the last.
The torches swayed wildly amidst the shouts, illuminating the entire square as a sea of flickering red light.
Prince lowered his arm and turned to face Alubarna.
A very faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, disappearing into the shadow of his robe as he turned away.
"All troops, advance on Alubarna!"
The sea of torches beneath the reviewing stand began to flow.
Eighty thousand people turned at the same time, their boots grinding against the stone slabs of the square, producing a dull rumble like distant thunder.
The flags fluttered in the night wind, and the spear tips reflected the light of the torches, making it look like a long river of flames awakening from above.
Dorovich stood on the stone steps at the edge of the square, watching his Sand Ant Gang militia merge into the marching torrent.
He used his gold nail file to scavenge the dead skin along the edges of his nails, the movement unchanged. The difference was that his expression now showed neither fear nor excitement, only the almost numb calm of a gambler after pushing all his chips onto the table.
"I personally shut down the Sand Ant Gang's last underground bank in the Rainbase this afternoon, and all the money was exchanged for spare ammunition for siege cannons."
Without turning his head, he said to his trusted aide behind him, "Give me the last page of the contract. If I don't come back, the Uchiha won't have an easy time either."
Charles stood at the other end of the square, watching the formation of the last square under his command.
His military boots trod precisely on the stone slabs, and his commands were brief and clear.
He would pause briefly as he walked through each column, scanning the soldiers' faces, as if silently agreeing that this was the last time he would see them.
He mounted his horse and spurred it to catch up with the vanguard of Prince's troops.
He didn't speak, but simply rode alongside Prince, slightly behind and to the left, in the exact same position he had taken for over a decade in the royal guard.
Fisher walked at the very front of the central command formation.
His steps, leaning on his short spear, were heavier than usual, and each time the spearhead struck the stone slab, a small shower of sparks flew up.
He didn't turn around, but his peripheral vision kept scanning the shadows of the torches on his left and right.
He was looking for an escape route, an instinct only veteran pirates possess, automatically scanning the battlefield for all possible hiding places and escape routes before every major battle.
He remembered the thing Prince had sticking out from under his robe.
He immediately dismissed the idea of finding a way out.
He had seen many terrifying things, from the justice cape of Marine Admiral to Captain Rocks' Conqueror's Haki.
But no one ever made him afraid to even run away, and Prince did it; he quickened his pace and caught up with the marching rhythm.
On the city wall, the rebels' Rapier Sun Flag were fully unfurled in the night wind, illuminated by torches as a flowing crimson.
The desert night sky was cloudless, the starlight cold and dense, illuminating the direction we were heading— to Alubarna.
The footsteps of 80,000 people echoed in the darkness, each step trembling the sleeping sand beneath their feet.