Marine Attack

"Ship ahead... It's a warship, a warship!"

The sky had only just begun to brighten when a hoarse cry suddenly shattered the silence aboard the refugee ship.

Many of the slaves had not slept all night. Hearing the commotion, they all lit up with wild joy and rushed toward the bow like mad.

Van, who had been resting with his eyes closed on the sofa in the captain's cabin, opened them and looked toward the large bed in front of him.

To make it easier to protect them at close range, he had let Monet and Sugar stay in the same room as him last night, which had caused a misunderstanding at first.

The two sisters were pressed tightly together, sleeping soundly, though their posture was not particularly graceful.

"Warship... I just hope it isn't Vice Admiral Tsuru. Otherwise, this will be troublesome."

Van got up and tucked the blankets around Monet and Sugar before leaving the captain's cabin.

The moment he appeared, the crowd gathered at the bow quickly parted and respectfully welcomed him over.

"My lord! That's a warship! We're saved!"

"If we bring the ship alongside them now, the Marines will definitely send us back home."

"As long as we get aboard that warship, everyone will be safe..."

Everyone spoke at once, recounting their own experiences and praising the Marines as though they were saviors.

Afraid that Van could not see clearly, someone specially handed him a telescope.

He took it and glanced through it. It was indeed a warship, but its design and scale were far inferior to the Marine Headquarters warships he had seen before.

That meant Vice Admiral Tsuru was not here, and it was unlikely that any admiral-level expert from Marine Headquarters had come either.

"Bring the ship alongside!"

Van nodded, handed back the telescope, and headed for the stern.

"My lord! You're here!"

The mermaid had been curled up at the bottom of her tank, resting. The moment she saw Van, she swam up to greet him, a trace of shyness in her smile.

"How is your recovery?" Van asked.

"Thanks to your treatment, my lord, I can move freely in the sea now."

As though to prove it, the mermaid began circling inside the tank after speaking. Her nearly three-meter-long, alluring body sent water splashing everywhere.

A closer look revealed that the dark red spots on her tail had disappeared. She was clearly recovering well.

"It's fine as long as you're all right. Keep—"

Before he could finish, Van's expression changed drastically, and he rushed to the edge of the ship.

Several cannonballs whistled through the sky, flying straight toward the refugee ship they were on.

Seeing that something was wrong, the mermaid immediately asked, "My lord! What's wrong?"

ROOM!

Van ignored her and raised a hand, expanding the Operation Room to cover the entire ship.

Boom...

The cannonballs exploded above and beside the refugee ship. The noise woke Monet and Sugar from their sleep and left everyone else frozen in shock.

Just moments ago, they had been tidying themselves up, preparing to greet the Marines in their best condition. Now, only confusion and panic remained in their hearts.

Weren't the Marines here to save us? Why were they firing on us directly?

"Speed up! If you don't want to die, row faster and close the distance!"

Van moved to the bow and gave orders to the bewildered crowd.

He had originally planned to wait until the two sides were closer before launching a sudden attack. He had not expected the Marines to be even more ruthless, opening fire the moment they entered cannon range.

Although he could protect the ship for now, constant defense would eventually fail. Continuing like this was no different from waiting to die.

They had to accelerate now, so he could seize a gap between the Marine bombardments and rush straight onto the warship in one go.

"My lord! Why is this happening? Why are the Marines attacking us?"

Everyone else ran to the oars and began rowing with all their strength. Only one young man refused to accept reality and continued asking for an explanation.

"The Marines came to capture me. As for all of you..." Van said coldly, revealing the cruel truth, "they may not care enough to save you, or they may be deliberately silencing you."

Last night, he had only given Monet and Sugar a rough explanation. As for the truth behind the slave trade and his origins, the others only knew fragments.

"Impossible! The Marines came to save us. They definitely came to save us..."

The young man's eyes went blank as he muttered to himself, looking as though his entire world had collapsed.

At that moment, Monet and Sugar ran out of the room. After taking one look at the situation aboard the ship, they decisively ran over to help.

Working together, the group pushed the refugee ship's speed to its limit.

Boom...

The Marines' second round of attacks arrived. The cannonballs exploded harmlessly once more, but the Operation Room also vanished.

It had not been shattered. Rather, the ship had carried Van beyond the Operation Room's range, causing his ability to deactivate automatically.

"There must be some misunderstanding. We can explain it."

"My lord, I'll explain it to the Marines. As long as we clear up the misunderstanding, everyone can go home."

Like a madman, the young man dove headfirst into the sea after speaking. Unfortunately, his swimming speed could not compare to a ship moving at full speed.

Everyone else was rowing desperately, and by the time they realized what had happened, it was already too late to save him.

"Respect his fate!"

Van had no intention of saving him. Their top priority was dealing with the Marines and preserving as many of the others as possible.

The refugee ship was already close enough to the warship. The Marines' third bombardment was about to arrive, and he could not risk everything over one person.

"Fire!"

The Marine commander's roar carried over on the wind. Van's gaze sharpened as he expanded the Operation Room again.

The next second, he appeared between the two ships, hovering in midair at the very edge of its range.

Boom...

Every cannonball was cut apart by the power of the Operation Room. The flashes of the explosions made everyone hold their breath in instinctive tension.

Both sides feared becoming lambs awaiting slaughter. The difference was that Monet and the others worried something would happen to Van, while the Marines feared that nothing would.

Geppo!

As the firelight faded, a figure stepped through the air and rapidly closed in on the warship.

"He's fine! Lord Van is fine..."

Monet and the others cheered loudly. They could not even be bothered to row anymore, all rushing to the bow to watch the battle.

"Fire! Fire now!"

The warship commander's expression changed drastically as he hurriedly ordered his men to stop the enemy.

The soldiers were well-trained enough. They raised their guns toward the figure in the air and pulled their triggers with murderous intent.

But Van darted left and right as though he could see the bullets' trajectories, always evading them in advance.

"Monster! He's a monster!"

Panic rapidly spread across the warship, and the Marines' morale plummeted to rock bottom.

The commander sweated profusely as he pulled a Den Den Mushi from his clothes, intending to report the situation.

But before the other side could answer, Van had already landed atop the lookout tower and pressed his left hand downward.

ROOM!

The Operation Room expanded, and the entire warship instantly became his domain.

"Why did my head fall off?"

"That's my head! Don't take it!"

"Pick it up! I'll be fine as long as I pick it up..."

Every Marine officer and soldier had been "beheaded." Severed heads rolled across the deck, wailing, while headless bodies fought one another for their own heads.

The horrifying sight drove Monet and the others back again and again, but Van acted as though nothing had happened, casually reaching down with his left hand.

Amputate!

The warship seemed to be made of paper as invisible spatial force sliced it in half, sending both halves crashing down to either side.

After finishing this, Van did not linger. He used Geppo to return to the refugee ship.

However, just as the crowd surrounded him and he prepared to rest for a while, the mermaid's anxious voice suddenly came from the stern.

"Lord Van! Another warship is coming from behind us!"