Lunarians

However, by now, the Rocks Pirates had already been established for six years.

Rocks had obtained none of those key things.

Rocks, who went on all day about making Elbaf's giant king, Harald, join, had already begun to wear on Shiki's patience.

"You've had enough too, haven't you, Annus? He keeps saying that as long as Harald joins, we can seize the world, yet there's no sign of any progress at all."

"At the end of the day, we gathered around Rocks only because there was something in it for us."

"That mad plan would indeed bring unimaginable gains if it succeeded. That's why the Rocks Pirates were formed."

"But if Rocks fails, our lives won't be buried along with him!"

"Before that happens, everyone should be preparing a way out for themselves, shouldn't they?"

"Xiong, Linlin, Ochoku, John... aside from that naïve fool Newgate, everyone is making preparations!"

"You're no exception, Annus!"

Shiki wore a feral grin as he stared intensely at Annus's face, as though he desperately wanted an answer.

In his view, everyone on this ship had ulterior motives. It was only a matter of time before they went their separate ways.

Annus picked up the golden cup on the table and took a sip of tea. "So? After all that buildup, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Rocks's defeat was, of course, foreseeable.

Though most of his memories from his previous life had grown hazy, Annus knew very well that in the coming God Valley battle, Rocks would be turned into a demon by Imu's Black Transformation Domination.

Because that was intelligence that had surfaced shortly before he transmigrated.

But so what?

At the very least, Annus would not leave before Rocks fell.

On the road to becoming stronger, Rocks had helped him quite a lot.

When Annus had first arrived in the Blue Sea, he had possessed nowhere near his current strength.

His Haki had reached its peak only through countless battles, as well as exchanges and sparring sessions with Rocks.

To Annus, Rocks could be considered half a mentor.

Seeing Annus remain so indifferent, Shiki found it hard to save face. After pausing, he continued.

"So, work with me, Annus!"

"With your strength, and once we persuade Roger as well, no one will be able to stand against us!"

"Once everything is complete, we will rule this sea from the heavens above!"

Shiki, who possessed the Float-Float Fruit, had always believed that among the Rocks Pirates, Annus was the one most compatible with him.

Annus was a Skypiean and was accustomed to living in the sky. Meanwhile, Shiki was a Float-Float Fruit user. That ability had practically been made for becoming the ruler of the skies.

However, to Shiki's surprise, he was rejected.

"We can talk about that after Rocks falls." Annus lazily reclined on a sofa draped in sheepskin.

Shiki was taken aback. "Why are you refusing me, Annus?!"

He truly could not think of any reason Annus would reject him.

The Rumble-Rumble Fruit combined with the Float-Float Fruit—just imagining it was enough to paint a vivid picture!

"We'll discuss that later. Diumil, see him out."

As Annus's words fell, lightning flashed.

In the blink of an eye, Annus vanished from the room as though he had teleported.

"You bastard! Don't leave! I haven't finished talking yet!" Shiki shouted.

At that moment, a thin man wrapped head to toe in black bandages emerged from the shadows.

A pair of broad black wings spread from his back, making him look like a ghostly phantom.

"My apologies, Mr. Shiki. By Lord Annus's orders, please leave," the phantom said.

Shiki was furious, glaring fiercely at the ghostlike Diumil.

Yet Diumil remained completely calm beneath Shiki's gaze.

It was as though the infamous "Underworld" Shiki was beneath his notice.

"Hmph! I'll be back!"

Leaving those words behind, Shiki stormed away.

Diumil went to the entrance and watched Shiki leave. Only after Shiki had completely vanished from sight did he return to the tower.

Then, accompanied by faint rumbling thunder, Annus's voice rang in Diumil's ears.

"Come to the top of the tower."

"Yes, Lord Annus." Diumil bowed his head slightly and replied in a low voice.

He climbed the narrow spiral stone stairs, passing through cramped, enclosed spaces where only the sound of his own footsteps echoed off the walls.

The light and wind entering through arrow slits and small windows grew stronger as he ascended.

When Diumil passed beneath the framework of massive wooden beams, the space suddenly opened up. Ornate arched windows surrounded him, the wind howled, and a map of Hachinosu hung on the wall.

"Diumil, you're here."

With one leg crossed over the other, Annus sat on a comfortable sofa in the observation room, holding a cup of coffee as he gazed out at the scenery beyond the windows.

"Sit. Have there been any recent reports about your people?" Annus asked.

"No, Lord Annus." Diumil shook his head.

"Is that so?" A look of regret appeared on Annus's face.

Among the three officers under his command, Diumil was the most unusual.

Like King in the original story, Diumil was also a Lunarian.

This race had once been called "gods." They had lived in the Land of Gods atop the Red Line, possessed immense power, and could adapt to many extreme natural environments.

But under the World Government's ruthless persecution, the Lunarians had been pushed to the brink of extinction.

Before meeting Annus, Diumil had constantly been hunted by the World Government's Cipher Pol.

Later, Diumil escaped to Sky Island, where Annus saved him. From then on, he followed at Annus's side.

Aside from Lilith, he was Annus's most trusted confidant.

"It's alright, Lord Annus. You've already done more than enough for me," Diumil said hurriedly.

"I'll continue having Linlin and Ganzi keep watch for information on this. Your people will all receive my protection." Annus set down his coffee cup.

The reason he had rejected Shiki's offer was because he had plans of his own.

To be honest, he had only started making plans in recent years. Before that, his plans could be summed up in two words: become stronger.

Only after his steadily rising strength hit a bottleneck in recent years had Annus begun to make long-term preparations.

The change in his mindset was the fundamental reason.

When he had first arrived in this world, the only thing Annus considered was survival.

Only after his own strength had become powerful enough for him to grasp his fate firmly in his own hands did the urgency brought by his knowledge of the future gradually fade away.

Annus was finally able to overlook the entire world from a player's perspective.

In Annus's eyes, this world was cruel and rotten.

The Celestial Dragons stood high above all, while the common people at the bottom suffered bitterly.

Such a world was not beautiful.

Annus wanted to end the Celestial Dragons' rule and reshape everything according to his own will.

Just as he had freely created whatever he wanted in MC in his previous life.

To do that calmly, he needed to make careful, long-term plans.

With the power Annus currently possessed, he was not yet capable of doing so.

So Annus set several short-term goals for himself.

Just as Rocks had two legendary Devil Fruits he wanted to obtain, along with the power of the Great Hammer Battle Group.

Annus also had things he wanted to acquire.

One of them was Lunarian companions.

During this year while Rocks was still active, the Lunarians were scarce, but they had not yet become nearly extinct as they were in the original timeline.

As long as he searched, he would eventually find some clues.

On the other hand, Annus had also used his years of settling down in Hachinosu to establish a legion of his own.

"By the way, Diumil, how are the latest batch of recruits in the Angel Legion training?"

"Not bad. At present, they already possess the ability to contend with Marine Headquarters elites," Diumil answered softly.

"Mm. Take them out for some action tomorrow. They've trained for so long; it's time for some live combat drills."

Only by going onto the battlefield could one learn an army's true standard.

Annus was also quite curious about just how far this legion, which he had spent so much effort training, could now go.