On the fifth day after the Purge War erupted, the entire New World was shrouded in cannon fire and smoke.
Different seas.
Different islands.
The same banner of justice was steadily advancing along one route after another.
Off Blazing Rock Island, Navy warships formed a line, their cannons raised.
"Fire!"
The cannonade shook the sea.
Shell after shell flew over the civilian districts, striking with precision into the fortresses the pirates had built along the mountainside.
Explosions flared one after another.
Gun emplacements, watchtowers, and ammunition depots collapsed in the blasts.
Before the main fleet had even reached the shore, several Legal Adventure Groups had already rushed into the harbor aboard speedboats.
They did not pursue the fleeing pirates.
Instead, they charged into the streets at once, bringing residents imprisoned in warehouses and dungeons out of the battlefield.
"Everyone, stay close!"
"Keep the children in the middle!"
"Stay away from burning buildings!"
Adventure Group members stretched ropes across the street entrances, separating the combat zones from the evacuation routes.
The elderly were carried onto speedboats, while the wounded were placed on stretchers.
Residents who could move were escorted down hastily opened paths toward the coast.
Outside the harbor.
Three ships bearing medical markings remained behind the main fleet.
Their decks had long been filled with medicine, fresh water, and temporary hospital beds.
The moment the wounded were brought aboard, military doctors stepped forward to triage and treat them.
Cannon fire still roared in the distance.
But aboard the medical ships, there was only the hurried yet orderly sound of footsteps.
In another sea, a merchant ship whose hull had been pierced by pirate cannon fire was rapidly sinking.
The vessel listed as seawater continuously poured into its cabins.
Dozens of civilians clung to masts and floating planks, crying out