Before everyone's eyes, "Black Emperor" Marshall D. Teach swallowed an entire city.
He laid bare the full extent of his power.
There was no doubt that he possessed the terrifying power to swallow an entire kingdom, or even a whole island.
Countless people were shaken to their core. Such an act made him as terrifying as a butcher.
They could not resist and were left at his mercy.
As for the Royal Palace, Lafitte had already slaughtered everyone there before Teach arrived.
All the bodies, along with the Royal Palace and castle, had been completely swallowed by Teach.
And the Marines understood that this was "Black Emperor" Marshall D. Teach's Declaration of War against them.
But the price paid for it was far too steep.
From this day onward, the Drum Kingdom had officially fallen.
Its largest Port had been occupied by the Black Emperor Pirates, and its Royal Capital had been destroyed.
Perhaps the Drum Kingdom would rise again someday, reclaimed by surviving members of the royal family, or with someone else becoming its new king.
Perhaps the Drum Kingdom would simply become history.
The kingdom might continue to decline until it could no longer even pay the heavenly tribute, leaving the World Government no choice but to strike it from its rolls.
All of these were very real possibilities.
"That bastard."
The Black Emperor Pirates' blatant provocation left the Marines furious.
The World Government felt the same. With the Drum Kingdom destroyed, it had lost an affiliated nation.
It would also receive one less share of heavenly tribute each year.
The entire kingdom's riches were being plundered by the Black Emperor Pirates.
Lafitte had visited the treasure vault in the Royal Palace at the first opportunity, and the other members had carried its contents away.
Even if the