The Justice was badly damaged and forced to crash-land. The airship fleet was wiped out.
Headquarters had anticipated that the Golden Lion would most likely destroy every airship involved in the operation.
The airships were not meant to attack, but to deliver the troops.
That was why every soldier had been equipped with a foolproof parachute manufactured by Vegapunk.
Despite the horrific aerial disaster, the actual loss of life was not as great as it appeared.
Somewhere in a forest on the Main Island, a young Marine soldier slammed into a thick pile of fallen leaves, his parachute cords tangled around his entire body.
He struggled free of the cords and looked around in terror-huge, twisted trees surrounded him, and the air was filled with a mixture of smells he had never encountered before.
"Anyone there? Corporal! Chief Petty Officer!"
He called out in a trembling voice, but only the eerie wind in the woods answered him.
Suddenly, the nearby bushes shook violently, and a massive blue shape lunged out-a Blue Six-Legged Sabertooth Tiger, a full seven meters long.
Its amber eyes locked onto him, saliva dripping between its sharp fangs.
Scared out of his wits, the soldier scrambled to escape, only to trip and fall. The tiger was about to pounce!
"Iron Body!"
A low shout rang out. A figure dropped from the sky like a cannonball, landing precisely in front of the soldier. He crossed his arms before his chest and blocked the sabertooth tiger's attack.
"Lieutenant Colonel Shalinger!"
The soldier could only see the back of a man wearing a Justice Coat, but the bright yellow winged helmet told him who the officer was.
Bang!
The sabertooth tiger's claws raked across Shalinger's arms with the clang of metal striking metal. It had just opened its jaws to