A Logia-type Dog

Junhe did not understand what had happened. Although he had great faith in his king, he still froze for a moment upon hearing those words.

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and get ready!" Nova shouted again.

Only then did everyone realize that the situation had indeed become extremely serious. Level-one combat readiness—such a state of alert had not even been issued during the attack on Roa Kingdom.

Even Aokiji, as a Marine, felt a trace of fear through his Observation Haki. What exactly was hidden within Roa Kingdom's royal palace?

At that moment, all the Tru Kingdom soldiers who had surrounded the area began retreating swiftly. Lostar immediately started directing them, having the civilians outside the palace evacuate the area.

No one knew what exactly was hidden inside the palace, but one thing was certain: whatever was in there was far from ordinary.

The release of that immense energy was enough to make people shudder.

Junhe directed all the soldiers and immediately began assisting Lostar with the civilian evacuation.

Yet just then, blue smoke began billowing out from the palace. The enormous cloud spread in every direction, while everyone inside the palace started rushing out as though their lives depended on it.

"Vice Admiral Aokiji, can you tell what it is?" Nova asked with a grim expression.

"It should be a Devil Fruit, and whoever ate it hasn't managed to control its powers. If this thing erupts among the civilians, no one in the entire city will be spared," Aokiji said with a troubled look.

He had come here to investigate, but the situation had now become serious enough that he might have to take action himself.

"Junhe, Lostar, hurry up and arrange the evacuation..."

After shouting that, Nova prepared to charge inside.

As the smoke continued spreading, those who had failed to escape from the palace collapsed to the ground one after another. Meanwhile, those already fleeing scrambled desperately toward the outside.

"King of Tru, this matter looks rather troublesome. This is an affair between your two kingdoms, so it would not be appropriate for me to get too involved," Aokiji said. He wanted to remain an observer, since he truly could not interfere in a conflict between nations.

All he could do now was help ensure that the civilians did not suffer. As for everything else, there was little Aokiji could do.

Nova did not press him. He merely smiled and said, "I only hope Vice Admiral Aokiji can ensure the safety of these civilians. As for the rest, I believe our King's Guard is capable of handling it."

But no sooner had he said that than a creature resembling a dog leaped out of the palace. It was only called a dog because it was unimaginably huge.

Standing upright, it was nearly as tall as a building—roughly twenty meters tall. Together with the smoke pouring from its body, it was impossible to associate it with a dog.

"Help..."

"Someone save me..."

For a time, those trying to escape from the palace shouted wildly as they ran.

"Damn it, what the hell is the king of Roa Kingdom doing? He actually fed a Devil Fruit to a dog!" Nova glared angrily at the scene before him.

Fortunately, the thing had no idea how to control its Devil Fruit powers. It possessed enormous strength but could not use it at all.

But now that they knew the creature's traits, there was naturally no need to worry about anything else.

Demon Blade Muramasa instantly appeared in Nova's hand. Aokiji watched from the side with curiosity. He wanted to see what kind of strength the king possessed, considering he had trained his nation's King's Guard to such a level.

Yet the instant the Demon Blade appeared, Aokiji was still somewhat surprised.

Having lived for decades, Aokiji could tell at a glance that the sword in Nova's hand was anything but ordinary.

Nova stepped through the air with Geppo and shot into the sky. In an instant, he closed two hundred meters toward the giant wolfhound, then unleashed a Draw Sword Slash.

The powerful blade light pierced straight through the massive creature in less than a second. Yet what exceeded everyone's expectations was that after being struck through, the thing appeared completely unharmed.

"A Logia-type Devil Fruit?"

Nova was utterly speechless. If he had not been here, who knew how many of his soldiers and civilians would have died.

A wild creature with Logia-type powers, unable to control the Devil Fruit energy leaking from its body—and it was a Logia-type at that. Ordinary attacks were utterly useless! In all of Tru Kingdom, Junhe was the only one capable of using Haki proficiently.

But even with Haki, he could do nothing against such a creature. If he could not get close to that enormous beast, then everything was pointless.

Under the protection of the King's Guard, the city's civilians were already evacuating in an orderly and rapid manner. Yet when they turned and saw the gigantic creature, no one could help feeling terrified.

With Roa Palace creating something like this, Nova had every reason to believe that once the creature lost control of its Devil Fruit powers, nearly everyone in the palace had already died.

"Who would have thought this guy was actually a swordsman? But without Haki..."

Aokiji watched Nova fight, admiration filling his eyes. But at Nova's age, being able to send Haki-infused slashes flying was the true way to end this battle.

Before he could finish speaking, however, he saw Nova's arms turn black as Haki instantly coated Muramasa.

"Dragon Nest Flash—Bite..."

The Haki-infused slash shot forth in an instant.

A black blade light flew once more toward the enormous canine creature.

It seemed to sense the threat as well and immediately roared at Nova.

At the same time, blue smoke surged toward Nova in rolling waves.

But at that moment, the blade light had already struck its target.

Just one slash sent the enormous creature crashing to the ground.

With the death of the canine creature, the Devil Fruit power clinging to its body instantly dissipated.

The entire palace grounds had now become utterly silent. No one had survived, and many still wore expressions of terror from the moment before their deaths.

The massive gathering of energy they had sensed earlier must have been the Devil Fruit storm formed after that thing ate the Devil Fruit. But now, there was no need to dwell on anything else.

Tru Kingdom's matter with Roa Kingdom had come to a complete end.

Not a single member of Roa Kingdom's royal family walked out alive in the end.

"A flying slash... that was quite unexpected," Aokiji murmured to himself.

His surprise was understandable. Though the dog had eaten a Devil Fruit and did not know how to control it, the aura and energy emanating from its body were still not something ordinary people could handle.

For a swordsman, a flying slash had already surpassed the realm of an ordinary swordsman. More precisely, Nova was now completely worthy of being called a sword master.

To become a sword master at such an age was a height countless people could pursue their entire lives without ever reaching.

But Aokiji did not know that such strength was merely the surface of Nova's abilities.

After finishing his battle with the dog, Nova descended from the sky. Roa Kingdom no longer posed any threat to them. All that remained was to take over Roa Kingdom's territory.

But for everyone present, this attack on Roa's capital had truly been a harrowing experience.

Still, the good thing was that everything had finally come to an end.

This battle would undoubtedly make headlines across the newspapers once again.

"Thank you very much, Vice Admiral Aokiji, for everything you have done for us!"

Nova slowly walked over to Aokiji and spoke.

"It is quite rare to hear King of Tru say something like that. It makes me somewhat uncomfortable. I was merely here to observe, but I did not expect King of Tru to be so surprising," Aokiji said with a calm, lazy expression.

"I did not expect a Vice Admiral to say such things either. Before you, this is merely swordplay. It has no real destructive power; at most, it is enough for self-defense," Nova said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, now that the palace situation has been resolved, do the civilians in the city still need to evacuate?" Junhe stepped forward and respectfully asked Nova.

"Not for now. You and Lostar should count Roa Kingdom's native residents. Handle it according to Tru Kingdom's methods. The records must be accurate down to the number of people in every household, as well as their living conditions and current circumstances. From now on, they are our citizens as well. Do not treat them with any prejudice," Nova said.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Now that it is time for you to deal with your nation's affairs, I have learned everything I came here to learn. I will not continue disturbing you. It is time for me to return to Marine Headquarters and report on this trip," Aokiji said as he stepped forward.

No matter what, Nova was still the ruler of a nation. Aokiji needed to show the proper respect and understanding.

"Why leave in such a hurry? It is rare for Vice Admiral Aokiji to visit Tru Kingdom. Stay and rest for a few more days, so we may fulfill our duties as hosts and properly entertain you. After all, you have helped us quite a bit this time," Nova said with a smile.

"That will not be necessary. Your place is a hotbed of trouble now. Leaving quickly is better for both of us," Aokiji replied.

As he spoke, Aokiji prepared to leave, giving Nova no further opportunity to persuade him.

He had learned what he needed to learn this time. He would have an explanation upon returning, and at least his mission could be considered complete.

Watching Aokiji's departing figure, Nova wore a triumphant smile.

The real show was still to come. This was only the beginning.

"Lostar, Vice Admiral Aokiji came to Tru Kingdom and assisted us in liberating Roa Kingdom. Make sure to promote this properly and let everyone else know about our friendly relationship with the Marines," Nova said to Lostar, who stood beside him.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty. Everything has already been arranged. There will definitely be no problems," Lostar said, adjusting his glasses.

"Come on. Let us take a look at Roa Kingdom's luxurious royal palace. Perhaps one day we might even move our capital here. It does feel rather nice."

Nova walked ahead, looking at the palace entrance that was still littered with corpses. The extravagance of this place surpassed his current residence by who knew how many times.

"Your Majesty, should we wait until the palace has been cleaned up first?" Lostar asked.

"Is there any need to care about such things? To live well in this world, the first thing one must do is fear nothing. Lostar, as the person in charge of commerce, you will have far too much to face in the future," Nova said.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I will remember that."

Lostar stopped and replied respectfully.

Without paying much attention to anything else, they continued onward. No one was cleaning up the items in Roa Kingdom's palace right now; most people had gone to maintain order.

Although almost no one in Roa Kingdom opposed Tru Kingdom's invasion, there would still be plenty of people hoping to take advantage of the chaos and grab something for themselves.

Nova stepped over corpse after corpse and strode into the palace with an imposing gait.

Here, every step revealed nothing that could be described with any word other than extravagance.

For a place as poor as Roa Kingdom, no one knew how much blood, sweat, and sacrifice from its people had been needed to build a palace like this.

The highest point of the palace was around one hundred meters tall. Its exterior resembled European architecture, and the rows of pillars before them were utterly breathtaking.

The moment one crossed through the palace gates, even someone unfamiliar with such things could sense just how valuable the marble laid across the ground was.

The floor had been polished as smooth as a mirror. No trees had been planted along either side of the path; instead, it had been designed into an exceptionally vast lawn plaza.

The lush green grass made one want to lie down and rest upon it immediately.

The path beneath their feet stretched straight ahead, with every detail crafted to an extraordinary standard. It extended all the way from the palace's main gate to the central hall.

The distance alone was at least three hundred meters by sight, and because of the Devil Fruit power released earlier by that giant dog, corpses nearly covered the entire road.

No one counted exactly how many people had died, but there were certainly at least a thousand.