Uninvited Guests

Junhe's words were understandable, and Nova did not argue against them.

If the Tru Kingdom wanted to develop, such a powerful military force would naturally draw attention. Having a few hundred people should not be a major issue, but if they suddenly possessed an army of tens of thousands like this, not only would the World Government be unable to sit still—even the Marines likely would not permit it.

"First, find a place to teach them the basics. Discuss this with Lostar and choose somewhere relatively secluded. Within a year at most, I'll find you an even more hidden location, somewhere no one will discover, for your training."

After giving it some thought, Nova said this.

At present, Nova could think of only one place that could remain undiscovered by everyone while offering enough space for so many people to train: Sky Island.

Sky Island was an exceptionally special place. It offered sufficient secrecy as well as ample space.

"Your Majesty, this time we selected people of suitable age from the army for training, but there are rather a lot of them. The problem is, even if the entire National Guard serves as instructors, we may still not have enough manpower."

Junhe spoke with some difficulty.

"Then deploy the entire National Guard. Five hundred people will be enough to guide them in the early stages. We do not have much time left. The places where we may need to fight in the future could exceed your imagination.

"The era of the Grand Voyage is unpredictable. Although we live in the South Blue, what we may face in the future will absolutely not be as simple as you imagine," Nova said with a sigh.

"Yes..."

At first, Junhe had wanted to argue. After all, if the entire National Guard was pulled out, no one would be left to protect His Majesty. But on second thought, what need did his king have for their protection?

In terms of strength, he was already the strongest among them all. Whether they protected him or not no longer mattered. In the South Blue, there simply were no particularly dangerous people.

"My Space Ability still needs to improve before I can create a spatial passage..."

Nova looked ahead as he thought to himself.

Over the following period, the Tru Kingdom appeared in newspaper headlines with remarkable frequency. During this Great Pirate Era, it was astonishing for a country tucked away in the South Blue to display such momentum. Not only were the kings of other nations curious, but even the Great Pirates were intrigued.

Yet nearly everything reported in the newspapers was what the Tru Kingdom wanted others to see.

Across the entire Tru Kingdom, whether in infrastructure or other areas, everything had begun progressing in an orderly manner.

Moreover, the economic growth it drove had even exceeded everyone's expectations. The whole nation was developing in a positive direction.

Nova no longer even needed to arrange other matters personally. The nation's shipbuilding, papermaking, retail, and countless other industries had all begun flourishing, each competing eagerly with the others.

But today, the Tru King's Palace received several uninvited guests.

They all wore suits and ties, along with black sunglasses. Every one of them was dressed almost identically, looking like gangsters through and through.

Their faces were meticulous and expressionless. The leader was at least two meters tall and rather lean overall, yet the aura of a powerful man radiated from him unmistakably.

Half a year had already passed since the Tru Kingdom's first national meeting. As for the sudden appearance of these outsiders, not only were the kingdom's citizens unsurprised, but even the soldiers guarding the palace gates showed neither curiosity nor shock.

After all, over the past six months, the Tru Kingdom had received countless merchants from all over. They too had rushed in, afraid of missing an opportunity to make money.

"Sorry, gentlemen. The area ahead is the palace, an important restricted site, and it is not open for visitors. You may visit elsewhere."

At the palace gates, a guard spoke patiently and respectfully to them.

There were simply too many tourists appearing here. On busy days, they might encounter several such groups, so the guards were used to it and spoke politely.

However, the six men in suits remained cold and expressionless after hearing him.

The two-meter-tall man removed his sunglasses and stared coldly at the guard. Then, without changing expression, he kicked out directly. The guard who had just been speaking so politely instantly became a corpse lying on the ground.

The other three guards at the gate froze for a moment at the sight, but the tall man had no intention of sparing them. In a single instant, all three fell to the ground.

The group seemed utterly fearless, maintaining the same expressions throughout. Without saying a word from beginning to end, they acted with such tyranny.

After killing them, they did not leave. Instead, they walked straight into the palace.

But something like this could not possibly be concealed. Once the others in the palace discovered it, they all rushed out at once.

However, nearly everyone remaining in the palace was an ordinary guard with little strength. They had not received training, and the former King's Guard had long since left the Royal City to train more people elsewhere.

Though not all of them had left, at least those guarding the outer areas of the palace were now ordinary people standing watch with guns in hand.

Before these men, they were practically no different from ants.

The instant they rushed out, the six men entered combat mode. Not only were they highly skilled, but two of them were Devil Fruit users.

As nearly seventy soldiers charged forward and opened fire, one of them directly used his Devil Fruit power. Countless bubbles instantly poured from his body, spreading outward in every direction. The moment anyone touched one, it exploded with power no less than that of a cannonball.

Without understanding what was happening, the force of over sixty soldiers was almost completely wiped out in an instant.

Yet the thunderous explosions also drew the attention of others within the palace.