For Lind to gain so many fighters at the level of Vice Admirals and Rear Admirals so quickly, he had two things to thank.
Allison and the fountain of life deserved much of the credit.
Considering the sheer number of Rear Admiral- and Vice Admiral-level fighters among the Marines and other powers, Lind put his strongest subordinates through hellish training, helping them quickly break through the bottlenecks they were beginning to encounter.
In this world, combat was the best way to break through.
Every day, Lind set aside a large chunk of his time to spar with his subordinates.
He often beat them half to death, then had them drink water from the fountain of life or eat Rejuvenation Durians to heal, followed by Vitality Durians to restore their stamina.
Lind had never noticed a problem when he was alone, but now that he suddenly needed to supply so many people at such an intense rate, the fountain of life's conversion efficiency clearly fell short.
He still needed to use it together with both kinds of durian, though that inevitably meant more work for Allison.
Although Lind had already promised not to squeeze more work out of Allison, he had no other choice if they wanted to prepare for war. He could only find some way to make it up to her later.
Fortunately, he only needed to supply the strongest few dozen people, so the pressure was not too great.
And so, amid this frenzy of combat, Lind's subordinates constantly walked the edge of death.
Their strength soared as well. In just over a month, the number of officer-level fighters-equivalent to Marine Rear Admirals-exceeded thirty.
Even the future Four Emperors might only have subordinates of this caliber.
In this era, apart from Rocks himself, none of the other captains could possibly command forces of this strength.
Lind could truly be said to have come from behind and overtaken them.
Perhaps what Lind should have worried about now was whether revealing such an enormous force all at once would make the Marines and Rocks wary of him.
But the arrow was already drawn, and there was no turning back. For now, Lind could not afford to consider so much.
He could only deal with whatever came his way. He now had the confidence to face anything head-on.
And once Lind weathered this stage and consolidated the territory under his command, his forces could expand considerably again.
Then he would have even less to worry about, and he could devote more energy to his own training or seek out the opportunities and talented people from the original story.
For example, the Rumble-Rumble Fruit on Sky Island, the pure gold inside the lanternfish's belly, and people like Bullet and Crocodile, who were still little brats.
Lind also needed to find and recruit specialists such as scientists, doctors, economists, and politicians, all of whom his forces had long lacked.
Most importantly, once Lind conquered this territory, he would not need to keep expanding for a while. He could settle down and build up his domain in peace.
At most, he would secretly make another trip to Sky Island and claim that secluded paradise as a fallback.
June 1, Sea Circle Calendar year 1480, Oran Island harbor.
As dawn first broke, a faint blue-violet hue spread across the horizon. Hundreds of warships lay quietly upon the shimmering water like sleeping behemoths, waiting for their masters to awaken them.
As a deep horn sounded, the harbor began to bustle. Sailors hurried between decks and cabins, checking ropes, sails, weapons, and ammunition as they made their final preparations to set sail.
Lind and Newgate walked side by side along the road to the harbor, followed by several officers and a squad of twenty elite pirates.
"Captain Newgate, sail aboard my Wanderer this time! After I got back last time, I put a tremendous amount of work into refitting her. I guarantee a perfect ride!"
Lind turned his head and smiled at Whitebeard beside him.
There was no denying that Whitebeard's sheer size gave people a sense of security. With Whitebeard lending him a hand, Lind felt even more confident about the coming battle.
"Gurararara! Master Yor has already told everyone on Hachinosu about your Wanderer. I've wanted to see her for ages! Just what have you done to her to earn such high praise from him?"
"And I've been thinking about that fine liquor of yours for a long time. Ever since you left Hachinosu, I've barely had a chance to drink any!"
"I've come all this way, so you'd better not be stingy!"
Whitebeard laughed heartily. Lind's invitation was exactly what he had wanted.
"Hahahaha! Don't worry. I've got all kinds of liquor here, and more than enough. Drink as much as you like!"
"And take a few barrels with you when you head back, brother. Come find me whenever you run out. I may not have much else, but there's always plenty of liquor!"
Lind waved his hand and spoke generously, making Whitebeard laugh with delight. Whitebeard even offered to lead the charge to thank Lind for his fine liquor.
"Haha, Brother Newgate, you just need to hold the line this time. If Sengoku is there too, then you can step in."
"According to my intelligence, Garp is still chasing Roger around. Kong needs to stay at Marine Headquarters and keep an eye on Shiki."
"Apart from Zephyr, Sengoku is the only one who might come!" Lind explained.
"Gurararara! Then we'll do it your way. Leave Sengoku to me!" Whitebeard thumped his chest and loudly assured Lind.
The two chatted as they walked and soon reached the harbor.
Looking at the fleet that seemed to blot out the sky, Lind felt a surge of heroic pride and could not resist reciting a poem:
"Setting forth"
"Banners snap as sea winds roar, our battle spirit burns for more."
"Clouds of sails eclipse sun and moon, forests of blades make tides submit."
"Though raging waves and storms impede, united warriors cleave ten thousand seas."
"Today we sail upon the ocean wide; returning, our renown shall shake the skies."
Ever since Lind began writing all those flashy poetic mottos, it was as though something strange had awakened inside him.
Every so often, he wanted to toss out a couple of verses-a classic case of little skill and boundless enthusiasm.
"Boss, what a great poem!"
"Boss, you're so talented!"
Well, whatever the quality of Lind's writing, at least his subordinates were very obliging. Perhaps this was what people called the power of authority.
"Gurararara! Brother Lind, you're as dashing as ever. I'm sure that when you return victorious, this poem will spread across the world along with your mighty name!"
Whitebeard fiddled with his toy mustache for a moment and laughed.
"Hahahaha! Then may your words come true, brother!" Hearing the praise around him, Lind was in an excellent mood.
"It's about time. Let's get aboard."
"Brothers! Board the ships!" Lind called out, his voice carrying across the entire harbor.
With that, he gestured for Whitebeard to go ahead, and the two boarded the Wanderer together.
Aboard the Wanderer, Lind's officers had already gathered, ready to hear his final arrangements before departure.
After boarding, Lind wasted no time and began:
"For the coming operation, we'll follow the plan we discussed and split into three forces."
"Axel, Phil, Ford, the three of you will handle the waters east of Oran Island!"
"Calvin, Rex, Kite, the three of you will handle the waters west of Oran Island."
"Allison, Liana, Saide, Saiken, Huo Te, the five of you will come with me to face the Marines. We'll keep them occupied first."
"Once we've dealt with all the scum lurking within the Orlan Sea, we'll deal with the Marines."
"Remember, our main targets are the pirates entrenched on the various islands. As for the ordinary kingdoms and underworld forces, I trust they won't do anything foolish."
Lind methodically assigned each captain a task, then nodded and continued.
"Set out. According to our intelligence, there shouldn't be any pirates in these waters beyond your ability to handle!"
"If you really do encounter any, don't try to be heroes. Call for help immediately. Your lives matter most."
Despite saying that, Lind and the others had no real concerns on that front.
This was, after all, the territory of the Rocks Pirates. No exceptionally powerful pirate would come looking for trouble, and Lind believed the groups could easily crush the opposition with their strength.
Even if every pirate in the Orlan Sea outside Lind's division banded together, five or six Vice Admiral-level pirates and a dozen or so Rear Admiral-level pirates would be the most they could muster.
Either of the forces tasked with clearing the Orlan Sea could hold the enemy at bay until the other arrived, then wipe them out together.
Besides, according to Lind's intelligence, these pirates had not gathered together. Perhaps they had failed to reach an agreement, or perhaps they wanted to surrender.
Most likely, though, they wanted to see the outcome of Lind's battle with the Marines first, pinning their hopes on the Marines.
Reality was that bizarre. Pirates relying on the Marines to protect them seemed absurd, yet there was a certain logic to it.
But who could have imagined that Lind would amass such an enormous force in just six months after making his debut? Those pirates' plans had fallen through. Their fate was already sealed.
For Lind, however, the real trouble was indeed the Marines!
If he could not deal with the Marines, then even if Axel and the others won their battles, Lind would have no way to truly control these waters.
Before I knew it, this book was approaching a hundred thousand Chinese characters, and we'd reached the first minor climax. This is my first time writing a book, and my writing skills are limited, so I don't know whether I can pull off this part of the story. All I can say is that I'll do my best to write it well. After all, I've already written a hundred thousand characters, and I want to challenge myself a little with a more difficult plot. I also want to thank everyone especially for your support. Your daily bookmarks, continued reading, recommendations, and comments are all important sources of motivation that keep me writing. Finally, I haven't properly thanked everyone for the monthly tickets and recommendation votes you've sent, so I'd like to express my thanks here:
Thank you to Bookworm Book Fan for your monthly ticket;
Thank you to Book Friend 20201202105715343, Half a Step Ahead of Heaven Seeking the Dao, Selling My Brother Leaves My Heart Desolate, Book Friend 20220605225453992, Guard Lancer, Muddling Through the Rest of Life, The Mining Boss Went Bankrupt, River of Memories, Bookworm Book Fan, Book Friend 20220116085431856, Sword Immortal Bai Yujing, Thinking of Mortals, Book Friend 20240529121601287, Ninety-Nine-Year-Old Lian Po Who Can't Afford Food, and all the others for your recommendation votes (listed by the time of your most recent vote).
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