In the Sky Island plaza, Luo Chen looked at the soldiers lying at his feet and the residents around him, who kept backing away and staring at him in terror. He shook his head and spoke softly.
"Scared already? How boring."
"What? Weren't you going to rescue your god? If so, why don't you keep attacking? Defeat me, and you can go get Gan Fall back."
Luo Chen questioned them again. Unfortunately, after seeing what he could do, the residents no longer had the courage to face him. They all turned their heads away, afraid to meet his eyes.
"Well then, I'll be going."
Silence filled the surroundings. No one dared stop him.
"Oh, right. You should all go home now. With your strength and courage, I'm afraid you won't even get to see Enel."
After taking a few steps, Luo Chen looked back and poured cold water on them, putting an end to their thoughts of going after Enel.
"Clang!"
"Clatter!"
All sorts of weapons fell to the ground, and the residents of the White Sea slumped down one after another, heads hanging in dejection.
"Damn it, can we really not defeat him?"
"God, what kind of opponent have we run into?!"
The men pounded the ground with their fists and spoke bitterly.
"A bunch of ignorant fools, daring to dream of challenging divine authority."
Luo Chen looked at their dispirited expressions and spoke disdainfully, then turned and left.
The blood-red wings on his back beat once, and he shot straight into the sky, gradually disappearing from everyone's sight.
Elsewhere, at the Shandia encampment.
The warrior Wyper was gathering like-minded tribesmen willing to go with him and bring Enel down from his divine pedestal.
"Warriors, today we'll bring Enel down from his throne together. Once Sky Island sees us crush the one they couldn't defeat, how will they have the face to fight us for the holy land, Upper Yard?"
Wyper continued to rally his people, giving them the courage and confidence to follow him in defying Enel.
"Wyper, you shouldn't go. Enel is far too terrifying. He dealt with all the warriors without lifting a finger, and we don't even know exactly how strong he is."
The young Laki ran over and tried to persuade Wyper. She had witnessed Enel's methods firsthand, and that power was too terrifying. By comparison, her people had no strength to resist him at all.
"Laki, don't boost the enemy's morale and undermine our own. Enel's power comes from nothing more than a Devil Fruit. As long as we stop him from using lightning, he can be dealt with easily."
Wyper spoke confidently, and his tone gave all the companions preparing to go with him even more confidence that they could defeat Enel.
"That's right, Laki. You should stay here and wait for news of our victory!"
Beside him, a muscular young man carrying a burning sword and wearing goggles spoke to her. He was the warrior Kamakiri, known as "Mantis."
"With Wyper, the strongest warrior in our tribe, leading us, we'll definitely defeat Enel."
"Yeah! Wyper is a descendant of the great warrior Calgara and the guardian deity of our Shandia!"
The other warriors chimed in, telling Laki she had no need to worry about them.
"But will it really be that simple?"
Laki clasped her hands together and watched the Shandia warriors leave, speaking worriedly.
"Don't worry, Laki. I'll bring Enel's head back. Just wait for our good news without worrying!"
With that, Wyper rode his surfboard after them.
"Come back safely!"
"Waaah~ waaah~ waaah~"
A baby began crying inside a Shandia tent, prompting Laki to turn and go over.
"There, there, don't cry. There~"
The baby's mother held her and kept soothing her.
"Auntie, is Aisa crying again?"
"Yes. Every time there's a conflict in the village, Aisa cries nonstop. I wonder if she knows something."
The baby's mother, a gentle and dignified woman, answered her while soothing Aisa.
"A conflict? Does it have something to do with Wyper?"
Whenever a conflict occurred in the village, Wyper was invariably involved. He was both the village's strongest warrior and its biggest troublemaker, giving even the chief a terrible headache.
"Aisa, did you sense that Wyper is in danger this time?"
Laki spoke quietly to Aisa, concerned and worried about Wyper's mission.
Meanwhile, Wyper led the Shandia warriors toward the place where Enel was, at Sky Island's temple.
Just wait, Enel. This time I'll twist your head off to console the injured warriors, take back our holy land, Upper Yard, and fulfill our ancestors' dying wish.
Wyper rode his surf cloud board toward their holy land, speaking silently to himself.
Back with Luo Chen, he was flapping the blood-red fleshy wings on his back as he flew toward Enel to take up the position of fifth divine officer.
Just then, a voice came from the sky, making him stop in his tracks.
"Luo Chen, this is Enel. I know you're on your way here. Stop for now and first complete a task I'm assigning you. This is also the best opportunity to establish your position as fifth divine officer. Go to the holy land, Upper Yard, and drive out the outsiders who have invaded it, dead or alive."
"Outsiders? The Shandia warriors? Understood."
After receiving Enel's orders, Luo Chen thought for a moment before accepting them. He turned and flew toward the Shandia holy land, Upper Yard.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
After traveling for some time, Luo Chen arrived at the holy land first. He undid his transformation, landed on the ground, and spoke calmly.
"Looks like I got here first. Haven't they arrived yet? Shandia warriors, in that case, I'll wait here for you!"
With that, he closed his eyes and restored his energy and spirit, returning to peak condition before they arrived.
After a while, Luo Chen was the first to sense movement. His ears twitched, and then-
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
The sound of the Shandia warriors' water surfboards speeding along rang out all around. Then, led by Wyper, twenty or thirty warriors arrived in front of Luo Chen.
"Finally here? I've been waiting a long time, Shandia warriors!"
Luo Chen looked at the invaders surrounding him and spoke softly.
"Hm? You're... that person who was on Enel's ship back then. If I remember right, your position was fairly high, wasn't it? What, did he send you to stop us here?"
Wyper looked at Luo Chen, who stood before them blocking their way, and searched his memory for a moment before speaking.
"That's right. I'm Luo Chen, the fifth divine officer under Enel. I've been ordered to drive all of you out. If you resist, dead or alive!"
"So, tell me, what do you choose?"
Luo Chen nodded in acknowledgment and asked what they chose.
"Are you kidding? We're here to defeat Enel. How could we let you stop us here?"
Hearing Luo Chen disregard them like that, Wyper shouted angrily. He took the rocket launcher from his back and fired a rocket at him.
The projectile shot from the barrel with a squeal and flew toward Luo Chen, whistling through the air so fast that it appeared to the onlookers as a streak of light.
"Heh! Starting a fight at the first disagreement really suits your personalities. But I like it."
Luo Chen tilted his head to dodge the projectile and chuckled at them. It exploded behind him, and the resulting shock wave sent the long hair hanging down his back flying.