After confirming that the Hormone Gun was fully loaded, Bane immediately aimed it at an injured Marine.
Bang!
A green bullet struck the man.
The Marine’s eyes filled with despair.
He thought he was dead.
But what followed was completely different from what he expected.
In an instant, the pain from his wounds disappeared.
The bleeding stopped.
Even his strength returned.
The Marine stared at his own body in disbelief.
What was happening?
Was this some kind of final burst of strength before death?
He had no idea.
He didn’t dare ask, either.
A blade was still pressed against his neck.
Thirty seconds later, everything changed.
The relief vanished all at once.
“Aaaagh!”
The Marine screamed as intense pain returned throughout his body.
His wounds, which had stopped bleeding only moments earlier, began bleeding again.
Those thirty seconds might as well never have happened.
Bane watched carefully.
“So bleeding counts as a negative effect…”
He glanced around.
“What about something more serious?”
Not far away, another Marine was clutching his leg and screaming.
His right leg was twisted at an unnatural angle.
Clearly broken.
Bane walked over, raised the Hormone Gun, and fired.
Bang!
The green bullet struck him.
“Stand up.”
The Marine stared at him.
“I can’t! My leg is broken!”
“I said stand up.”
The Marine glared at Bane, gritted his teeth, and tried.
Then he froze.
He was standing.
His broken leg was actually supporting his weight.
“What…?”
“Walk.”
Even without the order, the Marine was already tempted to test it.
He carefully took one step.
Then another.
His broken leg functioned almost normally.
There was no pain.
No weakness.
The injury didn’t seem to interfere with his movement at all.
The only obvious problem was that the broken leg was slightly shorter in its current twisted position, leaving him bobbing awkwardly as he walked.
Bane’s eyes lit up.
“Perfect. This gun is incredible.”
Then he killed the Marine with a single slash.
The Hormone Gun couldn’t directly harm an enemy.
But as a tool for survival, its value was enormous.
At a critical moment, it could suppress the effects of injuries, restore some stamina, and potentially give someone enough time to turn a hopeless situation around.
Each shot lasted thirty seconds.
With six rounds fully loaded, that gave him a total of three minutes.
For most emergencies, that was more than enough.
Satisfied, Bane put the Hormone Gun away and turned his attention back toward the main battlefield.
Krieg had already gained the upper hand.
After being poisoned as well, the outcome was practically decided.
By now, Krieg had beaten him to the brink of death.
Ryan barely had enough strength left to remain alive.
Seeing their commanding officer crushed so completely shattered what remained of the Marines’ morale.
Confusion spread through their ranks.
Some panicked.
Others simply stood there, unsure what to do.
Should they retreat?
Should they keep fighting?
No one seemed to know.
Krieg’s arrogant laughter echoed over the battlefield.
“Hahahaha!”
He raised his weapon triumphantly.
“From this day forward, I, Krieg, am the true Overlord of the East Blue!”
His grin widened.
“Who dares challenge me?!”
Krieg was completely intoxicated by his victory.
His thoughts had already moved on to his next bounty.
Thirty million Berries?
That should be the minimum.
Maybe forty million.
No.
Fifty million!
Just as he began imagining the possibilities—
Boom!
A cannonball crashed into the sea nearby.
A massive splash drenched Krieg from head to toe.
His face darkened instantly.
“Which bastard fired that?!”
Then he looked up.
His pupils contracted.
The sky was filled with cannonballs.
Krieg had only one thought.
Cloak, save me!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
While both sides had been consumed by the battle, no one had noticed more than a dozen Marine warships taking position around the outer edge of the battlefield.
Now they were firing.
And they weren’t distinguishing between pirates and Marines.
The bombardment struck both sides indiscriminately.
From aboard one of the distant warships, Nelson Roy watched the destruction.
“You’re shelling your own men.”
He rubbed his enormous belly.
“They say you’re timid as a mouse, Nezumi, but this takes more nerve than I’d expect from you.”
His gaze shifted toward the Colonel.
“If word of this gets out, you may spend the rest of your life behind bars.”
Nezumi immediately waved his hands.
“Don’t say such ridiculous things.”
He smiled innocently.
“My orders were very clear. We are bombarding the pirates.”
“As for any Marines unfortunately caught in the crossfire…”
He shrugged.
“I’m sure they’ll understand the difficult circumstances and make the necessary sacrifice.”
Nelson stared at him.
“You really are shameless.”
Nezumi stroked his whiskers.
“You flatter me. Everything I do is for justice.”
Coming from him, the word sounded almost absurd.
No one nearby dared laugh.
So were the Marines of Branch 153.
At first, they had been ecstatic when they saw the approaching warships.
Reinforcements.
Help had finally arrived.
Then the “reinforcements” opened fire directly into the battlefield.
The bombardment certainly sent the pirates scrambling and caused heavy casualties.
Unfortunately, the Marines of Branch 153 were dying right alongside them.
“Stop firing!”
“We’re Marines!”
“Branch 153! We’re from Branch 153!”
“Are you insane?!”
One Marine stared at the surrounding destruction in horror.
“This is a trap…”
His voice shook.
“They abandoned us.”
Warship after warship caught fire.
Some began sinking.
The surviving Marines fell into despair.
No one wanted to die for someone else’s plan if they had any chance of escaping.
The pirates reached the same conclusion even faster.
Forget boarding the enemy.
Remaining aboard these warships was suicide.
The newly arrived Marines didn’t care whether their own comrades were still onboard.
Pirates abandoned the fighting and desperately scrambled back toward their ships.
“Boys!”
Krieg’s voice thundered over the chaos.
“The Marines aren’t fighting fair! Fall back!”
At some point, Krieg had already made it back aboard the Dreadnaught Sabre.
He looked far less impressive than before.
Blood was running down from his head, and his armor showed signs of the bombardment.
Clearly, even the Needle-Mountain Cloak couldn’t protect him from everything.
The retreat became immediate.
Pirates rushed back to their ships as quickly as possible.
There was no point continuing the battle.
Another full-scale attack could wipe out what remained of Krieg’s fleet.
Krieg looked over the surviving ships and felt his anger rising.
The losses were severe.
He had never expected the Marines to use such a ruthless strategy against him.
They were actually willing to sacrifice their own men just to destroy his fleet.
At least there was one piece of good news.
Branch 153’s morale had completely collapsed.
Their surviving Marines made no serious attempt to stop the Krieg Pirates from retreating.
Most simply stood there in shock.
If they had still been organized enough to block the escape, the consequences could have been disastrous.
“Move!”
Krieg shouted.
“Get us out of here!”
He didn’t wait for the rest of the fleet.
The Dreadnaught Sabre immediately turned and fled.
Several pirate ships followed close behind.
Those who couldn’t withdraw in time would simply have to fend for themselves.
Colonel Nezumi, however, had no intention of letting Krieg escape.
He sent Marines to gather the surviving forces of Branch 153 under the pretense of avenging Colonel Ryan.
At the same time, his own ships continued pursuing the Krieg Pirates.
Marine warships held a clear advantage in speed.
They had lost some time maneuvering around the battered ships of Branch 153, but not enough to matter.
Nezumi’s future depended on this battle.
If Krieg escaped, so might his chance to become a Commodore and gain authority over the East Blue Marines.
He wasn’t about to let that happen.
Besides, someone needed to take responsibility for Colonel Ryan’s death.