The Shandian chief nodded repeatedly like pounding garlic.
Rector still had more to say, which meant the matter might take a turn for the better, instantly reigniting hope deep within his heart.
“But he still has descendants, and he still believes that his ancestor Noland didn’t lie, only that he doesn’t know where they are right now!”
“But he will come to Jaya below Skypiea!
When the time comes, I will let you meet and fulfill the promise!”
“Really?” The Shandian chief’s hands were trembling slightly, and his eyes looking at Rector carried a gaze full of hope.
“Of course!” After saying that, Rector snapped his fingers, and the clouds in the sky surged,
“Next!
I will let you witness the full picture of Upper Yard!
And resolve your four-hundred-year-old hatred!”
“Whether you are Skypieans or Shandians, you both need to understand the full picture of Upper Yard.”
“Lord Rector!
You’re flying too fast!
I can’t even catch up with you!”
Zeus muttered softly in complaint, but it also heard Rector’s words, its body constantly growing larger while transforming its form.
One side of its body slowly turned into the shape of a flat staircase, and the middle of its body caved in to form a sunken platform.
This was to prevent Zeus from blowing away the people on its back during flight.
Rector turned sideways and raised his hand, gesturing for everyone present to go up.
Once everyone had climbed onto Zeus’s back, Rector patted Zeus’s head to signal it to take off.
Zeus flew toward the sky, breaking through the clouds, and flew in the direction of Shandora!
Ganford led the sky warriors, and the Shandian chief led the Shandian warriors whose anger had not yet dissipated.
The two sides stood on opposite sides of the sunken area on Zeus’s back, their eyes filled with vigilance, annoyance, and unease…
But the gazes of the two clans involuntarily looked at Zeus beneath their feet; this was the first time they had seen a talking cloud.
They couldn’t help sighing in their hearts: As expected of Lord Thunder Emperor, even the cloud beside him could speak just like a human.
Passing through the clouds, inside the huge pit at the center of Upper Yard Island, a city built of gold appeared before their eyes.
(City of Gold – Shandora!)
Zeus slowly descended, and everyone present was stunned by the scene before them.
What they saw was not broken ruins, nor a desolate city covered by vegetation, but a golden city that had weathered centuries of wind and rain yet still gleamed with golden light.
The sunlight scattered among the clouds shone on the golden buildings, dazzlingly bright.
Thick vines twined around the tall golden pillars, yet they couldn’t block the dazzling radiance of the entire city.
On both sides of the road stood rows of golden statues.
Their surfaces already bore the traces of time, yet their past splendor could still be seen.
They quietly accompanied this land, as if guarding an ancient story.
The Shandians widened their eyes and pointed ahead at the city, their voices trembling uncontrollably.
“That…
that is…
the City of Gold…!!!”
“What the ancestors said is all true, it’s all true!!”
All the Shandians cheered; this was the homeland belonging to their Shandians, passed down from generation to generation.
Someone shed tears, hugging the golden statue by the roadside tightly, and cried out: “We’re back…
We’re finally back!”
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!!!”
The sound of heavy objects cutting through the air came, and a growing shadow appeared on the ground.
Everyone quickly looked up, and a giant bell the size of a mountain, forged entirely from gold, continuously magnified in their field of vision.
“Bang—!”
“Dong————,!”
The golden bell fell to the ground, and the huge recoil force caused the bell body to shake unceasingly.
A clear, long-lasting bell sound spread across the entire sky.
The bell sound turned into golden ripples spreading outward, blanketing the entire Skypiea like a tide.
Even Jaya, ten thousand meters below, could clearly hear this chime.
At this moment, the surroundings fell silent.
To the Shandians, this was not just an ordinary bell sound, but the result of the promise they had steadfastly kept for four hundred years finally arriving.
Noland did not lie!
Kalgara was not crazy either!
They finally proved that the City of Gold truly existed, and this was their hometown.
“Ancestors, we are back!”
The Shandian chief’s words expressed all the bitterness of his clansmen over the past four hundred years.
The suffering, pain, and grievances they had endured for so many years all gained meaning at this moment.
“The City of Gold truly exists!”
The Shandians shouted at the top of their lungs, and these words hit the Skypieans in the face like a slap.
As the golden bell rang, the Skypieans finally understood that this land was originally the homeland of the Shandians, and they were the ones who later broke in and seized the land.
The holy land they had always been proud of was built upon the pain of others.
“It turns out…
all along, we were the ones who…
initiated the war…!!!”
The sky warriors successively put down the weapons in their hands, guilt showing on their faces, and a few more parts of respect grew in their hearts.
They had learned the truth of the past and understood the Shandians’ persistence and hardships over so many years.
The sound of the golden bell shattered the four-hundred-year misunderstanding between the two clans and ended their long-standing hatred.
This chime was the sound of peace and a blessing for the two clans to forge ahead hand in hand.
Ganford took off the knight’s helmet on his head, sighed softly, walked up to the Shandian chief, and adopted a very sincere attitude.
“The Skypieans solemnly apologize to the Shandians.”
“It was us who stole your homeland.”
The Shandian chief extended his fist and pressed it against Ganford’s chest.
“The Shandians can feel your sincerity!”
“From now on, the war is over.”
The hatred that had lasted for centuries finally came to a period, and the people of both clans completely put down their past conflicts.
“Mamamama…
What a hassle!
Rector, why do you have to make them apologize to each other!”
Big Mom sat atop Zeus’s head, eating cake while looking at Rector beside her.
“Mama, what we need are warriors who truly follow us, not people full of hatred who only think of revenge.”
“Now the entire Skypiea belongs to our control; will we lack warriors or money?”
Rector looked at the two clans below slowly letting down their barriers and walking together, a smile on his face.
“If Streusen saw so much gold, he would definitely be especially happy.”
Rector immediately stopped Big Mom.
“Mama, the less people know about the City of Gold, the better.
There are still quite a few pirate crews on the open sea whose strength exceeds ours.
If these people find out about the existence of the City of Gold…”
“Younger brothers and sisters will become the target of attack for these pirates.
For the safety of the younger brothers and sisters, don’t let others know about this matter.” He said earnestly.
Big Mom looked at her eldest son, her eyes full of affection, and nodded: “Mama will listen to you.”
She trusted Rector very much.
A year ago, after Rector took over Streusen’s intelligence organization, he managed it in an orderly manner.
Not only did he find the specific location of the legendary Skypiea, but he also discovered many people with outstanding abilities, and his own strength was growing stronger and stronger.
Five-year-old Rector was even more powerful than she was at the same age, and the cakes he made tasted much better than the snacks from Fish-Man Island.
Rector obtained the reply.
The moment he turned his head, the smile on his face instantly vanished, and his intense killing intent could no longer be hidden: Streusen must be eliminated.
Streusen single-handedly raised Big Mom, only because he valued her powerful abilities, and had always treated her as a tool to be utilized.
For so many years, Rector had constantly advised Linlin to choose husbands with sufficient potential, but Streusen always obstructed this, constantly using sweet words to coax and deceive Big Mom.
Streusen made her feel that only her own children could stay by her side forever and would not betray her, and also advised her to give birth to as many children as possible.
Furthermore, after taking over the intelligence organization and auditing the accounts, Rector discovered that Totto Land had three annual expenditures exceeding 300 million Berries with unknown destinations.
All along, it was he who relied on exterminating pirates to fill the vacancy of these Berries.
He knew very well in his heart that ever since he took over the intelligence organization, Streusen had harbored deep resentment toward him, wishing he could kill him.
Once the news that Skypiea harbored gold reached Streusen’s ears, the entire underground black market would know about this matter by the next day.
Streusen himself did not have enough strength to guard the gold, yet he could use the news to stir up the situation and reap benefits from it.
He had already brought about his own doom!
Rector gathered the Skypieans and Shandians who had gathered together; it was time for the plan to begin.
He wanted to build an intelligence system exclusively belonging to himself, rather than one whose core was controlled by Streusen.