“Three days ago, the G-51 Branch at Master Port was attacked.
Captain Ast Campbell was killed in action, along with Mantal Das, the royal steward of the Kingdom of Nismail.” “Lieutenant Roy Amos of the escort custody unit in the nearby waters returned to Master Port in an emergency.
He led the branch Marines to search for the attackers through the night, but nothing has been found so far.” “Furthermore, according to the World Government’s assessment, there is a possibility that Steward Mantal Das exposed the location of the Heavenly Tribute.
Therefore, ships will be dispatched to transfer the Heavenly Tribute away from Arasheet Island.” In the center of Arasheet Island, deep within the Great Arashi Forest.
A Marine chewing on a cigar was lying on a lounge chair, basking in the sunlight filtering through the ancient, towering trees.
Propped against his lounge chair was a large silver nodachi.
The one reading the intel report was a subordinate standing in front of him.
“Leave,” the cigar-chewing Marine said in a deep voice.
“Yes, Commodore Ranri.” His subordinate, a Commander, nodded.
“We are indeed being ordered to leave.
But before that, you need to contact the warships coming to transport the Heavenly Tribute to finalize the evacuation time—” But before he could finish, the Commodore glared at him with annoyance.
“Idiot, I’m telling *you* to leave.” “You’re completely blocking my sunlight, can’t you see?” The Commander froze upon hearing this.
Only then did he realize that, while holding the intel report, he was indeed blocking the light.
In the Great Arashi Forest, where the massive trees easily exceeded fifty meters in height, any sunlight filtering down was highly precious.
Thus, the Commander hastily stepped aside, chuckling apologetically.
“My apologies, Commodore.
I wasn’t paying attention.” “Pay more attention next time.
In my hometown, blocking someone’s sunlight is a capital offense,” Commodore Ranri snorted.
“…” Hearing this, the Commander thought to himself, *What kind of ridiculous place has a law like that?* while obediently nodding his agreement.
Shortly after, Commodore Ranri scoffed.
“As for relocating the Heavenly Tribute…
what a bunch of cowards!” The Commodore sneered, clearly displeased with the World Government’s decision.
He turned his head and looked at the massive building hidden deep within the forest behind him.
“This Golden House is located right in the center of Arasheet Island, an excellent stronghold perfectly concealed by the Great Forest.” “There are four guard bases safeguarding the four coasts around the island.
The surrounding waters are strictly off-limits to ordinary vessels, and being so close to the Calm Belt, there are massive whirlpools capable of swallowing large ships whole.” “Who could possibly break into a place like this?
Not to mention, we’re less than a month away from the scheduled transport of the Heavenly Tribute…
Moving it now?
Have the higher-ups lost their minds?” He grumbled.
“But this is an order, Commodore.” “And the message was sent by Vice Admiral Yamakaji himself.” The Commander could only try to appeal to reason.
He knew very well that Commodore Ranri before him was a Marine supernova.
At just thirty-five years of age, he had already reached the rank of Commodore.
He had already mastered both forms of Haki and was highly proficient in swordsmanship.
With his formidable strength, it was widely believed that he would inevitably be promoted to Vice Admiral at Headquarters within a few years.
And the only one who could sway or command him was his mentor, the veteran Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral, Yamakaji.
Strange as it was, the disciple of Vice Admiral Yamakaji, who was famous for being both gentle and powerful, turned out to be quite a rebellious fellow.
And sure enough…
Upon hearing that it was an order directly from Vice Admiral Yamakaji, Ranri’s brow furrowed.
And then…
“You want me to contact the warships, right?
Give me the Transponder Snail.” He reluctantly raised his hand.
Thinking to himself that *as expected, it worked,* the Commander quickly picked up the Transponder Snail.
“Commodore, there are five warships coming to transfer the Heavenly Tribute.
You can use this Transponder Snail to contact them individually.
This is a special World Government snail that can communicate on separate channels and even has a voicemail feature—oh, there’s already a message.” He said this, then noticed that the Transponder Snail had already begun to speak.
“Commodore Ranri, this is the transport ship coming to transfer the Heavenly Tribute.
We’ve encountered an exceptionally violent gale on our way, so our arrival will be delayed by about half a day.
We will dock at the southern base harbor.” “Beep.
The above message was recorded three hours ago.” The Transponder Snail briefly broadcasted the message and its timestamp.
Hearing this, Commodore Ranri’s brow furrowed deeper.
“Please don’t be angry, Commodore.
Sailing at sea is like this—delays due to wind and waves are inevitable.” Seeing this, the Commander assumed the Commodore was annoyed again and quickly consoled him.
“Besides, the attack on Master Port only happened three days ago.
Even the fastest ship from Master Port would take at least a week to get here.
There is no need to rush the transfer of the Heavenly Tribute…” But midway through, he was cut off by Commodore Ranri’s sharp shout.
“Idiot!
Something is wrong!” Ranri sat bolt upright from his lounge chair.
An incredibly sharp man, he had already sensed the anomaly.
“This is Arasheet Island, an island right next to the Calm Belt.
The surrounding waters rarely experience a single windy day in an entire year, let alone a violent gale.” He glared at the Commander.
“Contact the southern base!
Confirm the weather conditions in the southern waters!” “Right away!” The Commander quickly saluted and frantically dialed a Transponder Snail.
“Purupurupuru!
Purupurupuru!
Purupurupuru!” The ringing of the Transponder Snail echoed through the quiet forest.
But in the end, no one answered.
The silent forest seemed to grow even gloomier.
“Dial the other three bases.” It wasn’t until Commodore Ranri’s voice sliced through the silence that the Commander snapped out of it, quickly dialing the remaining three Transponder Snails.
But it was the same.
The other three snails rang continuously, but there was only silence on the other end.
“C-Commodore, this is…” By now, even the Commander realized that things had gone terribly wrong.
“Contact the watchtower.” Commodore Ranri had already picked up his nodachi, leaning on it with both hands as he stood up.
The Commander’s face paled once more.
The watchtower—the second-to-last line of defense outside the Great Forest protecting the Golden House.
Though he found it hard to believe things had deteriorated to this point, he still followed orders and placed the call.
“Purupurupuru!
Purupurupuru!
Purupurupuru!” The Transponder Snail rang just as before.
With every ring, the Commander felt as though his own heartbeat was pounding in his ears.
Until finally…
“Ha…
ha…” The snail finally connected.
But the only thing coming from the other end was weak, ragged gasping.
“Who is this?
What’s happening?” the Commander immediately demanded loudly.
From the other side came fragmented words: “This is…
watchtower…
guard…
ha…
ha…” The man was clearly on the verge of death, his voice garbled and faint.
“Attack…
violent winds…
monster…
from the sky…” His words cut off there.
The Transponder Snail went dead.
Silence reclaimed the Golden House once more.
Then…
“Commodore, I’ll go check on the situation immediately!
Oh, and the defense wall, I’ll raise the Great Forest’s defense wall right away!” the Commander blurted out.
Indeed—as the storage site for the Heavenly Tribute, specialized fortifications had been constructed around the Golden House.
Once activated, those colossal walls could withstand an army of thousands.
“Commodore?” But soon, the Commander noticed that Commodore Ranri did not reply.
Instead, the Commodore merely shouldered his nodachi, letting the blade hang slightly at his side.
He took a few steps forward.
The Commander recognized this stance—it was the Commodore’s battle stance.
And he only adopted this stance when facing a truly formidable opponent.
And then…
“No need.” He heard Ranri’s reply, and at the same time, saw the Commodore look up toward a certain direction.
“They are already here.” “And this presence…
Hah!” Already here?
Hearing Ranri’s words, the Commander subconsciously looked up in the same direction.
But the moment he raised his head, he realized something was terribly amiss.
The wind had arrived.
It was not the gentle breeze common in the forest, nor was it a violent yet understandable gale.
It was a destructive torrent of air accompanied by a thunderous roar!
“Boom!” It was the sonic boom of something massive flapping its wings at high speeds through the air.
The violent wind made the Commander feel as if he couldn’t even stand straight, and his face stung from the sand and pebbles carried by the gale.
And coming along with the wind was darkness.
Yes—at that moment, the precious sunlight that had been filtering through the canopy of leaves vanished entirely.
Of course, the sun had not actually vanished; it had simply been blocked.
Blocked by some colossal entity.
“What…
is that?” Indeed, the Commander could see it now.
Above the vast forest, far above the canopy of countless trees, a massive silhouette emerged.
It was a creature that should have long vanished from this era.
Its wings spread wide, seemingly blotting out the sky, with wing membranes of a rocky, blue-gray hue.
“What is it?
Is that even a question?” Unlike the panicked Commander, Commodore Ranri actually smiled.
He gripped his nodachi, a fiery battle intent flashing in his eyes.
“That…
is a monster!”