"Do they still... hold onto hope?" Dragon, hiding behind a tree, watched as the strength tried to coalesce in this desperate situation, his heart touched.
"Hehehe! This is my pride and joy, a ten-shot rifle!" Meanwhile, the Celestial Dragon ahead had quietly set up his long rifle, the crosshairs aimed at Kuma below.
Ivankov and his companions were completely defenseless against this cold shot from the shadows.
Bang!
A gunshot pierced the air.
Ugh!
The Celestial Dragon fell to the ground at the sound.
Dragon emerged from behind the tree, holding a smoking muzzle, cold sweat sliding down his temple: "Oops... accidentally..."
Physical instinct was faster than mental deliberation; before he could react, he had pulled the trigger, protecting those Slaves who were trying to grasp onto hope.
(If possible... you all must survive!)
After doing all this, Dragon glanced at the group of hopeful Slaves, whispered in his heart, then turned and continued rushing toward his destination.
Ivankov's speech continued. An unnoticed crisis had been quietly resolved by Dragon, but this did not dispel the gloom in the Slaves' hearts.
"It's impossible! How could such a thing be done!" Another emaciated slave slumped on the ground, head in his hands, his voice full of despair.
"Outside, there are swarms of Marine warships surrounding the entire island like an iron barrel! We couldn't escape even if we had wings!"
"No! It is possible!" Ivankov leapt down from a giant rock, waving his shackled fists, trying to inject faith into everyone's hearts.
"Hee-hah!! Don't let despair blind your eyes!"
"Eh?!" Everyone was drawn in by his firm tone, looking at him with a faint glimmer of hope.
Ivankov lowered his voice, his eyes sparkling as he began to explain their plan:
"Listen! Among the Celestial Dragons' prizes, there are things that can let us escape this hell!
One of them is the azure dragon fruit, which allows one to transform into a legendary dragon and soar through the sky! The other is the Paw-Paw Fruit, which can repel everything and slap people away!
As long as we get one of these two Devil Fruits, it can take us away from this godforsaken place!"
A slave with a scar on his face immediately dampened their spirits: "But those prizes are guarded by layers of CP Agents! We'd probably be turned into sieves before we even got close!"
Ivankov's large face split into a grin, revealing a crafty expression:
"Hee-hah! Don't worry, that's also within our expectations!"
Everyone was uncertain, their gazes fixed on Ivankov.
At this moment, Ivankov's gaze fell on a pink-haired little girl nearby who was intently operating a transponder snail.
"Ginny! What's the situation? Have the 'fish' outside taken the bait?"
In front of little Ginny were three different models of transponder snails: one for monitoring Marine channels, one for monitoring roughly encrypted CP communications, and one that seemed connected to a special frequency.
Little Ginny scratched her messy hair irritably, her small face scrunched up:
"Strange... so strange! The news was clearly spread two weeks ago! But... but according to the monitoring, the Marine and CP communications haven't changed! Why?! Have those Great Pirates all turned into cowards?!"
"What are you guys...?" a nearby slave asked in confusion.
Ginny revealed her signature, missing-front-tooth smile, filled with a little girl's pride:
"Manipulating information to kill with a borrowed knife, of course! Weren't you worried about too many guards before? Hmph, as early as two weeks ago, I secretly 'delivered' the situation on this island, especially that mouth-watering 'prize' list, to the outside world!
Those lawless, incredibly greedy Great Pirates will definitely charge here once they get the news!"
She waved her small hand as if depicting the arrival of thousands of troops:
"When the time comes, an unprecedented chaos will surely break out on the island! The primary task of those CP guards and Marines will definitely be to protect their noble Celestial Dragon masters!
Who will have time to worry about us'small fry' and the prizes in the warehouse? This is our best chance to fish in troubled waters and seize the fruits to escape this place while things are chaotic!"
Ivankov took over, nodding vigorously to try and instill confidence in everyone:
"Hee-hah! That's right! Ginny is right! Chaos is our best ally! As soon as the pirates arrive, it's the signal for our move!"
"But... 'but'..." Ginny's excited expression was quickly pulled back by the reality of the predicament. Her dusty little face scrunched up again as she tapped one of the unresponsive special transponder snails.
"Theoretically, it should be like this... but now, why isn't there even a sound of the sea breeze? Did my intel... fail?"
The blueprint of hope had just been drawn when it was shrouded by a heartless silence. Unease permeated the air, and the recently ignited passion seemed ready to be extinguished again.
BOOM!!!!!!
At this threshold where hope and despair intertwined, an earth-shattering explosion suddenly roared from the eastern coastline of the island!
A massive fireball accompanied by thick smoke surged into the sky, and even the ground beneath everyone's feet shook violently!
Almost simultaneously, the transponder snail by Ginny's hand, which had been silent, suddenly shrieked piercingly, and chaotic but clear shouts came from within!
"Eh?! The east side of the island... what happened on the east side?!"
Following that were even more chaotic and terrified screams, coming through the broadcasts and transponder snails at the same time:
"It's pirates! The Rocks Pirates!!"
"Not just them! Famous pirates are attacking one after another!!"
"The monster... the monster army has landed!!"
The harbor's defensive fortifications were torn to shreds by violent power as they imagined. Smoke and dust seemed to cross space, permeating the perception of every slave.
Clearly an army from hell, at this moment they seemed like angels, brazenly intruding into this 'Game of the Gods' in the most domineering way!
Ivankov and Ginny looked at each other, the light of wild joy erupting in their eyes simultaneously!
"Hee—hah!!!" Ivankov's laughter broke through the clouds. "The time has come! Friends, the wheels of fate have begun to turn for us!!"
Ginny jumped up suddenly, her small hands clapping excitedly, her toothless smile incredibly bright:
"They're here! They're really here! My intel wasn't wrong! The plan begins!!"
The appearance of the Rocks Pirates brought hope to a group of desperate Slaves.
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