On the other side of the battlefield, an equally fierce clash was erupting between the God's Knights and the private army assembled by Christopher.
Junko's arrowheads incessantly shuttled across the battlefield, occasionally piercing through the bodies of private soldiers.
"Three o'clock direction."
The light trail dragging behind the arrow suddenly split into a spiderweb pattern.
She flicked her fingertips, and three arrows, following different trajectories, sealed off the retreat of a Longleg Tribe member.
Kirringham's ability activated, beginning to materialize the fear absorbed from two Giant Race members.
With a ripping sound, the lava golem was intercepted by the Mink Tribe's electrostatic net before it could fully form.
Kirringham's face darkened with anger, and he cursed under his breath:
"Damn beasts!"
"Boring tricks!"
Mafie's laser swept across the battlefield, and some weaker Slaves instantly fell, smoke rising from their bodies.
She used her sharp horn to toss away a Fish-Man who had ambushed her from behind, and as she turned, a lead bullet grazed past her ear.
Mafie tilted her head and smiled faintly at the girl holding a sniper rifle:
"Little girl, your toy can't hurt me."
Somaz's thorns suddenly shot out from underground, leaving bloody gashes on the wings of three Sky Island Slaves.
"Third rotation!"
A Giant Slave roared, his deafening voice echoing across the battlefield.
At the same time, he picked up a steel pillar and smashed apart the ice wall of a Yeti Knight; amidst the flying ice shards, his palms split open and bled.
Three Longarm Tribe members seized the opportunity to throw special restraining nets.
Just as Mafie was about to fire her laser, a God's Knight wearing a gas mask suddenly appeared, his twin swords shredding the nets while carving cross-shaped wounds into the chests of the Longarm Tribe fighters.
"Maintain formation!"
A God's Knight dressed like a grim reaper swung his scythe in a wide arc, and several Slaves in front of him fell instantly.
Two female God's Knights charged straight into the Slave formation.
One had short blue hair, gentle in appearance; the other had golden shoulder-length hair adorned with a flower, cold and aloof.
Yet in battle, neither showed the slightest mercy each strike of fist and leg sent multiple Slaves flying.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out as the God's Knight sniper fired a lead bullet, blasting a bloody hole through the shoulder of the distant sniper girl.
She calmly blew away the gunpowder smoke from her barrel.
At that moment, the eruption of Conqueror's Haki from afar caused the entire battlefield to freeze for half a second.
"Should we go support the Commander and Captain?"
"Even if we wanted to, we can't break away, can we?"
A Yeti not far away muttered in a muffled tone:
"Christopher really built a stubborn anthill."
During this brief lull, the Slaves had already completed another formation shift, dragging their wounded comrades to the rear for treatment.
It had to be said Christopher's trained private army, though individually inferior to the God's Knights, possessed remarkable discipline.
Through the coordination of their racial abilities and their solid combat strength, they were actually able to hold the God's Knights at bay for the time being.
However, even without fighting at full capacity, the God's Knights were still far stronger overall.
Tactics and numbers could buy time, but as the battle dragged on, casualties among the Slaves would inevitably rise.
Thus, the God's Knights were in no hurry.
If they simply prolonged the fight, victory would inevitably belong to them.
Below, at Red Port
Betty's flag was planted atop twisted steel wreckage, its surface torn with jagged slashes.
She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, the wound on her palm staining the flagpole crimson:
"Old man, your sword is really hard!"
Horn's greatsword cleaved through the steel frame behind her, his cold laughter echoing amid the sparks:
"Is it worth risking your life for Slaves who don't even know your name?"
Even as he fought, Horn continued to try and shake Betty's resolve with words.
"Someone like you who wears 'justice' as a uniform"
Betty's flagpole swept toward his knee:
"wouldn't understand!!!"
With a clang, Horn blocked the strike and forced her back.
Landing heavily, Betty spat out a mouthful of blood and pressed the communicator at her ear:
"I can't hold on much longer."
After hearing Crow's reply that the Slaves were already on their way via the elevator Betty clenched her teeth and forced herself to keep going.
Gripping the flagpole with both hands, she thrust forward like a spear.
"Iron Wall Style: Immovable Wheel!"
Horn effortlessly deflected the attack and followed with a swift horizontal slash:
"What kind of poison did the Revolutionary Army feed you?"
Betty barely rolled aside, a lock of her hair severed:
"They gave me the right to choose my battlefield!"
Horn sneered:
"Too bad the fire above is about to burn out."
Betty didn't even blink.
Instead, she burst into laughter:
"Then why are you panicking? You can't even lie properly."
Enraged, Horn's blood surged, his strikes growing more violent:
"You fools don't understand the value of order at all!"
"Of course we do!"
With nowhere to dodge, Betty raised her flagpole to block.
The greatsword slammed down onto her shoulder, tearing open flesh she could clearly hear the crack of bone.
Yet her expression remained unwavering:
"That's exactly why we have to smash this rotten order!"
"Fish-Man Karate: Five Thousand Brick Fist!"
Just as Betty reached her limit, a blue figure suddenly appeared behind her, a massive fist crashing toward Horn.
Horn reacted instantly, pulling back his blade to defend.
The impact rang out like a temple bell.
Looking up, he saw a blue Fish-Man standing before him, stance steady, palms poised:
"Marine! Don't think you can run wild here!"
It had to be said Jinbe looked extremely imposing at that moment.
If he weren't blue, weren't stout, and weren't a Fish-Man, Betty might have been momentarily charmed.
As Jinbe spoke, the shoreline behind them erupted with movement
A large number of Fish-Men surged forward.
These were members of the Sun Pirates.
Following Fisher Tiger's orders, they had come to launch a pincer attack on Red Port.
Originally, they intended to observe the situation first.
But upon approaching, they saw flames reaching the heavens from Red Port.
Realizing something was wrong, Jinbe immediately ordered full speed ahead.
After landing, he led the charge, following the traces of battle until he found the Admiral and Belo Betty locked in a stalemate.
Horn's hair bristled, his greatsword vibrating with a low hum:
"Another group of fools seeking death! Does Fish-Man Island want to provoke a Marine Buster Call?!"
Jinbe remained calm, utterly unmoved by the threat:
"The Sun Pirates are here for one purpose only to free the enslaved."
"If Admiral Iron Wall is willing to step aside and allow them to leave, we can avoid unnecessary conflict."
"Ridiculous!"
Horn roared.
But before he could continue
A heavy mechanical rumble echoed behind him.
The elevator had arrived.