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Outside the scorched ruins of Ilinulay Palace in Mary Geoise, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed rapidly before abruptly halting.
"What in the world happened here?" Kong's expression darkened. Such a major incident in the Celestial Dragons' Holy Land was a direct slap in the face to the Marines.
Before him lay only the skeletal remains of Ilinulay Palace and a handful of black-clad guards, led by the middle-aged man.
"Fleet Admiral Kong, this entire disaster was caused by invading pirates," the man said calmly, a smile playing on his lips. "By the time we arrived, it was already in this state."
Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Kong's eyes narrowed, and he let out a cold laugh.
"Do you take me for a fool? I warn you, those who treat others as fools are the most foolish themselves. Which house do you serve?"
The middle-aged man shrugged and fell silent, unfazed by Kong's threat.
He wouldn't have dared to act without orders from above. Strike first and eliminate the source—once the deed was done, the World Government and the Marines would be powerless to intervene.
Kong clenched his fist, his face darkening.
He absolutely refused to believe that Rojen and his group were responsible for this devastation. The scorched earth still reeked of gunpowder, a clear sign that this was the result of cannon fire.
Human hands could never have wrought such destruction!
But now that the situation had unfolded this way, the real problem was how to handle it.
Just then, another set of footsteps echoed. Kong whipped around, his ears catching the sound.
"Kong, it's been a long time."
The newcomer stood before Kong, greeting him with a smile. He swept his gaze over the scorched ground before his eyes flashed, though his expression remained impassive.
"Fleet Admiral."
Kong's face paled slightly as he respectfully greeted the man.
The identity of someone Kong would address with such reverence was self-evident: the current Commander-in-Chief of the World Government.
"Those brats ran fast. I didn't get a chance to act, and they escaped." The man chuckled, but Kong could tell he had never intended to intervene.
Of course, had those brats acted foolishly, their fate would have been far less pleasant.
"What brings you here?" Kong asked, more curious about this than the whereabouts of Rojen's group.
"When you get old, you just like to watch the show."
Kong asked no further questions. A Fleet Admiral of the entire Marine force wouldn't be here simply to watch the show. But whatever ulterior motives were at play, they weren't something to be discussed in this setting.
"Those little rascals shouldn't be able to escape, right?" the Fleet Admiral asked, smiling as he watched Kong.
"Their only hope of escaping safely is to cross the abyss separating us and reach Marine territory. When I left, I saw them at Marine Headquarters. Sengoku will handle it all," Kong replied gravely.
The Red Line wasn't just some small mountain. To recklessly fly away from the Celestial Dragons' palace would be impossible. Even if the Celestial Dragons themselves and their powerhouse guards agreed, the sheer distance would be enough to drive them to despair.
This was a continent, the world's highest continent!
Kong had a vague sense that the group of youngsters possessed flight skills, but with so many flying powerhouses in the world, none dared to intrude here, let alone imagine escaping safely.
The only way to leave this place was through the Marine Headquarters, cutting across the territory and taking a roundabout, cautious shortcut.
Therefore, he had never worried about them escaping.
To be fair, the youngsters had been quite clever and cautious, leaving along the Marine's most remote corners. If the Golden Lion had still been drawing most of their attention, they might have had a chance. But unfortunately, they were still discovered.
As for their taking to the air, that was simple for the Marines to handle. They still had remaining cannon fire and powerhouses capable of reaching the sky—stopping them would be child's play.
"It seems the Celestial Dragons are looking for a scapegoat, Kong."
The Fleet Admiral swept his gaze over the black-clad guards before him and spoke calmly.
Kong's pupils constricted as he immediately understood the implication.
The only explanation for the Fleet Admiral's presence here, and for the Celestial Dragons' sudden attack on themselves, was that the waters behind this matter ran too deep. So deep that even the Marine Fleet Admiral felt a chill just thinking about it.
"What is the Commander-in-Chief's intention?" Kong asked, his brow furrowing.
"I'm retiring soon. This Commander-in-Chief position will be yours, Kong. No need to ask my opinion. Haha, do as you please."
"Handle it as it should be handled."
After saying this, the Commander-in-Chief turned and walked away.
Three steps later, he paused, his voice dropping to a low tone.
"The only thing to be mindful of is that these people must not escape! If they do, bring them back!"
"The world demands an explanation!"
Footsteps echoed again as the Commander-in-Chief quickly departed.
Kong watched the retreating figure, his eyes flickering with understanding. He knew exactly what the Commander-in-Chief meant.
The world demands an explanation—or rather, the Celestial Dragons need a scapegoat!
And who would bear the blame? The answer was obvious.
Kong pondered for a moment, but he wasn't surprised by the decision. Although the Marines were a military system, they couldn't truly escape politics. Those at the highest levels who claimed ignorance of political maneuvering would be the biggest hypocrites.
Kong glanced at the middle-aged black-clothed guard. The man wore a polite smile, but Kong knew how false it was and felt a surge of disgust. He was about to leave when a voice suddenly cried out from beneath the charred ruins:
"Help! Help me!"
The desperate cry made Kong's eyes narrow.
"There's still a survivor!"
The Marines immediately moved forward to search and rescue. The middle-aged guard's expression flickered slightly, but he remained still. Without an observer present, he could have acted with impunity, but now he couldn't.
"I'm Saint Donglai Ilinulay! Save me!"
As the cry rang out, the faces of those present, who had been relatively calm moments before, paled.
This was going to be trouble!
At that same moment, on the wooden boat, the Jasper Gourd slammed onto the deck with a whoosh, causing the vessel to lurch violently.
The gourd's mouth then spewed forth, spitting out Jason and his companions.
The Jasper Gourd, which Rojen had poured all his remaining magic power into, finally exhausted its strength. It trembled for a moment before shrinking back to its original size.
Trens bent down and snatched it up, hanging it solemnly at his waist.
He had confirmed one fact: Rojen had been captured.
"Captain, he's been captured! I'm going to rescue him!"
He wasn't the only one who realized this. Jason also spoke up.
"Set sail now. We can't abandon him here." Crocodile said coldly.
(End Of This Chapter)