Jarram looked around and realized he had no more Dyna Stone suicide squads left. Yet Alucard remained lively as ever, slaughtering his men. At the start of the war, the Government forces had outnumbered Alucard's side at least six or seven times over, but now the casualty count was nearly equal.
"By any normal standard of death, how many times should he have died by now~?"
As one of the highest-tier combatants present, Momonga, now covered in filth and blood, couldn't help but pause his attack and ask. It wasn't that he was afraid to fight, but he was mentally exhausted.
Watching an enemy be killed over and over only to revive every time might be fine once or twice, but after dozens or hundreds of times, the sense of futility begins to crush one's will. Chaton, Momousagi, and the others shared the same expression. Utter exhaustion and dwindling combat power. It wasn't just physical; the mental pressure was unbearable.
"There's no other way. We must retreat."
Kong gritted his teeth. Too many lives had been sacrificed; he dared not continue using human lives to test Alucard's revival limit. The sheer number of troops lost today would take the World Government years to recover.
Mustering his strength, Kong let out a thunderous roar: "RETREAT! All forces return to Angel Island and withdraw to the Holy Land of Mariejois!"
Momousagi, Chaton, and Shirokitsune, who were working together to hold back Alucard, immediately turned and fled, keeping a wary eye on the vampire.
Would Alucard pursue? If he did, who would be sacrificed to cover the rear?
That thought crossed everyone's mind. But Alucard's next move shocked them all. He holstered his twin pistols... and simply walked away.
"He's just leaving?"
Momousagi blinked in disbelief. To let a crumbling enemy go without pursuit, what was Alucard planning? Was he going to play some trick and bite them later? Under these circumstances, finishing them off seemed far more effective.
Whatever the reason, his lack of pursuit was a blessing. Seizing the chance, the Government forces evacuated rapidly.
At the edge of the Island of God, the members of the Immortal Pirates were tending to their wounds. Beckman removed the twig from his mouth and said, "It's over."
Alucard emerged slowly from the forest. Hancock, seeing him, rushed forward with joy.
"Captain, since you're here, the battle must be over, right?" Ivalis approached and asked.
"An unbearably boring battle. How many people are still capable of fighting?" Alucard was extremely dissatisfied with Kong and the others' later performance. It had been nothing but tedious.
However, although he had granted them a path to live, Alucard had no intention of letting the Government off that easily.
"Aranea and the remaining eight Pacifistas, Boa Hancock, and... the rookies who escaped thanks to Law's ability. They are mostly uninjured."
Ivalis glanced back at the regrouping squad. The Dyna Stone human bombs had been a massive surprise, and only a small fraction had escaped unscathed.
"That's enough."
As Alucard spoke, the massive head of Jormungandr emerged from the clouds beneath them, looking like a small floating island.
The able-bodied group stepped forward, while the others, under Ivalis's orders, began to process the "spoils of war"—the Island of God itself.
"The smell of blood is so thick."
When they arrived at the center of the island, where the Government's aerial base had once stood, the metallic tang in the air made Beckman scowl.
"Strange..."
"How can this be?"
Upon entering the ruins of the base, everyone was stunned. There wasn't a single corpse, nor a drop of blood left behind.
Had Kong and the others taken the bodies with them when they retreated? Impossible, they barely had time to escape, let alone perform such a task.
"It is likely Alucard-sama's ability," Sandersonia said, emerging with half her hair singed and bruises on her body. Flicking her tongue, she added, "Regardless, the Sky Island is ours now!"
"This brings us one step closer to toppling the Government," Koala giggled, pulling a Den Den Mushi from her pouch. "I'll contact Dr. Vegapunk."
"Alucard-sama, where are we heading?" Aranea asked, leaning close to Alucard against the hurricane-force winds generated by Jormungandr's flight. On the other side, Hancock glared at her, keeping a wary guard.
"To send the Government a little gift," Alucard replied with a mysterious smile.
"Oh~~" Aranea nodded blankly, deciding not to press further. She would find out soon enough.
As Jormungandr soared, an island appeared in the distance, making the former Air Force commander gasp in shock. "That... isn't that Firs Island?"
Firs Island, one of the three End Points in the New World where magma is stored, and the primary island used for storing Dyna Stones. To the outside world, it was merely a remote Navy outpost. Except for the highest echelons of the Navy and Government, no one knew this secret. Aranea only knew because the Government had planned to station new troops there before her defection.
Alucard had given up the pursuit of Kong just to come to this remote island. Aranea couldn't think of any reason other than that specific item.
"This is going to be super hard work. I hope I get a raise later." Aranea gripped her gun-lance and gestured to the eight Pacifistas. Before Jormungandr even touched down, she and the machines leaped into the air, charging toward the island.