With the carrot and stick approach, coupled with the already colossal reputation, making a choice isn't that difficult.
Already surrounded by Pirates, and with the last King now dead, those soldiers who were originally indecisive tightened their grips on their guns and aimed at the commanders they recognized as not belonging to their faction.
"Why? What does this have to do with me?"
One squad captain blinked as his men pointed their guns at him, then immediately aimed his gun at his superior, a true noble.
"I'm just an ordinary person! No lineage here. Come on, let's take down these guys together!"
The soldiers of the three countries, led by the majority, defected en masse, aiming their guns at the 'strong' ones as they perceived them.
Seeing this, Bellamy couldn't help but grin.
It would be too troublesome for them to identify, but the locals living here could easily pinpoint the nobles.
Eliminate all these bloodline individuals, and the island would completely fall under their banner, becoming one of their ruled territories.
The area near the Red Earth Continent is not too difficult to conquer. Following the magnetic field route, using O'hara as a baseline, each route has four or five Magnetic Field Islands, plus the surrounding islands. With the Fur Race and Fishman Race as vanguards, Bellamy and his group follow behind, targeting only nobles and the King, with the goal of seizing governing power, their territorial map expands rapidly.
No one is a match for the Disaster Pirates, whether it's in terms of weapons or personnel. Their conquest in the forward position is unbeaten; whether it's the rare adherent nation of the New World or the numerous Non-Adhering Countries, none can oppose them.
Even if there are strong opponents, facing the massive Pirate attacks, they either flee or perish. And if that fails, they still have the Seven Stars.
However, compared to the smooth progress in the forward position, beyond O'hara, the initial strategic advancement wasn't as easy.
Sage's original plan was to conquer the entire front half, extending the battle lines to the starting points of three routes in the second half. Initially, it was quite smooth; King and Katakuri had cleared the left and right routes, starting to converge further back.
But an unexpected situation arose on the central route.
The Hyrule Kingdom is exactly on the central route among the five in the front half, a key node center Magnetic Field Island that leads to the central route at the back half. Its uniqueness lies in the Log Poses of the other two routes converging towards this direction, an island serving as a transit point for three routes, connecting continuously to a single route in the back half.
The geographical position, situated in the front half, albeit without O'hara's special routes and weather, has a likeness to O'hara in some aspects.
As a transit hub, the island is vast. Though not part of the World Government, as a Non-Adhering Country, it is not a weak nation. It has military power and strong figures, always a dominant force in this region.
Though Sage emerged as an unexpected force, nominally ruling the front half, that was within the Pirate Realm, not the Kingdom Realm. In the Kingdom, including the lateral four Magnetic Field Islands, all fall under Hyrule Kingdom's supreme influence.
A King and Knight, under a system where honor outweighs everything.
"Scattering Bats!"
In an open plain, Moriah's shadow beneath his feet scattered into countless bats, flying towards an eagle man in the sky.
That man, with eagle wings extending from his back, and half a face resembling an eagle beak mask, holding a lance. As the bats approached, the tip of his lance thrust like rain, dotted with Haki-covered black spots, piercing all bats and turning them into ink rain falling down.
"Shadow Warrior!"
Under the sun, a bat yet to be pierced suddenly shimmered, transforming into Moriah's body, drawing out two single-bladed scissors in mid-air, swinging them fiercely.
The single-bladed scissors didn't clash with the lance but were repelled by an externally released Haki, as their Haki coiling together exploded forcefully.
Bang!!
Amid the impact, Moriah's form turned to shadow again, swapping with the shadow on the ground, while the eagle man flew backward, flapping wings and conjuring a group of bald eagles from nowhere, charging straight like arrows towards Moriah.
"Such thing..."
Moriah's shadow beneath him re-gathered, without needing others, the shadow split into dense needles, rising from the ground, piercing all incoming bald eagles.
But right at that moment, his pupil contracted, and he subconsciously crossed the single blades in his hands.
Thunk!!
The icy gleaming lance tip accurately lodged at his crossed blades, and the Haki coiled around the lance tip exerted power that made Moriah's arm go numb, forcing him backward.
Missing the strike, the eagle man didn't linger. With a spread of wings, he flew high up, observing Moriah from above.
"Hey hee hee hee, a clever fellow."
Moriah looked up at the man, suddenly laughing, "Choosing the battlefield on a plain, where shadows can't hide, and knowing my character well, using eagles to distract my attention and then striking. The Flying Type abilities are troublesome, adept at utilizing flight for dodging attacks, a rare strong opponent. But are you not from the Kingdom army? What's your name? Interested in joining our Disaster Pirates?"