"Speaking of which, out in the open sea, Fleet Admiral Kong commands a fleet of 240 warships. He and Count Red have quite a history of bad blood between them."
Garp scratched his head. "And yet that guy still managed to barge right in."
It was practically unbelievable that someone could break through the blockade when Kong himself led the combined fleet.
The high-ranking officers exchanged glances, all feeling the situation was becoming extremely troublesome.
The scale of the chaos was simply too vast; the Marines alone were incapable of suppressing it.
The only option left was to wait—wait for the various factions to battle and weaken each other, and only then would the Marines have an opportunity to act.
"I'm just worried that Phantom might be up to something..." Sengoku thought to himself, filled with unease as his right eye twitched nonstop.
Suddenly, an immense, oppressive aura descended upon them.
THUD!!
Inside the office, every high-ranking officer present felt their expressions shift. They all stood up abruptly.
"This aura...!"
Sengoku's eyes widened, revealing a look of utter disbelief.
Just as expected, a loud, booming voice echoed through the air.
"Marines... I am the Great Demon Lord of Fear! Come out and face your death!"
...
"Marines... I am the Great Demon Lord of Fear! Come out and face your death!"
The roar shook every corner of the base.
Sirens wailed. A squad of about a hundred soldiers rushed rapidly toward the main gate.
Meanwhile, inside the office, the expressions of the top brass darkened. They looked at one another, stunned and incredulous.
"...The Ruler of the Abyss!"
Sengoku gritted his teeth, his eyes wide with shock. "This guy vanished two or three months ago; I never expected him to suddenly appear today!"
"He is one of the Ten Supreme Rulers of Phantom..." Lieutenant General Tsuru frowned deeply.
"Why target us? And why now, of all times?"
Garp said gravely, "Is Phantom pulling the strings behind this?"
The existence of the Ruler of the Abyss, the Great Demon Lord of Fear, was no longer a secret to the Marines.
Rumors claimed he intended to destroy the world, yet he had remained inactive for a long time.
This caused Sengoku and the others to lower their guard, keeping tabs on him only through intelligence reports.
They never imagined he would appear precisely at this moment, as if he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity!
Suddenly, a thought struck Sengoku. His expression hardened, and he rushed out the door.
"Let's go! We meet him in the real world for the very first time!"
The group quickly left the office, exited the building, and arrived at the training ground located in front of the headquarters.
No sooner had they stepped onto the field than they saw hundreds of soldiers lying on the ground.
Each one wore a look of terror, their spirits visibly shattered and unstable.
Some were even convulsing uncontrollably, completely delirious from fright.
"What happened here?!" Sengoku spoke through gritted teeth. "How long has it been? These are supposed to be the elite of the Headquarters..."
Lieutenant General Tsuru took a deep breath, looked up, and called out, "Are you the Ruler of the Abyss?"
Hovering in mid-air was a sinister-looking man with horns growing from his head and large wings upon his back.
Vladimir crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. "Finally came out, did you, Marines? I was beginning to think you only knew how to send cannon fodder to die."
"Great Demon Lord of Fear!"
Sengoku roared in anger. He stepped forward, his body radiating a brilliant golden light as he instantly transformed into a colossal Golden Buddha.
"You dare come here... what is your purpose?!"
"Heh heh heh..." Vladimir chuckled softly.
"It's been a while. Have you already forgotten what I said long ago? I am the Demon Lord destined to end the world. I have come to spread fear. To put it simply... you Marines are getting in my way!"
These words infuriated Sengoku and the others.
Lieutenant General Tsuru couldn't help but shake her head. "I have met the other Supreme Rulers of Phantom. The Archangel is holy and noble; the Sea Dragon is proud and aloof; the Lich King is cold and ruthless... But you... Great Demon Lord, you are pure evil. Just standing before you, I can feel a bone-chilling cold seeping into my very marrow."
"Don't be alarmed, little Tsuru." Garp laughed heartily. "Let me test him out!"
With that, he took a step forward and instantly exploded with terrifying speed.
Stepping on the air as if it were solid ground, Garp closed the distance to Vladimir in a flash. At the same moment, a burst of Conqueror's Haki erupted from him, radiating outward as if to subjugate all creation.
"Honestly... still as impulsive as ever." Lieutenant General Tsuru sighed and shook her head.
"Sengoku, against this creature, my ability might actually be useful. Let me try to cleanse the 'evil' from his heart."
"Understood! I'll create an opening for you!"
Sengoku nodded. Seizing the right moment, he thrust his palm toward Vladimir.
"Great Buddha Palm!"
Faced with their combined assault, Vladimir merely smiled disdainfully.
He flapped his wings, shot upward rapidly, and easily dodged both Garp's iron fist and Sengoku's massive golden palm strike.
"This is the first time I've fought you all in the real world."
Vladimir spread his arms wide, as if embracing the entire world. "Heh heh heh... Don't blame me if I don't hold back!"
Fear Scale!
DONG——!
A deep bell-like resonance rang in everyone's ears.
In the next instant, a massive, phantom image of a set of scales materialized out of thin air behind Vladimir.
The two pans of the scale swung up and down, and a terrifying power of fear enveloped the entire area.
Immediately after, Vladimir's blood began to burn wildly, his body wreathed in what looked like roaring flames.
Blood Essence Furnace!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
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