With that command, over twenty Marine warships launched a coordinated cannon barrage. In mere moments, the sky above the port town was engulfed in a storm of artillery.
Seeing this, Magnus—still engaged in battle with Kong and Sebas—froze, eyes darkening.
"Kong, you gave the order to attack civilians!?"
He shouted in anger. While Magnus had already instructed the Blackheart Pirates to evacuate the townsfolk, and only the worst scum remained in the port, Kong didn't know that.
Hearing Magnus's voice, Kong visibly hesitated—his next strike halted mid-air.
Kong bellowed toward the Marine fleet.
"Who gave the order to fire!?"
Over the years, thanks to intelligence gathered from Sphinx, Kong had risen to Admiral Candidate. His knowledge of Sphinx even exceeded Magnus's.
Sphinx wasn't large—barely 30 kilometers in diameter, with a population under 300,000. It was resource-poor and pirate-infested. Had Magnus not appeared, the nation would've collapsed long ago.
In the Marines, corruption ran deep. Many officers looked down on civilians, helping only because it was their duty.
And if that was how they treated civilians, how much worse for non-member nations that didn't pay tribute?
But not every Marine thought that way.
Kong, for instance, believed most pirates were unforgivable—but attacking civilians to catch pirates?
That went against everything he stood for.
They hunted pirates to protect civilians.
If civilians became collateral, what was the point?
Even non-member nations deserved basic human rights!
While Kong's attention wavered, Magnus finally caught his breath and unleashed a vicious flurry against Sebas.
Sebas roared, "I gave the order! This country's people harbor pirates! Who's to say their hands aren't stained with blood? Are we to let our soldiers die storming the shore for these criminals?"
Bombarding the island was the safest and most efficient option. With the battleships' range, they could flatten most of Sphinx before even stepping foot on land, reducing Marine casualties.
Magnus didn't argue. Instead, he slashed Sebas a few more times while the old man was busy talking.
Magnus was giving everything just to fight these two Admirals. He had no energy left to worry about the rest of the island. That was up to the other pirates.
And he wasn't worried they'd run. There was nowhere to run. Their only path was forward.
"Damn White Wolf Pirates!"
Artillery rained down non-stop. The shockwaves left many pirates deafened and shaken.
If they couldn't piece it together now, they had no business being in the New World.
The White Wolf Pirates had used them as a shield!
If Magnus and his crew wanted to escape, they could've done it long before the Marine blockade.
"Because this is White Wolf Pirate territory."
"You wouldn't abandon your turf just because the Marines showed up, would you?"
An old pirate said it—grizzled and weathered.
His words silenced the crowd.
"So we're just gonna take the loss?" someone asked.
The old pirate smiled wistfully.
"There may be a lot of Marines, but we've got numbers too. And we hold the terrain. Once the shelling stops, it's our turn to strike."
This world might have superpowers and monsters who split seas—but most were still flesh and blood.
A bullet could still wound.
A cannon could still kill.
But if there was shelter...
Even the weakest pirate wouldn't die, no matter how long the bombardment lasted.
This was the New World!
The Marines would eventually land—and that was their moment.
"The two Admirals are tied up by White Wolf Magnus. Their elite officers are dealing with his crew. All we need to fight are the regular soldiers."
"Now isn't the time to point fingers. Besides, Sphinx has always been Magnus's turf. He didn't stop anyone from leaving."
"We're just unlucky. We bumped into the Marines. So what now? Fight them—or die alone?"
His speech turned the tide.
The Marines were here. There was no escaping now. Fighting the White Wolf Pirates would just make them easy Marine targets.
Better to fight together.
If Magnus's crew escaped, they'd be left behind.
Seeing the shift in morale, the old pirate grinned and glanced toward the battle overhead.
"Damn captain... Said we disbanded, and now you're secretly recruiting again. Think we're too old, huh?"
He had only found out Magnus robbed the Heavenly Tribute from the papers.
"If you could beat Admirals, you should've told us! We wouldn't have spent years running from the Navy like idiots!"
Despite his words, he wore a smile bright as sunshine.
Facing Admirals head-on, without flinching—that was the Magnus he had followed!
Not far away, a group of black market agents meant to stir chaos among the pirates stared blankly.
"Who's that old guy? One of ours?"
"The pirates are already hyped. Do we still need to be here?"
Most pirates in the port town were nobodies, but many had bounties in the tens of millions.
If that strength could be unified—
Once it was clear that the shelling hadn't done significant damage, the Marines began their landing.
Magnus had drawn away the strongest Admiral.
But ten Vice Admirals still remained!
"That damn old man really knows how to pick his moment!"
Yet even with elite enemies inbound—
Ripley and Rocks were smiling.
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