Chapter 45: The Roar of the Titans

Once Rocks saw there weren’t any other powerhouses on the island, he sat down leisurely at the prow of his ship.

His nerves finally relaxed a bit.

He couldn’t help but wonder—why hadn’t the Navy tried to set a trap for him?

In fact, he was right to doubt. It’s not that the Navy hadn’t considered laying a trap, but they simply didn’t have the strength to eradicate him in one attempt.

After all, the Rocks Pirates were at their peak. Wiping them out would require more than just three or four Admirals.

It would take at least ten Admiral-level fighters to have any shot at completely destroying the Rocks Pirates.

The Navy didn’t have the perfect opportunity yet, so they naturally wouldn’t risk wasting manpower for nothing.

As for the Snow Lion Admiral, the moment Rocks caught him, there was no way he was getting out of the New World.

Because lately, the Rocks Pirates hadn’t sat idle—they had cleaned out every single Navy branch, big and small, throughout the New World.

Now, only one Navy base remained at the entrance to the New World, near Fishman Island.

“Boom! Boom! Boom!”

On the battlefield, King Tyr was a blur, fists flying as he fought in the midst of giant stone lions.

“Jiehahaha!”

Golden Lion’s twisted face broke out into manic laughter as he floated in midair.

“With your skills, even touching me is wishful thinking.”

He sent wave after wave of stone lions charging at King Tyr, each one powered with unbelievable strength.

“Huff… huff…”

“I can’t keep this up. If this goes on, I’ll run out of stamina,” King Tyr muttered, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He couldn’t help but admit—Golden Lion was as formidable as they said.

His face exhausted, he hovered in the air, thinking how strong Golden Lion really was.

“All I can do is go all out.”

“Explosive Fist!”

Gritting his teeth, King Tyr’s features twisted as he stamped down hard with both feet, spinning midair like a whirlwind. He smashed through several stone lions in a row, landing right in front of Golden Lion.

“Shiki, take this!”

Golden Lion didn’t flinch as Tyr charged at him. He braced himself against King Tyr’s blows and rushed forward to meet him.

“I am the Golden Lion!”

With a double slash of his swords, Golden Lion brought his blades down on King Tyr.

“Cross Wave Slash!”

“Boom!”

A thunderous roar echoed across the battlefield, so loud that pirates who weren’t as strong had blood streaming from their ears.

The sky split apart, the earth shook, and chaos swept the ground as people and horses were sent flying. Those closest to the blast were ripped to shreds, turned into clouds of blood; those a little farther out were tossed hundreds of meters. The very center of the clash became a vacuum stretching several hundred meters in every direction.

A moment ago the battlefield was turmoil, but now it fell dead silent.

Soldiers and pirates alike stared at the center of the fight, stunned.

Sunlight poured down, brightening the battlefield.

Finally, they could make out what was left at the center. Golden Lion stood in place, while King Tyr lay in a deep pit, his fate unknown.

“Pfft!”

A faint noise broke the silence.

Slowly, King Tyr rose to his feet.

“In the end, I still couldn’t protect my kingdom.”

“Why does this world even have pirates?”

King Tyr said, battered and blood-soaked.

“Jiehahaha!”

“Who knows?”

Golden Lion, uniform stained with blood, rummaged around until he found a snapped cigar, stuck it in his mouth, and used his sword to light it. He took a deep drag, blew out a ring of smoke, and grinned in satisfaction. There was nothing like a cigar after battle.

The clash had been so intense that both swords were glowing red hot.

“Ask the Celestial Dragons if you want answers to that one.”

“Jiehahaha!”

With the cigar still clamped between his teeth, Golden Lion strode toward King Tyr.

“This is goodbye!”

Golden Lion swung his sword at King Tyr’s neck.

“No, stop!”

Just as the blade swept past King Tyr’s throat, a furious voice rang out from behind.

Golden Lion turned and saw Giles running toward him at full speed.

“You really don’t take me seriously, do you?”

“To lose focus during a fight…”

“Sovereign Nation!”

Charlotte Linlin, seeing Giles abandon their duel to rush toward King Tyr, felt a flash of irritation.

“Rip!”

Giles failed to dodge the attack—an immense burst of energy tore his body in two.

His upper half landed next to King Tyr.

“Who would’ve thought our dreams would end here? Weren’t we supposed to build up Tyr’s kingdom together…?”

“Ugh—!”

With only his left hand remaining, Giles clawed his way toward King Tyr, inch by inch.

“Just a little more…”

But just as his left hand was about to touch King Tyr, the light in his eyes faded.

“Thud!”

With a soft sound, Giles’s right hand finally dropped to the ground.

“Gurarararara!”

“If you two are done, then it’s time for me to step things up!”

“Quake!”

Newgate immediately launched a fiercer assault.

“Damn you, Rocks Pirates!”

“Why did you have to come to our country?”

Kreuss screamed, tears streaming from his eyes.

“Bang!”

Newgate didn’t reply. He merely pressed his attack harder. He knew he couldn’t answer that question anyway.

The soldiers snapped back to attention, charging the pirates with renewed fury. As long as Kreuss, their strategist, was still fighting, they still had something to believe in.

“Boom… boom… boom…”

At that moment, Karl was sent flying across several mountain peaks by the Snow Lion Admiral.

“Pfft!”

Karl immediately got to his feet and spat out a mouthful of dark blood.

He looked up to find the Snow Lion Admiral watching him.

The Snow Lion Admiral had gone full beast mode, transformed into a towering white lion dozens of meters high.

“Guess it’s time to try out my new power.”

In the heat of battle, Karl pushed his bloodline power even further. By unleashing it, he could become a true titan.

“Thud… thud… thud…”

Thundering heartbeats echoed through the air.

Karl hammered his fists into the ground again and again. His body swelled slowly, transforming into a thirty-meter-tall Titan giant.

His shoulders were like rising mountains, his waist wide as a running track, and his skin glowed gold as if bathed in sunlight. There was a mysterious, solemn aura about him.

“Strength keeps flooding in!”

“This is Titan Strength!”

A deep, rumbling voice rolled out from the giant’s mouth.

“Gagagaga!”

Karl flexed his massive fists, then turned to face the Snow Lion.

“You should feel honored. You’re the first to face my Titan form.”

“Whoo!”

He swung his enormous fist, the air shuddering with a roar like an oncoming train.

“Is that really Karl?”

“So that’s Titan Strength?”

Charlotte Linlin, having finished her own fight, had seen the whole transformation. She couldn’t help but feel shocked.

“Mama-mama-mama!”

“Incredible. Such mighty bloodline power.”

Linlin gently rubbed her belly as she spoke. She could sense three new lives growing inside. Each was far more powerful than an ordinary child—even though they weren’t born yet, merely embryonic.

“Amazing!”

“Bang!”

Newgate blocked Kreuss’s side kick with his right hand.

“Newgate, where are you looking?”

“Are you distracted in the middle of a battle? Think you can just ignore me?”

“Gurarara!”

“Try again.”

…

“Could that be Joy Boy? There’s more to it than just a resemblance.”

“How long do I have to wait for Joy Boy to return?”

Far off in the New World, on the back of Zunesha, a low rumbling echoed. Even though this heartbeat was powerful, Zunesha could tell—it wasn’t Joy Boy.

“It’s not time yet.”

“The promised time hasn’t come.”

Calm Belt, deep ocean—here, everywhere you looked, enormous Sea Kings stretched for thousands of meters.

A yellow Sea King, at least a hundred thousand meters long, bowed its colossal head and spoke in a voice as deep as the sea itself.

“The Sea King hasn’t been born yet.”

Three nearby Sea Kings, each just as massive, nodded their agreement.

“Has something happened?”

“Sun God—Joy Boy, we’ve been waiting for you for so long.”

Within Mariejois, a voice echoed from the chamber where Im slept—then all fell silent once more.

…

Unbeknownst to Karl, his Titan transformation and the thunderous beat of his heart had drawn the attention of powerhouses all over the world.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!”

“Is that really Lord Karl?”

At the edge of the battlefield, Long Yi and Long Er gazed in awe at the gigantic figure, stars practically shining in their eyes.

“So that’s Karl’s true form?”

“Jiehahaha!”

“Things just got even more interesting.”

Suspended in the air, Shiki laughed wildly. The stronger Karl became, the greater his hope to break free from the Rocks Pirates.

“Hahaha!”

“Karl, just how many secrets are you hiding?”

Rocks could feel Karl’s life force surging—it was nowhere near its limit yet, but still far from matching his own.