The concentrated explosion of 7-8 barrels of explosives was extremely terrifying, enough to flatten a small hill.
Dante decisively jumped off the deck, but then a powerful shockwave hit him, tearing at his back as if ripping it apart, leaving him bloody and falling into the sea.
Lafitte had understood Burgess's intentions the moment he appeared. He spread his white wings and soared into the sky. In the moment when the explosion swept through, he seemed like a swallow soaring in a tempest, swiftly dodging the baptism of the explosion.
But the other soldiers on the ship didn't have their abilities. They were almost all killed or injured in the explosion.
Only a few lucky ones, positioned farther back and not affected by the explosion, still suffered from the heat waves and loud noises, lying on the ground in pain.
"Burgess, where did you get so many explosives from?" Lafitte flew down, giving him a dissatisfied look.
The opponent's fierce attack couldn't last long. Given a little more time, he could have taken down his opponent. But now, after being bombed by Burgess, he fell into the sea.
Being in the sea was not something an Ability user like him could easily handle.
"Haha! I got them during the day. How about that? Pretty powerful, huh?" Burgess laughed loudly, looking at the pirate ship that had been blown to half and was sinking down.
Lafitte: "..."
Damn you!
What a fool!
Not having time to deal with the reckless Burgess, Lafitte ruthlessly glared at him, then flew to the surface of the sea, wielding his sharp blade. Sword Energy burst out from it, swift as thunder, piercing into the water.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
"Damn it, he got away!"
Lafitte's face became even uglier. When the opponent jumped into the sea, he intentionally protected his Vital Point, causing maximum injury but not fatal. Now that the opponent had escaped, there was no way for him to catch him from the sea.
Glancing at the still laughing Burgess, Lafitte's face darkened. "Look at what you've done!"
"Huh? Did I do something?" Burgess blinked innocently.
Suppressing the urge to chop him, Lafitte didn't bother to explain to a brainless fool like Burgess. Instead, he came to the sinking pirate ship and systematically killed the surviving Marine soldiers one by one.
His original intention was to capture these people and interrogate them in front of everyone, clearing the suspicion of the Blackbeard pirate crew's self-directed performance. He even deliberately allowed the first three barrels of explosives to explode to ensure that the enemy had returned to their headquarters before taking action.
But now that the enemy's Captain had escaped, leaving behind only a group of crew members was meaningless.
"Hey, what's this?"
At that moment, Lafitte exclaimed softly, looking at the silver-white object revealed under the burst-open deck, curiously crouching down.
Hualala! With a simple tear, Lafitte broke off the wooden planks and threw them aside. Lafitte blinked in surprise and exclaimed, "So that's it!"
"What did you find?" Burgess shouted from the harbor. The ship was sinking, and he didn't want to end up wet later.
"Come help me lift this thing out! With this, our goal is still achieved!" Lafitte impatiently rolled his eyes, motioning for him to come over.
Combining the earlier frenzy of "Whird" attacking him, Lafitte suddenly understood. He was buying time for the retreat.
Burgess scratched his head, "Oh," and then jumped in Lafitte's direction.
With Burgess's help, in no time, a small, round silver-white boat resembling a submarine was dismantled from under the stern of the ship. The sinking of the pirate ship caused a whirlpool in the harbor, but this steel-made boat only sank into the water for a second before resurfacing.
"What is this thing? An escape snail ship?" Burgess was a little puzzled by the sight.
Normally, there were small boats or other items for escape on Pirate Ships, including the most common wooden boats and the more expensive Snail Ships.
But the former were made of ordinary wood, and the latter were biological ship bodies modified from special sea snails, which were different from the submarine made of Pure Gold in front of them.
And this cylindrical shape, no matter how you look at it, it's not right.
"It should be for escape, but the design is quite unusual."
Lafitte's crimson lips cracked into a grin as he tucked his cane under his armpit. "Let's go, carry it back. Tomorrow, gather the Pirate Captains for a meeting. It's time to prove our innocence."
"Oh!"
Hearing him say that, Burgess couldn't be bothered to think. He nodded and with a "shua", hoisted the submarine, weighing at least several tons, out of the water onto his shoulders and headed back in the direction they came from.
After they left, Dante surfaced, leaning against a pillar, watching the completely sunken Pirate Ship, his teeth biting into his lip until it bled.
"Asshole!!!"
...
New World, Punk Hazard.
"I understand, you start preparing. Let's avoid any accidents."
Hanging up the Den Den Mushi, Rowen's lips curled up. "You learn from your mistakes. After this, you should grow up a bit, right, Dante?"
Territory Manatee!
That was the reason Dante and his crew were exposed last night.
This miraculous Ocean radar could detect all objects in the sea covered by electromagnetic waves, making it impossible for anything to hide. It was mainly used for monitoring the sea to prevent enemy infiltration and was something many forces would use.
Totto Land, the territory of the BIG·MOM Pirates, used it as well.
Due to its decent demand and rarity, [The Drifter], primarily focused on "trade", naturally had some preparations. Lafitte used money to buy two Territory Manatees through Edie, set them up, and had them lurk on the seabed. Lafitte had been watching Dante and his crew closely since they went underwater.
Until the explosion, Lafitte only started to capture people after confirming that there were no other enemies.
But Territory Manatees themselves didn't have high camouflage abilities. If Dante had been more cautious and investigated the enemy situation more, this could have been completely avoided.
But he didn't...
"However, this is also within my plan, isn't it?"
Seeing Rowen's signature sinister smile on his face, Vegapunk shivered.
Cunning!
Indeed cunning!
No matter what Rear Admiral Dante did, it was all within the calculations of the Soryu (Azure Dragon).
Even if they hadn't been exposed tonight, they would have been exposed tomorrow.
Because everything Rowen planned was based on the premise of their exposure.
Vegapunk silently mourned for the obscure "Blackbeard" Teach, knowing that once targeted by the Marine Soryu (Azure Dragon), his fate was predictable; it was just a matter of time.
Thinking of the research he was currently working on, Vegapunk couldn't help but shiver inexplicably. With lingering fear, he glanced at Rowen and dryly smiled, "Since things have come to this, I'll go check the remote control devices again to ensure everything is foolproof."
"Well, Vegapunk San, please feel free to do so!"
Rowen nodded, rising according to etiquette to see him off.
(End of chapter)
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