At two o'clock in the afternoon, it is when the sun is at its hottest. In addition, it is summer, and the Kingdom of Thutmose is a desert land, and the temperature in the entire area has basically reached its highest point.
The excessive glare of the sun fell on the vast sea, you could even make out a slight mist on the water, evaporating and distorting the light on the surface.
At that precise moment, on the distant horizon, the navy ships appeared. The blue warships with white sails fluttering, with a formation of more than twenty ships, led by four of the largest, covered almost the entire sea. They looked like sea beasts, boldly advancing with the wind in their favor.
"The navy is coming!"
On the golden island in the middle of a sea of sand, the guardians hidden in cool tunnels, hearing the warning signal, grabbed their weapons and ran towards the trenches, staring at the rapidly approaching navy ships.
No one backed away, because they knew there was no way to retreat, and the green collars around their necks would not allow them to take a step back until they received the order to evacuate.
But it is not without its benefits, at least it allows them to exert 100% of their power.
"This is going to be difficult to combat."
Rear Admira Irwin was speechless looking at the golden world filled with sand and sea. Although his Kenbunshoku Haki allowed him to detect many presences, hardly anything could be seen with the naked eye.
How could the ships on his side fire in this situation?
At the same time, the huge fleet began to separate according to the original plan. Except for the headquarters warship he was on and three small warships from the 194th Marine Branch, the rest of the fleet deployed to three other directions in Thutmose's kingdom.
Their purpose this time is to capture the King Taklama, thoroughly investigate all its forces, rescue all captured slaves, and of course carry out a comprehensive siege.
"Go get a piece of paper!"
Rear Admiral Irwin ordered a Marine behind him. When he brought him paper and pen, he quickly recorded the enemy forces he had perceived.
However, the range of his Kenbunshoku Haki is not enough to perceive the entire island, so he only knows the general situation of the frontal coastal defense line. This is enough.
"Let them carry out artillery bombardment and troop deployment according to this picture!"
"Yes!"
The marine took the paper handed by Rear Admiral Irwin and ran quickly into the cabin to convey the order. The Rear Admiral looked at the relentless sun that still burned overhead, radiating infinite heat and light.
The war has begun
[Boom! boom! boom! boom!]
Fifteen minutes later, a headquarters warship and three marine branch warships were strategically positioned, pointing their cannons towards the island's golden sand sea.
The triple cannon on the bow of the main warship rotated to join the triple cannons on the sides, along with twelve large-caliber cannons and eighteen medium cannons from the marine branch warships.
A total of thirty-six artillery pieces, large and small, launched a fierce attack on the Slave Keeper Corps defense line along the coast!
In an instant.
The artillery fire roared, the gunpowder smoke filled the air, and the flames soared into the sky. The projectiles, loaded with explosives, left brilliant trails in the air, creating an impressive tapestry of fire over the sea of sand.
Trenches hidden under layers of sand on the island were repeatedly ruptured by explosions, debris flying everywhere. Some unfortunate people were consumed by the fire or died instantly from the explosion.
Fortunately, most of the people hid in the tunnel in time, and the casualties were not large. However, the problem was that their artillery was unable to effectively counterattack due to range issues.
The range difference between naval guns and ordinary artillery is huge, so the Slave Keeper Corps can only grit its teeth and endure the constant bombardment of the navy.
But for the navy, the bombing was not so much about its effectiveness, but about the coverage of fire.
Its purpose is to cover the landing of troops on the island.
Small boats carrying marines armed with rifles and knives, taking advantage of the fire suppression of their own fleet, were heading at full speed towards the coast.
But as they approached the beach, they faced return fire and a hail of bullets from the Slave Keeper Corps on shore.
These marines, either from headquarters or branch, they had to face it head on.
To be honest, this will cause huge casualties, but this is an inevitable process, and it is also the promotion path for all marines.
Back then, Sengoku, Garp, Zephyr and even Vice Admiral Tsuru, fought like them with guns and knives, with cannonballs in their heads and bullets around them.
As long as they can survive on the battlefield, their military ranks will be promoted, they will gain military exploits, and they will have the opportunity to gain access to more advanced swordsmanship, physical skills, and even exchange for devil fruits!
Hence, this war is an opportunity for many people.
At the same time, the Slave Keeper Corps had to leave the tunnels and return to the trenches because they needed to block the marine landing.
This requires facing artillery bombardment from four warships at sea. With Rear Admiral Irwin's humanoid radar, the fire coverage can be said to be quite accurate.
For a time, the casualty rate of both the navy and the slave guards began to increase rapidly.
Nonetheless, looking down from a high altitude, one can clearly see that as more and more naval forces step onto the beach, the distance between the two sides is shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Most of these are marines from the Navy Headquarters. Their high-intensity training and rich combat experience are fully demonstrated as soon as they step ashore.
It can be said that all the marines at the Navy Headquarters have superhuman physiques.
In comparison, the marines from the 194th Marine Branch were very different. They were basically the ones who were shot to death.
The northern, southern, eastern and western coasts of Thutmose's Kingdom had become a brutal battlefield.
What's strange is that the figure of Rear Admiral Dragon has not been seen so far, not even the flagship belonging to him.
In fact, King Taklama, who was sitting on the golden throne in the pyramid, was also puzzled by this.
Looking at the real-time images projected by several Den Den Mushi in the hall, Dragon was not seen on the battlefield. Occasionally, he would appear as a naval officer, but no higher than the rank of lieutenant.
To guard against these masters from the Navy Headquarters, he has also prepared a group of elites to be sent to various defense lines, but now not a single 'master' is seen!
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty..."
At this moment, a senior official ran in as hard as he could, and then fell down on the cold stone slab with a thud. Even so, he didn't care and shouted breathlessly.
"Something terrible, Your Majesty! The Shabak capital is being bombed by the Navy."
"Nonsense!"
King Taklama stood up angrily, staring coldly at the officer. "We are inside the sand island. No matter how far the warship's range is, it can't reach here."
"But those warships came from the sky, and they were bombarding us from the sky!"
"What?!"
King Taklama suddenly raised his head. Although there was only a smooth ceiling to his eyes, his Kenbunshoku Haki was rapidly rising upward, feeling silently.
At the same time, as the officer said, a navy headquarters warship was floating in the sky surrounded by a green whirlpool, pointing its side cannons at Shabak and firing at full power.
Dragon stood atop the mast, the coat of justice behind him flapping in the strong wind.
"The whole navy is mobilized!"
With his command, hundreds of naval officers, already prepared on deck, rose like fierce white eagles, charging towards Shabak from all angles.
"Kill!"
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