"Three thousand people?"
Vivian was stunned.
You want me to save three thousand people?
Are you kidding me?
But then he remembered that the garrison on Enies Lobby, along with the government officials, totaled nearly ten thousand people, right?
Saving more than 30% of them to complete the task didn't seem too difficult…
Yeah, right!
"I'm just one person. How am I supposed to save three thousand people in this hail of bullets and bombs?"
As he was complaining, the ten warships ahead, with a total of two hundred cannons, continued to indiscriminately bombard the land of Enies Lobby.
At the same time…
"What did you just say? Save people?" Hina suddenly appeared behind Vivian, asking.
Vivian: "…"
What does it have to do with you?
Stay away from me, woman!
"I didn't say anything. You must have misheard," Vivian said, stepping back.
"Hina heard you clearly. You want to save people on Enies Lobby, right?" Hina asked, puzzled. "Do you know the pirates on the island? Why do you want to save them?"
"I don't know them."
Vivian shook his head in exasperation. "Do you think there are only the Straw Hat Pirates on Enies Lobby?"
Hina: (⊙o⊙)
"You mean the garrison on Enies Lobby?"
"Of course." Vivian rolled his eyes. "Apart from the guilty jury, aren't the other guards people too?"
"They have their own families and loved ones. Why should they die with those damned pirates?"
Hina fell silent.
Yeah… why?
But isn't the Buster Call something they always have to execute unconditionally?
"Maybe… the government has its reasons?"
"Reasons?" Vivian couldn't hold back. "What kind of reasons justify ignoring thousands of lives?"
"Don't they deserve to live?"
"Ask yourself, what if among these garrison soldiers were your relatives, friends, or respected teachers?"
He wasn't acting; he was genuinely dissatisfied with the current situation.
In the original story, these scenes were glossed over. It was one thing when it was just an anime, but now he was in this world!
Everything had become real!
He saw many soldiers kneeling at the edge of the island, one hand holding a flintlock, the other frantically waving at the warships they were on. Their terrified expressions turned to despair as they saw the incoming bombs, and they were swallowed by the explosions.
"So, are you going to stop me from saving people?" Vivian lit a cigar, not turning his head.
"Of course… not." Hina shook her head.
She looked at Vivian's back with curiosity.
This man transferred from the East Blue was indeed an interesting guy.
…
"Help!!"
"We're still on the island!"
Bombarded by fierce artillery fire, the surviving soldiers, watching their comrades being blown to pieces, knelt on the ground, tears in their eyes, looking at the warships that continued to fire, their faces filled with despair.
"Why, why is this happening?"
"Why are they trying to kill us too?"
"We… we're also marines!"
After working diligently in the navy for so many years and then being stationed at Enies Lobby as garrison troops, they thought they could live out their lives peacefully until retirement. But now…
A nightmare had suddenly descended.
Many couldn't understand, even until their dying moments, why the institution they were loyal to would one day turn its cannons on them.
"Newman, Newman! Wake up, wake up! Sob sob…"
In the ruins covered by smoke, a bloodied soldier was struggling to drag his brother out from under the rubble. Seeing his brother's severed left leg and sunken chest, tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.
"Newman… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have persuaded you to come to Enies Lobby with me…"
"I killed you… sob sob…"
The crying grew louder.
Memories of the past flashed through his mind, and the sound of bombs whistling through the air reached his ears again. The soldier looked up, his eyes vacant, staring at the sky.
Just as he closed his eyes, ready to embrace death…
Swish——!
A golden lightning bolt suddenly flashed overhead, instantly shattering the falling bombs into pieces.
Hearing the explosion but feeling no pain, the soldier instinctively opened his eyes. In front of him stood a young man with black hair and black eyes, wearing a marine uniform and holding a cigar in his mouth. The young man asked, "Hey, can you walk?"
"Yes…" The soldier nodded blankly.
"If you can walk, follow me. I'll keep you alive." The young man said, then swung his red long sword and walked deeper into the ruins.
…
It was unclear how much time had passed.
The bombardment showed no signs of stopping.
Meanwhile, Vivian, moving through the town's ruins, had already gathered over five hundred people, advancing under the rain of artillery fire.
"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!"
Lightning flashed forward, causing numerous bombs to explode in mid-air.
Vivian, with a cigar in his mouth, sheathed his blood-red sword and turned around, asking, "Where are the remaining people? Does anyone know?"
"Over there… that's the residential area, there should be many people inside!" Someone pointed to the southeast.
"Is that so? Then let's go there." Vivian nodded and focused his mind on the system list in his head.
[Task progress: 598/3000]
"Hiss~~~ Phew!"
Out of nearly ten thousand garrison troops, he had only encountered a little over five hundred?
Glancing at the scattered limbs on the ground, Vivian couldn't help but sigh.
Most of them were probably doomed.
With this thought, Vivian continued forward, and the soldiers following him, who had previously been in despair, now had a renewed hope for survival in their eyes.
"We… we will definitely make it out alive, right?"
They looked at each other.
"I believe, as long as that man is with us, we will."
Someone nodded, answering with a tone that was both certain and self-reassuring.