In a corner of Dreamland, El, Linlin, and Gerd sat by the shore, engaged in a lively conversation.
"Gerd, do you have enough souls?" Linlin asked curiously as something came to her mind.
She was well aware of El's grand plan: to build a massive airborne fortress. The idea was for Gerd to harvest enough souls and inject them into an enormous cloud island that spanned over ten kilometers, creating a floating island that could be moved at will. This was intended to be the future headquarters of the Fallen Angel Pirates.
However, achieving this was no easy feat—it required an immense number of souls.
"Over the past few years, I've gradually collected some souls from pirates and navy soldiers..." Gerd spread her hands helplessly. "But since we've had to keep a low profile, the number isn't large."
"Most of the souls have been used to enhance Dreamland and create various Homies battalions."
The most resource-intensive was the Sea King Homies battalion, particularly the 10th division. The cost was enormous. Even though Sea Kings were formidable creatures, they lacked influence in the Calm Belt. Injecting souls into the corpses of large Sea Kings increased the required number of souls exponentially.
For example, just the dozens of medium- and large-sized Sea Kings, each over a hundred meters long, required the souls of nearly ten thousand people. To ensure these creatures retained intelligence and combat abilities, the main source of their souls had to come from powerful individuals. This ensured they could understand and execute the commands of the Fallen Angel Pirates, rather than just move mindlessly.
As a result, Gerd's current stockpile of souls was rather limited.
"Infusing souls into a massive cloud island to create a true flying fortress is far beyond creating a Sea King battalion. This number of souls is nowhere near enough!"
Building a large flying fortress required an overwhelming number of souls. Even if Gerd, as the user of the Soul-Soul Fruit, injected part of her own soul into the cloud without affecting her lifespan, she could only create a top-tier Homie with a cloud diameter of about one kilometer.
This, of course, would fall far short of El's vision. A significant amount of souls was needed to continuously feed the cloud, allowing it to grow larger.
"The Totto Land plan is already being prepared and will soon be launched!"
El, with his arms crossed, said in a deep voice, "Before that happens, the airborne fortress must be completed as soon as possible..."
He knew how overwhelming the World Government's hidden powers were. It was uncertain whether the "national treasure" of the Celestial Dragons was one of the three ancient weapons, specifically the most powerful, "Uranus."
But the power that could easily destroy an island in a single strike, erasing its foundation and leaving behind a massive abyss—one that could even affect the world's sea levels—could not be ignored. If the World Government perceived his growing threat, there was no guarantee they wouldn't use it.
El had no intention of gambling with his or his comrades' lives to test whether the World Government still had enough energy to activate this "treasure."
A flying, mobile fortress—its location untraceable and able to move freely—was absolutely essential.
And if the world were ever doomed to be destroyed, with most of the land submerged by the sea, such a mobile fortress would be even more necessary.
"If the souls of pirates aren't enough, then we'll target the navy..."
He asked directly, "How many more do we need to expand the flying fortress to a ten-kilometer radius?"
Honestly, given their size, giants like Lily, Witt, Gerd, and Hajrudin—all from the Giant race—didn't find ten kilometers to be vast. To El, it still felt insufficient. The buildings and facilities, if constructed to a giant's scale, would leave little room for movement.
Since it was meant to be the Fallen Angel Pirates' headquarters, there was no need to reach the final goal all at once. They could continue collecting souls later and expand the fortress gradually.
"A cloud island over ten kilometers wide would be colossal... To ensure its flight speed isn't too slow, we would need at least ten thousand souls from elite navy soldiers!" Gerd estimated, stroking her chin. "In the New World, about half of the naval personnel stationed at those G-numbered bases would meet this requirement."
"If we were to consider regular navy soldiers from the Four Seas, we would need at least 100,000 well-trained souls!"
As for ordinary civilians, Gerd didn't mention them. They hadn't fallen so low as to harm innocent people just to harvest souls.
But the navy? That was their enemy, so there was nothing more to say.
After all, they were pirates, not saints.
"Well then, that simplifies things!"
El's expression remained calm as he spoke indifferently.
"El, are you really planning to target the navy?" Gerd asked, surprised.
Such a massive gap in the number of souls—if El truly went after the navy, the commotion would be no less significant than when the giants of Elbaf destroyed the G-12 fortress.
The navy, while cautious of the world's strongest nation, Elbaf, would not hesitate against the relatively unknown Fallen Angel Pirates. Furthermore, for years, they had been searching for El, the last of the Lunarian race, hoping to eliminate him before he grew too powerful.
They would undoubtedly spare no effort, sending admirals and fleets to annihilate him, even using the Buster Call if necessary.
"Is that so?" Linlin's eyes lit up, eager for action.
She could hardly wait to showcase her strength.
"We've been lying low long enough. It's time to show our fangs!" El cracked his neck, smirking coldly. "Besides, didn't you mention a major auction is about to be held on the Sabaody Archipelago?"
"Perfect timing—I'm curious to measure the strength of a Marine Admiral and see just how strong I've become!"
"And who knows, maybe the soul of an admiral could be worth more than those of ten thousand elite navy soldiers?"
~~~
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