"Hmm?"
"Disappeared?"
"What's going on?"
Above the G-5 Fortress, despite El's massive transformed form, which spanned hundreds of meters, both Lily and Gerd, even as giants, appeared minuscule in comparison. Even after fusing using the Pile-Pile Fruit, forming a large Quetzalcoatl, their size hadn't changed significantly.
Witnessing the sudden disappearance of the two giant girls from the serpent's back, the nervous Navy soldiers, drenched in cold sweat, were puzzled and on high alert.
"Hiss... hiss... such overwhelming power; it feels like it can do anything!"
"Stop messing around... let me take control!" El reprimanded.
With a gentle flap of the enormous Quetzalcoatl's wings, a fierce gust of wind swept through the area, nearly toppling many of the Navy soldiers. They stumbled, barely able to stay on their feet, some almost hitting the ground.
The enormous shadow of the beast descended from the sky, landing on the ground with a thunderous impact, forcing many of the Navy soldiers to retreat in fear.
"Damn it! Navy justice will not bow to evil!" Vice Admiral Bolte, drenched in sweat, gritted his teeth as he prepared to give the order. "Fire—"
But before he could finish, the massive Quetzalcoatl's glowing eyes narrowed sharply. "Life or death?"
"Buzz—"
In an instant, the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit was unleashed. An invisible wave of energy rippled outward, engulfing the entire area. Not only the soldiers on the ground but also the non-combatants hiding in the buildings were affected.
Shivers ran down the spines of countless soldiers as a strange, visible essence began drifting out from their bodies.
"What is this?"
"I can't move my body..."
"It feels like my soul is being torn away!"
"No—!"
One by one, the soldiers stared in horror, their faces pale, as they gazed at the towering, majestic form of the Quetzalcoatl.
"You answered wrong..." El sneered, his eyes narrowing. "Soul Harvest!"
Souls, completely helpless, were ripped from the bodies of the soldiers, one after another, drawn toward El.
"Ahhhh..."
"Thud, thud..."
Screams echoed through the G-5 Fortress as soldiers collapsed to the ground, lifeless, their faces frozen in terror. The sight left those who remained shaking with fear.
"You bastard—!"
Vice Admiral Bolte, the only one spared from having his soul ripped out, stared in shock and fury as more of his men fell. He charged forward, full of rage.
"Slice!!"
In an instant, his legs transformed into springs. With a press of his feet, the ground caved in as he shot forward like a blur, vanishing from sight.
"Hmm, so you weren't frightened by the soul-infused Conqueror's Haki?"
El, still in his massive Quetzalcoatl form, was slightly impressed. "Not bad for the commander of a Navy G-unit fortress."
Bolte's aura was strong, marking him as one of the elite Vice Admirals of the Navy, and he seemed to possess the powers of the Paramecia-type Spring-Spring Fruit.
"Eh? Is this guy... the commander of the G-5 branch? And he's a Devil Fruit user?" Lily and Gerd, who had merged with El, shared his abilities and senses, noticing Bolte's immunity to the Soul-Soul Fruit's effects.
"Spring Shot!!"
In a flash, Vice Admiral Bolte's long legs propelled him through the air at incredible speed. "Boom! Boom!" The buildings around him crumbled as he dashed about, using his spring legs to compress and store energy. His speed made him appear as a blur, his movements impossible to track with the naked eye.
"Spring Rocket Punch!" In the next moment, his legs turned red-hot, surrounded by steam as he rocketed toward El, both legs charged with Haki, aimed directly at the massive Quetzalcoatl's head.
"Boom!!"
With a deafening explosion, the ground shattered, forming spiderweb-like cracks beneath them. But instead of El being injured, it was Vice Admiral Bolte who was sent flying, crashing into the ground, his body battered and bleeding.
"Whoosh..." A massive, metallic-blue serpent tail, glittering with a metallic sheen, slowly retracted.
"Don't assume that just because I'm large, I'm slow and an easy target," El mocked, casting a derisive glance at Bolte's half-dead form.
"Whoosh..." As the enormous beast began to shrink, three towering figures emerged, with Gerd, the over twelve-meter-tall giantess, standing out the most.
At just over 20 years old, Gerd was still considered a young giant by her people's standards, not yet fully mature. Giants lived much longer than humans, with a lifespan three times as long, and their growth cycle was similarly prolonged.
"Whoosh..." Amidst the rubble, a green vine sprouted, coiling around Bolte's body and lifting him toward Gerd.
"No matter what, a Navy Vice Admiral's soul is still a decent prize!" El said with a chuckle.
Despite Bolte being easily defeated, his strength was not insignificant. In the New World, where powerhouses roamed, elite Navy Vice Admirals were still highly respected and feared by most pirates.
"Indeed..." Gerd stretched out her hand, and with a swift motion, she extracted Bolte's soul, leaving his lifeless body behind.
"Hissss, quite the harvest..." Gerd, with her tall, graceful figure and playful smile, hefted her scythe and suggested, "Why not head to the G-1 Fortress next, El?"
Thanks to the information El had shared and the intelligence gathered by the Hell Trading Company, Gerd was well aware of the strategic importance of the G-1 Fortress, located near the Red Line.
"Yeah, with your strength, El-nii, even if an Admiral arrives from the Red Line, we'll be done and gone by then," Lily chimed in, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she clung to El's arm.
"Plus, we need a lot of souls to build the flying fortress, and the Totto Land plan also requires an enormous number of souls to create the Homies army!"
"That's fine, we'll leave the Sabaody Archipelago to Linlin and Oz," El said without hesitation. Having already attacked the G-5 Fortress, there was no point in holding back now. They were bound to provoke the Navy's retaliation sooner or later, so there was no need for caution.
"However, the Navy may have already received a distress signal... G-1 might be on alert!" El's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "Let's hope they don't disappoint me!"
If they arrived in time, there was a high chance they would encounter a Navy Admiral, which suited El just fine.
~~~
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