RNP Chapter 233 Prelude to War, Defying the Heavens
Chapter 233 Prelude to War, Defying the Heavens
Chapter 233 Prelude to War, Defying the Heavens
Dilt's words struck Shanks' heart like a heavy hammer.
A new Holy Grail War? A ritual that will decide the fate of the world?
That makes sense, since the Holy Grail War alone turned the world upside down.
The weight of all this was far greater than he had initially imagined.
"An even grander ceremony?" Shanks frowned, his red hair seeming to lose some of its luster.
"You mean, the First War—was just a rehearsal?"
"That's one way to understand it." Dilt walked back to the world chart, his finger lightly tapping the three pulsating spiritual veins.
"Do you see that? These three spiritual veins were not placed randomly. They are like three wedges, driven into the key nodes of the world's destiny."
"When they are fully mature, the battlefield for the next Holy Grail War will be determined."
"At that time, all participants, whether former Masters and Heroic Spirits or newly chosen lucky or unlucky ones, will be drawn into it."
Merlin stepped forward and stood beside Dieter, looking at the chart. His gaze pierced through the illusion and went straight to the essence.
"Three spiritual veins, three battlefields—this means that the next war may no longer be a struggle for a single island or a single country, but rather—a true world war that will affect the entire world."
"That's right." Dilt gave Merlin an appreciative look.
"And you, the participants of the First War, those familiar faces who have already forged deep bonds with the Heroic Spirits, will be the unavoidable core of this war."
"Your Command Seals, your bonds, are the tickets to the final stage."
Shanks remained silent, stroking the empty sleeve of his left arm, as if he could see Uta sleeping on the island of music through a distant space.
He had no choice, whether for the sake of the world or for his daughter.
But the shadow of a world war revealed in Dieter's words made even this maritime emperor feel uneasy.
This was no longer the maritime struggle he was familiar with, which he could navigate with his courage and strength, but an unknown territory involving the roots of the world and the game between gods.
"When—begin?" Shanks' voice was slightly hoarse.
"A sign?" Dilt smiled slightly, a smile that was unfathomable.
"When the light of the three spiritual veins illuminates the night sky, when the lurking evil is no longer content with whispers in the shadows, when—"
When chaos, thirsting for power to the extreme like Blackbeard, touches upon taboos they shouldn't touch, war will naturally begin.
He added meaningfully, "Remember, Shanks, in this war, individual strength is certainly important. But the choice and cohesion of allies may be even more decisive in determining the final outcome."
"Chaos needs checks and balances, and order—also needs someone to guide it to prevent it from sliding into extremes."
Just then, Ben Beckman walked over, handed Shanks a newly released intelligence report, and whispered something.
"Captain, news from the New World—Big Mom and Kaido seem to be making some unusual moves."
"Big Mom is still searching for someone who possesses Command Seals, and as for Kaido, he seems to be contacting the Crusaders—"
"And then there's Blackbeard. He sent Burgess and Lafitte, and their target is suspected to be—the Navy—"
Shanks took the intelligence and quickly scanned it, his expression changing slightly.
He looked at Dieter: "You know what Blackbeard wants, right?"
Dieter remained noncommittal, simply stating, "Marshall D. Teach—he is a burning wildfire, eager to devour everything to grow stronger."
"He chose a chaotic path, and he went further and more dangerously than I imagined. The targets he set his sights on—are probably doomed."
Shanks took a deep breath, and the confusion and hesitation in his eyes were finally replaced by determination.
He understood the implication in Dieter's words and realized what he needed to do next.
He was not only a father who wanted to save his daughter, but also one of the sea emperors who had maintained the balance of this vast ocean for many years.
He could not stand idly by while a chaotic figure like Blackbeard acted with impunity, nor could he allow the world to slide completely into the abyss in an unknown war.
"I understand." Shanks straightened the hilt of his sword, and the imposing aura of the Emperor of the Sea returned once more.
"For this sea—for this war, I have accepted once again!"
He turned around and called out to his companions, "Brothers, our vacation is over! We have a new course!"
"Oh!!!" The members of the Red-Haired Pirates responded in unison without any hesitation.
Merlin looked at Shanks, who had regained his resolve, and a smile of true royal authority, tinged with relief and responsibility, appeared on his face.
"This is the King of Freedom and Covenant I know. So, Master, where should we take our first step?"
Shanks' gaze sharpened: "Go find our friends. It's time to bring the scattered Red team back together!"
As if in response to his determination, the Command Seal on the back of Shanks' hand, which had been somewhat dim, suddenly flashed with a bright red light like a burning flame!
Meanwhile, all over the world.
In Water Seven, Luffy and Ace, who were inspecting the final details of their new ship, the Thousand Sunny, felt a slight warmth on the back of their Command Seals.
At the Revolutionary Army headquarters, Sabo was discussing the situation with Dragon when a glint of light flashed from the Command Seals beneath his sleeve.
In Dressrosa, Kojiro, who was sparring with Mihawk, paused almost imperceptibly.
On a snow-covered winter island, Bonney, held in Hercules' arms, felt a familiar throbbing from the Command Seals on the back of her hand.
In the Alabasta Palace, Princess Vivi, who was handling state affairs with Ramses II, fell into deep thought as she looked at the Command Seals that suddenly glowed on the back of her hand.
The red team's command spells resonated at the same moment!
The Holy Land of Mary Geoise, deep within Pangaea.
The atmosphere here is as oppressive as a tomb.
The five chairs, symbolizing the highest power in the world, stood empty, still bearing the aura of death and destruction.
Im stood silently before the Void Throne, his dark figure shrouded in shadow.
There were no footsteps, and the space rippled almost imperceptibly.
Two figures quietly stood in the main hall. The one on the left, holding a God-Slaying Whip, had a handsome appearance and a calm and detached look in his eyes, which was none other than Taigong Wang.
The man on the right, whose divine eye on his forehead was not yet open, possessed the majesty to command thousands of troops and the cold shrewdness to see through all things. He was none other than the True Lord of the Pure Source Wonderful Path, Yang Jian.
"A god from a foreign land." Im's ethereal voice echoed in the hall.
"As you can see, there is a vacancy in the world's leadership. Order needs to be reshaped."
Upon hearing this, Taigong Wang's lips curled into a faint smile.
He didn't look at Im, but instead his gaze swept over the five empty chairs, as if he were admiring an antique that had nothing to do with him.
"Life and death have their own order, and prosperity and decline have their own order. Your Excellency, forcibly pulling the deceased back from the underworld is an act against the natural order."
"The last time Shamrock was resurrected, it was because he was my Master. Due to our connection and his form of existence, we could say that we had a glimpse of a chance for survival."
"Now that the Five Elders are all dead, how can his fearless life exist? I think you should know better than anyone else. If you want to reverse the life and death of all five at the same time—"
He shook his head gently, his tone mild yet carrying an undeniable distance.
"I cannot, and I am truly unwilling to do so, for the karmic consequences and consequences involved would likely defile this so-called sacred land of the gods."
The shadows surrounding Im rippled slightly: "Rules are born to be surpassed. The price, then, will be borne by mortal beings."
"All I need is the result of their existence here."
At this moment, Yang Jian let out a cold snort, his voice as clear as the sound of a jade chime, yet carrying the weight of a thousand pounds.
"Ordinary beings? Using the lifeblood of billions of lives to ignite five decaying candles?"
"Im, is the order you seek built upon such wretched ruins?"
Although his divine eye on his forehead was not fully open, a wisp of golden light emanated from it, instantly illuminating the entire hall. The remaining marks of authority and the stench of blood were nowhere to be hidden under the divine light, appearing particularly dazzling.
"The fragments of the soul still remain, and the medium is readily available. But the fuel to reverse life and death—" His gaze was like lightning, piercing straight into the shadow where Im was.
"What do you intend to draw from? That so-called paradise, or that prison in the deep sea?"
Taigong Wang raised his hand as if to stroke his beard, but the movement stopped in mid-air and turned into a gentle sway, with a sense of complete control and composure.
"Wait a moment, Erlang. Since Lord Im has made up his mind, he has his own methods."
He finally turned his gaze to Im, his eyes clear yet deep as the starry sea, as if he had already seen through all of Im's schemes.
"Erlang and I are temporarily residing here, so we are considered guests. Guests follow the host's lead, and even if the host intends to do something against the will of Heaven, we cannot forcibly stop them. But—"
He changed the subject, his tone still calm, but with a solemnity like a god proclaiming rules.
"How you act is your business. We will not interfere, much less get involved in this karma ourselves."
"The death of those caught up in karma is indeed due to fate."
"But if innocent people are harmed, it would be an outrage against heaven and earth. At that time, don't blame us for showing no mercy."
Im's gaze remained unchanged, and the air was silent.
Yang Jian snorted coldly: "We will only stand by and watch, to ensure that this miracle will not harm the innocent or shake the foundations of this world."
"As for whether they will still be the Five Elders you know after their resurrection, or whether they will become some kind of alien beings bearing the mark of death, that is beyond our ability to guarantee, and it is not something we need to care about."
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Im fell silent, the shadows churned violently for a moment, then returned to deathly stillness.
Xiu understood that this was a boundary drawn by the other party.
We will not stop it, but we will never participate. All the sins and punishments must be borne by the World Government itself.
"Okay," Im finally uttered.
Im said no more.
The shadows around him began to writhe and expand like living things, eventually engulfing the entire Void Throne area and turning it into a bottomless abyss.
Even a sliver of golden light emanating from Yang Jian's divine eye on his forehead was like a mud ox sinking into the sea, making it impossible to see anything within.
"It has begun," Taigong Wang stated calmly.
Holding the God-Slaying Whip, he made no move, but a layer of hazy light emanated from his body, enveloping himself and Yang Jian and isolating them from the ominous aura that was gradually spreading from the shadows.
In the shadows, some force is operating in a way that defies common sense.
He did not directly extract the life force of a specific individual, as that would be too inefficient and easily detectable.
Instead, a more macro-level concept of plunder has emerged.
His target was the underwater prison now known as Pirate City.
That place is now Blackbeard Teach's carnival paradise. The entire Pirate Castle is a melting pot of all sorts of people, filled with violence and desire, a truly wicked vortex.
Im's power, like an invisible spider web, penetrated the barriers of space and quietly enveloped the pirate castle.
What is plundered is not the specific life of a pirate or prisoner, but all the energy naturally emanating from that area based on sin, pain, betrayal and despair—this is the evil of humanity.
Deep within the pirate castle.
A prisoner was seriously injured in a fight and collapsed to the ground. He could have clung to life for a few more days, but in the next second, the life in his eyes dimmed instantly as if erased by an eraser, and his body silently turned to ashes.
Others assumed it was some unknown disease or curse.
A pirate who had just plotted to betray his comrades was feeling proud of his wisdom when he suddenly felt an extreme emptiness and coldness. His heart stopped, and he collapsed with a strange smile frozen on his face.
Those heroic spirits summoned by Blackbeard, such as Captain John, were unharmed thanks to their powerful spiritual origins, but they also vaguely felt a strange palpitation, as if something invisible was being drawn away from their surroundings.
These forces of existence, sustained by extreme negative emotions, are precisely harvested by Im with the power of shadow when an individual is on the verge of collapse or immersed in immense negative emotions.
This plunder is silent and stealthy; it doesn't directly attack the life form itself, but rather removes something fundamental to their survival.
This causes it to break down instantly under certain conditions, much like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Inside Pangu City, Taigong Wang sensed all of this, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.
He did not pity the villains, but rather felt disgusted by the act of playing with the essence of life and distorting the rules of life and death.
"Plundering rather than taking lives directly—that's cunning." Yang Jian observed coldly, his divine eyes seeing through the essence.
"But those who feed on despair and sin are ultimately nothing more than an aggregate of resentment and darkness."
Taigong Wang nodded slightly and finally made a move.
He raised the God-Slaying Whip in his hand, not pointing it at the shadow where Im was, but rather making a light slash in the void.
A clear and peaceful boundary was thus established.
This boundary is not a physical barrier, but a rule-based constraint, stemming from the natural suppression of the forbidden art of Im by the Heavenly Order represented by Taigong Wang.
"Im. I'll give you one last reminder." Taigong Wang's voice remained calm, yet it carried an undeniable power of law.
"You fueled your evil deeds and defied the will of Heaven; this was your choice."
"However, under the laws of Heaven, there is still a glimmer of hope. This technique must not affect ordinary prison guards who have not lost their minds, naval prisoners who are unintentionally involved, and—any innocent person who has no direct connection to this evil deed. This is the bottom line."
Im, seemingly emitting a very faint snort from the shadows, did not refute it.
The dark energy, extracted from the negative emotions and life foundations of countless villains in Pirate City, was continuously injected into the depths of Pangu City through Im's shadow passage, pouring into the five bodies that still bore the marks of authority.
A few days later, news that shocked the world broke.
After many days, five world leaders who had not appeared in public for a long time and were even rumored to be dead miraculously appeared in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise!
This news shocked the world, and Morgans stared at the firsthand intelligence for a long time, unable to shake it off.
"Damn it—how is this possible! I saw those three old men, who had turned into monsters, being killed by that berserker with my own eyes—"
Despite the tight-knit news coverage, rumors still quietly spread, saying that the Five Elders had become somewhat different since their return.
He became even more silent, his eyes seemingly concealing a cold flame.