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OPI Chapter 56: The Slaver King's War Preparations
🕑 Added 2023-11-16 23:58:01 +0000 UTCThe Kingdom of Thutmose, as mentioned before, is a desert country, but it is different from Arabasta because it is located in the South Blue and has normal seasonal changes, and its most beautiful season is winter.
In winter, the entire island will be covered with snowflakes, covering the golden sand sea with a layer of ice and snow. The mixed scene of white and gold gives people a visual beauty.
The entire kingdom, although it is a medium-sized island, has only one city, called Shabak, or Sand City.
The vastness of the territory, the scarcity of inhabitants and the desert environment gave the impression of weakness and poverty. Even the pirates passing by didn't bother to stop, considering it a waste of time.
But what the world doesn’t know is that beneath the surface capital of Shabak, there is an extremely wide underground space. Endless buildings shone with yellow lights, weaving screams, cries, moans and lamentations in the air, impregnated with despair and suffering.
Soldiers with green necklaces, dressed in white tunics, carrying whips, axes, spears or rifles, patrolled everywhere. Their expressionless faces gave them a terrifying appearance.
Looking into the distance, you can see the tallest and eye-catching pyramid building, which is the real palace of the Kingdom of Thutmose.
Just now, King Taklama, the famous ‘Slaver King’ in the underworld, has received news that the Navy’s fleet is about to capture him.
Sitting on the golden throne, he showed no reaction. The senior officials under him were also unable to interpret the expression of this monarch.
Because King Taklama wears a golden mask on his face, and his clothes are in a typical pharaonic style, with white robes, wide neck ornaments and a golden scepter in his hand.
In the great stone hall stood four great officials dressed in white, with two sturdy soldiers guarding on either side.
“Your Majesty, do we need to prepare to evacuate?” One of them hesitated and asked first.
King Taklama, who was sitting on the throne, asked back: “How many people, treasures, and ships can be evacuated in about two hours?”
“This...” The official hesitated and asked: “Then shall we notify the slave catchers outside to come back for support?”
"No." King Taklama seemed to have his own idea and rejected him immediately.
"The total number of slave catchers is only ten thousand, and there are less than two thousand here in the South Blue. There are even fewer who can come back in a short time. It doesn't matter whether they come or not. Even if ten thousand people can come back, what's the use. They are not combat personnel."
“What do you mean?” The official asked doubtfully.
"What I mean is that we must evacuate. Now that we have been brought to the light, we must find a way to return to the darkness!"
The King Taklama, who was dressed in gold, stood up from his throne. His two-meter-tall strong body was clearly exposed, and his cold mask looked down at the four people below.
"But now the first fleet of the Navy has arrived at the gate. If you want to retain most of our power, you must first defeat them and then escape into the darkness before the second strongest fleet arrives."
After listening, the four officials suddenly realized and understood what His Majesty the King was thinking.
“Two hours is enough for us to prepare for war. At the same time, prepare the ships. After defeating the naval fleet, immediately transfer the large troops and all necessary supplies and treasures!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
"What about the slaves? Should they go with us?" Another official asked, because for their kingdom of Thutmose, slaves were the main source of income.
"Bring 50,000 of the best quality slaves and let the rest sleep under this desert. It can be considered a good burial place." King Taklama made the decision without mercy.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The officials responded in unison again, and no one said a word for the abandoned slaves, because as long as they dared to speak out, they would immediately become one of them.
“Have you found any information about Rear Admiral Dragon and Rear Admiral Irwin?” King Taklama asked.
"Your Majesty, Rear Admiral Irwin, according to the information from the slave catchers on the Grand Line, is a very outstanding swordsman, but other than that, there is nothing noteworthy. Instead, Rear Admiral Dragon It needs your attention."
"Oh? He's a devil fruit user?"
“No, the information the slave catchers found is that he is a person without abilities, but his identity is very special.”
"Tell me."
"Yes, Rear Admiral Dragon, whose full name is Monkey D. Dragon. He is the son of the Naval Hero, the Vice Admiral Mokey D. Garp. This is said to be his first time leading a major military operation as commander-in-chief."
Hearing Garp's name, King Taklama's eyes under the golden mask became solemn. Despite the belief that ignorance brings bravery, as King of the Slaves in the Underworld, he knew more than ordinary people could ever know.
Most civilians think that the reason why Garp is called a Naval Hero is because he has been hunting down the Roger Pirates for a long time and forced them into desperate situations several times. In the end, he personally arrested and sent them to the execution stand.
But the king knew very well that this was not the case, or that this was not the main reason. According to his assumption, Vice Admiral Garp's strength could be greater than that of Navy Admiral Sengoku.
“Have you found out where Vice Admiral Garp is now?”
The officer in charge of intelligence replied respectfully: "The slave catchers have not found the specific location. Vice Admiral Garp is rumored to be someone who comes and goes as he pleases. However, they say that he recently returned to the East Blue, to his homeland."
"I see."
King Taklama relaxed a little and thought about trying to save Dragon's life in the next battle. This wasn't worth making Garp his enemy over.
If Garp could chase Roger to death for more than ten years, he would probably be able to avenge his son and chase him for more than ten years.
He doesn’t want to provoke a mad dog with the highest combat power in the world.
“Okay, let’s go down and get ready!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Soon, the more than 30,000 slave guards in the underground city of Thutmose Kingdom began to make big movements. They pulled out guns, ammunition, and even artillery in large quantities, and then through underground tunnels, they headed towards the coastal areas, preparing to set up defenses and traps.
The resources accumulated over decades as the Slaver King were fully activated at that moment.
At the same time, groups of young men were pulled out of the cells. Under the guard of soldiers on both sides, they lined up to walk towards the great pyramid, not knowing what King Taklama was going to do.
In short, everyone knows that this is a war, with tens of thousands of people participating on both sides.
Above the sea, Dragon also met with the fleets of the 194th Marine Branch, the 242nd Marine Branch, and the 289th Marine Branch of the South Blue. The naval fleet at this time was extremely large.
Five large warships of the headquarters level, each carrying a thousand headquarters naval personnel, two artillery decks, three triple anti-aircraft batteries, and a total of thirty-three large-caliber artillery pieces.
Eighteen branch-level small warships, all with one gun deck and a total of twelve medium-caliber guns, of which eight warships from the 194th Marine Branch are fully loaded with 500 men, and the remaining ten ships are all with a regular 300 men.
The total strength of the entire fleet was twelve thousand marines.
Although it seems to be inferior to the 30,000 legions of the Kingdom of Thutmose, in Dragon's opinion, his side is stronger than the former in terms of combat power and firepower.
One Rear Admiral and fifty headquarters officers at all levels who were proficient in the six forms and even some who had eaten devil fruits were enough to suppress the soldiers who were responsible for guarding the slaves all day long.
As for King Taklama, he will naturally deal with it.
Although from the intelligence point of view, the Slaver King's strength in all aspects was superior to his own, Dragon did not feel the slightest fear because of this.
When he thought that defeating the opponent would save hundreds of thousands of civilians, the blood in his body began to boil. This was the just battle he had always dreamed of!
“Target, the Kingdom of Thutmose!”
Dragon flew in the air accompanied by a green whirlwind and issued orders to the huge naval fleet composed of twenty-three large and small warships below.
"To March!"
