20demayo Chapter 116: Demonstrating Force
Chapter 116: Demonstrating Force
Chapter 117: Demonstrating Force
At the end of 1492 in the Ocean Calendar, the wind blew across the seas controlled by the Kingdom of Gaya.
This chaotic sea area, which originally belonged to pirates and the smoke of war, has been completely brought under order in the past few years.
The navigational beacons and lighthouses are regularly distributed along the main shipping routes, patrol fleets conduct regular inspections, and even the weather has become relatively stable for some reason.
The World Government's fleet chose the widest main channel.
The fleet was quite luxurious, with a large, three-masted sailing ship in the center, its hull pure white and elaborately decorated, its prow adorned with the crest of a Celestial Dragon family.
The gold paint on the sides of the ship reflects a dazzling light in the sunlight, and small fountains and ornamental gardens can even be seen on the deck.
This is the flagship of a Celestial Dragon family that was wiped out in the Mary Geoise attack, and it has now been requisitioned by Saturn.
Surrounding this luxurious ship were twelve standard-issue naval warships.
The naval ensigns hanging on the masts of the warships fluttered in the wind, and all the gun ports on the decks were open, their dark muzzles pointing towards the sea.
Further out are eight more specially designed but faster vessels, which are the exclusive ships of the CP department.
Shengxing stood on the foredeck of the luxury ship.
Today he was wearing a dark suit with a cape embroidered with the emblem of the World Government, and his hands were resting on the top of his cane.
"Saturn Saint, we'll reach Gaya Island in three more days."
A CP0 member dressed in a white suit with a mask covering the upper half of his face bowed and reported: "Seventeen observation points were detected along the way, which should be the coastal surveillance system of the Kingdom of Gaya."
Ignore it.
Saturn's gaze swept across the sea, which was unusually calm, with even the waves smaller than elsewhere: "Let them see."
"Yes."
Demonstrating military power is one of the reasons why Saturn chose to make such a grand show of force during this trip.
Following the attack on Mary Geoise, the World Government needed to continuously demonstrate to all member states and to the ocean that we remained powerful and capable of dispatching a fleet of this size.
Even if a quarter of the fleet was temporarily drawn from other sea areas, and several warships even need repair.
But the superficial work must be done well.
The fleet continued its journey forward.
The outlines of islands began to appear at the horizon; they were the outlying islets of the Kingdom of Gaya.
The island's port was filled with merchant ships, all of which flew the golden Rising Sun flag from their masts.
Saturn noticed that the people on those merchant ships were all looking in this direction, without panic or rioting; some were even observing with telescopes.
He tightened his grip on the cane slightly.
Just then, a shout came over the naval channel: "A convoy has appeared ahead! It's huge!"
All ships immediately went on alert, naval soldiers ran to their gun positions, CP agents gathered at the front of the deck, captains issued commands via Den Den Mushi (snail communication devices), and the fleet began to adjust its formation.
Saturn raised his hand, and a CP0 officer immediately handed him a specially made telescope.
Through the lens, he saw ships appearing on the other side of the sea.
The first thing that catches the eye is a touch of gold.
That ship was enormous, a whole size larger than the Celestial Dragons' luxurious ship that Saturn was on.
The ship's hull, cast entirely in gold, gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.
It is the Golden Dawn.
The Golden Emperor's vehicle.
Behind this giant golden ship, twenty fleets were lined up in neat rows.
Each fleet consists of ten warships, all with the same ship type, paint scheme, and even gun barrel height.
Two hundred elite warships spread out on the sea, their width almost covering the entire visible sea surface.
"Stop the ship." Saturn lowered his telescope.
The order was quickly transmitted throughout the fleet via Den Den Mushi, and the World Government's fleet immediately slowed down, stopping about one nautical mile away from the Gold Fleet.
The two sides are locked in a standoff.
The sea breeze seemed to stop at that moment, and the sea was as calm as a mirror, reflecting the sky and the reflections of both fleets.
There was movement on the Golden Dawn.
Golden fluid gushed from the deck, like a waterfall of molten gold cascading down the ship's side, but the gold did not sink into the sea; instead, it spread, condensed, and shaped on the surface of the water.
A large amount of gold was separated from the ship and used to build a huge platform on the sea.
The platform is circular, with a diameter of over fifty meters, and its surface is as smooth as a mirror.
A decorative railing rises from the edge of the platform, engraved with intricate sunflower patterns.
In the center of the platform, an oval-shaped golden table rises from the ground, with twelve high-backed chairs beside it.
The main seat at one end of the long table is exceptionally spacious, with a backrest twice the height of the other chairs.
Immediately afterwards, a six-meter-wide golden avenue extended from the edge of the platform, running straight toward the World Government fleet.
The avenue is adorned with exquisite carvings, and there are even decorative pillars on both sides shaped like streetlights, with golden spheres emitting a soft glow suspended atop them.
The golden road extends towards the luxurious ship where Saturn is located.
"Saturn Saint!"
Several CPO members immediately surrounded them: "Please allow us..."
"Step back."
Saturn waved them away, staring at the magnificent golden passageway before glancing up at the sky.
The clouds in the sky were abnormally thick; they were not the cumulonimbus clouds commonly seen along the Grand Line, but rather a uniformly spread gray cloud blanket that filtered the sunlight into dim light.
The clouds were very low, perhaps only a few hundred meters above the sea.
There seemed to be something in those clouds.
"Oh."
Saturn let out a short, cold laugh, straightened his cloak, leaned on his cane, and strode toward the ship's railing.
"Saturn Saint!" The naval commander on the ship tried to dissuade him.
"All personnel on standby."
Saturn didn't even turn his head: "Without my order, do not fire or move."
He walked to the ship's side, where the end of the golden passage was level with the edge of the deck, forming a gentle slope at the junction.
The patterns carved on the surface of the passage are even more exquisite when viewed up close; they are a continuous pattern combining some kind of vines and the sun.
Saturn is on the golden path.
His footsteps echoed crisply on the metal surface. He walked slowly, step by step, the sound of his cane striking the gold rhythmic and heavy.
He walked and observed, not just the sky.
Huge shadows were moving beneath the surface of the sea on both sides of the passage.
And there's more than one; there are at least two digits.
Each shadow was over thirty meters long, with indistinct outlines but clearly not sea monsters; their swimming postures were more mechanical, more like some kind of artificial object.
An underwater fleet? Or modified sea monsters?
Saturn did not stop; he continued forward, his gaze sweeping over the United Kingdom fleet in the distance.
Two hundred warships, and on each ship, you could see soldiers lined up in neat rows.
The soldiers' equipment was uniform, not naval standard, but something he had never seen before—flintlock muskets with two handles.
Saturn raised his assessment of the United Kingdom's military strength by one level. He originally thought that the United Kingdom's armed forces mainly relied on high-end combat forces such as Devil Fruit users and giants, but now it seems that conventional military forces have also become systematic.
He ascended the golden platform.
Besides the long table and chairs, tea sets and snacks were already laid out on the tabletop.
Steam rose from the white porcelain teapot, and the dessert plate contained a variety of exquisitely crafted pastries, as well as a chilled fruit platter.
A figure sat at the head of the long table—the Golden Emperor, Orikum Oro.