"Master! It's bad! That marine is too strong. He killed all our prey in an instant!"
Moria, who was dozing in a chair, suddenly opened his eyes:
"What? What's the name of that marine? Is he a vice admiral?"
"No, I heard he's a Colonel."
Moria smirked:
"Heh-heh-heh... Excellent! I didn't expect a marine Colonel to so effortlessly destroy a pirate group with a total bounty of over 100 million. How strong must his shadow be!"
"With him, my plan will finally come true!"
Absalom fearfully scratched the back of his head:
"But, master, that marine is really strong, it's not worth troubling him! After all, you are also a Shichibukai!"
This reminded Moria that, by contract with the World Government, he couldn't act against the marines, but this wasn't a big problem.
After all, this is the Devil's Triangle! It's normal for some unfortunate incidents to happen... We just need to turn all these marines into zombies!
How can we let them leave with materials delivered right to our doorstep!
"Absalom, go and inform Hogback to get ready. You and Perona take the zombies to deal with the rest of the fleet's officers. As for that marine Colonel, I'll handle him myself!"
"Yes, master!"
"Wait a minute!"
Absalom turned to Moria:
"Master, do you need something else?"
"Absalom, how strong is this Colonel?"
"I'm not sure. I only saw a flash of light from a sword, and then all the pirates were dead. Yes, this marine officer is very skilled in swordsmanship, and he can release…"
"The Flying Slash?"
Absalom nodded several times:
"Ah, yes, yes, exactly that, very frightening! He can even cut through steel. Luckily, I dodged in time, or I would've been sliced in half."
"Alright, I understand, go!"
— Oh!
After Absalom left, Moria touched his "neck" (forgive him, he lacks a chin):
— A Flying Slash, a swordsman? Quite challenging!
— But against my invincible power, he is still no match for me, hehe!
The terrifying laughter scared away a flock of bats, and the empty castle gradually returned to silence.
— His shadow is also perfect for the zombie Shimostuki ryuma. What a pity... We'll give it to Oars! Such a powerful shadow shouldn't go to waste.
...
— Colonel, this place is too gloomy! There might be evil forces here!
Nelson gripped his saber tightly, and his voice trembled. After they passed through the gates, only a one-way street led down. It was dark ahead and nothing was visible, while the ground was littered with corpses.
Who wouldn't shudder at the sight of this?
— Don't worry! They're just corpses, what's there to fear? Have you ever seen me afraid?
— Besides, there's a lot of us, are we scared of ghosts? Are you scared?
Nelson, pretending to be calm, shook his head:
— No!
Karl patted his deputy on the shoulder with relief. He likes how you save face and suffer.
— R-r-r...
In the darkness ahead, a faint growl emerged, sounding especially eerie in the grim setting.
Nelson quickly raised his gun and aimed it forward:
— Captain, it seems there's a monster ahead!
— Raven, go take a look!
The Raven on Karl's shoulder flapped its wings and flew ahead. After a while...
— R-r-r! Woof-woof-woof! A-a-a!
From the passage came a loud roar, like a howling wolf, a barking dog, and even the sound of running.
The Raven flew back to Karl from the passage ahead, followed by an enormous monster.
— Three, three heads! It's the legendary guardian of the underworld, Cerberus!
Karl laughed foolishly, seeing a fox's head among them. Everything was exactly as he imagined.
The Raven transformed into a long sword in mid-air and fell into Karl's hand. Karl also swung forward.
— The Flow of One Sword... Shattered Jasper!
— A-a-a!!!
The three-headed dog before him crashed its head into the ground, its body splitting in two. The marines behind Karl were also in shock.
— See? There's nothing to fear! Don't scare yourselves. We are the Marines, and the fleet is fearless!
— Colonel Karl is right! We are the fleet! We are fearless!
Thus, the fear in the hearts of the marines was dispelled by half. As long as Colonel Karl is here, what do they have to fear?
— Keep moving forward!
Soon the team emerged from the passage, and a graveyard came into view, scattered with chaotic tombstones and protruding graves, looking somewhat like a horror movie.
— Oh!
Bang! Puff!
Pale hands emerged from the graveyard. A thin head and body surfaced until they fully crawled out, staring at Karl and the others with lifeless eyes.
— Are those zombies? Nelson, shoot!
— Yes!
Nelson suppressed the fear in his heart, aimed at the head of one of the zombies, and pulled the trigger.
— Bang!
The bullet went straight through the zombie's head, and the zombie screamed: — Ahhh! That hurts!!!
— Hey! It can talk? Nelson was stunned!
— Haven't you realized yet? They're not zombies, just a product of a Devil Fruit ability.
Nelson frowned: — Devil Fruit?
Karl nodded: — Right! They're all artificial, so don't be afraid of them. We just need to find the pirates who infiltrated here! If he dares to touch us, hehe...
Nelson immediately understood what Karl meant and shouted to the soldiers behind him: "Fire! Kill them!"
— Bang-bang-bang!
Round after round of musket shots pierced through the zombies, but their movements seemed unaffected.
Karl scratched his head. The weakness of this thing seems to be seawater and salt? Forget it, better to go on the attack.
— Break!
The Golden Flying Blade flew towards the zombies, instantly cutting them in half, leaving them lying on the ground and moaning.
On the other side.
— This guy really got to work! So scary!
— Hey, pervert, is there anything in this world that you're afraid of?
Absalom snorted coldly: "Shut up, Perona! Quickly bring your army of zombie animals into the attack, or my zombie soldiers won't hold out!"
— Ha-ha-ha~ No problem. This princess's cute army of animals is the most powerful in the world! Kumasi, you're up!
Cemetery.
— Nelson, where is the salt I instructed you to bring?
Nelson waved his hand, and several marines approached, carrying three bags of salt.
— It's all here, Colonel.
Karl nodded: — Excellent, the weakness of these monsters is salt. Just put the salt in their mouths, and they'll lose combat ability!
— I don't need to tell you what to do next, do I?
— Yes, Sir!
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