"Hong long long!"
Thunder rumbled across the sky as golden lightning slithered through the dark clouds like a dragon, roaring with untamed fury.
Above Baterilla Island, the weather shifted without warning.
Standing silently on a rooftop, Rojen overlooked the patrolling Marines below, his gaze sharpening with resolve.
"Let's begin."
The storm had arrived.
After casting one last glance toward the southern district, Rojen leaped into the night.
From the very start, this had been his plan. Baterilla Island's Marine forces were evenly distributed across its four districts. If Rouge and the others were to escape swiftly and safely, he needed to divert the Marines' attention elsewhere. And for that to happen, someone had to act as bait.
Someone had to become the target of their wrath, the focal point of their pursuit.
For the past seven days, Rojen had played that role masterfully. With his overwhelming strength, he had carved his name into the Marines' frustration, making them believe he was a pirate taunting them. They were furious, hell-bent on capturing him to reclaim their pride.
But in the end, their pride had only suffered more blows.
Time and time again, Rojen had outmaneuvered them. Like a phantom in the night, he struck swiftly and vanished just as quickly. Against him, the young Marines stood no chance.
Tonight, however, he would step into the light. He would become the brightest beacon of danger, luring every Marine on the island toward him, all to give Jason and the others their one chance to escape.
In this vast sea region, the Marine presence was overwhelming. If Rouge and the others were to succeed, then someone had to stand in defiance, someone whose infamy burned like a signal fire, drawing every eye and every blade.
That someone was him.
Leaping across rooftops, Rojen finally stopped near the temporary Marine port.
His eyes swept over the dozen Marine ships anchored at the docks and the squads patrolling below. His expression was unreadable, as calm as the depths of the ocean.
"This is where it begins."
A moment later, he bent his knees, and shot into the sky like a cannonball.
Three breaths later, he was thirty meters high. Five breaths, a hundred meters. Ten breaths, two hundred meters.
"Hong long long!"
Without warning, the heavens opened. Rain poured in torrents, and golden lightning illuminated Rojen, casting his figure in an ethereal glow.
At that moment, he raised one palm upright before his chest, his expression solemn, his presence commanding, like an Angry-eyed Vajra descending from the heavens. His sharp gaze locked onto the ground below.
Then, his palm slowly pressed downward.
"Pī li pā lā!"
Lightning crackled, and the turbulent storm intensified, sending a wave of unease rippling through the Marines.
Amidst the downpour and crashing thunder, another sound emerged, one distinct from the storm.
"What is that noise?"
It was strange, a rushing, whistling sound, like something plummeting from great heights.
"It's coming from above!"
"Whoosh!"
Several Marines instinctively lifted their heads. Through the thick sheets of rain, their eyes widened in shock.
Beyond the veil of water, a shadow loomed.
"There's someone up there!!"
In an instant, every Marine who saw the figure felt their pupils contract.
"Wēng wēng wēng!"
The very air trembled. A suffocating pressure bore down from above, as if the sky itself was crashing toward the earth.
The storm had begun.
"Boom!"
In less than two breaths, the once relentless downpour warped unnaturally. Raindrops, instead of falling, were yanked upward by an invisible force, shattering into mist and scattering into the sky.
"Tatha…Gata…Divine…Palm!"
A voice descended from above, deep and resounding, like the whisper of a god.
Every Marine heard it. A divine proclamation echoing through the storm. Their heads tilted upward in stunned disbelief.
"Wēng wēng wēng!"
The air itself twisted under an unbearable pressure. Some Marines buckled instantly, forced to their knees by the sheer weight bearing down on them.
"Oh my God, what is that?!"
A voice, trembling with fear, broke the silence. And then they saw it, an enormous, spectral hand forming amidst the rain, descending from the heavens in tandem with a shadow plummeting from above.
"Enemy attack!!!"
Reality snapped back. Panic erupted.
But it was too late. One by one, the Marines were crushed beneath the mounting pressure, their voices choked off as if the sky itself was pressing down on them.
"Whoosh!!"
A sharp whistle cut through the chaos, the signal spreading like wildfire across the port. The previously composed Marines on patrol froze as the realization hit them. Their faces turned ashen.
High above, Rojen thrust his palm forward.
"Boom!"
The colossal, ethereal Buddhist Palm solidified in the air before accelerating downward.
Three breaths later, the world trembled.
"Boom!"
The coastal port, within a two-hundred-meter radius, collapsed in on itself, leaving behind an enormous palm print carved deep into the earth.
Hundreds of Marines were caught in the devastation. Some lay unconscious; others groaned in pain, unable to move. Among them, fifteen Commodores and three Lieutenant Commanders had been struck down in a single attack.
The Marines had been blindsided by a force beyond comprehension.
The destruction didn't end there. Two warships, caught in the impact, split apart and began their slow descent into the abyss below.
Inside the Marine base, Vice Admiral Moya froze. Then, as realization dawned, he shot to his feet and stormed toward the window.
"What the hell is going on?!"
His gaze fell upon the coastline, now a landscape of ruin. Screams filled the air. Marines rushed to aid their fallen comrades, their panicked voices clashing with the sound of rain and distant thunder.
"Enemy attack!"
Moya's mind snapped into action. His face darkened as he strode toward the exit, his every step brimming with urgency.
Beyond his office, the entire Baterilla Marine garrison was mobilizing, soldiers scrambling to reinforce the port.
By now, nearly every Marine on the island had been deployed, save for the base's highest-ranking officer.
At the ruined coastline, more Marines arrived by the second. Their numbers had swelled from dozens to hundreds, yet not one made a reckless move.
They stood in rigid formation, rifles raised, eyes locked onto the lone figure standing atop the wreckage of a sinking warship.
A black cloak billowed in the storm, concealing the man's form. His head remained bowed, his features hidden beneath the shadow of his hood.
"Who are you?!"
A Commodore's voice rang out.
This was the man who had humiliated them. The elusive ghost that had tormented their forces for days. And now, he stood before them at last.
Who was he?
At the question, the cloaked figure slowly lifted his head.
The Marines inhaled sharply. A face, both familiar and yet strangely foreign, emerged from beneath the hood.
A chilling smile formed.
"You were looking for me."
"Now, I have arrived."
(End of Chapter)
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