Page 245

Chopper's animal instincts told him that the group of guys in front of him was terrifyingly powerful!

But with Hiruluk by his side, Chopper wasn't afraid.

"Alright, Chopper, just watch..."

Hiluluk slowly clenched his fist, his gaze meeting that of Charlotte Linlin, who held the title of one of the Four Emperors.

"Watch closely—our power!"

[Chapter 257. A Head-to-Head Struggle]

The Legion of the Abandoned—

This special force is mainly composed of Forsaken infected with the Crystal Ghost virus, plus many experienced Alabasta veterans, which makes up for the Forsaken's inherent lack of combat experience.

As for individual combat strength.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Forsaken are even capable of matching those experienced merfolk warriors!

……

When the Forsaken Legion was first established, Hoka couldn't contain his curiosity and took the initiative to try fighting against the warriors of the Forsaken Legion.

Hokka, nicknamed "Ranger," had already earned the title of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea at that time.

Although he himself said that it was entirely due to the Four Seas Alliance and Mr. Rowan's efforts, everyone knows that the World Government is not something that the Four Seas Alliance or Ryan Rowan can easily control.

The reason why Hawke was able to be recognized by the World Government as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea is largely due to his actual combat strength.

This merman warrior appeared somewhat simple-minded, and was very kind and rational, which caused many people to forget a very important matter.

What have you forgotten?

Forgot that this "Ranger" Hoka is a ruthless man who fought his way through Mary Geoise, the sacred land of the Red Line, alongside the "Fishman Hero" Fisher Tiger!

Being gentle by nature does not mean being incapable of resistance.

When necessary, he is fully capable of unleashing astonishing power to crush any enemy standing in his way!

This is the Ranger Hoka!

Even this Hoka fell silent after fighting an outcast.

He was unable to assess the "Abandoners'" "actual combat effectiveness".

……

"Ah... how should I evaluate it?"

Faced with the crowd's repeated questioning, Hoka helplessly scratched his head.

In the end, Hokka answered:

"If we only consider combat skills, the Abandoner should be no different from an ordinary person."

An ordinary person?

Such an answer naturally left others completely baffled.

Why can we say that?

Those were clearly a group of incredibly powerful individuals. Could it be that, to Hoka, even the Forsaken were no different from ordinary people?

Of course not, Hoka is not the kind of arrogant person.

The crux of the problem was revealed to everyone by Hoka in his next words.

"Combat ability is by no means the whole of combat; it is only one part of a battle and can only influence a small part of the battle situation."

"Imagine sending an ordinary person to fight a giant bear, what would the result be?"

The answer is simple: defeat without a doubt!

"That's right, that ordinary person is doomed to lose."

"And for the opposing side, the abandoned one in front of them is a character similar to that 'brown bear'!"

Such remarks sparked heated discussions among the public.

Hoka looked at his palm, gently clenching his fist, recalling the difficult battle that had just taken place.

Then, he continued slowly:

"The so-called 'giant bear' does not require any combat skills."

"Even the dumbest 'giant bear' could not possibly lose to an unarmed ordinary human."

“‘Giant Bear’ doesn’t need to master anything complicated like boxing, kicking, or other techniques.”

"Their strength, their stamina, their sheer size are enough to crush the enemy before them!"

Hoka sighed deeply as he finished speaking.

"The abandoned ones, prepared for battle, are just such a terrifying group of 'giant bears'..."

These remarks naturally drew gasps of amazement from the crowd.

They never imagined that the true source of the Forsaken Legion's power was actually here!

However, just as everyone was sighing, Crocodile, who was idly listening nearby, suddenly interjected.

"Don't treat humans like 'animals,' you fish-man."

"Ok?"

Hokka noticed Crocodile's presence and realized the other man's words made sense, so he quickly apologized, "Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have compared a person to an animal..."

"No, that's not what I meant. I mean, have you considered one possibility..."

Crocodile, with a cigar in his mouth, slowly said:

"Humans can 'learn' combat skills..."

……

Clang... clang... clang...

The Legion of Abandoners, their feet filled with solid crystals, were rubbing against the ground.

They slowly stepped down from the balloon-octopus airship and stood on the ground.

There were about a hundred people.

They were all members of the Forsaken Legion participating in this battle. Some of them were young and strong men from the Kingdom of Aden who volunteered for training and to participate in the battle, while the other part were soldiers of the King's Army of the Kingdom of Aden.

A mere hundred or so people.

In terms of sheer numbers, they are far from enough, but the extremely strong presence they exude makes them impossible for others to ignore!

Without a doubt, they were a group of top-tier warriors!

"Oh...it's the mobile unit!"

Upon seeing this, the soldiers guarding the fishman village gradually relaxed.

As Kobra had said before, everyone who remained in Alabasta to participate in this campaign was prepared and had their own unique responsibilities.

If the Fishman Village's defenders rushed out to "support" when the Beasts Pirates attacked, then the Fishman Village would be left defenseless and in a dead end when facing the Big Mom Pirates!

Only by holding this position can we stop the aunties' advance!

Meanwhile, the air force responsible for support in the Four Seas Alliance did not go to support the port city of Rapeseed Flower, but instead came to the Fishman Village.

"Prepare to meet the enemy!"

At Cobra's command, everyone got ready.

However, upon seeing this scene, the Big Mom Pirates crew aboard the Queen Mother Anthem couldn't help but grin and burst into laughter.

Among them are many notorious pirates with bounties exceeding 100 million, figures that would be untouchable in the first half of the Grand Line.

But now, in this ordinary country, someone actually wants to use a national-level army to stop their attack?!

How ridiculous!

Isn't that a bit too disrespectful?

Charlotte Perospero, the eldest son of the Charlotte Family, a user of the Lick-Lick Fruit, and with a bounty of 700 million Berries, grinned.

"Hehehe, it seems that leaving some people in Whole Cake Island to prevent Kaido from luring us away was the right thing to do..."

"This country has absolutely no decent people!"

"Speaking of which, even that [Sand Crocodile] couldn't stop us!"

"Mom, let me take care of them all!"

Perospero laughed as he vigorously swung out a wave of candy!

That's one of the Lick-Lick Fruit's abilities; it can use syrup to trap people and kill them!

But in the next second, the presence of the Forsaken Legion suddenly became several times stronger.

Hiruluk gave the order.

"The Abandoned Legion, Battle Stance!"

The crystal is rising.

Legion, advance!

[Chapter 258. Something's Wrong]

Those who are abandoned share a common characteristic.

Because the core crystal was destroyed, the activity of the Crystal Ghost Virus was greatly reduced.

The Crystal Ghost Virus, which originally resided within the bodies of the abandoned, has now lost its original high infectivity.

In Dr. Kureha's words, "The Crystal Demon Virus has changed from being extremely active to an inert virus."

This seems to be Kureha's own theory, or perhaps some professional medical terminology; no one knows for sure.

In short, the harm caused to others by the abandoned can no longer transmit the Crystal Ghost virus.

At the same time, due to the reduced activity of the Crystal Ghost Virus, the thick crystal armor that originally covered the bodies of the Forsaken also shrank back into their bodies.

The abandoned ones have become more human-like in appearance, although some solid crystals still remain in different parts of their bodies.