46: Break through this damn fog!
46: Break through this damn fog!
The fog on the sea grew thicker and thicker, like solidified milk, tightly enveloping the two pirate ships sailing side by side.
A metallic, sweet smell seemed to rise slowly from the mist. The entire sea was quiet, like the calm before a storm, suffocatingly so.
The massive golden hull of the Golden Dawn loomed in and out of sight in the fog, while the battered Lombard followed closely behind.
The violin horn was so badly damaged that it had to be abandoned.
"So, those things are afraid of vibrations at specific frequencies?"
Lingling sat cross-legged on the figurehead pedestal of the Golden Dawn, taking big bites of Gails's special honey shortbread.
They asked Oro and York, who had just returned, as well as the peculiarly styled skull with an afro.
"Wow, this lovely lady's summary is absolutely brilliant!"
Brooke gave a graceful, gentlemanly bow, his empty eye sockets turning towards the seemingly perpetual fog outside the ship's side:
"Based on my and my crew's personal experience during this period, those metal monsters will develop an aggressive urge to attack chaotic high-frequency sound waves."
"But it will show a brief lag when it comes to stable, low rhythms."
A golden current, like a small snake, was swirling around Oro's fingertips. He nodded in agreement and then looked at York:
"Your previous sonic cannon attack was like creating ear-piercing noise on their home turf, which naturally attracted a more intense siege."
York clenched his fists, his face showing both realization and regret:
"It was us all along... If only we had realized it sooner..."
"Now is not the time for self-blame, Captain York."
Oro interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over the crowd:
"Now that we've found Brook and the others and have obtained crucial intelligence, the next step is to figure out how to utilize this intelligence."
"Passive defense and running away are not the solution; we must actively tear through this damned fog and break out!"
"Auro is right!"
Lingling suddenly stood up, her golden giant axe slamming heavily onto the deck with a dull thud, the powerful aftershocks causing ripples to spread through the surrounding mist.
"Who cares if it's a lump of metal or a red eyeball? Just smash them all to pieces!"
"Yes, Lingling's explanation is very good. So, the plan is as follows."
Oro stepped forward and manipulated gold to condense a simple sea chart in the air, marking the core area of the swirling water flow detected by the gold powder:
"Taylor, you and Molly continue to pinpoint the core of the water vortex; that's likely where they converge."
"Understood, Lord Oro!"
Taylor immediately responded and led several mermaids into action.
"Gails, is there enough fluff cake?"
"Enough for everyone to get more than five pieces!"
Gails patted several wooden buckets filled with light green pastries next to her:
"Furthermore, I adjusted the formula, making the explosion spread more widely, hoping to interfere with those dark red things!"
"Very good, Captain Brook."
Oro looked at the skeleton musician: "I need you and me to work together."
"I will spread my gold powder to the maximum extent in the rhythm of 'Binks's Wine' to form a 'resonance perception network'."
"With this sensory network that won't be 'sucked' by those things, I can know the direction even when the eternal pointer malfunctions."
"Brook, you're in charge of using your violin to amplify and stabilize this resonance."
"At the same time, try to appease...or rather, distract those things that might be attracted."
"Oh ho ho ho~ It's my honor!"
"Music is the light that pierces through the fog and guides the soul!"
Brooke skillfully set up his violin, his bony fingers lightly touching the strings.
"Captain York, the power of the Rombas is not keeping up with that of the Golden Dawn. I will use golden chains to connect the two ships more closely and reinforce the key parts of your hulls with golden armor."
"Your mission is to protect yourselves, these two ships, and non-combatants, while providing support as much as possible."
"Leave it to us!"
York pounded his intact right chest: "The Rumbar Pirates are definitely not a burden!"
"Finally, Lingling."
Auro looked at the strongest combatant beside him: "You and I are the main attackers."
"York and his men provoked those things with sonic cannons, and our ship has metal that attracts those things."
"Those things probably won't let us leave easily. With Gales, York, and Brook protecting the ship, the two of us can act freely."
"Once I sense those things reappear, we'll clear a path, no matter the cost, blast our way through!"
"I can't wait any longer!"
Lingling grinned, revealing a smile that was a mixture of innocence and madness. Her Conqueror's Haki unconsciously spread out, causing the weaker members of the Rumbar Pirates around her to feel a chill.
With the plan set, everyone sprang into action, and an atmosphere of tension and determination permeated the fog.
Oro closed his eyes and released all the stored nano-gold powder with all his might.
In an instant, countless golden points of light, like a reversed galaxy, surged outwards from the Golden Dawn into the surrounding thick fog.
These gold dust particles no longer spread randomly, but follow the melodious and vibrant rhythm of "Binks' Wine," vibrating and undulating evenly, extending Oro's perception as much as possible.
Almost at the same time, Brooke's piano music began.
Deep, hoarse notes, yet with an incredible penetrating power, flowed from his skeleton.
The music and the vibrations of the gold dust blended perfectly, as if infusing this deathly metallic fog with the rhythm of a soul.
The fog seemed to be affected by the music, and its surging speed became somewhat sluggish.
"It really works!" York exclaimed in surprise.
However, less than an hour after the music and gold powder resonance network began to expand steadily.
The tooth-grinding metallic vibrations from the depths of the fog resounded once more, more intensely and violently than ever before!
"They're here!"
Oro suddenly opened his eyes, golden light swirling in his pupils:
"Straight ahead, at one o'clock, three large reactions! And countless smaller reactions are approaching from the seabed!"
Before he could finish speaking, the thick fog in front of him was torn apart by a pair of invisible giant hands.
Three pairs of enormous halos, shimmering with a dark red glow, suddenly lit up, forming a triangular shape to block the way.
That cold, emotionless gaze is enough to break the spirit of those with weak wills.
At the same time, the sea surface boiled violently.
Countless monsters, the same kind that had attacked Brook before, with dark red muscles wrapped around their bones, surged toward the two ships like piranhas that had tasted blood!
"Grab your weapons! Let's show these ugly bastards what we're made of!"
York stood atop the ram of the Lombard, raising his scimitar and roaring furiously.
The remaining cannons on the Lombas roared, and although their accuracy was poor, the flashes of the explosions temporarily blocked some of the monsters' charge.
Gails and Ze continued to throw bouncy cakes around the ship, the green powder exploding to form temporary isolation zones.
Those hideous monsters became noticeably stiff and sluggish upon contact with the powder.
The Golden Pirates and the Rumbar Pirates, a fleet consisting of only two ships, not only did not slow down in the endless waves of red monsters, but instead became faster and faster.
Directly ahead of the fleet, those three unknown entities, each over ten thousand meters tall, stood there.
They formed a mountain, a mountain higher than the Inverted Mountain and more insurmountable than the Red Earth Continent!
The real battle is about to begin.
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