Chapter 81: Shut the Gate — Release Linlin!

Elbaf — Yang Realm. "Everyone! Take down those Marines and rescue His Majesty Harald!" The 346-year-old Yaluru roared. Dozens of strong, young giants burst forth from the branches of the Adam Tree, wielding all manner of weapons, charging the Marines and CP0 in a furious assault. "These giants... still dare to come out?!""Hold the line — don't panic! We still have the stronger force here!""Leave the powerful giants to the vice admirals!" Compared to the giants' reckless charge, the Marines' and CP0's defense was organized and disciplined, even supported by cannons unloaded from their ships. Boom. Boom. Boom. Facing the Marines' cannon fire, the giants' massive bodies became easy targets. Shells slammed into them, knocking some to the ground with cries of pain. Not all giants knew haki — even among adults, those who could use haki to protect themselves were few. And those few were locked in battle with the Marine officers. "A desperate struggle, huh?""Foolish.""White Wolf Magnus — just a paper tiger." Seeing Magnus show up and immediately get surrounded by the top three commanders, many of the vice admirals finally relaxed. When no unexpected moves followed, they concluded: White Wolf Magnus had run out of tricks. "Stay sharp!""Watch King Harald closely — don't let him escape!""Relax, there's more than enough guards there!" As Magnus had seen, seven vice admirals and over a dozen rear admirals ringed the outskirts of Elbaf, with more Marines and CP0 fighting the counterattack from the Yang Realm's giants. With the giants' main force crushed... "These guys are nothing to fear!" — Deep underground in Elbaf. A hidden area at the Adam Tree's roots, known only to the giants. Over time, the Adam Tree's breathing created pockets of gas, forming a labyrinth of tunnels where even taisho-level fighters couldn't survive long if they wandered into the wrong path. This was why even after conquering Elbaf, the Marines and CP0 couldn't round up all the giants — and were already considering outsourcing the task to slave traffickers. Here, the children of the House of Lambs hid. "Mother, what's happening outside?""The giants' counterattack has begun." Carmel's face was grim. The Marines and CP0 had captured King Harald, and some giants blamed them for it. If Yaluru hadn't stopped those enraged giants, they'd already have been driven out. Even so — their situation was dire. "We're running out of food. If it were just us, it'd be fine — but Linlin eats too much. If she goes hungry, she could have another food craze..." Before the giants acted, Yaluru had sent word, so Carmel knew well what was happening outside. "We can't just sit here!" She didn't know how Magnus planned to hold off three top fighters on his own — but she knew she was perhaps the only one left who could help him. Carmel was no weakling. As the soru-soru no mi (soul-soul fruit) user, she could steal the souls and lifespans of others, and infuse them into inanimate objects to create homies. But age had drained her stamina — at 81, ten years older than Magnus, she was already well past her prime. And... "My own lifespan may not be enough..." The strength of her fruit relied heavily on the strength of her own soul. There was a way to supplement it — but to extract souls from enemies required instilling fear. Carmel turned her gaze toward Linlin. These past two weeks of rationing had left Linlin looking pitiful, her face sour from constant hunger. Until Carmel spoke. "Linlin, outside there are bad people who took our home and our food. Do you want to get the food back?" "Get it back?!" Linlin's eyes lit up immediately, drool already trickling. "That's right." It had been so long since she'd tricked a child — but as she spoke, Carmel felt as though she were reliving that pure, familiar time. Heh. How strange, that she actually felt nostalgic about her days with that bastard. "Linlin, we're going to fight the bad people now." "Fight the bad people!" "Take back what's ours!" "Take it back!" Linlin never doubted Mother's words. In her eyes, if Mother said those outside were bad people, then they were bad people. After all, if not for those bad people, they wouldn't have been driven into this dirty little hole with nowhere to go. No more soft beds, no more good food. So, those outside were bad people! "Leo, Ruga — you two stay here and watch over the others. We'll be back soon!" Leaving two older, steadier children in charge of the rest, Carmel took Linlin out to the Adam Tree's root opening. All over Elbaf, Marines and giants clashed. Though it wasn't raining, dull thunder rolled constantly from the island's east side. Over there, huh? Carmel could guess roughly where Magnus was battling the Marine powerhouses — not too far, not too close. On foot, they'd never make it in time. But they didn't need to go that far. "Linlin, do you see those ships? The bad people took all our food onto those ships. If you destroy those ships, we can get the food back!" "Mm!" Linlin nodded hard. Already she saw those ships as nothing but mountains of food. The bad people who took their food — she would drive them away! Elbaf coastline. Though the giants' counterattack was fierce, the Marines aboard their ships weren't worried. This was nothing like Sphinx. Their top forces were overwhelming. "Hm? What's that?""A giant child?""Should we attack?""Catch her first. HQ said anyone who catches a giant child gets an instant promotion!" At that, many Marines' eyes lit up. Those assigned to the Elbaf assault were mostly hawks — to them, non-World Government civilians didn't even deserve protection. "Let me handle this!" One Marine captain leapt out, rushing toward Linlin. He'd always envied those assigned to this mission. Though only a captain, he was confident he wasn't any weaker than a typical rear admiral. "Little girl, are you lost?" The Marine captain smiled what he thought was kindly. But Linlin's expression darkened. "You're a bad person!" "What?" The captain froze. Then Linlin's tiny fist came crashing down. "Hmph! Tekk..." He didn't even have time to finish posing for tekkai before Linlin sent him flying. In the original timeline, Linlin was a monster with a fifty million bounty by the age of six. Even now, Rocks might not beat her in a straight fight. Much less an ordinary Marine captain. Three Marine ships lay anchored at the coast, but the highest-ranked officer among their guards was just a mid-tier vice admiral — and one not particularly skilled in haki. In the blink of an eye, Linlin tore through them like they weren't even there. (End of Chapter) [Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome][Thank You For Your Support!]