One Piece: Surrounded at Marineford? Just kidding!

Chapter 320: The Knights of God Assemble

Mary Geoise, Pongal Castle.

The innermost council chamber.

In the empty hall, the sound was amplified infinitely.

Figarand Garin sat enthroned on the throne.

He did not allow anyone to clean up the body.

He sat there, leaning forward, his sinister gaze fixed on the "gift" at his feet.

His fingers tapped on the armrest of the throne.

"Yes."

"Yes."

"Yes."

His emotions were so intense that a terrifying power was overflowing uncontrollably from his pores.

anger?

No.

This is an insult.

It was the ultimate humiliation of a god being spat on in the face by a mortal.

Just then.

Rumble!

The incredibly heavy bronze gate roared.

The mechanism turns, and the gears mesh.

Two enormous doors opened to the sides.

The enclosed hall was cut open by the light.

A series of orderly footsteps came in.

"Click."

"Click."

"Click."

The Knights of God, assemble!

Nine figures.

They wore uniform white suits, even more sacred than CP0. They wore cloaks with the Celestial Dragons' crests on their shoulders and swords of judgment at their waists.

They are the Celestial Dragons' shield.

It is the spear of the Celestial Dragons.

It is a sword hanging over the heads of all rebels.

The procession stopped at the thirtieth step of the throne.

The sound of standing at attention echoed with the lingering metallic resonance.

Garin Sei's gaze did not linger on the people in front of him.

His bloodshot old eyes peered through the crowd, staring intently at the very end of the line.

There, a figure made a grand entrance as the final act.

In the backlight, that color was particularly dazzling.

red.

Flame-red, blood-red.

The man wore a white cloak with a high collar that covered his chin. But his red hair, in the sunlight, seemed like a silent irony, stinging Garin Saint's nerves.

He stepped into the shadows, and his face gradually came into focus.

so similar.

They were all made from the same mold.

Same face shape, same features, same red hair.

He is Figaland Shamlock.

The core of the Knights of God, and the twin brother of Shanks, one of the Four Emperors.

But they are completely different.

The fundamental difference lies in the eyes.

Shanks' eyes hold the ocean, freedom, boldness, and the tenderness and domineering spirit of protecting his comrades.

And Shamrock...

There was nothing in his eyes.

Only cold, mechanical, and precise order.

There is no desire, no emotion, no self.

He is a perfect sword, existing solely for slashing.

Shamrock walked gracefully past the knights and went alone to the bottom of the steps.

His movements were textbook perfect, without the slightest unnecessary sway.

Step back with your left leg and bend your right knee.

"Thump."

Kneel on one knee.

His right hand was placed on his left chest, near his heart, and his head was lowered deeply, revealing his long, slender neck.

His voice was clear, calm, and even, without any inflection, like he was reading out program code.

"Father, Shamrock and the entire Knights of God have been summoned to an audience."

On the throne, Garin Saint's eye twitched suddenly.

Father.

The word sounded so jarring and ironic in the blood-soaked hall at that moment.

As he looked at that face that looked exactly like his "rebellious son" and uttered that title, countless ants seemed to gnaw at his nerves.

Valley of the Gods, thirty-eight years ago.

That crying baby, that useless thing he abandoned, has now become one of the Four Emperors, and even threw his corpse in his face.

But this "perfect work" in front of us has the same face.

The stark contrast made it almost impossible for him to suppress the violence within him.

"Knock!"

The knocking stopped abruptly.

Garin Sheng's fingers dug into the golden armrest, his knuckles turning white.

The main hall was deathly silent.

a long time.

Garin Sei spoke.

His voice was extremely cold and deep, echoing under the dome of the hall with a chilling resonance.

"In this great hall..."

Garin looked down at his son kneeling at his feet, his eyes devoid of paternal love, only displaying the cold indifference of someone scrutinizing a tool.

"Do not use those vulgar, lowly, and inferior terms."

He walked down the steps one by one.

The black boots made a crisp sound as they stepped on the white marble floor.

He walked past the pool of blood without even glancing at it, and went straight to Shamrock.

A shadow fell over Shamrock.

Garin Saint reached out his hand, his calloused hand, and lifted Shamrock's chin.

Eyes facing each other.

An old, distorted face.

A young and perfect face.

"Remember who you are, Shamrock."

Garin Saint's fingers traced across Shamrock's cheek.

"We are God."

"God has no family ties, no fathers and sons, no brothers."

Garin Sei let go of her hand, turned around, and opened her arms.

"When working, refer to those in the lower realms as 'plants'."

His voice rose, filled with fanatical obsession.

"This world is a vast garden."

"The Celestial Dragons are the masters of this garden."

"And we, the Knights of God..."

Garin Sei turned around abruptly, his eyes bloodshot and particularly menacing.

"They're the 'gardeners' responsible for trimming weeds and cutting down diseased trees!"

"Only by pruning crooked branches and removing weeds that steal nutrients can a garden maintain its beauty and order."

"This is justice."

"This is the way of nature."

Shamrock knelt on the ground, his face expressionless.

He lowered his head again, his red hair obscuring his eyes.

His voice remained steady, eerily calm.

"Yes, Commander."

He quickly changed the way he addressed people.

"Are any plants growing crooked in this garden?"

This question is both an expression of submission and a request for battle.

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Garin Sei's lips.

well.

This is the tool he needs.

This is what the Figarand family should be like.

Unlike that good-for-nothing who wallows in the mud.

Garin Saint returned to the throne.

He casually picked up the remains of the image Den Den Mushi next to the throne.

It was burned to the ground, leaving only a charred mess.

Garin's holy hand suddenly exerted force.

"Snap!"

The charred remains were crushed into powder in his hands.

Black ash dripped through his fingers and landed on the twisted corpse of CP0.

"It didn't grow up crooked."

Garin Sei stared at the ashes between his fingers, his eyes as dark as an abyss.

In his mind, Shanks' provocative face and Fiona's face, which had haunted his nightmares for thirty-eight years, reappeared.

"These are some poisonous plants with rotten roots..."

Garin Sheng dusted off his hands, his tone contemptuous yet brimming with murderous intent.

"They thought they could turn the world upside down by hiding in the shadows."

He raised his head, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over the nine knights.

"Some rotten roots that should have died thirty-eight years ago have sprouted again."

"They even dared to extend their tentacles to the feet of God."

Garin pointed to the iron box on the ground.

"Look at this garbage."

"This is the return gift from the weeds of the lower realm."

The members of the Knights of God all turned their gazes to the iron box.

They exuded a chilling aura.

Provoking the Knights of God.

capital offense.

Shamrock stood up.

His white cloak fluttered even without wind, and the sharp sword energy sliced ​​through the surrounding air.

He looked at Garin Sei, a glint of "execution" flashing in his eyes.

"Your Majesty Commander."

Shamrock's hand rested on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

It was a longsword that was pure white, similar in shape to Shanks' "Griffin", but with a completely opposite aura.

"Please issue the pruning instruction."

"No matter how thick the tree or how deep the roots."

"My sword will cut them all down."

Looking at his perfect son, Garin Sheng's gloom lessened somewhat.

He did not give the order immediately.

He took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

A life card.

The white paper was wriggling in the palm of the hand, slowly moving in a certain direction.

New world.

The location of the Red-Haired Pirates.

"Shamrock".

Garin Sheng casually tossed it aside.

The light paper fluttered through the air in an arc, yet felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

It landed precisely in front of Shamrock.

Shamrock reached out his white-gloved hand and caught it steadily.

The moment his fingertips touched the Life Card, a barely perceptible tremor flickered in Shamrock's usually calm eyes.

A throbbing sensation originating from the depths of my blood spread throughout my body from my fingertips.

He quickly suppressed that feeling.

He is a gardener.

No need for extra emotions.

"Your goal this time is to go to the new world."

Garin Saint sat back on the throne, his body sinking into the shadows, revealing only his pair of eyes that gleamed with a cold light.

His voice is a judgment from hell.

There is only one mission.

"Annihilate the entire Red-Haired Pirates."

"Get that rebellious son..."

Garin Sheng's teeth were grinding together.

"And that damn woman."

"Erase completely."

"I don't want to see another leaf about them in this world."

Inside the main hall, a murderous aura suddenly erupted.

The aura of the nine members of the Divine Knights almost extinguished the candlelight.

Shamlock's hand, gripping the Vivre Card, tightened slightly.

The knuckles are somewhat white.

He looked at the piece of paper in his hand, at the distant shore it pointed to.

There is someone there who looks exactly like him.

There was also a woman who gave him life, but whom he had never met.

Now, he's going to kill them.

This is an order.

It is absolute order.

Shamlock raised his head, his eyes returning to their empty, cold state.

He bowed again, his hand on his chest, his voice echoing in the hall without trembling.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I will... trim it clean."