Super Card System - Chapter 462
Chapter 462: ARK
“Why did he run away?”
Ian felt a bit frustrated. Although he wasn’t worried about where Enel could escape to, he had planned to capture Enel in one fell swoop. Yet, this scoundrel had completely disregarded the expected course of events!
Where had his divine dignity gone?
Enel’s teleportation ability was nothing to scoff at in terms of distance coverage. If he really wanted to run, Ian couldn’t stop him without preparation. However, Ian had a faint idea of what this guy was planning. He must have returned to his residence!
According to the information provided by the rescued pirate, Enel’s palace was located at the top of the vine. It should be the original homeland of the Skypieans, the island that was swept up into the sky by the Knock-Up Stream 400 years ago. For the Skypieans, who rarely saw “land,” this island was like a divine gift. They drove out the Shandorians from the island and seized it for themselves. They built a palace on it as the residence of the gods.
And Enel was there, building his ark, “Maxim.”
Even if Enel managed to escape on this Sky Island, he would only go there. The ark Maxim was constructed by Enel himself using the power of his Devil Fruit. It was not just an airship; it could also amplify his own power to the extreme using the devices on the ship. It could be said that Maxim was Enel’s true weapon and trump card.
If what he said before leaving was true, he most likely intended to use Maxim to deal with Ian.
Mulling over this while rubbing his chin, Ian landed on the ground. He felt that Enel was probably planning to initiate his island destruction plan in advance. So after landing, he said to the pirate, “You should leave this place quickly. If possible, find a way to escape from the Sky Island. It may not be safe here anymore!”
“Y-Yes, sir!” The pirate hesitated for a moment and then respectfully bowed to Ian, saying, “Thank you for saving me. I will never forget your grace!”
Ian didn’t pay much attention to it, nodded, and flew towards the direction of the vine. After the pirate watched him leave, he quickly turned around and headed back the way he came.
Meanwhile, Enel had already returned to his palace.
Inside, there were two people present: Satori, the remaining guard of the four priests, and a large, obese man who manages the Divine Army on behalf of Enel.
In fact, when Ian eliminated the three priests at the edge of the forbidden land, Satori was also participating in the hunt and chase. However, he got lost at that time and couldn’t arrive there in time. But this allowed him to escape a calamity. Otherwise, the priests killed by Ian would have been four instead of three!
Satori was summoned back by Enel, who sensed that something was amiss. Enel himself went to meet Ian.
Now, when Enel returned to the palace, Satori and the others are taken aback at the long, charred wound on Enel’s chest.
But Enel couldn’t explain anything to them and directly asked, “Can the Ark Maxim be activated now?”
The fat priest replied, “It can be activated, but the divine… Ark hasn’t been tested yet!”
“I don’t care! I demand its immediate activation!” Enel said coldly, lifting his leg and walking towards the back of the palace.
However, at that moment, Enel abruptly froze, halting his steps.
“What!? So many rats have come!” Enel smirked. In his mantra network, he had sensed that many people had approached and entered the forbidden island.
Immediately, he gave the order, “You all must go out and eliminate those rats who trespassed into the forbidden land.”
Enel knew that Satori and the others were no match for Ian, so he decided to send them to deal with the other intruders.
One Ian was enough; Enel couldn’t tolerate intruders coming one after another into his divine forbidden land…
Satori and the God’s Army didn’t dare to delay and set off immediately, while Enel proceeded to the back hall, arriving at the location of the Ark Maxim.
Here, there were also many workers, most of whom were Skypieans, and some were Blue Sea criminals who had been captured. However, these people had one thing in common: they appeared emaciated and had a depressed demeanor, clearly showing the effects of relentless exploitation.
“Begone! Get out of here! You’re all useless!” Enel directly drove away all the workers present.
He had already made the decision to use the Ark Maxim to destroy this Sky Island, so in his eyes, these people were destined to die sooner or later, and he didn’t bother to personally kill them.
Now that they had finally obtained their freedom, the first thing that came to their minds was to quickly return and notify their families to escape from this Sky Island…
One can imagine the tremendous panic that will ensue when these people manage to escape.
…………………….
The “rats” mentioned by Enel were none other than Luffy and his group, who had just entered the forbidden territory. Of course, they were not the only rats, but also the Guardian fighters led by Wyper. However, they entered the forbidden territory through different entrances.
The Skypieans didn’t waste any time. Under Wyper’s leadership, they charged toward the edge of the forbidden territory and launched a rocket, which exploded in the forest, announcing their arrival to Enel with a bang.
Unfortunately, Wyper didn’t know that Enel was no longer concerned about dealing with them at that moment…
On Luffy’s side, things were relatively quieter. They entered the forbidden territory through the trial entrance, a path made of clouds. Riding the Merry Go along this path, they encountered some traps along the way, but managed to overcome them all.
When they reached the end of the cloud path, four entrances appeared before them, labeled as “Ordeal of Balls,” ” Ordeal of Iron,” “Ordeal of String,” and “Ordeal of Swamp.”
After discussing for a while, they chose to enter through the entrance of the Ordeal of Balls.
Ever since Nami returned and told the story, Luffy had been looking forward to the adventure in the so-called Forbidden Land of the Gods. However, when he eagerly led everyone into the trial ground, he found it eerily quiet.
Apart from the celestial spheres adorning the heavens, majestically gliding through the sky, there was nothing but silence.
Though curiosity got the better of them, prompting them to gingerly tap these ethereal orbs, their naivety was met with unforeseen traps, sending shockwaves of astonishment through their beings. Yet, beyond the initial fright, there seemed to be little else to behold.
“Is this truly the fabled trial we anticipated?” At first, Luffy found it quite interesting, but after seeing more of it, he became indifferent. So, he couldn’t help pouting, crossing his arms, and sitting on the deck childishly, saying, “Isn’t it too easy? I had such high expectations…”
“Isn’t it better this way?” Nami pointed at Luffy’s forehead with her finger and said, “Do you really want a bunch of enemies waiting for us for it to be considered an adventure?”
Little did Nami know that the three priests slain by Ian at the edge of the forbidden territory were the gatekeeper responsible for the trials. Ian’s feat of defeating them meant that none of the four trial entrances held any adversaries in wait for them. Even the gatekeeper of the final trial, Satori, who was meant to confront the intruders, had just been dispatched by Enel.
Without any enemies, Luffy couldn’t help but find it dull. If he knew that Ian was the cause of his boredom, he might have pointed at him and exclaimed, “Fun stealer!”
As the Merry Go sailed onward, Robin and Reiju were naturally on board. Robin, ever the archaeologist, couldn’t help but observe the scenery of the forbidden land.
“These trees are so tall. Without a history spanning thousands of years, it’s unlikely they could grow this tall,” she mused.
Perhaps it was her historian’s mindset that led Robin to notice this detail. The occasional glimpses of ancient structures passing by also piqued her curiosity.
With that, she spoke up, “Once we reach the shore, I intend to disembark and explore!”
Reiju, standing by her side, asked, “Won’t you go find Ian?”
Robin smiled gently and replied, “I believe he will be fine. I have faith in him.”
“Alright then!” Reiju nodded. “I’ll accompany you!”
Upon hearing their conversation, Nami immediately raised her hand and exclaimed, “Count me in, too, sisters! I want to go as well!”
Zoro, somewhat puzzled, asked, “What’s your purpose in going alone? Why do you want to split up? I still want to help Ian in a fight!”
“Is your head filled with nothing but muscles?” Nami was annoyed and poked Zoro’s forehead. “Didn’t Big Brother Ian say it? There might be remnants of the legendary city of Shandora here! If we can confirm that, we could find a treasure trove of gold! Robin is a historian, so she’s the most likely to validate this. Countless treasures lie in wait for our discovery, and you’re telling me you want to help Big Brother Ian fight!?”
“Waaah!” Sanji, witnessing the scene, couldn’t help but cry and kneel on the deck, pounding it in despair. He knew it, whenever Ian was around, trouble was inevitable! Just because of one comment, Miss Nami had fallen into the grasp of greed! Couldn’t they see the golden glint in her eyes now? At this moment, who would dare to stand in her way?
“However, Nami-swan is so adorable like this…” After sobbing for a while, Sanji’s mind wandered again, his face filled with infatuation.
