One Piece: I'm not Roger

Chapter 173: 173: Liberation of the Kingdom



Ushiano, the Western Army Commander of the Mink Tribe, nodded in agreement. He had long had some issues with Betty's revealing attire.

[S-rank character Betty has developed negative emotions toward the Host, moderate anger, reward: 2,000 EXP]

Moderate anger already?

It seems women really do get angry easily.

Seeing the argument between the two grow more heated, if Ashiru hadn't held back her superior, Betty might have confidently stepped forward for a samurai duel. The development frightened Mori, who hurried forward to mediate.

"Alright, alright. Roger-sama, please be magnanimous and don't lower yourself to Betty's level. Betty, you should restrain yourself too. We have important matters to handle."

"Hmph, I understand."

Faced with Aether's subtle victory gesture, Betty turned away with a huff, refusing to look at the detestable man.

After all that testing, she hadn't learned a thing. Instead, she had been taken advantage of and left furious, to the point that it felt as if even her distant relatives would be angry on her behalf.

Robin, having watched enough of the drama, finally began explaining the operation to Aether.

"Aether, for this operation to liberate the Kingdom on the Bridge, the Revolutionary Army has deployed 3,000 personnel and prepared a large number of ships. Logically, even if the World Government increases its forces, victory should be assured. However, what concerns us are unforeseen variables."

"Like the members of God's Knights who appeared three months ago. The last time, that person claimed they were tracking the Revolutionary Army. We can't guarantee that another unexpected variable won't appear."

Betty nodded in agreement from the side.

In fact, the Revolutionary Army had already prepared numerous contingency plans, including responses to potential Admiral intervention or Marine reinforcements. No one could guarantee that everything would proceed smoothly, but it would certainly help if a certain bastard lent a hand.

"Why would God's Knights appear here?"

Aether was genuinely puzzled by the appearance of a group that should almost never be seen.

Had the Revolutionary Army grown to such a degree that even the forces guarding the Holy Land Mary Geoise needed to be mobilized?

One had to know that unless it concerned the life and death of the Celestial Dragons, such as the major incident where Aether killed one, it was almost impossible for God's Knights to conduct missions outside the Holy Land.

Back then, only when Rocks attacked God Valley were the Celestial Dragons of God's Knights forced to mobilize in full and fight desperately against the Rocks Pirates.

Perhaps sensing Aether's confusion, Betty explained indignantly.

"It's all because of you. Three months ago, you slaughtered two Celestial Dragons, which caused God's Knights to mobilize. Those bastards believed you were hiding within the Revolutionary Army, and they've been hounding us ever since. I didn't expect them to keep at it even after the Marineford War."

"Oh, so it seems it's my fault. Then I'm truly sorry."

Aether shrugged.

Although he apologized, there wasn't the slightest hint of guilt on his face.

Wasn't it normal for the Revolutionary Army to be hunted by World Government forces?

What did that have to do with him?

If they had the courage, they could come to the New World and look for trouble with him directly.

Most people knew how to pick the easy target.

Aether highly doubted that God's Knights would dare risk entering the New World to challenge him. That was precisely why they kept harassing the Revolutionary Army instead.

After all, the lives of the Celestial Dragons were incredibly "precious."

In fact, since the great battle of God Valley, Roger retained vivid memories of this nine-member knightly order composed entirely of Celestial Dragons.

Every member was comparable to the famous powerhouses of the seas, at least no weaker than Doflamingo or the former Hancock.

The strongest among them could even rival a Yonko's second-in-command or an Admiral, especially their commander.

The Celestial Dragon, Saint Figarland Garling.

Even Roger and Whitebeard had considered his strength troublesome.

But that was all.

A remnant of the old era was nothing worth fearing.

If he encountered that old man now, Aether was confident he could bury the pride of the Celestial Dragons ahead of schedule.

As for the other members of God's Knights, they mattered even less.

Using the best resources in the world to cultivate only nine powerhouses, the Celestial Dragons truly were a group of hopeless fools.

In Aether's eyes, although they were strong, they still couldn't compare to battle-hardened great pirates.

Under everyone's expectant gaze, Aether patted his sturdy chest and gave his assurance.

"Don't worry. Leave the rest to me."

Aether naturally wouldn't refuse an opportunity to help.

As for the possibility of being overshadowed and failing to gain enough experience, that was impossible.

He was absolutely certain that he would remain the protagonist this time.

Seeing that his EXP was close to leveling up, Aether couldn't help feeling eager.

"When do we act?"

Betty answered coldly before anyone else could speak.

"Now. Immediately. Our people have already begun moving. You'd better wait and see whether any accidents occur. As for me, I'm going to start showing off my skills."

Betty rested her banner on her shoulder and turned to leave.

The swaying curves beneath her miniskirt naturally drew attention. Even more eye-catching was her revealing top, which tightly wrapped around her ample figure without exposing any forbidden scenery.

It was truly a piece of anti-humanity black-tech clothing.

Aether didn't argue with her arrogant attitude.

The Pump-Pump Fruit was indeed incredibly powerful in situations like this, with effects comparable to monsters such as Admirals and Yonko.

The Pump-Pump Fruit didn't merely inspire courage. It also enhanced the combat capabilities of those affected by it.

Even an ordinary person could gain considerable strength under its influence, and when combined with boundless courage, it became an extremely powerful enhancement.

In the original timeline, when Lulusia was liberated two years later, an ordinary woman managed to knock down a pirate with a bounty of 50 million Berries using nothing more than a wooden stick.

Although the pirate had been heavily injured and surrounded at the time, the fact that an ordinary woman could deliver the finishing blow demonstrated just how terrifying the Pump-Pump Fruit's enhancement truly was.

Its only drawback was that the effect on powerful individuals wasn't particularly significant. Otherwise, Betty would have become a highly sought-after target among the world's major powers.

Soon, the bridge echoed with the relentless roar of cannon fire.

Although the number of guards had risen to more than ten thousand after the World Government's reinforcements arrived, and their overall quality had increased significantly, these new arrivals were all veterans pulled from battlefields rather than the complacent guards who had previously enjoyed comfortable lives within the Kingdom on the Bridge.

However, even if the guards were no weaker than ordinary Marines, they weren't facing merely 3,000 Revolutionary Army soldiers.

They were also facing nearly 100,000 civilians blessed by the Goddess of Victory.

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