Chapter 452: The World Is Sinking Faster—The Power of the Paramecia!

Originally, Rydfield had taken that remark as a joke from Barrett.

But when he was humbled by Gao Wen’s immense power and aura, and became one of Gao Wen’s followers, he finally realized Barrett had not lied.

After all, words can deceive, but the feeling of surpassing one’s own limits and advancing further cannot be faked by anyone.

In the decades of his past life, he hadn't felt this kind of thrilling excitement in a very long time!

It was simply…

It was as if he had regained his youth!

It was not physical youthfulness, but his soul itself had become younger, more vibrant, brimming with endless possibility.

“You felt it too, didn’t you?!”

“Mihawk!”

Mihawk raised a hand to press down his hat, and beneath the brim, his lips curled upward; behind him, the black sword emitted a thrumming hum of pure exhilaration~!

“Ah.”

“In just a few days, my swordsmanship has improved—barely noticeable, but the feeling is unmistakable!”

“In other words.”

“If we have enough time, perhaps we truly could reach the height this man has attained…”

“Possible?!”

Recalling the overwhelming power Gao Wen had displayed in that battle, Rydfield still felt dazed.

Could I… ever reach that level?!

As Rydfield pondered, Mihawk’s voice reached his ears:

“Words are useless!”

“Everything lies in the blade!”

Clang—!

The black sword drew, and Mihawk’s entire aura, no longer concealed, erupted fully!

Real combat is always the best cultivation, and in Britannias, there will never be a shortage of opponents!

“True enough!”

Rydfield’s lips curled as he drew his umbrella-sword, meeting Mihawk’s incoming slash head-on.

A ripple spread outward from the two of them; the force tore a layer of earth from the ground.

The others also found their own opponents and began clashing!

Even though they had only been here for a few days, they had already been assimilated by Gao Wen’s fanatical cultivation atmosphere, becoming one of them!

…

After that great battle, Britannias quickly returned to calm.

Though Camelot was destroyed in the battle, fortunately, its residents had already been evacuated by Gao Wen in advance.

Thus, aside from a few unlucky souls, casualties were minimal.

Plans to rebuild Camelot were already on Gao Wen’s desk.

He still remembered that the name Camelot, in legends, symbolized an impregnable fortress.

But now, there was no such thing as an impregnable fortress—only those with unyielding will, rebuilding this royal city again and again.

Internally, Britannias had become unusually quiet.

But they would not forget their hatred.

Now they waited—for the king at the summit to issue the command for revenge, to seize everything from the World Government!

Only…

As order gradually returned within Britannias, the entire sea grew increasingly chaotic.

The side effects of the Five Elders’ abuse of ancient weapons were beginning to manifest.

In just two short years, they had used ancient weapons three times in succession, and sea levels began rising again!

Faster, more violent, more extreme than ever!

…

“Damn it!”

“The water level rose again?!”

“This place is no longer safe!!”

On an island along Britannias’ border, many coastal buildings had already been submerged by seawater.

The village chief led a group of able-bodied men to relocate to higher ground.

Everyone’s faces were grim; faint, suppressed sobs could be heard among the crowd.

Just three days ago, the coastal water level had still been below the safety line—but now nearly half the village’s foundations had been swallowed by seawater.

The water level had risen over a meter, and the rate of rise was accelerating.

“If this continues, the entire island will eventually be swallowed!”

“Chief!”

“We should consider moving to another island!”

A woman, her face filled with worry, could not help speaking up.

She had lived here for many years and had vaguely sensed the seawater level rising gradually—but its sudden acceleration to a visibly alarming pace filled her with dread.

The bald, elderly chief sucked on his pipe, gazed around, and saw only endless ocean.

He muttered softly:

“Over fifty years ago, when we founded this village, there were more than a dozen islands nearby—all now sunk beneath the sea.”

“This time we can move higher—what about next time? Or the time after that?”

No one answered the old chief. Everyone felt a stone pressing on their hearts, as if they already saw the day when seawater would swallow the Red Line Continent whole!

Long silence.

A voice emerged from the crowd.

“Since the disaster two years ago that destroyed half of Britannias, sea levels have risen faster—and after the nearly identical disaster a few days ago, the rate rose again…”

“If there’s a third, a fourth…”

“We…”

“No!”

“Perhaps this entire world will be swallowed by the sea!”

…

Not just Britannias—sea levels across the entire world were accelerating upward.

Inch by inch, land was being swallowed; habitable land was visibly shrinking.

Panic and unease spread.

The world, once stabilized under Marine suppression, had become turbulent once more.

The rumor that the world was sinking spread globally, and all blame pointed to the two disasters in Britannias!

Technology Development Bureau.

Vegapunk, upon learning from Stussy that S-Long had spent the entire day sparring with the Knights of the Round Table and gradually bonding with them—even literally “battling into unity”—felt considerably relieved.

Clearly, thanks to S-Long’s inherited instinct from Gao Wen, though his way of interacting with these monsters was unusual, it was surprisingly harmonious.

Vegapunk felt slightly reassured.

But when his gaze fell upon the survey report in his hand, his heart tightened again:

“Of course.”

“Just as we initially predicted, repeated attacks by ancient weapons are causing the world to sink faster.”

“It has reached the point of being visibly apparent!”

“We can’t wait any longer!”

“This is a crisis of life and death—for Britannias, even more urgent than the World Government!”

“We must report this to Gao Wen immediately!”

After temporarily entrusting the Technology Development Bureau to Franky, Vegapunk boarded a hot air balloon and slowly descended into Gao Wen’s temporary base.

Thud—!

Vegapunk slammed his findings onto Gao Wen’s desk, his gaze unusually urgent:

“Gao Wen, the situation is worse than we originally predicted!”

“After this, Britannias has less than two years left!”