Chapter 457: Xia Luote, Surrender

Empress Xia Luote Lingling was abandoned by her parents as a child due to her abnormality, later taken in by Carmelite nuns, and raised in Elbaf.

At age five, Lingling went berserk from Food Fever, inflicting massive damage upon Elbaf's Giants, and was subsequently expelled by them.

From this, it is clear just how powerful Lingling's steel-balloon-like physique truly is.

At this moment, Xia Luote Lingling commands exactly three hundred such steel balloons.

Precisely because of this, even formidable figures like Navy Hero Garp and Giant Prince Loki felt momentarily overwhelmed by Lingling's three hundred sons.

They couldn't bring themselves to kill them outright.

These three hundred sons are fiercely powerful, but from the moment they were born, they were destined to be pitiful fools—tools used by Lingling to realize her dream.

And all of them are still minors.

Yet to capture Lingling, one must first crush these three hundred steel balloons.

Watching Garp, Loki, and her own children struggle, Lingling's face glowed with even greater triumph: her choice had been right.

The three hundred sons possessed immense deterrent power.

The only regret was that they were still minors, and only three hundred had been cultivated in the first place.

If there were three thousand sons now, they would have stormed straight into the Sacred Land Sky City, overthrown the United Kingdom, and become the new World King.

"Mamama～"

"Garp, join me."

Lingling mistook Garp's mercy for helplessness and tried to invite him to rebel.

"You are a Navy Hero, ranked alongside Rocks and Roger—how can you serve under Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen? Better to join me and overthrow the United Kingdom."

"After we succeed, I'll make you King of the East Sea; the Monkey family will share the throne with us."

Garp's strength was something Lingling knew well.

During the Divine Valley battle, Garp chased and beat all three of her, Whitebeard, and Kaido—such a top-tier powerhouse simply could not be missed.

A King of the East Sea? She could easily grant it.

Lingling even planned to divide the world, offering titles such as King of the East Sea, King of the South Sea, King of the West Sea, King of the North Sea, and King of Paradise to lure the United Kingdom's top powerhouses.

"King of the East Sea?" Garp scratched his head.

You idiot woman, don't trick me— even if there were a King of the East Sea, it'd be Saint Saint Saiwen's.

Besides, my eldest son Long is now Army Marshal, and my grandson Luffy is Saint Saint Saiwen's adopted son—I'm not stupid. Why would I abandon my position as Navy Hero to rebel with some crazy woman?

Even Kaido wouldn't do something this foolish.

How much less would someone as wise and brilliant as I?

As Garp silently scoffed, Lingling turned her piercing gaze toward Loki.

"Loki, marry me!"

Lingling knew Loki possessed true ancient Giant bloodline—not some fake like Blackbeard's artificially altered blood.

Her new husband Blackbeard had just been executed, and Lingling immediately sought a new husband to bear dozens more sons.

On the surface, Lingling wanted Loki as her husband; in truth, she was trying to recruit him.

If she could bring Garp and Loki onto her side, she would weaken the United Kingdom's top-tier strength while increasing her chances of overthrowing it.

"Loki, after we marry, our child will surely become the World King…"

Upon hearing this, not only Loki froze in place, but also Katakuri and Lingling's other children stood stunned—clearly shocked by Lingling's train of thought.

She's insane—this woman (mom) must be mad.

Even Loki, who once could match Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen in combat, now can't withstand a single blow—he admits Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's strength surpasses his own.

Not only does Saint Saint Saiwen wield the sword technique that severed the Red Line, he can now even pause time and space.

How could anyone possibly rebel against a World King like Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen, who is nearly divine?

Lingling's so-called leverage would be utterly erased by a single sword stroke from Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen.

Indeed, even though Lingling is an Empress, having been cut off from the times for so long, she remains trapped in an information cocoon, still lost in her daydream of becoming World King.

She has no idea what the outside world is like.

Ask anyone on the seas today—everyone is focused on securing official posts; who still dreams of rebellion?

"You… you and Blackbeard were truly a perfect match."

No wonder people always say: birds of a feather flock together.

Blackbeard failed to recognize reality and tried to rebel; Lingling is no different—she even fantasizes about recruiting the officials sent to arrest her.

After being rejected by both Garp and Loki, Lingling stood atop the thundercloud Zeus, hovering above her three hundred sons, gazing at Katakuri and her other children.

"Children, come back to Mama."

"Mama will lead you in one final charge—we'll make the Ten Thousand Nations great and strong again, and restore our glory."

The phrase "make great and strong again, restore glory" was something Lingling had heard Blackbeard say; she felt it suited her current situation, so she adopted it.

But Lingling never imagined that Katakuri and her children would not rush into her arms—instead, they tried to stop her from ascending to the throne of World King.

"Mama, surrender."

"The entire outside is filled with Barzab Saint Saint Saiwen's people."

The reason Garp and Loki were sent here is entirely because Katakuri exhausted all the connections he'd maintained over the years to invite them.

Locking Mama in Impel Down at least lets her live—it's better than being publicly executed like Blackbeard.

But if we fail to capture Mama this time, next time it'll be the elite of the Navy, Army, and Air Force.

Remember, the Four Seas are now peaceful; the Navy, Army, and Air Force are all desperate for merit. Facing a feat as monumental as Lingling's capture, countless others are waiting outside with bated breath.

For instance, Marshal Long, who wants to shed his title of eternal number two, and Air Marshal Golden Lion, who seeks further advancement—they're surely watching this situation closely.

Whoever gets the chance won't let it slip.

"Mama," Katakuri urged.

"Outside are Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Red Earl, Kaido the senior, Navy Fleet Admiral Mr. Sengoku, Navy's Three Admirals Akainu, Kizaru, and Mr. Aokiji, Lei Li, Jabra, Mr. Barrett..."

With every name heard, Xia Luote Lingling's eye twitched a few times.

"And the Ancient Weapons: Uranus the Heaven King, Poseidon the Sea King, and Pluto the Underworld King."

As the three Ancient Weapons were mentioned, Xia Luote Lingling's pupils shook with shock while her throat unconsciously swallowed.

"He... found the three Ancient Weapons?"

Katakuri nodded: "The three Ancient Weapons have always been in the hands of Saint Saint Saint Saiwen, my lord, it's just there was no chance to use them... that's all."

Xia Luote Lingling understood the subtext in the words.

If she continued to resist, she would become the first person in eight hundred years to be covered by the firepower of the three Ancient Weapons simultaneously.

But how could she easily give up a long-held obsession?

Without trying, how could she be content?

Xia Luote Lingling was just about to summon her three hundred children to rise and resist, but she horrifiedly discovered that the three hundred children were swarming behind Long Bread, surrounding her.

"Xia Luote Lingling, surrender."

"You..." Xia Luote Lingling pointed at Long Bread with gritted teeth: "You old thing, even you betray..."

Long Bread interrupted the words with a harsh voice.

"Xia Luote Lingling, you betrayed the children; you never treated the children as children; you only treated the children as tools to realize your ambition."

"Surrender, Xia Luote Lingling."

"The era of pirates has already passed."