Bai Ye said, "Why bother with them? They can't kill you anyway. Focus on what's in front of you."
The vampire prince before him was no easy opponent. Whether he could win was uncertain, but killing Hamir might not be any easier than killing Bai Ye. This guy's super-regeneration was too formidable.
"That makes sense," Hamir replied. "What's your target reward?"
Bai Ye was surprised. "The rewards are out already?"
"No," Hamir drew two circles on the deck. "There are two Gates of Justice to enter Marineford, these two outer circles. Inside, there's an inner bay. After breaking into the inner bay, you need to advance about a thousand meters. There's a platform there, and on the platform is the execution ground."
"The generally accepted strategy is that Whitebeard will handle the Gates of Justice. The main battlefield will be entering the inner bay, and the distance from the inner bay to the execution platform. The restricted zone missions and rewards will be announced then."
"But there are many speculations. If the Marines kill Whitebeard, they should get the Tremor-Tremor Fruit. If the pirates rescue Ace, they'll likely get the Flame-Flame Fruit."
"Setting aside these two easier-to-guess rewards, the three Marine Admirals are all Logia-type Devil Fruit users. And more than half of Whitebeard Pirates' sixteen commanders are Devil Fruit users, all with powerful abilities."
"Besides that, killing dozens is probably one of the reward criteria, after all, the casualties in such a large-scale battle would be unimaginable."
Bai Ye asked, "So, what are you eyeing?"
Hamir grinned. "My current captain, Diamond Jozu, with his Glint-Glint Fruit ability, can turn his entire body into diamond, giving him the number one defense."
Bai Ye gasped. This old bat was ruthless. His super-regeneration was already monstrous, and now he wanted an ability to turn his body into diamond, making it hard as rock?
Was there any way for others to live?
Bai Ye didn't know who the strongest fighter in the world battlefield was, but Hamir would likely be among the most durable.
Hamir said, "That's it then. See you at the Summit War."
After speaking, Hamir leaped into the sky, transforming into a swarm of black bats and flying away.
After seeing Hamir off, Bai Ye pondered Lilith's matter. Was this guy related to the God Cult, or was she a God Cultist herself?
Right, and that guy Li Jiayi.
As expected, what he said was a mix of truth and falsehood. Fortunately, Bai Ye wasn't too surprised. Li Jiayi's words were only to be trusted by a third.
Also, when Li Jiayi was at Fanghu, he clearly wanted Bai Ye to leave quickly. So, was his goal to prevent Bai Ye from meeting Taiyi Zhenren, or was there another reason?
Bai Ye leaned on the ship's railing, closed his eyes, and pondered, and then...
The Whitebeard Pirates' ships had assembled.
Forty-three pirate alliances, along with the ships of Whitebeard Pirates' commanders, gathered around the outskirts of Marineford.
However, Bai Ye didn't see Whitebeard, nor did he see the ships of the first and second division.
It was a bit disappointing.
In Bai Ye's previous life, Whitebeard was known as the strongest man in the world in his youth. Bai Ye really wanted to meet him.
Besides these individuals who could be classified as "natives," the chosen ones also began to appear in large numbers.
The Marines had their experts, and the pirates had their share as well.
Bai Ye and Hamir were a given.
The Evil Spirits Guild surprised Bai Ye.
Ye Yue had appeared, and as a member of the Evil Spirits Guild.
Bai Ye wanted to exclaim two words: Awesome.
Ye Yue was one of the experts in Bai Ye's memory from his previous life. However, she hadn't participated in the Central Region War and might have died before then, but she had at least survived to the later stages of the world battlefield.
And...
Ye Yue was one of the rare super-humans.
But in Bai Ye's memory, Ye Yue was an independent entity, similar to Bai Ye. She occupied a district and had some followers who freeloaded off her, but they couldn't be called a faction.
To put it more directly, at their level of strength, they had dependents around them, people hoping for protection. If one insisted on calling them a faction, it was fundamentally different from the Hidden Dragon Society or the Evil Spirits Guild, as there was no binding force.
Simply put, in Bai Ye's previous life, when he was "Double White" in the East District, he had people under him because Bai Ye also needed people to do things for him, and Bai Ye's strength could protect them.
But during the Central Region War, they all went their separate ways. Bai Ye also entered the Central Region alone. So, rather than a faction, it was more like huddling together for warmth, and there wasn't even a so-called management plan.
And this time, Ye Yue had joined the Evil Spirits Guild?
Bai Ye could only say that Gao Ming was awesome, Statham was awesome, and they even managed to recruit Ye Yue. This woman was quite formidable.
Besides Ye Yue, there were two other experts familiar to Bai Ye on the pirate side.
One was called Chi Chen, also an expert in Bai Ye's memory from his previous life who survived until the Central Region War. He might not have been as powerful as Ye Yue, Bai Ye, Situ Chi Cheng, or Lilith, capable of ruling over a large territory.
However, he was at the peak, or at least above first-rate, in terms of strength.
The other was...
The Blood Vampire Yimi!
Bai Ye had a semi-hands-off approach to Yimi, but he didn't completely ignore him.
Bai Ye provided him with information that could help Yimi become stronger and had Gao Ming stage a play to help Yimi.
The method was simple: a conflict in a restricted zone, the Evil Spirits Guild fighting the Hidden Dragon Society, and Yimi stepping in to resolve it. Combat was the fastest way to gain fame, and coupled with Yimi's own strength, he then selflessly provided information about two restricted zones...
Now, Yimi was a member of the elite team of the Hidden Dragon Society and served as the vice-captain.
This was only because Yimi was not a direct subordinate; otherwise, he would have been more than qualified to be a captain.
Currently, Yimi was following Liu Shiyue. Liu Shiyue had brought her own people to join the Marine faction and had also placed some individuals in the pirate faction, pursuing both sides to gain rewards from both.
As the pirates gathered, the Marines had also announced the execution time.
The great battle was imminent.
"Captain, Captain..."
A crew member ran across the deck, shouting loudly.
Whitey Bay said, "What's the rush? Speak if you have something to say."
The pirate said, "The main ship sent a signal. The Gates of Justice have been opened. They want us to advance towards the inner bay together."
Whitey Bay nodded, walked to the bow of the ship, and shouted loudly, "My lads, we're going to find old man! Let's flatten Marineford!"
"Flatten Marineford!"
"Flatten Marineford!"
"Flatten Marineford!"
...
The pirates on the ship immediately shouted loudly, raising their weapons towards the sky.
...