Chapter 57: The Opportunity Has Arrived, Hasn't It?

Traversing the underwater volcanic region to reach the Red Line, this extremely long journey had already drained a lot of energy, not to mention the need to climb the Red Line by hand afterward.

Tiger decided to go alone for a reason: even among the physically strong Fish-Men, few could withstand such a massive energy drain.

"If that's the case, count me in too!"

"If Boss Tiger is going, then I, Arlong, will naturally be the first to follow. Don't worry about my stamina—shark-type Fish-Men swim fast."

Upon hearing that Tiger had made his decision, Jinbei knew he could no longer say anything to stop him, so he could only express his desire to join as well.

Seeing Jinbei join in, the other Fish-Men, including Arlong, naturally also expressed their willingness to go together.

Although this mission was a near-death experience, Tiger's reputation on Fish-Man Island was so immense that as long as he called, many Fish-Men would be willing to live and die with him.

Besides, even though the mission was dangerous, if they successfully rescued their comrades from Mary Geoise, they would undoubtedly become heroes of the entire Fish-Man Island.

Many volunteered to go, but Fisher Tiger didn't want too many of his comrades to take the risk, so he only selected a few strong ones, including Jinbei and Arlong, to go with him.

Fish-Men aren't as fast as mermaids in the water, but they are still incredibly quick, especially since Fisher Tiger and his group belonged to naturally fast-swimming species.

Wood and his team had left ten days earlier than Tiger and his group, but after just two days at Mary Geoise, Tiger's Fish-Man team arrived.

To reach their comrades quickly, Tiger and his team took the most dangerous route, directly crossing the underwater volcanic region.

Luckily, the volcanoes weren't active at the time; otherwise, they might have lost half their strength before even reaching their comrades.

The Fish-Men that Wood had released—Shark-Man and Lantern Fish-Man—had not chosen to leave the waters around Mary Geoise over the past two days.

They had initially planned to return, but thinking that their previously departed comrades might take action, they decided to stay on standby nearby.

And as they predicted, Boss Tiger and the others were rapidly approaching their location.

You might wonder how they knew this—because, as Arlong's subordinates, they had his Vivre Card.

At that moment, the paper was continuously trembling in their direction, indicating that Arlong was getting closer.

"Weren't you captured after a failed rescue attempt? How come you're here now?"

When Tiger and his group approached the Red Line, Shark-Man and the others used the Vivre Card to find them.

Seeing his subordinates safe and sound before him, Arlong was momentarily stunned. This clearly didn't match the information they had received.

"It was those two who were escorting the slaves—they said we weren't the target of their mission, and they didn't want to benefit the despicable Celestial Dragons, so they released us..."

Hearing Shark-Man recount the situation, Arlong was baffled. Could humans really be so kind-hearted?

Moreover, from Shark-Man's account, it was clear that the skilled man and woman also despised the Celestial Dragons, so why were they helping to escort the slaves?

"No matter what those two humans' origins or motives are, our initial goal hasn't changed. Isn't there still a mermaid that was captured? And there must be many other Fish-Men from Fish-Man Island who were taken here before, right?

Since we've come this far, there's no way we can return empty-handed."

When Shark-Man learned of Boss Tiger's plan to come to Mary Geoise and his bold idea to climb the Red Line by hand, he was thrilled beyond belief.

He had been with the group for a year but had yet to achieve anything significant, so he had decided to try rescuing people by attacking Wood's group without informing Boss Tiger.

Now, hearing Boss Tiger's plan, it was clear they were preparing to do something big, and Shark-Man was eager to be part of it.

"Boss Tiger, Brother Jinbei, Brother Arlong, if you're planning to climb the Red Line, I know the best spot.

After observing for the past two days, I've found that the guards are weakest at that location. If we climb up under the cover of darkness, we can bypass the defenses ahead and directly enter the Celestial Dragons' residential area."

In another part of the Red Line near Mary Geoise, Wood and Gion had been there for two days.

Two days earlier, after handing over the slaves, they had been lying low beneath the Red Line.

Having been idle for two days, Gion looked impatiently at Wood, who was calmly cleaning his long sword, and said, "How long do we have to wait for this opportunity you mentioned? Our mission has a deadline, and if we don't report back to Marine Headquarters soon, they'll start getting suspicious if something goes wrong.

If we don't take action tonight, once those slaves are sent to the Celestial Dragons' residence, you won't be able to save anyone, and you won't be able to keep your promise to those Amazonian kids."

After taking the slaves from Wood, they weren't immediately handed over to the Celestial Dragons. They were subjected to a period of "training" to ensure they wouldn't pose a threat to the Celestial Dragons before being sent to them.

If Tiger and his group didn't act soon, once Hancock and the others were sent to the Celestial Dragons' residence, Wood and Gion's mission would become even more difficult.

Wood wasn't sure whether Tiger would come to Mary Geoise, given that according to the original story, he wouldn't appear for a few more years.

"Then let's stick to the original plan. You create a distraction, and I'll try to steal the keys. Whether the slaves can escape from Mary Geoise depends on their own luck."

After some hesitation, Wood and Gion decided to take action that night. If Hancock and the others were sent to the inner areas of Mary Geoise, even if they created chaos, it would be difficult for Hancock and her group to escape successfully.

Just as they were about to move, there was a massive commotion at the top of the Red Line, in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise.

Because it was nighttime, the disturbance was even more noticeable. The orange-red flames illuminated half the sky, making it particularly striking in the dark night.

"You see, the opportunity has arrived!"

Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 160 at patreon.com/Betek.