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At that moment, Elior slammed his palm against the ground. Instantly, a surge of icy blue light burst from beneath him. His entire body glowed with the same icy hue—or more precisely, was engulfed in a flame-like aura of frozen blue. At the same time, a powerful force erupted from within him.

Nearby, Shiryu, still engaged in fierce combat, caught sight of the phenomenon. Queen, noticing Shiryu's distracted gaze, followed his line of sight—and froze.

What seemed like just a glance turned into a spectacle none of them expected.

From the frosty terrain beneath Elior, massive sheets of ice began rising in waves, twirling like a blizzard. With a thunderous roar, formations began taking shape—hundreds, if not thousands, of ice knights emerged in neat, disciplined rows. Each one was forged from pure ice, clad in frozen armor, and exuding a chilling aura.

Shiryu and the others looked on in disbelief, as if they'd seen a ghost. The overwhelming presence was enough to make even battle-hardened pirates flinch.

"What the hell kind of technique is that?!"

Bullet, who had just blasted King across the battlefield with a punch, caught sight of Elior's power in full display. He saw the ice knights mounted atop mighty steeds of solid ice, brandishing an array of frozen weapons. The sight was majestic and terrifying. Even Bullet had to admit—he was impressed.

These ice knights radiated power—serious power.

"No doubt about it," he muttered. "This isn't your average Ice-Ice Fruit ability... It goes beyond any Logia."

"What is his power, really?"

Elior stood calmly as the army of knights assembled before him, each one exuding an almost tangible killing intent. With a wave of his hand, he issued a silent command.

"Crush the Beasts Pirates."

Since Elior was in control, the ice knights naturally wouldn't harm his allies.

This ability was called Ice Cavalry — a powerful technique, slightly inferior to the might of the Ice Storm Commander-In-Chief, which was the evolved form of the same power. If the Ice Storm and Mahāpadma represented the ultimate secret technique of his teigu, then the Ice Cavalry were its strongest standard formation.

He had summoned two thousand of them. Elior could create even more if needed—but the cost was immense. And besides, he still had Kaido to deal with.

BOOM.

As the command echoed through the battlefield, all two thousand knights raised their ice-crafted weapons and charged directly at the Beasts Pirates.

The entire frozen ground trembled under their march.

Across the coast of Paradise Island and amid the clashing pirate crews, heads turned.

"Oi oi, what the hell's going on?"

"That's the captain's power!"

"No way! That's gotta be thousands of warriors! And they move like they're alive!"

Hawkins and the others were stunned. They'd never imagined Elior's freezing abilities could be used this way.

The Beasts Pirates, however, were unfazed. Seeing the icy knights charging at them, they sneered.

"Bring it on! What's a bunch of frozen statues gonna do?"

"Hmph! Does that brat really think a pile of ice is enough to take us down? Don't make me laugh!"

Most of the Beasts Pirates — numbering in the tens of thousands — barely took the threat seriously. Just moments ago, many of them had been idle due to lack of opponents. But now, they stirred with renewed bloodlust. Some shouted taunts, others roared in challenge, waving their weapons wildly.

"CHARGE! Wipe them out! For the Beasts Pirates!"

A Tobiroppo member let out a fierce war cry, and behind him, countless foot soldiers and Devil Fruit users surged forward, their blood pumping with excitement.

Even the lowest-ranking Beasts Pirates weren't weak.

In moments, over twenty thousand charged at the ice formation. The sheer force of their stampede was enough to make even onlookers' knees tremble.

The trembling of the ice intensified.

From above, the battlefield looked like two massive tides of warriors clashing.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion. Weapons clashed. The battle had begun.

Some ice knights were shattered on impact—but then more followed, charging forward without hesitation.

"Hahahaha! That's it?! One hit and they break like glass!"

"Yeah! This ice is brittle as hell!"

"They can't even take a punch!"

"HAHA—!"

The Beasts Pirates roared with laughter.

But from afar, the elite members of both pirate crews who had paused their battles sensed something wasn't right. Especially those who had spent time with Elior — like Bullet — knew his abilities weren't just for show.

And sure enough, moments later, one laughing Beasts Pirate was suddenly cleaved in two—by a knight made from the same shards he had just shattered.

More and more soldiers were overwhelmed.

In mere seconds, the mocking shouts turned into screams. Some didn't last a minute.

Blood spilled across the icy battlefield. Severed limbs littered the ground.

"What the hell?! I just destroyed that one!"

"They're monsters! AH—my hand!"

"Help me! I can't feel my legs—AHHH!"

"Someone help... please..."

Cries of agony and terror echoed across the ice.

The Beasts Pirates were being overwhelmed. Stronger members could hold their ground, but the ice knights just kept coming—no matter how many times they were broken, they reformed almost instantly.

Like undead warriors, they refused to stay dead.

That was the true horror of the Ice Knights — they could not die. They could not be destroyed. Unless Elior chose to end the ability, they would continue to fight.

"Tch"

Elior cast a cold glance at the collapsing forces of the Beasts Pirates. Then, his eyes locked onto Kaido, who was just getting up—visibly shaken by the endless ice knights swarming his men.

Without hesitation, Elior charged toward him.