# Chapter 163: The Darkest Era
"How could this be?" Upon learning of the battle situation at G-5 Fortress, the Allied Forces high-ups who had fled to the dilapidated Fortress G32 were in disbelief.
They even felt a chill.
The casualties were too heavy.
They survived, but the Allied Forces suffered heavy losses.
The Support Unit lost more than half its strength, and five Celestial Dragons even sacrificed their lives.
These weren't just ordinary Celestial Dragons; they were elites among the Celestial Dragons.
Five of them died just like that.
Now, they didn't know what they should do.
"Let's go, back to G-1 Fortress."
Besides returning to G-1 Fortress, what else could they do?
G-1 Fortress was the only Base in the New World that the Marines hadn't had invaded or destroyed.
The remaining Allied Forces still needed ships to pick them up.
During the Great Battle, the World Government Support Unit's only two remaining Warships were also destroyed.
After the Rocks Pirates left, they also couldn't leave and remained stranded at G-5 Fortress.
They needed to be quick.
What if the Rocks Pirates suddenly turned back and attacked again?
The World Government was defeated, completely defeated.
Both the Marines and the Army suffered heavy losses.
They no longer had the Strength to defend the New World.
Except for G-1 Fortress, the vast majority of the Marines' Strength had retreated back to the First Half of the Grand Line.
They needed to keep a low profile and needed time to recover.
Returning to Marine Headquarters, Kong and the others finally felt a sense of relief.
The Air was filled with a sorrowful atmosphere.
How many left? How many returned?
Fleet Admiral Black was dead, Admiral 'Evening Elephant' Puyol sacrificed his life, and the Admiral Candidates were completely wiped out.
More than half of the Vice Admiral level high-ups sacrificed their lives.
Countless officers and generals were lost.
They didn't know how long it would take to recover.
The Marines high-ups who were defending the First Half of the Grand Line and assigned to clear the Four Seas might feel fortunate; they avoided a disaster.
Thinking of the Rocks Pirates, deep down in their hearts, they couldn't help but feel a trace of Fear.
Except for a very small number of people, the vast majority of Marines soldiers, and even officers, felt a deep-seated fear towards the Rocks Pirates.
The Rocks Pirates were truly terrifying.
Could they truly maintain the Order of the Great Sea and uphold Justice?
The Three-Year War, what did they gain?
What did they do?
They suffered heavy losses themselves, their positions in the New World Front were completely lost, and it was inevitable that next, they would be ravaged by Pirates.
The Pirates who were previously afraid of the World Government Support Unit's Strength would once again swarm in.
The New World once again became fertile ground for Pirates, becoming the domain of the Rocks Pirates.
Now, they only felt that the future was completely dark.
They were completely defeated, coupled with the Strength of the Army, the Strength of the CP0 Agents, and even the World Government's hidden forces.
Powerlessness, a deep sense of powerlessness, struck their hearts, and they even felt Despair.
The Rocks Era was a dark Era!
From the moment "Grim Reaper" Jaeger sacrificed his life, the Marines were defeated by the Rocks Pirates and driven out of the New World.
The Era of Rocks had already arrived, and the Marines have since lived deeply in the Shadow of Rocks.
Several subsequent resistances all ended with the victory of the Rocks Pirates.
And after this super War that lasted for three years, this Era would usher in its climax.
For the Marines, the darkest Era had arrived!
The Marines were completely demoralized.
Without a doubt, they would have to keep a low profile in the next few years, trying their best to avoid a full-scale War with the Rocks Pirates.
The News quickly spread throughout the entire World.
Driven by various interested parties.
The News of the World Government's defeat spread throughout the entire World in a short period of time.
Even if the World Government wanted to completely Suppress it, they couldn't.
The only thing they managed to Suppress was the News of the Celestial Dragons' Deaths.
When the World Government's Agents attacked the newspapers spreading "false" News, these newspapers had long been empty, all useful clues had been moved away, leaving behind only empty offices.
Upon receiving the News, the Member Nations, while offering "friendly condolences" to the World Government, further increased their Investment in their own Military.
Orders flooded towards Kronos Kingdom, and the Prices of Munitions in the Underground World all rose by ten percent.
The demand was too great, far exceeding the production speed of Munitions, leading to an unavoidable increase in the Market Price of Munitions.
Meanwhile, while appeasing the Member Nations, the World Government internally was like a volcano about to erupt, already filled with rage.
The World Government's defeat did not affect the luxurious lives of the various Celestial Dragons.
Compared to the World Government's defeat, the Deaths of the Celestial Dragons were what everyone was concerned about.
After the News reached the Holy Land, it immediately caused a great upheaval in the Holy Land.
Five Celestial Dragons died at once.
The World Nobles had never suffered such heavy Losses before.
The World Nobles immediately convened a Celestial Dragon Council internally.
Discussing how to "Retaliate" against the enemies who killed the Descendants of God.
Regarding the Rocks Pirates, even the Five Elders were defeated, so they naturally dared not say anything.
They dared to be angry but not speak against the primary culprit, Rocks D.
Xebec.
Therefore, the primary target was placed on "Golden King" Donovan, John, and the other two Great Pirates who personally killed the God's Knights Reserve.
Regardless, having killed Celestial Dragons, they must die.
They had offended the most terrifying group in this World.
They would face the terrible Revenge of the Celestial Dragons.
Under these circumstances, no one among the Celestial Dragons could remain uninvolved.
One after another, they "donated" their Wealth.
Or sent Forces to supplement the CP0 Agents.
However, taking actual action still required caution.
The Strength of the Rocks Pirates had completely caught the attention of many Celestial Dragons, and they had even begun to feel Fear, fearing that the Rocks Pirates would suddenly attack Holy Land Mariejois one day.
They had deeply felt the threat.
And now, the defeat affected all aspects of the World Government.
The World Government's finances had fallen into a huge crisis.
Frantically printing new Beli led to rising Prices, which now affected the Interests of many countries.
Compared to three years ago, the value of Beli was only half of the original.
Who could understand this?
They did nothing, yet their Wealth began to shrink, becoming only half of what it was.
Although they complained to the government, the World Government still went its own way.
Sacrificing the interests of other nations for their own sake was deemed acceptable, right?
The Nobles and various Factions on the Red Line had begun to show a trend of transferring Assets to the Great Sea, and even fleeing abroad.
They also felt that Holy Land Mariejois, facing the Rocks Pirates, did not seem absolutely safe.
Of course, a major reason was that the World Government was Coveting their Wealth.
The World Government was short on money and needed to find a way.
Besides printing Beli, what other way was there to obtain vast Wealth?
Naturally, it was by Plundering money.
Where else was Wealth concentrated more than on the Red Line?
During the War, some wealthy individuals and Nobles without Background mysteriously disappeared for various reasons.
Their Wealth was all Plundered by the World Government.
Although the World Government did it very secretly, it was still noticed by others.
The transfer of Wealth was unavoidable.
However, only a small portion of people did this.
The vast majority of people still believed in the World Government.
Even now, the Red Line is still the safest place and has never been breached.
The Great Sea became even more chaotic, whether it was the First Half of the Grand Line or the Four Seas.
The number of Pirates was increasing.
The renowned prestige of the Rocks Pirates truly spread throughout the entire World, deeply ingrained.
(end of chapter)