I am the Bandit King of the East Sea.

However, the new, powerful setting has a significant impact and can also be used to balance overpowered Devil Fruits, resolving recurring online discussions like "Why not use overpowered Devil Fruits to attack the Four Emperors?" So I followed the new setting.

Chapter 1214 Have you ever seen me at my peak? (8k)

Time is speeding up.

The God of Aging's power covered a considerable area, encompassing almost the entire battlefield of the small sky island. The bandits had nowhere to retreat and could only use Stussy's or Bege's abilities to enter the alternate dimension for refuge.

Becky's situation is also quite bad. He is already over forty years old, and his Armament Haki is not strong enough to completely stop the God of Aging's time fast-forward. The stubble on his chin and the hair on his head are gradually thinning and turning white little by little.

There is not much time left for them.

Inside Becky's inner castle.

Vegapunk stood at the entrance, taking one last look at the people lying on the hospital beds.

These people were Hercules, the god of air, and an old man, who had been captured earlier.

The first two were previously captured Protoss people, while the latter was an Angel captured by Joker, who was the former owner of the Cotton Candy Shop.

Vegapunk walked out of the laboratory, taking off his gloves and white coat, and emerged looking slightly tired.

“Doctor…” The first person to greet her was Winter Goddess. A hint of hesitation flashed across her face as she seemed about to speak but then stopped herself.

Unlike the other two gods, she did not resist before, so she is now essentially under house arrest inside Becky's body, and the bandits have not yet made a move.

“The results are in…” Vegapunk said a few words to Winter Goddess, causing her pupils to shrink instantly, and she stood there in a daze, as if petrified.

Vegapunk ignored him and continued walking forward.

Due to the influence of the god of aging, a large number of bandits retreated back into the castle, and they appeared to have aged by ten or twenty years.

Vegapunk walked to the outer window of the castle, which was Bege's left eye. People inside the castle could observe the outside world through this window.

"No one can rival the power of the god of aging."

"Even among the gods of the divine realm, those who possess the ability to influence time are extremely rare."

“They age five years with every minute that passes.”

"If they can hold on for ten minutes, most of these mortals, even if they don't die of old age, will be unable to walk."

"The enemy is ultimately just a bunch of mortals with short lifespans. We can afford to wait it out. As long as we can hold out a little longer, the enemy will collapse on their own!"

The gods whispered, using words to ease their inner tension.

With the awakened power of the God of Aging unleashed in all directions, coupled with the protection of powerful gods such as the God King and the Giant God, they do not need to defeat the enemy; they only need to wear them down until they die of old age.

This tactic has its side effects; the gods are also aging, and the feeling of watching oneself grow old is unpleasant. This is especially true for some of the older gods, over three hundred years old, who are filled with unease, wondering whether they will die of old age sooner or their enemies...

Such a move would naturally be impossible to use under normal circumstances.

Even if the God of Aging wanted to use it, it would likely provoke protests or even infighting from others.

But the situation is critical now, which is better than losing one's life.

Whether the angel soldiers died or not was not their concern.

These discussions also reached the ears of the thousands of reinforcements who had just entered the battlefield.

The gods were alright, but the angels were in a worse situation than the bandits; the further they charged forward, the closer they got to the aging god.

He was a young man when he first stepped onto the battlefield, but by the time he charged to the front lines to fight against the bandits, he had entered middle age, with wrinkles on his forehead and his hair gradually turning gray.

Panic was spreading rapidly in their hearts, and this abnormal aging made them look in terror toward the god of aging.

Some threw down their weapons and knelt down in anxious prayer, thinking that the reinforcements had not arrived quickly enough, thus incurring the wrath of the gods, which was a punishment from the god of aging.

For the Sky Islanders, this unknowable, irresistible, and incomprehensible ability to age is indeed almost divine.

"Rest assured," the God of Aging glanced back at the soldiers and said calmly.

"Your aging is only temporary. After we defeat the enemy, I will restore your youth to you."

After this sentence was explained, the aging soldiers could be seen to immediately feel relieved.

What they didn't know was that... without the protection of Armament Haki, except for a few younger ones, they would basically die even faster than the bandits.

Soldiers charged into the battlefield in formation, forming a human wall of thousands under the command of the gods.

The key to the God of Aging's tactics is time; as long as you can drag it out long enough, you will win.

The influx of these thousands of soldiers can also serve a purpose, buying more time for the god of aging before they die of old age or in battle.

"However, there is one thing that doesn't seem quite right."

The pale flames on the God of Aging burned fiercely as he looked toward Sig, who was fighting the giant.

At this moment, when the entire surrounding space is affected by the ability, a small area around Sig, centered on his right hand, is a "vacuum zone" that his ability cannot affect.

"It's really ugly..."

Vegapunk sighed.

He climbed onto the dragon's back, preparing to step out through Becky's eye window.

Among the scientists of this world, Vegapunk, while not opposed to human modification or prosthetics, could be considered a moderate. Although he bore the heavy responsibility of changing the future, his moral compass was still higher than that of the likes of Caesar and Judge.

He had just received some information from the bodies of several gods and witnessed the rapid aging of the angel cannon fodder, which made him eager to do something.

"Doctor? What are you doing? It's dangerous outside." Someone immediately stopped him.

"If you were in the outside world, you would age rapidly if the God of Aging's power was within its range."

“I have something important to do… Never mind, let’s go back.” Vegapunk frowned, but then reason prevailed over emotion, and he decided to give up and turn back.

At that moment, a woman's voice came from beside me.

"Doctor, let me deliver a message: I still have a long life ahead of me."

The speaker was the Winter Goddess, who had recovered from her initial shock, but her face was still a little pale.

"You?" Vegapunk was greatly surprised.

Winter God was one of the prisoners. Although he cooperated quite well and did not resist, his heart was still cut out by Law's sword. So if he made any unusual movements, his heart would be crushed immediately.

Therefore, Vegapunk and the others are not worried about the Winter God returning to God-King's command.

“You’d better think carefully about the consequences of relaying my message,” Vegapunk said.

"I've thought it through," said the Winter God.

The God of Winter looked somewhat conflicted and hesitant, but in the end he made up his mind.

“One reason is that I also have doubts about your conclusion, Doctor, and want to confirm it with the God-King in person,” the Winter God frankly stated.

Another reason she didn't say aloud was, of course, taking sides.

She picked up Vegapunk's Den Den Mushi, stepped out the window, and her figure was already in the outside world.

By this time, the bandits had almost all entered Bege's body.

Only a few dozen bandits remained outside the area, most of them powerful individuals with formidable Armament Haki.

Therefore, the appearance of the Winter God was very conspicuous, attracting the attention of all the gods.

Winter Goddess didn't speak. She raised the Den Den Mushi in her hand, and Vegapunk's voice was coming from it.

"Sieg, the results of the experiments on the gods are in."

"There are no gods or angels on this empty island."

"The so-called Angel race is actually no different from humans on the ground. The wings on their backs are just decorations. They are not an independent demi-human race, but can only be considered a sky island race."

"And the so-called gods are just a facade." Vegapunk's voice lowered.

Sig paused slightly, then subconsciously glanced back at the corpse of the clown, Jock.

He had previously read part of the clown's memories through the Violet Stare-Stare Fruit, which could be considered as indirect contact with the God Prince Happy.

The term "demi-human race" refers to an intelligent race that resembles humans but is not.

In the world of One Piece, there are many such races, such as the Giants, Fish-Men, Minks, Three-Eyeds, and Dwarfs... They belong to different races from humans.

"The gods may not be a true demi-human race," Vegapunk said in a deep voice.

"The bloodline of the gods has traces of artificial influence. They are closely related to ordinary people and cannot be called a race. At most, they are a rare kind of human race."

"They are not a demi-human race born from natural selection, but rather a long-lived cyborg created through bloodline factor modification surgery!"

"so......"

"The gods and the angels are two fabricated concepts!"

"There are actually no angels or gods in this country."

"They are all human beings, just like us!"

Vegapunk's words were a thunderbolt, plunging the gods into a brief moment of astonishment and silence. The guardian deity, clutching the clown's corpse, momentarily lost in thought, recalling the prince's proposition...

The angel soldiers looked bewildered, not quite understanding what they were hearing.

Did the Winter God betray us and join the Blue Ocean people?

What she was saying could be described as utterly blasphemous...

Winter Goddess gritted her teeth secretly, raising her head to try and ascertain from the King of Gods' face whether Vegapunk's words were credible...

When she first heard this conclusion from Vegapunk, her belief almost collapsed.

Even now, she remains skeptical, hoping to draw conclusions from the God-King's reaction.

The conclusion is...

The God-King's gaze swept over, his eyes showing neither joy nor sorrow.

The Winter God became Vegapunk's mouthpiece, a situation that God-King was initially happy to see.

The defection of a mid-level god of average strength will not affect the course of the battle, but delaying the battle for a little longer will be very beneficial to them.

"I understand." The God-King's gaze fell indifferently upon the God of Winter.

"You have betrayed us, become a mouthpiece for mortals, and are spreading rumors and trying to undermine the morale of the army."

A golden bolt of lightning condensed into a long spear, slicing through the sky and disappearing in a flash, pointing directly at the God of Winter!

This spear, made of lightning, was aimed directly at the heart of the Winter Goddess, intending to pierce her completely!