A Desperate Last Stand! (Bonus chapter for Alliance Leader Zangjing Laozu)

[Smack!]

A thunderous round of applause instantly drowned out the sound of the waves being driven by the wind and rain, and two loud shouts from men pierced through the rain curtain.

"Nine Pillar Domain!"

"The Nativity of a World of Trees!"

He once again set up a stage for himself, even though their effects were negligible. However, in order to conserve his energy, he didn't bring out herbs, poisonous flowers, or magical plants this time, as these things were indeed meaningless against the Red Count.

"Even if I die in battle, I hope I die in the forest, rather than fall into the deep sea and become food for some sea monster or fish," Vidal sighed, looking up at the lush foliage that sheltered him from the rain.

At the same time, two identical clones, but with expressionless faces, slowly emerged from the tree trunk and walked to the side of the original body.

Immediately afterwards, a thin branch, as thin as a hair, connected the three of them to each other.

"Scatter!"

At Vidal's command, his two Wood Clones silently ran into the depths of the Tree World and quickly disappeared from sight. They then stood still, closed their eyes, and prepared themselves mentally for what might be their last battle.

That way, perhaps one can die with some dignity.

A few minutes later, the increasingly distinct sound of air being torn apart came from the sky. It seemed that even the Red Count, who was extremely skilled, would need to exert some effort to cross the vast ocean that was more than ten kilometers wide.

This principle is the same as Borsalino's speed of light not being the speed of light.

"Kid, you're not running because of the weather, are you?" Redfield said, pointing to the dark clouds overhead as he appeared in the air, voicing the guess he'd been pondering all along.

At this moment, although he stood in the air, neither the gale nor the heavy rain was blocked by his Emission Haki, making his image as elegant and dignified as ever.

"If I'm not mistaken, the energy that warship emitted the beam of light came from the sun, right?" Redfield seemed less concerned with capturing Vidal and more interested in verifying his speculation.

In his view, Vidal was too weak and could be dealt with in minutes; he might as well satisfy his curiosity and sense of superiority first.

Superiority of one's own intelligence!

"Yeah?"

But Vidal wasn't about to indulge him, and sneered, "Was the sun out just now?"

"This..." Redfield was speechless for a moment, then said again, "It must have been you who recharged the warship!"

"Nonsense!" Vidal retorted bluntly, blatantly lying. "You already said the warship's energy comes from the sun. Where am I, a Devil Fruit User, supposed to get sunlight for it?"

Redfield fell silent, thinking to himself, "That's right, this kid's ability seems to be planting trees and flowers, which has nothing to do with sunlight. Could it be that I guessed wrong?"

Seeing the Red Count's self-doubting expression, Vidal outwardly wore a cold and mocking smile, but inwardly he was overjoyed. Although he was about to die at the hands of his opponent, it wouldn't be bad to have some fun before he died.

Don't let Redfield's respectable appearance fool you. Given the low level of education in this world, aside from specialized biochemists, no one has any knowledge of botany, let alone what Photosynthesis is.

So this guy with the bounty of 1.34 billion Beli is actually illiterate!

"Then tell me the principle behind it. Why can someone like you, who plays with plants, release a beam of light?" Redfield was getting angry, his hand gripping the umbrella handle tightening, because he was disappointed in his own intelligence.

"Want to know?"

Vidal crossed his arms and sneered, "Beg me, and I'll tell you!" He'd completely let loose; what's wrong with having a little fun when you're about to die?

"Hehe."

Redfield sneered, "It's alright, once I cut off your limbs, you'll know everything." As soon as he finished speaking, he slashed his umbrella downwards, and a scarlet blade of light hundreds of meters long sliced through the rain.

[Boom!!]

Just as Vidal was becoming wary, he discovered that the enormous blade of light was not coming towards him, but rather striking the vast ocean behind him. When he turned his head to look, he saw an incredibly eerie and exaggerated trench that had appeared there.

This scene sent chills down his spine, his whole body trembled, and his pupils suddenly shrank to the size of wheat awns. Was this the Great Swordsman's slash?!

At the same time, he naturally realized that his escape route was cut off. It was that 'lifeline' connecting the Nine Pillar Domain and the warship. Sure enough, Redfield wasn't a fool; he wouldn't be fooled twice in the same place.

"Ha, now I'm completely out of hope." Vidal thought bitterly. Running away was out of the question; he couldn't possibly outrun his opponent. It seemed this Tree World had truly become his burial ground.

But he pretended to be calm on the surface; how could he possibly reveal his ugly side at this moment?

[Call--]

Since that's the case, let's go all out! It's not a do-or-die situation!!

The next second, a dazzling green light emanated from his body, as if some change was about to occur. Redfield, in the air, retracted the purple umbrella he had waved out and looked down at the cold-faced Vidal with great interest.

What is he going to do?

To be honest, he was already getting impatient and decided to settle everything right there, so he didn't mind giving Vidal an extra minute to prepare.

He's a disciple of that Sengoku the Buddha, after all; we should at least give him some face, right?

When all the green light dissipated, Vidal's appearance changed drastically. He was now wearing a helmet with sharp bull horns and a matching full suit of armor, complete with gauntlets, arm guards, breastplates, leg armor, and boots, all with shimmering dark green patterns flowing across their surfaces.

Coupled with the Justice Coat billowing behind him in the storm, and his gaze ready for a final battle, he looked imposing and awe-inspiring.

"Redfield, remember the name of this armor!"

"The Ryokugyu's Natural Power!"

As he spoke, Vidal took a step forward with his right foot, which was clad in boots, and unleashed a fierce aura that caused the surrounding trees to sway and shake off the wind and rain around him, making the waves behind him even more turbulent.

"The Emission of Armament Haki?"

Redfield raised an eyebrow; this genuinely surprised him. Vidal hadn't shown any signs of this during their previous encounters, and given his relatively young age, he had subconsciously assumed the kid was only at the Hardening level.

"No wonder my umbrella didn't achieve the effect I expected. So that's why. Monster-level talent, huh? Now I understand why Sengoku took you as his disciple."

Clearly, this Red Count attributed Vidal's ability to withstand his attacks with only 'minor injuries' to the level of his Armament Haki's Emission projection.

Is that really all there is to it?

"Go, Redfield!" Vidal roared, tearing through the rain and wind, transforming into a dark green streak of light that shot straight towards the top expert beneath the dark clouds.

Even if he dies, it must be in battle!

Even if it means dying in battle, he must be the first to charge!

That's how you die with dignity. In his entire life, he was a naval admiral!

"Heh, not bad, not bad, you're not a coward. In that respect, you do deserve the title of a disciple of the Sengoku." Redfield looked at Vidal, who was launching a desperate charge towards him, and nodded in satisfaction.

"You deserve to die under my umbrella!"

[Swish--]

The next second, he also transformed into a purplish-red color and rushed forward to show respect for his young opponent.

[Boom!!]

Dark green and crimson collided suddenly in the air between the clouds and the Tree World.