Rayleigh's "Retreat"!
Vidal had no time to pay attention to how Sakazuki and the others were dealing with the aftermath of the battle.
The massive explosion not only destroyed the entire mangrove forest but also left the 'Apis Divine Bull,' which was more than half damaged, with nowhere to stand. Fortunately, the somewhat disheveled Vidal managed to create a thick plank on the sea surface to catch it, and at the same time, he quickly darted onto the Oxhead.
"I never expected my attack to be neutralized," Rayleigh said with a laugh, pushing up his glasses as he stood on a long, thick piece of broken wood floating on the waves.
"Then, what if you strike again?"
[Sighing]
Just then, before the thick steam in the arena had dissipated, another melodious sound of a blade being drawn rang out, and the familiar, enormous blade flashed across like a silver mountain once more.
"No way, man, this is too much! Your Flying Slash has absolutely no cooldown?!"
Vidal's expression changed drastically, and he vented his frustration as if he were venting his anger, but it was too late to get the 'Apis Divine Bull' to unleash 'Solar Beam'.
"Hit him!"
Left with no other choice, he had to sacrifice the 'divine bull' beneath his feet and quickly retreated to prepare for his next move.
[Moo--]
Having already developed a certain will, the 'Apis Divine Bull' showed no resentment upon receiving this merciless command. It bellowed to the sky, raised its sharp bull horns, and charged headlong into the silver light that obscured its entire vision.
[Bang!!]
As expected, its body, as hard as steel, was no different from stone in front of the silver light, and shattered in the light in an instant.
But it also bought Vidal a little over a second!
This is enough time for him to do many things.
[Smack!]
"The Red Tree World Advent!"
Applause erupted, shouts rang out, and in a moment, towering trees rose from the sea. This was the power of the Forest-Forest Fruit; with a flick of the palm, trees could form a forest.
"The Palm of Osiris!"
Vidal stood atop a mangrove tree, his body ablaze with green flames, his Justice Coat fluttering in the wind, his hands clasped tightly to his chest as if in prayer.
At the same time, all the mangroves in front of them suddenly erupted, crushing and merging together, shaping into a pair of huge wooden hands with clearly visible patterns, which directly blocked the terrifying blade light that was pressing down from above.
"Block them!!"
Vidal's neck veins bulged as he gritted his teeth and roared.
The two wooden palms were severely damaged the moment they came into contact with the piercing light of the sword. The cracks on the palms looked shocking, but more trees surged from behind the hands, providing them with a continuous source of power and regeneration.
At this moment, this mangrove forest perfectly demonstrates the meaning of endless life. One after another, hundreds and thousands of them grow wildly, doing everything they can to gradually erode the power of the silver light.
Finally, Rayleigh's Flying Slash, belonging to the Great Swordsman 'Pluton', was swallowed up in the center of the forest less than fifty meters from Vidal, but the forest continued to grow and spread, quickly reclaiming the sea area that had been completely destroyed in front of it.
Is this the forest?
Rayleigh was stunned by this scene. It meant that his Flying Slash was no longer effective against Vidal, and any further swings would only result in it being blocked.
"No, this is the power of nature!" Vidal laughed loudly.
The sun overhead, far more intense than a normal summer day, gave him almost limitless energy.
If he doesn't have overwhelming power, he can keep dragging things out with his opponent, provided he doesn't recklessly engage Rayleigh in close combat.
There seems to be an unwritten rule in the battles of this world: regardless of fighting style or strengths, you must engage in hand-to-hand combat.
They could have simply stalled, using their distance advantage to wear down the opponent, and finished them off before they could even charge forward. Instead, they insisted on grabbing their swords and throwing punches.
Unfortunately, Vidal stated that he was not that kind of person. Facing an opponent like Rayleigh who was clearly stronger than himself, he prioritized attrition warfare, control, and maintaining distance by kiting the enemy.
When you've regained your strength, that's when I'll unleash my full power!
In just three short rounds, Rayleigh had already gained a basic understanding of his fighting style.
"What a troublesome fellow. So this is a disciple of the Sengoku? He is indeed extraordinary."
Across from him Vidal grinned and said, "Mr. Rayleigh, your ship seems to have sailed quite far ahead."
"Um?"
Rayleigh looked up behind him and, sure enough, the silhouette of the Oro Jackson had shrunk considerably, and the battle zone between Roger and Garp had been pushed back a distance.
"I see. So, because we need to switch tactics and retreat, I can't entangle with him for too long? This makes him even more troublesome, and there's basically no hope of defeating him in the short term."
Rayleigh finished his thought in an instant, gave Vidal a deep look, turned and left, swiftly skimming the water's surface as he headed towards the Oro Jackson.
"Hey, you can't just leave like this, or it'll get so boring here!"
Vidal watched Rayleigh's retreating figure with a wicked grin, then clapped his hands together again, using the remaining mangroves to revive the 'Apis Divine Bull'.
[Moo--]
"Charge! Chase them!"
[Splash--]
Amidst joyful laughter, a long, wide wooden path appeared on the sea, stretching straight ahead.
As he finished speaking, the 'Apis Divine Bull' galloped wildly along the wooden path, appearing from a distance as if it were riding on waves.
Imagine it.
Behind ten warships, a giant green bull gallops and chases after them along a wooden path that stretches forward.
Both sides in the battle were stunned by the 'Apis Divine Bull's' actions.
"Wait, look!"
"Mr. Rayleigh seems to be being chased by that bull, what's going on?"
Xika'er, Sambel, Yutou, Duolingo, and other members of Roger Pirates scattered across the battlefield could hardly believe what they were seeing.
"Solar Beam!"
At this moment, Vidal laughed loudly and made the 'Apis Divine Bull' under his feet spew out a scorching beam of light towards Rayleigh.
"That brat"
Rayleigh, exasperated, ran forward while quickly dodging the attacks from behind, letting the dazzling golden light explode around him.
Let him go back to playing; he'll definitely be fine in a short time.
Since the outcome is uncertain, it's better to temporarily abandon Vidal and wait until we catch up with the main force before switching sides and retreating.
He was just about to quickly deal with Vidal, this troublesome ability user, and never expected to linger there for so long.
"Solar Beam!"
"Continue!"
"Solar Beam!"
[Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!]
Taking advantage of the abundant sunlight overhead, the 'Apis Divine Bull' repeatedly condensed golden orbs and unleashed them, actually making the 'Solar Beam' appear as a low-grade version of the 'Yasakani no Magatama'.
Clusters of golden light exploded around Rayleigh, and the intense heat always produced large amounts of white smoke.
To be honest, in this situation, he, the vice-captain of the Roger Pirates, did indeed look quite disheveled.
"Wow, I never expected this, I never expected that one day I could chase after Rayleigh and beat him up, and he didn't even 'dare' to turn around and fight back." Vidal stood on the Oxhead and clicked his tongue in amazement.
Unbeknownst to him, a camera was secretly capturing the entire scene.
"Hehehe, this is amazing! 'Pluton' Rayleigh is being hunted down by 'Ryokugyu' Rear Admiral. This news is sure to make a fortune!" The camera owner excitedly pressed the shutter button frantically in the darkness.
Oh no, I typed the wrong chapter number. It should be Chapter 309.