The sword light that tore through heaven and earth gradually dimmed, and the lightning-fast figures had slowed considerably. By now, Doflamingo and Hawkeye Mihawk had been fighting for an entire day and night.
Among swordsmen, this already counted as an exceptionally long battle. Although the powerhouses of the pirate world were all endurance monsters, swordsmen were no exception.
But even with equal stamina, battles between swordsmen—high in offense and low in defense—rarely dragged on for so long.
It was like in a game: everyone might have the same health bar, but a fight between two well-rounded warriors and a fight between two warriors with powerful attacks but frail defenses would undoubtedly see the latter decide a victor first.
"Pfft!" Doflamingo barely managed to remain standing as he spat out another mouthful of blood.
A massive bloody gash had been torn across Hawkeye Mihawk's face. His originally cold and stern features now carried an added hint of savagery.
Yet judging by his injuries and aura, he was clearly in far better condition than Doflamingo.
As expected of the future World's Greatest Swordsman. His talent for swordsmanship is truly extraordinary. In terms of swordsmanship alone, I'm still inferior to him.
Over the day-and-night clash, Doflamingo and Hawkeye Mihawk had initially been nearly equal in swordsmanship. But after fighting for a full day, Mihawk had already begun to gain a slight edge over Doflamingo.
Doflamingo could clearly feel that Hawkeye had absorbed more than half the essence of his swordsmanship. His skill with the sword had improved by leaps and bounds.
Of course, Doflamingo's swordsmanship had improved considerably as well, but compared with Hawkeye, his rate of improvement was still a step slower. That was why Hawkeye had gradually forced him onto the defensive.
That was only because Doflamingo's talent for swordsmanship had