Two Months

"So scary! Is this the Pirate King Roger? His casual attack actually has such power," Ian said, his face pale.

Michael also looked frightened; the power of that slash clearly exceeded his understanding.

Michael himself was a swordsman, and no one present knew better than he how terrifying Roger's slash had been.

Moreover, he noticed black lightning coiling around the slash Roger had unleashed.

He had never seen a similar attack before, and Michael's intuition told him that the immense power of Roger's slash was inextricably linked to the black lightning.

"Paddy, do you know what the black lightning on Roger's slash is?" Michael asked Paddy.

"That's Conqueror's Haki infusion," Paddy replied while supporting Mia.

"Conqueror's Haki infusion? Can Conqueror's Haki be infused like Armament Haki?" Michael asked, looking shocked.

"Yes, but Lord Shiki said only a very few people can achieve this. Once one masters this technique, they gain the qualification to reach the pinnacle of this world."

"Paddy, can you do Conqueror's Haki infusion?" Ian asked.

"I can't. I only learned to control my Conqueror's Haki a month before I was captured. Lord Shiki said with my talent, it would take at least 10 years to achieve Conqueror's Haki infusion."

"10 years? Why 10 years? Is there any significance to this time?" Ian continued to ask.

"I don't know that. Lord Shiki didn't tell me. He just told me to train hard and preferably spar often with others who also possess Conqueror's Haki."

Michael fell silent upon hearing this. As someone without Conqueror's Haki, did this mean he would never be able to unleash a slash like Roger's in his lifetime?

Compared to Michael, Ian wasn't thinking that far ahead. Although he didn't have Conqueror's Haki either, he wasn't a swordsman. His attacks relied more on firearms.

As for Mia, she couldn't even stand steadily. If Paddy hadn't supported her, she would have collapsed to the ground, completely uninterested in such trivial matters.

"Mia, are you alright?" Mosen asked, turning his head.

"Not really. Summoning Roger's phantom didn't take much stamina.

But when I controlled the phantom to attack, I found my stamina draining like a breached dam, pouring into the phantom.

Roger's slash just now consumed over ninety percent of my stamina, and this wasn't even the phantom's limit. If my stamina could keep up, he should have been able to launch even stronger slashes."

After hearing Mia's words, Mosen frowned. According to Magellan's account, Carmaine Rodnado had also summoned Roger to attack Zephyr's ship back then, even making Roger's phantom use "Divine Annihilation."

But Carmaine Rodnado, in his current state, clearly had inferior physical fitness compared to Mia. He had manipulated Roger's phantom to launch such an attack without being drained, which was very thought-provoking.

Was it that Carmaine Rodnado deliberately controlled the power of "Divine Annihilation"? Or did he possess an extraordinary secret?

With this thought, Mosen returned to the house to examine Carmaine Rodnado's corpse.

This examination indeed revealed something unusual. This Carmaine Rodnado was not an ordinary human; many parts of his body had undergone mechanical modification.

It was these mechanized body parts that provided Carmaine Rodnado with the stamina to attack using the Phantom-Phantom Fruit.

"Mosen, someone has come to Extreme Cold Hell!" Ian ran in to say.

Mosen frowned upon hearing this and said, "Ian, you and Michael help dispose of these corpses, and have Paddy take Mia somewhere safe as well."

"Understood."

"Then I'll leave it to you." With that, Mosen went out towards the entrance of Extreme Cold Hell.

Halfway there, Mosen ran into Argo, who had come to investigate.

"Mosen, are you alright?" Argo asked as he approached.

"I'm fine. Argo-senpai, why are you here at Extreme Cold Hell?"

"I was worried about you! You must have felt the earthquake just now, right?"

Mosen froze for a moment, then realized that the attack from Phantom Roger had shaken the entire Impel Down. He quickly nodded, feigning a look of lingering fear.

"You really are something. After the earthquake, you should at least come out and report that you're safe! With no word from you, I thought something had happened to you," Argo said with a helpless expression.

"Sorry, senpai. I was terrified at the time and a bit flustered.

Also, after this earthquake, it stopped snowing in Extreme Cold Hell, and I was checking why the snow had stopped..."

Before Mosen could finish speaking, snowflakes suddenly began to fall from the sky.

"Looks like there's no need to check. The snow has started falling again, hasn't it!"

Mosen gave an awkward laugh, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Fortunately, Argo didn't dwell on the matter. He had Mosen take him on a tour of Extreme Cold Hell, and after confirming that it hadn't been affected by the earthquake, he turned and left.

After seeing Argo off, Mosen returned to the cabin. Ian and the other three returned shortly after.

Having witnessed Roger's attack, Mosen, Michael, and Paddy were deeply moved.

From that day on, the three of them began to train even more intensely.

Unknowingly, two months passed.

One day, in front of Mosen's cabin, Mosen and Michael were sparring.

Over these two months, Mosen had successfully mastered Armament Haki infusion, and he had also gained an introductory level in Iaido Slash.

To rapidly improve Mosen's swordsmanship, Michael had been sparring with him during this period.

The sparring requirements were simple: Mosen could not use his Lineage Factor and could only fight Michael using Six Powers combined with swordsmanship and Haki.

Mosen had a certain talent for physical combat. From being utterly crushed by Michael at the start, he could now hold his own, with Michael having the upper hand three out of ten times.

If he added the abilities of the Frozen Lineage Factor, Mosen felt confident he could defeat Michael.

The current Michael wasn't the same as before, enduring freezing and hunger, with less than a tenth of his strength. Now, he could unleash seventy to eighty percent of his power, equivalent to a Pirate with a bounty over 100 million.

In other words, Mosen could now go toe-to-toe with a Pirate with a bounty over 100 million.

This level of strength would be enough to serve as a Rear Admiral at Marine Headquarters.

Mosen was very satisfied with his growth over this period. His Haki, Swordsmanship, and physical condition had all made significant progress compared to two months ago.

More importantly, as his physical condition improved, Mosen's stamina also increased. His control over the Frozen Lineage Factor became more adept, allowing him to unleash some large-scale attack skills.

100,000 characters. They say writing a book has hurdles at 100,000 characters, 500,000 characters, and 1,000,000 characters. The first hurdle has been cleared. Thank you all for your support.