Holy Knights (×), Speed Bumps (√)

Nereus was now like the point where streams converged.

It was not only the area where Whitebeard, Kaido, and the others were that was affected by his ability.

The entirety of God Valley, even the waters around it, was currently under the influence of Nereus's power.

Marines, Pirates, Celestial Dragons, and slaves alike could see blood beginning to flow from corpses with external wounds, while those still alive remained completely unaffected.

The blood converging from across the island gathered beside Nereus, forming a strange crimson sphere over his right hand.

Once the blood flowing in from every direction entered this area, it was absorbed by the blood sphere in his hand. The blood that entered seemed to vanish into thin air, with no trace of where it went.

This was also why Nereus was currently in an Awakening state. For Devil Fruit users, Awakening was a special stage.

Those who successfully awakened could unleash even greater power from their fruits. Awakened Zoan users gained unparalleled recovery abilities, while Paramecia Devil Fruits assimilated the surrounding environment.

A Logia user's Awakening could even permanently alter the terrain of an area. And that was merely the common phenomenon; Mythical Zoan Awakenings often came with unique abilities as well.

Of course, Awakening also carried the risk of failure. The Jailer Beasts of Impel Down were glaring examples.

Though their recovery abilities remained formidable and they were nearly impossible to kill, they lost the rationality of being human and could only become beasts that obeyed orders.

For an Awakening user like Nereus, who had already succeeded, Awakening not only enhanced his abilities but also expanded their range.

"Marines, Pirates... Celestial Dragons... they're all the same breed."

Even in his Awakened state, Nereus's Observation Haki was not absurdly powerful enough to cover an entire island.

Enel could achieve that not only because of his talent with Observation Haki, but also with the aid of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

Still, Nereus could sense what was happening nearby. Though these Pirates had not come to save ordinary people either, each of them sought either treasure, Shakky, or fame.

Yet the Pirates' arrival had, to some extent, put a stop to the Celestial Dragons' Slaughter Game.

The ordinary Celestial Dragons had fled for shelter, while the Holy Knights were dealing with powerful Pirates from all sides, giving these people a greater chance of survival.

But that did not mean everyone could live. God Valley was now an isolated island in the sea, surrounded by war on all sides, with no conventional route to safety.

Moreover, while the ordinary Celestial Dragons had indeed abandoned their game and begun seeking shelter, the Holy Knights had not done so.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A Celestial Dragon from the Holy Knights, wearing an oversized round hat, with light cyan hair and a cloak bearing the character for "God," held a specially made rifle and fired indiscriminately at every target in sight.

"You think you can take this chance to escape? Whether you're natives or Pirates, none of you are getting away!"

Regardless of gender or age, whether they fled or begged, her shooting never paused for even a moment.

In a sense, the Celestial Dragons were among the most "equal" groups on the seas. They equally refused to treat anyone outside the Celestial Dragons as human.

Even those hiding behind cover would have it pierced directly by her bullets enhanced with Haki. Ordinary rocks and trees could not block her shots at all.

But just as she tried to continue firing, a hand crushed her gun barrel flat.

"When did you get here?!"

What shocked her was not that someone had crushed her gun barrel, but that she had not sensed the enemy approaching at all.

However, members of the Holy Knights were vastly different from ordinary Celestial Dragons. Those useless Celestial Dragons could only scream and seek protection from others.

Even at a time like this, they could not tell their place and would try to threaten others with their status.

The Holy Knights, on the other hand, had far more combat experience. Even when they clearly sensed how powerful their enemy was, they would not completely succumb to fear.

Seeing him still gripping the barrel, despite its severe deformation, she pulled the trigger several more times.

As the trigger was pulled, bullet after bullet became jammed inside the chamber. Once the pressure built up to a certain point, the entire gun exploded in her hand like a grenade.

"The famous Vampire is actually saving a few strangers."

"What I do is not for you to point fingers at."

"Heh heh, it doesn't matter. Those people can't escape this island anyway. But taking your head would be a fine outcome.

Someone like you is qualified to become a collectible of the Manmaya family."

Manmaya was one of the Celestial Dragon families. After Nereus arrived, the Celestial Dragons of the Manmaya family changed their target.

As for why Nereus had stopped her, there was no particular reason. He never showed mercy to enemies, but he was not so coldhearted that he would refuse to save people he could casually rescue within his range.

Nereus did want the Devil Fruits on the island, but he was in no hurry over this matter. The fruits could not run away, and without knowing what kind of fruit it was, few people would eat one outright.

The fruits were still on the island. Even if they fell into someone else's hands, Nereus was confident he could take them back. Besides, the Holy Knights could hold out for a while longer.

"Collectible? Perfect. You'll make a decent test subject."

The gun's explosion had no effect on either of them. The arms holding the gun had already recovered completely.

Depending on the source of one's "immortal body," defense could sometimes be an unnecessary act.

The Manmaya Celestial Dragon raised her leg and kicked at Nereus, while he gathered Armament Haki in his palm and reached up to grab her head.

Slap...

The gap was obvious. Nereus crushed her head outright, blood splattering everywhere as some unidentified matter stuck to his hand.

Yet her kick failed to penetrate Nereus's armor of Armament Haki.

Losing her head was no big deal for a member of the Holy Knights. The headless body swiftly retreated, while the head Nereus had crushed began regenerating.

However, the moment her eyes had regenerated, the Manmaya Celestial Dragon realized she had failed to create any distance at all. Nereus was still in front of her, repeating the same motion as before.

Armament Haki to the head took three seconds to regenerate. What would happen with Conqueror's Haki?

That was what Nereus thought at that moment. If he was to oppose the World Government, he would inevitably face members of the Holy Knights sooner or later. Yet every full-fledged member of the Holy Knights had been granted an immortal body like the Five Elders.

Therefore, Nereus wanted to test how they could truly be killed.