The Scales Begin to Tip

"Golden Light Incantation!"

While Long Yi kept the squad leader occupied, Long Er immediately used his Golden Light Incantation to bind the pirate's left leg.

The pirate immediately felt his body restrained and turned to look at Long Er.

"Five Elements Fist: Fire!"

Long Yi seized the opportunity and struck the pirate in the chest.

In an instant, Long Yi's fist punched through the pirate's chest.

"Ugh..."

The pirate squad leader hadn't expected to die that day at the hands of children he'd looked down on.

"Let go of me!"

Just then, Clay hurried over to them, grabbed one in each hand, and pulled them out of the battlefield.

"You two—I look away for one second, and this is what you do?"

"Hehe, Big Brother Clay."

Long Er gave him a flattering smile, making the first move to placate him. He knew Clay was a sucker for that.

"Forget it. I'll deal with you when we get back."

Clay's expression was grave, but he knew there was no point scolding them now. Thankfully, nothing serious had happened. He'd have to wait until they got back to teach them a lesson. After warily checking their surroundings, he hurried to lead them away from the battlefield.

"Slash Wave!"

Just then, the tide of battle began to turn.

In a corner of the battlefield, a thrilling battle was underway between the great swordsman Golden Lion Shiki and Fred, the vice-captain of the Giant Warrior Pirates.

Both Golden Lion and Fred displayed astonishing strength. Golden Lion swung his twin swords, his swordsmanship as fierce as a raging storm.

As a giant, Fred had an enormous frame and tremendous strength. He swung his massive hammer, every blow ringing out with a deafening roar, as if the entire sky were trembling.

Fred's strength was formidable, but Golden Lion's exquisite technique always allowed him to find openings to attack.

The battle grew increasingly intense.

Under Golden Lion Shiki's assault, Vice-Captain Fred gradually fell behind. His huge body was already covered in wounds of all sizes, and blood drenched him from head to toe. In the sunlight, his bloodied, contorted face was terrifying to behold.

After all, Shiki was now at the peak of his strength, and his blades were coated in Conqueror's Haki Coating every moment.

Shiki had once nearly killed Roger. If not for the enormous storm that saved Roger, who knew who would be the true Pirate King now?

"Gyahahaha!"

"Two-Sword Style: Lion Thousand-Cut Valley!"

Shiki noticed at once that Fred was tiring and struggling to dodge. He immediately seized his chance.

After all, against top-tier fighters, once an opening appeared, the outcome could be decided in an instant.

The speed and power of this technique reached unprecedented heights. It even seemed to tear the sky apart.

Golden Lion hovered in the air, gripping a sword in each hand, utterly unrestrained. His Armament Haki flared to its fullest in an instant—not only coating both swords, but also spreading over his entire body and the air around him in inky black.

In the blink of an eye, two golden blades of sword energy shot from his swords and crossed in midair, roaring like lions.

The terrifying sword energy swept toward Fred with the force of utter devastation. Only a great swordsman could unleash such razor-sharp sword energy. It was unstoppable.

Fred panicked and tried to withstand Golden Lion's assault, but his body could no longer take such a savage attack.

He hurriedly swung his hammer to block, but Golden Lion's sword energy shattered it, then pierced through his body. His enormous frame slowly toppled to the ground as his life ebbed away.

As he lay dying, he glanced toward Captain Yorulu. Perhaps he regretted not stopping him.

But there was nothing he could do now. He could even guess how their pirate crew would meet its end.

Slowly, he closed his eyes in agony.

In his final moments, he thought that if Dorry and Brogy had been here,

this probably wouldn't have happened. Sadly, the two captains were still nowhere to be found!

"Quack, quack, quack!"

"Not bad yourself, Carl."

"Has anyone ever told you that you laugh like a duck?"

"Only villains talk this much crap."

Carl taunted Angelo as she searched for an opening.

"Carl, you've made me angry."

Sure enough, when Angelo heard Carl mock his laugh, he flew into a rage.

The next second, he launched a furious full-force attack, giving Carl the perfect opening to strike.

"Thunderbolt Fist."

Carl leaped toward Angelo's left side, then adjusted her posture midair with Geppo and drove a punch toward his left waist.

"Shit!"

Angelo realized what was happening at once, but he had no time to adjust his stance.

"Bang!"

With a deafening boom, Angelo was sent flying hundreds of meters. He plummeted from the air and crashed into the ground, leaving a huge crater. The shock wave hurled the nearby pirates dozens of meters away.

"Ugh!"

Angelo sat up and spat out a mouthful of blood, but Carl didn't stop there.

Carl charged over like lightning and swung a punch coated in Armament Haki at Angelo's head. Angelo hurriedly raised his right arm to block.

"Thud!"

It was no use. The blow was too powerful. His entire arm shattered, exploding into a cloud of blood.

"Ah..."

Carl gave him no time to catch his breath, following up with another punch.

Angelo was clutching the wound on his right arm with his left hand when, in the next instant, his head burst open like a snowball.

The battle ended abruptly.

"Angelo, Fred..."

"This is all my fault."

Yorulu spoke in grief.

"Everyone, fall back!"

Yorulu was still stubbornly holding off Rocks's attacks, but even from the corner of his eye, he'd seen Fred and Angelo die.

Most of the pirates under his command had also been killed or wounded.

He knew his arrogance had brought them to this. He couldn't help regretting that he hadn't listened to Fred. If he had, none of this would have happened. He gave the order hoping more of his crew could escape the battle. He couldn't retreat himself; Rocks was simply too strong, and Yorulu was powerless to stop him.

"Retreat! Hurry!"

Yorulu's order had clearly come too late.

With Golden Lion leading the charge, nearly every member of the Giant Warrior Pirates had already been killed.

Only Herman, Eloy, and Bakura remained alive on the battlefield, and at this rate, the battle wouldn't last much longer.

"What are you two doing here?"

Although Carl had finished her battle, she didn't intend to interfere in anyone else's fight.

As she saw it, their side had the advantage.

Even so, she kept a close eye on the battlefield to guard against anything unexpected. Just then, she caught sight of Long Yi and Long Er at the edge of the battlefield.

Carl quickly walked over to Clay.

"Lady Carl, I'm sorry. I failed to keep an eye on them."

Clay was ashamed. In his eyes, failing to watch Long Yi and Long Er meant he'd let Lady Carl down.

Given his strength, there was no way Long Yi and Long Er could have slipped out from under his nose. He'd simply been distracted by the battle and let his attention wander.

"It's fine. Nothing happened, did it?"

Carl didn't seem bothered. Since Long Yi and Long Er were safe, letting them get some practice in wasn't a big deal.

Still, next time, he'd have to keep a closer eye on them. The Dragon-Human Race was rare, and the two of them would surely become valuable aides to him one day. He didn't want them getting hurt at a time like this.

"Yes, Lady Carl."

Clay answered respectfully, glaring at Long Yi and Long Er.

"We'll listen next time."

The two were quick to admit their mistake.

But since Carl saw that no serious harm had been done, she let the matter drop and turned her gaze to the center of the battlefield.

She knew Rocks wasn't showing anything close to his full strength yet.

She just didn't know why Rocks was dragging the fight out. Did he have some other plan?