The Scales Begin to Tip

"Golden Light Incantation!"

While Long Yi was entangled with the squad leader, Long Er immediately unleashed his Golden Light Incantation to bind the pirate's left leg.

The pirate instantly felt his body restrained and turned his head to glare at Long Er.

"Five Elements Fist—Fire!"

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

In an instant, the pirate's chest was pierced through by Long Yi.

"Urgh..."

The pirate squad leader never imagined that he would die today at the hands of children he had completely looked down upon.

"Let me go!"

At that moment, Clay rushed over to their side, grabbed one in each hand, and pulled them out of the battlefield.

"I took my eyes off you two for one second, didn't I?"

"Hehe, Big Brother Clay."

Long Er wore a fawning smile, being the first to try and appease him; he knew that was exactly what worked on Clay.

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

Clay's expression was grave, but he knew there was no point in lecturing them now. Fortunately, nothing major had happened, so he would just have to find a time to discipline them later. He scanned his surroundings vigilantly and quickly retreated away from the battlefield.

"Slash Wave!"

Just then, a turning point appeared on the battlefield.

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

Golden Lion and Fred each displayed astonishing strength. Golden Lion brandished his twin blades, his swordsmanship as fierce as a raging storm.

As a giant, Fred possessed a massive frame and immense power. He swung a colossal iron hammer, every strike resonating with a deafening roar that made the very sky seem to tremble.

Despite Fred's overwhelming strength, Golden Lion's exquisite technique allowed him to find openings for attack time and again.

The battle gradually reached a fever pitch.

Under the onslaught of Golden Lion Shiki, Vice-Captain Fred was slowly being pushed onto the defensive. His massive body was already covered in wounds of all sizes, soaked in blood. Under the sunlight, Fred's blood-drenched, ferocious face looked truly terrifying.

After all, Shiki was currently at the peak of his power, his blades coated in Conqueror's Haki at every single moment.

One had to remember that Shiki had once nearly killed Roger; if not for that massive storm that saved Roger, who knew who the true Pirate King would be today?

"Gwahahaha!"

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

Shiki noticed the moment Fred's stamina began to wane and his movements became sluggish, and he immediately seized the opening.

After all, for a top-tier powerhouse, once a flaw was exposed, victory or defeat was decided in an instant.

The speed and power of this technique reached an unprecedented realm, tearing even the sky asunder.

Golden Lion hovered in the air, wielding his swords with wild arrogance. He unleashed his Armament Haki to its limit; in that moment, not only his two blades, but his entire body and the surrounding air were rendered in pitch-black Armament Haki.

In a flash, two golden sword beams erupted from his blades, crossing in the air with a sound like a lion's roar.

The terrifying sword energy swept forward with a destructive momentum that only a great swordsman could possess—unstoppable.

Fred panicked, attempting to block Golden Lion's offensive, but his body could no longer withstand such a violent assault.

Though he hurriedly swung his hammer to defend, Golden Lion's sword energy shattered the weapon and pierced through his body. His massive frame slowly collapsed to the ground as his life force faded away.

In his final moments, he glanced toward the direction of Captain Yorulu, perhaps regretting that he hadn't stopped him.

But it was too late; he had already guessed the fate of their pirate crew.

He slowly closed his pained eyes.

In his final moment of death, he thought that if Dorry and Brogy were here, perhaps this wouldn't have happened. Unfortunately, the whereabouts of those two captains remained unknown!

"Gak-gak-gak-gak!"

"You're not bad yourself, Carl."

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

"Only villains talk so much nonsense."

Carl provoked Angelo while searching for an opening.

"Carl, you've angered me."

Sure enough, Angelo flew into a rage upon hearing Carl mock his laughter.

The next second, he lashed out with a hateful, full-force strike, but it provided the perfect opening for Carl.

"Thunderbolt Fist."

Carl leaped up abruptly, moving to Angelo's left side, before using Moon Walk in mid-air to adjust his posture and strike at Angelo's left waist.

"Oh no!"

Angelo realized the danger immediately, but he had no time to adjust his stance.

"Bang!"

With a deafening roar, Angelo was sent flying hundreds of meters in an instant, crashing violently into the ground from the air. A massive crater formed upon impact, and the surrounding pirates were swept dozens of meters away by the shockwave.

"Ugh!"

Angelo sat up and spat out a mouthful of blood, but Carl did not stop there.

Carl rushed forward like a bolt of lightning, his fist coated in Armament Haki, and slammed it toward Angelo's head. Angelo hurriedly raised his right arm to block.

"Boom!"

It was futile; the attack was too powerful. His entire arm shattered instantly, turning into a mist of blood that filled the air.

"Ah..."

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

Angelo was clutching his mangled right arm with his left hand, and in the next moment, his head exploded like a snowball.

The battle ended abruptly.

"Angelo, Fred..."

"It is my fault that you are gone."

Yorulu said with a hint of sorrow.

"Men, retreat!"

Although Yorulu was putting up a stubborn resistance against Rocks, he caught a glimpse of Fred and Angelo's deaths out of the corner of his eye.

Even the majority of the pirates under his banner had been killed or wounded.

He knew his arrogance had led to this outcome, and he could not help but feel regret. If he had listened to Fred earlier, none of this would have happened. He issued the order hoping more of his crew could escape the fray; after all, he could no longer retreat himself, as Rocks' strength was simply too overwhelming for him to withstand.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Yorulu's order to retreat had clearly come too late.

Under the leadership of Golden Lion, the members of the Giant Warrior Pirates had been almost entirely wiped out.

Now, the only ones left alive on the field were Herman, Eloy, and Bakura, but given the situation, it wouldn't be long before the battle concluded for them as well.

"Why did you two come here?"

Although Carl had finished his fight, he did not intend to intervene in the others' battles.

In his view, the odds were already in their favor.

Even so, he kept a close watch on the battlefield to prevent any accidents. Just then, his peripheral vision caught sight of Long Yi and Long Er at the edge of the conflict.

Carl walked quickly to Clay's side.

"Lord Carl, I apologize. I failed to keep an eye on them."

Clay looked ashamed. In his mind, failing to watch over Long Yi and Long Er was a dereliction of his duty to Lord Carl.

Given his own strength, it should have been impossible for the two to slip away under his nose, but he had been distracted by the fighting on the field.

"It doesn't matter. Nothing happened, did it?"

Carl didn't seem to care. As long as Long Yi and Long Er hadn't come to any real harm, letting them get a little trial by fire was no big deal.

However, he would have to keep a closer eye on them next time. After all, the bloodline of the Dragon-Human Race was rare, and he expected them to become his capable assistants in the future; he didn't want to suffer any losses at this stage.

"Yes, Lord Carl," Clay said respectfully, though he glared at Long Yi and Long Er.

"We will definitely listen next time."

The two of them were quick to admit their mistake.

Since no major damage had been done, Carl let the matter drop and turned his gaze back to the center of the battlefield.

He knew that this was not the full extent of Rocks' power.

He just wondered why Rocks was dragging out the fight like this. Did he have some other objective in mind?