Berserk

As time passed, the corpses in the arena piled higher and higher, eventually forming a small mountain of death, with colorful entrails and organs tangled among the severed limbs.

In the center, Ambux stood with blue flames raging across his body and blue light shooting from his eyes, confronting Luo Ya, who knelt on the ground, leaning on Ryujin Jakka and gasping for air.

Ambux looked refreshed and unscathed, while Luo Ya was covered in dense wounds, a myriad of claw and tooth marks, with white bone exposed in several places.

Clap, clap, clap. "What a truly exquisite ability, Luo Ya. This blade of yours also has the power to absorb souls, doesn't it? I was wondering why the soul flames I absorbed felt weaker than usual."

Ambux saw at a glance that the reason Luo Ya had been able to fight until now was the power of Ryujin Jakka's Cinder Embers; every soul that perished under Luo Ya's blade became fuel to bolster his strength.

However, because Ambux had long since branded his slaves, he couldn't absorb much, and furthermore, this ability was different from Ambux's own soul-sucking; it was a process specifically designed to convert energy into strength, and the meager stamina recovered was far inferior to Ambux's own.

"Heh, enough talk. Now, it's just you and me left."

"And so what? How long can you hold out with your current injuries? I only need to wait quietly for you to collapse."

"You really are shameless."

"Haha, I'll take that as a compliment, Luo Ya."

Seeing that Ambux was determined not to close the distance, Luo Ya grew impatient. After all, he only had enough strength left for one final strike; if Ambux dodged it and he failed to land a fatal blow, Luo Ya's gamble would end right here.

Suddenly, Luo Ya's eyes brightened. "Heh, you won't even step forward when I only have one strike left? Then I have no choice but to destroy Ryujin Jakka. It would only be shamed by following you."

As Luo Ya spoke, dense sparks began to fall from the Ryujin Jakka in his hand, and the once-solid blade began to turn translucent.

"You madman! Stop!" Ambux roared, his smug expression turning into one of frantic anxiety. After all, having fought through these four days of grueling battle, Ambux had already come to view Ryujin Jakka as his own prize.

Watching Luo Ya's movements continue, he didn't know if this soul-blade called Ryujin Jakka could truly be destroyed by Luo Ya, but he dared not gamble.

After all, the Osama Kingdom he had worked so hard to build was now reduced to just him, all for the sake of obtaining this sword.

Now, with Ambux in perfect condition and Luo Ya on the verge of death, Ambux knew that if he were in Luo Ya's position, he would also choose to destroy Ryujin Jakka rather than leave it for his opponent.

Thinking of this, Ambux let out a roar and lunged at Luo Ya, blue flames condensing into massive, solid-looking claw blades.

Covered in Armament Haki, the Kobold, with blue flames swirling around him, looked truly like the mythological god of death, Anubis, filled with a chilling, murderous aura.

Seeing his ruse succeed, Luo Ya knew this was his final chance. He sheathed Ryujin Jakka and slowly closed his eyes.

The remaining sword intent and Haki surged into the blade.

Line-Cutting Void!

The pitch-black Ryujin Jakka and the black-blue claw blades crossed in the air, and the two landed back-to-back.

With two wet thuds, both men vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.

Luo Ya had three massive claw marks across his chest, exposing his colorful entrails and organs, but this time, no black flames surged out to repair the wounds.

Ambux, while coughing up blood, had been sliced clean in two at the waist.

Even though he had been bisected, Ambux's eyes were filled with the joy of victory; his stamina was more than enough to recover from such an injury. Blue flames erupted from the severed edges of his torso, burning fiercely.

A while later, Luo Ya, whose vision was blurring from blood loss, watched as Ambux's body regenerated and walked toward him.

"Hahaha! I told you, no one in this country can defeat me!"

"Go to hell, Luo Ya! This precious blade called Ryujin Jakka will ring out across the seas alongside my name, Ambux!"

With that, Ambux brought his foot down heavily toward Luo Ya's head.

Bang! A boot wrapped in Haki kicked Ambux's foot away.

Luo Ya strained his spirit to look at the newcomer: a beautiful woman wearing a red top hat with a long tail, short purple hair with straight bangs, and sunglasses.

She wore a red long-sleeved bolero, a necktie, and leather gloves, with her shirt open and no undershirt. She wore a long-tailed skirt and red boots, a cigarette dangling from her lips as she held a large flag.

"What a brutal battle. Dragon sent me to finish this. I am Belo Betty."

After kicking Ambux away, Betty scanned the surrounding battlefield and spoke to Luo Ya.

Upon hearing Betty's identity, Luo Ya let out a sigh of relief. "Heh, I owe you one, Betty."

Betty rolled her beautiful eyes. "Try staying alive first. We came in a hurry, and there's no doctor."

Before she could finish, Ambux roared in fury and lunged at Betty.

Betty swung her large flag, the fabric wrapping around the pole like a spear. Under the coating of Haki, it shimmered with a dark, metallic luster.

With one thrust, she sent Ambux flying, fresh red blood spraying from his chest.

Just as Betty prepared to press the attack, the fallen Ambux suddenly began to howl in madness, his body expanding violently, instantly ballooning to over ten meters in height.

Countless human faces emerged on his body, their mouths opening in agonizing screams.

"It hurts, Daddy!" "I want to go home!" "Son, where are you?"

The piercing screams forced Betty to cover her ears. Ambux's bizarre state made her hesitate, and she looked toward Luo Ya.

After all, having fought for so long, Luo Ya surely understood Ambux's ability better than anyone.

Seeing Ambux's condition, the corners of Luo Ya's mouth curled upward, and Betty subconsciously wanted to kneel and shout, "Hail the Dragon King!"

While others might not know what was happening to Ambux, Luo Ya guessed the truth with near-certainty.

It was clear that he had consumed too many souls and could no longer control them, leading to a chaotic, berserk state. Luo Ya had experienced something similar once before, though he had only used Ryujin Jakka to digest the soul of one pirate—a target from a dark-world mission who had been quite powerful.

Without the tempering of Ryujin Jakka, Luo Ya had digested the soul directly and become so confused he couldn't recognize himself, unable to tell if he was that pirate or Luo Ya.

Fortunately, Ryujin Jakka proved reliable, and Luo Ya recovered after less than half an hour of confusion.

Luo Ya was well-versed in handling such situations, but due to his physical condition, he had no choice but to ask Betty for help.

"Do me a favor and help me over there."

Betty shrugged, grabbed the back of Luo Ya's clothes, and tossed him toward the rampaging Ambux as if he were a sack of rags.

Luo Ya cursed the woman in his heart as he drove Ryujin Jakka straight into the lower leg of the towering Ambux.

The moment Ryujin Jakka pierced his body, Ambux, who had swollen to nearly twenty meters, began to shrink rapidly like a deflating balloon.

The screams, however, became even more deafening.

"Ah!" "I'll kill you!" "No!" "Don't kill me, wuwuwu!" The shouts of murder, pleas for mercy, and the wailing of old men and children rose and fell in succession.

In their wake, a surging tide of soul power flooded into Luo Ya's mind.

With that, Luo Ya's head lolled to the side, and he collapsed onto the ground, falling completely unconscious.