Two Blades, Part Four

"Ah!"

The Assassin clutched his arm and stared at Gavin in horror.

Gavin held the Scimitar, his expression cold. For some reason, there was even a trace of reluctance in his eyes.

The Assassin had lost an arm. It still lay on the arena floor. Few people had seen what happened, but that only made Gavin's companions more astonished. They had never expected him to be this strong.

"He really is impressive," Ham said with a smile.

"He should be even stronger than that," Rogge said with a nod.

"Hmph!"

The people nearby were less pleased. The stronger Gavin was, the better Rogge's chances of winning.

"Ah!"

Everyone's attention suddenly swung to the other side of the arena. Taishan had killed the Golden Belt Champion.

That was right. While they had all been watching Gavin, Taishan had struck without warning and killed the Golden Belt Champion swiftly and cleanly.

"Rogge, this isn't looking good. Taishan is far stronger than we imagined. There's more to him than meets the eye," Jelly said.

"Relax. Gavin's about to finish his opponent too," Rogge said.

Taishan kicked the champion's corpse away and turned toward Gavin and the Assassin with a sneer. "Two left. Soon I'll have a billion Beli, and then I'll form my own pirate crew."

"Hey, Rogge, this isn't looking good," Ares said worriedly. The others shared his concern. Even Enel no longer fancied Gavin's chances.

They had seen Taishan's strength. He had killed the champion with one punch while the man was looking for an opening to attack. It had been a complete rout. Gavin was strong, no question, but he seemed outmatched by Taishan.

"You two are going to die." Taishan strode toward Gavin, raised his fist, and slammed it down.

Boom!

The arena floor cracked apart. Gavin dodged aside.