Werther looked toward Big Mom.
She lay sprawled on the ground, her right arm gone. A deep slash across her chest had nearly exposed her organs.
Blood soaked her purple polka-dot pajamas and soon spread into a large pool beneath her.
Werther's strike had nearly killed her. She had dodged at the last moment, keeping his blade from hitting anything vital, but her wounds were still severe.
There was also a thumb-sized hole near her heart, left by a bullet from Jin Hu.
Jin Hu had seized the same opening and tried to put a bullet through her heart, but Big Mom had dodged that too.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The muffled reports of a sniper rifle rang out in succession. After his first shot failed, Jin Hu stopped concealing his killing intent and sent several more bullets at Big Mom.
Big Mom sensed the attack and rolled to her feet. It was a clumsy move, but she avoided the bullets.
She escaped Jin Hu's shots, only for someone to flash into place behind her.
"Die here, Big Mom."
Werther swung his sword. Exhaustion had robbed the blow of its usual force, but it still carved a bloody line across Big Mom's back.
Big Mom was in even worse shape than Werther. She was at the end of her strength, barely able to stand.
"You bastard! You dared to ambush me! I'll make you pay for this one day."
Big Mom was overbearing, but she was no fool. That earlier strike had shown her that this swordsman was far stronger than she had imagined—strong enough to threaten her life.
So Big Mom chose to flee. Running after a defeat was no disgrace if surviving meant she could take revenge later.
What she did not know was that the worst part of