Bang!
Another sniper shot made Loa's scalp prickle. But after what had happened earlier, the sniper knew his attack alone could not kill Loa without his teammates' help.
This shot was more of a warning—the opening move.
Thanks to their earlier encounter, Loa recovered at once and formed an Ice Halberd in his hand, sheathed in strange blue-black Haki.
His eyes flicked. The six-foot Ice Halberd swept across his front like a dark-blue bolt of lightning and struck the Sniper's Bullet.
Clang!
Loa felt the weapon sink in his grip. A tremendous impact traveled up the Ice Halberd and into his arm, trying to wrench it backward, tilt his body, and throw him off balance.
Not a bad idea. In Loa's blind spot, the Swordsman who had ambushed him was closing in fast. He ran with his head lowered, seemingly gathering strength.
Just because Loa could not see him did not mean he could not detect him. With the passive ability Enemy of All Life, the Swordsman's sneak attack was doomed to fail.
First, the Sniper's attack would restrict Loa's movement. Then the Swordsman, with his formidable offensive power, would rush in. If nothing went wrong...
At that thought, Loa looked up. Sure enough, the sturdy old man who had shattered the Ice Spider was diving from Kong, his iron fists clenched.
If Loa really had lost his balance, being surrounded by all three would have put him in trouble.
But...
He had been caught unprepared earlier, and the Ice Halberd itself was not hard enough to stop a Bullet. That was why he had needed Ice Coffin to block it.
Now, hardened with Armament Haki, the Bullet posed almost no threat. The only thing Loa needed to watch for was its absurd impact, whatever caused it.
Which raised the