Ye Chen fought as he retreated, drawing Crocodile out of the city. It was not that he feared Crocodile's power; he simply did not want the city destroyed.
"Desert Spada!"
With a cold shout, Crocodile turned his hand into a blade, spun sharply, and slashed from a distance.
They seemed far apart, but the slightest lapse in attention could still be fatal. To Crocodile, that distance meant nothing.
A gust sprang up. A fan-shaped wave of sand slashed at Ye Chen's waist without warning. Crocodile had barely moved his hand, yet death was already closing in. Ye Chen leaped into the air.
The wind kicked up sand until it filled the sky. Ye Chen moved like a gale, and when he appeared again, he was behind Crocodile.
He drove both fists, charged with Internal Power, toward Crocodile's back. Crocodile reacted at once, turning and swinging his Golden Hook to block them.
Boom! The impact cracked like thunder, shaking the ground. Air churned around them, whipping up a fierce wind.
Crocodile stared steadily at Ye Chen, but his composure did not last.
Ye Chen pressed forward with both fists, his Internal Power surging like a flood. Crocodile could not withstand the force.
He flew backward like a kite with a snapped string. Even then, he looked imposing rather than bedraggled. His coat billowed, his face remained calm, and disdain showed in his cold expression. Even as he landed, no one would have dared underestimate him.
The moment he touched down, he flipped over, tapped his Golden Hook against the ground, and rose to his feet, composed once more.
Ye Chen brushed the dust from his clothes and nodded in genuine appreciation. "I have to say, that gray coat really suits you!"
"Hmph. Smooth talker..."
Crocodile snorted, took a hard drag on