"Damn it. Small fry like us actually thought we could stop the Grim Reaper Pirates. We're a bunch of idiots."
"In my next life, I want to be a snail and hide inside my shell!"
"What's the point of fools like us being alive?"
The marines knelt on the ground, confessing their sins in utter despair. They could do nothing to stop the Grim Reaper Pirates' advance.
Ye Chen kicked out, sending a blade of energy tearing through the air. A towering shockwave erupted from the ground and hurled whole groups of marines into the sky.
He strode forward as another tide of marines rushed him. Even Zephyr came sprinting over with his men. Binz charged at Ye Chen first, sweeping both hands upward. "Grow! Grow..."
As he muttered the words, a nearly invisible sprout on the ground shot up. In moments, it had become several thick, long vines that twisted toward Ye Chen.
The plaza was bare, with hardly any vegetation. But under Binz's power, even the tiniest plants, ones no one else could see, grew at an astonishing rate.
In the blink of an eye, an unremarkable blade of grass could become a towering tree.
Ye Chen sprang into the air, then drifted down without a sound. A marine nearby aimed a rocket launcher at him and fired. "Die, you vile pirate!"
Boom!
The shell roared toward Ye Chen. At such close range, the marine was certain he couldn't dodge it.
But Ye Chen drew Oto from his waist with a sharp swish and slashed almost casually. Crack! Before the shell could reach him, it split cleanly in two, then exploded in midair with a thunderous boom.
"Hmph!"
Ye Chen gave the marine who had ambushed him a disdainful smile and flicked his sword. A blade of energy