1 vs. 500 (Part Two)

Facing the soldiers surging toward him like a tide, Lafitte kept his polite smile, though its curve grew colder.

He pushed lightly off the ground and shot backward, dodging several spears thrust at him by a hair's breadth.

Before the soldiers' astonished eyes, his arms abruptly transformed into a pair of pure white wings!

With a beat of his wings, dust swirled up from the ground. Lafitte instantly rose into the air, hovering lightly overhead.

"Don't panic!"

Though startled, the commander kept his composure and barked,

"He's only a devil fruit user who can fly! Archers! Loose!"

The well-trained soldiers swiftly changed formation. The archers in the rear put away their melee weapons, raised their bows, and nocked their arrows.

With a thrumming of bowstrings, a dense volley of arrows shot toward Lafitte like a swarm of locusts, their shrill whistles piercing the soldiers' eardrums.

Lafitte remained utterly unruffled.

His arms returned to normal, and he elegantly swung his cane, which seemed more ornamental than practical. Its flickering shadow knocked aside every arrow that came close with flawless precision, his movements as fluid as a waltz.

Meanwhile, at some point, his free left hand had produced an exquisitely crafted flintlock pistol.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crisp gunshots rang out, and bullets whistled through the air.

"Raise your shields!"

The commander immediately gave the order.

The shield bearers in the front rank promptly raised their heavy, iron-bound wooden shields, forming an impenetrable wall.

Yet Lafitte's bullets seemed to have lives of their own. They traced bizarre curves through the air, bypassing the sturdy shields and slipping through the gaps from unexpected angles to strike the soldiers behind them with deadly precision.

"Aah!"

"Urgh!"

Screams rang out one after another. Shield bearers fell in droves, and gaps instantly opened in the shield wall.