Crippling Blow

The battle on both sides had already lasted nearly half an hour. Although Nova had suffered some injuries, as long as he handled things properly from here on, those wounds would not be a serious problem for him.

But Omoro and the others were different. They were already like ants on a hot pan.

"King of Tru, are you really going to take things this far?"

Omoro asked in an icy voice.

"Do you think stopping now would do any good? I don't believe that after the leader of CP2 leaves my country, he'll choose to spare us. Rather than worry about what comes later, wouldn't it be better for you all to stay here forever?"

A sinister smile curled at Nova's lips, making him look especially wicked.

"Boss, why waste words on this guy? As long as we kill him, this barrier will naturally break. When that happens, we'll make this country accompany him to the grave!" the man in the red tie said viciously.

"Haha... Don't you think that sounds ridiculous? Do you really think this is all the strength I have?"

Nova laughed outright. The other side only knew how to make threats. They had said it countless times since the battle began, but the outcome was still right here, unchanged in the slightest. They were merely talking tough.

The man in the red tie knew it as well. If they could not break through the opponent's Space Ability, then no matter how long they stayed here, it would be useless. Once they grew tired, even a casual strike from the other side might take their lives.

"Ghost Guest, stay close to me from now on. Don't act rashly. Try to find this brat's weakness, then kill him in one blow!"

Omoro no longer wanted to think about anything else. This king clearly had no intention of letting them leave.

When he used Observation Haki to sense the surroundings, he had already discovered quite a few powerful people outside. Though he was greatly shocked, his most urgent goal now was to quickly deal with the brat before him. As for what to do afterward, they could only see how things went.

After receiving Omoro's order, the man in the red tie immediately hurried over to him.

Kova also stopped trying to find the barrier's exit and moved closer to them as well.

Of the six people who had come with CP2, two were dead and one was severely wounded. Only the three of them remained, and they had no idea when that brat would attack again. For a moment, these self-proclaimed powerhouses all felt the approaching threat.

"You don't really think that a Space Ability Devil Fruit can only be used for defense, do you?" Nova suddenly asked the remaining three with a smile.

The other two showed little reaction, but Omoro's face abruptly turned pale. The two of them did not understand the situation, but as the leader of Cipher Pol, he naturally knew far more than they did.

The main task those old men above had assigned to all Cipher Pol agents was to search for several Devil Fruits, including the Space-Space Fruit. As their leader, he had long known about it.

The Paramecia Space-Space Fruit was absolutely a bug-like existence among Devil Fruits, a power that could utterly drive people to despair.

The attacks within this barrier halfway up the mountain were so intense, yet not even a single leaf outside the barrier had stirred.

Omoro was clearly beginning to panic. At first, he had assumed the other party only knew how to use the Space-Space Fruit for defense, but Nova's words plainly suggested otherwise.

That was what made him unable to help but grow nervous.

"Ghost Guest, restrain his movements. Kova, support from the side and attack. Don't give him any chance to retaliate..."

Omoro hurriedly gave his orders. As long as the other party could not attack, they would at least still have hope of surviving.

He did not dare gamble. If Nova truly understood how to use spatial attacks, then for the few of them, there would be only one path left: waiting to die.

Upon receiving the order, the two swiftly began their pincer attack. The man in the red tie began releasing bubbles he had never used before. This time, they were brilliantly multicolored, with a diameter of at least three meters.

"You two, get farther away. Today, I'll use this to die with him and break this barrier for you."

The man in the red tie raised the enormous bubble above his head, as though he had already decided to perish together with Nova.

But now that things had reached this point, how could Nova possibly allow him to release something like that on his own turf?

Just as he was about to make his move, Kova suddenly charged forward.

Even now, Nova had yet to understand the other party's ability, so he could only passively activate his defenses.

"Jump..."

After Kova's attack missed, Nova instantly used Space Jump. It was a short-range spatial jumping method, and unlike teleportation, it allowed him to appear anywhere within this space.

"Wai—"

"Dragon Nest Flash—Slash..."

Before Kova could finish his warning, Nova had already appeared directly behind the man in the red tie. With an angry roar, he unleashed Draw Sword Slash.

The moment his blade came down, Omoro appeared beside Nova at the same time.

Nova was in the middle of attacking and had no way to defend himself. He could only allow Omoro, in his Silver Moon Wolf form, to slash at him with one claw.

They had used the man in the red tie as the price to severely wound Nova once more.

This attack was incomparably vicious. Three bone-deep wounds instantly appeared across Nova's chest.

His entire body slammed heavily into the edge of the barrier. When he fell to the ground, Nova, only sixteen or seventeen years old, clenched his teeth through the pain as both hands began trembling uncontrollably.

This attack was probably the closest he had ever come to death. If not for years of training that had greatly improved his physical condition, he would probably have been completely finished this time.

Even so, he could only endure the attack.

The remaining two showed no sympathy whatsoever for the death of their companion. Their eyes glared furiously at Nova, who was severely wounded and leaning against the barrier's edge. The only thing on their minds was killing him as quickly as possible. They could slowly figure out the rest later.

That arrogant man in the red tie had already been decapitated.

Trading one severe injury for the death of one enemy might have seemed worthwhile in some sense, but to Nova, this time he had still underestimated them.