The moment Rayleigh's fist struck Xie Wen's shield, he sensed something was wrong...
The impact felt completely different from before.
Previously, striking this shield, which seemed to have nothing special about it beyond its sturdiness, had felt much like striking stone or a lump of iron. This time, however, Rayleigh felt no recoil whatsoever. It was like a black hole, absorbing all his force.
Even the Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki coating his fist vanished without a trace, swallowed by this seemingly simple shield.
Just as Rayleigh wondered in surprise what new trick Xie Wen was up to, he saw Xie Wen swing his arm outward. At the same time, an immense force traveled through the shield into Rayleigh's fist, carrying a power he knew all too well...
Isn't this my Haki?!
Certain Devil Fruits could indeed reflect an enemy's damage, but this was Rayleigh's first time seeing anything reflect Conqueror's Coating. Moreover, he was one hundred percent certain that this was no Devil Fruit ability. Like Xie Wen's earlier slash and his sudden burst of speed, it was some special fighting technique.
Whatever method Xie Wen had used, though, he had once again caught Rayleigh off guard and sent him flying with his own power.
After successfully executing the shield parry, Xie Wen did not press his advantage. It was not that he did not want to, but that he could not do so for the moment.
Although his earlier claim that "forcing a second Flurry Rush within half an hour would leave me bedridden for days" had been meant to fool Rayleigh, Xie Wen had not been lying entirely. Using Flurry Rush repeatedly in a short period still placed a tremendous strain on his body, especially since he had been taking a beating beforehand and had also used