"Piercingless Dragon: Piercingless Nail!"
Faced with Xie Wen's descending blade, Chinjao neither dodged nor evaded. He jumped straight up to meet Long Moon in Xie Wen's hands head-on with his skull.
"Clang!"
The pitch-black blade collided with the pitch-black skull, yet the sound was that of clashing metal.
Although this was another clash of Armament Haki, what Xie Wen felt now was completely different from that first exchange with Chinjao.
During their first clash, although Xie Wen had been outmatched in both Armament Haki and strength, he had still barely managed to hold his own, and he had not even activated Demon Mode then.
Now, however, Xie Wen had not only activated Demon Mode but even used a more powerful move, yet the result was-
He could not hold out!
The two had initially remained deadlocked in midair for a moment, but Xie Wen's Monster Hunter Style had always focused on instantaneous bursts of power. Once his momentum faltered, Chinjao's bald head immediately knocked his long blade aside.
Then that bald head drove straight into Xie Wen's chest. Even though he had mustered as much Armament Haki as he could to defend himself, it still felt as though he had swallowed a bomb made by Klee Meow, with an immense force suddenly exploding inside his chest.
"Aaargh-!"
Xie Wen's vision went black, and he felt as if he would pass out the next second.
Fortunately, Xie Wen was not fighting alone.
"Super Boom-Boom Spark, meow!"
Having broken free of the intimidation of Conqueror's Haki, Klee Meow immediately created an enormous flaming clover. Beams of flame sprayed wildly from its center toward Chinjao like machine-gun fire, preventing him from pursuing Xie Wen.
Taking advantage of the opening while the flame beams occupied Chinjao, Xie Wen finally caught his breath. He immediately