"What a sword... one that can cut through defenses." Chongyue wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his gaze still as steady as a mountain, without the slightest retreat. "In the decades since I obtained the Black Tortoise Fruit, you are the first person to wound my very core."
"My sword was made to break through defenses." Zhang Liao slowly rose, his breathing gradually recovering. "Your defense is among the strongest I have ever seen. But today, I must pass through here."
"Then... let us fight again."
Chongyue drew a deep breath. Earth power and the power of flowing water gathered wildly once more, and Dark Steel Armament Haki covered his entire body again. Though his aura had weakened somewhat, his fighting spirit, as steady and weighty as the earth, had not diminished in the slightest.
The tens of thousands of Hua Country Soldiers present and the remaining north-bank defenders witnessed Zhang Liao gaining the upper hand. Earth-shaking cheers erupted from the Hua Country side. What they saw was their unstoppable General Zhang Liao breaking through the Black Tortoise Admiral's Absolute Defense head-on. Among the distant World Government defenders who saw this, some began throwing down their weapons and fleeing to the rear. The Black Tortoise Admiral was now at a disadvantage, while bad news kept coming from the World Government's defensive lines elsewhere. This shock pierced the defenders' psychological defenses more directly than any words could.
Chongyue lowered his head and glanced at the sword hole in his chest. The hole was small, but there was blood. Dark red blood seeped through the cracks in his shell and trickled down the serpentine patterns on his breastplate. The shell over his chest was slowly healing, but several times more slowly than before. The Zacian Power left inside him