"Who's there?!"
When Blood Axe Morton's roar, filled with terror and disbelief, echoed across Scrap Iron Island, where blood flowed in rivers, the entire battlefield fell silent.
Both the Divine Punishment squad members slaughtering the pirates and Brannew himself were deeply bewildered by this sudden, seemingly miraculous turn of events.
Only Brannew, after his initial shock, suddenly pictured that godlike figure in his mind.
It was Lord Yas!
Lord Yas must be watching us!
The moment that thought arose, an unprecedented surge of fervor and excitement swept away the fear of imminent death he had felt moments earlier!
God was watching me!
I couldn't disappoint God!
"You're the one who's dying, scum!"
Just as the bizarre phenomenon shook Morton to his core and left him open for an instant, Brannew seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
He let out an earth-shaking roar. Without the slightest hesitation, his fist, packed with all his strength, slammed into Morton's chest, which firing the cannonball had left wide open!
Bam!
An immensely deep boom rang out, like a battering ram striking a city wall!
"Urgh!"
Morton's mountainlike body shuddered violently. He looked down at his chest, which had been smashed into a huge hollow, its bones shattered inch by inch. His bull-like eyes filled with bewilderment and disbelief.
The powerful body he took such pride in, which even Marine cannonballs couldn't penetrate, had actually been punched through by an unknown Marine recruit?!
"Ugh..."
Morton didn't even have time to scream before his massive body toppled backward. With a thunderous crash, it smashed a huge, human-shaped crater into the ground, all life gone from him.
Silence.
Deathly silence.
Everyone stared blankly at the figure standing beside Morton's corpse, panting heavily but still standing tall.
One punch!
Blood Axe Morton, famed for his defenses and carrying a bounty