An extremely powerful aura erupted from his body, sweeping away all the fine dust around him. The swordsman felt the continuous flow of power surging from his body, and at this moment he felt as if he could destroy everything. He looked at Eriksen in disbelief and asked.
"Hehehehe, this feeling is amazing! I feel the barrier of swordsmanship within me has been broken! Am I dreaming, Mr. Eriksen?!"
"Hehehe, this was the power that had been dormant within you all along. I merely awakened it. How do you feel now? Are you confident you can defeat that bastard Carlos?"
Eriksen was also very satisfied with his masterpiece, and nodded with a smile in reply.
"Hmm, fantastic! I feel a surge of power rising within me, as if without limit. Now I should be able to contend with Carlos. By the way, Mr. Eriksen, how does this ability affect you? Or, if you were accidentally knocked down and lost consciousness, would this state immediately end?!"
After answering Eriksen's question, an idea suddenly formed in his mind, and a sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he probed subtly.
"Hahaha, it's good that you don't feel anything. It's normal to feel power surging within your body right now. This state will gradually draw on your stamina to sustain you until your stamina is completely exhausted."
Moreover, this state is irreversible. Unless I personally order its removal, even if I accidentally lose consciousness and pass out, it won't matter. Do you understand?
Upon hearing that the swordsman was confident in his ability to fight Carlos, Eriksen was overjoyed and failed to notice the oddity in the swordsman's tone, continuing to smile and explain.
"Really? I see. So this state can be maintained as long as the stamina isn't completely depleted. In that case, I've come up with a great idea... I hope you can cooperate with me, sir!"
As he spoke, the swordsman's gaze gradually turned cold, and he stared intently at Eriksen.
"Oh!! What's the idea? Will it help defeat Carlos?"
Eriksen, the person involved, hadn't realized that the swordsman's tone had completely changed from before, and still naively thought that he had thought of some brilliant way to defeat Carlos, so he asked innocently.
"Hahaha, that must be it..."
Swoosh...
Before he could finish speaking, the swordsman One Flash and appeared in front of Eriksen, raising his right arm that was gripping the hilt of his sword and swinging it down at him.
"What?! Hmm... what do you want to do?"
Startled by the swordsman's sudden appearance and seeing him raise his weapon, Eriksen realized his intentions and quickly reprimanded him.
"Heh heh heh heh, of course Mr. Eriksen should obediently accept his death! As long as you die, I can continue to maintain this state. What a great idea! I don't need to eat those Devil Fruit to gain abilities comparable to theirs, don't you think, Mr. Eriksen?"
Don't worry, after you go down, I'll send Carlos with you to keep you company. Now you won't have to worry about being lonely after death. Alright, die...
Having said that, the swordsman mercilessly swung his blade at Eriksen. With a tearing sound, Eriksen didn't even have time to scream before his head was thrown off. Blood gushed out from the gash in his neck, and in less than a second, his body and severed head fell to the ground, raising a fine layer of dust.
Snap snap snap...
Just then, shortly after the swordsman made his move, a clapping sound rang out from behind him. Carlos, transformed into a half-orc, walked towards him.
"Hahaha, truly worthy of being a representative of a powerful force, possessing such decisive and ruthless methods. I'm becoming somewhat interested in you, young swordsman, state your name..."
"I'd like to know whose subordinate you are, and how you employ such ruthless and brutal methods. You can't be some nobody."
Carlos walked up to him. Having witnessed the entire scene, he was becoming increasingly interested in the swordsman. Previously, he had thought the man was just a minor character and hadn't even paid attention to his name. But now, he couldn't wait to learn more about him and see who could train such a decisive and ruthless attitude and methods.
"Heh heh heh heh, I am truly honored to have gained the approval of such an important figure as yourself. In the past, I doubt even someone as important as you would have known my thoughts. My name is Leonard, and I am a subordinate of the King of Loan Sharks."
However, it's no use for you to know my name now. I still won't let you go. In order to repay the good deeds you did for us before, I've decided to repay you properly.
So, are you ready now? Ready to face Lord Leonard's wrath?
call out...
No sooner had he finished speaking than Leonard vanished from Carlos's sight, reappearing in front of him in the blink of an eye and slashing at him with his sword.
"Hmph, just a newbie who's become incredibly arrogant after gaining power. I've overestimated you..."
As he spoke, Carlos raised his arm to block in front of him almost simultaneously, black Armament Haki wrapping around his right arm.
Clang...
Leonard's blade struck Carlos's right arm, which was wrapped in Armament Haki, with a metallic clang, and then could not advance an inch further.
"What's wrong? Is this all you've got? You can't even break through my defenses, yet you want to taste my wrath? Who do you think you are? I am the master of this island, why would I be afraid of a brat like you... The Lion King Heavy Punch Barrage..."
After saying that, Carlos instantly swung his left arm, attacking Leonard's exposed, defenseless chest like a machine gun.
Bang... Bang... Bang...
Carlos's bulging, pale yellow arm lashed out relentlessly at his chest, giving him no chance to react.
A series of violent roars rang in people's ears. Then Leonard's seemingly strong and experienced body was hit hard, and he was forced back. The floor could not withstand the huge force of his punches and wore two deep grooves. Finally, Carlos swung his right hand away from the blade and used his fist, which was wrapped in Armament Haki, to deliver the final blow.
boom...
Under Carlos's final blow, Leonard was blasted away without even having the strength to resist, crashing into the auction stage and collapsing.
Swoosh...
"You piece of trash who can't even control your own power, what gave you the illusion that you're truly invincible? I was really looking forward to seeing how strong you were, but this is the result. I don't even have the desire to fight you anymore. Now, just lie down obediently... Lion King Burst Slash!!"
Carlos gave him no chance to react, leaping into the air above him and delivering the final blow with his ultimate move.
Clang...
The lion's claws suddenly slashed out, creating four enormous Flying Slash that hurtled towards him.
"Cough cough... No, I still have ambitions to fulfill, how can I end here? I still want to defeat Hawk-Eye and become the strongest swordsman!!"
No..."
Leonard lay there, severely wounded, unable to move even for a moment, watching helplessly as the powerful slash descended upon him, letting out a final roar.
The subsequent strikes landed squarely on him, cleaving the entire auction hall in two. Smoke and shockwaves obscured the surroundings, making it impossible to discern the life or death status of those inside.
However, for Carlos and Luo Chen, who both possess Observation Haki, it was not difficult at all to notice that Leonard's voice had already faded away when the Flying Slash struck.
"Heh, dead? That makes sense. How could an arrogant fool who isn't even a power user possibly be a match for the mastermind behind this conspiracy? The outcome was decided from the very beginning; it's just that those people dared not imagine it. Although these battles were somewhat disappointing..."
Alright, I've been a spectator for so long, it's time for me to make my appearance. Oh, right, Catherine...
As he spoke, Luo Chen turned his gaze to Catherine beside him.
"Hmm! What's wrong? Is something the matter?"
Catherine, who had been watching the battle between Sabo and Jessicano suddenly snapped out of her daze when Luo Chen asked her this question. She turned to look at him with a puzzled expression and asked.
"No, what I meant was that if you want to go up, you can go. Don't hold back anymore. Seeing such a strong opponent must be very exciting for you, so don't hesitate any longer, just go for it!!"
Luo Chen naturally noticed Catherine's eager expression, and instead of insisting that she stay and observe, he encouraged her to go up.
"Do you know what? Can I really play?"
Upon hearing this, Catherine immediately became excited and eagerly asked Luo Chen to confirm it again.
"Yes, I mean it. You should go up there too. With Sabo there, you shouldn't be in any danger. You've been on the ship for so long, and you're probably eager to improve your skills, right? Go up there and test your swordsmanship against him, so you can break through your limits once again."
"And I also want to spar with that guy. It would be a joy to fight a strong opponent. Alright, that's all I have to say. I'm going up now. Do as you please..."
After saying that, Luo Chen instantly took off and rushed to where Carlos was.
"Hmm... who is that?! Oh! It's him, the Luo Chen the Blasphemer, the Pirate Supernovas with a bounty of 200 million Beli. Is he going up too?"
At the same moment Luo Chen rushed to the battlefield, Monet, who was in the private room, noticed him first and revealed his true identity, looking surprised.
"One Piece Supernovas? What's that? Is he famous?"
Gladius, standing beside her, was also quite surprised by Monet's tone and asked a question.
"Of course, just a few days ago he went from an unknown nobody to causing chaos at Marine Headquarters, escaping from Garp and Akainu one after another. Now, there are probably very few people on this sea who don't know him. The pirate Luo Chen, who has been given the title of Blasphemer!!"
Monet nodded, then turned back to look at Luo Chen, who was about to meet Carlos, and said.