"Let's change locations. This isn't a suitable battlefield," Mantis said calmly. He had already sensed that Vic was a powerful figure, and he couldn't afford to take him lightly. This place wasn't suitable for a large-scale battle between the two of them.
"You can choose the battlefield yourself. After all, you know this place well, so you'd better choose carefully. It might just be your burial ground."
"I'm different from other marines. I don't like capturing them alive. The stronger they are, the more I enjoy killing them!" Vic smiled, his tone relaxed, but his words were full of murderous intent.
Mantis stopped talking and walked directly to the middle of the island. It's best not to fight powerful swordsmen by the sea, otherwise the island will shrink and shrink, and one slice will sink into the sea.
Mantis led Vic past many rice paddies to a small grove in the center of the island, followed by a large group of people, including all the Elite Camp members of the Navy, several of Mantis's underlings, and many island residents.
"Is this the place? Do you own this forest? You won't be able to afford to pay for it if you destroy it. Farming doesn't bring in much income!" Vic said with a smile.
"Don't worry about it. We can just replant the forest if it's destroyed. You should worry about yourself!" Mantis said calmly. He had remained calm and showed no sense of crisis since the Navy appeared. He knew Zephyr, of course, but he didn't care much about him.
Vic nodded, then drew Blood Wither and Allen, pointing one blade at Mantis while the other hung at his side. The Haki design of the blades shocked everyone. Mantis's pupils contracted slightly when he saw the design of the blades, clearly indicating that he had thought of something.
Mantis knew that Vic was not a weakling, so he became serious as well. His body began to change, becoming increasingly bloated and no longer human. He stretched out on the ground, with several legs extending from his sides. His hands also changed, becoming long and flat, and his body grew darker and darker.
Until the transformation ended, there was not a sound at all; everyone's mouths were agape as Mantis had transformed into a giant mantis nearly ten meters long.
The mantis was jet black and shiny, reflecting a metallic sheen. Its compound eyes gleamed with a menacing light, and its two forelimbs transformed into two enormous Black Blade, each over three meters long. The blades seemed to absorb light, radiating an eerie chill that caused the surrounding temperature to drop several degrees. It appeared mysterious and powerful.
"You're Two-Sword Style too?" Vic was only surprised at first, but then quickly regained his composure.
"This is the first time I've shown this form in public since returning to this island. The battle ahead will be fierce." Mantis's voice also changed slightly, seemingly due to the change in his mouth.
"Professor Zephyr, this guy looks terrifying. Can Vic defeat him?"
Rebecca felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at the ferocious figure. The oppressive aura was overwhelming; those two large swords were bigger Vic's body. If one of them were to strike, Vic would be completely unharmed.
" Mantis is a user of the Zoan Bug-Bug Fruit, Ancient Zoan Nether Mantis form."
Legend has it that the Nether Mantis is a messenger of the Underworld, capable of traversing between the Underworld and the human realm. It occasionally descends to the human world at night to feed on various metal ores.
It is a being capable of stealing souls, and can be considered a divine object. In terms of rarity, it is no less than that of Mythical Zoan.
Its body, in particular, is incredibly sturdy, and its two dark, large swords are exceptionally hard, never damaged, and are said to be no less powerful than the Supreme Great Grade Sword, and are exceptionally sharp! Zephyr was also solemn.
"Oh no! What are we going to do? Isn't this just like Kaido? How can Vic possibly be a match for him?"
Rebecca was uneasy, which was understandable, as she hadn't seen Kaido's dragon form before, and this was her first time witnessing such a strange creature.
" Rebecca, don't worry. Vic is strong enough to even challenge an Admiral. There's no need to be too concerned!" Wendy reassured her.
"Yes, we still have Professor Zephyr, so don't worry!" Barnett reassured her.
" Vic will be safe!" Frodeku said earnestly.
Ain held Rebecca's hand without saying a word, but stared intently at the scene, her little face very serious.
"So the boss is Devil Fruit User! That's amazing! He's so powerful!"
"Yeah, I never imagined our boss could transform into something like this. With him around, who are we afraid of!"
"The ones who should be worried now are the navy!"
"I'm really afraid the boss will just eat that navy guy alive. He looks terrifying, like a monster."
"Yeah, I hope the boss is still himself. He can't kill any Navy personnel!"
After a moment of silence, a tremendous uproar erupted as everyone was shocked by Mantis's enormous size. Few people had ever seen such a large mantis, especially one of such an extraordinary species. The oppressive aura was suffocating, even though Mantis had concealed its size.
"You are indeed very strong, as expected of someone from Rocks!" It was as if Vic was surrounded by a black field, with only his body and the area around his twin swords in a vacuum, like a figure with a white outline drawn on a black sheet of paper.
"Likewise! Likewise!" Mantis's voice remained calm, though his tone had changed slightly.
shave!
Vic vanished instantly, Mantis also made a move, quickly pulling his twin swords back to his body before swiftly launching them back.
bite!
Two metallic clanging sounds rang out simultaneously. All anyone saw was Vic's figure flying away at lightning speed, landing in the woods hundreds of meters later, while Mantis remained motionless in place.
Just now, Vic was about to test Mantis's mantis head by slashing with his twin swords, but Mantis seemed to have seen through Vic's intention. At the same time, he withdrew his twin swords, charged up his strength, and suddenly sprang out. The force was so great that Vic was caught off guard and was sent flying.
In nature, the praying mantis's move is extremely swift; often, before its prey can react, it is caught between its barbed fangs.
However, Mantis's twin blades had no barbs; they were simply two incredibly sharp swords. The backs of these two swords collided violently, sending Vic flying. This demonstrates just how ferocious the Nether Mantis was.
Vic wasn't injured; he was just a little careless and didn't expect to be caught at such a high speed.
Then it occurred to him that mantises have many small eyes inside their compound eyes, which can locate fast-moving prey. He figured Mantis must have the same ability.
"Heh, it seems my extreme speed is useless against him!" Vic looked at the furrows his feet had dug ahead and chuckled to himself. Then, using Geppo, he flashed back to his original position, standing there just as he had before flying out, clean and uninjured.
Insects are inherently very strong, many times their own size. A praying mantis the length of an ordinary finger can hunt a sparrow, let alone a mantis of this size, especially one that has been charging up its attack. You can imagine the power of that attack. It's quite remarkable that Vic was able to escape unscathed.