"Cough, cough... It’s only today I’ve realized that the most reliable thing is your own strength." Byrd coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his face turning ashen.
"Too bad you realized it too late."
Oliver’s face was cold and expressionless as he swung Nagamitsu.
A large head flew into the air, spurting blood upwards.
Byrd’s headless body fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
"His Royal Highness, the First Prince, is dead!"
"No way, I’m not dreaming, am I?"
"Damn him! Prince of the West, avenge him!"
Seeing the death of First Prince Byrd, the nearby knights, who were desperately resisting the army’s attacks, paled in shock. Just moments ago, you told us to hold on, that reinforcements would arrive soon, but now you’re dead first?! What a complete betrayal!
Especially those knights loyal to Byrd, they charged towards Aeridar in grief. After all, Byrd, as the first in line to the throne and supported by the military, naturally had many devoted subordinates.
"Running around aimlessly is not good behavior."
Arlan suddenly appeared, pulling a handful of a dozen lead pellets from his pocket and scattering them forward.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom...
A series of explosions erupted, with flames shooting skyward, shattered rocks flying, and black smoke billowing, raising countless clouds of dust. Dozens of charging knights were blasted into bloody pulps, suffering heavy casualties. Those who weren’t killed lay on the ground, wailing.
"You... who are you?" A knight, a subordinate of Second Prince Bolton, asked sharply, though his voice trembled.
"An enemy, of course!"
Arlan grinned and instantly vanished from his spot.
Before the knight could react, a leg had already slammed into his faceguard. The immense force sent the knight flying twenty meters away, his iron faceguard completely shattered, revealing a bloodied face. From his pale eyes, it was clear he had lost consciousness.
The surrounding knights and soldiers were aghast; they hadn’t seen how the man had moved.
Thud, thud, thud, thud...
At this moment, Arlan, like a wolf among sheep, charged headlong through the crowd, easily knocking over piles of people with punches and kicks, not even needing to use a Devil Fruit ability or Haki.
On the other battlefield.
Abel and Second Prince Bolton were locked in an incredibly fierce battle, one that raged with equal intensity from start to finish.
Though in terms of swordsmanship, Second Prince Bolton might have been slightly inferior to First Prince Byrd, Bolton had always been friendly with commoners and often engaged in skirmishes with thugs, gangsters, and even pirates.
Dangerous situations were frequent for him, and though he had bodyguards to assist him, his practical combat experience was far richer compared to the First Prince.
Abel, as a Steel-Steel Fruit user, despite having trained Haki for a relatively short time, possessed strength that could not be underestimated.
A steaming black shadow flashed, and a rockery in the middle of the garden was shattered into dust, countless shards flying outwards.
"Hah... hah... hah... What is this guy’s body made of?"
Bolton, holding his cross-shaped longsword, was breathing heavily, large drops of sweat falling onto the shattered stone bricks on the ground.
Abel retracted his fist and turned around. His black suit was ragged, and several red lines appeared on his neck, chest, and back, with only a little blood seeping out, all from Bolton’s attacks. However, Abel’s Haki mastery was still shallow, which was why this situation occurred.
"You hurt me! I’m going to kill you!"
Abel declared with a twisted expression, his entire skin beginning to redden. White steam, like coiling snakes, enveloped his body.
Steel-Hot Combat Body!!!
Pushing off with his right leg, the ground quickly cracked like a spiderweb. Abel’s entire body shot forward like an arrow. In an instant, he appeared before Bolton.
Bolton reacted quickly, immediately bringing his royal longsword up to block.
A steaming, reddish-black fist slammed onto the blade of Bolton’s cross-shaped longsword. The terrifying force made the sword hum incessantly. At that moment, he felt as if a humanoid block of iron had crashed into him; the kinetic energy was too immense to block. A surging blast of air radiated outwards, while the sword blade itself bent inwards under Abel’s power.
Seeing this, Bolton was greatly alarmed.
A crisp snapping sound echoed.
The cross-shaped longsword shattered, broken outright by Abel.
Then, in Bolton’s horrified eyes, the steaming, reddish-black fist slammed unimpeded into his chest.
Bolton’s armor instantly disintegrated, countless fragments exploding outwards. He was blasted dozens of meters away by that single punch, smashing clean through a wall and crashing into a palace. A ’rumbling’ sound emanated from within as the entire palace collapsed with a roar, raising a massive cloud of smoky dust.
"What kind of prince is this? I thought he was formidable, but he’s just a weakling," Abel scoffed, walking towards the palace ruins.
Bolton’s Haki mastery wasn’t high either; otherwise, he wouldn’t have merely broken Abel’s skin, barely piercing his defense. The injuries on Abel’s body were superficial at best, not even minor wounds, and would heal within a day or two without leaving a trace.
From the palace ruins, a broken section of wall was pushed open, revealing Bolton’s wretched figure. Half of his armor was shattered, his chest was a bloody mess, his sternum slightly caved in, and he was coughing up large amounts of blood, covered in dust and looking filthy.
"Cough, cough..." Bolton propped himself up with his broken sword, still coughing up blood, but his face was fierce, and he stated stubbornly, "I... haven’t lost yet!"
"Haven’t lost? Heh~ Then I’ll send you on your way!"
Abel was noncommittal, sneering contemptuously.
Then, with a push of his foot, Abel charged out again, leaving a deep footprint in the ground as the surrounding stone bricks completely shattered.
"Armament Haki Hardening: Incandescent Steel Warship Strike!!!"
Abel placed his left hand on his right shoulder, his entire right arm covered in a layer of metallic black. He rapidly rushed towards Bolton, unleashing a powerful punch that instantly whipped the air into a strong gale.
"Let’s die together!"
Just as Abel’s fist was about to connect with Bolton...
A flicker of madness crossed Bolton’s eyes, a hysterical, twisted expression on his face. At the same time, his broken sword turned pitch black and quietly, ferociously thrust forward.
A tremendous crash, the ground shook violently, and a large crater appeared on the spot, with shattered stones flying and dust instantly billowing.
Abel stared in disbelief at the cross-shaped sword embedded in his chest, a large mouthful of blood spurting from his mouth. A large stream of crimson blood also gushed from the wound.
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