On the battlefield of Aznat, the battle had raged on from morning until afternoon. The ground was now a river of blood, littered with corpses. The overpowering stench of blood carried for dozens of miles.
The earth trembled as Pica, now a gigantic stone man, swung his enormous stone fist and slammed it against the wall of Fort Respler.
Rumble!
Instantly, the entire fortress shook violently.
The section of the wall he hit, dozens of meters long, immediately shattered and crumbled. The sturdy stones were pulverized, and the hundreds of soldiers, cannons, and various war machines nearby were all swept away by a visible shockwave, kicking up a colossal cloud of dust.
The terrifying force even caused cracks to appear across half of the fortress walls and the ground both inside and outside.
"Pica, how dare you!"
In the next moment, a furious roar echoed, and a powerful sword slash flew up into the sky. With a whoosh, it severed the stone man's arm from the elbow down.
Thump!
The severed stone arm, a full twenty to thirty meters long, crashed into the fortress wall, destroying two watchtowers and a large amount of military hardware, and killing dozens of enemy soldiers.
This was a battle of gods, and the mortals suffered. While there were no gods in this world, there were powerful individuals with equal destructive force. Even the collateral damage from their battles was more than ordinary soldiers could withstand.
"Hahaha… Elroy, my dear First Mate, you truly are reliable!"
Suddenly, a wild laugh echoed from the fortress wall, its voice shaking the surroundings.
Clang!
On the ground below the fortress, Elroy sliced his sword into Vito's body, sending him flying.
"Captain, is it your turn to fight?"
Elroy turned his head to look up, his eyes narrowing.
Standing on the broken fortress wall was a handsome man with long silver hair fluttering in the wind. He appeared to be in his early thirties and was dressed in a silver suit and dark red leather shoes. His left hand was caressing a translucent glass ring on his pinky finger, inside of which silver lines formed the words "Glass" and "Duke." His body radiated the noble aura of an aristocrat.
He was the Captain of the Garfield Pirates, the Duke Garfield Caesar!
Upon Caesar's appearance, both Pica and Vito stopped their movements, watching him warily.
Pica, in particular, knew exactly what state Doflamingo was in when he returned wounded that day. This man was on a completely different level.
As for Vito, he had never met Caesar, but having lived in the New World for so long, he was well aware of Caesar's reputation. He was a man with the title of a "Monster."
"I had no choice. If I had waited any longer, I would have been in trouble," Caesar said with a magnetic smile. "Besides, there's an old friend who has been waiting for a long time."
At his words, Elroy, Pica, and Vito's pupils constricted.
"Fuffuffuffu... And you, you jerk, you've been hiding for a long time yourself."
In the next moment, a strange laugh came from the sky. Doflamingo appeared from the clouds, wearing his flamboyant pink feathered coat, and slowly descended.
"Doffy!"
The stone giant turned his head and looked at Doflamingo, who had landed on his shoulder.
"Doflamingo, huh?" Vito's eyes flickered, but he didn't say a word.
"The last time we met, you left a deep impression on me," Caesar said, a polite smile on his face, but his eyes were as cold as a blade.
"Likewise. I've missed you very much since we last parted! Fuffuffuffu!" Doflamingo met Caesar's gaze with a cold laugh.
"Indeed. Making such a huge commotion... your ambition is extraordinary. However, without the help of the Chris Pirates, are you sure you could have taken me on, you little flamingo?" Caesar first showed a hint of resentment before his expression turned to mockery.
In Caesar's opinion, without the help of Aeridar's Chris Pirates, Doflamingo's forces alone could have never cornered him like this.
Thinking about this, Caesar grew even more resentful. He wanted to kill Doflamingo right now, then kill Aeridar, too. Of course, he only thought about it. He wasn't even sure he could beat Doflamingo, and even if he did, he didn't want to provoke another monster-level fighter.
"What? That's a pretty toxic mouth you have." Doflamingo shrugged and spread his hands, mockingly saying, "But you're looking a little pathetic. To the victor go the spoils. Can't you see that, your Grace the Duke? Fuffuffuffu..."
"Hmph! Your mouth is quite sharp, indeed." Caesar's expression changed, and his composure vanished.
"Silver Glass Sword!"
Losing his calm, Caesar extended his right hand, and a large translucent mass of glass appeared, forming a translucent cross-shaped glass sword. Inside the blade, countless silver threads were intertwined.
"Enough talk. Let's have a fight, king against king, general against general. Let's see how much you've improved over the past few years!" Holding the glass sword, Caesar's face became grim.
"Fuffuffuffu! Just as it should be! Sky Path!"
Doflamingo grinned and jumped off Pica's shoulder, running on an almost invisible thread as he charged toward Caesar.
"Die! Silver Glass Slash!"
Facing Doflamingo, who was descending from the sky, Caesar was not afraid and immediately swung his sword.
"Fuffuffuffu... Goshikito!"
In mid-air, Doflamingo's right hand took the shape of a claw, creating a nearly transparent, thin string from each of his five fingers. As sharp as piano wire, he attacked with a swipe.
Clang!
Sword and claw collided, and a powerful shockwave erupted, creating a fierce gust of wind.
"Athlete!"
His first attack useless, Doflamingo immediately withdrew his hand and swung his leg, creating eight nearly transparent strings from the tip of his pointed dress shoe.
Clang!
Caesar blocked with his sword, and another powerful gust of wind erupted, blocking Doflamingo's kick.
The two men stepped back a few paces, and Caesar mocked him. "You've improved quite a bit. You're much stronger now."
"Fuffuffuffu... Stop the lying, you jerk! Bullet String!" Doflamingo grinned.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Doflamingo extended his right index finger, which created a thin white string that shot forward like a bullet. Several small, white blurs shot out at a speed difficult to see with the naked eye.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Caesar swung his sword, one after the other, blocking Doflamingo's attacks.
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