The sharp whip fell from the sky, striking the long umbrella in Redfield's hand with lightning speed. A ring of concentrated force diffused, and the powerful impact pushed his body backward, his feet dragging two marks several meters long across the ground.
"Damn it, although he's not as strong as that brat, they've all gotten significantly tougher!"
Redfield frowned. The recent exchanges, though brief, were enough for him to make an assessment.
His side was retreating; the enemy's side was advancing. This feeling of the younger generation surpassing the seniors nearly drove him mad, intensifying his hatred for the passage of time and his nostalgia for his youth.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Micity Port, a group of Marines in short-sleeved shirts and shorts had gathered. Since most of them were officer-level ranks, they all wore Justice cloaks, numbering over a hundred.
The leader was a tall, beautiful woman—Vice Admiral and Admiral candidate, Momousagi Gion! Her hair was pulled up, and she wore the standard Marine greatcoat over a pink short-sleeve shirt, brown shorts, and high heels. Her pair of long, pale legs were striking, and the black spider tattoo on her thigh only added to her allure.
"Gulp…"
"V-Vice Admiral Gion, a-are we really supposed to... to apprehend him?"
A Marine officer watched the exaggerated scene of battle from afar, swallowing hard, his voice trembling slightly.
"Apprehend? With you?" Gion rolled her eyes, slightly exasperated.
Even with the direct order from the Gorosei, in the face of a scene like this, let alone a mere Admiral candidate like herself, even a proper Admiral wouldn't casually intervene. As Marines, their position was too sensitive, and they risked being wiped out entirely.
"..."
The Marine officer smiled awkwardly, saying nothing further.
"Honestly, I finally got a vacation. Without that Chaton constantly annoying me, I thought I'd finally get some relaxation!" Gion gripped the hilt of her famous blade, Konpira, voicing her complaint with a sigh.
The group of Marine officers behind her were silent with dread. Neither the Vice Admiral Momousagi standing before them, nor the Chaton she mentioned, nor the ones who assigned this mission, were figures they could afford to discuss casually.
Of course, they secretly still felt that Chaton was too much of a peasant to be worthy of the beautiful Vice Admiral Momousagi.
"Fufufufufu~ Still strong as ever!"
Seeing his attack fail to connect, Doflamingo grinned, not seeming to mind.
Aeridar glanced at Doflamingo and said gravely, "Doffy, this is your cue. Don't let him escape!"
With that, he vanished into thin air.
When Redfield saw Aeridar disappear, he immediately maximized the range of his Observation Haki, remaining alert to everything within the radius.
Suddenly, Redfield spun around, transforming the long umbrella in his hand into a sharp sword and slashing backward like a flash of lightning.
Clang!
Fist and umbrella collided instantly, immediately diffusing a powerful burst of force. The ground immediately cracked, forming a spiderweb of fissures tens of meters wide.
Having missed the blow, Aeridar vanished once more.
Clang, Clang, Clang, Clang...
A continuous series of metallic clashes rang out. Aeridar's figure flickered in and out of existence, moving and teleporting at near-instantaneous, super-high speeds, constantly attacking Redfield.
While Redfield's speed was not as fast as Aeridar's, it was still extremely quick. The two fought a fast-paced battle, their movements and figures leaving streaks of afterimages. Wave after wave of intense air currents spread outward, causing the air to shudder and collapse.
At this moment, Doflamingo stood atop Tesoro's Golden Giant, waving his hands. Countless fine threads surged out, wrapping and tightly combining in mid-air to form a thread clone identical to himself.
Black Knight!
Seeing the other Doflamingo created, Tesoro asked in confusion, "A clone? What are you planning?"
"Have you ever seen a coliseum? Have you ever seen a bird in a cage? Fufufufufu Hahahahaha" Doflamingo grinned, pointing his index finger upward.
Chiu-Chiu-Chiu-Chiu...
The thread clone's head erupted with countless threads. The head was like a volcano, and the threads spewed out like a volcanic eruption, constantly shooting into the sky. When they reached a certain peak, they exploded like fireworks, and a large quantity of sharp threads rained down in all directions, forcibly nailing themselves into the earth.
From a distance, a gigantic, circular birdcage, composed of countless threads, completely enveloped the entire Micity Port.
"What is this?"
"Damn it! We're trapped inside too!"
"This is bad! The Den Den Mushi are blocked!"
"It's so sharp! Swords can't cut through it!"
The Marines on the edge of the port fell into chaos. Some even tried to slash the threads with their swords, only to have their blades develop bowl-sized nicks. If they hadn't been on vacation and thus without their rocket launchers, they would have been even more shocked.
Even the leader, Gion, couldn't help but frown, looking at the countless threads nailed into the ground.
"What is this?"
Redfield was startled, his movements freezing momentarily.
"The Birdcage! Prepared especially for you, Redfield-san!"
Aeridar looked at the enormous Birdcage and sneered, "These are Doffy's toughest, strongest, and sharpest threads. Only the victor can walk out of here!"
"Then I shall be that victor!" Redfield's face was grim, his eyes sinister.
"My apologies! If it were just me alone, I wouldn't be confident in winning," Aeridar laughed mockingly, "But this is my territory!"
"Enel!"
A loud cry.
Sizzle… Sizzle…
Arches of electricity permeated the air.
"Two Hundred Million Volts: Amaru!!!"
Enel's deep voice resonated. In an instant, the lightning intensified. His body seemed to become transparent, constantly swelling up like a balloon. In a blink, he transformed into a lightning giant with spiky hair and a large belly, as if countless violent bolts of lightning were hidden inside his body. He was over two hundred meters tall.
The massive body, composed entirely of electricity, was ringed by lightning, like the legendary God of Lightning descended upon the world. The ferocious aura was chilling and overwhelmingly oppressive.
"Fufufufufu~ The Logia Rumble-Rumble Fruit. He certainly acquired a good subordinate!" Watching the scene, Doflamingo smirked, his tone tinged with envy.
"That kind of high-temperature lightning could easily melt metal, I'm afraid." Hiding in the Golden Giant's head, Tesoro squinted, secretly alarmed.
"Die!"
Enel, in his Amaru state, roared, bringing three fists down on Redfield.
BOOM!
With a blast, a huge pillar of lightning shot fiercely from his fist.
"Damn it!"
Redfield grit his teeth, immediately transforming into a blood-light and fleeing outwards.
Rumble!
The huge lightning pillar smashed into the ground, causing the earth to violently shake. The air current kicked up a cloud of dust, leaving behind a deep well three meters in diameter, with the surrounding area charred black.
"Don't think you can escape!"
Seeing Redfield attempt to evade, Aeridar immediately used Soru to flash and block Redfield's path. His pitch-black fist slammed viciously into his chest.
Thud!
Rumble!
With a muffled crash, Redfield was severely hit, spitting up blood and flying backward on the spot. His body was thrown over a hundred meters before crashing to the ground. The residual force caused him to tumble and skid for dozens of meters, smashing through several house ruins before he finally managed to stop, with more than half of his body buried under a large amount of brick and rubble.
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