Chapter 171: Crossing the Floating Islands, the Golden Lion Takes the Initiative!
The moment they landed on the floating island, a dense black torrent surged toward Roy and his companions across the moonlit ground.
Roar!
Between the three of them and the oncoming tide, a lion of abnormal size stood calmly, lifting its head and roaring up at the sky as if challenging the heavens.
The black torrent arrived at terrifying speed. In the next instant, it leaped forward in a mass, swallowing the giant lion whole.
Crack!
The lion vanished.
When the black torrent swept past, only a skeleton remained.
White bones dropped to the ground one after another with crisp sounds. Not a single trace of blood was left. It had been eaten clean.
The lion's mane fluttered in the wind, as if carrying an indescribable sorrow.
Only then did it become clear what that black torrent truly was.
An army of countless black ants, each one vicious beyond reason.
Great white sharks. Forest tyrants. Kings of the grasslands.
None of that mattered.
When ants were influenced by that strange "IQ" and became more ferocious and united, everything would be swallowed by the tide they formed.
The bright moon hung high, bathing the floating island in silver.
A cold blade slid slowly from its sheath, and a chilling flash cut through the night.
Roy stepped forward, sword in hand.
Clang!
His cyan longsword cleared the scabbard in an instant.
Roy stomped, used Shave, and shot forward like an arrow.
His figure vanished.
Behind him, Gion drew the famous blade Kinpira, and Shanks held Gryphon at his side. Both of them watched Roy's fight quietly, not interfering.
In the darkness, within the black torrent, Roy arrived in an instant.
His sword flashed again and again. Streaks of azure sword energy tore free from the blade and spun into the sea of ants.
Cyan slashing waves bloomed in every direction, scattering outward.
Like a flower of sword energy quietly unfolding beneath the moon.
Pirates called it sword energy, but it was the same thing as a slashing wave. Some even called it a flying slash.
Different names, same technique.
Wave after wave of cutting force erased the ants in its path. In the blink of an eye, Roy's swirling cyan storm ripped open a path through the black tide.
Ant corpses flew everywhere.
Roy took a few steps forward, moving beyond the area where bodies were still raining down, and finally stopped.
Click.
He sheathed the longsword and let it hang at his waist. One hand rested on the hilt, his back to the black rain.
Dealing with those vicious little monsters was quick work.
"All right," Roy said. "Let's keep moving."
Gion and Shanks nodded, following behind him.
Gion still did not have a clear sense of the Golden Lion's current strength. So before they reached Shiki's lair, she chose to avoid clashing with Shanks for now.
Roy also spoke with her along the way.
If they reached the Golden Lion and found that Shiki was far weaker than the rumors of old, and his strength was still within Shanks's or Gion's ability to handle, then Roy would be the one to face him.
Roy did not want his fight to be spoiled.
It was like playing a game.
Cheating ruined the experience.
…
"If we cross one more island, we should be even closer to the Golden Lion," Gion said not long after.
The three of them pushed through the dense forest of the floating island and reached its far edge. Looking up, they saw another floating island hanging high in the sky ahead.
Roy nodded, stepped onto the air with Moonwalk, and rushed toward the next island.
All three moved at the same time.
Of course, if someone were here who could not use Moonwalk and was not a flyer…
Looking down would be terrifying.
In the pitch black night, the floating islands drifted high above the world, while the sea below was swallowed by darkness.
…
They reached the third island in moments.
But in the very next instant, an extremely fast figure slammed into Roy like a bullet.
Roy reacted on instinct, swinging his arm.
The figure was sent flying at the same insane speed, crashing straight into a massive tree.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Tree after tree snapped in half as the figure tore through them, crashing down with deafening roars and throwing up clouds of dust.
Roy, Gion, and Shanks lifted their eyes.
In the night, small red beasts began emerging from the jungle and treetops one after another.
Their heads resembled cows, with two sharp white horns. One horn pointed slightly upward.
They glared at the three of them, baring their teeth as they surrounded them.
And on their chins…
There was another horn, the same color as their own hide.
One pointed slightly downward.
These creatures were not large. Their bodies were covered in reddish brown fur.
But after seeing how one of them struck Roy just now, their strength was obvious.
Their jumping power was terrifying, and combined with those three natural spikes, they were living bullets.
In a blur, the first wave launched.
One after another, the small monsters sprang out and crashed toward the three humans.
Roy moved constantly, dodging attacks one after another.
Gion and Shanks did the same.
Boom! Boom! Boom…
The monsters slammed into the ground repeatedly, blasting craters as they tried to crush the three of them with relentless impact.
In the law of the jungle, beasts did not need a reason to attack their prey.
And these were ferocious beasts influenced by "SIQ."
Roy slapped his left hand out, sending one monster flying.
With his right hand, he drew his sword.
Observation Haki spread.
His blade flashed.
Blood splattered as one red beast after another was cut down.
More monsters kept pouring out of the jungle.
The earth trembled.
Huge cracks spread through the ground.
The rumbling grew louder and louder, until the edge of the floating island finally could not withstand the endless bullet impacts.
A massive crack tore across the land from left to right, and a huge section at the island's edge broke away and fell into the darkness below.
In the air, Roy stepped on the wind with Moonwalk and glanced toward Gion. She glanced back, and they nodded to each other.
Then they continued forward.
Those monsters were strong, but that was all.
They could launch like bullets, but they could not walk in the air.
Once they lost the ground as a base, they could not keep bouncing and charging.
Beneath the night sky, fluffy white clouds drifted slowly.
Three figures streaked past.
Ahead, the largest island floated proudly at the very center and highest point of the entire chain.
And to their surprise, a golden figure hovered above it, watching them with a sharp gaze that did not blink.
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