What's even rarer is that the opponent excels at pure close combat. Fighting against someone with such a style, and doing it to protect Lord Shano behind her, it's as if her entire being is about to ignite!
"It's my turn to attack now!"
Kuina cried sharply.
Chaton's pupils contracted; before he could react, Kuina's sword stance suddenly changed!
"Steel Cutter Flash: Double Dragon Emergence!"
She stepped forward suddenly, the blade tracing a fierce arc, as a violent wind rose!
Two tornadoes entwined with Haki formed instantly, intertwining and tearing apart Chaton's assault forcefully! Chaton was forced to retreat, but Kuina's pursuit followed closely!
"Moonwalk!"
She leaped into the air, her figure moving like lightning, instantly closing in on Chaton, her blade aimed straight at his throat.
Chaton hurriedly raised his Armament-coated arms to block, but the power of this slash far exceeded his expectations, sending him flying backward viciously, crashing into the navy formation behind!
Boom——!
Dust rose all around, the Navy Soldiers scattered in terror, as Chaton slowly stood up from the ruins, a trace of fresh blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
He looked down at his slightly trembling arms, a look of unprecedented seriousness finally appearing in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Kuina gently descended from mid-air, landing steadily.
"It seems you finally understand, my previous words were no idle boast."
She angled her blade toward the ground, casually shaking it as raindrops slid off the edge. Then she slightly raised her head, tilting it toward Chaton, and beckoned:
"Come, let's continue."
...
Gr 40.
This is the center of the entire Shampodi Islands tourist area.
And at the most bustling intersection square stood the largest screen of the Shampodi Newspaper.
To be precise, it's three screens combined horizontally, displaying images clear enough for everyone in the central square to see.
The square had long been crowded with people. The Shampodi Newspaper had even dispatched an experienced reporter to control the scene, in charge of commentary in front of the screen, and incidentally warming up and promoting the upcoming new issue of the newspaper.
At this moment.
Upon seeing the defeated Chaton on the screen, a wave of discussions erupted in the vast square.
"My God, did they really stop them?"
"That Female Sword Master is really impressive!"
"An Admiral Candidate can't even beat the Deputy Captain of the Endgame Pirates?"
"Oh, idiot, can't you see, it's just evenly matched. Of course, the Admiral Candidate is still the stronger one!"
"But no matter what, this guy can't take down the Endgame alone, right? Is there no other response from the Navy Headquarters? Where's the Navy Grand Admiral? They should send them over quickly, or else the whole Shampodi will be overturned by these two!"
"Who knows, maybe they're already on their way!"
Some didn't care about the Navy Headquarters' actions, purely expressing dissatisfaction with the Shampodi Newspaper:
"Hey, this fight is exciting too, but it's just a secondary battleground, right? Why give it so much screen time?"
"What are you doing, Newspaper! Quickly switch the camera back to the main battleground!"
"Exactly! We still want to see which is stronger, Netherworld King Rayleigh or the Great Blade Sword Master… Hey? Strange, come to think of it, why hasn't Shano used the sword on his back, but has been using his fists instead?"
"Indeed, now that you mention it..."
Just as someone next to them was about to chime in, their words were interrupted by a voice from above:
"Everyone, please stay calm, please stay calm!"
The middle-aged reporter responsible for commentary and promotion stood on the stage, pressing down with his right hand, struggling to calm the audience, "Please rest assured, our broadcast is experienced and professional!"
"Because the two on the main battleground are equally matched and have been in a stalemate for so long without a decisive outcome, we first wanted to show everyone the situation in another direction. Once there's a change in the main battleground, and the direction of victory becomes clear, the live feed will definitely switch back immediately..."
Zz!
The screen flickered with static, and once it became clear again, the focus had returned to the silver-haired old man and the black-haired young man locked in battle.
"As I said, it's now!"
The middle-aged reporter responded swiftly, immediately changing the subject and spreading his arms with a laugh:
"Come, everyone, it seems that the suspense of who will win and who will lose is finally about to be revealed. Let's refocus our attention on this peak duel—!"
...
Pa!
A raindrop the size of a bean happened to strike the screen.
A hand from the frontline reporter reached out in a fluster to wipe the lens clean, then adjusted the angle of the Radio Snail, directing the view upward.
Through a fragmented and twisted landscape resembling a dream-like space, amid the gaps of torrential rain, the camera zoomed in and finally captured the sky clearly.
——Rayleigh's scarred body was plummeting rapidly from the sky, his silver hair disheveled in the fierce wind, blood continuously spilling from the corners of his mouth.
His sword had long slipped from his grasp, falling at an even faster speed, the cold gleam of the blade piercing through the rain, straight into the ground.
Yet the light in his eyes seemed slightly unfocused, but still clearly reflected the youthful figure standing higher in the sky, shrouded in black-red lightning.