Chapter 14: Are you humiliating me?
The Divine Winged Dragon.
The largest flying animal in prehistoric times, the king of the sky.
Its colossal body, over seventeen meters long, was indeed shocking to behold.
At least at this moment, the Lieutenant Commander had completely lost his composure: "How is this possible? Shouldn't winged dragons have gone extinct long ago?"
"Fool."
But at this moment, Rear Admiral Lan Li had already stepped forward: "Look at its head."
Head?
The Lieutenant Commander was also stunned by the remark, then finally noticed it.
On that head, which was remarkably small compared to its gigantic body, a strange rooster mask was clearly worn. The mask extended with its beak, appearing somewhat bizarre.
But without a doubt, that was enough to prove one thing.
"This guy is a Devil Fruit user."
Rear Admiral Lan Li softly concluded.
"A Devil Fruit user? Which means—he's human?"
The Lieutenant Commander almost immediately lost his voice: "Could it be the one who attacked Mast Port...?"
"That, I wouldn't know."
Lan Li chuckled, then waved the large tachi in his hand slightly: "You should leave."
"Leave? What are you saying?"
The Lieutenant Commander was also stunned by the remark, then gripped the firearm in his hand tightly: "Since it's confirmed that the opponent is an attacker, of course I must fight alongside you."
"Fool! This guy isn't an opponent you can handle."
Lan Li, however, merely glanced at the Lieutenant Commander and waved his hand: "Leave immediately and go check on the casualties and damage at other bases—leave this guy to me."
"But..."
The Lieutenant Commander was still clearly hesitant.
But at this moment, Lan Li let out a fierce shout: "No 'buts'! In my hometown, obstructing a man from challenging a strong opponent alone is a capital offense!"
"..."
So where exactly is your hometown?
The Lieutenant Commander grumbled inwardly, but still decisively obeyed the order and turned to flee.
And so, within the forest.
Only Rear Admiral Lan Li remained, alone, looking up at the gigantic creature in the sky.
"You're not stopping him from leaving?"
He gripped the large tachi in his hand and grinned.
"No need."
And at this moment, the gigantic creature in the sky actually smiled too.
"My mission is to take the Celestial Tribute from here, so—I only need to deal with you."
Hearing this, Rear Admiral Lan Li's smile grew even wider: "How audacious of you to say that."
As he spoke, his right hand was already gripping the hilt of his sword.
"If you want to deal with me, you'll first have to get past this 'Longlight'!"
The next moment.
"Shing!"
A crisp sound rang out, and silver light flashed.
It was the gleam of a blade.
"Fire Mountain Style: Flying Sky Slash!"
Accompanied by the sword roar that tore through the air, from the tip of Lan Li's large tachi, 'Longlight,' a gigantic silver-white slash was clearly unleashed.
The slash shot out from the blade's tip, soaring straight into the sky!
This silently attested to Lan Li's strength.
A flying slash, and one condensed to this degree—across the Grand Line, he was also a genuinely top-tier swordsman!
"Whoosh!"
In an instant, the flying slash precisely struck the Divine Winged Dragon's enormous right wing.
Consequently, a slight curve appeared at the corner of Lan Li's mouth.
"Having too gigantic a body isn't always a good thing."
He knew very well—this one slash of his was enough to cut through a small ship.
"I just need to wait for him to fall from the sky, then I'll..."
He had even begun contemplating how to deal with his opponent next.
But in the very next moment, both his thoughts and his smile froze.
Because at this moment...
"Boom!"
As the dust dispersed, Lan Li was astonished to see.
That gigantic Divine Winged Dragon still soared high in the sky.
The enormous wing that had been struck bore no wounds.
Its smooth wing membrane shimmered with a cold, hard, rock-like sheen in the sunlight. Only a faint white mark indicated the existence of that previous slash.
"To be this tough..."
Consequently, the expression on Lan Li's face became completely solemn.
With just this one slash, he had already realized that this battle wouldn't be easy.
His flying slash was unable to injure the opponent, and the opponent's inherent ability to fly meant that most of his other sword techniques would be difficult to land.
After all, the greatest advantage of a flying-type Devil Fruit was precisely this.
"Hmm!?"
But just as Lan Li was contemplating a plan, he saw the gigantic creature in the sky move!
Its enormous Divine Winged Dragon body rapidly shrunk and transformed under Lan Li's astonished gaze.
In just the blink of an eye, the colossal shadow that covered the sun vanished.
In its place was a figure that landed with a thud.
"Thud!"
The heavy landing sound made the ground tremble slightly, stirring up a wave of air.
Appearing before Lan Li was a humanoid monster, nearly three meters tall.
He still wore the distinctive rooster mask, and while his body retained the basic human frame, he was covered in rock-like blue-gray dragon scales.
His arms had transformed into rougher, sharp-clawed dragon talons with wing membranes, and his legs had become strong, powerful reverse-jointed beast legs.
A thick dragon tail swayed slightly behind him.
That was Loy's "Wind God Winged Dragon Devil Fruit" human-beast form.
"You bastard..."
And seeing this scene, Lan Li only felt his heart fill with extreme rage.
The veins on his sword-gripping hand even bulged due to the force.
"Are you humiliating me!?"
Voluntarily giving up the aerial advantage—this was clearly an insult!
"Quite the opposite."
Loy said softly.
"I just felt you could give me a slight warm-up."
As he spoke, he twisted his neck, producing crisp "click-clack" sounds.
Then, he looked at Lan Li with a slight smile: "Ready? Then let's begin!"
"You..."
Lan Li still wanted to say something at this moment.
But a moment later, his words were swallowed back into his throat.
Because in the next instant, he found that the opponent's figure had vanished.
"Shave!? So fast!"
Lan Li was startled, but had no time for further thought.
His Observation Haki had already captured the enormous, brutal force approaching from his side.
"Fire Mountain Style: Iron Wall!"
Consequently, Lan Li unhesitatingly wielded the large tachi in his hand like a shield, positioning it towards his side.
And over the large tachi, an invisible force covered it.
That was one of the most peculiar powers in this great sea—Armament Haki!
The next moment, the gigantic wing claw had already slammed onto the large tachi.
"Clang!"
Amidst an explosive clash like metal weapons striking together and intense sparks flying, Lan Li's figure was instantly sent flying, heavily smashing and breaking the trunk of a giant tree.
"The combination of Armament Haki and Iron Body? And fused into swordsmanship?"
At this moment, Loy said with great interest: "So this is the 'Fire Mountain Style' swordsmanship of Rear Admiral Yamakaji. Truly impressive!"
And precisely as his words fell—
"You bastard... Don't get so arrogant!"
From within the tree trunk, Lan Li's figure charged out once again.
"Since you actively chose close combat, don't expect me to hold back! Fire Mountain Style: Ten Violent Winds!"
His figure likewise vanished from its spot with a "whoosh"—as a Marine Rear Admiral, his mastery of Shave naturally wouldn't be poor.
The next moment, his figure appeared beside Loy.
The large tachi, wreathed in Haki, transformed into streaks of silver light, wildly slashing towards Loy's vitals with extreme speed and precision.
"Not holding back?"
Loy responded with a light laugh: "That suits me perfectly."
And so, the great battle began!
(end of chapter)