With Bege's arrogant declaration, his utterly ferocious Conqueror's Haki erupted once more, sweeping across the entire square like a hurricane. The pirates of the Fear Pirates were pressed down so hard they couldn't even lift their heads.
"Truly arrogant, aren't you, 'Demon Dragon'?" Andrew's face grew even more savage, the killing intent in his eyes so thick it was almost tangible. "Brat! You're not qualified to be impudent in front of me!"
Andrew leaped up, shooting towards the Sky God like a cannonball. Simultaneously, a pitch-black fist violently tore through the atmosphere, smashing towards Bege.
"So impatient, are we? Then let's cut the crap." Bege's gaze turned fierce. He instantly drew the Cursed Sword Hannya and charged out. The two figures collided in mid-air like shooting stars.
BOOM... RUMBLE...
The entire sky seemed to tear apart. The violent impact formed a hurricane that swept outwards, black lightning spreading through the storm, engulfing the heavens.
A tyrannical, overbearing aura, as if the sky and earth were collapsing into each other, then rolled across the heavens and the land, pressing down on everyone, making it impossible for them to even raise their heads. The thirteen flying warships in the sky were pushed back a hundred meters, a testament to the terrifying power of their collision.
High above, Bege, with his Cursed Sword Hannya, blocked Andrew's iron fist. Black lightning crackled furiously between them. Shockwaves pulsed out from their clash, shaking everyone to their core.
Both of their auras were skyrocketing. A bloody qi surged from Bege – his utterly ferocious Conqueror's Haki. A black qi shot up from Andrew – his Fear Aura. The two distinct, yet equally powerful, auras clashed and pressed against each other, clearly demarcated. The sky looked as if it had been split in two, with currents of blood-red and black energy constantly colliding, neither willing to yield.
"This old geezer is truly terrifying," Enel muttered, his face grim. The sheer power of Andrew's aura made even him tremble involuntarily.
His greatcoat billowed. Bege, cigar still in his mouth, stared coldly at Andrew, a cocky smirk playing on his lips.
"Brat! I'll show you the true power of a New World hegemon!" Andrew's face was contorted with rage. The black light on his fist intensified. He suddenly exerted force, and with a single punch, blasted Bege out of the sky. Bege plummeted towards the earth like a meteor.
The next second, the mountains crumbled and the earth shattered. A terrifying shockwave flattened everything within hundreds of meters. Countless shards of rock flew in all directions. Dust filled the air. Pitch-black fissures tore across the ground, spreading outwards from the point where Bege had crashed.
"See that?! This is the power of a hegemon! You're still too young, brat!" Andrew clenched his fist, the very air around him trembling. His wild laughter echoed over Fear Island, broadcast to the entire world.
A fierce gust of wind swept through the dust cloud, dispersing it to reveal a massive crater, a hundred meters wide. Everyone stared into the depths of the pit, their pupils contracting sharply.
Within the crater, a bloody aura swirled. A figure stood upright at the bottom.
Bege, still with his cigar, casually dusted himself off.
"Your strength isn't all that impressive either, old man," Bege said, looking up at Andrew with a disdainful smirk.
Andrew's face darkened, the black aura around him intensifying. He dived straight down. A piercing sonic boom assaulted everyone's eardrums.
Bege spread his legs into a horse stance, tightly gripping the Cursed Sword Hannya. The blood-red blade gleamed with an eerie, sanguine light.
He swung the sword violently, and a blood-red demonic dragon soared into the air.
"Kui Tian Demonic Dragon!"
The blood-red demonic dragon ascended, crashing head-on into Andrew.
With a deafening explosion, the blood-red demonic dragon instantly burst apart. A massive, pitch-black foot tore through the bloody qi, slamming down towards Bege like a pillar supporting the heavens.
Bege swung his sword again in a furious slash. The two figures collided once more. The earth quaked violently again. The crater expanded further. Countless thick cracks shot out in all directions, shattering the ground.
Bege forced Andrew back with a sword strike, his own right arm numb. Andrew's strength was terrifyingly immense.
Andrew somersaulted in mid-air and landed, his foot shattering the ground upon impact. He charged at Bege, thrusting a palm forward from a distance. An invisible force, like an unseen mountain, slammed into Bege, knocking him back more than ten steps. The blood roiled in his chest, and an unnatural flush appeared on his face.
Bege stomped heavily, crushing the ground beneath his feet, his expression hardening. "Advanced Armament Haki." To injure someone from a distance – this was one of the applications of advanced Armament Haki.
Andrew charged again, instantly closing the distance to Bege. His fists flew like dragons, blasting through the air, carrying the power to destroy everything as they aimed for Bege.
"Distortion Vortex!" Bege's eyes flashed. His externalized space suddenly expanded, and Andrew immediately found himself within Bege's domain. The space around Andrew instantly twisted, rapidly forming a spatial vortex that ensnared his body.
Bege struck out with his sword in an instant. An utterly ferocious, chilling sword qi erupted from the blood-red blade. He swung, and a blood-red sword shadow directly slashed Andrew, the massive blow sending him flying.
Andrew was sent tumbling back several dozen meters. His feet hit the ground, and he skidded for more than ten meters before finally stopping. He looked down at his tattered clothes, the shattered Armament Haki on his skin, and a bleeding gash. The cut wasn't deep; Andrew had managed to coat himself in Armament Haki at the last critical moment.
"A pity," Bege said with some regret. That last strike hadn't managed to seriously injure Andrew. He knew that landing that hit was due to a surprise attack using his externalized space. Against a battle-hardened veteran like Andrew, he wouldn't get a second chance for such a sneak attack.
Andrew touched the wound, then licked the blood from his fingers, the killing intent on his face growing even thicker. "To be able to injure me… Not bad, not bad at all. Given enough time, you truly would be qualified to become a hegemon of the New World."
He ripped off his shirt, revealing an incredibly muscular upper body, crisscrossed with countless scars from blades and bullets. He cracked his knuckles, the sound sharp and explosive. Black light enveloped his entire body, and within that black light, it was as if a terrifying demon that struck fear into all hearts resided.
The black aura around him surged into the sky, spreading out to cover the entire island. Everyone on the island trembled under his Fear Aura.
Bege's expression turned solemn. He spat out the cigar, took a deep breath, and the bloody aura around him intensified. His body began to expand. Shadows emerged from his internal castle and merged into his body. His form swelled again, and his terrifying, ferocious aura ascended to a new height.
He drew the Fire Cloud Sword from his waist, his gaze instantly sharpening. The real battle was about to begin. He tilted his head back, took a deep breath, a savage grin spreading across his face.
Andrew sneered, "I smell the scent of fear. How delicious." All the fear generated by everyone on the island was becoming his strength. At this moment, the power within him was erupting like a volcano. With a pop, his entire body was covered in Armament Haki, like an iron man forged from black steel.
Andrew stared intently at Bege, the glint in his eyes chillingly cold. "But you never, ever should have killed Taku! He was my only son! Whoever killed him, I will annihilate!" "Today, I will wring your head off to offer as a sacrifice to my son's spirit in heaven!"