"Are you all planning to run away? Are you staying behind to cover the retreat?"
Saint Sommers swung the knife in his hand, fiercely colliding with Bullet's Haki-covered fist, and then the two quickly separated again.
Although he spoke with mockery and frivolity, his eyes flickered with seriousness.
So much so, that he subconsciously glanced at the woman beside him.
That was a woman also wearing the unique attire of the God's Knights. Her height was about three meters, and her violet long hair cascaded like a waterfall, outlining an incomparably seductive figure. Her appearance was more like a bewitching enchantress who could charm all living beings, rather than a battle-hardened top-tier powerhouse.
However, such a woman who seemed completely incompatible with combat had just fought the Golden Lion for several hours head-on without falling behind in the slightest, displaying an alarming level of power.
Saintess Nerona Vanessa.
The current head of the Nerona family, a monster whose strength is no less than that of Saint Garling.
"This has nothing to do with you all. Come, today either you kill me, or I kill you!", Bullet had a ferocious grin on his face, raising his massive fist and swinging it toward Vanessa.
Facing Bullet's powerful and terrifying punch, enough to destroy everything, the violet-haired woman only slightly raised her eyes, her expression chillingly calm.
She did not choose to dodge or block, but instead raised a peculiarly designed pistol in her hand.
BANG!
A crisp gunshot rang out across the battlefield. A bullet wrapped in thick Armament Haki, with a sharp sound tearing through the air, flew toward Bullet's fist.
Rarely, there was a strong person who used guns in combat.
At the top-tier level, gun users were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, even rarer than Logia ability users.
BOOM!
Bullet smashed the Haki bullet into pieces with a punch, unleashing a massive shockwave.
But before he could move forward again, he suddenly realized that the previous strike was just an appetizer.
Immediately after, the pistol in Vanessa's hand seemed to possess infinite ammunition, its muzzle continuously spitting fire. Bullets wrapped in Armament Haki poured out like a dense rainstorm toward him.
This sudden barrage, with its density and power, made even someone as strong as Bullet show a serious expression. He had no choice but to pull back his offense, focusing all his efforts on blocking and defending, waving his fists constantly to smash or deflect the incoming bullets.
And this also gave Saint Sommers beside them some free time to use Observation Haki to analyze the situation.
In just a moment, he sensed the direction in which the Golden Lion was advancing; straight toward where Saint Warcury and Dragon were fighting.
"Vanessa," Saint Sommers said in a deep voice, "you go support Saint Warcury. Leave this to me."
Given Vanessa's fruit ability, she was more suitable for support than he was.
"I refuse," However, Vanessa Palace only calmly uttered two words. Her finger still steadily pulled the trigger, seemingly deeply interested in Bullet, completely ignoring Saint Sommers's order.
"Damn it, then I'll go," Saint Sommers showed displeasure, but he knew he couldn't command this woman at all.
Helplessly, he could only put away his sword, preparing to head toward Saint Warcury's direction himself.
But just after taking a few steps, he was blocked by several big pirates, forcing Saint Sommers to stop. With a hint of helplessness, he looked at Vanessa, who was still exchanging fire with Bullet.
With Vanessa's ability, she could reach the battlefield over there instantly.
But since Vanessa refused to support, he could do nothing about it.
If Celestial Dragons were willing to listen to reason, they wouldn't be Celestial Dragons anymore.
'Forget it.'
'Anyway, even if someone dies, it's not one of my Five Elders family members, so it doesn't matter,' Thinking of this, Saint Sommers started slacking too, his attacks less urgent than before.
Celestial Dragons don't have the habit of protecting others. The fact they even came to fight instead of just looking out for themselves was already good enough.
———
[On the Sea]
"You all are pretty good, but I don't have time to play with you today."
Rosse still stood tall, completely uninjured, stepping on the sea water, appearing incomparably relaxed and carefree.
But not far from him, Shanks and Mihawk were far from being that comfortable.
The two of them looked extremely battered. Their bodies were covered with wounds of varying severity, their clothes tattered, their breathing rapid, and they were drenched in blood.
However, if you looked closely, you'd see most of these wounds were superficial, with none hitting vital areas.
It was as if a powerful and cruel cat, after catching its prey, didn't kill them immediately, but toyed with them repeatedly, leaving countless harmless yet humiliating marks.
Exhaustion, unwillingness, even a trace of shame, complex emotions flowed in their eyes.
The ship they were on had completely fallen apart, turning into floating wreckage under their feet. Each of them lay on a small plank, and even slightly higher waves could sweep them into the sea.
Yet even so, they had no strength left to move.
To recover even a bit of stamina, they'd need at least several hours.
Fortunately, neither of them was a Devil Fruit user. Otherwise, with their ship destroyed and their bodies injured, they wouldn't even need Rosse to finish them off. The cold seawater would swallow them, dragging them to the depths.
"Why didn't you kill us?", Shanks lay on a plank, his expression filled with confusion.
'The gap… is just too huge.'
As soon as they started fighting, his sword was taken away.
From then on, it was pure humiliation, and Rosse hadn't even used his full strength.
After 1 minute, they were pulled into the opponent's rhythm.
After 5 minutes, injuries began to appear.
After 10 minutes, they could barely keep up with the movements.
The fact they lasted this long was purely because Rosse was using them to hone his swordsmanship. Otherwise, they'd have been defeated long ago.
"Because of your identity, I'll let you off this time. But if there's a next time, you won't be so lucky. As for this sword, it's my spoils of war now," Rosse glanced at the two collapsed men, decisively tucked Griffin into his belt, and turned to leave.
Two A-ranks, killing them would give too little experience.
Once he levels up to S-rank, that's when the real harvest begins.
Now it's time to head to the Holy Land.
According to his calculations, things over at the Holy Land should be reaching a climax soon.
Although some targets couldn't be killed openly, as long as he landed a finishing blow, that'd be 5 million experience points.
Just five more and a bit, and he could rise above S-rank.
Rosse was quite looking forward to it.
"Set sail, head to the Holy Land!"
Rosse's voice echoed across the sea like a victor's proclamation.
He didn't spare Shanks and Mihawk another glance, as if they were insignificant dust.
Soon, the Marine ship adjusted course, the sails filled with wind, cutting through the waves and heading swiftly toward the Holy Land, gradually disappearing on the horizon.
On the sea, only Shanks and Mihawk remained, drifting alone on the broken planks, appearing especially small and lonely amidst the rolling waves.
They looked at each other, but had nothing to say.
Especially Shanks, who began to question himself.
Defeated in such a humiliating way, and spared only because of the identity he hated most, this blow was just too devastating.
Among his peers, others called him a monster and a genius.
But today, he had finally seen a real monster.
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