The high-speed condensed blade energy split Alucard's bullet in two, and the powerful blade pressure crushed a large crater into the ground.
A figure slowly emerged from the smoke.
With such a powerful tremor, even Tiger, Ivankov, and the others, who were trying to escape, couldn't help but stop and look in that direction.
"My, I was wondering what took you all so long to arrive. It turns out you ran into Alucard. No wonder things turned out this way." When the smoke completely dissipated, the intruder's appearance was fully revealed to everyone. He wore a faded blue suit, had a golden-white slicked-back hair, and held a double-edged knight's sword. He seemed very easy-going, yet carried a sense of power without having to show it.
"You really like saving people..." Alucard said in a cold voice. He suddenly switched guns, and with the black gun Jackal, he shot at Hachi three more times.
Rayleigh, who had his eyes half-closed, suddenly opened them wide. The silver blade of his knight's sword instantly turned into Armament Haki and, with a fierce wind pressure, hit Jackal's bullets hard, blocking them.
"Rayleigh..." Hachi said with a sob. Even with his limited strength, he could see that Rayleigh had saved him twice.
"Hurry up and go!" Rayleigh held his knight's sword in front of him, a slight smirk on his face. "I was originally at the entrance of Sabaody Archipelago waiting for you all, but no one came, so I came to check it out. I didn't expect to run into something like this."
"Rayleigh..."
"Go!" Hachi still wanted to say something, but Tiger grabbed his vest and ran off with him. Ivankov and Inazuma, after watching the commotion, also quickly reacted and fled.
"He actually blocked Alucard's attacks twice," Inazuma said in disbelief.
"It seems to be the real Dark King Rayleigh. I never expected the fish-men to be able to play a card like this," Ivankov said with a look of terror on his face. It was clear that he hadn't even expected Rayleigh to appear and rescue them.
Seeing Rayleigh blocking him, Alucard didn't bother to pursue the escaping fish-men and Revolutionary Army members, because it was pointless. Without using his River of Death form, the outcome of a fight between Alucard and Rayleigh was still unknown.
"As a pirate, you save people. Are you worthy of the title 'Pirate'?" Alucard's tone was full of mockery.
"Well, I apologize for that. Hachi saved my life in the past, and now I'm just repaying him," Rayleigh said with a light chuckle. The knight's sword in his hand, which was different from the mainstream katanas in this world, was once again covered in Armament Haki. "I haven't used this in years. I have no complaints that you're my opponent."
"Is it really okay to sound so relaxed?" Alucard sneered, using his blacklight virus to form a giant sword that was more than twice the size of Rayleigh's sword.
"Master!" Hancock called out anxiously.
"Fall back, you three." The virus-infused sword in Alucard's hand instantly hardened with Armament Haki. "Go back to Sabaody Archipelago."
Hancock's face was filled with worry. She looked at Rayleigh and thought to herself, "Is he really the Right Hand of the Pirate King...?"
"Onee-sam, let's go!" Sandersonia and Marigold reminded her from behind.
"..." Hancock wasn't an idiot. She knew she couldn't do anything here. She and her two sisters quickly fled in the direction of Sabaody Archipelago.
"Oh? A new crewmate? Or... are you also here to liberate slaves?" Rayleigh asked jokingly.
Clang!!!
Before Rayleigh could finish his sentence, the giant sword's blade arrived. Their blades clashed, creating intense sparks.
"Disappearing for half a year and you couldn't stand it anymore, Alucard?" Rayleigh asked, holding the sword with both hands to block the attack.
"It's not that simple to save people from me and leave safely."
The sword flashed, and the two separated by a few meters before charging at each other again. Their blades clashed, separated, clashed, separated, and clashed again. Their swords became black shadows, and it was impossible to see the blades. The emitted blade energy destroyed the surrounding rocks and buildings.
The burning Mariejois had already been extinguished by Kong and the Marines. In addition to searching for other survivors inside, the battle between Alucard and Rayleigh naturally attracted their attention.
In this situation, who would start a fight? Were they people from the Government, or a third-party force from somewhere else?
"Hmm!" Rayleigh forced Alucard back several dozen meters with a horizontal sweep.
In the next instant, Alucard suddenly abandoned his sword. Two guns shot out from his sleeves, and he fired bullets at a high speed.
Seeing this, Rayleigh quickly held his sword vertically to defend, deflecting the bullets.
Alucard spread his hands, and the shadows on the ground rapidly spread. Countless hands wearing white gloves emerged from the shadows and grabbed at Rayleigh.
"You're still the same, with a bunch of weird tricks!" Rayleigh gripped his sword in a reverse grip, resting the blade against his back before suddenly sweeping it forward. Instantly, countless slashes cut the hands from the shadows into pieces.
"Grrrrrr~~" Before Rayleigh could react, a black dog with a gaping mouth charged at him. Its sharp, slobbery fangs were ready to swallow him whole.
Rayleigh switched his grip on the sword back to a normal stance and wedged it between Baskerville's upper and lower rows of teeth, preventing its mouth from closing.
Rayleigh delivered a high kick, nearly twisting Baskerville's head. At that moment, Alucard suddenly emerged from the dog's mouth, causing Rayleigh to show a look of surprise for the first time in this battle.
"Got you, Silvers Rayleigh!" Alucard clenched his fist and slammed it into Rayleigh's face, landing the first real hit on Rayleigh in this battle.
"Ugh!" Rayleigh rolled a few times on the ground before stabilizing himself. Two spiderweb-like cracks appeared on his round glasses.
"You really don't hold back." Alucard glanced to the side. The last move had caused Rayleigh to lose his sword, which was now stuck in the Red Line. He turned his attention back to Rayleigh and said, "You don't have your sword anymore. How do you plan to fight?"
"I don't have a Devil Fruit ability. The reason I was able to be Roger's first mate for so long wasn't just because of my sword." Rayleigh shrugged and smiled. He suddenly released his aura and crossed his hands into an 'X' shape.
"No-Sword Style: Storm Dance!"
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