Originally, the Whitebeard Pirates' 17th Division led by Lucky Roux, combined with the rebel faction led by Exdeath and others, totaled over two thousand people. However, after three hours of fierce fighting against the Kuja and the Immortal Pirates, coupled with the devastating assault of the Impaler Knights, fewer than a hundred people remained alive.
Supported by the blood pool surface teeming with eyes, Alucard stood over his army, observing the stubbornly resisting Lucky Roux and the others. His eyes, deep and veiled, couldn't hide a strong look of disappointment. 'Honestly, at this level, there's no need to use King of Execution.'
Alucard had used [Impaler's Triumph] and [Blood Inheritance] in succession and had originally planned to use this opportunity to try out his third technique, [King of Execution]. However, this group was even weaker than he had imagined, making the large-scale attack of King of Execution unnecessary. Furthermore, Ivalis's earlier point was correct: he couldn't kill everyone; interrogations were required.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunshots rang out continuously. Yasopp and Red Dragon stood back-to-back, employing a strategy of mutually protecting each other's blind spots, attacking the surrounding area. The remaining pirates mostly maintained this defensive formation.
The former officers of the Red Hair Pirates had not slacked off in the years since Shanks's death, continuously improving themselves; otherwise, they truly wouldn't have survived this long.
Swoosh!
A sword flash cleaved a path through a large group of undead knights. Just as the 17th Division thought they could break through, the knights, who had been waiting behind, immediately surged forward, blocking the gap faster than they could exploit it.
'Fine, I'll use this chance to test this move instead,' Alucard mused inwardly.
Suddenly, Exdeath noticed that the army, which had been relentlessly attacking, stopped moving. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, horses tethered, still surrounding them like an impenetrable iron barrel.
"Why did they stop attacking?"
The others shared Exdeath's confusion regarding the enemy's sudden halt in the assault.
Clank!
Abruptly, the two front ranks of the knight army wheeled to the left and right, stepping back and closing ranks, uniformly opening a narrow path about two meters wide, much like ancient knights receiving an emperor.
Clop, clop-clop~~
The sound of armored feet walking on the ground was loud and crisp. When they saw the figure approaching, everyone's apprehension deepened.
Alucard.
His appearance had changed drastically, but it was undoubtedly him!
Alucard, still in his Vlad the Impaler state, raised his greatsword, then lightly swung the tip toward the ground. "Next, you'll be dealing with me."
"Fighting this monster..."
Judar, a former key officer of the Red Hair Pirates with spiky, scorched-blond hair tied into a ponytail and wielding a long staff, gritted his teeth.
"Then what does that make you, who are fighting a monster?"
Alucard sneered. "Humans? Or dogs?"
"These guys who don't fear death were created by Alucard. That means if we defeat him, these monsters will most likely disappear too," Lucky Roux analyzed.
Hearing this, Exdeath realized he had no choice but to cooperate under these circumstances. He suggested, "Our men will hold back these knights and give you support. How about you handle the main battle with Alucard?"
Before Lucky Roux could answer, Alucard suddenly unleashed an overwhelmingly powerful aura that caused the surrounding blood pool to rumble violently.
Scarlett and Viola, standing on the island, noticed that the trees in the nearby forest began to snap and the rocks cracked under this invisible pressure.
Thud!
Within the Immortal Pirates' ranks, a few lower-ranking members instantly collapsed, their eyes turning white.
Urdaha subconsciously murmured, "Conqueror's Haki?"
Yasopp, Judar, and others were too astonished to speak. Ivalis and the recovering Beckman aboard the ship were in the same state.
It was too familiar. This Haki…
Unlike ordinary Conqueror's Haki, which is purely a spiritual attack, this could cause physical damage. Among everyone they had ever encountered, only Shanks could achieve this.
"Oh, not a single person fell? It seems Conqueror's Haki is somewhat flash over substance," Alucard mocked himself, because the survivors were all the elite of the elite, and Conqueror's Haki alone couldn't take them out.
"Then let's try this."
With that, Alucard suddenly placed his left hand on his waist, deliberately holding his sword single-handedly, initiating the attack himself.
"He's coming!"
Yasopp aimed through his sniper rifle's scope, firing at critical points on Alucard's body, such as his throat, brow, and heart, at lightning speed.
Normally, Alucard would not dodge in such a situation, letting the bullets strike him.
But this time, facing Yasopp's bullets, Alucard rotated the hilt of his sword with one hand, gripping it backhanded, and spun his body at light speed. Using the blade's edge, he cleanly cut Yasopp's bullets in half.
The entire sequence flowed seamlessly, but the peculiar thing was that Alucard's continuous movements made it appear as if his left arm was missing.
"Shanks..."
Ivalis's eyes widened. He vaguely saw Alucard and Shanks's figures overlapping. The man standing there was both Alucard and Shanks.
"Impossible!"
Judar roared, brandishing his white staff. "Don't you dare show off the Captain's techniques!" In his view, Alucard had likely learned a few tricks from his battle with Shanks purely by exploiting his formidable talent, and was now deliberately using them to provoke them.
"Which is your Captain now, Shanks or Whitebeard?"
A Captain is eternal. Although Judar was formerly a subordinate of Shanks, he was now under Whitebeard. If he referred to the late Shanks, it created a contradiction.
Alucard still used only one hand to block the opponent's techniques, his left hand remaining tucked inside his clothing, refusing to be drawn out.
"Hmph!"
Judar snorted. Suddenly, countless small holes appeared on his white staff, and a hundred steel spikes, each over twenty centimeters long, instantly shot out. The staff instantly transformed into a morningstar!
A faint smile appeared on Judar's face, as if he could already see Alucard's face being impaled. But his smile immediately froze.
Because the red lightning crackling on Alucard's sword blade instantly scorched and twisted the steel spikes on Judar's weapon, stopping them half a centimeter from Alucard's face.
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