Clang!
The white thunder thrust downward but was blocked by the spinning blade. Seeing this, Lily decided not to linger and used Soru to step away from Blade, landing on the ground, and focused her attention on him.
Blade's spinning blade hadn't stopped, his body hidden behind the whirlwind-like rotating blades, he shouted, "My 'Wind Wall', its defense is like iron. Your sword can't break through my attack!"
"Oh? Doesn't seem like the strength a Base Colonel should have, limited by position, perhaps?"
Sage, who was sitting cross-legged at the edge of the Death Star, put down his wine glass, picked up a cigar in his mouth, lit it, exhaled a cloud of white smoke, and glanced at Blade.
"Natural disaster?!"
Blade looked upward and shouted, "Let me take down your subordinate first, then I'll capture you! As long as I capture you, my achievements will be enough for promotion!"
The Navy's rank only represents position. There are always those elites who are limited by position but whose strength far exceeds it. After all, compared to strength, achievements weigh much more.
"Heh heh heh, you better try hard..."
Sage chuckled softly and looked at Lily, "Lily, when dealing with him, if you can't realize 'Iron Cutting,' you will lose."
"Breath of All Things..."
Lily nodded, her expression calming down.
Sage had mentioned this before, and unlike Haki, Observation Haki increases perception but is not the same type as the Breath of All Things, while Armament Haki merely enhances power, which has nothing to do with this aspect.
There are many ways to enhance power, many techniques across the seas, like the charging King's Fist, weird body techniques, and Qi Gong, which can all enhance power.
Haki is merely willpower control, turning willpower into power amplification. But the Breath of All Things is a perception of oneself and everything, akin to the meditative state of 'Life Return,' where even the sharpest blade can touch a leaf without cutting, breaking through iron when encountering it.
Even swordsmen who can unleash Soaring Slash might not realize this technique. This is the enlightenment that belongs to swordsmen.
Against this kind of foe, besides 'Iron Cutting,' there is no other way.
But this enlightenment...
"Wind Blade!"
The rotating blade suddenly halted, Blade gripping the handle of the rotating sword with both hands, swinging it with the airflow yet to gather around him, unleashing a spiraling Tornado Slash.
Lily's pupils contracted, just about to use Moon Step to jump away, but as she stepped on the air, the surrounding air seemed to fall into disarray, breaking her Moon Step. At that moment, the slash quickly approached.
Boom!!
Lily placed her rapier in front of her, bracing herself against the slash, her body being driven backward by the force, the blade creaking under the Tornado Slash, her grip barely holding on amidst the intense vibration.
The sword wasn't some slender stiletto but a two-finger-wide straight sword, sharp on both sides, with blade patterns resembling thunder and lightning.
As one of the skillful grade blades, its quality was certainly not inferior and could certainly withstand the slash.
However...
Slash!
As Lily struggled to fend off the slash, her sleeve was torn, revealing her snow-white arm, the hem of her skirt shredded, showing her form-fitting black-stockinged thigh.
This slash, unlike the previously unleashed broad slash, the ongoing rotating Wind Wall accompanied the slash, adding the Chaotic Wind Blade within the slash attack, mixing in slashes akin to mini Rankyaku as well as the unique power of the slash.
Even if blocked, the aftershocks could still attack.
Seeing that she was about to crash into the Death Star behind her, Lily gritted her teeth, gripping the rapier desperately upward. Her clothes suffered several more cuts from the force as she quickly stomped her feet to the side using Shaving Flash, though she staggered from the slash's force, falling to the ground.
Boom!
The slash directly blasted the hull of the Death Star, emitting a thunderous roar, the fierce wind stirred up the battleship's deck, splintering wood flying into the air.
Yet the hull remained unscathed like a true Iron Wall, unharmed.
Not because the wood was sturdy enough, this kind of power would damage even the hardest wood.
It was purely because of Sage onboard.
He glanced at Blade, his eyes emitting cold light, "Hey, be careful, if you destroy my ship, there won't even be a chance for a warm-up."
These people might not see it, but from Sage's perspective, since he was there, flowing Haki downward, covering the Death Star's prow with a layer, shielding it from the slash attack.
Whether hardening or coiling, both can be used on objects, though hardening requires contact, while coiling can release it outward.
Since Sage was on the ship, it naturally counted as contact.
With just a glance, Blade suddenly hesitated, inexplicable sweat flowing down his forehead.
He didn't know why, just felt an inexplicable trembling when this natural disaster looked his way.
"No wonder he's called the 'disaster' man!"
Blade showed a fierce grin, "But the justice-burdened Navy won't be afraid! In the name of justice, I'm going to arrest you!"
"A driven dog has no right to talk about justice."
Sage bit on his cigar, sneering, "Justice is not for the Navy alone. You first have to defeat my subordinate to qualify to speak of justice with me... right, Lily?"