"You dare look down on me? In that case, die!" Moria flew into a rage, a flash of ruthlessness in his eyes. He charged at King once more, the speed of his swinging blade noticeably faster than before. Sword gleams fell like rain, weaving a deadly net under the moonlight, each streak carrying a sharp, murderous intent.
Yet faced with Moria's frenzied assault, King merely deflected with his sword effortlessly. His movements seemed casual but always precisely neutralized every attack. Under the moonlight, his figure drifted like a phantom, each shift perfectly evading Moria's sharpness.
Suddenly, King's sword-wielding hand exerted force, directly knocking Moria back several steps. Immediately after, he closed in, his blade descending like a rainstorm, the onslaught so fierce it stole one's breath. Each strike carried immense force, the blade slicing through the air with a sharp whistle.
Moria could only struggle to hold on, repeatedly struck by King's blows, leaving wounds across his body. Blood seeped from the injuries, starkly vivid under the moonlight.
"Bastard!" Seeing himself continuously at a disadvantage, a glint of resolve flashed in Moria's eyes. Enduring a slash to his chest from King, he mustered all his strength to strike back.
Confronting this sudden counterattack, the flames behind King surged abruptly. Blazing fire coiled around his longsword, tracing a brilliant line of fire across the night sky. The flames exhibited an eerie crimson hue, so intensely hot that the surrounding air warped. With an unstoppable momentum, he met Moria's slash head-on.
"What?!" Though shocked by King's technique, Moria gritted his teeth and swung his blade in response. Two forces collided violently under the moonlight, fire and sword gleams intertwining into a breathtaking scene.
The explosive shockwave separated the two, leaving a massive crater in the sand, the surrounding grains melted into glass-like crystals by the extreme heat.
King landed steadily, his Wings gently fluttering, the flames on his blade slowly extinguishing. His gaze remained calm, as if the intense battle had merely been a warm-up. Moonlight illuminated his stern features, outlining a resolute profile.
Moria knelt on one knee, gasping for breath, sweat mingling with blood trickling from his forehead. His longsword was planted in the sand, supporting his faltering body. The sea breeze brought a chill, yet it couldn't quell the boiling fighting spirit within him.
"Shall we continue?" King's voice was terrifyingly calm, clearly reaching Moria's ears in the night.
Moria lifted his head, his eyes gleaming with unwillingness. He slowly rose to his feet, tightening his grip on the sword until his knuckles turned white. "Geh geh geh... Of course we continue!" His laughter carried a hint of madness. "I'm not done playing yet!"
"In that case, let me show you the vastness of the world!" King raised his longsword horizontally, then pitch-black Armament Haki enveloped the blade entirely, turning it ink-black in an instant. Immediately after, raging flames once again covered the longsword, the two powers merging perfectly, emitting a suffocating pressure.
Then King's Wings vibrated, propelling him toward Moria at an unbelievable speed. His figure left a series of afterimages in the air, as if multiple Kings were moving simultaneously. The moment he closed in on Moria, he swung his blade downward, the edge slicing through the night sky and drawing a searing line of fire.
In his haste, Moria barely managed to block with his sword. King's blade traced a perfect arc, directly cleaving Moria and sending him flying through the air. His body traced a parabolic trajectory before crashing heavily onto the distant beach, kicking up a cloud of sand.
"What?!"
"Captain Moria!"
The exclamations of his subordinates rose one after another. Moria tumbled several times in the air before slamming hard onto the beach, stirring up a whirlwind of sand. Struggling to rise, he discovered a vicious notch had appeared on his beloved longsword.
"Damn it..." Moria spat out a mouthful of bloodied saliva and looked up at the tall figure silhouetted against the moonlight.
King's condescending posture made him feel an unprecedented humiliation, the shadow cast by the flames seeming ready to completely consume him.
"Do you understand the difference now?" King's voice was terrifyingly calm, the invisible pressure causing Moria's subordinates to unconsciously retreat several steps, their breathing becoming cautious.
"Bastard, don't look down on me! I am Gecko Moria!" Moria roared, swinging his longsword with all his might. The blade cut through the air with a sharp whistle.
Yet this time, Moria's sword struck directly against King's body, not only failing to inflict any injury but instead shattering the longsword itself.
The broken tip of the blade spun through the air before embedding itself in the sand with a dull thud.
"How is this possible!" Moria shouted in shock, staring incredulously at the broken weapon in his hand. His arm trembled slightly from the recoil, blood seeping from his palm.
Amid the flames, King stood completely unmoved. Blazing tongues of fire danced around him yet couldn't shake him in the slightest. He slowly raised his longsword, the sharp edge glinting with a chilling gleam in the firelight as it pointed directly at Moria's throat. A low voice emerged from behind the mask: "The game should end now."
"Stop!"
"Release Lord Moria!"
"If you want to touch our captain, you'll have to go through us first!"
Seeing this, Moria's crew members rushed forward with furious roars. Their faces were etched with anger and anxiety, their eyes burning with determination to protect their captain at all costs. Each expression was twisted by rage, yet permeated with resolute readiness to face death.
King's eyes suddenly turned cold. With a flick of his wrist, his flame-wreathed longsword swept out violently. The ground instantly split open with a line of fire, a blazing Fire Wall erupting from the earth to block Moria's crew completely. Roaring flames churned in the air, reflecting the distorted faces of the crowd.
"A mere Fire Wall won't stop us!"
"What's this little heat supposed to be!"
Facing the scorching Fire Wall, the crew members didn't hesitate for a moment. Gritting their teeth against the excruciating pain of their skin burning, they resolutely charged through the flames. The smell of scorching filled the air, yet they still stood firmly before Moria, forming a human wall with their own flesh and blood. Their clothes were already charred black, their skin covered with burn marks, yet they remained upright and unyielding.
"Don't even think about harming our captain in front of us!" the crew shouted in unison, their voices filled with the resolve of those prepared to die. Their figures appeared particularly tall against the firelight, their will to protect their captain burning hotter than the flames.
"Bastards, you lot, I'm not so weak that I need your protection yet," Moria said, looking at his crew members with a flicker of emotion in his eyes. He strode forward to stand before his crew, puffing out his chest to face King directly. Though severely injured, his dignity as captain wouldn't allow him to retreat.
Witnessing the life-and-death bond between Moria and his crew, King's eyes flickered faintly beneath his mask. He recalled the camaraderie between himself and Kaidou, but quickly regained his cold composure.
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