On the battlefield of Ronalfort.
If the Doriki value of a trained ordinary Marine is ten, then this army, composed of common folk like farmers, street vendors, and miners, was even more pathetic. Faced with these "Supermen" whose Doriki exceeded five hundred, they were mere ants, nothing more than fodder for a slaughter.
Against an opponent only slightly stronger, one might still resist; but against monsters, human strength is futile. The Rebel Army had completely collapsed, its soldiers scattering in a desperate rout.
"Spare... spare me!"
"Monsters! They're monsters!"
"I surrender! I've thrown down my weapon!"
Squelch—
A sharp flash of sword-light flickered, instantly tearing through three retreating Rebel soldiers. Blood sprayed across the parched earth.
"Hahahaha! Kill them all! They're nothing but trash! Hahahaha—!"
The brute in the black Offensive Exoskeleton Combat Suit laughed, licking the blood splattered on his face with a bloodthirsty grin. The broadsword in his hand, as wide as a palm, dripped with fresh gore.
"If they are trash, then what does that make you? Pieces of shit!"
Suddenly, a cold, piercing voice rang out. Despite the cacophony of the battlefield, the words sounded as if they had been whispered directly into their ears.
"Who's there?"
Not only the brute, but several members of the nearby Elite Strike Team stopped their indiscriminate killing to look toward the source.
Standing amidst the carnage was a young man draped in a black overcoat, his wavy blonde hair fluttering in the wind. His confident, noble aura felt entirely out of place on this bloody battlefield.
As soon as the blonde man appeared, the Elite Strike Team warriors felt a surge of overwhelming danger. This was the "beast instinct" granted to them by the XT Drug, a natural sensory reaction to the presence of a truly powerful individual.
"There are strong and weak in this world, but to use that strength only to bully the weak is the ultimate sin!" The blonde man's expression was icy, the fire of righteous fury burning in his eyes.
"That man... he's the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army, the Chief of Staff, Sabo!" someone cried out, recognizing him.
The Elite Strike Team handled the Chris Pirates' covert operations and had access to classified intelligence from the Chris Investigation Bureau, allowing them to identify high-profile targets instantly.
"The 'talons' I honed to crush tyrannical power... Dragon Claw!!!"
Sabo raised his right hand. He pressed his index and middle fingers together, his ring and pinky fingers together, and slightly bent his thumb, forming a three-pronged stance resembling a dragon's claw.
Whoosh—
Sabo kicked off the ground, shooting forward like a bolt of lightning, his "claw" aimed directly at the man in front of him.
"The Revolutionary Army's No. 2! If we kill you, the Captain might even give us a reward!" an Elite Strike Team warrior roared bloodthirstily. He raised his broadsword and swung it with all his might at Sabo.
Clang!
The Dragon Claw caught the blade in a death grip.
Crack!
In the next instant, under the sheer crushing power of his fingers, the heavy broadsword was snapped in two like a twig.
"Impossible!" The warrior's face paled with shock.
Thud!
Sabo's arm shot out, his hand clamping onto the warrior's head.
"With these claws, crushing a human skull is as easy as breaking an egg," Sabo said, his expression turning grimly fierce.
"Aaaagh—!"
The warrior felt his skull beginning to buckle. He clawed desperately at Sabo's arm, screaming in agony.
"Stop him!"
Several nearby Elite Strike Team members rushed to reinforce their comrade, but they were too far away. By the time they arrived, it would be too late.
"Electromagnetic Cannon!"
Finding himself unable to break free, the warrior extended his left arm. A series of mechanical clicks echoed as the metal plating on his combat suit shifted and transformed, deploying a 20mm caliber, 30cm long cannon barrel.
Click— Bzzzt— Bzzzt—
A 20mm tungsten-core steel ball was chambered, and arcs of blue electricity danced within the barrel.
Sabo's eyelids flickered. Sensing a lethal threat, he immediately released his grip and dove to the side.
Bang! BOOM—
A streak of light, nearly invisible to the naked eye, flashed past. Hundreds of meters away, a massive boulder that had stood for ages was instantaneously pulverized, sending stone fragments flying in every direction.
"Hsst…"
Sabo sucked in a cold breath, his eyes wide with shock. "What kind of weapon is that?"
Escaping Sabo's grasp, the warrior ignored the throbbing pain in his head and reactivated the mini-cannon on his arm. Another tungsten projectile was automatically chambered. However, these miniature railguns were not rapid-fire weapons; they required a three-second recharge between shots.
Before the reload could complete, Sabo lunged forward. His Dragon Claw clamped onto the barrel.
Crunch!
Erupting with immense finger strength, he crushed the barrel, forged from the latest alloy steel, into a flat, useless piece of scrap. Fortunately, since the ammunition was a solid tungsten ball rather than gunpowder-based, the weapon didn't backfire or explode.
This brief delay allowed the other Elite Strike Team members to surround him.
'I can't hold back. I need to end this quickly!' Sabo thought, immediately springing into motion. He delivered a powerful kick to the chest of the brute in front of him.
Thud!
The man was sent flying over ten meters, coughing up blood upon impact.
Crack! Crack! Bam! Bam!
Utilizing his incredible grip and finger strength, Sabo easily shattered the warriors' weapons. Shards of metal rained onto the ground as he exerted significant effort to beat them down. After all, these were experts with Doriki over five hundred, further enhanced by their mechanical combat suits. Even for Sabo, taking them down with a single blow while being surrounded was no simple task.
However, the commotion had drawn the attention of every Elite Strike Team member on the field. Realizing they were up against a powerhouse, they began to converge on his position.
Whoosh!
A sharp gust of wind came from behind. Sabo spun around, meeting the attack with a Dragon Claw.
CLANG!
The pitch-black "claw" collided with a silver-white metallic fist. A powerful shockwave erupted from the point of impact, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
"Revolutionary Army... so you've set your sights on this country too," Sriya said, staring intently at Sabo.
Sabo looked at the metal arm locked against his Dragon Claw, then glanced down at the man's mechanical prosthetic leg. He said in a low voice, "We are here to overthrow this tyrannical regime! The Dark Executioner of the Chris Pirates, the 'Reborn' Sriya!"
Sabo recognized the man. If the Elite Strike Team was responsible for the Chris Pirates' dirty work—assassinations, treasure hunting, and mercenary contracts—then Sriya was the primary commander of those operations.
Sriya wasn't necessarily the strongest in terms of raw power, but he was calm, resourceful, and utterly insane. He fought without fear of death and knew exactly how to maximize the efficiency of a mission. Countless rumors circulated about him in the Underworld; many "Kings" of the Underworld had tried to recruit him, and even the World Government's CP organizations had once extended an olive branch.
But Sriya, a former Marine officer, had long ago seen through the darkness of this world. Having discarded his former sense of Justice, he lived as if reborn, loyal only to 'Golden Ring' Aeridar. This was the origin of his title, "The Reborn."
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