Meanwhile, the sounds of battle on the field gradually subsided.
Facing the formidable Marine forces, the more than two hundred pirates of the Blood Pirates had been completely annihilated; most were killed, and a small portion surrendered.
After all, the Blood Pirates wasn't a particularly powerful group, and its ordinary members were not much stronger than elite Marine soldiers.
With just over two hundred pirates, the mere presence of over a hundred animated creatures made of stone and metal was enough to crush the Blood Pirates, especially without powerful executives assisting them. Add to that the encirclement by over a thousand Marine soldiers, and it's clear why the battle didn't last long.
At this moment, only Cross and Dingman remained standing in the entire battlefield, facing each other. One was entirely black like a sculpture, holding a katana. The other was covered in blood, wielding a long scythe. Both stared at each other with murderous intent.
Boom—!
Suddenly, Cross, like a demon god, took a step. The immense force shattered the ground beneath his feet, and cracks rapidly spread in all directions. In an instant, Cross shot out like a cannonball, moving so fast that the air itself exploded with a thunderous roar, kicking up a fierce, biting gale.
"Damn it, I'm suppressed!" Dingman's expression changed. He found his body, enveloped by the surging, violent storm, struggled to make large movements or dodges. A terrifying pressure also held him, as if telling him: Don't move, take my strike!
"One-Sword Style: Heavenly Fang!!!"
The next second, Cross ferociously charged in front of Dingman. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he raised Kagehide high above his head, then mercilessly brought it down.
At this moment, the blade descended, compressing the air with immense power, causing the entire gleaming black blade to be covered in a visible white mist.
"Block it, block it, I must block it..." Dingman's face was twisted and frantic. He roared hysterically in his mind, tightly gripping his long scythe, Gyakurin, and holding it in front of him, hoping to block Cross's furious slash.
Clang—!
A metallic clang, and sparks flew in the air.
Kagehide, imbued with terrifying power, struck without fanfare, instantly severing the long scythe, Gyakurin, which was comparable to a Meito.
Dingman's eyes widened in terror, watching as Kagehide, seemingly losing little of its power, continued its descent, striking his body.
Thwack—!
With a soft sound of flesh being torn, blood spurted, and three sections of an arm flew into the air.
"AHHHH—!"
Then, Dingman fell to the side, his expression twisted in agony, screaming. His right shoulder gushed large amounts of blood like a fountain. A right arm severed at the root bought him his life.
Rumble—!
However, the power of that strike had not been exhausted.
After severing Dingman's arm, a terrifying, visible sword wind erupted, seeming to rip apart the very skies and earth.
In just the blink of an eye, the terrifying sword wind carved a hundreds-of-meters-long trench-like crack in the ground, extending deep into the forest. Along the way, it shredded countless towering trees, as if splitting the forest in two, and stirred up a pervasive cloud of earthy dust that lingered for a long time.
"...Mon-monster!!!" Seeing this, the surrounding Marines were dumbfounded, their jaws almost hitting the ground.
"Honestly..." At this moment, Cross's face was expressionless, his gaze cold and focused on Dingman, who lay on the ground with a severed arm. He spoke in a low voice, "It would have been better if you had just let me cut you down. You would have suffered less. Are you seriously trying to make a comeback with one arm?"
"It's useless, Dingman. You've already lost!"
At this point, the surrounding Marines gathered, aiming their weapons at the severely wounded Dingman. It was as if, at Cross's command, the man would be assaulted by hundreds, even thousands, of people.
Dingman lay on the ground, his face pale. His left hand pressed tightly against the wound on his right arm, but large gushes of crimson blood still oozed out, staining the ground. His long scythe, Gyakurin, broken in two, lay beside him.
Suddenly, he grinned, letting out a maniacal laugh: "Haha... Hahahaha..."
"What's so funny?" Cross squinted his eyes, his voice cold. "Or rather, are you surrendering?"
Dingman's laughter ceased. His eyes, filled with resentment, glared fiercely at Cross. He gritted his teeth and said, "Surrender? No, no, no~ I just want to take you down with me!"
"Self-Sacrifice... BLOOD DEVOURER!!!"
Suddenly, Dingman roared with a crazed expression. His body popped open, and large gushes of blood sprayed out like arrows, transforming into grotesque, serpentine blood pillars that bit at Cross with lightning speed.
"Ridiculous!" Cross's expression remained unchanged. His Kagehide instantly slashed out. With immense power and exquisite skill, the incredibly sharp Meito Kagehide sliced through the grotesque, serpentine blood pillars as effortlessly as a hot knife through butter.
Immediately, the serpentine blood pillars, which contained all of Dingman's blood, dissipated. With a whoosh, they splattered onto the ground, transforming the area in front of Cross into a large red carpet.
With Dingman dead, the dozens of captured pirates bowed their heads as if they had lost their parents, their spirits gone, utterly despairing.
The Blood Pirates's strongest captain was dead. Even if some managed to evade the Marine encirclement and escape by sheer luck, they wouldn't have the power to rescue them.
"Phew—" Cross let out a long breath. The gleaming black Armament Haki on his body completely receded, returning his skin to its original yellow tone. Only then did he speak to the large puddle of blood on the ground: "Someone else already used that trick. Do you think I watched all those anime for nothing?"
After speaking, he took out a white cloth from his pocket and carefully wiped his Kagehide.
During the fierce battle, Kagehide, as a high-quality Meito with Armament Haki protecting it, showed no scratches or nicks on its blade or edge. It was still as good as new, only stained with blood, which needed to be wiped off before it could be sheathed.
"Cross-sama, a message came from Rear Admiral Gobert's side. They captured and killed 67 pirates, including Mole Knox, who had a bounty of 77,000,000 Berries. However..."
Suddenly, a Marine soldier ran over. After reporting on Rear Admiral Gobert's situation to Cross, he suddenly became hesitant.
"However, what?" Cross frowned, asking impatiently.
The reporting Marine was startled and quickly said, "It's just that Rear Admiral Gobert was also severely wounded, and about two hundred more were killed or injured!"
"Nani?!" Cross was greatly surprised and quickly asked, "It was only about sixty pirates and Mole Knox. Rear Admiral Gobert's side had an absolute numerical advantage, so why were there such heavy casualties?"
"It's said they suffered a surprise attack; the specifics weren't detailed there. But Rear Admiral Gobert, while being transported to the hospital, has ordered you to temporarily take over the defense of the Sabaody Archipelago and command all forces at the Marine base until different orders come from Marine Headquarters!" the reporting Marine replied.
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