Even though they already knew that Shura had been taken down by Sherwin and his group, the three newly arrived priests didn't seem to care much.
After all, they never got along with each other anyway — when they saw one of their companions fall, they only felt schadenfreude.
"Hehehe… heh! So Shura actually got taken out? Looks like the enemy this time might be a bit tricky… or maybe he was just too weak? Hehehe!"
On the left side of the Dodo Advance, a rotund man named Ohm laughed rhythmically, his tone mocking and playful.
"That kind of idiot is better off dead anyway."
On the right side, sitting cross-legged atop the head of his large white dog, the cold-faced Ohm pushed up his sunglasses with a composed air.
"Mmmmmm… mmmmmm!"
At the stern of the ship, accompanied by one of the divine soldiers, Nirvana — whose hair resembled the legs of a spider — bit his lower lip tightly, mumbling a string of muffled "mm" sounds.
The divine soldier beside him couldn't stand it anymore and reminded him, "Lord Nirvana, if you keep biting your lower lip like that, you won't be able to speak."
"!!!"
Nirvana instantly opened his mouth and eyes wide in sudden realization.
"Somehow… fighting idiots like this feels so embarrassing, meow…"
Sanji Meow glanced disdainfully at Nirvana, whose fierce expression had returned, then cast another look at the round, comical-looking before finally settling his gaze on the only one who seemed somewhat normal — Ohm.
However, when he noticed the Iron Cloud longsword hanging at Ohm waist, Sanji Meow decided he'd rather hold his nose and go kick the "ball" instead...
"That round guy mine, meow!" the little yellow cat said, pointing his paw at Ohm.
"As for me, I'll take care of that fool~" Hua Mei Meow said with a lazy smile, deciding to leave the swordsman-looking to Link Meow.
"I actually like spiders… especially when I get to squash them flat, meow~"
"Ah-woo… Big Sister Hua Mei is so scary, meow!"
(=Д`=)
Klee Meow covered her ears with her tiny paws and burrowed straight into Sherwin arms.
Haibara Meow also crept quietly to Sherwin side, trying to hide herself in a spot where Hua Mei Meow couldn't see her.
These two mischievous little cats were usually the ones most strictly disciplined by Lord Tigrex, so the moment Hua Mei Meow revealed even a hint of her dangerous aura, they instinctively went into a stress reaction.
Hua Mei Meow rolled her eyes at the two little ones, then leapt down from the Dodo Advance, strutting gracefully toward Nirvana with a flawless feline walk.
Sanji Meow and Link Meow followed right after, heading in different directions to meet their respective opponents.
"Hahaha! They really do know how to pick their matches."
Sherwin couldn't help but laugh as he watched the Felynes each choose their targets.
Hua Mei Meow choice of Nirvana was fine, but the funny thing was that in the manga, Sanji was the one who defeated Ohm.
As for Ohm dog, it had one particular trait — it obeyed everyone orders... except, ironically, the one from this team Link Meow, who "wasn't good at talking."
In other words, that dog was just a bit too big, and the fact that it only listened to one person orders was an overly fatal weakness.
Otherwise, Sherwin might have considered capturing it and keeping it as a hunting hound.
(=ΦωΦ=)
Link Meow approached the large white dog "Purity," raising the Exorcising Sword in his paw and pointing it toward the figure standing atop its head—Ohm.
"How truly sorrowful…" Ohm covered his face with his hand, speaking in a tone heavy with grief.
"Knowing how fleeting human life is, why must people continue to fight endlessly?"
(=ω=)?
Link Meow tilted his head in confusion, not understanding what the man was going on about.
"To live for the sake of happiness, and then to die in battle in pursuit of that very happiness—if that the case, wouldn't it be better to do nothing from the start?"
Ohm wiped the tears from beneath his sunglasses, sighing with a look of false compassion. "Such is the incurable nature of humanity… pitiful…"
╮(=ΦωΦ=)╭
Link Meow spread his paws helplessly, as if to say—he a cat, not human, so human nature has nothing to do with him.
"…"
Ohm, who had been delivering his usual philosophical ramble, paused mid-sentence, then forcibly ignored the Felyne and continued speaking to himself. "However… there is still one way to achieve salvation."
"That way is for everyone to die."
He stood up, drawing the Iron Cloud Longsword from his waist, looking down at Link Meow and declaring, "Allow me to save you."
( ω )
The little leopard cat finally understood—this guy had just been spewing nonsense all along! And he had actually waited patiently for him to finish talking!
Master Sword Technique!
(ω≡ω)
Furious, Link Meow immediately swung a slash of sword energy toward Ohm, who stood on top of the dog head.
"Hmm?!"
Ohm was shocked. He quickly manipulated the Iron Cloud in his hand to form a thick wall in front of him as a shield.
Link Meow casual strike failed to pierce through the Iron Cloud Wall, and even the slash mark left on its surface quickly regenerated due to the cloud unique properties.
"Purity, move with me!"
Though Ohm always liked to ramble on about his twisted philosophy before and during battle, in truth, that was just a means to confuse and mentally pressure his opponents.
In reality, Ohm was the most cunning and calculating among the four priests, which was also why the survival rate in his Iron Trial had remained 0% until now.
So, realizing that Link Meow was not an easy opponent to deal with, he immediately dropped the act, calling on his trained pet dog to assist him—planning to deliver divine judgment on the little leopard cat with a two-against-one assault.
...
"Hehehe~" The round, chubby Davy jumped up and down on the spherical cloud clusters he had summoned, laughing in a strange, mocking tone.
"Just you alone to fight me? Don't tell me that fool Shura was also defeated by a little kitty? Heheheheheh… ha!"
Davy suddenly launched his attack, kicking one of the Clouds straight toward Sanji Meow.
"As expected… you're just as dumb as you look, a complete idiot inside and out, meow…"
Realizing that there was no way to show off in front of big sister Purah Meow while fighting such an opponent, the little yellow cat Sanji Meow felt utterly frustrated.
Filled with resentment, his body flickered and instantly appeared right above Davy head, stomping down hard.
"You'll attack from above…"
Before Sanji Meow kick could land, Davy had already dodged to the side, announcing what his Observation Haki had foretold.
But the next second, he heard Sanji Meow speak as well: "You'll dodge to the right, meow."
At that moment, a burst of air suddenly shot out from Sanji Meow ankles, changing his direction midair, following Davy movement and kicking straight toward the right.
"You can use Mantra Haki too?!"
Davy expression turned to shock, and before he could even react, Sanji Meow foot slammed into his face, sending him flying sideways.
"Arghhh! That hurts!"
Bouncing on the ground several times like a ball, Davy scrambled to his feet, clutching his cheek and roaring furiously at Sanji Meow,
"I hate pain the most! You actually dared to hurt me—I'll make you pay for that!"
"Huh? Why aren't you laughing anymore, meow?"
Sanji Meow didn't take his threat seriously. Floating in midair with his arms crossed, he tilted his head and mocked him.
"Cloud Explosion!"
Davy threw a handful of shells into the air, from which burst a mass of spherical Clouds that instantly filled the surrounding space.
"Heh, hehehe! Even if you can use Mantra, once you fall into my Ball Trial, your survival rate is only ten percent! Hehehehehe~"
Having regained control of the battlefield, Davy seemed to regain his confidence, once again laughing in that bizarre tone.
...
"Master Nirvana, rolling your eyes like that… won't help you see the enemy!"
"!!!"
"…Sanji Meow was right. Fighting an idiot like this is just embarrassing, meow."Hua Mei Meow sighed helplessly and rubbed her forehead.
"I was planning to have a little fun, but now it seems finishing this quickly is the better option, meow…"
Before the opponent could even react, Lord tiger unleashed her Conqueror Haki.
The Divine Soldier immediately foamed at the mouth and collapsed unconscious, while Nirvana, though drenched in cold sweat and his limbs weak, managed to stay conscious as he fell to the ground.
"Oh?"
Hua Mei Meow twitched her ears and licked her paw with a faint chuckle.
"You're an idiot, but I guess you barely qualify to help me pass the time, meow~"
Barely recovering from the shock of the Conqueror Haki, Nirvana shuddered and immediately activated the Jet Dial under his shoes,
trying to fly into the air and use his usual strategy—dropping swamp clouds from above to deal with Hua Mei Meow…
But he forgot that he had just collapsed onto the ground in fear.
So Hua Mei Meow could only stare speechlessly as this fool shot backward across the ground, straight into a large boulder behind him, hitting it headfirst and passing out cleanly.
Hua Mei Meow: "…"