Chapter 290: Full-Scale War with the Whitebeard Pirates (2)
The fire-tipped spear, breathing flames, swung upward. The sound of the spear slicing through the air soared into the sky, with blue-black arcs of electricity wrapping around the tip. Eric , fully cloaked in shimmering lightning armor, charged forward with all his might.
The spear tip thrust toward the brightest flash of swordlight. The transparent shield collided with the blue lightning, and the crisp sound of metal meeting metal erupted.
Whitebeard, nearly seven meters tall, momentarily froze, his colossal body suddenly halting. Eric had managed to block a slash capable of splitting mountains and cracking the earth.
However, as Eric took Whitebeard's powerful strike on the head, the tiger's mouths of his hands cracked, and his knees suddenly buckled. The ground beneath him cracked open with countless fissures, and the earth collapsed around him, his lower legs sinking into the broken soil.
A metallic taste filled Eric 's mouth as he tried to suppress the iron-like tang in his throat. His hands trembled uncontrollably from the overwhelming force.
"Gu la la la..." Whitebeard chuckled. "The only ones who could take my strike are Roger, Kaido, and that little red-haired brat. Now, I have a new one..."
'What terrifying strength...' Eric , who was locked in a stalemate with Whitebeard, refused to back down. He responded, "Not just them. There's also Esdeath, Scáthach, and Artoria on my ship... They could all do it!"
"Oh..." Whitebeard laughed heartily. "Looks like you're not lying... You really trust your subordinates."
"Of course. What captain wouldn't trust their subordinates?" Eric 's pupils shrank sharply. Lightning armor began to release powerful currents around him, and blue thunder roared in fury. The electric sea surrounding Eric boiled and surged toward Whitebeard, the rumble of thunder filling the air.
"Hm?" Whitebeard's eyes glowed red, and his Observation Haki detected Eric 's movements. He suddenly loosened his grip on his sword handle and clenched his left fist. A shockwave shield formed around his fist.
"200 million volts, Thunder Dragon!" The blue lightning formed into a dragon, its mouth roaring as it lunged toward Eric .
"Nice try, Air Shock!" Whitebeard's massive fist, carrying a transparent air bubble, suddenly punched out. The seemingly ordinary shockwave contained terrifying and frenzied power that was about to be unleashed.
"Crack, crack!"
The sound of shattering mirrors echoed from where the punch landed, and new cracks appeared in the air, rapidly spreading outward.
The space was torn apart, a violent wind kicking up. The arrogant dragon head shattered under Whitebeard's punch, and the broken body transformed into blue electric charges in the air. Under Eric 's control, they rushed toward Whitebeard once again.
"Oh?" Whitebeard didn't expect the shattered electric charges to continue attacking, but—he was Edward Newgate, the man known as the world's strongest!
No matter how Ace suddenly ambushed him, it wouldn't hurt him a bit! Eric 's thunder was no different!
Whitebeard's shockwave powers weren't limited to his fists; his combination of martial arts and slashing techniques brought out the true might of the Tremor-Tremor Fruit.
"Ha!"
From his body, a ring of shockwave power radiated outward, shattering the electric snakes that were heading toward Whitebeard.
Eric instantly teleported out of Whitebeard's range, avoiding this attack.
"Well done. Your Devil Fruit ability must have awakened." Whitebeard's massive naginata spun in his hand.
"I'll test your marksmanship now!" Whitebeard now resembled a senior pointing out the flaws of his junior.
The sharp blade wasn't wrapped in shockwave power, but Eric could feel the profound Armament Haki from that blade.
He didn't use Conqueror's Haki or the Thunder Fruit's abilities; he simply used the long spear hardened with Armament Haki and the spear techniques Scáthach had taught him to face off against the figure standing at the peak.
Clang!
The clash, without any flourish, made Eric 's blood boil.
"Good, kid." Whitebeard laughed heartily as Cong Yun Qie continued to spin in his hand. "From your spear technique, I can see the mastery. Who's your teacher?"
"Scáthach." Every time the naginata clashed, Eric could feel Whitebeard's terrifying brute strength from the polearm. Even without the Tremor-Tremor Fruit's abilities, the violent impact made Eric 's blood surge.
"You learned spear techniques from your subordinates? Aren't you ashamed?"
"Not at all. Do you know medicine? Do you know navigation? Or cooking?" Eric retorted. "Learning from companions to fill your own shortcomings—isn't that the benefit of being with fellow travelers?!"
"Gu la la la..." As Whitebeard's laughter echoed, the aftermath of their battle caused the ground around them to crack and crumble.
◇
"What?" Morgans received the latest news from within the Navy. "Eric , leading the Dawn Pirates, destroyed the ships monitoring Whitebeard?"
"Yes," a reporter from the World Economic News nodded and explained, looking at the notes. "It seems that in the early morning, the Dawn Pirates' warships suddenly sank several monitoring ships. According to the last report from the Navy, they claimed to have seen an iron warship heading towards the Moby Dick."
"A clash between the new and old Four Emperors, this is big news!" Morgans looked excited. "After escaping Big Mom's territory two years ago, is Eric now aiming for the title of the world's strongest? Did our reporters spot them?"
"Unfortunately, our battlefield reporters are far from that area."
"Useless battlefield reporters! We should always have someone following the Four Emperors. This ambitious person will surely target these veteran pirate crews."
"..." The reporters broke out in cold sweat. Following the Four Emperors? They'd be lucky if they didn't die in the process.
Morgans picked up the Den Den Mushi, then set it down, indecisive.
"Forget it, as long as that guy is still alive, there will always be big news." Morgans smiled with excitement. "I don't believe you'll die so easily, Darren Eric !"
◇
"White Ice Fracture!" Countless ice shards appeared in the sky and shot toward Marco under Esdeath's control.
"Boom, boom, boom!" The sharp ice shards pierced through the burning blue flames, vanishing after creating a ripple.
"Your body is quite interesting!" Esdeath revealed a cruel smile. "I really want to tear you apart!"
"Don't get any ideas!" The Phoenix, originally soaring in the sky, suddenly stopped and transformed into half-immortal form. The two feet of the Phoenix clasped under its legs, bursting with seven-colored light.
"Oh?" Esdeath laughed. "Are you using your trump card?"
"Phoenix Seal!" With a loud cry of the phoenix, seven-colored light flashed down, accelerating under the blue flames of its wings, falling like a seven-colored comet.
"Come on—Absolute Zero!" The sword tip gleamed with cold light, and under the surge of white frozen air, Esdeath shot forward like a rainbow through the sky.
The two techniques collided in mid-air, blue flames bursting and white frost exploding!
A violent storm erupted from the point of impact, sending Esdeath crashing to the ground. The hard earth beneath her feet shattered into pieces.
The biting cold crept up from her feet, as eerie frost climbed up her calves.
"Ouch! This hurts!" The revived blue flame ignited, healing her frozen right leg. "What a terrifying technique, even the Rebirth Flame can't heal this wound instantly."
"Again!" Esdeath's rapier crackled with white electric arcs.
"Are you using Conqueror's Haki too?!" Marco was startled.
"Now, it's the second round!" Esdeath, without further ado, stepped into Moonwalk and dashed toward Marco.
"Shining Impact!" Jozu, fully diamondized, charged at Scáthach tirelessly. His once-proud defense was pierced by Scáthach, leaving a deep wound visible to the bone, with red blood flowing over the glittering diamond, an eye-catching sight.
Earlier, Scáthach had used the Conqueror's Haki-enveloped "Piercing Death's Spear"—a strike powerful enough to pierce the lost belt and instantly kill a Demon Pillar...
Well, that was a bit of a mix-up.
Even though Jozu didn't underestimate Scáthach, her spear technique had already reached its peak, and with just a small chance, it could break through the invisible barrier.
If Eric could see Scáthach's panel right now, he would see her spear technique had reached nine stars and a half, with just one strike away from god-slaying.
Scáthach, wielding two spears, launched numerous spear beams. The sharp blades made a sizzling sound as they scratched against the diamond, leaving invisible scars and scratches.
Jozu was shocked. Just moments ago, Scáthach's normal attacks couldn't harm him, but she had grown stronger during the battle!
(END CHAPTER)
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