...As Euron boarded the ship, countless grappling hooks with sharp blades were thrown from below, firmly biting into the railings. In an instant, over a dozen pirates armed with various weapons climbed up from below.
Their eyes were fierce, like vengeful spirits from Hell. Although they could not speak a word, a terrifying atmosphere immediately enveloped the entire deck.
"Kill!"
"Kill these bandits!"
Though they had been away from battle for a long time, the crew of the great challenge reacted immediately, rushing toward these uninvited guests from the sea with weapons in hand.
The two groups quickly converged, and the battle... began!
"You've chosen the wrong target, Crows Eye!"
Amidst the chaotic fighting, Barbossa did not move. He simply held his sword, his gaze fixed on Euron, who looked as if he were out for a stroll, and issued a threat:
"Leave while you can. My fleet is not something a fellow like you can covet."
"Hehe~"
Lifting his eyelids slightly to look at the blustering Barbossa, Euron gently swung the greatsword in his hand, his eyes full of mockery.
This cat-and-mouse feeling always made him incredibly excited.
"In Barbossa... oh... in Barbossa."
Shaking his head and repeatedly muttering Barbossa's name, Euron raised his sword and pointed behind the man in the distance:
"Take a good look at your Invincible Fleet. I don't think you've grasped the current situation."
Frowning, Barbossa followed the direction of the sword and was stunned to find that, at some unknown point, more than half of his fleet had raised eerie Golden Kraken banners and were slowly sailing toward the great challenge.
"I'm disappointed, Barbossa."
Euron jumped down from the railing, his feet stepping onto the deck of the great challenge for the first time. The rhythmic click-clack of his boots drew closer.
He stopped a few meters away from Barbossa, planting his greatsword firmly in front of him with both hands. His bright red cloak billowed in the breeze.
"The Braavos Sealord's fleet, claimed to be Invincible, is actually so fragile."
"If you can't give me a little surprise soon, everyone on this ship will die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a frenzied slash whistled through the air. Barbossa had no choice but to exert all his strength to raise his longsword above his head and meet this terrifying blow head-on.
"Bang~"
The strength in his severed leg was ultimately inferior. His prosthetic was forced down from the knee, pressing him onto the deck. The tough wood was actually smashed with a shallow crack.
Euron's massive greatsword continued to press down with terrifying power. The elderly Barbossa felt his arms go numb as his strength gradually failed. The blade slowly pierced his shoulder, and bright red blood flowed down his shoulder blade, staining his body.
He struggled to parry the opponent's greatsword away and rolled unceremoniously across the deck, attempting to attack Euron's lower body.
But Euron's reaction was extremely fast. He raised his greatsword again and swept it downward; in an instant, it was about to slash across Barbossa's neck.
As the chill of the blade approached, Barbossa, unable to evade in time, seemed to see his own head falling to the ground. In that split second, a crisp ringing of sword clashing against sword erupted by his ear. The violent impact nearly burst his eardrums!
"What are you dazing for, Barbossa?"
Looking sideways in shock, he saw an incredibly sharp longsword blocking the path between his neck and Euron's greatsword.
With a light flick of the blade, the greatsword was batted back. The tall figure of the Ponytailed Man blocked Barbossa's view.
"Go check on those poor boys. I think they really need their captain's help right now."
Nodding, Barbossa used his sword to help himself stand up with difficulty. Without hesitation, he joined the crew members who were gradually falling into a disadvantage, consciously leaving the battlefield to them... "Valyrian steel..."
Looking at the longsword shining with a cold light in the Ponytailed Man's hand, a hint of surprise flashed in Euron's single eye. Noticing a faint trace of purple in the other's eyes, he questioned in an unquestionable tone:
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the Targaryen 'Blackfyre', right?"
"Kid, what's your relationship with the Golden Company!"
The whole world knew that 'Blackfyre' was the sword of Aegon Targaryen I 'the Conqueror'. However, after the first Blackfyre Rebellion led by Daemon Blackfyre was suppressed, this legendary sword was taken to Essos by his half-brother, the founder of the Golden Company—'Bittersteel' Aegor Rivers.
"If you want to fight, then fight. Enough with the nonsense!"
Facing Euron's inquiry, the Ponytailed Man gave no answer. He simply swung his longsword calmly and attacked.
The two longswords clashed again in heavy slashes from their respective masters, producing a deafening sound. But surprisingly, under the offensive of the incredibly sharp 'Blackfyre', the greatsword in Euron's hand showed a level of hardness no less than its own.
A look of disbelief finally appeared in the Ponytailed Man's calm eyes. His sword had always been an invincible existence in previous battles, yet today it had repeatedly failed to gain an advantage in a head-on clash.
When he fought Jaina earlier, it wasn't surprising that she held her own against 'Blackfyre' because her sword was coated in a special energy he had never seen before.
But this seemingly ordinary greatsword also... "Hmph, kid, are you surprised?"
Under the Ponytailed Man's uncertain gaze, Euron gripped the greatsword with both hands and launched another frenzied attack.
The greatsword continuously struck the blade of 'Blackfyre', and the 'cling-cling' sound of clashing metal was endless.
"Don't think that you're the only one in this world holding a sword forged from Valyrian steel!"
Euron shouted while wildly brandishing his greatsword.
Long-term consumption of Shade of the Evening had made his heart fearless, and years of raiding had kept him in a constant state of killing and combat.
It could be said that Euron's swordsmanship had almost reached its peak. The violent impacts even made 'Blackfyre' in the Ponytailed Man's hand risk being knocked away again!
"Don't be too arrogant, Crows Eye!"
Though surprised that the opponent possessed a two-handed greatsword forged from valyrian steel, the Ponytailed Man's 'Blackfyre' moved flawlessly, blocking every one of the opponent's attacks.
He gripped 'Blackfyre' forcefully, a roar escaping his throat that Euron couldn't understand:
"I said, I will never throw it away again!"
He used both hands to thrust upward against the greatsword's blade, forcing Euron's hands to flip up involuntarily. With his chest now wide open, the Ponytailed Man swung 'Blackfyre' mercilessly toward his torso.
"Squelch~~"
The sound of a longsword entering flesh rang out. Euron looked down in disbelief at the long gash on his chest, blood flowing uncontrollably from the wound.
In that moment of shock, the Ponytailed Man closed in again, gripping the hilt with both hands and thrusting straight forward, intending to deliver a fatal blow.
"Danger!"
But just as the longsword was about to pierce Euron's throat, a sudden sense of impending doom made his hair stand on end.
Without time to think, he instinctively ducked. A strangely shaped arakh whistled past the back of his head, slicing off his black ponytail.
Having barely dodged the fatal blow, he saw Euron, who had now reacted, swinging the greatsword again. He could only hurriedly hold his longsword horizontally in front of him to block.
"Bang~"
The massive force sent him flying. His spine slammed heavily against the mast, and a large mouthful of blood sprayed from his mouth.
He struggled to try and stand up, only to find that several of his ribs were broken. The intense pain made him unable to move. His once high-standing ponytail was gone, and he lay on the ground with disheveled hair, looking extremely wretched.
Even so, 'Blackfyre' remained firmly gripped in his hand.
"Well done, Roy."
The wound on his chest didn't seem serious, just a superficial one.
Euron nodded in praise of the crew member from the serene who had just launched the sneak attack. The mute man responded with a harsh, "Gah-gah" laugh.
"I admit your swordsmanship is strong, black-haired kid."
"But no matter who you are, meeting me today is your misfortune!"
Carrying the greatsword in both hands, he walked to the mast. Euron didn't care at all about the wound that was still trickling blood. He raised the greatsword high and, under the Ponytailed Man's despairing gaze, stabbed downward fiercely.
"Rumble~"
At this critical moment, the great challenge shook violently once again, this time even more forcefully than before.
Although Euron managed to stab his greatsword into the deck to steady himself, he was still inevitably thrown like everyone else, slamming into the ship's railing.
"What on earth is going on!"
Looking at the proud and unrestrained sun in the sky, Euron couldn't understand why a calm sea would cause such a massive warship to shake so violently.
As he struggled to crawl up from the ground, he realized that everyone on the ship was looking at him in shock... no... more accurately, they were looking behind him!
He hurriedly turned around and saw the waves surging wildly, gradually forming the shape of a giant over ten meters tall!
"What the f..."
"What the hell is that thing!"
He swallowed hard in terror. Even as someone who had traveled far and wide across countless seas, he had never seen such a terrifying monster!
"There's... someone on top!"
Following the cry of a crew member from the great challenge, everyone looked up at the head of the water giant. There stood a stunning young girl with gold and silver hair and purple eyes, standing proudly atop the waves!
"Crows Eye — Euron Greyjoy!"
The beautiful girl's expression was solemn and majestic, like a deity from legend who ruled the oceans.
Jaina, who had exhausted all her mana to condense a medium-sized Water Elemental, could no longer maintain her magical disguise, but that didn't matter anymore.
Waving the sword in her hand as if it were a staff, the Water Elemental followed her movements, slowly raising its fist, and then, under Euron's terrified gaze, it fell... and fell again... "Pray to me, you fellow who has disgraced the sea!"
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