"What monsters… It's been half a day already, and they're still not done? At this rate, the entire Wall of Valos will be destroyed." Vic and the others watched from afar. Apart from Lantis's warriors, no one else was allowed within viewing distance; all others had been forcibly evacuated.
"They're both so strong!" Alice clenched her fists, feeling a pang of frustration. She wasn't weak herself, but compared to those two, she was far behind. What was worse, she could tell they weren't even fighting seriously—just having fun.
That realization stung even more. It seemed that in the time she'd been away, that man had grown stronger again.
"Hah! Thanks for the warm-up!" Rosen laughed as his punch suddenly surged in power. Haki flared around his arm, and the impact sent Hawkeye flying backward.
The swordsman, who had been enjoying a leisurely advantage, was briefly caught off guard. He's stronger now? Or was he holding back earlier? No, it must be the former—no one could hide anything from his eyes.
"Interesting… but a pity you're not a swordsman," Hawkeye said coolly. Armament Haki coated his blade as he got serious at last. This was real combat—this was fun.
Rosen could feel his mastery of hand-to-hand combat break through, surpassing 1000 points. In that instant, it was as if a shackle within him had shattered, unleashing a surge of raw power.
His blood boiled with exhilaration from the prolonged, intense battle. Every cell in his body burned with fighting spirit—his martial skill had finally stepped into the realm of an Admiral.
From this moment, Rosen could truly face an Admiral head-on without being outmatched.
As for Hawkeye, both his swordsmanship and Haki were already at that same level. His swordsmanship alone was near the upper limit—around 2000 points—and in practice, it made him no weaker than those with three Admiral-level abilities combined. His mastery of the sword was that refined—it was almost like having two strengths in one.
But Hawkeye wasn't fighting for dominance; he fought for the joy of battle, to learn, to sharpen himself.
And now, Rosen's strength had forced him to bring out his Haki—this would make his swordsmanship even purer and sharper.
Hawkeye's powerful physique and Haki existed solely to serve his swordsmanship. Though not specialized in close combat, his body was more than strong enough to support his blade's tremendous power.
True swordsmanship came from will, Haki, and technique—all merging into one. That was why his sword was so terrifying. In that instant, his black blade flared with dark energy, dangerously fierce—Rosen nearly lost an arm to its strike.
"Deep Space Inferno!" Rosen's power exploded. His Devil Fruit ability surged as his right arm turned to sand, spinning like a high-speed drill. It shot forward violently, colliding with Hawkeye's black sword.
Sparks flew in an instant. Hawkeye frowned, stepping forward with force to press him back, but Rosen stood firm, unmoving.
"Breath Severance." Hawkeye's aura shifted completely—he grew far more dangerous. Pulling his sword back, he let Rosen's sand-drill attack come. His eyes narrowed, and to him, Rosen's movements seemed to slow to a crawl.
Both hands gripped the black sword. In that moment, Hawkeye's spirit, will, and Haki all concentrated into one devastating strike.
"Dangerous." Rosen could sense it—it was a focused killing blow from a master swordsman, not something to take head-on. The instant Hawkeye swung, Rosen dodged.
Boom!
His prediction was right. The sky dimmed as sword will and Haki fused into a phenomenon of power.
A jet-black blade wave erupted, cutting through the air with a deafening roar that nearly shattered the onlookers' eardrums.
Alice and the other warriors covered their ears in pain.
The immense slash cleaved through the Wall of Valos, carving a deep, abyss-like rift across its entire expanse.
Rosen was slightly taken aback. Hawkeye's transformation from casual strikes to full mastery-level skill was terrifying. Had Rosen not achieved dual Admiral-level strength, that blow would have cost him dearly.
"The Wall of Valos was cut through?!" Alice stood atop a tower, staring in disbelief at the enormous fissure. The Wall was massive—yet that one slash had bisected it.
Even the Queen herself couldn't unleash something like that. So this was the power of the world's greatest swordsman—unbelievable!
"Black Domain Barrage—Execution!" Sand rose and swirled around Rosen, forming countless dust spheres like miniature black holes. They spun, compressed, then launched one after another toward Hawkeye, tearing through the air.
"People don't realize the cost of these things," Rosen muttered, raising an eyebrow. "Even in a fight, can't you at least go easy? Do you know how much it costs to rebuild that wall?"
While others trembled at Hawkeye's power, Rosen was already calculating the repair bill. Strength was good—but financial ruin was not. If Hawkeye kept fighting like this, the Wall of Valos would be reduced to rubble, and he'd be the one paying for it.
And with the royal army preparing to invade, a breached wall could be a fatal problem.
"My apologies." Hawkeye paused for a moment at Rosen's complaint. Did strong men usually care about property damage? He wouldn't know—he was a wanderer who'd never thought about such things.
But though he apologized, his hands didn't stop. The black sword slashed again and again, deflecting Rosen's sand bullets one by one.
"Lady Alice, bad news! Princess Xia's manor is under attack! Assassins are clashing with the Peak Regiment, but their strength is overwhelming—they may not hold out!" A bloodied Lantis warrior rushed up, gasping.
"What?!" Alice's face changed. Though she hadn't been beside Xia due to the breach, the guards left to protect her were among the strongest. This was no ordinary assault.
Rosen halted his attack. Hawkeye also frowned. Had someone used them as a distraction?
Rosen glanced at Hawkeye—were they both being played?
"Tell them to hold on—we're coming!" Alice ordered sharply, then sprinted toward Xia's location with her warriors.
Vic's expression darkened as he commanded the army to follow. Xia was their leader—if anything happened to her, the Wall of Valos itself might collapse from within.
"We'll end it here today," Hawkeye said, sheathing his sword and turning away. It wasn't retreat—it was principle. He didn't fear Rosen but refused to be misunderstood.
He fought for no one but himself.
"The King's move already? That was fast." Rosen didn't even glance back. His body dissolved into sand as he sped toward Xia's residence.
(End of Chapter)