The Giant Leech and the Death of the Blood King
"We're doomed."
Yang Ning stared at the direction in front of him, his face deathly pale.
The shield from the Soul Furnace could be continuously cast without cooldown or stamina cost, but the shield itself could not be stacked, and its thickness at any given time was limited.
Currently, its thickness was just over two hundred.
Although the shockwaves were invisible, the howling wind clearly demonstrated their power.
"Pfft~"
"Pfft~ Pfft~"
'Huh?'
After taking three shockwaves in a row, Yang Ning was surprised to find that they seemed somewhat ineffective. Despite his imposing stance, the actual damage dealt to him was shockingly low; even after three hits, his shield remained intact.
Looking up, something was still dripping from the Blood King's robe—something resembling a mix of water and blood. Yang Ning immediately understood.
'It seems the seawater did work, and that slash should have injured that thing.'
Whoosh!
The Blood King's sword light followed the shockwave, and the tattered shield on Yang Ning's body shattered in response. But it was meaningless; it was just one shield. If one layer was broken, he could summon countless more.
Without the shockwave, Yang Ning was no longer afraid of the Blood King's swordsmanship. How strong could a pirate hiding on a small island in the East Blue really be?
Even using all his strength, the Blood King couldn't break the shield with a single blow. On the contrary, every strike from Yang Ning sent chills down his spine.
The combined damage of the super-powered slash, exceeding 450, was a heavy blow that the Blood King's small frame could not withstand.
Relying on his years of combat experience and solid swordsmanship, the Blood King gritted his teeth and tried to kill the enemy in front of him while dodging slashes.
Unfortunately, the offensive and defensive strategies had shifted. Without the shockwave, the Blood King was truly no match for him. His actual ability was far less than his stubbornness.
After several more clashes, Yang Ning once again successfully traded blows, this time slashing the Blood King's shoulder.
Faced with this unavoidable and irreversible blow, the Blood King's left arm was severed at the shoulder, blood gushing as the arm fell. The tattered, blood-red robe slid to the ground, revealing the horrifying truth beneath.
Yang Ning finally saw the Blood King's body.
"A giant leech?"
He forced himself to suppress nausea and gave a thumbs-up. If it were him, he absolutely could not endure having such a thing clinging to his body day and night.
Looking at the Blood King clutching his shoulder, now nearly incapacitated, Yang Ning thrust his longsword forward.
"So it was this thing that released the shockwave."
"You're really willing to give it a Devil Fruit?"
"Devil Fruit?"
The Blood King, his face confused, fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
"I did once receive a fruit that looked odd and tasted extremely bad…"
Could Makaka's power have been granted by that fruit?
"No, I ate it too, so why didn't I gain the ability?"
The case was solved, as Yang Ning had guessed. However, he was too lazy to explain the details to these East Blue pirates.
He pressed the tip of his blade against the Blood King's uninjured shoulder.
"What would it feel like to be bitten to death by the little mouse you're talking about, hmm?"
The once high-and-mighty Blood King had lost all pride. Sweat poured down his face—whether from fear or pain, it was hard to tell.
"I'm sorry, I was blind. I'm a mouse, I'm the mouse. Please, have mercy on me."
His humble tone sharply contrasted with his previous arrogance.
"I was wrong. If you don't kill me, I'll give you one of my treasures."
"Oh? What treasure?"
Yang Ning raised an eyebrow, amused, while secretly preparing a Feast in his hand. The reason he hadn't killed the Blood King immediately wasn't for theatrics; he wanted to digest the stronger target slowly. The stronger the target, the more health points he would gain.
The Blood King cautiously pressed himself against the tip of Yang Ning's blade, inching closer.
"The treasure I'm giving you is… to send you to your death!"
The Blood King had a backup plan. With a roar, he ripped the leech clinging to his body and hurled it at Yang Ning. The leech swelled and contracted, clearly preparing a powerful attack.
At such close range, anyone else might have turned the tables. But he encountered Yang Ning.
"Feast!"
Two words, calm and icy, unleashed the ultimate move Yang Ning had been holding back. The gigantic maw of the strange beast, visible only to him, burst through space and time above the giant leech.
Click!
It swallowed the giant leech whole, closing instantly. The Blood King stared in disbelief.
Yang Ning was unsurprised. The Feast could deal over 1,100 points of true damage to non-humanoid lifeforms—undodgeable, unstoppable. He didn't believe the weakened leech could still have over 1,000 health points remaining. One gulp was more than enough.
Now he looked forward to the health points he'd gain after digesting the Feast.
"You, you…"
Before the Blood King could finish speaking, Yang Ning's longsword sliced across his neck. The massive wound severed the Blood King's head, which thudded heavily to the ground.
"As expected of the Blood King. Even after losing so much blood, he still has such strong vitality."
Yang Ning plunged another stab into the headless body, finishing him off, and made a sarcastic remark.
If you kill someone but don't finish them off, it's the same as not killing them. Who knew what strange effects could occur otherwise?
Having dealt with the Blood King, Yang Ning looked at the pirate henchmen surrounding him with a playful smile.
"Now it's your turn."
The pirate henchmen were terrified. Their invincible Blood King had been killed by this outsider.
"No! Impossible! How could the Blood King die like this?"
"Spare me! I was forced into this. I never liked the Blood King. I support you, my lord!"
"I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and an eight-year-old son to raise. Please, have mercy!"
"My lord, I'm willing to join your pirate crew and go through fire and water for you!"
Of the thirty or forty pirate henchmen, some knelt in surrender, many fled secretly, but none dared to avenge the Blood King.
"Brother, you're too lenient. Your subordinates surrendered way too quickly."
Yang Ning kicked the Blood King's corpse on the ground, sarcasm in his voice. In truth, he knew such pirates had no loyalty, and he had already done right by Blood King by not killing them at the start.
He had no intention of taking them in or sparing their lives.
"When you humiliated and killed those islanders, why didn't you spare them when they begged for mercy?"
"Ah?"
"Ugh!"
The killing resumed, and Yang Ning's figure moved through the gray palace, constantly painting it red.