Urouge swung his massive "pencil" club, effortlessly sending over a dozen soldiers flying. He glanced around and noticed all his other companions had found suitable opponents, leaving only himself still dealing with these foot soldiers. A twinge of annoyance struck him; he should have made his move earlier.
Gazing at the distant, towering walls of the Duchy of Dook's city, a sudden idea flashed in Urouge's mind. He took several steps back, got a running start, and hurled the enormous pencil with all his might. The pencil shot towards the city wall like a cannonball, tracing a sharp arc through the air.
BOOM!
Accompanied by a deafening roar, the pencil punched clean through the sturdy wall. Amidst flying stone fragments, soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were struck. Chaos immediately erupted at the base of the wall. Surprisingly, the seemingly ordinary pencil emerged completely unscathed. It was, in fact, a special weapon forged from Wano Country's unique Refined Iron, its durability far surpassing that of ordinary armaments.
"Long live Lord Urouge!" the pirates cheered upon seeing this. Brandishing their weapons, they charged the enemy forces with greatly boosted morale.
Urouge's single strike had not only breached the wall but also tremendously uplifted the spirits of his own side. Urouge looked upon his handiwork with satisfaction—the massive pencil embedded deep in the wall, surrounded by swirling dust and smoke. He flexed his wrist, preparing to continue the fight.
Inspired by him, the pirates fought with increasing ferocity, while the Duchy of Dook's soldiers descended into disarray.
"Ihihihihi, you're quite the tough one, aren't you!" Moria grinned widely, showing his trademark smile as he looked down from his great height at Becker, who was kneeling on one knee not far away.
Becker was now covered in wounds, seven or eight sword cuts bleeding freely. He gasped for breath, barely supporting himself with his longsword, yet his eyes still stared stubbornly at Moria. Sweat mingled with blood dripped from his forehead, creating small, dark-red pits in the dusty ground.
In all fairness, Becker was by no means weak. He possessed not only a Special Paramecia Devil Fruit ability but also mastery of both types of Haki, and his swordsmanship was quite accomplished. If this were half a year ago, before undergoing Kaido's special training, Moria might truly have been unable to defeat him. But the current Moria was a completely different beast.
Recalling that hellish period of training, Moria couldn't help but shudder.
Kaido's thunderous kanabo strikes—dodge them to train your Kenbunshoku Haki, fail to dodge and you'd have to rely on your Busoshoku Haki. Even more terrifying was that every time he was brought to the brink of death, healers with the Chiyu Chiyu no Mi and the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi would promptly restore him, making it a state of being unable to live yet unable to die. That entire half-year of torment had forcibly pushed him to new heights.
"Bastard... don't look down on me!" Becker suddenly roared, forcing himself to his feet. Gripping his longsword with both hands, he prepared for one final charge.
"Shadow Spear!"
With a casual wave of Moria's hand, the shadow at his feet instantly transformed into a sharp spear, piercing through Becker's abdomen with lightning speed.
Blood spurted forth. Becker looked down in disbelief at his impaled torso, the light in his eyes gradually dimming. With a clang, his sword fell powerlessly to the ground.
"General Becker!" The Duchy of Dook soldiers who witnessed this let out cries of grief. A few loyal and brave soldiers charged at Moria heedlessly, while many more dropped their weapons and fled in all directions. The battlefield immediately descended into chaos, cries and running footsteps intertwining.
Moria stood in place, watching the soldiers charging at him with disdain as he swung his longsword. A vacuum slash directly sent the soldiers flying.
Then, Moria looked towards the other ongoing fights. Bullet and Dook III were currently trading blows on equal footing. Dook III's strength was indeed decent, no wonder he dared to provoke the Beasts Pirates. Unfortunately, he had severely underestimated the crew's true power.
Morris was locked in an intense back-and-forth duel with a swordsman, though both had sustained numerous injuries, so it should be concluding soon.
"Huff... huff... Your strength... is indeed commendable..." Morris panted heavily, the longsword in his hand trembling slightly, its blade now covered in tiny nicks. "Will you consider surrendering? I can recommend you to Governor-General Kaido."
Powers' breathing was equally ragged, but his gaze remained resolute. He tightened his grip on his sword hilt until his knuckles turned white. "Save your breath! How could I... ever betray my own country?!"
"Is that so..." Morris shook his head regretfully, his eyes gradually sharpening. He slowly assumed an offensive stance, every muscle tensing, a powerful aura emanating from him. "Then... I can only ask you to die."
Powers met the challenge without backing down, also adopting a fighting posture. The moment the two stood poised against each other, the surrounding air seemed to freeze. Suddenly, they charged at each other simultaneously. Amidst the flashing blades, only the clear sounds of clashing metal could be heard.
CLANG!
After one final, ear-piercing metallic crash, the two stood back-to-back. A moment of silence passed. Then, Morris's longsword fell to the ground with a clatter. A great gush of blood erupted from his chest. "How... is this possible..." he muttered in disbelief, looking down at his wound before collapsing heavily to the ground. Blood quickly soaked the earth beneath him.
Powers barely managed to support himself, dropping to one knee, using his sword to prop himself up. His arm shook violently; sweat mixed with blood dripped from his forehead. "I... won..." he rasped, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible.
"Ihihihihi!" A shrill, grating laugh suddenly rang out. In the light, Moria's tall figure approached slowly, clapping his hands in an exaggerated manner. "Truly remarkable, to have defeated Morris." A dangerous light glinted in his eyes. "But since you refuse to surrender..."
Powers tried to stand, but his injured body no longer obeyed. Gritting his teeth, he lifted his head stubbornly. "Just... kill me then!"
"Ihihihihi, don't worry," Moria sneered, drawing his longsword. "After you die, I'll make good 'use' of your body."
"What?!" Powers's pupils contracted sharply, only now realizing his opponent intended not only to take his life but also to turn his corpse into a zombie. But before he could react, Moria's blade had already sliced through the night air—
A cold flash of steel. Blood sprayed from Powers's neck. His body slowly toppled over, his eyes still holding a mix of shock and defiance that had not yet faded. Moria looked upon his "spoils of war" with satisfaction, letting out a bone-chilling laugh. "Ihihihihi... another fine piece of material..."
"Hey, a couple of you," Moria called out to some nearby pirates. "Carry Morris back to the ship for treatment. If you're not quick, he really will die."
"Yes, sir!" the pirates responded immediately, rushing over. "Lord Morris, hang in there, we'll get you treated right away," one said as he hoisted Morris onto his back and started running towards the fleet.
***
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