Regardless of how Shamrock's mentality changed, with his strength, he should have been able to withstand the first attack.
Before the Trident of Poseidon could strike, he had already completed the backhand parry with his sword.
But just as the trident and the rapier were about to clash, Ross's change of tactics caused his expression to change drastically:
"So fast!"
With a crisp 'snap', Shamrock's rapier—which he had used to parry—was caught by Ross's bare hands, which were imbued with Armament Haki.
Shamrock only had time to catch a glimpse of Ross's incredibly wicked smile before Ross pried his rapier away.
Slash!!!
The Trident of Poseidon slashed smoothly across his back. Even though he used Armament Haki to protect himself in time, he was still cut with a deep wound that reached his bone.
"Wuw!"
Shamrock coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body flying forward with tremendous force, kicking up a cloud of blood mist in the seawater.
"It's so crispy!"
Feeling bored, Ross opened his left palm—where he had clashed with the rapier—revealing a deep wound that reached the bone.
However, under the influence of seawater, it recovered at an incredible speed, and soon only a white mark remained.
Shamrock's strengths and weaknesses were too obvious. His swordsmanship was indeed good, but his strength was basically all in attack, while his defense was surprisingly poor.
This was a common weakness among swordsmen; offense was the best defense.
But against a well-rounded warrior like Ross, even if it meant trading blows, it was easy to wear him down.
Not to mention that in a seawater environment, Shamrock had no advantage whatsoever due to the combination of increased and decreased resources.
Whoosh!
Ross's speed in the seawater was almost instantaneous; he appeared behind Shamrock while Shamrock was still flying backward.
"Damn it..."
Shamrock, unwilling to accept defeat, swung his sword again.
His severe injuries and the high-pressure environment made his movements extremely slow.
Sizzle!
Sizzle!
Two sounds of swords piercing flesh rang out simultaneously in the sea.
The rapier struck Ross's chest, which was covered in Armament Haki and Tekkai, leaving a gash that looked shallow but cut deep.
At the same time, Shamrock's chest was slashed by the Trident of Poseidon, leaving him with another extremely deep wound, just like the one on his back.
"When your Armament Haki is applied to swords, it can't be applied to your body anymore?"
Seeing that Shamrock was badly injured, Ross, bored, grabbed Shamrock's rapier and forcibly took it from his hand.
Whoosh!
Ross held the rapier in his hand and stabbed it into Shamrock's abdomen.
Immediately afterwards, Shamrock felt a surge of force in his abdomen. Not only was his own rapier pierced through his abdomen, but the immense force also sent him flying.
And the direction of his trajectory was precisely the tree trunk where Chief Kurogar's corpse was still hanging not far away.
That big tree was one of the very few that had survived the aftershocks of the two men's attack; or rather, it was the very place Ross had marked as Shamrock's place of defeat from the very beginning.
"That's going too far. Figarland concedes."
However, just as Shamrock was about to crash into Chief Kurogar's corpse, a gloomy voice rang out.
In the blink of an eye, Garling appeared in the path of Shamrock's retreat. As soon as his tall and burly body appeared, he reached out and grabbed Shamrock.
[Figarland Garling]
[Overall Rating: S+]
Garling gave Ross a deep look, then picked up Shamrock and left.
After such a crushing defeat, anything you say was a joke.
This time they had underestimated Ross.
"Well done."
In the blink of an eye, Saint Saturn's figure also appeared in mid-air, nodding in approval at Ross.
"Tsk, so protective of his child?"
Ross chuckled, waved his hand to disperse the seawater, and his form returned to human shape.
The wounds on his chest and palms were almost healed; only his tattered suit proved that he had been injured.
"You might as well just kill him," Saint Saturn said calmly.
If Ross had just pierced Shamrock's chest with his sword, Garling would never have intervened.
But nailing Shamrock to the corpse of Chief Kurogar was something the Figarland family would absolutely not tolerate.
"I do hope there are more people like him. After all, as a member of the Celestial Dragons, I hope everyone will uphold the dignity of the Celestial Dragons."
Ross's voice was frivolous; he was saying this only to others.
In reality, he would love for the Celestial Dragons to be people who valued appearances over substance, as this would give him more room to maneuver.
"As long as you understand, let's go. Rest on the ship afterwards. Figarland will send over what he lost when we return to Mary Geoise."
Saturn glanced at Ross, said nothing more, and simply walked step by step toward the shore, leaning on his cane.
He looked like a hunched old man, but with each step he took, he covered dozens of meters and quickly disappeared from sight.
Ross's eyes flickered, and he waved to Gion, smiled, and followed.
In a few days, it would be harvest time.
So far, only one small prize had been won.
[A-Rank Defeat Completed!]
[Strength +100,000]
[Special Reward: Swordsmanship (B)]
Tigrana Island was not a large place. At Ross's leisurely pace, it only took him 10 minutes to reach the shore where the World Government's ships were docked.
Ross wasn't in a hurry after returning.
Now, only he and Shamrock had settled their score; there were still many slaves and pirates released by the World Government on the island, and the Celestial Hunt was far from over.
The Five Elders would announce the results only after all life on the island had been wiped out.
That would be the time to reap the rewards.
However, not everyone would wait. Just as Ross returned, Figarland's ship was already leaving.
It had to be said that, because of their 800 years of rule, the Celestial Dragons truly valued face above all else.
Upon returning, Ross leisurely boarded the World Government's flagship.
Saint Mars and Saint Saturn remained on the deck, sitting together at a table, drinking tea prepared by their attendants.
"Sit down with me. You've done a great job. Would you be interested in joining the Marcus family?"
Saint Mars was a very tall and thin old man with long white hair, a gray mustache, and a goatee that extended all the way to his upper chest.
He just sat there quietly, yet he exuded an aura of superiority.
"If I were to join the Marcus family, my grandfather would probably break my legs."
Ross made a joke and sat down next to the two of them without any hesitation.
[Saint Marcus Mars]
[Overall Rating: S+]
Another S+ rating, but it was to be expected.
If the combined strength and power of the Five Elders did not even qualify for S+, then the rest of the group were even less deserving.
...
30+ Advance chapters already live!
Read ahead instantly on P@treon/Ren_Saga