Armament Haki attacks had no effect; even when the head was shattered, the opponent's body could still move.
But once Nereus switched to attacks infused with Conqueror's Haki, the situation changed.
The Celestial Dragon of the Manmayer Family did not continue moving freely after losing her head like before, but instead collapsed straight to the ground.
Still, Nereus could sense that the headless corpse in front of him was still alive, only that its self-regeneration had slowed significantly.
The Manmayer Family Celestial Dragon, who had previously completed full regeneration in just three seconds, took a full thirty seconds this time before the lost head began to regenerate.
Moreover, the regeneration was no longer instantaneous as before, but proceeded slowly.
"No problem. Conqueror's Haki can suppress the regeneration of this ability. In theory, the stronger the Conqueror's Haki, the stronger the suppression, and the slower her regeneration should be.
This level isn't enough yet. Let's increase it and try again."
Thinking this, Nereus did not continue attacking, but instead waited for the opponent to finish regenerating herself.
"You b*stard… are you treating me like a toy?!"
Although her regenerative ability had not been completely negated, compared to the initial attacks, the regeneration speed had clearly slowed.
And she could very clearly sense that the quality of the Haki contained within his attacks was steadily increasing.
Over the long time, the Celestial Dragons had long developed an ingrained arrogance, and the Knights of God were no exception. They were the most arrogant among the Celestial Dragons.
It was only because their minds hadn't deteriorated yet that they haven't degenerated into low-intelligence creatures.
After being toyed with like this, resentment and rage had already filled her heart, but if emotions alone could change everything, the Celestial Dragons would have been the first group to go extinct from the world.
"Didn't I say earlier that this was just some simple testing?"
"You—"
Boom!
Another powerful straight punch slammed out, this time far stronger than the previous ones. The upper body of this Manmayer Family Celestial Dragon was blown apart, and even a trench was carved into the ground behind her.
"Sure enough, sufficiently strong Conqueror's Haki can suppress the speed of the regeneration. But that alone isn't enough to truly kill these people. Could it be that… relying on Haki alone would require strength on the level of Joy Boy?"
"The regenerative abilities possessed by different Celestial Dragons should also be different, so I cannot rely on this single person alone for comparative experiments."
Nereus still remembered the Haki that Joy Boy had sealed within the rope on the robot Emet in the original timeline.
Even after several hundred years, this sealed Haki from Egghead could still terrify Imu, far away in Mariejois, into kneeling and screaming.
Although Joy Boy ultimately failed in terms of results, there was no doubt that he had left Imu with an indelible memory.
Moreover, when Joy Boy's Haki was released back then, it directly disrupted the Five Elders' teleportation ability.
According to Nereus's own speculation, the source of those abilities all lay with Imu. Since Joy Boy's Haki could destroy that mysterious teleportation, then in theory it could also completely shatter this kind of immortality.
After all, that person once said, "People Die if They are Killed." The same applies to Celestial Dragons. Being unable to kill them simply means the method hasn't been found yet. As long as the method is correct, the goal can naturally be achieved.
Otherwise, Celestial Dragons wouldn't need to fear anything at all.
Nereus's attack this time caused the opponent's regeneration speed to become extremely slow. In the short term, she would have no chance of interfering in the events at God Valley.
After gaining a rough understanding of the regenerative trait of these Celestial Dragons, Nereus did not waste any more time on her, and instead turned toward the forested mountains nearby.
After he had intercepted that Celestial Dragon earlier, some people had fled in this direction.
Getting these people safely out of God Valley would not be easy. Marine warships and pirate ships surrounded the area on all sides, but if Nereus personally escorted them by ship, there would basically be no problem.
But he still had things to do right now and no time for this, and letting these people hide on the island wasn't a good option either.
Just then, Nereus keenly sensed that something seemed to be flying away from this place at high speed in the sky.
"If you don't want to die here, follow me."
Calling out to the people on the island, Nereus headed off in another direction.
The native residents of God Valley and the slaves who had been escorted here looked at one another, seemingly unsure of what to do, but in the end they still followed him.
In this environment, he seemed to be their only lifeline.
Meanwhile, deep in the forests of God Valley.
A bald boy with a fairly large build but a childish expression was continuously swinging his palms.
Each time the fleshy pads in his palms touched someone, that person vanished into thin air.
Taking advantage of the earlier chaos, Kuma and Ivankov had successfully stolen the Devil Fruits prepared by the Celestial Dragons. Although some mishaps meant they only managed to eat one fruit, they had gained a chance to escape.
At this moment, Kuma, who had eaten the Paw-Paw Fruit, was sending people away from this place one by one.
"Thank you so much!"
"We were already waiting to die. Thanks to you…"
"Alright, no need for thanks. Hurry up."
Bang… bang… bang…
The Paw-Paw Fruit's ability activated, and one person after another was sent away with Kuma's help. In the desperate situation of God Valley, sounds of laughter seemed to bloom silently.
Countless people who had been drowning in despair regained hope.
Rustle…
"Oh no! We've been discovered! Kuma, faster!"
A noise came from the nearby forest, causing the crowd, who had just relaxed, to tense up once again, and the relatively orderly line began to fall into chaos.
"Don't panic. I'm not a Marine or a Celestial Dragon. Can you help send more people away?"
Nereus's voice spread across the area, carrying a faint trace of Haki that stabilized the panicking crowd.
Behind Nereus were quite a few people scattered about. Ordinary civilians he had rescued along the way.
"Alright, no problem. Please wait a moment. I'll send everyone away!"
Seeing that the newcomer wasn't an enemy, Kuma also sighed in relief, wiped the sweat on his forehead caused by continuously using his ability and the added tension, and decisively agreed.
Saving one more person was saving one more life; that was all Kuma was thinking at that moment.
"L-Lord Nereus!! You're Lord Nereus, right?! I'm… never mind, you definitely wouldn't know my name, but being able to see you is really wonderful…"
At that moment, a Fish-Man suddenly squeezed out from the crowd beside Kuma. It was the shark Fish-Man who had previously told Kuma about Nereus's reputation.
Seeing Nereus appear, he seemed at a loss for words, stepping out of the crowd in excitement.
"It's me. Don't worry, you're safe now. I'll take you home."
"Yes!!"
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