Smack!
As if gliding over the snow, each leap brought the figure closer, covering hundreds of meters toward Wapol and his men.
"What are you talking about?" Without a telescope, Crow Marrimon scratched his head in confusion.
Whoosh!
The figure streaked above them.
Liam used Geppo to rocket across the mountains at lightning speed. A winding, serpentine "White Dragon" trailed behind him, weaving through the blizzard.
"He's actually flying through the sky…"
The soldiers looked up in disbelief and could barely make out the figure surrounded by wisps of white smoke.
Snow fell on Liam and instantly melted from his body heat, sizzling as steam rose.
"It's Giorno! It really is him!"
Wapol was terrified beyond measure.
From high above, Liam looked down at the densely packed people on the snowy shoreline.
"What? Is that Giorno?!" Crow Marrimon fainted and collapsed into the snow.
"Is it too late to surrender now?" Jess gazed up at the figure, his trembling hands gripping the bow.
The patrolling residents lying in the snow could barely lift their heads. They saw a figure in the blizzard wreathed in white mist with an obscured face.
"Could it be a god?"
"Impossible! He left already! How is he here?!" Wapol staggered back, screaming hoarsely. "Shoot! Fire your guns! Everyone, fire at him!"
The soldiers, fearful of defying their king, aimed their guns at the figure in the sky and opened fire.
But it was useless. The hail of bullets and gunfire had no effect.
Liam floated like paper in the wind.
His Kenbunshoku Haki swept the battlefield, revealing 336 people on the ground.
Whiz! Whiz! Whiz! Whiz! Countless bullets flew past, not touching him at all.
Twenty-four of those who fell were ordinary residents knocked down by Wapol's forces during the shore patrol.
As he descended, Liam struck back instantly, slashing the remaining 312 with dozens of Rankyaku.
"Ah."
Wapol, Jess, and Crow Marrimon looked up in shock as they watched the flying slashes scatter the hail of bullets and enlarge in their vision.
Dozens of Rankyaku strikes rained down like a hurricane, engulfing Wapol and his men in snow.
Screams echoed in the icy wind as hot blood splattered and melted the snow.
Bang!
Liam landed on his feet, but a massive, gaping mouth emerged beside him and snapped shut over his head.
"Die, you damn pirate!" Having eaten the Munch-Munch Fruit, I'll never let go! Become my food and be digested!"
Wapol roared in his heart. But after biting down on Liam's upper body, Wapol's expression slowly froze.
"..."
Covered in blood, with bulging veins in his eyes, Wapol was horrified to discover that, no matter how hard he tried, he could not bite through the flesh in his mouth.
After all, with the Munch-Munch Fruit, he could chew through steel as if it were chocolate.
A depressed voice sounded in his mouth: "You dare eat everything... aren't you afraid of breaking your teeth?"
Bang!
Pain shot through Wapol's mouth. His massive jaws were forced wide open and his lower jaw was dislocated.
Looking down, he saw the edge of Liam's form, the upper half of his body was completely blackened!
What is this? Why can't my Munch-Munch Fruit devour him?!
......
Shh—
When Dalton, in his black buffalo incarnation, raised a wave of snow and charged forward, he saw an astonishing scene: hundreds of people sprawled across the snow, melded into a bloody mess. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they were all soldiers captured by Wapol. Meanwhile, the residents patrolling the coast, like Dalton, either supported each other or knelt in the blood. They were all distracted by the figure at the center.
In the middle of the crowd, Liam held Wapol like a rag doll in his right hand.
His left arm was buried deep in Wapol's chest.
"Chopper, N... Giorno..." Dalton stood upright and returned to his human form, shocked. "How...how are you here...and Wapol..."
"Oh, it's you," Liam said, stirring within Wapol's body with his left hand.
At that moment, there was the sound of arrows cutting through the air!
The injured patrolling residents gasped as three massive crossbow bolts streaked through the cold wind, aimed at Liam's back.
"Huff... huff... Just as I hoped. The moment you let your guard down..." Jess, covered in blood among hundreds of fallen soldiers, fired three arrows at Liam. "Don't underestimate us, asshole pirate!"
But he was horrified to see the three heavy bolts slow mid-flight and hover just behind Giorno's head until they stopped completely.
"Impossible…" Jess's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Archery..." Liam murmured without turning. "I kind of missed this."
As if controlled by invisible hands, the three arrows subtly changed direction, and whiz, whiz, whiz, they shot off at an even greater speed toward another target.
"Ah..." Jess froze, clutching his throat. His specially reinforced metal bow moved on its own, coiling around his neck like a metallic serpent and tightening. His face flushed, his knees buckled, and he collapsed into the blood.
The three arrows, now manipulated by Liam's Magnet-Magnet Fruit, struck Crow Marrimon as he tried to get up, pinning him back down in the snow and blood.
The patrolling residents watched in shock. The once powerful and unstoppable Wapol and his two ministers appeared completely powerless against this pirate.
Wapol resembled a dead dog held in Liam's hand; it was unclear if he was even alive.
"Coming to protect your king again?" Liam pulled out his left arm adorned with blue-flame-patterned armor and holding a triangular chip invisible to the others. He laughed and tossed the limp Wapol toward Dalton. "Here, you can have him back."
"No, I'm not, " Dalton didn't have time to finish before Wapol landed in his arms.
Wapol reached out and whined as his last breaths left him and his neck slumped.
"Played to death," Liam muttered, weighing the Munch-Munch Fruit chip in his hand. "Sorry. You're kingless now."
Dalton trembled. Memories of the past two months flashed before his eyes. Suddenly, he understood why, despite his overwhelming power, Giorno didn't simply fly straight to the mountain palace to kill Wapol, but instead made such a show of threatening him in multiple towns.
Giorno wasn't here to kill Wapol; he was here to end the reign of the King of this country!
"You…" Dalton opened his mouth, but words choked him. Finally, he stared deeply at the man opposite him. "What will become of this country now that it has no king?"
Liam held the Munch-Munch Fruit chip and laughed. "Does there really need to be a king? Haha…"
Dalton was stunned.
Just as he was about to speak, Whiz, Giorno, became a shadow and streaked skyward.
Dalton and the others looked up and saw the towering figure stomping through the air with explosive PAH sounds before disappearing into the blizzard.
......
When Liam returned, he found that his floral milk tea had gone cold.
"It's not my fault. It's the weather here," he said, shaking his head. Opening his abyssal mouth, he tossed the cup and tea inside. "Hmm...so that's the taste..."
"..." Chopper, who was studying medical books nearby, gaped in shock as he watched Giorno chew with a creaking sound.
Giorno looked at him.
Chopper shivered and screamed as he ducked behind Robin.
Robin gently chuckled.
(End of chapter.)
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