As soon as "Divine Fear" was unleashed, Lin Muxue and the others' expressions changed drastically. The name "Divine Fear" implied that even gods would tremble before it.
However, no one thought it was an exaggeration or arrogance. This punch was fully deserving of such a title.
Lin Muxue and the other prodigies immediately launched their strongest counterattacks upward.
"Ten Million Volts! Thunderbird!"
"Fire Breath!!"
"Shockwave Thunder!"
...
Countless attacks of various elements surged upward. After transforming into their Zoan forms, they roared and unleashed their assaults. In an instant, eighty powerful attacks erupted simultaneously, colliding with each other.
BOOM!!
A deafening explosion erupted, forcing those watching the live stream to quickly lower the volume, as the noise was causing their ears to ring.
As the explosions continued, everyone's eyes were fixed on the scene. One punch against eighty powerful attacks—who would emerge victorious?
Many thought that even though Ye Yu's punch was terrifying, facing eighty attacks would at best result in a stalemate.
However, the shockwave surged downward, and the eighty attacks began to crumble one after another, leaving everyone wide-eyed.
Crack, crack...
"Ah!"
As the attacks shattered, those who had leaped up in their Zoan forms all fell back down. The residual force of Ye Yu's punch continued to surge downward, causing another explosion.
Immediately, Lin Muxue and the other prodigies went all out to defend themselves, as there was no time to dodge or retreat.
Even though they managed to neutralize a significant portion of the attack, everyone still felt an overwhelming pressure.
BOOM!!
With a loud roar, the ground exploded, boiling and sending debris flying everywhere. The ground was upheaved on a massive scale.
Wide cracks spread across the island, with the longest one stretching five hundred meters. One-fifth of the island was now covered in fissures.
It's worth noting that this island was a thousand square kilometers in size, equivalent to a small city. And this was after Lin Muxue and the other prodigies had combined their strength to neutralize much of the punch's power.
Those watching the live stream were wide-eyed, staring intently at the screen. The scene was filled with flying debris and dust, making it difficult to see clearly.
Soon, as the dust settled, everyone's eyes widened. Below Ye Yu, a massive crater had formed, with a diameter of one hundred meters and a depth of fifty meters.
Ye Yu stood at the edge of the crater, looking down with disdain.
At the bottom of the crater were Lin Muxue and the other eighty strong individuals, all in a sorry state. Some were kneeling on one knee, blood streaming from their foreheads, their faces twisted in pain. Others were lying on the ground, their bodies broken in multiple places, unable to stand due to the intense pain. The weaker ones had been killed outright by the punch, their lifeless bodies lying still.
Not a single person at the bottom of the crater remained standing.
The world was in shock. The power of this punch was truly terrifying.
"It's even stronger than his swordsmanship..."
"Unbelievable..."
"Among the Non-Ability Users in the Contract, there must be Giants."
"There must also be martial arts experts, combining the strength of Giants, martial arts, Armament Haki, and Conqueror's Haki."
"It's the combination of all these factors that made this punch so powerful, truly deserving of the name 'Divine Fear.'"
...
At the bottom of the crater, Lin Muxue and the others wore grave expressions. They hadn't expected that even with eighty of them combined, they would still be at a disadvantage.
If they had faced Ye Yu using his swordsmanship, they might have had the upper hand. But Ye Yu had kept his trump card hidden—his martial arts were his true strength.
At this moment, the Combat Crew members looked equally grim.
"Captain, are you alright?"
They were not only worried but also aware that they needed help. If the Captain and the others fell, they would be doomed as well.
Lin Muxue shouted, "It's fine! Hold on!"
The combat crew initially held onto hope, thinking that if they persevered, no matter how difficult it was, once Ye Yu was defeated, things would become easier. But now, with a single punch from Ye Yu, Lin Muxue and eighty other prodigies were sent crashing into the depths of a pit, and no one had managed to climb back up for quite some time. This made them extremely worried. If they couldn't quickly defeat Ye Yu, what would they do? For a moment, they all considered surrendering, their thoughts swirling in chaos.
"Captain, keep it up! We can't hold on much longer. If this continues, the casualties will only increase. Even if we win, it won't be worth it."
Lin Muxue and the others wore heavy expressions. Indeed, even if they won, even if the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew's forces were divided and joined them, it still wouldn't be worth it. The casualties couldn't grow any larger.
Ye Ming spoke gravely, "If we continue, the casualties will only increase. The more forces we send to deal with Ye Yu, the harder the other battles will become. Besides, I can't hold on much longer. I think we should surrender."
Hearing this, Lin Muxue was furious and humiliated.
"What are you saying? Surrender? Impossible!"
Jin Mo was also furious, "That's right, we can't surrender."
"But if we keep fighting, even if we win, it won't be worth it. Not to mention, it's uncertain whether we can even win."
These words caused even more people to waver.
Wang Quanshi calmed down and reminded them, "So what if we lose face? If this battle results in even greater losses, it will be hard for us to recover afterward. Don't let personal grudges and the desire for revenge make us abandon our future. There's still a long road ahead, many Mystic Realms to explore, the ultimate treasure to find, and the rankings to climb. We aim to become one of the Four Emperors, or even the One King Pirate Crew. If you want to keep fighting, then go ahead. But my Azure Dragon Pirates won't continue. We'll surrender and accept the shame."
Jin Mo was furious, "Why are you being so cowardly? Hold on, we can win!"
Wang Quanshi laughed, "Win? Hah, every part of the battlefield is at a disadvantage for us. Sure, defeating Ye Yu could turn things around, but can we defeat him? Eighty of us against him alone, and we're still at a disadvantage. As for sending more forces to support? Impossible. If we dare to suggest that, morale will definitely hit rock bottom, and many will quit. Their patience has limits. Once someone gets so angry they choose to quit, it will inevitably trigger a domino effect, with more people giving up. That would be even worse."
Although Song Ling was furious and eager to avenge the humiliation, she knew it would be difficult this time.
"Sigh, even though defeating Ye Yu would mean victory, and with over two hundred thousand forces, we could break through like a hot knife through butter, Ye Yu is just too strong. Right now, he doesn't even look very tired. His condition is better than ours. Let's surrender and accept the shame once more."
Jin Mo's expression darkened, and he fell silent. He had initially been certain of avenging the humiliation, but now things had turned out this way.
Lin Muxue also knew they had no choice but to surrender. Morale was already gone, and she regretted joining this battle. No one could have imagined that the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew's overall strength would be so formidable, strong enough to stand against the alliance of the four major pirate crews.
Lin Muxue was furious, mainly because Ye Yu was just too monstrous. After a brief moment of regret, she vowed that after this, she would push herself even harder, level up, and defeat Ye Yu in the one-on-one arena battle a month and a half later to gain rich experience.
Soon, they made their decision.
Lin Muxue and the others stood up, humiliated, and spoke with difficulty.
"Ye Yu, let's talk this over."
Ye Yu crossed his arms and looked down at Lin Muxue and the others at the bottom of the pit. He had already guessed their intentions and said with interest, "Go on, speak."
Lin Muxue, struggling with humiliation, said, "We surrender and admit defeat."
Above, after a brief pause, Ye Yu asked, "That's it? Nothing else?"