The humanoid beast stood over five meters tall, with three prominent blue-white bone spikes protruding from its back. Its fierce and brutal aura was chilling.
"Is your only skill bullying the weak, you bastard?" The beast glared at Elroy, letting out a roar.
"Heeheehee… Vito, without that sissy [referring to Pica] and that savage [referring to Diamante] to help you, you think you can stand here and talk to me, you lizard freak?" Elroy narrowed his eyes, mocking him.
"You're so rude, giving people nicknames. But I guess it can't be helped, you're a veteran, a great pirate with a bounty of 530 million berries. We rookies just can't compare," Vito said nonchalantly, flicking his tail.
During the Battle of Amott Valley, Vito had fought Elroy. Although he could barely keep up with his speed, and only because the man wasn't moving at full speed, there was still a significant gap between their strengths.
If Pica and Diamante, who had crowd control abilities, hadn't been there to rescue him in time, he would have been severely injured or killed. It was after that battle that Vito, Pica, and Diamante formed the "Iron Triangle" specifically to counter Elroy.
Of course, this wasn't because Elroy was so powerful that it required a pirate captain and two of the highest-ranking executives of the Donquixote Family to fight him.
Although Elroy was the strongest on the Aznat battlefield, he was only slightly stronger than Pica and the others. Normally, the combined efforts of Vito and Pica or Diamante would be enough to defeat him.
However, Elroy was a user of the Speed-Speed Fruit, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit, and his speed was astonishing. Whether in swordsmanship or movement, in the Marines, only Admiral Kizaru could barely keep up with him.
So, no matter how strong they were, they couldn't win if they couldn't hit him.
Elroy was also clever. Since Vito and the others had targeted him, he used his speed to run all over the battlefield, causing chaos and single-handedly changing the tide of the war.
This was the reason the Garfield Pirates were able to hold on for so long while being cornered by both the Chris Pirates and the Donquixote Family.
Boom!
Suddenly, Elroy leaped backward. In the next moment, the ground he was just on erupted, and a sharp, two-meter-long stone pillar shot out.
"Heeheehee… That was close! That sissy is as underhanded as ever," Elroy said without changing his expression, continuing his mockery.
"Elroy, you bastard!" a sharp, enraged voice shrieked. A figure in golden armor, wearing a helmet with a cross-shaped visor, emerged from underground. It was Pica, holding a giant nodachi.
"Heeheehee… Two of you have come. It looks like the savage will be here soon too. I'm not playing with you anymore. Bye-bye!" Elroy said with a strange laugh, his body blurring and instantly reappearing a hundred meters away. A moment later, he vanished into the distance.
"Bastard!" Pica yelled in his shrill voice, about to give chase.
"Wait, Pica," Vito said, holding him back. He then reverted to his human form. "Calm down. Let's find Diamante first."
Pica calmed down after being held back by Vito. He could only defend himself against Elroy on his own.
The soldiers on the battlefield, seeing Vito and Pica arrive and Elroy leave, stopped running.
"Hmph, a bunch of weaklings," Pica said, taking out his anger on the enemy supply troops. He let out a furious roar and stomped the ground. "Die! Charlestone!"
Instantly, over a dozen enormous, sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground, sending soldiers flying. The enemy ranks suffered huge casualties. The supply soldiers of the Barrid Kingdom couldn't withstand Pica's furious attack. They quickly suffered heavy losses and scattered, running for their lives.
At the same time, the mercenaries who had stopped running used this opportunity to fight back.
They hadn't run for two reasons.
First, they were mercenaries hired by the Chris Pirates or the Donquixote Family and knew Vito and Pica. If they had continued to run, Pica might have killed them in his fury.
The second reason was their agreement: any captured spoils were theirs. This large shipment of military supplies would sell for a lot of money to the Dunlite Kingdom, so they weren't about to run away.
Before long, the Barrid Kingdom's convoy was completely wiped out. All three thousand eight hundred people were killed; no prisoners were taken. This was a deliberate choice by the mercenaries.
Just then, Diamante, with his thin, long legs, ran over and joined Vito and Pica.
On a small hill nearby, the three of them, Vito, Pica, and Diamante, sat down.
"...According to the latest intelligence, the Garfield Pirates are running out of resources," Vito said, looking at Pica and Diamante. "Captain Aeridar has instructed us to ramp up our attacks on the Garfield Pirates, hopefully dealing them a decisive blow."
"Doffy also called me on my way over and mentioned this," Diamante said, nodding.
"This is great! I'm going to flay those brats in the Garfield Pirates!" Pica cheered excitedly. Whenever he showed up on the battlefield, the Garfield Pirates would relentlessly mock him, which always made him furious.
"But the problem now is if we can't stop Elroy, even if we deal a serious blow to the Garfield Pirates, we'll still suffer heavy losses because of his speed and strength. We'd be hurting ourselves to hurt the enemy, and you don't want that, do you?" Vito said, his face solemn as he mentioned Elroy. He was well aware of the advantages of Elroy's speed. He just hadn't had his Mythical Zoan ability for very long and was still a big step behind Elroy in terms of power.
"Doffy said that as long as we can guarantee a decisive blow to the Garfield Pirates, he will come in person!" Diamante exclaimed with a strange cry, flailing his arms.
"Oh, that's the best news I've heard in a long time. Hehehehe…" Vito's eyebrows rose as he let out a chuckle.
The Heavenly Yaksha, Doflamingo, could fly, so he could definitely keep an eye on Elroy and stop that guy from running wild.
"That's amazing! With Doffy here, we can kill all those bastards!" Pica exclaimed happily.
"Then let's go back and prepare. We're getting ready for a big battle," Vito said, a cold smile forming on his lips. "Another great victory, no less significant than the Battle of Amott Valley!"