"Oh, damn it, get out of my shadow!"
Mankervis, filled with shock and rage, instinctively whipped his tail at the shadow on the ground without a second thought.
Boom—
His scorpion-tail-like appendage, like a steel whip, carried immense force, instantly smashing the section of the castle rooftop. Numerous cracks appeared, rapidly spreading in all directions with crunching sounds. The next second, with a thundering boom, this entire section of the castle roof, spanning two hundred square meters, completely shattered, collapsing into countless fragments.
"Did a fortress cannon hit this place?"
Cross's face was astonished. He watched as the roof beneath his feet crumbled and collapsed, sending him plummeting. An intense sense of freefall immediately enveloped him.
Rumble, rumble—
Large quantities of debris rained down, blocking the rooms and passages below, kicking up towering clouds of dust.
"Aaah—!"
"Help... help me...!"
At this moment, Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna were also falling with the deluge of rubble, their terrified screams almost rupturing eardrums.
"Geppo!"
Cross snapped back to reality, immediately adjusting his balance mid-air, then walking on invisible steps in the air. Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna were ordinary people; falling from such a height onto a pile of rubble would surely be life-threatening.
"You still want to save people? Get down here first!"
Suddenly, Marquis Mankervis ran through the air, as if on solid ground, and slammed into Cross like a cannonball.
Boom—!
Cross only had time to turn his body, holding Shusui horizontally in front of his chest. Then, he felt an irresistible, terrifying force assault him, like being hit by a speeding Sea Train. Mid-air, a visible ring of strong wind expanded. Cross felt half his body go numb, completely losing control, and was sent flying backward like a cannonball, smashing heavily into the ground.
Boom—!
A thunderous roar. A crater over five meters in diameter appeared almost out of nowhere, filled with spiderweb-like cracks. Then, a violent surge of air, like a shockwave, mixed with hazy dust, swept out in all directions with a roaring sound. Especially in the narrow castle corridors and rooms, everything and everyone was blown off the ground. Even Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna tumbled several times in mid-air.
Fortunately, Scáthach timely detached herself from Marquis Mankervis's shadow, transforming into a graceful female figure. She caught Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna one after another in mid-air, bringing them safely to the ground.
"Roar—!"
Suddenly, a massive Carnotaurus roared as it charged over, its eyes cold, like a large battering ram.
To the horror of Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna, it bit off Scáthach's upper body in one gulp. But the next moment, a large quantity of shadow seeped out from between Viscount Solmen's teeth, flowing like black water, rapidly merging with Scáthach's lower body, restoring her to her original form.
"Logia?!"
Viscount Solmen was somewhat stunned, never expecting this black figure to be immune to physical attacks.
Immediately afterward, Scáthach lunged forward, delivering an uppercut that struck the opponent's chin with a thud. A ring of wind exploded, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Instantly, Viscount Solmen felt an intense pain in his jaw, his brain buzzing, his thoughts blank. Even his massive Carnotaurus body was lifted into the air, falling backward heavily onto the ground a few meters away, making the ground shake.
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
Marquis Mankervis, who had just arrived, saw this scene, his eyes almost popping out. How could a mere shadow possess such immense strength?
Hum—!
Suddenly, a soft hum, like the trembling of a sword. Marquis Mankervis sharply turned his head, only to see a dark blade light streaking through the air, its sharpness almost making him tremble all over.
"One-Sword Style: Iaido: Morozan!!!"
"Mushussu's Assault!!!"
Clang—!
The scorpion-like Mushussu's tail, like a golden lightning bolt, instantly collided with the dark, sharp blade light, creating a loud metallic clang in the void. Dazzling sparks flew, and a visible wave of strong wind rippled through the air, expanding outwards in a spherical shape. Then, chaotic airflow suddenly erupted, sweeping like a gale, creating a rumbling thunderous sound that ravaged the surrounding area.
"Huff... huff..."
Cross panted heavily, his face pale, his chest heaving, staring intently at Marquis Mankervis on the ground.
Splish—!
Suddenly, a soft sound. The clothing on Cross's chest inexplicably tore open, along with the skin and muscle beneath, revealing four wounds, as if clawed by some fierce beast. Large gushes of blood gushed out like a spring, instantly staining his chest red.
At the same time, Marquis Mankervis grunted. The sturdy snake scales and tough muscle tissue on his back also inexplicably split open, forming a deep, nearly meter-long wound, as if cut by an invisible sharp blade.
It turned out that just now, Marquis Mankervis's hastily launched Mushussu's Assault couldn't block Cross's charged Iaido slash, resulting in a direct cut. However, Marquis Mankervis was not to be outdone. Relying on his powerful Mushussu's body, he endured the severe pain and struck Cross's chest with his lion-paw-like forelimbs.
What Cross hadn't expected was that the Armament Haki covering his chest couldn't withstand the opponent's lion claws, being directly torn into four wounds.
"So this is the 'extreme destructive power' Countess Shanna mentioned... A bloody lesson indeed!" Cross muttered to himself, beginning to activate the Life Return he had only learned less than half a month ago, trying to control the muscle tissue in his chest to close the wounds.
Bang—!
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out, incredibly clear amidst the current cacophony. A lead bullet flew from an unknown direction, piercing through Scáthach's body and embedding itself in Duke Attawa's chest, who was behind her.
"Ugh... ugh..."
Duke Attawa looked down in disbelief at the horrifying, bleeding hole in his chest. He felt all his strength rapidly draining away, making his limbs weak as he slowly collapsed to his knees.
"A-Aniki..."
Countess Shanna's face turned ghostly pale as she stared almost blankly at Duke Attawa, who had suddenly been shot beside her.
"Hohoho... cough, cough..."
A chilling, eerie laugh mixed with painful coughs echoed from behind a load-bearing pillar in the corridor.
"Who's there—?!"
Cross gnashed his teeth, his face contorted. All his anger flared up like a raging fire. He roared, "You bastard, get out here!"
"That shot was pretty good, wasn't it... cough, cough, cough... Marquis, I just solved a problem for you... Hohoho, cough, cough, cough..."
Siren emerged from behind the load-bearing pillar, his expression distorted, his steps stumbling and slow. He held a flintlock pistol in his right hand, and his abdomen was wrapped in a large amount of white bandages. His face was pale from excessive blood loss, and blood seeped through the bandages wrapped around his abdomen, staining them red.
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