Cross was furious.
The throbbing pain in his chest was a constant reminder.
This arrogant fool had thrown the entire situation into chaos and nearly caused his protection mission to fail. Most importantly, the nearly one thousand flying Enliven creatures he'd left in Doma City were now almost all gone.
He didn't even need to think to know that only this flying bastard had the ability to pursue them in the air and wantonly slaughter his "little darlings." And just like that, the air force was wiped out at the very start of the decisive battle.
Thinking of this, Cross's face darkened. He almost wanted to clutch his heart and scream, "My heart aches so much!"
"Kill me?"
In the sky, Mankervis's gaze shifted to Cross, a cold glint in his golden vertical pupils. He said with a sinister tone, "I wonder who was the one who fled from the palace in such a sorry state before!"
"Hmph~"
Cross sneered, remaining silent. He abruptly stomped his foot on the ground with a "thump." His shadow immediately emerged from behind him, transforming into a pitch-black long spear that rapidly stretched upwards. Like a black bolt of lightning, it shot straight towards Mankervis in the sky.
"Spiky Shadow Lizard!!"
Unfortunately, Mankervis was already on guard. He narrowly avoided Scáthach's attack and flew down, pouncing on Cross.
Clang—!Boom—!
Cross swung his blade, clashing with the lion's claw of the opponent's front foot. The immense force immediately shattered the ground beneath his feet, unleashing a chaotic, powerful gust of air that even kicked up the surrounding dust into a choking mist.
Mankervis's attack failed. He immediately landed on the ground, his tail lashing out like a whip at Cross. It moved so fast that it produced a "whoosh" sound, leaving a golden afterimage in the air.
Thump—!
Cross had no time to react. He was struck hard by the whip, sent flying several meters, and landed heavily on the ground with a "thud," spitting out a large mouthful of fresh blood that stained the dirt.
"Hahaha~ Got him!" Mankervis roared with laughter and quickly rushed forward, but still cautiously used his stiffened Mushussu tail, thrusting it at Cross like a spear.
"Enliven: Inorganic Reincarnation!!!"
Almost simultaneously, the ground violently "rumbled," and large amounts of mud and rocks surged upwards. Controlled by an invisible force, they formed massive tentacles resembling giant octopuses, dancing like living creatures as they wrapped around Mankervis.
"Nani—?!"
Mankervis was somewhat dazed. He hadn't expected seven or eight enormous mud-and-rock tentacles to emerge from the ground, surrounding him. The nearest ten-meter-long mud-and-rock tentacle was already sweeping towards him with powerful winds.
Boom, boom, boom, boom...
Caught off guard, Mankervis was immediately sent flying by one of the mud-and-rock tentacles. The surrounding mud-and-rock tentacles acted like a relay, either batting him into the air or knocking him to the ground, treating him like a baseball to be struck in turn.
"Cough cough cough~"
Cross's expression was pained yet triumphant. He clutched his agonizing chest with one hand, and slowly rose to his feet with the other, swearing, "Damn it, that tail hurts like hell when it hits! Even Armament Haki couldn't completely defend against it!"
He looked down at his chest, where a swollen red mark was very noticeable. The claw marks, which had been stitched up and stopped bleeding, began to ooze blood again.
Meanwhile, Mankervis was being batted back and forth like a baseball, but his sturdy body hadn't suffered much damage. Instead, it ignited his fury.
Rumble—!
The next second, his sharp claws almost tore through the air, directly snapping three mud-and-rock tentacles in half.
Seizing a moment to breathe, Mankervis immediately floated in mid-air, adjusting his body posture. His tail instantly transformed into a sky full of golden lightning, striking in all directions.
"Mushussu Thunderstorm!!!"
One by one, the ten-meter-long mud-and-rock tentacles were shattered by the golden lightning, emitting violent "rumbling" sounds. Dirt and shattered rocks showered down everywhere, and choking dust floated in the air, spreading like mist.
"Brick Bats!"
Just then, countless shadow bats flew over, forming a massive swarm that engulfed Mankervis.
"It's useless! These petty tricks are nothing to me!"
Mankervis shouted emotionally, charging forward in mid-air, heading straight for Cross, completely ignoring the hundreds of shadow bats harassing him.
Cross wore a disdainful expression, a slight smirk on his lips. He softly said, "Seal him, Shadow Box!"
As soon as he finished speaking, countless shadow bats quickly clung to Mankervis's body, rapidly merging together to form a black cube, like a large box, trapping him inside.
The next second, Cross's expression turned fierce. He sheathed Shusui at his waist, then grasped the sheath with his left hand and Shusui's hilt with his right, adopting an Iaido stance.
"One-Sword Style, Iaido: Morozan!!!"
Clang—!
The black blade was drawn, flashing through the air like a black bolt of lightning in an instant, as if even the air itself had been bisected. It fiercely struck the Mushussu that had just torn through the "shadow" and escaped.
Whoosh—!
With a "hiss," the golden scales on the Mushussu's back were torn, and crimson blood sprayed out. The intense pain made this esteemed Marquis cry out in agony.
"Ahhh—!"
Rumble—!
At the same time, the ground behind Mankervis was also split in two, a deep, hundred-meter-long fissure tearing through the ruined buildings. The fierce winds stirred by this even nearly extinguished the roaring fires within the buildings.
"Huff... huff..."
Cross's face showed a hint of fatigue. He panted heavily, dense beads of sweat appearing on his smooth forehead. He had put all his strength into that strike, finally tearing through the opponent's scales and heavily wounding him.
"You bastard..."
Mankervis cursed furiously, but then powerlessly fell from mid-air to the ground with a "thump," raising a smoke column several meters high.
"Roar—!"
A majestic bronze griffon descended from the sky, extending its sharp claws towards Mankervis on the ground, intending to pierce his body.
However, at the crucial moment, the scorpion-like tail, like a long spear, pierced through the air with a "whoosh," directly stabbing into the bronze griffon's abdomen. It easily penetrated its metal body as if cutting through tofu.
Boom—!
Then, the Mushussu's tail swung casually, heavily smashing the bronze griffon onto the ground. The terrifying force instantly shattered its metal body.
Flying Enliven Creature -1.
"He's still not dead, as expected!"
Seeing this, Cross's eyes narrowed slightly, and his facial muscles involuntarily twitched. He gripped Shusui tightly and quickly rushed forward, bringing his blade down on Mankervis, who lay on the ground.
Mankervis lifted his head, his golden vertical pupils suddenly contracting to pinpricks as he rapidly transformed from his beast form into his human-beast hybrid form.
His body was now sleek and agile like a cheetah, his half-snake, half-human head topped with a pair of horns. His arms were as thick as a wild beast's, covered in long, golden fur. His legs were slender eagle legs with sharp talons, and his entire body was covered in fine golden snake scales, like a suit of scale armor. A scorpion-like tail gently swayed from his tailbone. However, a gruesome, bone-deep wound on his back was still continuously gushing fresh blood.
"Die, One-Sword Style: Mikazuki!!!" (Crescent Moon)
"You bastard! Mushussu: Lion's Fist!!!"
Boom—!
A tremendous roar sounded again, stirring up a visible circular shockwave that swept outwards in all directions.
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