The Shadow Horn Spears, like black serpents, pursued Zatmoro, harassing him until he was flustered and disheveled. Moria seized the opportunity, slashing out with his scissors and sending Zatmoro flying. He crashed to the ground, skidding for several dozen meters.
Moria pressed his advantage, and countless Shadow Horn Spears shot towards Zatmoro, engulfing him. Zatmoro gritted his teeth and scrambled up, dodging the Shadow Horn Spears as they blasted the ground around him. He tumbled and rolled, desperately evading the attacks. But ultimately, one Shadow Horn Spear pierced through his thigh. Blood splattered. This time, he hadn't used his ability to transform into a dream state.
Following that, more Shadow Horn Spears erupted from the ground, hovering in the air, all aimed at Zatmoro. "You've lost," Moria said, a mocking smile on his face.
Zatmoro's expression was ugly. His body twitched, and in that instant, the Shadow Horn Spears shot down, impaling his body and pinning him to the ground. Yet, his form rippled like water and swiftly escaped, rapidly reforming. His face was pale as he ran with all his might.
"Yohohoho! Don't move now. My abilities can harm your soul." Brook, with incredible speed, blocked Zatmoro's path, his sword cane pointed at him. The chill from the underworld caused the surrounding temperature to plummet rapidly. Swish, swish, swish! The sound of something cutting through the air. Four Shadow Horn Spears pierced Zatmoro's limbs, pinning him to the ground once more.
"Now you can't run, can you?" Moria strode over, grabbed Zatmoro by the head, and a Shadow Horn Spear, like a tentacle, reached into Moria's pocket, retrieved Seastone handcuffs, and clapped them on Zatmoro. With that, Zatmoro the Illusory Demon, foremost of the Fear Pirates' Three Demon Generals, was captured.
"If it weren't for your ability being a natural counter to his Illusory Dream Fruit, I'm not sure I could have taken him down," Moria remarked to Brook with some sigh with emotion. Zatmoro's Illusory Dream Fruit ability was indeed heaven-defying, and its development was already extremely powerful, especially that unbelievably potent nightmare space and his bizarre ability to turn himself into a dream. Moria genuinely hadn't been confident he could deal with him. Fortunately, Brook's Revive-Revive Fruit was a perfect counter to the Illusory Dream Fruit, breaking Zatmoro's nightmare space and giving Moria the opportunity to defeat him.
Brook chuckled. "Yohohoho," then said seriously, "Leave this guy to me to guard. You go help the others." "Alright!" Moria immediately turned and surveyed the battlefield.
Intense battles raged everywhere, causing severe destruction to the area around the square, which was now utterly unrecognizable. Many residents had been caught in the crossfire and killed in the impacts. The surviving residents frantically fled into the distance, but the battlefield was still expanding, spreading across the entirety of Fear Island.
The fighting was incredibly fierce in all locations. Currently, the Fire Tank Pirates held the advantage. Although the Fear Pirates' captains were battle-hardened and experienced, Bege's division commanders were all individuals with formidable Devil Fruits or physical prowess, their skills honed against ferocious monsters. Their combat strength was extremely high. Riki, Weevil, Enel, and Wiper, in particular, were virtually overwhelming their opponents. The other commanders might have been a notch below, but they still fought without falling into a disadvantage.
Little Oars Jr. and Modi, however, were locked in arduous battles against the other two Demon Generals. Due to his immense size, Little Oars Jr.'s reaction time was somewhat sluggish. His opponent, Black Widow Bellia, was a user of the Zoan Spider-Spider Fruit, Latrodectus Model. Her body contained a potent neurotoxin, making her one of the most venomous known spiders. Moreover, although Bellia was heavyset, her movement speed was exceptionally fast, and even more so in her spider form. Little Oars Jr.'s every attack was dodged, and Bellia cleverly opted for close-quarters combat, greatly restricting his movements. Each of her attacks tore through Little Oars Jr.'s tough skin, injecting him with potent neurotoxins. If not for Little Oars Jr.'s incredibly robust constitution, he might have collapsed long ago.
Little Oars Jr. transformed into his Dragon-Eating Giant Eagle form and dived at Bellia from the air, finally turning the tables. His pair of indestructible talons sent Bellia scurrying for cover. However, due to the earlier attacks and the injected neurotoxin slowly taking effect in his body – the more violently Little Oars Jr. moved, the faster the poison spread – his attacks lost their sharpness, and he was only barely maintaining the upper hand.
Modi, meanwhile, was also in a tough fight. Demon Swordmaster Alletha had transformed into a humanoid demon, his massive greatsword wreathed in pitch-black flames, a terrifying demonic aura sweeping the field. His eerie purple eyes were filled with killing intent. A single slash from him carried a ferocious momentum that could tear through anything, an unstoppable force aimed solely at Modi.
Modi's expression was grave. He too drew his sword. A gale swept forth as their blades clashed, the resounding clang echoing deafeningly. The two swordsmen's killing intents collided. Both were swordsmen on the verge of grasping the true essence of sword intent, only a step away from the rank of Great Swordsman. Each strike represented their respective sword paths and possessed immense destructive power. Of course, in terms of physical constitution, Alletha had the upper hand.
With one slash, Alletha forced Modi back, then, gripping his sword with both hands, he brought it down in a vicious chop towards Modi. The blade tore through the air, the sonic boom assaulting eardrums as it aimed straight for Modi's neck. He struck with his full power, holding nothing back. Modi instantly parried. The violent force once again sent him flying. Alletha seized the opportunity and slashed again, a black flame sword qi rocketing towards Modi.
"One Sword Style: Gale Slash!" Modi's slash sent out a massive wind blade that collided with the black flame sword qi, exploding on impact. A terrifying shockwave rolled out. A sharp glint tore through the impact zone. Alletha, beating his demonic wings, shot forward at astonishing speed.
"One Sword Style: Great Storm!" Modi took a deep breath, his eyes seeming to gleam like sword light, filled with a tearing sharpness. He struck out again. With one slash, a hurricane manifested, the fierce winds surging forth with his blade. Alletha stopped abruptly, his black-flamed greatsword raised high, and then brought it down in a savage chop, cleaving the oncoming great storm in two. The powerful sword qi, still carrying considerable force, continued towards Modi.
Modi slashed again, severing the incoming black flame sword qi. But suddenly, his expression changed drastically. Alletha's figure had appeared in the air not far in front of him. Alletha dived down at incredible speed, the black flames on his greatsword boiling.
"One Sword Style: Wind Dragon!" A ferocious azure dragon soared upwards, rushing towards Alletha. Alletha brought his greatsword down, bisecting the azure dragon, the rampant sword qi continuing straight for Modi. Modi hastily swung his sword, series of wind blades striking the raging black flame sword qi, causing it to explode. The wild sword energy detonated in mid-air, roiling and churning.
At that moment, a black streak shot through the explosion like a meteor, straight towards Modi, moving so fast he couldn't launch an attack and could only raise his sword to block. The black-flamed greatsword slammed violently against Modi's longsword. The mountain-shattering, sea-splitting force pressed his sword against his chest. Modi coughed up blood, becoming a streak of light as he was blasted back hundreds of meters, crashing through one collapsing building after another.
Alletha stood where he was, a cold smirk on his face. He glanced towards the other battlefields, his expression turning extremely grim. The Fear Pirates were at a disadvantage, which deeply troubled him. The defeat of Zatmoro the Illusory Demon, in particular, weighed heavily on his heart.
"One Sword Style: Great Dragon Twister!""World's Might!" Suddenly, a low voice echoed from the distance. An astonishing tornado tore its way from afar, its momentum vast and imposing.