"Surrender?" Wilder's expression showed some surprise.
A decisive fellow…! Wilder mentally raised his guard against Burgess.
"Yes! I surrender!" Burgess tried his best to muster a polite smile. "This is all a misunderstanding." As he spoke, his body sank a few more inches. Beads of cold sweat were now clearly visible on Burgess's forehead.
"Is that so? A misunderstanding, huh…" Wilder didn't move a muscle, showing no intention whatsoever of extending a "helping hand."
Seeing this, Burgess became thoroughly anxious!
"Hey, hey! No matter what, I'm still a member of the Blackbeard Pirates!" Burgess raised his thick arms, trying to use them as support to pull his body out of the swamp. However, his efforts were futile. Not only did he fail to extract himself, but he also sank deeper. The swamp had already submerged him past his abdomen.
"Heh, I don't care about any misunderstandings." Wilder glanced at him coolly. He and the Blackbeard Pirates were destined for a hostile relationship.
However, at this moment, Wilder was still deep in thought, considering whether he should really kill Burgess. At this juncture, killing him would undoubtedly enrage the Blackbeard Pirates. Blackbeard might even, to prove his own tyrannical might, recklessly attack Wilder. This was clearly unwise.
Not kill him?
Wilder didn't want to be seen as someone who cowered before even making his mark. This was not only detrimental to his future development but, more importantly, Wilder wouldn't allow himself to be intimidated.
So… better to kill him then!
Once Wilder made up his mind, he wouldn't hesitate, nor did he want to give his enemy any breathing room. When he turned to look at Burgess again, the killing intent in his eyes was completely unconcealed.
"You… Hey! You wouldn't dare…" Burgess's eyes widened dramatically, cold sweat dripping from his brow.
Wilder said nothing. In this situation, Burgess was like a fish waiting to be slaughtered. Wilder didn't even need to walk over. On a whim, he pulled out the exquisite short pistol from his coat, aimed the muzzle at Burgess, and silently imbued the bullet with Armament Haki.
Due to the swamp's scouring, the bar had long since collapsed and was gradually being swallowed by the morass, everything within it completely exposed to the street.
Those who hadn't been caught by the swamp had already fled far away, not even daring to spectate. So, at the scene, only the exposed ruins and the fifty-meter swamp with Wilder and Burgess remained.
But just as Wilder was about to pull the trigger, suddenly, a group of people swarmed out from the surrounding buildings. Before Wilder could react, a dense hail of bullets erupted from the long guns in their hands. Among them, one or two bullets were even faintly imbued with Armament Haki.
"Hey! Boss, grab on!" A long fishing rod was thrust into the swamp. Several shabbily dressed pirates held one end, while the other end landed in front of Burgess.
"Bahahaha!" Burgess let out an audacious laugh and grabbed the fishing rod.
Wilder's eyes turned cold. His body transformed into swamp and surged towards Burgess. During this, he easily dodged the one or two bullets faintly imbued with Haki. In an instant, he was before Burgess, five swampy, claw-like fingers reaching out for him!
But just then, Wilder suddenly felt an extremely dangerous sensation envelop his entire body, like needles on his back. Without time to think, his swamp-form body twisted, rapidly changing direction.
Thwump! A dull thud sounded. A deep bullet hole appeared in the swamp, only to be covered by the reflowing morass in an instant.
This delay allowed Burgess to successfully escape the swamp using the fishing rod. He landed on a street corner outside the swamp, roaring with laughter, his triumphant gaze fixed undisguisedly on Wilder, who had reformed into his human shape.
Wilder ignored him, instead turning his head to gaze into the distance.
About a thousand meters away, a small black dot stood atop a telephone pole. It was a person.
Wilder couldn't make out their appearance, but from that single shot which had brought him an extreme sense of threat, Wilder had already determined who it was.
"Van Augur is here too?" Wilder said faintly, his gaze unwavering on the distant black dot.
"Leave quickly. We are no match for him." Van Augur's calm voice came through Burgess's earpiece. Only then did Wilder notice the light purple earpiece Burgess was wearing. He figured… they must have contacted each other through that device just now, leading to this sudden turn of events.
As for the surrounding pirates, they were likely Burgess's subordinates from his First Ship crew.
"Bahahaha! After all, we were chasing that person. Going alone always feels a bit risky, you know," Burgess said, tapping his earpiece, then looked back at Wilder with an audacious laugh.
After laughing, he didn't hesitate. With a wave of his hand, he had already left the street corner, dashing towards the distant docks. The surrounding pirates quickly retreated, following him in a mad rush.
"Trying to run? That won't do…" Wilder said and was about to give chase, but quickly, his Observation Haki sensed a bullet speeding towards him at extreme velocity, forcefully halting his advance.
"Looks like I'll have to deal with you first." Wilder's lips downturned, his expression grim, killing intent flashing in his eyes. He turned towards the distant telephone pole and immediately changed direction. "Shave!"
"Such speed!" In the distance, Van Augur, standing on the telephone pole, moved his eye away from Senriku's scope, his expression as calm as ever. "Can't let you get close, ne~"
Saying this, he shifted his gaze back to the sniper scope and pulled the trigger three consecutive times. After doing all this, he turned and, without hesitation, jumped off the telephone pole, running towards the docks.
Wilder's figure flickered, successively dodging three bullets fired from tricky angles, but this delay had cost him considerable speed.
By then, Van Augur had already rendezvoused with Burgess. The two of them ran at the front, followed by over a hundred pirates, all sprinting madly towards the docks.
One man's face remained perpetually calm; the other wore an excited grin.
"Bahahaha! Almost died today! But if it's the two of us together… maybe we can kill him? I won't fall for his tricks this time!" Burgess exclaimed excitedly as he ran.
"Not interested," Van Augur said simply, his pace unwavering.
"Why not?"
"Because… that's fate."
As they spoke, they suddenly heard screams from behind. Wilder had caught up.
The two couldn't help but glance back and saw that the street behind them had been consumed by swamp. It was like a mudslide rushing down a mountain—turbulent, immensely destructive, and incredibly fast. As they looked back, they witnessed five or six pirates at the rear being swallowed by the swamp. The five or six men only had time to let out a terrified howl before being engulfed by the terrifying morass.
Seeing this, Burgess instantly wanted to retract his earlier words and began to run for his life! "We're close. Once we reach the open area of the docks, his swamp won't be able to form a concentrated torrent; it will disperse," Van Augur said, simultaneously encouraging the pirates behind him to run faster.
"I see." Burgess nodded in agreement, finding Van Augur's analysis very reasonable.
And indeed, just as they said, when the group, fleeing for their lives, reached the open expanse of the docks, the pursuing swamp torrent did indeed spread out.
But before they could breathe a sigh of relief, they discovered that the dispersed swamp, contrary to their expectations, hadn't lost its momentum. Instead, it continued to surge towards them with undiminished speed.
Everyone's eyes widened, unsure if it was due to terror or the sheer incredulity of the scene before them. Their pupils flickered.
"Damn it! Not only has the speed not decreased, but the range has also increased!" A pirate looked back at this scene, froze in place, and despaired.
They were still some distance from the docks, and at the swamp's current speed… they… had no chance of outrunning it.
Boom! This pirate remained stationary for less than three seconds before being engulfed by the closely following swamp. Simultaneously, many more pirates who hadn't stopped were also mercilessly swallowed by the swamp rushing in from behind.
People watching from a distance on the island were stunned speechless by this scene.
"Bastard! I'll fight him to the death!" Burgess clenched his fists, and just as he was about to turn, Van Augur stopped him.
"Do you want to die? Going back now is useless. We've reached the docks." Saying this, he didn't stop his steps, continuing towards the rapidly approaching pier.
The two of them ran at the very front. Behind them, the hundred-odd pirates who had followed continuously let out terrified screams as they were overtaken by the boundless swamp current and consumed.
Wilder's body transformed into swamp, merging with this torrent, controlling its flow. He had decided: today, he would ensure these two remained here! If he couldn't keep them, he would at least tear off some parts from them! This "Swamp Mudslide" technique was something Wilder had conceived in his mind a long time ago. As he grew stronger and his control over the swamp became more profound, it all came to fruition naturally.
Although this move consumed a significant amount of stamina, with Wilder's current physical condition, using it wasn't a strain.
Moreover, this technique had many potential combined applications, such as integrating it with assimilation. He could continuously gather the assimilated swamp along the way, forming an even larger swamp flow. Wherever the swamp passed, more swamp would be generated, making the environment even more advantageous for him.
Beyond this, Wilder had many more ideas in his mind that could be combined with the Swamp Mudslide, but those required some entirely new characteristics—ones he could only use after developing Swamp Gas or… that other trait somewhat related to Swamp Gas.
It had to be said, the Swamp-Swamp Fruit, developed by Wilder to this extent, had become incredibly terrifying. Its various characteristics, in particular, endowed Wilder with abilities that even Logia types lacked, such as the "containment" characteristic. Wilder essentially carried a pocket dimension with him, and this space wasn't just for storing things; it was also a life-devouring trait. This was something no other Logia user, no matter how powerful, could achieve.
One could say that the freakish potential of the swamp had truly been unearthed by Wilder.
Setting aside these special characteristics, even his basic swamp body was on a completely different level now. Just like the current Swamp Mudslide—simple swamp, without any special properties, merely flowing and engulfing people was enough to demonstrate its terrifying nature.
Not to mention the skills Wilder had developed, like Non-Newtonian Fluid and the ability to freely control its hardness and softness.
The Swamp-Swamp Fruit was never among the lower-tier Logias. It was a true top-tier Logia! A Logia representing environment and natural disaster! It wasn't as violent as fire, magma, lightning, or light, but like ice, it represented a natural environment existing in the world. They were gentle natural disasters, but they could also become violent when angered.
Ice, like a glacier, people could walk upon it, yet they could die from a sudden blizzard. Swamp, an environment found in wetlands, people could also tread upon it, but with a moment of carelessness, they would find the ground they stood on gradually sinking.
At this moment, the Swamp Mudslide was rapidly closing in on Van Augur and Burgess. Along the way, those pirates who had managed to escape had done so; those destined to die were dead.
A group of less than twenty had reached the docks and were desperately boarding a pirate ship moored there!
Van Augur and Burgess, however, were now slightly behind those pirates. The ship needed those pirates to operate it. At this moment, they were also staying behind to cover the retreat, buying even a little bit of time.
However, the two still only ran forward. As long as the swamp hadn't reached them, there was no need to stop. After all, at this distance, by the time they reached the ship at the shore, it would likely be ready to depart.
Now, the Swamp Mudslide was right behind them.
"Damn it!" Burgess glanced back. The swamp was less than three meters behind him. This distance could be covered in an instant. He was no longer calm.
Van Augur was a few steps ahead of him, but his situation wasn't much different.
Soon, both had reached the shore. The ship had successfully turned around. They exchanged a glance, then leaped with all their might, instantly covering most of the distance, about to board the ship.
Boom! But in the next instant, the Swamp Mudslide suddenly surged upwards! Its speed, instead of decreasing, increased!
Van Augur and Burgess were currently in mid-air. They looked down and clearly saw the swamp surging up from below.
Bang! In the next second, Van Augur, his expression calm, raised his rifle and pulled the trigger at the swamp.
The swamp's upward momentum clearly faltered for a moment. Van Augur used this pause, stepped onto the deck, and successfully boarded the ship. Then, without any hesitation, he reached out and grabbed one of Burgess's arms.
But in the next instant, the swamp had already surged up. In a flash! Burgess was covered by the swamp!
"Ngh!" Van Augur grimly held onto Burgess's hand, pulling him forcefully onto the ship. Gradually, Burgess, who had been swallowed by the swamp, was pulled out, most of his body free. The swamp clung to Burgess's right leg, attempting to drag him back in.
"Bahahaha!" Burgess hadn't laughed for more than a few seconds when his face suddenly turned deathly pale and contorted, followed by a bloodcurdling scream: "Ah! My leg! My leg!"
Van Augur pulled him completely out of the swamp, his own expression changing.
Burgess was rolling on the deck in pain. His right leg was gone, blood gushing from the stump.
"Quick! Leave!" Van Augur's eyes shifted and happened to see swamp surging up towards the ship's railing. His face changed drastically as he yelled.
Bang! Bang! Bang! He raised his rifle, his Observation Haki searching for something within the swamp, and continuously pulled the trigger.
"Sigh…" Wilder sighed. This Van Augur was more troublesome than he had expected, even more difficult to deal with than Burgess.
The ship slowly pulled away from the docks. The swamp couldn't cross the sea to catch up.
Van Augur had just breathed a sigh of relief when he instantly turned back to look at the docks. In a flash, his expression became incredibly grim.
"Grand Serpent!"
A giant, white fist-imprint, shaped like a massive tunnel, flew out from the docks, heavily impacting the ship's hull in an instant! "Waugh!" The pirates on deck were thrown off and smashed down. Van Augur, holding Burgess with one hand and tightly gripping the mast with the other, resisted the terrifying impact. He couldn't help but vomit a mouthful of blood; his internal organs felt as if they had been pierced by iron nails. His face looked terrible.
The lingering force of a hurricane rocked the ship violently. The deck emitted ear-piercing creaks and groans, then began to break apart, splinter, and fly off.
The swamp on the docks slowly pulsed and receded. Wilder's tall figure stood on the pier, his eyes quietly watching the ship sway precariously as it moved away. He didn't pursue further.