"This situation can't be allowed to continue. We must… end this battle as quickly as possible to ensure our forces aren't severely depleted." Wilder's expression was more serious than ever before. He didn't care how many Marines died, but he had to care about his own subordinates. Besides, at this stage, he didn't want the Marines to be crippled, otherwise, he would lose a solid shield.
He understood the principle of being inextricably linked.
His gaze swept across the battlefield. Wilder's first priority was naturally to minimize the losses of his own forces, so…
"It's you." Wilder's eyes landed on Charlotte Oven, who was fighting Claire in the distance.
"The user of the Heat-Heat Fruit. Let's give it a try." A cold smile appeared on Wilder's face as he flashed and disappeared from his spot.
First, take out the big ones. This would free up his powerful subordinates, allowing them to deal with the smaller fry. This was the most effective way to achieve results. So, Wilder's goal was simple: aim straight for the big fish.
At this moment, the battle between Claire and Oven had attracted many eyes. It couldn't be helped. No one had expected Wilder's secretary to be so powerful, able to fight Charlotte Oven to a standstill. And from the looks of it, she wasn't struggling or forcing herself at all, which was remarkable.
After all, as Charlotte Linlin's fourth son, Charlotte Oven's fame had long since spread. He was one of the most powerful combatants under Big Mom, aside from the Sweet Commanders. His strength was not something ordinary ministers and cadres could compare to, nor was he on the same level as the likes of the former 'Madame' he had faced.
The ability to instantly melt steel with heat meant that anyone fighting Oven up close would be at a disadvantage. Yet, Claire had succeeded.
Blocks of wood appeared out of thin air in front of Claire, blocking the powerful, high-temperature fists. Even more terrifyingly, Claire herself stood on a block, allowing her to fly around at will, changing direction freely. She was incredibly agile, giving Oven no opportunity to get close.
Even on the few occasions he managed to get close to Claire through his own strength and throw a punch at her back, a hard block would suddenly appear in front of his fist, making her almost invincible.
If it were just that, it would be one thing, but Claire's counterattacks were endless and dazzling, her use of the blocks pushed to the absolute limit.
"Nn-hehehe… Claire is truly a natural-born fighter… With such talent, she could become the most calculating and calm war machine on the battlefield." Wilder couldn't help but exclaim this as he rushed over. Fortunately, he was relieved that she was his most loyal subordinate and not an enemy. Otherwise, it would be troublesome.
"Crushing Gates Kill!" Claire's counterattack came. As her body moved and floated on the blocks, she reached down with her right hand, her fingers forming several strange gestures, and then…
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
Seven or eight massive, pillar-like blocks, each with a blunt, angular base and wide enough for a person to wrap their arms around, fell from the sky at high speed! Like rockets fired from the heavens! The moment they landed, their immense power drove the five-to-six-meter-long blocks halfway into the hard ground. The scene was like a violent explosion, sending up a high cloud of dust. Giant stones were shattered by the seven or eight thunderous impacts that sounded almost at once, then sent flying in all directions by the shockwave.
Oven wretchedly dodged the attack, his face pale with lingering fear. He stared at the figure in the sky, gritting his teeth. "Damn it! Who is this person? With such an ability, she can't possibly be a nobody!"
Charlotte Oven naturally didn't know Claire's identity yet. From the very beginning, in the eyes of the Big Mom Pirates, only Wilder from his crew was worthy of their attention. The others were just ants they could crush at any time, not worth worrying about.
"It's over, Charlotte Oven." Just then, a cold voice entered Charlotte Oven's ears. His body stiffened, his expression frozen with a slight tremor. A large mass of swamp swept in from behind, instantly engulfing him!
Wilder landed, a triumphant, cunning smile on his face. "Sneak attacking from behind… this feeling is actually quite nice, nyahahaha!"
"Boss." Claire descended on her personal "heli-block" and came to Wilder's side.
It really makes one envious.
Wilder watched with deep envy. If he could, he would really like to trade abilities with Claire.
"Claire, go help the others," Wilder said. Envy was envy, but he wouldn't forget the important matters at hand.
"Understood, Boss." Claire knew who Wilder was referring to. She stood on her "heli-block" again and floated away, heading toward the members of Morass who were in a desperate, precarious battle.
Wilder was about to leave to find his next target when he suddenly stopped. He glanced sideways at the swamp where he had just buried Oven, his brows furrowing.
"Interesting. Even this can't hold him?" After watching for a moment, Wilder suddenly smiled, a cold, sharp smile.
The swamp began to glow an orange-red from the inside out, like a burning coal, visibly pushing toward the surface.
With a crack, a fiery red figure burst out from the opening and shot straight toward Wilder. Before the person even arrived, a giant fist, radiating a heat sufficient to melt steel, had already been thrown.
Wilder unhurriedly raised his arm, a majestic power surging madly from within. If it were a Sweet Commander, Wilder might have dodged first and then looked for an opportunity to attack, but… for someone of this level, Wilder felt it was unnecessary.
Seeing the wave of heat already rushing toward him, Oven's giant fist about to strike, Wilder narrowed his eyes slightly and chose the most suitable, and also his most frequently used, finishing blow.
"Great Serpent!"
A seemingly infinite power surged from Wilder's arm, turbulent and mighty. The fist-imprint, as if a thruster had been attached to its back, shot out with a long, white, transparent trail, instantly striking Oven's abdomen!
"Gah!" Oven's eyes bulged wide. He couldn't dodge in time. The blow passed straight through his stomach. This was the difference in strength. Even the speed of Wilder's punch had suppressed him. If it were someone else, the situation might have been different; they might have dodged it or taken it head-on without injury.
But Oven had clearly not reached that level. Although he was strong, he had encountered Wilder, who was stronger, and his attack had been too eager for a quick victory.
Oven's entire body was sent flying like a human cannonball, his abdomen twisted as if it had been churned by a propeller. Not only were his bones broken, but his internal organs were likely severely damaged as well. Blood poured continuously from his mouth and nose, his eyes had already lost focus, and he lay in the crater he had created upon landing, his body occasionally twitching, completely incapacitated.
"You're next." Wilder didn't even spare a glance at the defeated Oven. His gaze swept over to Daifuku, who was fighting Vice, and a wicked smile spread across his face.
His body silently merged into the ground, and Wilder stealthily moved toward where Vice was fighting.
Before long, he had arrived underground between the two combatants.
Peeking his head out slightly, Wilder saw that Vice had already transformed into a massive ancient crocodile. His hard, scaly armor glinted with a dark light, looking thick and incredibly tough.
Daifuku's attacks only left a faint white mark on Vice's back armor, unable to cause any damage. Meanwhile, Vice's terrifying body contained a surging, immense power. His claws, teeth, and tail were all terrifying weapons. A slight shake of his head or a swipe of his claws sent Daifuku scrambling to dodge wretchedly.
It wasn't that Daifuku and Oven weren't strong. On the contrary, they were very strong. But Vice and Claire, as Wilder's current two top combatants, were not in the least bit weaker. This was the boost their Devil Fruits gave them. They were already powerful without their fruits, and now that they had each obtained a fruit ability that suited their fighting style, their combat power had soared.
Daifuku, user of the Puff-Puff Fruit, could release a genie-like being made of something similar to steam. The genie wielded a long-handled broadsword and could unleash powerful slashes. It could also turn into steam to dodge attacks.
However, in Wilder's opinion, this ability was rather tasteless—a pity to discard, but not particularly useful. Its only function was to give the user an extra helper. Unless there were other applications, it was just a gimmick.
The reason a Devil Fruit user was strong was because they themselves were strong. Even without his fruit ability, Daifuku was a powerful pirate.
Wilder didn't want to waste time. A long delay would make it easy for others to discover his plan of picking off the big fish one by one. So, after Daifuku and Vice clashed and retreated once more, Wilder moved!
Suddenly, the ground where Daifuku was standing collapsed, revealing a thick layer of swamp underneath. The sudden change shocked Daifuku. He couldn't react in time and fell toward the swamp below!
But just then, a shadow flashed. A tall figure suddenly appeared above, reaching out and grabbing Daifuku just as he was about to fall in.
The newcomer was the Minister of Juice of the Big Mom Pirates, Sweet Commander Charlotte Smoothie, user of the Squeeze-Squeeze Fruit, with a bounty over 900 million!
"I've been watching you for a long time, Wilder! After sneak-attacking Brother Oven, you actually wanted to sneak-attack Brother Daifuku!" After saving Daifuku, Smoothie looked at Wilder and spoke, slowly drawing the longsword from her back.
The situation was clear. Wilder had been targeted by Smoothie. So now…
"Nyahahaha! It seems a battle is unavoidable," Wilder said with a laugh, looking at Smoothie.
As for Daifuku, who had just been saved, he gave Wilder a faint glance, then turned around without a word and stood behind Smoothie, once again facing Vice.
That won't do.
Seeing this, Wilder grinned, but his tone became cold and deep. "Vice, get the job done for me. Don't you dare embarrass me." Although the words were for Vice, Wilder's gaze never left Smoothie.
"Sss-hahaha! Don't worry, Boss!" Vice's booming voice sounded.
"Tch, being looked down upon," Daifuku said with a slightly annoyed expression.
Wilder grinned, his gaze clashing with Smoothie's. Neither spoke, but a tense atmosphere gradually began to build between them.
The next moment, as if by agreement, they moved without any warning!
Smoothie raised her sword and slashed down. A wave of purple sword energy shot straight toward Wilder!
Swamp erupted from Wilder's body, forming a giant swamp wave above his head that crashed down on Smoothie!
But at the same time, after making these moves, they both disappeared from their spots. The next second, they appeared in the air. One slashed down with a sword, the other clenched a fist coated in a thick layer of Armament Haki and struck at the descending longsword!
CLANG! A strong electric current crackled where they clashed. Smoothie's expression changed slightly, a hint of gravity appearing. Such powerful strength!
SHING!
The two separated after the brief contact, retreating and landing on the ground before charging at each other again. Sword and fist clashed once more.
The grave expression on Smoothie's face deepened. With each clash of fist and sword, the power transmitted from the fist surprised her more and more.
This kind of power…
This man is not a powerhouse who relies solely on his Devil Fruit.
Shortly after their initial clash, Smoothie had made her assessment of Wilder and had put away her initial, slightly contemptuous attitude.
On the plaza of the new fortress, the battle was now growing more intense. The overall strength of the powerhouses Big Mom had brought was ultimately far greater than that of the Marines and Wilder's side combined. Therefore, even though Claire had been freed from her own battle and had joined a new one, the situation was still extremely tense. Big Mom's side still held the absolute upper hand.
No one else could interfere in the battle between Big Mom and Kizaru. Both were figures of immense power. One was an Emperor of the New World, the other one of the highest combat powers of the world's strongest organization, the Marines. For powerhouses of this level, it would be difficult to determine a victor in a short time without external interference. So, the key to when this battle would end did not lie with these two, but with the strongest people below them.
And it was obvious that on Big Mom's side, the only one who reached this level was the Sweet Commander, Smoothie. On the Marine side, Vice Admiral Momonga was still a little lacking, so it could only be this time's "volunteer," Wilder.
And so, the moment Wilder and Smoothie clashed, they attracted everyone's attention.
"The key from now on lies with you. Good luck, Wilder-kun," Kizaru muttered, dodging a grab from Big Mom and sparing a glance at Wilder's side.
However, in his heart, he wasn't particularly concerned. This battle… the Marines would ultimately win.
The Yonko Big Mom was very strong. At the very least, Kizaru himself felt that if he kept fighting like this, he wouldn't come out unscathed.
But in a battle, how could only one person be injured? Until one person falls and completely loses their ability to fight, no one can say who is stronger!
However, the common consensus was that the Yonko were a tiny bit stronger than the Admirals. Just a tiny bit. This tiny bit referred to the pressure the Yonko put on the Admirals. But just like two countries, one slightly stronger, one slightly weaker, if they really went to war, the result would be… mutual destruction. Neither side would have a good outcome. An even worse result would be the opposite, the weak defeating the strong. But it was more likely that, I die, and you're just one breath away from death.