Wilder hovered in mid-air, his arms spread wide and his eyes looking down upon the battlefield below, a broad smile spreading across his face.
"Great Swamp Heaven!" With a low shout, a boundless swamp surged from his body. It instantly erupted outwards, forming a canopy that pressed down on the world below.
The soldiers fighting on the ground suddenly felt the sky darken. They looked up and froze in place, utterly stunned.
A thick, heavy sky of swamp descended, blotting out the sun and covering everything, like the oppressive storm clouds of a tempest, bringing with it a feeling of crushing weight.
Everyone stood rooted to the spot, staring up as the swamp grew larger and larger in their vision, as if they were in a trance, having forgotten how to move.
Katakuri and Smoothie, who had been in hot pursuit, saw this, and their faces changed drastically. "No!"
BOOM!
Finally, the swamp hit the ground. It crashed like a tidal wave, washing over everything.
"Ah! Save me!"
One of Big Mom's soldiers only had time to let out a terrified scream before he was engulfed by the sweeping tide of mud. The swamp flooded his mouth and nose, and then his entire body was submerged, vanishing completely.
High in the sky, a straight line of swamp descended, connecting Wilder to the roiling morass below. To avoid harming his own men, Wilder had been forced to resort to this method, controlling the falling swamp directly. It was an enormous drain on his stamina and spirit; if it weren't absolutely necessary, he wouldn't have done it. Not only did it diminish the power of Great Swamp Heaven, but the act of controlling it was also consuming his energy at an alarming rate.
But at this moment, it was all worth it.
The swamp surged downwards like a violent mudslide. Many soldiers had no time to react before they felt a sudden tightness in their chests, their vision went black, and they lost their footing, completely engulfed by the rushing tide.
Most of the soldiers had reacted before the swamp even hit, frantically trying to flee to the perimeter. But it was all in vain. The swamp moved much faster than they could. After only a few steps, they were overtaken, their feet swept out from under them before they were pressed down by the relentless flow.
The only sounds left in this hellscape were the sounds of the swamp flowing and the destruction it caused. The soldiers were swallowed without making a sound. At most, there was a desperate cry for help in the final moments of terror, but it was silenced in an instant.
The soldiers of Morass stood dumbfounded, watching as the swamp parted before them, flowing past on either side. The sudden turn of events was too much for them to process, and for a moment they could only stare blankly at the scene of near-apocalyptic devastation, their hearts pounding and their blood boiling.
Smoothie and Katakuri, who had arrived just in time to witness it, were also stunned. They watched in disbelief, unable to comprehend how such a person could exist in this world.
If you can't beat us, you take it out on our subordinates?
Yes, to them, this was nothing more than an act of petty, spiteful revenge from Wilder, born of his frustration at being unable to gain an advantage against them.
But Wilder himself couldn't care less about that, nor did he care what Katakuri and Smoothie thought. At this moment, his eyes were closed, and he was once again experiencing that strange, wonderful sensation.
As the swamp fell and soldier after soldier was devoured, their bodies rapidly decomposing under the action of the bacteria, Wilder could feel their biological energy being absorbed. He could feel a certain power within him awakening and growing, bit by bit.
One...
Ten...
Fifteen...
Twenty-four...
Fifty...
One hundred...
One hundred and eighty...
Two hundred and fifty-six...
Three hundred and eighty-two...
By the time the sudden swamp deluge lost its momentum and came to a stop, the final count of soldiers consumed was four hundred and eleven.
Wilder reveled in the exquisite feeling, the pleasure of a power awakening at an accelerated rate.
But the moods of Katakuri and Smoothie, who had dodged the swamp by taking to high ground, were anything but beautiful.
"WILDER!" Katakuri roared, his eyes fixed on Wilder with an expression that could devour a man whole.
BOOM!
An immense amount of mochi erupted from his body. Katakuri took a step and instantly vanished.
Smoothie raised her greatsword, slashed out a massive wave of energy, and then her body also disappeared.
Wilder, using Moon Walk to stay airborne, felt the two fierce gusts of wind approaching and opened his eyes. His gaze was calm and indifferent.
A few thoughts flashed through his mind. In the end, faced with their combined attack, Wilder simply dodged. A moment later, he was struck by Katakuri's extended mochi fist and sent plummeting from the sky.
BANG!
The ground collapsed, creating a deep crater and kicking up a cloud of dust. Wilder quickly leaped out of the pit. The next second, Katakuri descended from the sky, his fist slamming into the crater.
Wilder, having just dodged, had no time to recover before a tall, dark figure appeared behind him, a greatsword sweeping horizontally, aiming for his head.
Wilder's instincts screamed, but his expression remained calm and cold. He quickly ducked.
VMMMM!
The sharp hum of the blade passed by his ear, the edge of the greatsword just grazing the top of his scalp.
CRACK! BANG!
In the next moment, a distant boulder exploded, splitting in two. The cut was perfectly clean. Half of it remained in place, while the top half was sent flying by the sword wave before exploding in mid-air.
CRACK!
Just then, Katakuri appeared in front of Wilder. A giant fist, thick with Armament Haki, came crashing down on Wilder, who was still bent over. At the same time, Smoothie's large hand reached for him from behind.
Without a doubt, faced with such a pincer attack, anyone would feel a bone-chilling danger, as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar.
SPLATTER!
Just as their attacks were about to land, Wilder's body abruptly dissolved into a pool of mud, rapidly dispersing.
BOOM!
Both of their attacks ultimately slammed into the ground, creating a giant crater.
"Is dodging all you can do?" Katakuri's expression was icy, devoid of any emotion. He raised his hand and turned to look behind him.
"What can I say? You two are just too strong. The pressure is immense," Wilder said with a faint smile.
"Cut the crap. You're not leaving here today. And that includes your subordinates and your so-called Morass," Smoothie said coldly, raising her greatsword. As the words left her mouth, she suddenly charged forward without any warning.
At the same time, the ground beneath Wilder's feet suddenly shifted. His pupils constricted, and he quickly moved away. A spear of mochi broke through the stone and shot up from the ground.
Wilder retreated to a safe distance, raising an eyebrow in slight surprise as he looked at Katakuri.
"Tch!" Katakuri frowned slightly that his move had failed, letting out a soft grunt.
"I see. This guy really doesn't miss any opportunity to imitate, does he? Secretly channeling mochi through the cracks in the stone and the gaps in the ruins below, using conversation to distract me, all in an attempt to pull off a successful surprise attack? Nyehehehe..." Wilder's laugh was filled with naked mockery.
He could only say that Katakuri was overthinking it. His mochi was indeed formidable, both in offense and defense. But as the saying goes, every man to his trade. A defense and offense specialist suddenly trying his hand at surprise attacks would only end up looking clumsy.
Katakuri had clearly realized this from his brief experiment. He just snorted coldly at Wilder's words and once again attacked with his preferred style.
Smoothie and Katakuri coordinated perfectly, attacking Wilder from all angles. Wilder fought while retreating, and before he knew it, he was once again approaching the area where the soldiers were fighting.
BOOM!
"Great Swamp Heaven!" Once again, without any warning, Wilder unleashed the stamina-draining technique. A sky of swamp covered everything below.
"I...!" Katakuri and Smoothie were in the middle of pressing Wilder, their fists and feet flying, when they were completely blindsided by his move. When they finally reacted, they were absolutely furious.
This time, however, because the soldiers were not as concentrated as before, and many had already noticed the three of them approaching, the surprise attack was not as successful. Only two hundred soldiers were consumed.
Soon, Wilder felt that wonderful sensation again. He knew with perfect clarity that he was not far from unlocking that ability. He only needed another three hundred.
A trace of excitement and anticipation grew in Wilder's heart. For a moment, he actually launched a counterattack. Faced with the combined siege of Katakuri and Smoothie, he unleashed a major technique.
"Swamp Assimilation!"
"Hell's Thrust!"
Smoothie and Katakuri, who were just about to close in and take Wilder's head, suddenly felt the ground beneath their feet soften. A terrifying suction and crushing force came from below, and their bodies were rapidly pulled downwards. Only then did they realize that the entire area had turned into a swamp.
Smoothie's expression didn't change. She slapped the swamp beneath her with her palm. A series of cracking sounds followed as the swamp rapidly withered and dried up.
BANG!
The two of them took the opportunity to break free from the dried swamp encasing their bodies and leaped out.
But as soon as their feet touched the ground, countless spikes erupted from the earth, like a forest of thorns, attacking them from cunning angles with ferocious speed. These spikes seemed to be alive, imbued with the intent to destroy everything within the jungle, aiming for all of their vital points. The sharp tips were coated in Armament Haki. Most importantly, there were just too many of them. They weren't just coming from below; they were attacking from all around, near and far, all at the same time.
Furthermore, the dense forest of spikes filled every inch of space, leaving absolutely no room to dodge.
Katakuri and Smoothie's pupils shrank. Smoothie had just raised her sword when, with a sickening squish, a look of pain crossed her face. Her arm had been pierced by a spike.
"Damn it! I was careless!"
VMMMM!
In an instant, both of them coated their bodies in Armament Haki. Gritting their teeth against the pain of the spikes piercing their flesh, they quickly attacked.
BANG!
A gap was torn in the jungle of spikes. The two of them flickered and quickly broke through the opening.
Now, both of them were injured, their expressions incredibly ugly. And, of course, there was a lingering fear in their hearts.
Smoothie's left wrist had been pierced clean through by a spike, leaving a coin-sized bloody hole from which blood was now flowing freely. In addition, her clothes were torn in several places, revealing wounds of various sizes underneath. Although she had coated her body in Armament Haki, not everyone could achieve full-body coverage. In that emergency, Smoothie had only been able to cover her most vital areas. The defense on other parts of her body was not as complete, some of it only a thin layer of Haki.
Therefore, in addition to the wound on her wrist and other minor cuts, Smoothie had two other relatively serious injuries. One was on the inside of her leg, near her knee, which had been torn open by a spike. The wound was even more severe than the one on her wrist; it was halfway to being completely pierced through. The last one was on her back. The wound had been caused by a spike that had grazed her at an angle. Although she had avoided being impaled, a small chunk of flesh had been torn away, leaving a bloody, gruesome sight.
Katakuri, by comparison, also had numerous injuries. Although he didn't have as many serious wounds as Smoothie, he had far more minor ones.
Normally, with his terrifying Observation Haki and his own abilities, he wouldn't have been in such a state. But the sheer number of spikes attacking him, and their incredible speed, had left him no time to react. In that situation, Katakuri had made a subconscious choice. He had coated his entire body in Armament Haki, but he had not yet reached the level where he could maintain a thick layer over his entire body. The Haki spread across his body was only a thin layer. When pierced by the spikes, whose tips were also coated in Armament Haki, it ultimately failed to block them. Fortunately, the resulting injuries were only superficial and did not reduce his combat effectiveness.
Both of their faces were ugly. Katakuri looked at Wilder, gritted his teeth, and said in a low voice to Smoothie, "This guy... he was holding back these techniques from the very beginning. He was lulling us into a false sense of security, guiding us to adapt to his fighting style, all to make this one attack completely unexpected. This guy... is far more treacherous than the rumors say."
Smoothie's face was a little pale. She nodded at Katakuri's words, her eyes, which looked ready to eat someone, never leaving Wilder.
After speaking, both of them calmed down, their faces returning to a state of tranquility. They had experienced unexpected battles before, many of them. They had practically grown up in battle. They accepted reality faster than others, and their emotional control was beyond that of ordinary people.
It didn't matter if they suffered a setback. All that mattered was that they remembered it.
"Well then... let's have a proper fight," Katakuri said, standing up straight. He looked up, his gaze falling on Wilder, as calm and placid as still water.
BOOM!
The aura around the two of them suddenly changed completely. The sheer force of their presence sent the rubble around them flying.