The Germ Spear. As its name implied, the spear, formed from swamp, was covered in deadly pathogens.
Therefore, anyone wounded by it, even if the injury wasn't fatal, would die if they didn't receive medical treatment in a short amount of time or possess the ability to eliminate the germs themselves.
"But that won't be necessary," Wilder said, giving Smoothie a cold, indifferent glance.
SPLAT!
The spear was withdrawn from Smoothie's body, taking a spray of blood with it.
Wilder turned his head, his gaze scanning the area, searching for the other figure.
By now, the great swampy torrent had stopped, but the battlefield had fallen into a deathly silence.
Countless people stared wide-eyed and blankly at Wilder, their faces filled with disbelief.
Thud.
"Cough! Gack!"
Smoothie fell weakly to her knees, her pupils dilated to their limit. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, her breath coming in ragged, heavy gasps, like a broken bellows. The sound alone was agonizing to hear.
Pairs of eyes stared blankly at her, their minds still refusing to accept that what they were seeing was real.
This is a joke, right? This can't be real!
That's Lady Smoothie... How is this possible? I must be going crazy!
Most of the onlookers were in a daze, shaking their heads frantically, unwilling to believe it.
Wilder looked back, down at the woman at his feet whose life force was rapidly fading, his expression cold and calm.
Good...
One threat has been eliminated.
Now for the next one.
Wilder's eyes turned icy. He took a step, about to walk towards a figure in the crowd who seemed to have lost his mind, his very soul.
But just then, a hand grabbed his ankle. Wilder stopped, turning his head slightly to glance down at the person at his feet.
The hand was pale and colorless. A sizzling sound came from where it gripped him, accompanied by wisps of green smoke.
"You don't even have the strength to breathe right now. Why waste your energy on your ability?" Wilder said, looking down at her, his voice indifferent and merciless.
He knew, of course, that Smoothie was trying to cause him some trouble before she died. But he was also keenly aware of her condition. To put it bluntly, she was beyond saving. That was why he was confident enough to let her remain conscious for a little longer.
"How... how could I... let a guy... like you... just walk away... unscathed?!" As if spurred by Wilder's voice, Smoothie, who had been hanging her head, used a tremendous amount of effort to look up at him, a difficult, cold smile on her face.
Hearing this, the corners of Wilder's mouth turned down slightly. He was silent for a moment.
"This won't do," he said, looking down at her coldly. He suddenly thrust the spear in his hand downwards.
SPLAT!
Blood splattered. The head that had been raised in defiance froze for a moment, then fell to the ground with a dull thud. Her body went completely still.
Wilder pulled the spear out and, with an indifferent expression, began to walk away.
Smoothie—was dead.
"No!"
"Lady Smoothie!"
"Aaargh! Lady Smoothie!"
In that moment, everyone finally snapped out of their disbelief, and they completely broke down. Their shock turned to rage and killing intent directed at Wilder. Pairs of bloodshot eyes stared at him as he walked calmly away.
"Kill him!" someone shouted, and with a series of swishes, everyone moved, drawing their swords and charging at Wilder.
Smoothie's death had been a massive blow to them. The collapse of one of their pillars of strength had made them fearless, and they had forgotten the terror Wilder had instilled in them just moments before.
"Come, if you're not afraid to die," Wilder said, his eyes cold and calm as he watched the people rushing towards him. He casually raised a hand, his palm facing outwards, aimed at a soldier who had already reached him.
Thwip! Swish!
The next second, a sharp spike shot out from his palm, piercing through the man's head. He died without ever knowing how he had fallen.
Wilder didn't even turn his head, as if the man he had just killed was nothing more than a passerby. He continued to walk forward at a steady, unhurried pace.
Splat! Splat!
Splat! Splat!
Splat! Splat!
From time to time, he would raise his hand, and without even looking, a series of sharp spikes would shoot out from his palm, piercing through the bodies of the soldiers who had managed to get close.
"Die, Wilder!" a minister shouted, his face filled with hatred as he charged forward with his sword. He leaped into the air and brought his sword down on Wilder's head.
Wilder stopped for a moment, turning his head to look up. With an impassive expression, he raised his right hand. The next second, without any visible movement, the spear he was holding vanished.
SPLAT!
Above him, the minister's eyes bulged. With a look of confusion, he crashed to the ground.
The spear had passed through his body and continued on, piercing through several more soldiers before finally striking a wall. The wall exploded, and only then did the spear shatter into several pieces and fall to the ground.
Swamp twisted in Wilder's palm, and the next moment, another identical spear had formed.
The surrounding soldiers of Morass looked at Wilder with adoration.
Wilder raised his spear, his voice echoing across the entire battlefield. "Tear down Totto Land!"
"OOOH!"
A series of rousing roars erupted from all over the battlefield, followed by the same chant.
"Tear down Totto Land!"
"Tear down Totto Land!"
"Tear down Totto Land!"
Under the force of these earth-shaking cries, the army of Morass became like a raging flood, unstoppable, cutting down the soldiers of Big Mom's army with ease.
At the same time, Smoothie's death had finally driven Big Mom into a frenzy. Her bloodshot eyes scanned the area, searching for Wilder.
"WILDER!" Big Mom let out a shrill, strange cry. Crocodile, Luffy, and the others were all sent flying, crashing into the surrounding walls and coughing up blood.
By now, the main force that had been surrounding Big Mom were all injured. In contrast, there wasn't a single scratch on Big Mom.
Claire had already dealt with Big Mom's eldest son and was now rushing towards Big Mom, joining the effort to hold her back.
It was for a simple reason: everyone knew that Big Mom had to be stalled until Wilder had dealt with Katakuri. At that point, victory would be assured. Even if they couldn't defeat Big Mom in the end, it wouldn't matter. Because by then, without her strongest wings, it wouldn't be so easy for her to do whatever she wanted.
But soon, everyone was dumbfounded.
With a single punch, Big Mom sent Crocodile flying again. He crashed through a wall, his body covered in blood.
With another punch, Luffy was also sent flying. He bounced off the ground several times, crashing through several buildings before he was unable to move.
Then, Claire, Brook, Pedro, Moria—everyone was taken down by a single attack of lightning and fire from Big Mom.
"WIL... LER... DER!"
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The ground trembled with her heavy footsteps. Big Mom, her eyes bloodshot, had entered a state of frenzy. Her body radiated a terrifying aura as she walked towards Wilder.
However, the two of them were on separate battlefields, and a great distance had been put between them at the start of the fight. There was still some way to go.
Wilder continued to walk towards his target, occasionally striking out to deal with the soldiers and ministers who got too close. Finally, he came to a stop in front of a figure.
By now, the surrounding area was littered with corpses. No one else approached, either because they had regained their senses or because they had realized the battle that was about to unfold.
The person standing opposite Wilder was, of course, Katakuri. At this moment, he was exuding a crazed and icy aura. His body was trembling slightly, not from fear, but from excitement and rage. Smoothie's death had been a devastating blow to him. Now, he had only one thought: kill.
Only by killing Wilder, by killing the man in front of him, could he quell the pain and rage in his heart.
Katakuri looked up at Wilder. He didn't speak, but his killing intent exploded as his body suddenly moved.
A long mochi fist swept towards him, bringing with it a sharp, fierce wind. Before it even made contact, the tall stone blocks in the area were sliced apart as if by a sharp blade.
"Have you lost your mind?" Wilder said, his voice calm and indifferent. He raised his hand, and a swamp wall instantly appeared in front of him.
BOOM!
The next moment, the long mochi fist slammed heavily into the swamp wall.
"WILDER!" Katakuri's furious roar suddenly came from above. Wilder looked up and saw a giant mochi fist getting closer and closer, filling his entire vision.
His expression didn't change. For Wilder, at this point, no matter what Sweet Commander it was, they no longer posed a fatal threat to him. He finally understood the strength of the Emperors and the Admirals. Their strength lay not elsewhere, but in the composure and ease that came from their powerful bodies. They might not have particularly flashy moves, they might not have speed that was impossible to track, but when everything became as easy as eating a meal, no powerful attack could easily stir their emotions.
Only an opponent of the same level, who had reached that tier, could feel and understand, could put pressure on them.
BOOM!
Without any warning, a circle of swamp erupted from around Wilder's feet. It rose up like a tornado, shooting into the sky and colliding with the giant mochi fist. In an instant, a deafening roar echoed, and a cracking sound was heard. The giant mochi fist rapidly crumbled. The swampy tornado, exuding a foul stench, directly shredded the mochi, swallowing and corroding it, and then continued its ascent towards Katakuri, who was still in mid-air.
"Damn it!" Katakuri roared, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He swung his fist again, and another giant mochi fist instantly appeared, slamming down on the ascending swampy tornado.
After doing this, Katakuri didn't linger. He flipped in the air and leaped back to the ground.
At that moment, the swampy tornado and the giant mochi fist collided again. Unsurprisingly, the mochi disintegrated under the combined force of the corrosion, shredding, and impact. But by then, the swamp had also lost its momentum, turning into mud and scattering in all directions.
"Aaargh!"
The same scene happened again. The scattered swamp, with its strong corrosive properties, landed on the soldiers who were not yet dead, directly corroding large parts of their bodies.
Then, Wilder attacked again. His goal was to kill Katakuri quickly, so he naturally wouldn't waste any more time.
BANG!
He slammed a single hand heavily on the ground.
"Underworld Swamp—Lake of Corrosion!"
BOOM!
In an instant, the ground churned and softened, forming a lake of swamp. The water of the lake was entirely composed of swamp, emitting a thick, foul stench and a corrosive smoke. The corpses that had been on the ground began to slowly sink.
SIZZLE! SIZZLE! SIZZLE!
A pungent smoke rose as the corpses were corroded, and in the blink of an eye, all the bodies on the ground had sunk into the swamp, digested into nothingness.
Katakuri had sensed the change in the ground the moment it happened. His expression changed, and he quickly tapped his foot on the ground and leaped up.
But even so, he was a step too late.
Wilder looked up, a wicked smile on his face. "Hand of No Life!"
BOOM!
An opening suddenly blasted open in the swamp lake. A swampy, skeletal, sharp arm, like that of a demon, shot out and reached for Katakuri.
"What?!"
Katakuri's expression changed drastically. He was in mid-air, with no way to push off. Seeing the terrifying hand getting closer and closer, about to grab him, a look of despair appeared in his eyes.
But Katakuri didn't give up. Although he knew that resistance was likely futile, for someone like him, unless he was completely unable to move, he would never give up.
Gurgle...!
In the blink of an eye, a large amount of mochi erupted from his body, forming a sphere that completely enveloped him.
The five sharp fingers of the skeletal hand opened and grabbed the entire mochi sphere.
SIZZLE!
A circle of white smoke instantly rose from the mochi sphere.
The next moment, the skeletal hand began to retract, pulling the mochi sphere with it. As long as it could drag the sphere into the swamp lake, it would all be over.
But just then!
CRACK! BANG!
A bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck the skeletal hand, instantly severing it. It turned into mud and fell back into the swamp lake.
The mochi sphere fell and was caught by a large, fat hand.
As the dust and smoke billowed, a massive figure was faintly visible by the edge of the swamp lake.
Wilder stood up, his expression grave as he looked at the cloud of dust. Then, he smiled.
"Failed, huh?" Wilder raised his hand, and a sharp spear materialized in it. His gaze remained fixed on the cloud of dust.
Although he was smiling, Wilder could feel a sense of pressure and gravity. Big Mom's appearance had been completely without warning. It was as if she had appeared at a speed that was completely inconsistent with her body size. Or perhaps... she had actually descended from the sky, leaping over from a distance. With her strength, she could certainly do that, and appear without a sound.
Don't be fooled by Big Mom's large body; her movements were not slow. If you weren't careful, she would be right behind you. This was evident from both the original story and Wilder's previous encounter with her.
In a word, slow movements did not mean slow actions. Once she had an opportunity, no matter how fast you were, you couldn't escape. That was the power of the top tier.
"As expected, it's not that simple," Wilder said, lowering his head. When he looked up again, an excited smile was on his face.
The dust on the other side cleared, revealing Big Mom's figure. A shadow was cast over her grim face, and only her bloodshot eyes met Wilder's gaze.