"Ye Yu!!" The Snake King's roar was no longer a mere psychic pulse but a physical shockwave that cracked the icy battlefield beneath them.
"I'll crush every bone in your body! Let your screams echo across this battlefield!"
Facing this overwhelming pressure, Ye Yu stood at the edge of the fissure in the ice. Once again, he drew upon Enma, gripping it in his left hand as its dark-red Haki crackled like thunder. Slowly, he raised his right arm and grasped the hilt of Black Blade Night sheathed on his back—now wielding both blades.
Clang—!
The moment Black Blade Night left its scabbard, it lacked the wild ferocity of Enma but carried a deeper, more restrained sharpness—as if it could sever time itself.
Ye Yu's aura underwent a qualitative transformation the instant both blades were drawn. If before he had been a volcano on the verge of eruption, now he was a god commanding annihilation.
"You talk too much."
His voice was icy, resonating through the blades and cutting clearly through the Snake King's roar.
"Your head—and your experience—are mine."
Before the words faded, Ye Yu vanished.
"What?!" The Snake King's massive vertical pupils constricted violently as an unprecedented sense of danger seized it. Its colossal body twisted abruptly, its dark-gold tail—covered in ancient runes—lashing out like a collapsing mountain, carrying enough force to shatter space itself toward where Ye Yu had last stood.
Simultaneously, all three of its monstrous heads opened their maws—the left spewing viridian poison capable of corroding space, the right unleashing an absolute-zero torrent to freeze souls, while the center head gathered a devastating dark-gold energy breath.
It no longer held back—this was a full-powered, lethal assault!
BOOM—!!!
The tail strike missed, obliterating the ice and even the seabed beneath, sending up a hundred-meter-high surge of murky water. The three deadly breaths crisscrossed over hundreds of meters, the poison corroding all, the freezing breath solidifying everything, and the dark-gold annihilation breath erasing existence itself.
Yet—Ye Yu was nowhere within the devastation.
In the next instant, his figure materialized like a ghost directly above the Snake King's center head—the one unleashing the dark-gold breath—moving faster than sight could follow.
"Too fast... Observation Haki can't track him—this is Observation Kill, paired with that speed..." The Snake King's center pupil reflected Ye Yu's cold expression and the twin blades blazing with dark-red Haki.
Dread and unease surged within it. Observation Kill combined with such speed—this close-quarters combat was far too dangerous.
"Dual Blade Style: Divine Departure!!"
Ye Yu's roar shook the battlefield as Black Blade Night and Enma erupted with unprecedented radiance. No flashy techniques—just pure, overwhelming power unleashed in a single strike.
The crossed blades descended mercilessly toward the Snake King's center neck—its most heavily armored, rune-covered weak point.
Time seemed to freeze.
The Snake King sensed death. It frantically twisted its head to evade while the dark-gold runes on its neck flared violently, forming an impenetrable metallic shield.
The other two heads abandoned their attacks, desperately rushing to aid, spewing venom and icy currents toward Ye Yu.
But it was too late.
Ye Yu's twin blades, carrying the speed-piercing force of "Divine Departure" and the overwhelming power of absolute dominance, slashed down like two searing-hot blades.
Shiii—BOOM!!!!
A piercing metallic screech tore through the air alongside a deafening explosion of energy.
The protective shield shattered the moment the twin blades struck, collapsing like fragile glass.
Immediately after, the serpent's neck, clad in its strongest scales, was cleaved by the crossed slash of the twin blades.
The supposedly indestructible dark-gold scales were sliced apart like paper, the terrifying slash tearing through flesh and shattering bone.
Dark-red Conqueror's Haki, like a clinging parasite, surged violently into the wound, ravaging the Snake King's immense vitality.
"ROOOAR—!!!"
The largest of the Snake King's three heads let out the most agonized and wretched howl since the battle began.
The sound was filled with unbearable pain and bone-deep terror. A massive "X"-shaped wound, deep enough to expose bone, nearly severed half its neck.
Dark-gold serpent blood, scalding like molten lava, gushed from the wound like a waterfall! The blood, brimming with terrifying energy, dripped onto the ice, instantly corroding massive craters into the frozen surface, hissing with a dreadful sizzle!
The excruciating pain drove the Snake King into utter madness. The venom and icy currents from its remaining two heads blasted toward Ye Yu's position.
BOOM! BOOM!
The collision of venom and frost erupted into a bizarre storm of emerald-green ice crystals—yet Ye Yu's figure vanished the instant his blades struck, narrowly evading the deadly pincer attack as if teleporting.
He reappeared atop a floating chunk of shattered ice some distance away, twin blades held at an angle, their tips dripping with dark-gold serpent blood.
The Snake King's massive body writhed and thrashed wildly in agony.
The grievously wounded central head hung limply, blood pouring like a torrential downpour. Its overwhelming aura, like a deflating balloon, instantly withered by half, replaced by boundless fury, suffering, and an indescribable trace of fear.
This human… had actually wounded it—severely!
A brief silence fell over the Tyrant Feather Pirate Ship before an earth-shaking roar erupted.
"Captain's invincible!!"
"Captain's unstoppable!"
Xiao Ke's eyes gleamed sharply. "Now! Full firepower! The serpents are panicking, their morale is dropping—make them fear even more!"
Cannonfire, slashes, flames, frost… the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew's counterattack erupted like a long-suppressed volcano.
Standing atop the shattered ice, Ye Yu wiped away a trickle of blood at the corner of his lips—spilled from his body's recoil after that extreme burst—his cold gaze locked onto the Snake King, now thrashing wildly in pain, its presence greatly diminished.
Slowly, he raised his twin blades again. Dark-red Haki began condensing along their edges once more. Though not as potent as his peak strike earlier, the killing intent was even more refined.
"Wretched worm, your blood stinks," Ye Yu's voice dripped with icy mockery. "Next strike, I take your life!"
The Snake King's remaining two heads snapped up, four vertical pupils locking onto Ye Yu, burning with madness, wrath… and a flicker of dread, shadowed by the specter of death.
It knew that this human truly had the ability to kill it. The defense it had prided itself on was utterly shattered under the onslaught of his twin blades.
For the first time, fear truly overwhelmed greed—but what followed was an even more hysterical frenzy.
"Ye Yu!!! This king will have your life! Your life!!" The Snake King's spiritual fluctuations were chaotic and deranged. "Ten Thousand Snakes Soul Devour!!!"
With its maddened roar, the gushing dark golden serpent blood did not dissipate. Instead, under the influence of some sinister force, it instantly vaporized, transforming into a vast, sky-enveloping mist of dark golden blood.
This blood mist carried a pungent, cloying stench and a terrifying soul-corrosive power, spreading rapidly across the battlefield.
At the same time, the blood from all the slain serpent corpses on the battlefield—whether single-headed, double-headed, or triple-headed—seemed to answer a call, turning into wisps of bloody vapor that surged madly into the dark golden mist.
The churning mist emitted shrill, ghostly shrieks, as if countless vengeful spirits were wailing. Within it, countless serpentine phantoms, twisted with malice and formed from serpent blood, emerged—their malevolent intent to devour souls surging like a tidal wave toward Ye Yu and the Tyrant Feather Pirate Ship.
This was the Snake King's ultimate spiritual attack, fueled by its own life essence and the sacrifice of every fallen serpent on the battlefield. Similar to Conqueror's Haki, it was far more terrifying.
The tide of battle shifted instantly once more! A lethal soul attack enveloped everyone!
Originally, Yang Luo and the other pirates at the rear had been panicking, ready to flee. But now, witnessing this turn of events, their eyes gleamed with renewed ambition.
"Go, Snake King! Wound them badly—then we can step in. No need to wipe out the entire Dominant Feather Pirate Crew. Just prioritize killing Ye Yu."
(End of Chapter)