Pain!
Half a day of fighting, simultaneously facing two Admiral-level powerhouses, was like dancing on a tightrope. It kept Silas's mental strings taut while his body constantly teetered on the edge of collapse.
But now it was different.
Sebastes had already fallen. The only one left standing on the field was the Marine Admiral candidate.
Marine Vice Admiral codenamed "Cyborg."
Also the future Fleet Admiral and World Government Commander-in-Chief!
Even though Kong had not yet grown to his limit, Admiral-level combat power, top-tier three-color Haki, a pure physical combat specialist!
Facing such an opponent one-on-one made every cell in Silas's body seem to forget fatigue.
Cheering, rejoicing!
"Haha, that is right, Kong! Come fight, come kill! You bear the Marines' hopes, I bear my crew's hopes."
"We both have reasons we cannot lose!"
Flesh-to-flesh collisions, Armament Haki wrapping around bodies, Observation Haki predicting the future, and Conqueror's Haki momentum clashing. None of it had stopped from the beginning.
Roya and Lily in the distance were already dazzled.
"So strong!" "So fast!"
Devil Fruit powers were generally only possessed by the fortunate few. The reason Haki and physical techniques could firmly occupy a place at the pinnacle of this world's pyramid was because of such pure strength.
No fancy tricks whatsoever.
Just ultimate power, ultimate speed. Strong enough to be completely irresistible, fast enough that no one could react.
Bang!
Silas's fist was embedded in Kong's face while Kong's fist also landed on Silas. The two colliding at cannonball speed flew back even faster, rolling hundreds of meters on the ground and carving out two long furrows.
"Cough cough!"
Silas climbed up from the ground, unable to help spitting up a large mouthful of blood. Kong's punch had directly broken three of his ribs. Even Armament Haki could not defend against it.
"Silas!!!"
Kong's roar came from the other side. He got up from the ground faster than Silas, his mouth missing three teeth and whistling when he spoke. But his stamina was still abundant. The past half day of fighting had not significantly affected his combat power.
"No choice then."
Silas tugged at the corner of his mouth. In pure physical combat, he indeed was not a match for physical specialists like Kong. But when had he ever relied purely on physical combat?
Watching Kong charging toward him, Conqueror's Haki surged around Silas's body.
Unlike the awkwardness of his first use of Conqueror's Haki coating, his second use showed that Silas's control over Conqueror's Haki had obviously improved by more than one level.
Seeing Silas grip his sword, Kong's powerful Observation Haki made him realize the danger.
But it was already too late.
"Dragon Slayer!"
Channeling Conqueror's Haki and pouring power into his blade, the slash Silas unleashed was not large in range but landed perfectly in front of Kong. Without even touching him, it made Kong feel as if struck by lightning.
"Conqueror's... coating!?"
Sent flying over a thousand meters by Silas's strike, a huge wound appeared on his chest while blood uncontrollably flowed from his mouth and nose.
Kong stared intently at Silas.
"This is the strike that defeated Admiral Crimson Horse!"
Whether it was Roya's desperate final blow or Lily's carefully crafted Dynamite Rock ammunition, both were just the final straws that broke the camel's back.
Kong was very clear that without Silas's strike, given Sebastes's strength, no matter how weakened, he would not have lost to two great pirates.
Conqueror's Haki coating!
This was what Fleet Admiral Elephant Yama had told him after certifying his strength, a way to advance his power further.
As Marines, they naturally had hierarchical distinctions.
But as long as one had a fearless heart, a heart that would see justice through to the end, even Marines could train Conqueror's Haki to its limits.
Position was just identity.
More important was conviction, their practice of their chosen path.
But how to do it?
Kong had no clue.
Whether Armament Haki, Observation Haki, or physical prowess, all had reached the limits he could achieve.
Going higher, even one step was incredibly difficult.
So some chose to eat Devil Fruits. Even paying the price of weakness when touching seawater, each additional ability meant becoming more well-rounded.
"Jack of all trades, master of none" described ordinary beginners.
For people like them who had already reached limits in their fields, compared to continuing to improve existing abilities, adding more skills might be a better choice.
So even though Silas believed ultimate Haki could counter all fancy tricks, he would not superstitiously train only Haki.
Because this stuff depended on talent!
Rocks had talent in Haki and physical techniques, so Silas had him focus on improving Haki and physical arts. Ripley lacked some talent in Haki, so Silas had her eat a fruit to raise her physical limits.
Teaching according to individual aptitude!
Only this way could they maximize avoiding newcomers going astray.
Enough digression.
The outcome of Silas and Kong's battle would ultimately decide this war's final direction.
Yes, war!
The slaughter between fifteen thousand Marines and nearly twenty thousand pirates.
What else could this be but war?
All pirates and Marines eagerly awaited this battle's result.
Would pirates win?
Or would Marines win?
Kong again swung his fists and charged at Silas. So what if he could not use Conqueror's coating? Silas was already exhausted from fighting him and Admiral Crimson Horse. But he would definitely hold out until the end!
Armament Haki wrapped around his hands as Kong leaped high, his massive fist falling toward Silas like a meteor.
"Steel Forge Strike!"
Boom!
The ground beneath Silas cracked inch by inch. The island's collapse left almost no footing beneath their feet, with seawater flooding in almost right below them.
Seeing this scene, Kong's eyes lit up.
He had found his chance for victory!
"Kid, do not be so naive!"
However, before the joy could show on Kong's face, Silas roared low. Cold currents exploded from his body, instantly freezing seawater within a thousand-meter range beneath him.
Freezing seawater to this extent was nothing to Silas.
It would not even waste much stamina.
At this point, Kong completely abandoned any thoughts of taking shortcuts.
"Silas!"
Roaring, Kong in his white Marine uniform leaped again, releasing Armament Haki to its limits. The werewolf-transformed Silas gripped his long sword.
"Falling Star!"
"Dragon Slayer!"
Two unstoppable figures unleashed all their power without reservation in the heavy snow. Armament Haki release, Conqueror's coating. Black-red lightning spread from between them, instantly covering the entire sky above Sphinx.
Boom!
All of Sphinx's residents felt the earth trembling. Admiral-level powerhouses fighting, if not consciously limited to one area, could sink this island!
Explosive Haki collided between fist and blade.
Kong could not use Conqueror's coating, so he could only continuously output his Armament Haki. More of it, several times the release.
"Move quickly!"
Even from over a thousand meters away, Lily felt their current location was no longer safe. She hurriedly dragged the immobilized Roya away.
"Hey, could you not be gentler?"
Nearly coughing up blood from flying debris, Roya complained.
"Shut up!"
Lily looked worriedly toward the battle's center.
The leftmost landmass of Sphinx had completely disappeared. The impact's tremors raised hundred-meter-high waves, cloud layers in the sky collapsed level by level, and snowflakes melted completely before falling.
Silas had little strength left.
Fighting two Admirals alone was truly exhausting. Even with Roya and Lily's help, it was difficult to defeat two Admirals.
Kureha's secret medicine had been taken.
Scalding blood shot from his heart like magma, injecting power throughout his body, allowing him to persist until now without falling.
But Kong was the same.
What kept Kong going until now? His ethereal justice?
"Kong, tell me. What is your justice?"
Silas roared, blood seeping from fine pores on his sword-gripping hand. Muscles tore, and even bones creaked.
He stared at Kong with red eyes.
"My justice?"
When all power was concentrated in his hands with no capacity for thought, Kong instinctively released his soul's cry.
"Order!"
Kong murmured quietly, but his eyes grew brighter.
"I want to maintain order on these seas. My justice is to maintain order!"
Kong's voice grew louder and more determined. When Kong found his heart's answer, he felt his power increase somewhat. He even seemed to understand what so-called Conqueror's coating really was.
"Not a bad answer."
However, what Kong had not expected was that after hearing his answer, Silas did not yield. Instead, he looked at him and released an even more deafening roar.
"But is your order the World Government's order?"
"Or the Celestial Dragons' order?"
"Those people you need to protect, have you protected them?"
"Those enslaved by Celestial Dragons, have you helped them?"
"Kong, answer me!"
Brief bewilderment, a moment's distraction. The result was already completely different.
Only Silas's roar remained in Kong's mind.
"Is this your order!?"