OPTC Chapter 266 Fierce Battle
"Artoria will be fine, right?" Rui Meng Meng asked worriedly.
"She'll be fine. If she were in real danger, we'd be seeing a forty-meter sword right now," Zhang Da Ye replied confidently. For Artoria, this was still just the warm-up phase.
Sure enough, Golden Lion's slash was suddenly deflected midair with a metallic clang, redirecting sideways toward his palace.
She had used the same technique she'd once employed at Sabaody to parry Mihawk's attacks — sending the strike flying for hundreds of meters, slicing through dozens of Daft-Greens, and finally smashing through the palace gate.
Artoria stood tall, her sword in hand. Her silver armor bore small scratches that quickly healed themselves through magic, leaving her as composed as ever.
The ground within fifty meters around her had been torn apart completely, except for the small patch beneath her feet.
"Not bad at all!" Golden Lion grinned and dove down to clash head-on with her once more.
He didn't care that his palace was damaged. There would always be workers to rebuild it later — that was why he'd kept the nearby Melview village around. Free labor was always convenient.
Their blades clashed again and again, sparks bursting in midair. The twin swords attached to Golden Lion's feet moved in blinding arcs, while Artoria's blade was so fast it couldn't be seen at all — only the streaks of fire in the air showed where their strikes met.
Golden Lion also used his control of earth and stone to create spikes that shot up from the ground, forcing Artoria to adjust midair — he was trying to exploit her limited mobility in flight.
He could have simply bombarded her from afar by throwing islands, but that wasn't an option here. This was his territory, his research base — and there were too many things he couldn't afford to destroy.
After dozens of exchanges, the two clashed once more in the sky. Golden Lion retreated upward, while Artoria began to fall.
In that instant, dozens of sharpened earthen spikes shot up toward her.
Each one was about a meter long — the result of Golden Lion's adjustments after many battles. Too small and they lacked power; too large and they became stepping stones.
Artoria twisted midair, slicing them apart with a single sweeping motion. Without even looking back, she flipped her sword and deflected Golden Lion's next slash, landing gracefully in a half-kneel before rising again.
Smooth, sharp, and almost elegant — even surrounded by chaos.
She had already taken a few hits earlier, though her magically restored armor made it hard to tell. Still, her responses were quicker, more fluid now. She was adapting.
"Such precision... such speed... Who exactly are you?" Golden Lion asked, shocked. A warrior of this caliber shouldn't have just appeared out of nowhere in his "paradise."
Artoria straightened, raising her sword. "Artoria Pendragon. Swordsman and helmsman of the Amber Travel Group."
"Travel group?" Golden Lion blinked. It was the second time he'd heard that term — he'd thought the talkative kid earlier was joking.
"A fighter like you doesn't belong in a mere travel group! I am Golden Lion Shiki — the man who will one day rule this world!
Join me, and together we'll become true kings of the sea!"
It was a grand, arrogant declaration — one that echoed through the skies, as if he hadn't just said earlier that the world didn't need more kings.
Artoria pointed her sword at him. "Sorry. We're part-time bounty hunters. And I'm guessing your bounty's worth quite a lot."
"Giahahaha! No one's dared to claim my bounty for years," Golden Lion roared with laughter. "If you think you can — come take it!"
Just then, one of the Flag spirits — a misty little creature — floated up beside Artoria and whispered something.
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and charged again.
Golden Lion crossed the blades on his feet, blocking her strike. "How many times will you keep trying? You're only adding more wounds to yourself!"
Their blades clashed again, sending shockwaves through the air. But this time, as Artoria began to fall, one of the Flag spirits materialized beneath her feet, forming solid arms that pushed her upward with a burst of force.
"What the—?!" Golden Lion barely managed to parry her next thrust, the tip of her sword grazing his arm and drawing blood.
Each time she started to fall, another Flag appeared, supporting her. As soon as it had done its job, it turned back into mist and repositioned.
By now, eight misty Flags hovered in the air, cycling rapidly. They had hurried back after being called by Ye Yan — and since Zhang Da Ye had noticed Artoria struggling midair, they'd come up with this rather reckless plan.
"Why not have Golden Peng carry her?" Shark Chili asked. "He can fly, right?"
Ye Yan shook his head. "Golden Peng's not built for close combat. If he flies with her, she'll have to protect him — that'll throw off their rhythm. Better to let the Flags act as stepping stones and bail out right after."
With the Flags' help, Artoria now had eight moving footholds in the air, allowing her to attack seamlessly. Golden Lion was caught off guard by her newfound agility.
"Logia?" he muttered, watching one of the misty Flags pass harmlessly through his stone spikes. "No... even a Logia can't split into eight. Must be some kind of special ability."
A veteran of countless battles, he immediately changed tactics. As Artoria stepped off another Flag's hands, he unleashed a storm of slashes. "Lion: Thousand Valley Cuts!"
Hundreds of golden blades filled the air. Artoria deflected as many as she could, but one of the larger Flags — Ru Da Shan — was too big to avoid them all.
Several slashes struck him squarely in the belly.
"Waaah!" Ru Da Shan screamed, blood spraying as he tumbled down.
"Ru Da Shan!" Artoria cried, reaching for him, but without his support she began to fall as well.
"Don't worry about him!" the Flags shouted. "He'll live!"
Shark Tide quickly shifted position, catching Artoria's foot and launching her back up at Golden Lion, preventing him from following up.
"Return!" Ye Yan raised the Spirit Banner. Ru Da Shan's wounded form turned into mist and was sucked back inside. "A few days of rest in there and he'll be fine. Still, this guy's sharp — he caught that tiny opening in less than a second."
Zhang Da Ye frowned. "He's a legendary pirate for a reason. Maybe we underestimated him a bit."
"Giahahaha! So that's how it is!" Golden Lion grinned even as he defended himself. "Those things come from that brat's ability! And the best way to deal with an unknown power..."
He swung both legs in a wide arc, forcing Artoria back, then clenched his fist. "...is to eliminate the user himself! Lion Power: Earth Coil!"
The ground shook again as eight enormous lion heads of stone surrounded the watching group once more.
Golden Lion sneered, trying to distract Artoria. "Aren't you worried about your companions?"
"That kind of attack won't harm them," she said, her tone calm as ever.
She was right. Rui Meng Meng had already gained enough power to break through, the Shark Giant was more than capable of smashing rocks, and even if not — Zhang Da Ye and Tom would always come up with something ridiculous.
Sure enough, Rui Meng Meng swung her sword and blasted a massive hole through the encircling wall, allowing everyone to escape.
Zhang Da Ye and Ye Yan, both "civilized men," ran while shouting curses.
"This bastard doesn't fight fair!" Ye Yan yelled. "Who attacks bystanders during a duel!?"
Zhang Da Ye, uncharacteristically angry, snapped, "Screw it! He wants to play dirty? Fine — let's go wreck his palace!"
"Wait, what?"
"This is his island. Nobody else here can fight. He attacked us first — we'll just call it even."
Tom immediately raised a paw in support. Normally he was the one picking fights and getting beaten up, but this time, revenge was justified — and he never let revenge wait overnight.
Mostly because he'd forget by morning.
So, under Zhang Da Ye's direction, the group began to circle around the battlefield toward the palace.
"There's a weird clown behind that rock!" Perona reported from inside the Shark Giant's cockpit, her negative ghosts still patrolling the area.
Artoria had entrusted her with their rear guard, and for once, she was taking the job seriously.
Peeking from behind a rock was a clown in a white lab coat. Blue hair, pale face — if not for the missing red nose, Zhang Da Ye might've mistaken him for *that* clown.
Indigo, the scientist, took out several chemical vials, tiny flames of yellow and purple hovering in his palm. "Didn't expect Lord Shiki to be struggling! That swordswoman's strong... Let's see how she handles my Chemical Juggling Bombs! Hihihihi!"
A small, transparent ghost appeared before him, floating lazily up and down.
"Huh? What's this?" Indigo frowned, then suddenly realized. "Wait — that's the ability that made the entire scouting team fall into depression!"
Perona sent her ghost lunging toward him the moment she saw his intent.
"Chemical Juggling Barrage!" Indigo panicked, throwing a flurry of burning orbs.
They passed harmlessly through the ghost before exploding on the ground, each blast nearly as strong as the bomb Tom once used to blow up the giant gorilla Skaredo.
But the ghost continued forward, untouched — and passed straight through Indigo.
He fell to his knees, crying, "I'm no chief scientist... I'm just a clown!"
A few seconds later, he stood up again. "Is this... what the scouting team felt? I'm not weak-minded! I can—"
The ghost passed through him again.
"Ten years and I still haven't perfected the S.I.Q. formula... I'm pathetic!"
"Damn it! I'll—"
Another pass.
"My footsteps make weird squeaky noises! I'm disgusting!"
Even Zoro couldn't handle the Negative Ghost — Indigo had no chance.
By the time Zhang Da Ye and the others arrived, he was still kneeling, head drooped, completely crushed by despair.
Even though the ghost now just floated nearby, he remained trapped in misery.
"Serves you right for trying to sneak attack! Hehehehehe!" Perona said proudly, hands on her hips. Then she glanced at Zhang Da Ye, uncertain. "Was I... too harsh?"
Zhang Da Ye looked at her with mild surprise. Maybe all those "basic manners" lessons weren't wasted after all — the bratty ghost princess was learning self-control.
"You did great," he said, patting her head. "Those rules about kindness and politeness only apply to friends. Against enemies, you take them down fast."
"Don't touch my head!" she pouted, batting his hand away.
Zhang Da Ye pointed at Indigo. "Ye Yan, put him to sleep."
Ye Yan sighed. "Please stop phrasing it like that! It sounds... creepy."
"Fine. Knock him out, then."
The sound of explosions had drawn Golden Lion's attention. He glanced down to see Indigo surrounded by Zhang Da Ye's group — and panic flashed across his face.
Indigo was his chief scientist, the man responsible for the S.I.Q. drug that could evolve animals into beasts. If Indigo died, ten years of research would go up in smoke.
Fittingly, this was karma. Golden Lion had tried to distract Artoria by attacking her allies — and now, it was his turn to lose focus because his ally was in danger.
Artoria's sword flashed, cutting a shallow wound across his waist.
"You brats... enough!" Golden Lion roared in fury.
He turned his hand toward Zhang Da Ye's group, preparing to hurl a fallen Daft-Green tree at Ye Yan, who was about to knock Indigo out.
But before he could strike, Artoria stepped between them, her sword gleaming. "Your opponent is me."
"Get out of my way! That trick won't work again!" Golden Lion shouted, swinging his blades.
"Is that so?" Artoria's sword began to hum with wind. "Then take this —
Wind King's Hammer!"
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