Chapter 331: Defeating Two Powerhouses, Meeting Im!

No wonder Big Mom had lost her composure so completely.

Anyone who eats a Devil Fruit is spurned by the sea, forever unable to touch seawater, and is suppressed by Sea Prism Stone extracted from that very water.

This is an iron rule etched into the heart of every pirate on the Grand Line.

Yet now, right before her eyes, Gao Wen had shattered that iron rule.

He had overcome seawater!

At this thought, only boundless greed surged within Big Mom's heart, even overpowering her fear of Gao Wen.

If she could obtain the method to overcome a Devil Fruit user's weakness from Gao Wen's mouth, she could easily rally a vast number of ability users to serve her!

Even if she obtained it for herself, it would greatly enhance her combat capabilities at sea.

The sea is the eternal pain of all ability users; no matter how powerful their abilities, the moment they touch seawater, they instantly lose all power to resist.

But if one could obtain the method to overcome seawater from Gao Wen's hands, eating a Devil Fruit would come with no aftereffects.

The value of Devil Fruits would skyrocket!

"Hand over the method to overcome seawater!"

"Otherwise—"

"Otherwise, what do you plan to do? Kill me right here?!"

A cold, mocking voice pulled Big Mom back to reality.

She turned her head.

There, she saw Xia Mu Luo standing nearby, having lost an arm, his face deathly pale.

The latter's face was written all over with terror.

Clearly, even if Xia Mu Luo still possessed combat strength, it was far inferior to his peak.

Yet even if Xia Mu Luo at his peak joined forces with Big Mom, at best they would only match Gao Wen fifty-fifty, and in a prolonged battle, defeat was certain!

Naturally, Big Mom was not the only one who knew this; Xia Mu Luo was equally aware of his own situation.

One-on-one.

I am absolutely no match for this monster!

No!

In this era, even Kaido of the Hundred Beasts, hailed as the world's strongest creature, or Whitebeard, might not be his match!

This fellow...

He already bears several traces of Rocks from back in the day!

Retreat!

All fighting spirit vanished from Xia Mu Luo's heart; he immediately disengaged and fled backward at full speed.

The plan of Britannias had already been declared a failure.

Even if the plan hadn't failed up to this point, he had an ominous premonition.

After all, since just now, he had not sensed the presence of his companions.

Even ordinary members of the Knight Corps possessed combat strength comparable to Navy captains, and several captains far surpassed ordinary Vice Admirals.

They also possessed immortal bodies, making it impossible for them to die from the aftermath of battle!

So given the current situation...

Xia Mu Luo felt a chill creep into his heart and immediately increased his speed.

"Damn it!"

Big Mom came to her senses:

"This kid's combat strength has already approached Whitebeard's from back in the day; relying on myself alone, I am absolutely no match for him!"

"But if I can join forces with that fellow Kaido, there might still be a chance!"

Big Mom waved her hand, activating the power of the Soru Soru no Mi, splitting off a portion of her soul once more to reshape the thunder cloud Zeus, carrying herself as she retreated backward.

Having managed to escape with great difficulty, in a sense she had already profited; even if she wanted to obtain Gao Wen's method for overcoming Devil Fruits, she could act again later.

However.

Gao Wen had no intention of giving them such an opportunity.

During the battle at Water Seven, he had been schemed against by the Whole Cake Island, and the sneak attack by the God's Knights had indirectly led to Ah Jin's disappearance.

These two debts, Gao Wen naturally intended to collect one by one!

"Then I'll blast you all to death with a single strike!"

"Hiss—"

A heavy inhalation sound erupted from Gao Wen's mouth; infinite ley line energy converged into his body, directly forming streaks of light in the air!

To accommodate the even more massive ley line energy, Gao Wen's body gradually expanded, transforming into a Crimson Dragon.

The Crimson Dragon's size was more than a circle larger than before, its length approaching two hundred meters; even standing on all fours, it was as huge as a mountain range.

Its entire body of scales, armor, and spikes carried a primitive and ferocious wildness.

Very quickly.

The land beneath Gao Wen's feet began to turn to sand, spreading outward from under his feet in all directions; a sense of oppression began to permeate the air, thick and heavy like the waters of the deep sea.

In the distance.

Everyone standing on the deck of the Lionheart felt unable to breathe.

They raised their heads and saw a familiar scene.

"It's that one!"

"The one the Captain used once in the Drum Kingdom!"

Chopper let out a startled cry.

He still remembered the spores burning across the sky in the Drum Kingdom, and that pink snow.

Luo swallowed hard, a hint of anticipation flickering in his eyes:

"The captain's trump card?!"

"I really want to see it with my own eyes—!"

"See my ass!"

Xiang Keluo interrupted directly, his voice even trembling.

After all, the experience of fleeing for his life from the Drum Kingdom earlier was far from pleasant for him.

After all.

Since then, Gao Wen's combat power had improved by several notches; the power of this outbreak would inevitably far exceed that previous instance, and even the attack on the Wan Guo fleet before that!

"Franky!"

"Retreat!"

"Quick! Quick! Quick!"

"That guy Gao Wen..."

"Is about to go berserk!"

A trickle of cold sweat ran down Franky's forehead, yet his eyes suddenly became incredibly bright:

"Then it's just the chance to show you the secret weapon on this ship!"

He immediately rushed into the cabin.

On the deck.

Everyone watched Xiang Keluo's solemn expression, and for a moment, their hearts were all pounding like drums.

Newcomers like Luo and Cavendish did not know what Gao Wen was about to do, but they knew Xiang Keluo's strength was absolutely no weaker than that of an ordinary Warlord of the Sea.

And for something to make Xiang Keluo this serious...

The next instant.

They saw exactly what object Xiang Keluo feared!

At the end of their line of sight.

The pale blue mantle energy was drained dry by Gao Wen; he raised his dragon head, began compressing the earth pulse energy within his body, and then suddenly opened his mouth wide.

Zzzzt—!

A piercing shriek erupted.

An extremely thin beam of deep blue laser shot forth from Gao Wen's mouth, sweeping toward the two fleeing figures in the distance!

Wherever the laser passed, towering giant trees instantly turned to charcoal, the earth and stone on the ground melted, resembling a river flowing with magma, radiating terrifying heat.

And when that laser contacted the seawater, the nearby sea surface suddenly depressed, and endless seawater was evaporated.

The entire Britannias seemed to ignite at this very moment!

Big Mom's movement was ultimately a step too slow; struck by the Red Emperor Blue Star compressed into a laser from Gao Wen's mouth, one of her arms was completely burned through, with only a bit of flesh and skin connecting it to her body.

Intense, excruciating pain made her break out in a cold sweat, yet she had no time to hesitate.

It was solely because the laser sweeping again from behind gave her an unprecedented sense of crisis!

Being hit by that thing would truly mean death!

She was both shocked and terrified.

Previously in Water Seven, she had been sneak-attacked by Gao Wen; the flesh and skin all over her body had been burned, but it only looked frightening without injuring her fundamentals.

After all.

As one of the current Four Emperors, her combat power might be slightly inferior to the others.

But speaking solely of defensive capability, she might not lose to Kaido.

She was a born monster.

From the moment of her birth, she possessed strength surpassing ordinary humans, even comparable to giants, and a physique far stronger than normal people by thousands or tens of thousands of times.

It could be said that in terms of talent alone, she was the strongest of the current generation.

But at this moment, facing Gao Wen's attack, she experienced the illusion of confronting death for the first time!

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

Big Mom mobilized the soul power within her body; Napoleon suddenly accelerated, barely avoiding Gao Wen's period of eruption, and disappeared into the clouds without looking back.

On the other side, Xia Mu Luo Ke was not so lucky.

His chest was burned through by Gao Wen's laser; he collapsed to the ground with a deathly pale face. One of his arms had already been severed by Gao Wen, and now suffering a through-and-through wound, he possessed no strength left to resist.

He collapsed dejectedly on the ground.

Before losing consciousness, he only saw a blade slashing toward his neck.

Tsk...

"I really can't accept this!"

In a daze, a familiar voice that made his scalp go numb appeared beside his ear.

"He is Mu's man."

"You cannot kill him."

Upon the earth.

A pitch-black pentagram pattern instantly unfolded.

A figure suddenly appeared, positioning himself between Gao Wen and Xia Mu Luo Ke.

He extended just one finger and blocked Gao Wen's blade.

Ding—!

Sparks flew, and a piercing hum exploded in the air.

"Hm?!"

Gao Wen frowned tightly.

The reason was that standing before him was an ordinary member of the God's Knights.

He had seen this person during the battle at the ruined port earlier; his strength was mediocre, roughly at the upper-mid Silver rank.

Whether he could survive under Zoro's blade was already questionable, let alone blocking Gao Wen's strike so easily.

The only possibility was...

The consciousness within this body was no longer the original one!

Upon this vast sea, only one being could accomplish such a feat: Im!

The supreme powerhouse who had ruled the world for eight hundred years, with unfathomable strength!

"Judging by your reaction, it seems you know of Mu."

Im raised his eyes.

Bat-like wings tore open behind this body, a long tail like an arrowhead swayed behind him, and a trident formed in his hand, looking exactly like the demon from legends.

At the same time.

Amidst the surrounding ruins, those God's Knights who had previously lost consciousness stood up stiffly, likewise transforming into demon forms.

Their aura was now several times stronger than before!

"Mu is very interested in you."

"In the eight hundred years since the World Government was founded, I have never encountered such an outstanding young person as you, possessing power close to the pinnacle at this age."

"Did you come to Britannias for the sake of immortality?!"

Im glanced at Big Mom, who had vanished in the distance, then looked at Xia Mu Luo, who had lost consciousness nearby, connecting these observations with the intelligence he previously gathered on Gao Wen.

In his heart, he reached a conclusion.

Gao Wen's appearance in Britannias, and even his acquisition of the Bone's power ahead of schedule, must surely be for the purpose of immortality.

Furthermore, the power Gao Wen displayed in today's battle had already qualified him to be taken seriously.

"You are quite good."

"However, as a reward for helping Mu arrest the traitor, Mu can bestow upon you one thing."

"That is eternal life and an undying body."

"The price, however, is becoming my slave."

"No."

"Perhaps this cannot even be considered a price; to crawl at my feet is your honor."

Gao Wen frowned tightly, feeling nothing but displeasure in his heart.

He only looked at the God's Knight beside him, who had been completely transformed into a demon form and reduced to a weapon of war.

Instantly, he lost all interest in the so-called immortality Im spoke of.

All these people had once received Im's blessing, gaining the so-called eternal life and undying bodies, and the price was the scene before their eyes.

Gao Wen had no intention of becoming someone's dog, nor had he prepared to fight Im here, but now the arrow was on the string and had to be released.

His gaze gradually sharpened as he quietly gripped the long blade in his hand.

Suddenly.

"Hm?!"

Im looked down at his own body.

Wisp after wisp of black smoke rose from his arm; the flesh and blood of this body were gradually collapsing, withering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"The compatibility of this physical body is ultimately far too poor; it cannot even sustain this level?!"

"Truly disappointing."

"If you fail to find what you seek in Britannias, I will wait for you in Mary Geoise."

"I believe you will make the correct choice."

As the voice landed.

Im vanished without a trace, and disappearing along with him were all the surrounding members of the God's Knights.

The surroundings instantly fell silent.

Only the flowing lava remained, scorching the earth as it poured into the seawater, raising steam.

Gao Wen slowly sheathed Guanshi Zhengzong, while Im's words from just now still echoed in his mind:

"Did he misunderstand my purpose for coming here as seeking a method of immortality?!"

"However."

"From Im's words, it is not difficult to infer that he must be certain I cannot find a method of immortality in Britannias."

"In other words, the legend of 'Flesh, Blood, Bone, Heart, and Soul' likely harbors some unknown risk!"

"In any case."

"Being cautious is never wrong."

"This fellow's abilities..."

"Are even more troublesome than I imagined!"

"This Warlord of the Sea guise cannot be shed temporarily, at least not until I truly possess the capital to contend with that monster."

Thinking this.

Gao Wen gradually calmed down.

Fortunately.

From Imu's words just now, he seemed convinced that Gao Wen had come solely for immortality, acting as though he had Gao Wen completely figured out.

This, on the contrary, gave Gao Wen some room to maneuver.

Yet at this very moment.

At the end of his line of sight.

Three figures, riding golden skateboards, came speeding toward them.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo watched the figures in the distance drawing nearer and growing increasingly familiar, feeling only that the more he looked, the more recognizable they became.

The golden skateboards halted abruptly in midair.

Lord Tai Zuo Luo whipped his head around to stare at Ah Jin:

"The captain you spoke of... who exactly is he?!"

Lord Tai Zuo Luo failed to notice that his own voice was trembling.

Over these past few days.

He had heard Ah Jin praise the captain countless times, yet the man now standing before his eyes was clearly the Knight Gao Wen!

That man who had abandoned his beliefs—how could he possibly be the one Ah Jin described as compassionate and willing to defy the Divine Knight Order for the sake of his comrades?!

Absurd!

"My apologies."

Ah Jin's tone carried a note of regret:

"I had intended to reveal my true identity to you all along, but never found the opportunity; my real name is Ah Jin."

"Ghost Man Ah Jin? Knight Gao Wen's right-hand man?!"

"Mm."

Ah Jin nodded.

"But the man you described..."

"How could he... how could he possibly be Knight Gao Wen?!"

(End of Chapter)