Chapter 257: A one-shot kill! The first Admiral to die?

"Is that... the Grand General of the Noxas Kingdom?"

"Hiss... is that the fierce person who led the iron cavalry and swept through the North Blue directly?!"

"That terrifying god of slaughter is actually a woman?!"

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you still hung up on gender at a time like this? That guy is actually Locke's Devil Fruit ability, and he used it as a trump card—that's the point!!"

Noisy voices erupted within the canyon; everyone watching this high-profile battle had their eyes widened.

Especially the Navy side.

Looking at the confident, hearty laughter on Locke's face.

They instinctively felt an ominous sensation in their hearts.

Esdeath, who made a domineering entrance in high heels, seemed to be stepping on the heartstrings of every one of them; her cold expression, paired with her chilly temperament, was like a god of slaughter descending from the ice and snow.

The ice beauty had an imposing aura.

"Ad, Admiral, could there be any danger?"

"What are you joking about? That is Admiral Black Cloud! Lord Snow doesn't even know how many pirates he has dealt with; a mere Locke is nothing, does he think he's Rocks!!"

"That's right, even with one more woman, it won't have any impact!"

"Everything was destined long ago! When Lord Snow uses his full strength, the outcome is already set; this point will absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not change!!!"

"..."

The Navy side, of course, trusted Snow unconditionally.

Even though the sudden appearance of Esdeath caught them off guard, the prestige Snow had accumulated over a long period still made them unconditionally believe in their Admiral Black Cloud.

Unfortunately...

Things have never shifted according to human will.

"Ma! Ha! Padma!"

The Sanskrit whisper.

It rang out like a great bronze bell, the suddenly erupting sound waves sounding as if a Buddha were chanting and striking.

A surging power perceptible to the naked eye.

Yet it didn't stir up any waves of force; even the most common shockwaves were absent. The terrifying energy level seemed to be compressed into a single point, held tightly in Esdeath's hand.

The next instant!

Time and space stood still, all things silent.

Everything, absolutely everything, was like a small insect in amber, frozen in this moment.

The wind stopped!

The clouds were still!

All things lost their color.

From colorful three-dimensionality, they turned into black-and-white two-dimensionality, as if a pause button had been pressed, motionless.

The extreme ice, lowering the temperature to absolute zero, froze the energy of material movement, and on a certain dimension, forcibly formed a state of time-stop stillness.

"Your Highness!"

"I..."

"Can only stop him for less than two seconds at most!"

Esdeath's face was slightly pale, her cold, clear voice carrying a hint of faint weakness.

Although with the conquest of the North Blue and the baptism of battle after battle, Esdeath's strength was constantly transforming, even having improved significantly.

But the Black Cloud Snow before her was clearly not the guy they dealt with before who held the Phoenix fruit; after crossing the boundary of the Emperor-level, his power was completely incomparable to before.

The time Esdeath could control did not rise, but fell.

She couldn't help but reveal a trace of shame on her face.

The ability to freeze molecular movement, an alternative time-stop, was simply too BUG-like. Even though Esdeath's strength was already on the verge of the Emperor-level, just a line away from the true Emperor-level standard, and she could cross it at any time...

However, facing the veteran Admiral Black Cloud Snow, she could still only stop time for two seconds.

Although for a battle of this level, a split second could determine the outcome and secure victory; let alone two seconds, even one second could directly reverse the situation and turn defeat into victory!

"That's enough!"

Locke's arrogant voice instantly relieved Esdeath of her unnecessary self-reproach.

"This amount of time!"

"Is completely enough!"

Locke threw a punch, as if blowing the horn for an all-out attack.

*Ting! *

*Whoosh! *

Hidden in the shadows, the backup Locke had kept in reserve, Yor and Akame, appeared instantly.

Endless Death: Needle Point!

An attack like a giant bee's stinger was whipped out, the biting sharpness piercing directly through space.

Snow's pupils shrank, and he prepared to retreat.

A flash of mist.

He pulled his whole body back, the clouds beside him instantly wrapping around him and flying away at extreme speed, forcibly avoiding Yor's lethal strike, which grazed his cheek and temple.

Unfortunately!

Yor's attack was clearly not that simple!

The Teigu forged from the only tail stinger of the God-level Danger Beast, the Phantom Bee Queen, possessed the characteristic of following the target once an attack was launched. If it didn't hit, it would only turn into phantoms and multiply...

Until it filled the sky, with nowhere to hide, and only after hitting the target would the blood-stealing bee needle dissipate.

It was an attack that was fundamentally impossible to dodge!

Countless needles emitting biting cold light made people feel chilled to the bone. Although they appeared to be countless overlapping phantoms, every needle shimmered with bone-chilling cold. Once it hit, it would instantly transform from phantom to reality; reality and falsehood were just the simplest tricks to him.

Snow was forced into a corner with nowhere to retreat; more and more bee needles forced him to flee toward the Lei Yun Giant. However, the frozen time sealed all changes of the Lei Yun Giant, which remained stiff in place, unable to obey commands, and could only be used as a target like a bunker.

*Whoosh!! *

Borrowing the endless lightning drawn down, it erupted with a heaven-shaking roar.

Seemingly blocking the endless bee needles, he was met with the true, decisive, lethal strike left for him!

*Clang! *

The long sword left its sheath.

The slender blade shimmered with a bewitching blood-red light, like a legendary demon blade.

One-Cut Killer: Murasame!!

Akame's figure, with her long hair flowing, appeared on the field like a reaper announcing death!

The famous demon blade—Murasame.

If one were hit by the endless bee needles, it would only be a piercing of vital points, and at most, by relying on the endless characteristic, Snow would be left seriously injured and lose the ability to fight again.

But...

Once hit by Murasame, the curse power within, like bone-eating gangrene, could claim a life through the blood, directly bringing about an equal death. It only needed to break a small opening and ingest a wisp of blood as a medium.

The power of the Curse-Poison Demon would be enough to kill him directly!

That's right!

Locke's calculation after calculation was to force him into this very state.

Yor?

That was just a superficial attack!

Akame!

The 'One-Cut Killer: Murasame' in her hand was the true trump card Locke had hidden! ===== CHAPTER 259 =====