RNP Chapter 272 The Wanderer's Journey, A Fierce Battle
Chapter 272 The Wanderer's Journey, A Fierce Battle
Chapter 272 The Wanderer's Journey, A Battle to the Death
The sound vanished, and the images completely collapsed. The darkness within the realm returned to calm, but the feeling of being swallowed up grew stronger.
Kojiro stood there, reflecting on the conversation he had just had.
Yazlar's goals were bigger than he had imagined.
It's not a simple matter of arrival or usurpation, but rather an attempt to reshape the cycle of life and death and create a new world of death.
Wang Hassan represents the balance of maintaining the status quo.
This is a fundamental clash of ideas.
No wonder King Hassan has been hesitant to make a move.
He probably saw this coming a long time ago, so he was waiting—
Waiting for Azrael to truly begin his actions, waiting for the opportune moment when he can decisively turn the tide.
What he didn't know was that Azrael probably wanted to descend in his true form.
At that point, King Hassan, wielding only a regular Spirit Origin, would naturally be no match for the true form of the Grim Reaper.
Kojiro turned and left. He needed to find Luffy and his crew immediately to share information.
However, when he had walked less than a hundred meters, dozens of figures suddenly appeared in the surrounding coral reefs.
They are all clones of Hassan with a hundred faces.
They emerge from the shadows, step out from behind the coral, and coalesce from the seawater.
Each of them wore the same skull mask, the same dark blue robes, and held various weapons in their hands.
Short sword, dagger, throwing knife, poison needle, chain —
There were no words, no murderous intent, only a cold, absolute encirclement.
Kojiro stopped in his tracks, and the dried meat slicing slowly came out of its sheath.
The blade sliced through the seawater, creating a silent ripple.
"I see," he said calmly. "The images just now weren't just a dialogue—they were also location data."
The circle surrounding the clones began to shrink.
There are a total of thirty-seven clones, which corresponds exactly to the number of offerings in the blood pool. This is no coincidence.
Kojiro took a deep breath and poured his magic into his entire body.
The first wave of attacks came from all directions.
Twenty-seven throwing knives, nine poisoned chains, and a silent blowgun simultaneously attacked his vital points!
There was no room to dodge.
Kojiro did not dodge.
He moved.
The dried food transformed into a silver arc of light—not just one, but twenty-seven.
No, even more! The flashing blades resembled blooming lotuses, blossoming in the deep sea!
"Secret Sword: Swallow Return: Scattering Blossoms!"
Each blade of light accurately struck a throwing knife, each blade of light severed a chain, and the final three blades of light converged at one point, shattering the blowgun in mid-air!
But the attacks did not stop.
The first wave of clones retreated immediately after completing their attack, and the second wave of clones charged forward right afterward!
This time it's close combat, with twelve clones wielding short blades, attacking simultaneously from twelve different angles!
Kojiro spun around, his long sword creating a whirlpool of water. The blades clashed with the short blades, producing a dense, metallic clang.
With each collision, one clone was knocked back, but a new one immediately took its place.
They coordinated perfectly, launching wave after wave of attacks, not seeking a fatal blow, but only to wear each other down.
"Delaying tactics"
Kojiro saw through his intentions. Hyakko didn't want to fight him to the death here; she just wanted to stall him until the battle was completed and the ceremony began.
He can't go on like this.
The sword's stance changed.
No more defense, no more blocking.
The dried food transformed into a bolt of lightning that pierced through the darkness, striking directly at the throat of a clone in front of it!
The clone tried to dodge, but the blade tip seemed to anticipate her movements, drawing a strange arc in the air before still piercing her with precision!
"puff!"
The clones turned into black mist and dissipated.
But at that very moment, five clones from each of the left and right sides pounced at the same time!
Their weapons gleamed with an eerie green light—a deadly poison, powerful enough to erode the spirit core of a heroic spirit!
Kojiro did not sheathe his sword.
He held his left hand together like a sword and drew a circle in the air.
"Secret Sword: Ring Slash!"
The ring of sword energy radiated outwards from him!
The edge of the ring was as sharp as a blade. Wherever it passed, the coral was silently cut off, the seawater was briefly parted, and the ten clones that rushed up were simultaneously cut in half at the waist!
Black mist filled the air.
But more clones are still arriving.
Kojiro began to move. He no longer stood still, but moved through the group of clones like a fish.
Every swing of the sword inevitably destroys a clone, and every dodge perfectly avoids the attack.
Of the thirty-seven clones, twenty-one were destroyed within three minutes.
But the remaining sixteen changed tactics.
Instead of surrounding them, they dispersed and hid among the coral reefs, beginning to harass them from a distance.
Poison needles, throwing knives, cursed spells — not seeking to hit, but only to disrupt.
Kojiro knew that continuing to argue was pointless.
The clones of the Hundred Faces are endless; as long as the original body has enough magic power, it can be summoned indefinitely.
He needs a breakthrough.
His gaze swept across the area and locked onto a clone.
The clone was positioned relatively isolated, and its weapon was not a conventional short blade, but a glowing runestone.
The maintainers of the position.
Kojiro sprang up and charged toward the clone!
Six clones immediately intercepted him, but he did not slow down.
With a series of swift slashes, he broke through three barriers with three strikes, and narrowly dodged the attacks of the remaining three clones!
The distance has been reduced to three meters!
The clone seemed to sense the danger and began to retreat, simultaneously raising the runestone—
Too late.
Kojiro's sword had already been thrust out.
It wasn't aimed at the clone, but at the rune stone in her hand!
"Clang!"
The metal and stone clashed! The runestone shattered in response!
In that instant, the flow of magic throughout the entire coral forest became momentarily disordered!
The void that had been devouring magic power fluctuated violently, and several cracks appeared at its boundaries!
opportunity!
Kojiro did not linger in the fight.
Using the recoil from the shattered runestone, he retreated rapidly, simultaneously unleashing seven consecutive slashes to cleave through seven clones that were attempting to pursue him!
Then, he turned around and rushed towards the edge of the forest with all his might!
The remaining clones pursued relentlessly, but Kojiro was faster.
He moved like a real ocean current through the coral reefs, leaving his pursuers behind in just a few breaths.
Five minutes later, he rushed out of the coral forest and returned to a relatively safe area.
Looking back, deep in the forest, the hollow ripples were gradually subsiding, but the cracks had not completely disappeared.
The construction of the position was delayed by at least half an hour.
enough.
Kojiro sheathed his sword and sped off in the direction Luffy and his crew were supposed to be.
He needs to bring the intelligence back.
First, Azrael's true purpose is to reshape the cycle of life and death and create a new world of death.
Secondly, the Coral Forest and the Deep Sea Altar are two interconnected sites that together form the basis of the Underworld projection.
Third, the ceremony will begin within three hours.
That's enough. Your intelligence is sufficient to give them the upper hand. Looks like I've had some good luck this time.
The seawater parted behind him, and the vibrant colors of the Coral Sea remained unchanged, as if darkness had been suppressed by the bright light.
Kojiro dared not slow down; he continued forward at full speed, remaining vigilant for any potential threats around him.
However, the opponent's murderous intent had gradually faded, so it seemed unlikely they would risk chasing them that far.
However, the moment Kojiro rushed out of the Coral Forest, he knew he was wrong.
The mistake was assuming that safety was a place that could be reached.
The three killing intents were like three ice spikes, simultaneously piercing his senses.
To the left, in the shadows of the coral reef, a dark figure silently emerged.
Silent Hassan, the wound on her waist had stopped bleeding, but the fluctuations of her spirit origin were still chaotic. Yet, the eyes that peeked out from under the skull mask were as cold as the ice at the bottom of the deep sea.
On the right, the seawater distorted slightly, and Hassan of Cursed Arm stepped out from the void, his mask casting an eerie shadow in the reflection of the fluorescent coral.
His hands hung at his sides, but his fingers were wrapped with almost invisible threads that connected to every ripple in the surrounding seawater.
Directly in front, Hassan the Hundred Faces slowly seeped out from a coral wall, as if a shadow had gained substance.
She wasn't carrying any weapons; she was just standing there, but Kojiro felt the space around him being sealed off by an invisible force.
It wasn't a magical barrier, but something more fundamental, as if this sea itself had become a realm of a hundred faces.
Three directions, three Hassans.
There were no words, no confrontation, and not even a hint of murderous intent.
They simply appeared, and then the attack began.
The first strike comes from stillness.
She moved, yet it seemed she didn't.
Kojiro only saw a purple afterimage leave in the air before three fine, hair-like poison needles were already pressed against his throat, chest, and brow.
It wasn't thrown, it was teleported.
The poison needles traversed spatial distances the instant they were released, disregarding physical trajectories.
At the last moment, Kojiro tilted his head, turned to the side, and leaned back.
The poisoned needle grazed the skin, causing three stinging pains.
Even without a direct hit, the deadly poison on the needle has already begun to seep through the air.
He had no time to deal with the poison, because the second blow from the cursed wrist had already arrived.
Instead of attacking him, attack his "surrounding environment".
With a flick of his wrist, the invisible threads suddenly tightened!
The seawater within a 30-meter radius instantly froze. It didn't freeze, but rather transformed into some kind of gelatinous substance, its density increasing tenfold!
Kojiro's movements immediately became sluggish, and each swing of his arm and each step required several times the effort.
Even more deadly, dense incantations began to emerge from these gelatinous seawater.
This is a curse, a curse targeting a spirit origin. Every incantation drains his magic, weakens his defenses, and erodes his very being.
"Tsk."
Kojiro channeled his magic into his legs, forcefully breaking through the gelatinous barrier, and retreated rapidly!
But Bai Mao blocked their escape route.
She raised one hand, palm up.
The surrounding corals began to replicate.
It's not an illusion, but a real material replica.
One coral became two, two became four, and in the blink of an eye, a wall of coral had been erected behind Kojiro. Every branch on the wall was as sharp as a spear, its tip shimmering with a ghostly green light.
So that's how it is—the little pervert finally understood! It was that purple-haired woman Hassan's ability!
There were never that many Hassans from beginning to end; they were all her clones, and her abilities could even be used for other things!
They attacked from both sides, blocking both sides.
The three Hassans worked together seamlessly.
Tranquility is the main offensive force, Cursed Wrist controls the battlefield, and Hundred Faces cuts off all escape routes.
This is a typical hunting formation, designed to target prey trapped in the middle.
Kojiro took a deep breath.
The dried ingredients are blanched and then removed from their sheaths.
This time, there was no light or sword energy on the blade; only the concept of cutting was attached to it.
He slashed forward with his sword.
It wasn't aimed at any particular Hassan, but at space itself.
"Secret Sword - Boundary Severing"
A tiny crack appeared in the path the blade had traversed.
It's not a crack in space, but a crack in the rules.
The gelatinous seawater on the cursed wrist fractured on both sides of the crack, and the curse runes disintegrated at the edge of the crack.
Kojiro passed through the crack.
The price was a deep, bone-exposing wound on his right shoulder.
The silent second wave of poisoned blades swept past him the instant he passed through the crack; had he not dodged in time, the blade would have severed his cervical vertebrae.
He didn't stop and continued charging forward.
We must create distance; we must return to the area patrolled by merfolk.
In open terrain, one has no chance of winning against three opponents, but in complex environments, one can at least use the terrain to maneuver.
But the Hassans wouldn't give him a chance.
The silence was like a persistent, insidious wound, relentlessly pursuing her. She was faster than before, each strike carrying a deadly poison, each slash aimed precisely at a vital point.
Kojiro fought and retreated, the dried meat and the poisoned blade colliding silently in the deep water.
The cursed wrist manipulated the environment from afar. The seawater was sometimes as still as glue, sometimes as turbulent as a blade, the water pressure increased and decreased, and the temperature fluctuated.
He's like a cruel stage director, constantly changing the battlefield conditions just to make the protagonist's performance more difficult.
Bai Mao did not participate in the battle directly, but she always kept a distance of 20 meters.
Whenever Kojiro tries to break out in a certain direction, a wall of coral or an obstacle of rocks will appear.
Even a toxic fog barrier that appeared out of nowhere.
She was orchestrating the chase, forcing Kojiro in the direction she had predetermined.
ten minutes.
Kojiro had lost count of how many attacks he had blocked and how many traps he had avoided.
The wound on his right shoulder began to go numb from the poison, the gash on his left leg, cut by the cursed threads of the cursed wrist, was oozing black blood, and there were three marks on his chest and abdomen from the silent poison blade, each one burning.
Magic is being consumed rapidly.
It's not the cost of combat, but the cost of maintaining existence.
The curse on his wrist was continuously draining his magic, while Hawkeye's supply was dwindling.
He could sense that the life force transmitted through the contract was becoming thinner, like a spring about to dry up.
Dressrosa, the terrace of the King's Heights.
A crack suddenly appeared in the wine glass in Mihawk's hand.
He didn't crush it; the glass cracked on its own, as if some invisible force had destroyed its structure from within.
He looked down at his hands. The hand that held the sword with unwavering firmness was now trembling slightly.
It wasn't fear, but weakness, as if all the strength in my body was being frantically drained away by some unseen funnel.
"Kojiro————"
Mihawk closed his eyes and focused his perception on the connection of the contract.
Confusion. Pain. Suffocation.
And then—a chilling killing intent coiled around the other end of the connection like a venomous snake, tightening little by little.
His heroic spirit is fighting a fierce battle deep in the sea, one against three, and each of his opponents is no less powerful than Kojiro.
To make matters worse, the distance is too far.
Fishman Island and Dressrosa are separated by tens of thousands of meters of ocean and thousands of nautical miles, and the transmission of magic power is already severely weakened. At this moment, Kojiro's consumption is so huge that his supply can no longer keep up.
Mihawk opened his eyes and looked at his palm.
Beneath the skin, blood vessels are faintly visible, but what flows in those vessels is not just blood, but life force used to replace magic under the effect of the Command Seals.
Now, he is expending his own lifespan to maintain Kojiro's existence.
Even so, it's almost not enough.
It probably won't be long before this powerful swordsman perishes at the bottom of the sea.