Chapter 140: The 'Dark King' Rayleigh Going All Out!
"What happened!"
"What's the situation?"
Gion and Stussy rushed over from inside the castle.
At the same time, figures dressed in Black Suits and white Shirts, exuding a sharp Aura, appeared in various corners with whooshing sounds, instantly surrounding the Social Plaza.
"Stop."
At this moment, Mihawk, who was already standing outside In the Court, raised his arm to stop the two women. He said in a deep voice, "Lord's Order, do not disturb."
"That person is..." The moment Gion saw Rayleigh's Face In the Court, her Pupil suddenly constricted into a pinpoint. At the same time, a Name appeared in her Heart.
As a Woman whose Ambition was to become the World's Strongest Great Swordsman, she naturally Familiarized herself with the existing Strong Great Swordsmen.
"Silvers Rayleigh, former Vice Captain of the Roger Pirates, known as the 'Right Hand of the Pirate King', nicknamed 'Dark King', should be the strongest Great Swordsman in the outside World since Golden Lion Shiki was captured and imprisoned."
Mihawk's sharp 'Hawk-Eyes' stared intently at the opponent as he spoke softly. He wasn't just saying it for others to hear, but also for himself.
He had originally planned to find the opponent and challenge him once he broke through to become a Great Swordsman.
Now it seems there's no chance. This time, the opponent... will surely die!
At the same time, the Men in Black who had appeared around seemed to have received an Order and once again flashed away in unison. However, they only withdrew from the Social Plaza. They were responsible for maintaining vigilance on the periphery of Pangaea Castle, while also preventing the Holy Land Garrison who came for Support from trespassing.
"Are you the rumored Holy Shield of the Celestial Dragons?"
Rayleigh felt the Force Field Aura that erupted from the opponent's body and the air along with his extremely arrogant words. He forced a seemingly casual smile.
But the pressure in his Heart did not lessen. At this moment, he felt as if he was thousands of meters underwater, with heavy water pressure and a chilling cold. It made his entire body feel a faint stinging pain, as if being pressed by a Blade edge.
"This Aura is even Stronger than Roger's, and he is definitely an extremely Strong Sword Master!"
Rayleigh could feel the Long Saber in his hand trembling slightly.
"Pathetic. You are clearly enjoying the honor of being granted an audience with this Saint, yet you do not recognize my Identity and nobility. How can ignorant Ants like you be fit to live in this World?"
Im, Manifestation as Saint Nerona, stood with his hands behind his back, looking down from above. He spoke words that were Haki to the extreme, arrogant to the extreme, yet sounded perfectly natural and proper to those listening.
When he became serious, whether it was his Gaze, Face, or Posture, every single detail was so lofty and self-important.
Rayleigh had a sudden realization after listening, and laughed, "Ah, so that's how it is. I really didn't expect there to be an Expert like you among the Celestial Dragons. That's truly unexpected..."
Just as his voice fell, a strong Killing Intent suddenly erupted from the corner of his smiling eye. The Mumei Long Saber in his hand trembled, and a brilliant silver Blade Light instantly appeared.
The incredibly dazzling Radiance made Gion and Stussy outside In the Court instinctively close their Eyes. Only Mihawk narrowed his Gaze, forcing himself to continue watching.
In his Eyes, Rayleigh transformed into a silver-gold Afterimage and rushed towards Lord Im in the air. However, the latter not only made no Moves/Techniques, but his Gaze didn't change, remaining as cold and arrogant as ever.
Suddenly.
With a crisp clang of metal, the silver-gold Radiance inexplicably retreated. Mihawk didn't even know what had happened during the entire process.
"It's like this again..."
Rayleigh's Face turned grim. In that instant, he only saw a sliver of bright Moonlight fall, and then a powerful Force was transmitted from the Blade edge.
"What exactly is this? The Touch Sensation is like a Blade, but the fleeting sense of dispersion when the contact point separated feels like some kind of gas. Is it Haki?"
"Or is it some kind of Devil Fruit Ability?"
But he knew that the most important thing now was not to fight this Strong Celestial Dragon before him, but to find a way to escape as quickly as possible. It was just a pity that the purpose of this trip had not been achieved.
"Trying to run?"
"You have no retreat."
At this moment, Im, standing beneath the full Moon, seemed to know what was in Rayleigh's Heart. That incomparably arrogant and cold voice echoed again.
"No, you foolish wretch, beguiled by the Will of D, have no future to begin with. When an Ant steps into a domain that doesn't belong to it, its fate is sealed to be crushed."
"However, your courage to commit an unforgivable sin just to catch a glimpse of the Holy Land's Radiance is worth a word of praise from this Saint."
"This Saint has decided to grant you an opportunity to behold this Saint, to have a Dialogue with this Saint, and to burn your last Radiance to your Heart's content under this Saint's Gaze, and then extinguish in the River of History, you weak and insignificant little lamp!"
Gion and Stussy were completely dumbfounded. For some reason, they felt that this Saint Nerona had changed; he wasn't usually like this.
The current Lord made both of them dare not look him directly in the Gaze. The oppressive Aura overflowing from In the Court made their Breathing somewhat suppressed.
But Mihawk, who was standing aside, was not surprised. He was only looking forward to the upcoming Combat.
"Hehehehe, what an impressive speech, huh?"
Just as Rayleigh was about to say something, a red Radiance flashed in his Eyes. Relying entirely on feeling, he blocked in front of him with the Long Saber in his hand. Immediately, a Loud Noise spread, and at the same time, a powerful Force erupted.
[Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh----]
That wasn't all. His ears heard faint whooshing sounds shooting from all directions. Rayleigh's Face changed, and he quickly brandished his Long Saber into a blur. Constantly adjusting his steps in coordination with his Observation Haki's perception, he engaged in fierce Combat with countless invisible Auras around him.
For a time, the clanging sounds were incessant.
In Mihawk's Eyes outside In the Court, Rayleigh's Radiance, which spun like silver leaves, with every Blade sharp as Wind, constantly crisscrossing around his body, was the best live lesson.
Although he also didn't know what Ability Lord Im was using, he could see from the scene that there were dense attacks constantly besieging the 'Dark King' from all directions. Their speed and Force were so great that they forced him to respond and defend seriously.
"Good, such amazing Swordsmanship..."
Gion covered her mouth and muttered to herself. Although she couldn't see Rayleigh's movements clearly, the Blade Light Afterimages remaining in the air alone were also greatly beneficial to her.
Stussy beside her remained silent with a solemn Face.
"Hmph!"
At this moment, a cold snort filled with obvious anger sounded In the Court. It turned out that the usually good-tempered Rayleigh had been enraged by this relentless group attack.
[Boom----]
Suddenly, a dark red Aura, flickering with streaks of silver Lightning, erupted from within him. They swept across the entire In the Court like surging waves and mighty rivers.
During this process, slender, sharp outlines resembling Blade edges appeared in the air, as if scanned by radar.
But as Rayleigh's Conqueror's Haki gradually condensed and wrapped around the Long Saber, bringing with it streaks of constantly extinguishing, flickering silver current, these outlines disappeared from everyone's sight one by one again.
"So that's it, invisible Sword Aura? What troublesome Moves/Techniques. Is this some kind of Fruit Ability?" Rayleigh asked in a deep voice.
However, Im gave no response to his words. He simply stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at him from above, seemingly having no further interest in saying anything more to him.
"Since that's the case, I'll just have to take you down before leaving. It's been a while since I went all out..."
(End of Chapter)