052 Slaughter, the Bloodstained Skybird

"Brat, looks like you’re tired of living—how dare you burn my pirate crew to the ground." A ferocious brute wielded a gear-bladed broadsword, radiating a frightening murderous aura.

"Seize him! I want to flay him alive."

"Tear him apart, limb from limb."

"Make him regret ever coming into this world."

"I’ll sell him at the slave market."

"Today, I’ll bathe Water Seven in blood, and he’ll go down with it."

A torrent of curses erupted. The pirates, like an evil pack of wolves, made the nearby dockworkers tremble in fear.

"Silence."

Stepping forward, Xuan Ye’s eyes flickered. An invisible storm swept outwards, covering the sky and soaring up to the clouds.

Boom—the clouds overhead vanished, and a hurricane swept through.

Plop... plop... One by one, countless pirates’ eyes rolled back as they fell to their knees, powerless, and slipped into unconsciousness.

The entire area fell silent. Less than a hundred remained standing, scattered among the carnage.

"Conqueror’s Haki..."

A man with a ponytail tied at the back of his head, metal jaw guards, ivory-like decorations on his head and shoulders, and a feathered coat, narrowed his pupils in shock as he stared at the not-so-imposing figure before him.

"He actually possesses the same talent as the captain..."

"What is this?" A pirate with pale lips and trembling legs looked around in terror.

It was uncanny. Just now, he felt as though he faced the king of all beasts. The domineering, lofty gaze that looked down on all life made his heart quake with fear.

"Little Jin, get ready to move. These are all money. With them, you’ll be able to buy whatever you want to eat."

Stretching his body, Xuan Ye gave a wicked smile, his eyes devoid of emotion.

"Squeak squeak... I want to buy lots and lots of bananas!" The golden monkey danced ecstatically, baring its fangs at the pirates as if it saw an endless sea of bananas.

Swish—a pit was left behind as Xuan Ye suddenly appeared before a pirate. In the midst of stunned gazes, he threw a punch.

Splatter—shattered into pieces, blood rained down.

"Infinite Arrows." Rising into the air, Xuan Ye spread his hands. Flames surged, and weapons—blades, spears, swords, halberds—rained down indiscriminately from the heavens.

"Ahhh! Run!"

"Help!"

"Spare me, I beg you!"

Cries and screams, hellish chaos. Innards and severed limbs splattered across the field.

Terror, howls, bone-chilling slaughter—a one-sided massacre.

Each flaming weapon was like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, mercilessly reaping living souls.

"Nine hundred million?"

The icy voice unsettled everyone’s hearts.

"Flame Ray."

Whoosh... whoosh...

Boom... boom...

Explosions of fire, rivers of blood, wails, pleas, and shattered bodies broke the spirits of all but the strongest.

For a full minute, the entire arena thundered. When a breeze swept through, corpses were strewn everywhere, and the stench of blood made many retch.

In the blink of an eye, out of tens of thousands of pirates, only a handful remained standing. Judging from their pale and battered appearance, they were spent and barely alive.

"If I’m not mistaken, you must be the Skybird, Xuan Ye Tang, that the Navy’s been talking about lately." A burly man stepped forward, fearless.

"Trash, state your name." Standing atop a mountain of corpses, Xuan Ye eyed the brute with interest.

"Beast Pirates, Drought Jack." Arrogant and imposing, his entire body exuded an ancient, domineering aura.

"Kaido?" Xuan Ye’s eyes narrowed. If he guessed right, this man would become one of the future Four Emperors.

"I don’t care who you are. I just want to know what your bounty is worth." Xuan Ye’s eyes glinted coldly.

"You’re courting death." Jack’s eyes bulged in fury. The Beast Pirates were now a super-sized crew; aside from a few other pirate crews, who dared disregard them so blatantly?

Boom—the ground shuddered. Cracks zigzagged across the earth as dust flew. A colossal beast revealed itself step by step, shaking the ground.

"An ancient species—mammoth, is it?"

Humm—a pitch-black trunk whipped through the air, whistling its approach.

"Armament—Golden Crow’s Talon." With golden-red eyes, Xuan Ye raised his right hand, shrouded in black, and met the trunk head-on.

Boom—an explosive collision, earth collapsing, Xuan Ye staggered back, surprised.

The giant elephant sat heavily, roaring, its vicious tusks curved like hooks, radiating chilling cold.

"Flame Blade."

Fire blazed as Xuan Ye wielded his sword and charged.

Clang—sparks flew. Xuan Ye flipped twice in midair, landing with a hint of fighting spirit on his face.

"Interesting. Seems coming to Water Seven was the right choice. At last, I can stretch my muscles."

With a burst of energy, Xuan Ye blurred into motion, lunging at the giant elephant.

"Armament—Golden Crow’s Step."

Like cold rain, Xuan Ye appeared atop the mammoth, flipped, and his right leg, pitch-black and wrapped in flames, tore through the air and crashed down.

"Armament—Symbol."

Boom... Bang... Boulders flew, the mammoth was driven deep into a pit, howling, its tail thrashing free.

"Armament—Feathered Wings."

Flames surged. A pair of wings, black as ink.

Bang—knocked back, Xuan Ye skidded across the ground, rising with excitement.

"Five million degrees—Fire God Spear."

Wings spread wide, high in the air, countless flames entwined, a gigantic spear, hundreds of meters long, fell with a roar.

The mammoth bellowed, tusks black as night, exuding wild rage, charging head-on.

Boom... boom... Hurricanes swept over, tearing up the earth and flooding the landscape.

At the center, amidst cracked ground, the mammoth—its tusks shattered, face bloodied, eyes crimson—glared at Xuan Ye with murderous intent.

"Savage Charge."

A stampede, earth trembling, the ancient beast thundered forward with unstoppable force, like a mountain crashing down.

"Flame Ray."

Watching the charging mammoth, Xuan Ye’s pupils contracted. From his fingertips, ten scorching rays flashed through space, vanishing in an instant.

"Armament."

Ignoring all, the mammoth’s head turned pitch-black, charging straight through the rays.

"Truly, the ancient mammoth’s hide is something else." Xuan Ye’s lips curled, but his gaze remained icy.

"You want death? I’ll oblige."

"Full beast form—five million degrees—Piercing Ray."

A divine giant bird folded its wings, flames converged, a triangular rune emerged, and in an instant, a golden-white beam shot forth, vaporizing air along its path like light from the heavens.

The world darkened. The mammoth screamed, a bloody hole in its chest, meat sizzling, pierced clean through.

Panting heavily, drenched in sweat, Xuan Ye looked at the fallen mammoth and calmed his agitation.

This Piercing Ray focused on penetration and consumed considerable mental and physical energy—a technique developed at sea, perfect for dealing with thick-skinned opponents.

With a grunt, flames curled around Xuan Ye’s hand as a massive blade appeared.

He stepped forward, merciless, intending to sever the mammoth’s head for bounty to pay for shipbuilding.

Suddenly, the mammoth roared, charging like a runaway train.

Sand and stone flew, earth quaked, the mammoth’s eyes blood-red, flashing a bloodthirsty grin. "Die!"

In a flash, Xuan Ye’s pupils contracted, and he could only muster a thick layer of armament before his chest.

Bang... crack... Sparks flew. Xuan Ye’s face paled, blood sprayed from his mouth, and a wave of unimaginable dizziness tore at his mind.

Clenching his teeth, mouth full of blood, Xuan Ye’s face twisted like a demon. He clung to the mammoth’s head, screaming, "High temperature—Storm Fire!"

Boom—terrifying energy, endless flames, intertwined and surged skyward.

The mammoth howled, swept up into the sky by the storm.

"High temperature—God-Slaying Spear."

Bloodied, Xuan Ye looked up at the airborne mammoth, face contorted, crouched slightly. In his raised right hand, a golden-white barbed spear, about two meters long, began to form, humming.

"Die."

The ground exploded beneath his feet as Xuan Ye hurled the spear skyward.

Boom—cataclysmic destruction, everything around Xuan Ye obliterated. An invisible flash streaked through the air.

Bang... clang...

Howling in agony, the mammoth was snatched by the golden-white spear and nailed straight to the wall of Water Seven.

Blood gushed as Xuan Ye dropped to one knee, clutching his chest, sweat pouring down.

"Squeak squeak... Are you alright?" The golden monkey, anxious and battered, rushed over.

"I’m fine. Have you dealt with the rest?" Shaking his head, Xuan Ye drew a sharp breath, then stood, surveying his surroundings.

Corpses everywhere, rivers of blood. Even those with bounties of ten, twenty million had been dispatched by Little Jin. Only Jack remained as the strongest on the field.

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