nashuaworldcup Chapter 687: The Last Stand Before Exhaustion!
Chapter 687: The Last Stand Before Exhaustion!
Luffy let out a hoarse, strange cry.
The voice no longer had that absurd, mocking quality that Nika had.
It's more like a wild beast driven to the edge of a cliff, squeezing out its last roar from its chest.
He clenched his back teeth so tightly that blood seeped from his gums as he forcefully activated the little remaining power of the Sun God within his body.
His figure transformed into a golden stream of light once more and rushed towards Im.
The greatsword was raised.
The platinum-gold sword light illuminated half the sky.
However, this time...
Not the same.
High in the sky, Chen Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.
A very subtle pause appeared in Luffy's sprint trajectory.
Less than half a breath.
Ordinary people can't see it at all.
But in Chenye's eyes, this flaw was like a drop of black paint on a white wall.
It's blinding.
disturbed.
Luffy's speed has slowed down.
His charge was no longer pure light, but a kind of stuttering, like a rusty gear being forced to turn.
Previously, his figure and golden light were indistinguishable, so fast that even his domineering aura couldn't keep up.
just now.
His figure would suddenly freeze for a moment during the sprint.
A large golden fish leaped out of the shallows, rose to its highest point, and then fell helplessly back down.
The sword light has changed as well.
The previous sword strikes were impenetrable, with each strike seamlessly connected, completely enveloping Im in a platinum light curtain.
But this time, there were gaps in the sword light he unleashed.
A gap that is visible to the naked eye.
It was so subtle that even Zoro couldn't catch it.
But they already existed.
A perfect piece of silk was pulled apart with loose threads.
Luffy's brows furrowed into a tight knot.
For the first time, anxiety flashed in those perpetually smiling eyes.
He increased the frequency of his sword swings, trying to cover up his weaknesses with a denser offensive.
Drinking poison to quench thirst.
The faster you swing your sword, the more energy you consume, and the more frequently you experience lag.
A vicious cycle has begun.
Im moved.
His form became elusive in the void, like a wisp of smoke, a shadow.
Luffy's giant sword, wreathed in platinum flames, slashed down.
Im leans back.
The giant sword that tore through the void grazed past the tip of His nose.
The sword energy sliced through his dark red robes.
The blade did not touch the skin.
The previous humiliation of being knocked back hundreds of meters is gone.
Im dodged the second sword strike.
Luffy swung his greatsword horizontally in a whip-like motion, at a tricky angle.
Three minutes ago, this sword strike could have put Im in a difficult situation.
But Im only moved less than a foot to the side.
The whip-like blade whistled past, slicing through the air with a sharp, explosive sound.
In vain.
The third sword strike.
The fourth sword strike.
The fifth sword.
Luffy chased after Im's figure like a madman, slashing at him.
Each sword strike was enveloped in Nika's full white flames, and each sword strike carried the power to cleave the ice plains.
But Im was like a shadow without a physical form, weaving through the storm of sword energy.
His movements were not fancy at all.
There were no fancy footwork techniques.
There was no exaggerated displacement.
Every dodge is simply a matter of turning to the side, leaning back, or tilting forward.
The difference is so small it's stingy.
But this caused Luffy's every sword strike to miss.
Chen Ye watched all of this from high above.
The balance of power has shifted from offense to defense.
In just a few dozen breaths.
The world's king, who was being repeatedly defeated, quietly changed roles.
He is no longer prey.
The roles of hunter and prey have been completely reversed.
Im's scarlet eyes locked onto Luffy.
Which pair of eyes doesn't hold anger?
There was no panic.
There wasn't even any murderous intent.
Only through examination.
A pure, icy scrutiny.
He looked at the golden mist emanating from Luffy's pores.
That's not an outflow of power.
His life is burning.
The prey that has stepped into the trap is making its last struggle.
The hunter doesn't have to do anything.
All you need to do is stand by the trap and wait.
Wait for the prey to wear itself down.
Chen Ye closed his eyes.
His Observation Haki had already enveloped the entire battlefield.
A sophisticated sensing network.
Rocks' black flames, Whitebeard's tremors, Shanks's Conqueror's Haki like the deep sea's dark currents.
All breaths were clear and steady.
But Luffy's aura is different.
Chen Ye "heard" it.
A sound similar to a heartbeat, but deeper and more primal.
The frequency of the pulsation of the power of the sun god.
Each pulse represents the consumption of a spark of life.
At this moment, this frequency is slowing down at a heart-stopping pace.
It's not attenuation.
It's a collapse.
A precipitous collapse.
The first crack appeared on the dam body.
The water hasn't come out yet.
It still appears sturdy on the surface.
However, for every inch the crack widens, its load-bearing capacity decreases by ten percent.
Wait until the cracks reach a critical value.
The entire dam will collapse instantly.
The golden light on Luffy's skin began to flicker.
At first, it was just fluctuations in brightness, like a candle flame being blown by the wind.
Then the flashing speeds up.
The golden light flickered on his limbs, like a lamp that was about to run out of oil.
The liquid gold-like power of the sun god became dry and rough.
The riverbed, dried up by the scorching sun, was cracked everywhere.
Luffy's laughter is also changing.
Nika's signature grotesque laugh, fluctuating wildly and illogically.
But now it's intermittent.
He was laughing for a bit when he suddenly ran out of breath and his voice got stuck in his throat.
He took a deep breath and let out a short "hehe".
There was no longer any pure joy in the laughter.
All that's left is instinct, mechanical maintenance.
A wind-up toy.
The gears are still turning, and the music is still playing.
But the spring is almost completely unwound.
With each rotation, the speed decreases by one point.
With each note played, the pitch drops by a semitone.
The melody is coming to an end.
Chen Ye opened his eyes.
His gaze pierced through the cold wind at 10,000 meters above the ground, heading towards Im in the distance.
He wanted to see clearly what this being, which had ruled the world for eight hundred years, was hiding.
Luffy missed again.
The arc of white light drawn by the giant sword was no longer complete.
Im stopped dodging.
He hovered in mid-air, motionless, watching Luffy sheathe his sword, gather his strength, and charge forward again.
Then He raised His right hand.
Fingers slightly spread.
Palm facing Luffy.
Luffy, still carrying the lingering golden light, crashed headfirst into it.
Three feet in front of Im's palm.
At that distance, Im pressed his palm down an inch.
It's only an inch.
Press down on this inch.
The golden light surrounding Luffy suddenly dimmed.
His sprint was stopped by an invisible force, as if someone had grabbed his neck, and he froze in mid-air.
Nika's power surged within him, attempting to break free from its suppression.
The golden light flickered several times before finally shining again with difficulty.
However, the brightness has decreased by 30%.
Im withdrew his hand and stepped back.
He is not in a hurry.
There's no rush at all.
Chen Ye slowed his breathing and focused his senses to the extreme.
His consciousness was like a fully drawn bow.
Let's analyze Im's movements inch by inch.
That is not the authority of the Earth God.
It is not the power of the sword of the code.
It's not a dark gold shield either.
What is that?
Chen Ye frowned.
He traced back every subtle fluctuation of energy he had just experienced.
The power emanating from Im's palm was ancient, heavy, and viscous.
It's like primordial darkness pulled out of the nothingness before the world was born.
A force that does not belong to any known system.
Chen Ye's pupils suddenly contracted.
The scattered fragments of rumors were instantly pieced together in his mind.
Different eras, different witnesses.
All the rumors point to a chilling description.
Im has a form that has never been revealed before.
It is not the god of the earth.
Not the king of the world.
It is something deeper, more primal, closer to the pure source of darkness.
It is said that it was briefly awakened a hundred years ago.
The entire Red Earth continent trembled at that time, and the sky over the Holy Land remained dark for three days and three nights.
No record.
Because everyone who saw them is dead.
Demonization.
Chen Ye uttered the word in his mind.
He re-examined Im.
A dark red figure floated in the air, with dark gold patterns faintly visible beneath the ripped fabric of its robes.
From the start of the war until now.
Im invoked the power of the earth, the sword of the code, the dark gold shield, and the corrosive ray.
The only exception is that rumored, terrifyingly powerful demonic form.
From beginning to end.
They're all hiding!