Chapter 21: Transformation

To prevent this ship of naval forces from disturbing Mordecai's enthusiasm, Laffitte took the initiative to strike.

Before the other warship could draw close, he flew ahead and landed on the railing of its deck.

His arrival directly cut off any intention of reinforcement from the marines on the deck.

"Hoh-ho."

Standing on the railing with his cane sword held horizontally before him, Laffitte watched as droplets of blood fell from the edge of the blade.

Without pausing for long, Laffitte slaughtered his way toward the marines on the deck without another word.

In just a few breaths, several marines had fallen to the deck.

The overall caliber of headquarters marines was indeed superior to branch marines, but individual combat strength alone was not enough to pose a threat to Laffitte.

And certain gaps in combat power could not be bridged simply by relying on numbers.

However, since the marines were accustomed to long-term coordinated combat and relied on seamless teamwork, they managed to avoid being indiscriminately massacred by Laffitte.

Even so, the disparity between the two sides quickly became apparent.

No matter how desperately the marines attacked, they could not manage to injure Laffitte.

Conversely, amidst the heavy encirclement, Laffitte always managed to claim the lives of the marines one by one.

This intuitive gap was the result brought by Haki.

Broadly speaking, it was the stark contrast between the New World and Paradise.

Faced with Laffitte's overwhelmingly oppressive offensive, the ranks of the marines steadily thinned.

On the other warship, the battle between Mordecai and the bucktoothed Commodore gradually reached a fever pitch.

The continuous string of sword clashes left only the ringing sound of clashing steel echoing across the deck.

The bucktoothed Commodore was not suppressed; on the contrary, through these thousands of sword clashes, he managed to inflict five slash wounds on Mordecai.

However, these five wounds were not severe and could not exert the slightest impact on Mordecai.

Judging by the current outcome, the bucktoothed Commodore had the upper hand.

Yet, the bucktoothed Commodore could not shake off Mordecai's rapid assaults.

He could neither find an opening to inflict damage upon Mordecai that might alter the course of the battle, nor could he break away from Mordecai's frantic and mesmerizing rapid attacks.

This kind of combat, which felt rigidly locked in place, made the bucktoothed Commodore feel extremely uncomfortable—especially since he knew Mordecai was simply using him to practice swordplay.

"I refuse to believe you can keep this up forever!"

The bucktoothed Commodore hardened his resolve internally.

A rapid-fire offensive might be formidable, but its stamina consumption was extraordinary.

Especially in a high-intensity battle like this that required the support of Haki, the rate of exhaustion would only be faster.

The bucktoothed Commodore quietly shifted his mindset.

Initially, he had wanted to resolve the matter with Mordecai as quickly as possible and rush over to deal with Laffitte, thereby reducing the casualty rate of his own men.

Yet, after his multiple counterattacks were blocked, he realized he had thought things far too simply.

The swordsmanship of the young man before him could not be called top-tier, but his comprehensive abilities were not to be underestimated.

Lacking Observation Haki, he simply had no way to defeat this youth in a short period of time.

After recognizing the reality of the situation, however helpless he felt, the bucktoothed Commodore had no choice but to wait for Mordecai to weaken and reveal an opening.

Clang, clang, clang...!

Longswords clashed repeatedly.

With Laffitte supporting him from behind, Mordecai cared nothing for the minor slash wounds on his body, nor did he care about the consequence of exhausting his stamina and Haki.

At this very moment, he only wished to slash and slash with greater abandon.

He wanted to seize this precious opponent and transform every single strike he made into invaluable experience for the future.

It was precisely this reckless, full-throttle assault that trapped the bucktoothed Commodore in a quagmire.

"Still unable to break through..."

Amidst a tempest of slashes, Mordecai strove to find an opening in the bucktoothed Commodore's defense.

The frequent use of Armament Haki drained his stamina at a rapid pace, and maintaining Observation Haki further deepened his fatigue.

If he failed to break the deadlock, this high-intensity consumption would cause his offensive to display signs of weariness.

By then, he would undoubtedly be crushed by the bucktoothed Commodore within dozens of moves.

Mordecai was well aware of this.

This meant that the hourglass of time allotted to him was extremely limited.

Before the final grain of sand fell, if he still failed to find an opportunity...

Then, once the hourglass was flipped over, it would be his turn to defend against the bucktoothed Commodore's offensive.

"Truly airtight..."

Dozens more sword clashes passed, and Mordecai still could not find an opening in the bucktoothed Commodore's defenses.

His mastery of swordsmanship was only at the one-star level; if not for his sufficiently formidable physical constitution and Haki, he would never have been able to act so arrogantly before the bucktoothed Commodore.

Failing to secure a victory after a prolonged attack, while Mordecai remained calm and unhurried, he had no intention of suffering defeat either.

"Since no opening can be found, I'll just force one to appear!"

Knowing that maintaining the status quo would bring no turning point, Mordecai forcibly accelerated his pace.

"Hm?"

The bucktoothed Commodore's gaze flickered slightly as he keenly perceived the change in Mordecai's tempo.

"You've noticed... heh-heh."

The bucktoothed Commodore scoffed coldly in his heart.

Mordecai's rapid-fire tactic was strong only for a moment; as long as he maintained steady defense without making mistakes, once Mordecai's stamina failed to sustain him, deciding whether to kill or torture him would be entirely up to him, the Commodore.

With his confidence restored, the bucktoothed Commodore tightened his defense even further.

As long as he could withstand this final wave of attacks, he would wait for an opening to emerge—one that even Observation Haki could not guard against.

As Mordecai recklessly accelerated, the bucktoothed Commodore could already foresee Mordecai's defeat.

Dozens more sword clashes passed.

The bucktoothed Commodore defended himself as steadfastly as a mountain.

Soon, a slight pause appeared in Mordecai's offensive.

His momentum was fading...

Noticing this, the exceptionally cautious bucktoothed Commodore did not rush to counterattack.

He patiently waited through dozens more strikes until the opening Mordecai revealed expanded to a fatal degree.

"Right now!"

A fierce light flared in the bucktoothed Commodore's eyes.

Fang Thrust!

The longsword, wrapped in Armament Haki, drove straight forward without hesitation, piercing toward Mordecai's heart.

This preemptive strike made it impossible for Mordecai to retract his blade for defense, no matter what.

"Got him."

The moment he unleashed the Fang Thrust, the bucktoothed Commodore knew the outcome.

This was the moment of confidence that belonged to him.

Squelch!

The longsword pierced into Mordecai's chest without obstruction, immediately sending a spray of blood into the air.

However, it could advance no further.

Because before the bucktoothed Commodore's longsword could pierce deep into his chest, Mordecai had raised his left hand, fully coated in Armament Haki, to block it right in front of his chest.

That longsword, also imbued with Armament Haki, was capable of piercing Mordecai's left palm, but it lacked the power to advance any further and pierce his chest, which was condensed with defensive Armament Haki.

This was a dual defense of Armament Haki.

Although the price paid was obvious, it also allowed Mordecai to find the single opening the bucktoothed Commodore had revealed throughout the entire battle.

"You..."

The bucktoothed Commodore's pupils constricted.

Mordecai gave the bucktoothed Commodore no chance to react whatsoever.

Slash!

The well-prepared blade severed the bucktoothed Commodore's right arm, the one holding the sword.

With a pale expression, the bucktoothed Commodore took a step back, only to have his left arm severed by Mordecai's returning blade.

In less than a breath, both of the bucktoothed Commodore's arms were severed.

Mordecai pulled out the longsword that had pierced his left palm, and with a sudden dash, kicked the bucktoothed Commodore, who had lost all capacity for resistance, flat onto the deck.

Struck by this heavy stomp, the bucktoothed Commodore coughed up a large mouthful of blood; his consciousness blurred for a fraction of a second before slowly recovering.

Ignoring the piercing wound on his left palm, Mordecai looked down at the pale-faced bucktoothed Commodore.

"Thanks, Uncle Bucktooth, you're truly strong."

Mordecai offered his heartfelt gratitude, then delivered two heavy stomps, snapping the shinbones of both of the bucktoothed Commodore's legs.

This battle had provided Mordecai with numerous unique experiences and insights.

He realized that the power plundered by the Hunter's Notes was akin to wealth; to extract the maximum value from this wealth, one had to engage in continuous actual combat and thoroughly digest and master it.

Having understood this, Mordecai's mindset underwent a subtle shift.

At this moment, Laffitte approached from behind Mordecai.

His side was finished as well.

Hearing the footsteps, Mordecai turned his head to look at the blood-stained Laffitte.

"Let's begin."

"Understood."

Laffitte tapped his feet rhythmically against the floor, then turned his gaze toward the surviving marines on the deck.

Just how much profit would so many high-quality prey bring to Mordecai?

Laffitte found himself anticipating the result even more than Mordecai did.

Without interrupting Laffitte's interrogation, Mordecai walked over to the stern and gazed at the vessel of the Kingdom of Carnet, which was turning its bow to flee.

"Hah..."