"Captain Homans' treasure!"
"Looks like you do know something. Such a stubborn fellow!"
Edmond grinned, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. He leaned slightly forward, holding his greatsword with both hands, and a sheen of black covered the blade.
"Armament Hardening: Burst Strike!"
The black knight's greatsword radiated a metallic luster. Edmond pushed off the ground, rocketing forward. The greatsword slashed out horizontally, tracing a semicircle at extreme speed, almost cleaving the air itself.
Clang!
Tszzzk...
The two figures rapidly crossed paths. Sparks and the ring of clashing metal burst into the air. Half of the iron spear flew into the sky, and a splash of steaming blood hit the ground.
Clink, Clank…
"H-He's so strong!"
Degal staggered, the broken half of his iron spear clattering to the ground. He sank to one knee, looking down in disbelief at the long, narrow wound stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip. Blood dripped onto the ground, staining it red.
"Honestly disclose everything you know, and perhaps we can show mercy to your tribe!" Edmond turned around, casually gesturing toward the brutal battlefield.
Degal looked up and saw that his tribesmen had already suffered devastating losses. Over a hundred corpses littered the ground, while the opposing force had not sustained a single injury. It was a one-sided slaughter.
"You devils!" Degal spat out, his eyes filled with hatred as he looked upon the scene.
"Devils? No. We're pirates! And judging by your look, you won't talk anyway." Edmond raised the longsword in his hand, drawing out his words: "In that case, I'll start by… chopping off your limbs! Then I'll slowly torture you."
"You foreign devils! Don't underestimate the power of Homans the God!" Degal's face hardened. He stood up with a fierce snarl. "I will now use the power granted by Homans the God to kill you!"
As he finished speaking, Degal's pupils elongated into vertical slits, his ears stretched and stood erect, and his body simultaneously surged in size, reaching three meters. Light gray fur sprouted, his hands and feet became animal paws similar to a cat, and a short, thick, furry tail grew out.
"An Ability User?! A Zoan-type Ability User?"
Edmond looked on in astonishment at the transformed Degal. He never expected to find an Devil Fruit User within a native wild man tribe; this was incredibly rare.
At the same time, Degal's drastic transformation caught everyone's attention.
"Oh! The Grace of Homans the God!"
"The Divine Guard of Homans the God!"
Seeing Degal transform into an upright, humanoid cat, the native wild men erupted in cheers, as if all fear and terror had completely vanished.
"That look... it's familiar!"
Mina scanned him up and down, then suddenly realized, "Wait, that Ability is… Zoan-type Cat-Cat Fruit, Lynx Model!"
At that moment, Degal's vertical-slit eyes stared intently at Edmond. The long, narrow sword wound on his chest was visibly knitting closed.
"Hiss… Zoan Devil Fruit Awakening!"
Seeing this sight, Edmond couldn't help but gasp.
While Zoan-type Fruits are the easiest of the three Devil Fruit categories to awaken, that doesn't make them any less formidable.
Every successfully awakened Zoan Ability User is incredibly difficult to deal with. Even if their raw attack power isn't exceptional, they possess immense stamina and are incredibly durable, capable of simply outlasting and exhausting an opponent to death.
Therefore, when facing an Awakened Zoan Ability User, one must apply maximum output early on to finish the fight, or else, if the fight is drawn out, one can only pray for the best.
It's similar to how Whitebeard fought Kaido in the past—start with a barrage of powerful hits to bring them down first, otherwise even Whitebeard might be exhausted by Kaido.
Below, the battle raged on.
"Die under the Grace of Homans the God!"
Degal roared up at the sky, his powerful body charging forward like a tank.
"Looks like this is going to be trouble…" Edmond took a deep breath, raising his knight's greatsword to meet the charge.
BANG!
Suddenly, a blood-red figure flashed past and slammed violently into Degal's body.
RUMBLE…
Caught completely off guard, Degal was sent flying sideways, crashing through several thatched huts before being buried under the debris.
"Uh..."
Edmond stood with his sword raised, looking awkwardly at Mina in front of him.
"An Awakened Zoan belongs to me!"
Mina extended a small tongue and licked her red lips, the bloody glow in her eyes intensifying.
Rrrrrip…
The sound of cloth tearing rang out.
Mina's back muscles surged, and a pair of massive, black, blood-veined bat wings ripped through her clothes and emerged.
Whoosh~
The wings, spanning over three meters, flapped gently, spreading a powerful gust of wind that immediately kicked up the pervasive dust.
"Gulp..."
Feeling the heavy scent of blood and killing intent emanating from Mina, Edmond's face paled.
"What kind of monster are you?"
From the ruins of the thatched hut, Degal pushed aside the straw and stood up, only to be astonished to see a blood-eyed woman with giant bat wings before him, like the monster that fought the God in the legends of Homans the God.
"Durable, just as I expected. You ignorant native, you'll be an amusing distraction!"
Mina's eyes flashed red. She flapped her wings and shot out like a sharp arrow.
As she charged, a fierce sense of crisis and pressure washed over Degal's entire body, making his scalp tingle.
"ROAR!"
Knowing that he couldn't afford to hesitate, Degal bellowed, the gigantic beast-roar almost forming a sound wave.
In an instant, Mina closed the distance, her long, slender right leg sweeping out horizontally like a sharp blade.
Bang!
Degal crossed his arms, enduring the full impact of Mina's kick. The powerful force made him stagger backward, his feet dragging two deep tracks in the ground.
Bang, bang, bang, bang…
Next, Mina's legs became a blur, delivering a relentless barrage of fierce kicks. The wind whistled, and every strike carried tremendous force.
Degal, with his rich combat experience from fighting ferocious beasts in the jungle, was still significantly outclassed in skill by Mina, who had been trained by masters. Although he constantly resisted, he was hit repeatedly.
"Blood Claw!"
Mina's right hand formed a claw, glowing with blood-red light, aiming straight for Degal's head.
Ssshtz!
Blood splattered. Degal used his arm to block, and Mina's five long fingers plunged directly into his forearm.
"I've got you!"
Degal snarled, instantly grabbing Mina's shoulder with his other hand, and throwing a punch at Mina's head. The punch was ferocious, looking like it would smash Mina's skull with a single blow.
Realizing that he was outmatched in both speed and technique, Degal decisively resorted to trading blows.
"Hmph. Quite the clever little scheme!"
Mina showed no surprise. She simply tilted her head slightly, easily evading the punch.
"How could she?"
Degal was startled.
"Hehe~ How are you going to block this?"
Mina smiled maliciously and softly uttered two words.
"Blood Boil!"