There were three Marine warships on the ocean. Judging by where Xia Qiu and Robin had entered the water, one was about sixty degrees to the right, another about fifteen degrees to the right, and the third was fifteen degrees to the left. All three were heading diagonally towards the direction the two were going.
Xia Qiu charged directly at the leftmost ship, while Robin moved along the coast towards the left.
"Commodore T-Bone, the Giant Beast is here."
On the Marine warship attempting to intercept Robin, a Major shouted loudly.
"Then open fire and engage it. It attacked Rapeseed Flower City. For the safety of the people, we cannot let this Giant Beast live."
T-Bone gripped the sword on his back and stood on the ship's railing, his expression wary.
On the middle Marine warship, a burly man in a Marine uniform smoking a cigarette said, "That woman wants to use the Giant Beast to block the warships and escape herself. Turn the ship around and pursue Robin. Don't approach her rashly, maintain a distance, and bombard her once we catch up."
"Yes, Commodore Madsen."
The sailors quickly responded and pursued Robin, but kept their distance.
They were some distance from the coast. While their ship was faster than a sea turtle, the sea breeze here was weak, and the current flowed perpendicular to the coast, making navigation difficult. Their speed was limited.
Getting closer would take more time.
Furthermore, if they got too close, it would be difficult for the cannons on the sides to fire. It was better to maintain a distance, catch up, and then bombard them.
"When will reinforcements arrive here?" a tall, pink-haired woman on the third warship suddenly asked.
Beside her, a Captain in a Marine uniform shouted, "Colonel Hina, they're right behind us, about three to four nautical miles away."
"They're really slow," Hina snorted. "We'll pursue them first. This sea area is under our jurisdiction, and Commodore T-Bone and Commodore Madsen are just here for temporary support. It would be embarrassing if they were the ones to capture Robin."
"Yes," the sailors quickly followed.
At this moment, Xia Qiu, dodging cannonballs, reached not far from the first Marine warship and charged towards it.
"Good, I will kill you here today."
T-Bone drew his longsword, gripped the hilt tightly, and slashed downwards.
"Right Angle Flash, T-Bone's Air Slash."
The next moment, a slash wave suddenly appeared and shot towards the sea's surface.
Xia Qiu ignored it and continued to charge forward.
Bang.
T-Bone's slash wave directly hit Xia Qiu's first dorsal fin, cutting through the skin of the anterior spine and hitting the bone beneath.
Crack.
A crack appeared on the spine. The crack slowly widened, while the slash wave was rapidly consumed. When the crack had penetrated six to seven centimeters, the slash wave disappeared.
Xia Qiu's first dorsal fin, similar to a shark's, was shaped like a scythe.
At the very front of the fin was a spine that curved backward.
After growing, Xia Qiu's first dorsal fin was over five meters long, curved backward, about four meters high, and a thick fifty centimeters at its base.
Through countless reinforcements, Xia Qiu's spines had become increasingly hardened. If Xia Qiu's teeth were tungsten steel with a hardness of nine, and his skull was zircon with a hardness of 7.5, then Xia Qiu's spines were iron with a hardness of five.
Behind the spines were thread-like cartilage, layer upon layer. After reinforcement, this cartilage became more resilient, able to dissipate force.
His slash wave could sever the necks of small Sea Kings, but when it hit Xia Qiu's spine, the force was continuously dissipated. It barely managed to break through Xia Qiu's spine.
Being able to cut through part of the spine was enough to prove the strength of his swordsmanship.
Boom.
The next moment, Xia Qiu heavily collided with the Marine warship, causing it to tremble violently.
Crack.
A large hole was directly torn in the bottom of the Marine warship, and seawater gushed in. Cracks spread upwards from the opening. Moreover, half of Xia Qiu's head was embedded, hitting the keel.
Crack.
Cracks appeared all over the surface of the keel.
The keel was the strongest and most important part of a ship. If the keel broke, it was very difficult to repair. If the keel completely cracked, the ship could not travel far.
If the keel broke, the ship would be basically ruined.
Normally, Xia Qiu wouldn't directly hit the keel because it was too hard, especially on ships from the Grand Line.
Xia Qiu's usual method was to disrupt the ship's buoyancy and make it sink.
The drawback of this was that the larger the ship, the more hits it required. For a Marine warship, he would need at least three to four hits.
But now it was different. He could smash through the bottom and directly hit the keel.
One more hit like that would break the keel in half.
However, Xia Qiu didn't attack again. Instead, he turned and swam away, heading for the second warship.
He was pursuing Robin, and he was closest to her. He had to stop her.
Secondly, he needed to build up momentum for his charge, using the other ship as his target.
Boom.
Xia Qiu charged toward the sea ship, accelerating once more.
He had only used eight-tenths of his strength when crashing into the first sea ship; now, Xia Qiu was going all out.
"Here it comes, Commodore Madsen," a figure on the warship shouted.
"I know. Bring me my 'Meteor'."
Madsen sneered, tearing off his Marine uniform to reveal his robust muscles.
"Yes."
A sailor immediately stepped forward, handing Madsen a massive iron gauntlet. At the very center of the gauntlet's front was a diamond-shaped stone.
This stone was made of peculiar meteoric iron, incredibly strong.
He inserted his fist into the gauntlet, and with a click, the gauntlet enclosed his fist.
"Come on."
Madsen leaped onto the ship's railing, then onto the deck, raising his right arm.
Bang, bang.
His right arm suddenly swelled, the black ribbons on it snapping as the limb grew immensely large.
Madsen looked at the approaching Giant Beast, raised his fist, bent his knees, and then sprang.
"Attacking proactively?"
Xia Qiu detected his movement, let out a cold snort, and used his momentum to charge diagonally upward.
Xia Qiu collided with the opponent, while the latter's fist swung downward.
Boom.
The fist met the ramming horn.
Under the immense force, Xia Qiu's scales dented slightly, and the muscles beneath continuously absorbed the power. But as the force transmitted, the tip of the meteorite stone gathered immense power. Xia Qiu's scales began to crack, and after breaking, the damage continued downward, tearing through layers of muscle. The force, however, grew weaker.
By the time the meteorite embedded itself in Xia Qiu's muscles, the larger gauntlet behind it was hindered by the surrounding scales and muscle, causing its force to diminish rapidly.
Snap.
The meteorite hadn't even touched Xia Qiu's skull before its power vanished completely.
And as the gauntlet struck Xia Qiu's head, the feedback force caused hairline cracks to appear on the part connecting to the meteorite behind it.
As the gauntlet dug deeper, the meteorite itself remained undamaged. However, the gauntlet behind it began to crack from the middle, slowly splitting apart.
Crack.
The gauntlet shattered, transmitting the force to his arm, tearing his muscle fibers and making his bones creak.
Boom.
Xia Qiu's head continued to surge forward, pushing the meteorite and slamming into Madsen's fist.
Crack.
Madsen's metacarpals snapped, and the force transmitted, causing his entire arm to emit faint sounds.
Crunch.
Madsen's arm bone broke, and his body was thrown backward. However, Xia Qiu's momentum also dissipated, most of the force having been absorbed by Madsen's arm. Madsen flew back a considerable distance before falling towards the sea again.
After the collision, Xia Qiu's head returned to the water's surface. He immediately lifted his head, intending to strike again.
"Geppo."
Madsen's feet stomped on the water's surface several times in an instant, his body shooting upward. After a few leaps, he returned to the ship.
"What a powerful Giant Beast."
Madsen's expression was grim. His entire arm was ruined. Even if it healed, he likely wouldn't be able to exert much force with it again.
"Didn't kill it."
Xia Qiu's strike had lost its power, and the opponent had escaped, leaving Xia Qiu feeling somewhat regretful.
His strength was immense.
Even though he had collided with him on the water's surface, the force he received was the greatest he had ever encountered.
At least a Commodore.
Xia Qiu had already added the opponent to his "must-eat" list. He turned around and charged towards the first warship again.
-----------
Translation by: randomtranslator.com
Read 2500+ original & fanfic translations and Translate for Free at: randomtranslator.com