One Piece: A Warlord's Path

Chapter 709: Bivins Kingdom - The War of National Extinction (10)

Revolutionary Army Main Camp.

"Help! Somebody help me!"

"Monster! Let me go!"

"No... No—AAAGH!"

Scores of soldiers were snatched into the sky by Animate constructs and unceremoniously dropped. Some were severely injured upon impact, while others were killed instantly by the fall. Others met an even grimmer end, torn apart mid-air by the coordinated efforts of gargoyles and giant metallic birds.

"You bastards... Unforgivable! Ryusoken: Dragon’s Claw!!!"

Witnessing the slaughter of his men, Sabo’s rage boiled over. He drew the metal pipe from his back with his left hand and raised his right. He curled his index and middle fingers together, separated them from his ring and pinky, which were also pressed together, and slightly crooked his thumb, forming the unmistakable three-fingered "Claw of the Dragon."

To secure a path for the retreat, Sabo moved like a blur, leaping through the air with ferocious agility. His pipe shattered stone-winged beasts and gargoyles with every swing, while his "Dragon’s Claw," backed by terrifying grip and finger strength, crushed the metal heads and wings of the mechanized Animates.

Within moments, a pile of stone and metal scrap surrounded him; dozens of constructs had already fallen to his hands.

Suddenly, the light above him dimmed. Sabo brushed the stone dust and metal shavings from his hands and looked up. To his alarm, the dozen vessels of the Grand Flying Fleet had descended from their high altitude and were now hovering a mere thousand meters above the ground.

Whirrr... Whirrr... Whirrr...

A series of eerie, heavy whistling sounds cut through the air, like massive weights plunging from the sky. Dozens of large black dots were falling rapidly from the ships.

"Those are..."

Sabo’s eyes widened in realization.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

In a matter of seconds, the dots slammed into the Revolutionary Army camp one after another. The reddish-brown earth erupted into deep craters. Shockwaves of dirt and stone swept outward as if the camp were being carpet-bombed, sending pillars of dust and smoke billowing into the sky.

"Quick! Get away from there!" Sabo roared at the dazed soldiers standing near the impact zones.

However, these were ordinary soldiers; dazed by the concussive force of the landing, they couldn’t recover fast enough.

Whoosh— Splurt!

A pitch-black, monstrous arm suddenly lunged out of the smoke. Sharp talons pierced through standard-issue armor in an instant, impaling a soldier through the chest.

"Urgh..." The soldier coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes glazing over as the life left him.

Rip!

The claws retracted, leaving three massive, jagged holes in his torso. He collapsed, dead on the spot.

"ROAR!"

A humanoid monster covered in obsidian scales burst from the smoke, letting out a blood-curdling howl. It moved like a lightning strike, swift and lethal, tearing through several nearby soldiers in the blink of an eye. The ground was instantly littered with steaming remains, blood, and viscera.

"You monster! Ryusoken: Dragon’s Claw!!!"

Sabo, usually kind-hearted, was now a portrait of absolute fury. He lunged forward, his right hand shaped into the Dragon’s Claw and coated in pitch-black Armament Haki.

But just as he was about to strike the Dragonian, a shadow intercepted him. A red-black fist, radiating intense heat and steam, slammed into Sabo’s black claw.

CLANG—!

The air shook violently. A circular white shockwave blasted outward, and fine cracks spider-webbed across the ground beneath them. After a brief, high-tension deadlock, both figures pushed off and retreated several paces.

"You are..." Sabo paused, eyeing the man before him. He wore a white fur coat and had distinct purple hair.

"So this is the Revolutionary Army’s Number Two? Seems you’re not as much of a big deal as they say." Angus Abel spoke with an arrogant sneer, looking at Sabo with utter disdain.

During the drop, several officers had hitched a ride on the Dragonians to infiltrate the camp. Abel, however, had simply jumped from the thousand-meter height himself.

"Sixth Division Commander of the Chris Pirates, Guardian of Micity Port... ’Steel Devil’ Angus Abel!" Sabo’s expression was grim. "Don’t you think this is going too far? Why hunt us down to the last man?"

"Too far? You’re asking a pirate about going too far? Hahahaha!" Abel burst into mocking laughter.

"You bastard... what do you think human lives are?!" Sabo roared, his face flushed with anger. He lunged forward again, his pipe whistling through the air toward Abel’s head.

"In this world, the strong rule... Steel-Heat Body!!!"

Abel’s skin turned a deep crimson, and wisps of white steam began to pour from his pores. He looked like a localized heat haze.

CRACK!

He stomped his foot, shattering the ground like a spider’s web, and shot forward like an arrow. In an instant, the two clashed.

CLANK! CLANG! BOOM!

Sabo’s Haki-infused pipe rained down a barrage of strikes, but Abel, using his Devil Fruit powers, was as hard as tempered steel and radiated blistering heat. He met every blow head-on, refusing to yield an inch. Each collision sent out powerful shockwaves, pulverizing the reddish-brown earth and sending stone fragments flying.

BOOM!

Following one particularly violent exchange, both men were blown back over a dozen steps by the backlash.

"Hahaha! You look like you’re struggling over there. Need a hand?!"

Suddenly, a mangled corpse was tossed aside as a man in dark-golden armor strolled into view. Backan laughed, the massive axe resting on his shoulder. He exuded an aura of pure, unadulterated violence.

Abel panted slightly, glancing at Backan with a look of annoyance. However, he had to admit the guy in front of him was a handful; his martial arts were incredible, and those "Dragon Claws" actually managed to make his steel-hard body feel pain.

"If you can’t handle it, I’m happy to step in! Hahaha!" Backan drew the great wheel-axe from his back and swung it, the weapon letting out a low, predatory hum. Standing at over three meters tall with a muscular frame, his presence was overwhelming.

"Fourth Division Commander of the Chris Pirates, Guardian of Unzan Port... ’Mountain Axe’ Diego Backan." Sabo frowned, shifting his grip on his pipe as he kept both men in his sights.

Sabo didn’t care about a man’s size, he could take down giants, but the sheer bloodlust radiating from the "Mountain Axe" was something he couldn’t ignore.