Chapter 187: The Defeated Swordsman

'Haah… haah…'

'Crack… crack…'

Time passed.

The sea churned, waves crashing violently as powerful gusts of wind tore across the battlefield.

'CLANG!'

The fierce clash of Frank's blade against El's massive spear sent shockwaves rippling outward.

The overwhelming force left the Gale Swordsman with a numbing pain throughout his entire arm. Without hesitation, he leapt back to create distance.

"Cutting Force Blade: Raging Dragon!"

With murderous intent blazing in his eyes, Frank channeled his strength into his blade.

With a ferocious swing, he unleashed a dragon-shaped energy wave that roared as it tore through the air, charging at El with terrifying speed.

The dragon's maw gaped wide, exuding raw, savage power.

"Moonlight!"

Unfazed, El countered with his own strike.

His halberd, gleaming with cold light, slashed through the air, generating a windstorm in its wake.

'Swoosh—'

A massive crescent-shaped slash, glowing with a greenish hue, shot forward at lightning speed.

'BOOM! BOOM!'

The two attacks collided with earth-shaking force.

Without pause, both combatants charged forward once more, their movements blurring as they closed the gap between them.

'Clang! Clang!'

'Boom! Boom!'

The intense battle raged on.

With every strike, their energy overflowed, sending stray slashes tearing across the terrain.

Massive trees in the surrounding forest were sliced clean through, toppling over with resounding crashes as the landscape was battered by their relentless onslaught.

'CRACK! CRACK!'

The ground was left riddled with deep fissures and craters, the once-pristine island now a battered wasteland.

Dust and debris filled the air, painting a scene of utter devastation.

'CLANG! CLANG!'

Steel met steel in an unending symphony of sparks and destruction.

The two figures—a towering, imposing El and a smaller, agile Frank—continued their ferocious duel.

But the tide was turning.

With every clash, Frank began to falter. His movements slowed, his strikes lost their sharpness, and his breathing grew labored.

Blood seeped from numerous gashes on his body, his disheveled appearance betraying his exhaustion.

Sweat poured down his face as he gasped for air.

In stark contrast, El remained unscathed. His breaths were steady, his expression calm, and his towering figure exuded an aura of unyielding dominance.

The difference in their strength was now undeniable.

'CLANG!'

With a thunderous clash, their weapons met again.

This time, El's overwhelming force sent Frank hurtling backward, crashing through the air like a cannonball.

"Cutting Force Blade: Dominating Sea!"

Bloodied and battered, Frank let out a defiant roar.

Gathering the last vestiges of his strength, his blade surged with immense power as he swung it downward.

"ROAR!"

The resulting shockwave, a monstrous tidal wave of slashing force, surged forward. It raged with the fury of a storm, unstoppable in its path as it barreled toward El.

"Is that the limit of your skill?"

El's expression remained cold and unfeeling.

Throughout the battle, he had refrained from using his Devil Fruit powers, relying solely on his natural abilities. He hadn't even transformed beyond his strongest humanoid attack state, nor extinguished the flames behind his head.

Although Frank's strength rivaled that of Admiral Iron Claw, his speed was nowhere near as swift, making it unnecessary for El to employ Life Return techniques or sacrifice strength for agility.

"Elbaf Spear…"

Veins bulged across El's right arm as he prepared to unleash an attack of incomprehensible power.

The monstrous Lunarian raised his halberd and struck downward with overwhelming force.

"Hakoku Sovereignty!"

'WHOOSH—'

The air itself seemed to collapse under the pressure as an enormous wave of sword energy surged forth, unstoppable and devastating.

'BOOM! BOOM!'

The ensuing collision was deafening, the island trembling beneath the impact.

Frank's devastating *Cutting Force Blade* clashed head-on with El's mighty *Hakoku*, but the former stood no chance.

The gale-like slashing force was utterly crushed, obliterated by El's ferocious attack.

The shockwave didn't dissipate. It pressed forward with relentless fury, rushing toward the now-terrified Frank.

"Cutting Force Shield!"

Frank's pupils dilated in horror. With a swift movement, he summoned a protective blue energy shield around him.

The barrier barely managed to deflect the oncoming onslaught, but the residual force sent him hurtling backward, slamming into the earth.

'SWOOSH!'

El, a blur of motion, chased after him with lightning speed, wielding his halberd with lethal precision.

"Your Devil Fruit is impressive," El taunted as he closed the distance. "But your swordsmanship… it's lacking. This ends now."

'CRACKLE… WHOOSH…'

Electricity sparked around the blade as El's towering figure shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

"Divine Technique—"

El's presence was commanding, his stance exuding unshakable dominance.

The enormous halberd glimmered ominously, black and red energy intertwining along its surface, radiating a terrifying aura of death.

"Divine Tempest!"

Frank wasn't one to back down.

"Cutting Force Blade: Gale Slash!" he roared, channeling his strength into his blade for a final counterattack.

'CLANG!'

For a moment, the two weapons met in a brilliant clash of power.

However, even with his Repel-Repel Fruit, Frank couldn't hold his ground.

'BANG!'

With a resounding impact, Frank was sent flying once again. Blood sprayed from his mouth as the force of El's attack left his chest visibly caved in.

"How is this… possible?"

Barely holding onto his blade, Frank's face twisted in agony, his eyes wide with disbelief.

His prized *Gale Blade* nearly slipped from his trembling hand as pain radiated through his torn muscles and fractured bones.

"Lunarian bastard!"

He glared at El with a mix of fury and desperation as his body was hurled across the battlefield like a broken arrow.

"Can't understand it?"

El's voice was calm, almost pitying.

Striding forward with his halberd in hand, El locked eyes with his fallen opponent.

"That difference you feel… that's the gap between us."

For years, El had relentlessly honed his swordsmanship. While brute force often sufficed for his destructive *Elbaf Spear*, he had meticulously refined his techniques, especially after mastering Conqueror's Haki infusion.

The once-vague ideas for techniques in his mind had now become reality.

'SWOOSH… CRACK!'

Frank's battered form finally came to a halt, slamming into a dense mountain, breaking through a massive tree along the way.

Bloodied and embedded in the rocky surface, the Gale Swordsman lay defeated.

The duel between the two swordmasters had reached its conclusion.

'HUMMMMM…'

El's eyes narrowed.

A formless yet oppressive aura began to spread across the battlefield.

'RUSTLE… RUSTLE…'

From the forest floor, vines rapidly grew, writhing and coiling with unnatural speed.

They engulfed Frank's broken form, binding him tightly.

'ARRRGHHHH!'

Frank's anguished screams echoed through the ravaged island.

~~~

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