268. Hard to Break

Mantis's battle against Cayla who has transformed into her Arthropleura form is still going on. Both of them still can't inflict significant injury to their opponents. Mantis can evade Cayla's attacks while Cayla's carapaces are too hard for Mantis to break.

They keep attacking each other while trying to find a way to win. Cayla is confident that she can defeat Mantis instantly as long as she can hit Mantis. But Mantis is just too fast and agile for her as she is too slow.

'Damn, this gigantic body becomes a very big disadvantage against someone as fast as her,' thinks Cayla.

Cayla suddenly stops her attack and moves back a little. It makes Mantis confused but then Mantis realizes Cayla's intention. Cayla's body suddenly shrinks and becomes quite small.

Cayla transforms into her hybrid form which looks like the combination of an Arthropleura and a human. She is like a Lamia but with the lower body of an Arthropleura instead of a snake. But because she is smaller & shorter than her full Arthropleura form, she has fewer legs too.

Her upper human body also has carapaces that cover her whole body including her face. She looks like she is wearing a mask made of steel. Her arms are also shaped like Arthropleura's legs without any finger.

"Wow, this look suits you more than your human form," says Mantis sarcastically.

"Tch, that's why I don't like this form. But with this, you won't have any chance to win anymore," says Cayla.

"I wonder about that. Your carapaces should be less sturdy than before now because they're thinner. It will be easier for me to break them," says Mantis.

"Hmph, in your dream," says Cayla before she rushes at Mantis.

Cayla reaches Mantis's location very fast and it surprises Mantis. She swings her blade-like right arm at Mantis at high speed. Mantis barely blocks it with her staff and gets flung far enough to the back.

That attack isn't just fast but also strong although not as strong as Cayla's attack when she was in her full Arthropleura form. But it is still strong and now Cayla's speed increases tremendously because her body is lighter and she has a high strength to move fast.

Mantis hasn't regained her balance yet when Cayla attacks again. She can't face Cayla's attack so Mantis rolls back using the remaining force when she gets flung just now. Then she quickly gets away because Cayla is still chasing her.

She also stands immediately to face Cayla's attack. Cayla keeps chasing Mantis while swinging her blade-like arms continuously. Mantis tries to block and evade Cayla's attack but she still gets slashed a few times.

Mantis succeeds to avoid fatal attacks but it will be bad if she keeps getting hit. Cayla doesn't give Mantis any chance to attack and keeps chasing her when she gets away. It makes Mantis doesn't have time to catch a breath.

Magnus who helps their men fight the enemy's men sees Mantis having a hard time. He is full of injuries after fighting King but he still can defeat the enemy's cannon fodders easily. Seeing Mantis having a hard time, Magnus decides to help her.

"That doesn't look good. I need to help her without meddling too much in her fight. She won't like it if I take over her fight, after all," says Magnus while looking at Mantis's fight.

He catches 6 enemies with his left hand and throws them at Cayla. The 6 guys fly toward Cayla as if they are some small sticks. They hit Cayla and stop her pace, making Mantis has time to catch a breath.

"Dammit, what the heck!?" curses Cayla after the thrown men hit her.

Mantis is surprised but then she sees Magnus gives her a thumb up. She smiles and gives him a thumb up too to show her gratitude. They might fight one-on-one but this is still a war and they need to help each other.

Cayla doesn't get disturbed for long though and she rushes at Mantis again. But the short break gives Mantis time to prepare herself to face Cayla now. She waits for Cayla to reach her after she gets ready.

Mantis now can see Cayla's attack clearly and she acts accordingly. Now Mantis can block and evade Cayla's attack easier than before. The short break has broken Cayla's attack pace and now her attacks aren't too difficult to defend as before.

But it also doesn't mean that it's easy for Mantis to attack Cayla. It's hard enough for her to defend against Cayla's fast attacks so she doesn't get any chance to attack. So she keeps blocking & evading while looking for an opening to strike.

"Hahaha, what's this? You still keep defending now. Where's your big mouth from earlier?" asks Cayla to mock Mantis.

"When did I have a big mouth? Isn't it you who have a big mouth before? It's almost a meter too so it's not just big, it's huge," says Mantis calmly.

"Damn, you idiot! I don't mean the real mouth," says Cayla angrily.

"I know, I just mess with you," says Mantis while grinning.

Cayla gets pissed and starts to attack Mantis faster. But because she is angry, her attacks become simpler and easier to read. So Mantis can see her attacks easily and defend against Cayla's attacks better than before.

Mantis then sees a chance when Cayla uses her blade-like arms for a pincer attack. Mantis crouches to avoid it then immediately swings her staff at Cayla's stomach. It hits Cayla and the impact is quite big.

Cayla's upper human body gets flung back but her lower Arthropleura's legs are holding onto the ground so she doesn't fall back. She immediately moves her upper body forward and swings her blade-like arms to attack Mantis from above.

But a big attack like that is easy to predict and evade. Mantis jumps back a little and she can avoid it easily. She then jumps forward after Cayla's blade-like arms hit the floor.

While grinning, Mantis swings her staff from her left side toward Cayla's head. Surprisingly, Cayla evades it narrowly by lowering her body. Then Cayla immediately spins her upper body to attack Mantis who is still above her.

But instead of hitting Mantis, Cayla gets her upper body gets slammed to the floor. Mantis acrobatically flips midair and kicks Cayla with both of her feet. She coated her feet with A-Haki and kicked as strong as she can to break Cayla's carapaces.

Mantis lands on Cayla's body then she feels Cayla shakes. Cayla is about to move and Mantis knows that. She also knows that this is her chance while looking at Cayla's armored back.

Doesn't want to waste a chance, Mantis raises one leg and stomps it to Cayla's back. Cayla grunts painfully but Mantis keeps stomping her very fast. Now is her chance to pay back all Cayla's attacks before.

The relentless stompings make Cayla very pissed and she stands up again. She tries to shake Mantis so that Mantis will fall. But Mantis jumps to Cayla's Arthropleura lower body's back.

Mantis immediately runs on Cayla's lower body's back toward Cayla's upper human body. She prepares her staff on his left while she runs. Then when she reached Cayla's upper body, Mantis swings her haki-coated staff strongly toward Cayla's back.

Nothing happens and Cayla starts to laugh. But then her laughter stops when the carapaces on her back start to crack and even break. She looks at Mantis with a puzzled but shocked expression because Mantis has arrived in front of them.

Cayla is back to her sense when Mantis hits her stomach with staff again. Just like before, Cayla is sent fling back but now Mantis chases her upper body. Mantis keeps hitting Cayla's stomach while at it.

Then when Cayla finally can stop Mantis's attack, her front carapaces have been broken too. They are weaker than the carapaces on her back, so it's easier for Mantis to break. Now with her carapaces broken, Cayla starts to sense a crisis.

She starts to attack Mantis again but now Mantis Mantis has anticipated this. So Mantis keeps attacking the parts that aren't covered by carapaces. The damage to Cayla's body is big and then suddenly Mantis's staff pierces through Cayla's upper body.

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