Chapter 19: The Slaying of Vicks

The fierce battle continued, and as time went on, the sword wounds on Vicks' body became more numerous and terrifying.

The regenerative power of an ordinary Zoan-type Devil Fruit couldn't possibly heal such grievous injuries in a short time.

Moreover, lingering on those sword wounds were Li Yuan's sword energy and Armament Haki, both of which were hindering the healing of Vicks' injuries.

If Li Yuan's sword energy was strong enough, it could even leave eternal scars on a strong person's body, scars that would remain even if the wounds healed.

Just like the slash from Kozuki Oden in the original story, which left two permanent scars on Kaido.

"A Zoan-type Devil Fruit user is indeed tough to cut down, but now it's almost over!"

After fifteen minutes of battle, Li Yuan suddenly executed an upward slash, sending Vicks flying into the sky.

Vicks, who couldn't use Moonwalk, found his safety greatly reduced once his feet left the ground, and his face showed an expression of terror.

At the very beginning, Li Yuan almost sliced off one of his feet while he was mid-air, leaving Vicks with lingering fear.

Now, unexpectedly, he found himself being sent skyward again. At that moment, he deeply regretted not learning Moonwalk from the Six Powers of the Marines.

Li Yuan, with both feet on the ground, sheathed his sword and gripped the hilt, his gaze locked onto Vicks as he fell from the sky.

"Wait, wait! I can submit to you and acknowledge you as my captain!!"

In the instant he was sent skyward, Vicks felt a sense of life slipping from his grasp.

Below, Li Yuan's predatory gaze made it clear that he was preparing a powerful sword technique.

For the sake of his own life, Vicks decisively surrendered, hoping to save himself.

Furthermore, the man before him was someone with Haoshoku Haki, and his strength surpassed Vicks'. Submitting to him wasn't shameful.

"I don't need your submission. I will choose and recruit my own crew in the future. You can just die."

Li Yuan was unmoved by Vicks' plea for mercy.

During the battle, Li Yuan had already understood Vicks' character—a traitor at heart.

He would not allow such a ticking time bomb on his ship; it was safer to eliminate him.

"Infinity: Sky-Shattering Sword Draw"

"Clang!!!!"

A crisp sound of a sword being unsheathed echoed, and intense sword energy clung to the blade. In an instant, a massive slash, a hundred meters long, was unleashed by Li Yuan.

The slash raced towards the sky with the speed of sound, breaking through the constraints of the air, its power so immense it could cleave the sky.

Even the sky groaned under the explosive force of the slash.

Vicks, witnessing the massive slash tearing through the sky, felt the looming shadow of death.

"Unmatched Leopard Claw!!"

Under the threat of death, Vicks unleashed his greatest power, a pair of black leopard claws reaching for the oncoming powerful slash.

He hoped to block it or use the force of the slash to move his body and avoid the damage.

However, the speed of the Sky-Shattering Sword Draw was incredibly fast, so fast that Vicks' leopard claws could barely track its trajectory, leaving no strength to dodge.

"Shhh!!!"

Vicks' scarred leopard claws couldn't withstand the slash of the Sky-Shattering Sword Draw. The powerful slash severed his claws and then his head.

"Boom!!!!"

Vicks' body and head fell to the ground, his eyes wide open in death, staring at Li Yuan, his extreme unwillingness displayed in his gaze.

"Your Armament Haki is stronger than Jessno's, and you have a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, but your martial arts are lacking, preventing you from fully utilizing your body's advantages. Otherwise, I wouldn't have defeated you so easily."

Li Yuan looked at Vicks' unwilling eyes. Though he was dead, Li Yuan still spoke to him, pointing out his shortcomings, even though Vicks could no longer hear.

People often say villains die because they talk too much, but for someone who is already dead, Li Yuan thought saying a bit more was fine.

After all, the dead wouldn't come back to life, learn from his words, and grow stronger to defeat Li Yuan.

"Everyone, come down and clean up the battlefield. Finish off all those pirates and gather all supplies onto the ship."

After sheathing his sword, Li Yuan addressed the crew on the ship.

"Yes, Senior Brother!!"

Seeing Li Yuan slay the enemy, the junior brothers on the ship were very excited and quickly disembarked to clean up the battlefield.

They were well-practiced in the task of finishing off enemies—one slash to the throat, another to the heart, ensuring no one was left alive.

"Senior Brother, here!"

While others were busy with the battlefield and spoils, only Razili stayed behind, offering a wet towel to Li Yuan to wipe his sweat and face.

"Thank you."

Li Yuan took the towel, wiped his face, and said.

"It's what I should do."

Razili lowered her head, a bit embarrassed, doing something she often did back on Faychun Island.

It never felt like this before, but now it did.

In the forest behind Solow Island

While Li Yuan was fighting Vicks, a group of people in black suits and white masks emerged.

From the rocky formations behind Solow Island, using ropes or Moonwalk, they reached Solow and rushed into the rarely visited forest in the back.

"Surround the entire forest!"

Leading the group was a man with a tiger mask. With a gesture, the thirty people behind him began to surround the forest from all directions.

Judging by the speed of the thirty individuals, each had at least the strength of a Marine Headquarters Lieutenant Commander.

"Moonwalk!!"

The man with the tiger mask used Moonwalk to ascend into the sky, then opened the safety on a one-meter-high iron canister behind him and tossed it into the center of the forest.

"Boom!!!"

The canister exploded upon hitting the forest. The explosion wasn't large, but it released a massive amount of blue gas, rapidly spreading from the forest's center outward.

Within a hidden cave in the forest, there were numerous papers, Den Den Mushi, and various equipment, clearly a secret base, and an intelligence center at that.

There were five people inside, engaged in intelligence-related work, instantly pulled from their tasks by the explosion in the forest.

"Not good, our base has been discovered. We need to leave immediately!"

Among the five, the leader, a woman wearing a fox mask, spoke.

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