thefictionvixens Chapter 79 Enel's confidence suffers an unprecedented blow
Chapter 79 Enel's confidence suffers an unprecedented blow
Chapter 79 Enel's confidence suffers an unprecedented blow
At the heart of the three-way battle, at the entrance to the core waterway.
Standing on the observation deck at the stern, Fu Ning held a monocular telescope steadily in her right hand, her right eye close to the eyepiece, and her left eye scanning the wide field of view. Her gaze shifted with an astonishingly regular frequency.
She was monitoring whether the group of air sharks that had been lured away from Yunhu Lake were returning, and the distance of the leading group that was returning.
"Attention all personnel! Hot debris is being ejected from the south, covering an area of approximately 15 degrees, 70 meters away, arriving in five seconds!"
"Port side jet propellers, thrust 80%, await my command in three seconds! Starboard side group, begin intermittent thrusting!"
"Helmsman! The bow is turning two degrees to port!"
Her voice was not loud, but she spoke very quickly, conveying a dense amount of information without any redundancy.
Nami stood close to her, her face slightly pale from straining. She also held binoculars, but her primary role was to assist Funing, while also serving as the weather and stray bullet warning officer.
"Ahead on the water! The lead shark is less than 80 meters from the stern! It's accelerating!"
"Air humidity is abnormally high, and there may be precursors to a large-scale eruption of water vapor or mucus on the eastern mudflats."
'
Nami's early warning filled the gap in Fu Ning's observation period, forming the White Pearl's most acute eyes and brain in this desperate situation.
Led by the officers, all the other crew members roared and pushed with all their might against the ship's walls, using crowbars, oars, and even their shoulders. Sweat soaked their clothes, muscles trembled, and their shouts mingled with Fu Ning's commands.
The sounds of battle roared together.
Everyone knows that winning the three-way battle is only a prerequisite; the ship can only be considered truly free when it has completely entered the waterway!
"Behind us! The vanguard of the Sky Shark swarm is within 30 meters!" Nami warned in a shrill voice.
boom!
Click!
A massive air shark slammed into the lower port side of the stern, causing the ship to shake violently and a section of the hull to crack visibly!
"Port side damaged! Minor flooding!" a crew member shouted.
The ship was still stuck in the entrance, seemingly having reached its limit.
When Gan Fore flew back to the stern deck, the explosions in the cloud forest to the west had stopped.
Although there were still sporadic sounds of swords and spears clashing and rocks cracking in the rocky area on the south side, Shura's aura was clearly in disarray, and his cross-legged flight path showed signs of panic. It was obvious that he was struggling to defend himself against Zoro's increasingly ferocious and precise slashes, and his defeat was only a matter of time.
The battleground is divided into three parts; two have already been decided, and victory in the remaining part is assured.
Fu Ning's forehead was covered in sweat, but her eyes remained sharp.
She glanced at the stone forest on the south side.
Zoro just managed to cut through a large section of the rope cloud with a single slash, forcing Shura into a desperate situation, where he fell cross-legged, groaning in pain.
Looking to the west again, Zhepu was walking steadily back.
On the east side, Gan Fall is returning.
All priestly threats have been eliminated or will be eliminated!
She took a deep breath, and with all her might, her voice boomed through the noise: "Zoro! Chef Zeff! Mr. Gan Fall! Use your most powerful attacks! Bombard the cloud wall and the water directly behind the stern! Create a reverse shockwave!"
"All blowers! Run at overload! Regardless of the cost!"
The roar was like lighting the final fuse.
Upon hearing this, Zoro, who was about to win, did not hesitate to abandon his pursuit of Shura. He turned to face the main ship, sheathed his three swords and then drew them again, adopting an unprecedentedly solemn stance, and his aura soared to its peak!
"Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Worlds!!"
An unprecedented, condensed, and massive crescent-shaped azure slash wave tore through the air and roared towards the junction of the cloud wall and the lake surface behind the stern of the ship!
Zeff exhaled and made a sound, his muscles swelling to their limit, his entire leg seemingly turning crimson!
"Red Feet - Ultimate Rock Smash!!!"
A kick several times more powerful than the one that defeated Shadley unleashed a violent vacuum shockwave from a distance, striking the same target directly!
Gan Fowler was in the air, his spear raised high above his head. The light from the spearhead striking the shell was so dazzling that it was impossible to look directly at it. He and Pierre swooped down at the same time, using the bird's momentum to their advantage!
"Sky Knight: Meteor Impact!!"
The man and the bird transformed into a streak of pink and metallic light, the spear tip carrying unparalleled kinetic energy, fiercely piercing towards the common landing point of the slash and kick!
Three attacks, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, struck the stern of the ship almost simultaneously!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A deafening roar! A huge gap was blasted open in the cloud wall, and the lake water was blasted into waves tens of meters high. The violent shockwave, like an invisible giant hand, slammed hard against the stern of the boat!
At the same time, all the jet engines on the ship, regardless of whether they were cracked, were overloaded with all their power. The nozzles even turned red and melted due to overheating, but the thrust also reached an unprecedented peak!
Everyone on deck, from Funing and Nami to the most ordinary sailors, let out beast-like roars, squeezing out their last bit of strength to push against the hull!
Crunch, crunch, crunch—
Boom!
Whoosh!
With a deafening roar that seemed to split the heavens and earth apart, and under the combined force of the reverse shock wave, overload thrust, and the desperate push of everyone, the White Pearl finally broke free from the cloud wall that had been holding it for so long, and lurched forward, sliding completely into the narrow waterway!
Behind them, the surging waters of the Cloud Lake poured in through the gap in the blasted-open cloud wall, scattering the approaching group of Sky Sharks and quickly submerging and moving away the unconscious priest on the altar and the chaotic battlefield.
Ahead, the waterway was deep and dark, yet the sounds of flowing wind and water, unlike the deathly silence of the altar, could be heard. Further away, there seemed to be light.
Fu Ning collapsed onto the observation platform, the telescope slipping from her limp hands. Nami leaned against her, and the two looked at each other, both seeing the exhaustion and relief in each other's eyes.
On the deck, a group of sailors lay sprawled out, panting heavily.
Zoro sheathed his sword, looked at the rapidly shrinking altar entrance and the surging lake behind him, pursed his lips, walked to the side, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.
Zeff gently massaged his slightly trembling one leg.
Gan Fall stroked Pierre's neck and fed him a cloud fruit, a specialty of the Sky Island.
After a brief silence, someone let out a choked cheer, and then the cheers spread like wildfire throughout the ship. The joy of surviving the ordeal washed away all the fatigue and pain.
Fu Ning stood up again, though her legs were still weak. She straightened her disheveled hair and clothes, regaining her aristocratic composure.
"Helmsman, maintain the minimum safe speed and proceed along the waterway."
"Ship crew, immediately assess the hull damage, especially the water ingress on the port side, and repair it as a priority."
"Everyone else, take this time to rest, eat, and recover your strength."
"We're leaving here."
Meanwhile, near the shrine of the gods.
The dilapidated Golden Shrine leans on the sea of clouds. Half of the twelve golden pillars supporting the main hall have collapsed. Several large holes have been torn in the dome, and the thin sunlight from ten thousand meters above shines down, forming beams of light in the swirling metallic dust.
In the center of the pillar of light, the two faced off.
Enel hovered three meters above the ground, his bare upper body covered in fine beads of sweat.
This was extremely rare for him. As a self-proclaimed "god," he was used to crushing everything with absolute power; sweat, panting, and exhaustion were the embarrassing states that only mortals experience.
But now, his chest was heaving uncontrollably, and every breath brought a burning pain to his lungs.
Behind them, the golden arcs of electricity that were originally flowing on the surface of the four drums engraved with magatama have now become dim and disordered, occasionally crackling and exploding into a cluster of sparks before quickly going out.
He has given it his all.
From the initial "Divine Judgment" to the later "Thunder Bird" and "Thunder Dragon," and finally the "Thunder God" form—he unleashed almost all the attack methods he had developed from the Rumble-Rumble Fruit thousands of times on the silver-haired Qinghai man below in just over ten minutes!
Every attack was enough to turn the bravest warriors of the Sky Island into charred remains; every thunderclap was enough to destroy half of Angel Street.
But that man—
Norton stood on a wrecked golden floor, beneath which lay a charred ground, repeatedly melted and cooled by lightning, giving it an eerie, glassy texture.
His black wolf fur coat was torn in several places, but his expression was frighteningly calm.
Apart from his clothes being slightly dirty and torn, the man was not injured at all!
Enel gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the metallic taste in his throat.
The backlash from overusing his abilities began to show. His temples throbbed, and he felt that the once vast and surging lightning energy within him was now showing signs of depletion.
How is this possible?!
He is thunder! He is the embodiment of nature! He is the master of infinite energy!
But----
Enel's mind uncontrollably replayed the past ten minutes or so—
No matter how powerful the lightning strike, it couldn't harm Norton's body. Enel knew he had already given it his all.
What chilled Enel even more was that, as time went on, Norton's "adaptation" speed was clearly visible to the naked eye.
At first, the lightning strikes left obvious red marks on his skin; later, the red marks became fainter and less frequent; in the last few minutes, most of the lightning strikes hit him, leaving no red marks at all, only charred and torn clothes.
This man's body—did it become more resistant to lightning during the battle?!
"monster----"
Enel's lips moved, uttering two silent words.
The lightning he was so proud of seemed to this man from Qinghai as nothing more than a slightly stronger form of static electricity.
O
What truly drove Enel to despair was Norton's "counterattack strategy."
From the beginning, Norton knew he couldn't directly strike the elementalized lightning.
But the strategy he adopted was simple, brutal, and so effective as to be outrageous.
With his extremely powerful punches, he forced Enel to constantly dodge and defend.
And he used his physical body to withstand Enel's attacks.
Devil Fruit users need to expend a lot of stamina to use their abilities. Once Enel's stamina is exhausted and he can no longer perfectly transform into his elemental form, Norton's fist will be able to inflict damage.
"Shall we continue?" Norton asked, his voice steady.
He took a step forward, and the solidified gold beneath his feet made a crisp "crack" sound.
Enel's pupils contracted sharply, and almost instinctively, his body instantly transformed into elemental form, flashing backward thirty meters!
Only after creating some distance did he re-form into a physical form.
This is a conditioned reflex that he developed in just over ten minutes.
This time, however, Norton did not throw a punch.
He simply stood there, quietly watching Enel, his eyes seemingly mocking Enel for becoming a frightened bird.
Enel was consumed by an overwhelming sense of shame.
He is a god! The sole ruler of the Sky Island! The supreme being!
But now, in front of a man from Qinghai, he instinctively fled like a frightened rabbit!
"I—I am—"
Enel wanted to roar, to gather lightning once more, to launch a final, all-or-nothing attack.
But the body's feedback is cold and real.
My muscles were trembling, my heart was pounding painfully, and my brain was throbbing with pain from lack of oxygen.
The remaining lightning energy within his body was pitifully thin; he probably couldn't even condense a decent "Thunderbird."
What's even more frightening is that his "confidence" has been shattered.
The fact that thousands of attacks had failed and the opponent remained unharmed was like a cold iron nail driven into his arrogant heart as a "god".
He began to doubt whether he could really hurt this man even if he used every last bit of strength.
What if—it still doesn't work?
Then he will lose everything completely—power, prestige, even the strength to escape.
Shall we gamble?
Enel looked at Norton's calm face.
Looking at his own pale, sweaty, and disheveled appearance reflected in those deep gray eyes.
The stakes are all of my life.
The odds of winning are almost zero.
This judgment was like a final, devastating blow, crushing Enel's last fighting spirit.
"call----"
He exhaled a long, complete breath. His body slowly descended from its tense, suspended state.
ended.
Enel raised his head, and all the arrogance, languor, and mockery that belonged to a "god" vanished from his face. In its place was a deep weariness and a trace of bewilderment.
"Tell me, what do you want?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
The moment the words left his mouth, Enel himself paused for a moment. His tone—so calm, even carrying a hint of resigned compromise—was completely unlike anything Enel should have said.
Norton, on the other hand, was clearly taken aback for a moment as well.
"So... you're giving up already?" Norton's tone even carried a hint of regret. "I wasn't even serious yet."
Enel's cheek muscles twitched.
Not serious? That punch that almost destroyed God's Island, you weren't serious?!
But he was too weak to argue.
Norton took a few steps forward and came to within five meters of Enel.
This distance is practically face-to-face for a lightning user, but Enel didn't react at all; he just stared at him.
Norton sized Enel up and down, as if assessing the remaining value of an item. Then, he grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Come be my subordinate!"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Enel suddenly opened his eyes wide, a sickly blush rising on his pale face.
It was like hearing the most absurd joke in the world.
"Are you kidding me?! I'm a god!!"
"god?"
Norton repeated the word, his tone playful.
"What kind of god can't even protect his own shrine? It's rare to see a god as weak and powerless as you being attacked."
"You—!" Enel's neck veins bulged, "Because you're a freak!!"
He practically screamed it out.
"How could a normal flesh and blood body possibly withstand lightning! You're not even human!"
"Stop fooling yourself, Enel."
"You're just a weakling who relies on Devil Fruit powers."
"Your power" is built on the fact that the Sky Island inhabitants are generally weak, ignorant of, and terrified of lightning. "Your divine status" is built on violent intimidation and elaborate, deceptive trials. Peel away that cloak of lightning, what do you have left? A frail body? Bare martial arts skills? Or that pitiful pride that I have already shattered?"
Enel opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.
Because what Norton said was all true.
He was indeed invincible before he met Norton.
No one on the Sky Island can withstand lightning strikes; his elemental transformation grants him immunity to physical damage. He has never truly "fought"; he has only been "punishing."
Until today, he encountered a monster that was immune to lightning, whose predictions couldn't keep up with its speed, and whose punches could shatter energy structures.
All their reliance on it was crushed.