Meanwhile, at this moment, a power similar to magnetic force emanated from Ingres’s severed limbs, drawing the fallen bones and broken parts back together and reassembling them. However, no new flesh grew over the bones.
At this time, Ingres set his sights on the other members who had just been killed by King. Without any hesitation, he took the parts he needed from them, and his appearance returned to its original state.
“Let me tear you apart piece by piece and burn you to ashes first. I’d like to see just how far your so-called immortal body can regenerate.”
Frankenstein’s ability was clearly different from Marco’s Phoenix. Although it possessed near-immortality, this fruit could not heal wounds on its own. It required external materials to replenish itself.
Without materials to absorb, his regenerative ability would disappear.
This kind of isolated environment was not suitable for Ingres to fully utilize his powers.
Then, Avnisha brought the two short spears together, and under the smelting heat, a double-edged long spear appeared in his hands.
“This time it’s a 1v1. I hope you won’t make excuses for your defeat after you die!”
In terms of numbers, this special squad clearly had more people. However, the others were completely tied up. Facing King’s fierce assault, they were in an even worse situation than Ingres. The ones who had already died at King’s hands were the most direct proof.
“Dragon Fang Imperial Slash!”
In just an instant, before the Marines and the other CP0 could even react, King in his Beast Form had already appeared in front of Amedeo.
“Mimicry!”
Amedeo’s body seemed to dissolve, but in the blink of an eye it reassembled, a metallic sheen spreading across his entire body.
Clang!
The blade flashed, and King completed his attack. The immense impact contained within the slash sent Amedeo flying backward, only stopping when he crashed into Basque’s arms.
At this moment, he had nearly been cut in half at the waist, yet no blood flowed from the wound. Instead, the cut surface bore the same metallic luster as the rest of his body, and it had already fused back together, leaving only a faint scar.
“Damn it, this is the same material as his weapon…”
Even within CP0, there were differences in strength. Members like Fukurou and Kalifa were undoubtedly among the weakest in CP0, and if one really thought about it, Spandam, whose combat ability was below that of an average soldier, was the weakest of all.
However, those like Ingres who had been dispatched for this mission were among the elite of CP0. The World Government had sent out the strongest individuals among those they trusted.
Logically speaking, if a blade made of the same material struck a hammer, it should be the blade that breaks. At the moment he was struck by King, he had already activated his ability, along with Tekkai and Haki, yet he still nearly got bisected.
For someone with such defensive power, being cut open in a single strike was extremely dangerous.
“Marine, can you hold out for a bit? Create an opening for me.”
“Maybe. I don’t know how far I can go.”
Even the Door-Door Fruit they used for retreat had been sealed. This was clearly a fight to the death. Although the Marines and the Cipher Pol branches belonged to different organizations and had some minor conflicts, their relationship was still far better than with pirates.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Amedeo placed his palm on the ground beneath his feet. If it was only appearance, his Mimic-Mimic Fruit could replicate it with a single glance. But to mimic the substance itself, he needed direct contact.
The moment he made contact, his body transformed into soil and directly sank into the ground.
At the same time, Basque’s muscles swelled several times over, and he began breathing heavily like a bull, his anger having transformed into raw power.
“A reckless brute, huh? It will get you killed very easily.”
“You’ll find out if you try, pirate! Only sending two people, was that your biggest mistake?”
“Who said there are only two of us?”
Crack…
The ground of the Reverse World began to tremble, and cracks appeared beneath Basque’s feet. However, he didn’t seem to notice it at all. His Devil Fruit wasn’t particularly strong in one-on-one combat; he had mainly been selected for the squad to incite Charlotte Linlin’s emotions.
“Vena~ saur!”
Boom! Boom!
Thick roots burst out of the ground, and the plants beneath the surface seemed to fall into a frenzy, lashing toward Basque one after another.
Boom! Boom!
Basque threw punch after punch, each one shattering a plant’s root. But compared to the speed at which those plants spread, his destructive power seemed extremely weak.
Not far away, the leader of the Bulbasaur family in the Reverse World, a Venusaur, along with a group of other Venusaur behind it, all fell into a brief stiffness. These roots were the Frenzy Plant they had unleashed.
Although it didn’t deal direct effective damage to Basque, it was already enough. The countless Frenzy Plants had exposed an opening in his defenses.
“Imperial Archer!”
With a flap of his wings, King’s speed reached its limit. A cold metallic gleam flashed across his wings, and combined with the blade in his hand, three attacks sealed off every direction Basque could possibly evade.
Basque sensed the killing intent, but before he could throw a punch, King had already passed behind him. As King shook the blood off his wings, at that very moment, a hand suddenly extended from the ground and grabbed his ankle.
Only now did Amedeo choose to act. It wasn’t that he had been watching Basque die. Amedeo clearly understood that abandoning a teammate now would be a foolish move. It was just that King was too fast. He had only just found an opportunity, and the distracted Basque had already been beheaded in a single strike.
King’s blade slashed toward the hand that had emerged from the ground, but it only stirred up a bit of soil.
“So you’ve come out on your own? I was just thinking about how to force you out.”
Amedeo was not a Logia-type. Although he could achieve effects similar to one through mimicry, he couldn’t disperse his body into large quantities of the same element like a true Logia user. He could only maintain his human form.
Moreover, he still needed to breathe. In an underground environment like that, he couldn’t last long.
“Twin Emperors Within the Blade!”
Seeing Amedeo pull away, King flapped his wings, turning flames into countless bullets that swept toward him. Amedeo responded with a surprising move.
“Mimicry…”
A pair of wings tore through the clothes on his back. The bent wings folded in front of him, forming an extremely sturdy shield that blocked the flame bullets fired by King.
“An interesting ability… but it’s one that’s extremely irritating.”
Without his mask, King looked far less terrifying, yet it allowed others to see his changing expressions more clearly. There is no doubt that King was now truly enraged.
“Flying Star Imperial Slash!”
“Flying Star Imperial Slash!”
King swung his blade at Amedeo, but the latter immediately followed with an identical strike. Although its mastery and power were inferior to King’s, it still directly neutralized King’s previous attack.
Black wings, dark skin, flames burning on his back—these identical traits, along with the replicated technique, made King understand exactly what the other had done.
“You can even mimic people? Even their techniques?”
“To deal with monsters like your kind, I have to use the same kind of power. I have to say… what a formidable bloodline.”
A confident smile appeared at the corner of Amedeo’s mouth. Mimicking appearances was the most superficial aspect of his ability; since he could imitate living beings, naturally he could imitate humans as well.
Normally, he could only imitate appearances, but if he made physical contact with his opponent, he could even forcibly replicate their body, obtaining some of their physical attributes to enhance himself.
Of course, this was also his most restrictive move. He could only do this within a certain range of the target, and he couldn’t replicate their Devil Fruit abilities.
Still, gaining the physical qualities of the Lunarian race was a tremendous boost for him.
“Anything you can do, I can now do as well. What will you do about that?”
“You’re defiling our bloodline. Since you like copying, you’d better make sure you learn it thoroughly.”
“I’ll make you experience your own attack! Imperial Flaming Wings!”
A fire dragon was swung out from Amedeo’s hand, but what he received in return was an even more direct counterattack from King. Azure flames burned along King’s back, and even the ground beneath his feet seemed to melt under the intense heat.
“You’ve only learned the surface, what are you so proud of? Extra Large Azure Imperial Flaming Wings!”
Several blue fire dragons began to dance with the swing of King’s blade, instantly devouring the fire dragon Amedeo had unleashed. The blue flames surged forward with undiminished momentum, rushing toward where he stood.
“A counterfeit will always be a counterfeit.”
With his long blade sheathed, within the flames, Amedeo’s figure slowly split into two halves. He couldn’t mimic two different substances at the same time. While the Lunarian physique was strong, it still depended on the situation.
Under the burning flames, his body gradually vanished, and even the weapon in his hand melted into molten metal.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions rang out again. Ingres’s body had already lost a large portion of itself, and the spear formed from assembled parts had pierced through his neck, pinning him to the ground.
Although he was still alive, his vocal cords seemed to have been destroyed, causing him to lose the ability to speak.
“Big brother.”
“Alber? You’re fast. This guy was a bit hard to kill, otherwise I would’ve finished earlier.”
Blueno had just tried to resist with his strongest Tekkai, but it was useless. With his spatial ability sealed, his combat strength wasn’t suited for this battlefield. He was taken out by King in less than a single exchange.
“After all, he’s a Devil Fruit User. This one’s manageable, I’ve dealt with ones even harder to kill before. That guy was like a cockroach, with absurd vitality.”
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