Chapter 58: Cut Down
"Henry!"
Marine Vice Admiral Cassius trembled uncontrollably at this sight, a sign of extreme fear; his inner world had already collapsed.
"This is a Monster!"
"I shouldn't have come!"
Marine Vice Admiral Cassius stood rigidly in place, his expression somewhat vacant.
The chasm-like gap left Cassius with no hope whatsoever.
On the other side, Vic was also locked in a bitter struggle.
At this moment, Cassius regretted deeply getting involved in this mess.
But it was already too late.
One Marine Vice Admiral was beaten to death with a single blow, and the other displayed such a pathetic state, causing the morale of the surrounding Marine Soldiers to plummet.
Having finished off one, Titan appeared before Cassius without the slightest pause.
Cassius offered no resistance, not even using Armament Haki, or rather, he couldn't use it.
His inner world had collapsed.
Both Armament Haki and Observation Haki seemed to have vanished from his body.
Unless he could pull himself together, but Titan wouldn't give him the chance.
Without the defense of Armament Haki, it was too easy for Titan to deal with him.
Another powerful hammer blow went straight for Cassius's head.
Undoubtedly, blood splattered, and a headless corpse was smashed into the Underground.
Two of the three strongest combatants on the Marines' side were gone, leaving so early and falling so quickly.
Titan stood rooted to the spot.
No one dared to approach him; no one wanted to endure his terrifying hammer blow unless they wanted to die.
Quite a few Pirate and Criminal were caught in the accidental crossfire.
They understood clearly that although Hades and Titan were temporarily enemies of the Marines just like them, it didn't mean they were in the same camp.
That Monster simply didn't care about their lives.
A Marine Vice Admiral in the New World was a powerful individual capable of holding their own, enough to awe a region.
Even if Henry and Cassius were subpar, they were still Marine Vice Admirals.
Yet, two Marine Vice Admirals died so easily at Titan's hands.
It wasn't because they were weak, but because Titan's strength was too great.
Strength, physique, Haki quality, and even the technique of application – Titan held the upper hand in all aspects, resulting in absolute suppression.
It was clear that the scales of war had completely tipped against the Marines.
"What a Monster!"
As a Monster himself, Redfield had to admit the terrifying nature of Titan's strength.
And that body defense, which was difficult to breach, reminded him of Charlotte Linlin, the "Natural Born Destroyer" with the Iron Balloon Body, who was now making a name for herself in the Rocks Pirates.
However, there was still a gap.
That one was a "Natural Born Destroyer"!
Of course, he also had absolute confidence in his own strength.
The current battle, to him, felt more like a performance.
"It seems the Marines' operation this time will fail. What a pity, they ran into two Monsters."
Redfield sighed with some emotion, purely from the perspective of a bystander.
He could also sense that Titan hadn't used his full strength.
Within him, there was still a terrifying strength contained, likely from a powerful Devil Fruit.
He didn't know that the Marines' target from the beginning was Hades and Titan.
Even if it was just a sigh, receiving such an evaluation from Redfield's mouth was enough for Titan to be proud.
The arrogant Redfield didn't have many people he deemed worthy of his attention.
Moreover, he only acknowledged Titan's potential.
The strength Titan displayed now didn't make him pay too much attention.
On the other side, the battle between Hades and Vice Admiral Vic was extremely fierce.
It was clear that Hades had the upper hand.
The Nightmare in Hades's hand was like a soul-reaping chain, constantly attempting to drain Vic's life.
The life-taking Death Scythe!
Each time, Vic narrowly avoided it.
Having just obtained this weapon, Hades wasn't yet proficient in its use.
As the battle continued, it was evident that Hades was putting increasing pressure on Vic.
Gradually leaving injuries on Vic's body.
Vic was indeed a formidable opponent, with exquisite Body Technique, mastery of both types of Haki, and rich combat experience.
Stationed on the front lines in the New World against Pirate, he was among the top-ranked Marine Vice Admirals at Marine Headquarters.
But that was all.
The more he fought, the more restless Vic's heart became.
What kind of Monster was he facing? He was only fourteen, right!
His Haki quality was completely on par with, or even slightly surpassed, Vic's years of refinement.
In terms of pure strength, he was also at a disadvantage.
Hades's combat experience was equally rich; he could always see through Vic's intentions and had sufficient means to counter them.
Son of Jaeger!
Now, he truly understood the meaning represented by those four words, Son of Jaeger.
The Nightmare that cut through the air, the sharp Scythe, could even break through his Armament Haki.
Coupled with Hades's combat style, which looked young but was quite seasoned, Vic's body was marked with gruesome scars.
Each time, it would take away some of his blood through his wounds.
An eerie bloody light flashed on the Nightmare, excited, absorbing energy from the blood.
Its bloodthirsty instinct made it even more excited, and the Slaughter Aura it unleashed grew stronger.
Vic felt he had never been so uncomfortable.
His combat intentions were almost completely seen through, leaving him no room to resist.
He had also tried to counterattack, but no matter how he moved, Hades easily avoided it in the end.
Even when he hit Hades directly once, an invisible force prevented him from gathering his strength, his attacks were constantly weakened, and ultimately, he couldn't even injure Hades.
He didn't know what was happening, only that he felt extremely uncomfortable fighting, as if he was stuck in a quagmire, unable to break free.
The clash of Haki was very normal.
He never expected that someone could exhibit the soft characteristic of Haki instead of just hardening.
He knew he had to counterattack, or he would truly be defeated by this guy.
"Flying Finger Pistol!"
Using his fingernail as a medium, Vic unleashed a powerful move from an angle Hades couldn't see, attempting to reverse the advantage.
At such close range, the flying Air Slash gave even Hades a feeling that his life was threatened.
At such close range, it was impossible to avoid.
Perhaps that's what Vice Admiral Vic thought?
But how could Hades let him have his way?
He was all too familiar with this move.
Before Vic even made his move, he had already reacted.
"Roaming Dragon!"
"Slash!"
Hades's graceful figure easily dodged the attack, instantly appearing to Vic's right, a look of excitement on his face as he swung the Nightmare.
"Not good!"
Vic's heart felt a great sense of dread, but it was already too late.
Instinctively moving his body a short distance, he avoided the fatal Slash.
However, the extreme bloody light easily passed through his body.
An arm, carried by the powerful strength, flew into the sky and crashed onto the ground.
(end of chapter)