The Master of the Sky rampaged destructively, relying on its massive body and sturdy scales to act with impunity.
Anything crushed beneath its body would be instantly flattened, while its scales could withstand attacks from the guards. Coupled with the venom continuously spraying forth like a fountain, even those flying in the air weren't entirely safe.
Almost in an instant, the Master of the Sky, with its absolute power and presence, scattered the army of nearly a thousand soldiers. Countless people were injured and fell to the ground—their ribs or arms likely fractured. Some had their armor corroded by venom, and as the poison seeped into their bodies and mixed with their wounds, their lives were extinguished in moments.
Now, only a little over a hundred of the Sky Island guards remained, struggling to hold on. They flew to higher altitudes, putting enough distance between themselves and the creature to ensure the Master of the Sky's venom wouldn't reach them.
The injured Gan Fall was among them, having been forcibly pulled up by the captain of the guard.
"Lord God, I think we should withdraw for now. The Master of the Sky is in a rage. With our strength, there's no way to calm its fury." His thinking was simple: an enraged Master of the Sky was practically unbeatable. While those injured soldiers couldn't escape, the lives of these intruders like Ren would certainly end here.
This battle had been devastating, but this wasn't all of Sky Island's military forces. As long as God and the Holy Land could be preserved, that would be enough.
But Gan Fall didn't see it that way. Compared to the Holy Land, he cared more about those wounded warriors. If they had already sacrificed their lives, that would be one thing—but many of them were still alive, wailing in pain from their injuries.
As the God of this Sky Island, how could he abandon his own people?
"We need to rescue those people first," Gan Fall said, but he alone couldn't possibly save so many.
"I'll draw the Master of the Sky away. When that happens, take the opportunity to rescue them." Gan Fall said this was the best plan he could come up with at the moment.
"That's absolutely not acceptable! How could we let you do something so dangerous?" The guard captain immediately objected. Using God as bait was out of the question.
"Say no more!" Gan Fall was resolute. Watching the wounded warriors continuously dying from the Master of the Sky's destruction, he couldn't wait another moment. He immediately had Pierre carry him as he charged toward the Master of the Sky.
A spear he'd picked up was thrown with all his strength, attempting to draw its attention.
The spear did indeed pierce through one of the Master of the Sky's scales in an instant, but in reality, to the creature, it was as minor as a mosquito bite.
The Master of the Sky didn't even turn its gaze toward him, making Gan Fall feel somewhat powerless.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't be this passive, but he had been injured in the earlier battle and couldn't muster much strength now. Plus, the weapon in his hand wasn't suitable.
Fortunately, while the Master of the Sky hadn't paid attention to him, it was attracted by someone else.
It had set its sights on Ren.
Its massive body slithered over, cold eyes with vertical pupils fixed on Ren. Its head, larger than boulders, rose high—this was its sign of preparing to attack.
It seemed its animal instincts had sensed Ren's power, but its confidence in its own strength made it choose to fight rather than submit.
Ren had been watching the Sky Island people's battle, but he hadn't expected this creature to seek death by targeting him. He had been contemplating whether to absorb it, but now he decided against it.
He already had Yamata no Orochi for snake-type souls; there was no need to absorb something that only had size going for it and nothing else.
Since this so-called Master of the Sky had targeted him, then let its life end here.
Ren placed his hand on the weapon at his waist. The sword he carried was "Shusui," which he had purchased at great expense from a weapon shop in Loguetown. He had intended to bring it back to Wano Country as a gift for Yukiko, so he had kept it with him temporarily.
Although Shusui was only a "good grade" sword, seemingly a bit low-tier, the number of "great grade" swords in the entire world was simply too few—even he himself didn't possess a great grade sword.
Those famous samurai of Wano Country, looking throughout history, rarely were those who could wield great grade swords.
Good grade swords and grade swords were essentially at the same level. However, "good grade" referred to the better ones among grade swords.
Speaking of which, Shusui was a good grade sword, while the Third Generation Kitetsu was merely a grade sword. But because the Third Generation Kitetsu was a cursed sword, it felt more formidable.
The Master of the Sky had assumed an attacking posture, but Ren still stood motionless in place, casually drawing the blade from its sheath, appearing completely at ease.
"That guy, is he looking to die?" The guard captain frowned. He didn't care about Ren's life or death—rather, intruders who had barged into their Holy Land like this would be better off dead.
His solemn expression was simply because he was thinking about what to do now.
While he believed Ren was certainly doomed, Jasmine and the others showed little concern.
In their eyes, the name "Ren" itself was synonymous with "invincible." Though this giant serpent before them looked terrifying, it would be impressive if it could even withstand a single one of Ren's attacks.
"I heard that Kozuki Oden sliced the Mountain God in half with a single stroke at the Flower Capital a few years ago. Lord Ren can definitely do the same!" Jasmine stared unblinkingly at Ren, intending to witness his brilliance.
At that moment, the Master of the Sky moved. It opened its massive jaws, then its entire body came crashing down toward Ren.
Ren's vision suddenly darkened. The creature's massive body cast a shadow that blocked out the light. Its mouth could easily swallow him whole. In the Master of the Sky's eyes, Ren wasn't even as large as a mouse.
The foul wind rushing toward him made Ren frown. He slowly swung his blade. The tip of Shusui seemed to condense a touch of frost. His movements appeared slow, but that wasn't actually the case.
The Master of the Sky had no time to react before seeing this casual sword stroke sweep toward it.
In the next moment, its vision began to tumble. The upper half of its snake head had been severed by the icy sword energy that shot forth, with crimson ice blooming like a lotus flower.
Thud—
The snake's body at both ends of the severed head continued to writhe, and the Master of the Sky's head continued to open and close aimlessly.
Only then did it suddenly feel the icy piercing pain coming from its neck.
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