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worm novel 200 . xyz
"Vice Admiral Garp!"
"Dammit, Lord Garp will definitely be fine!"
"You've got to be kidding. How could Lord Garp be defeated?"
"Fake, this has to be fake!"
"I absolutely don't believe it. Vice Admiral Garp must have been careless."
"Quick, quick, quick..."
Flying backward like a beam of light, Garp crashed into the deepest depths of the desert.
Right on his heels, a massive flaming fist descended from the sky.
The resulting power was unimaginable. Waves of scorching heat radiated outward, leaving the nearby town's marines and residents with stinging skin.
As for the old man who took the entire attack head-on...
"Quick, go check on Lord Garp's situation first!"
The assembled marines glared in Lius's direction, but they eventually abandoned any thoughts of pursuit and rushed toward the crash site instead.
Catching pirates clearly took a backseat to the safety of their Marine Hero.
"Even though my Swordsmanship finally broke through, my physical endurance still falls a bit short!"
Watching the retreating marines, Lius maintained his dual-blade stance for a moment longer before suddenly dropping to one knee to heave for breath.
Piercing pain radiated from every muscle and joint in his body.
That final strike seemed to have hollowed out every ounce of his strength.
Slowly sheathing his swords, he wiped a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth.
He had managed to avoid taking the hit directly, yet the terrifying power of that fist still surged through his blades.
"Why are you just standing there? If we don't leave now, we won't be able to escape once the marine reinforcements regroup!"
Resting his hands on his knees, the young swordsman fought to stand upright before shouting at the dazed Ace in the distance.
Hearing this, Ace snapped out of his melancholy daze.
Glancing between his companion and the distant horizon where his grandfather had fallen, his eyes brimmed with worry and guilt.
"But Grandpa..."
"You don't actually think that old man could be defeated by us, do you?"
Lius waved a hand to interrupt him.
"What do you mean?"
Ace walked over with a thoroughly confused expression.
"Nothing much. I just mean that if he couldn't be defeated, we would never be able to leave!"
Offering a faint smile, Lius turned around and walked straight toward the depths of the desert.
Left standing in place, the young pirate looked thoughtful.
Failing to figure it out in the end, he simply gave up and jogged to catch up with Lius, pressing him for answers.
"What was that move you used just now? Why do you look so weak all of a sudden?"
"Ah, that was Conqueror's Haki coating. You have Conqueror's Haki too, right? I can teach you how to do it later if you want to learn!"
"Conqueror's Haki coating?"
"Yeah. It's an ultimate technique that only the absolute apex figures of the sea have the qualifications to grasp!"
"Ah, then Grandpa will really be okay, right?"
Shock plastered Ace's face.
He could not hide the sheer worry bleeding into his expression.
It made sense upon closer thought. Just as he had mentioned before, no matter what path he took in life, Garp would always be his grandfather.
However.
Lius simply stared at him in utter speechlessness.
"Instead of worrying about that old man, you should worry about yourself!"
He drew Yubashiri from his waist. Under the glaring sunlight, a few faint cracks could be seen spreading across the gleaming blade.
That was right; this famed sword had cracked.
He had not possessed it for very long, so he had not yet found the time to temper it into a black blade!
Forced to endure the clash between Garp's fist and Lius's own Conqueror's Haki coating, the blade simply could not handle the sheer impact and fractured immediately.
If they had continued fighting!
It would have spelled certain doom for the sword!
Taking note of the damage, Ace could not help but suck in a sharp breath.
His eyes widened into saucers.
Only then did his lingering concerns for his grandfather finally begin to fade.
The duo trudged away from the town, eventually vanishing completely into the heart of the desert.
Thud!
Meanwhile.
A body heavily scorched by flames slammed into the soft desert sand, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
"Ahhh, I really just want to take a nap right now!"
With his white hair and beard slightly singed, a dirt-covered Garp simply sprawled on the ground with his arms spread wide.
Narrowing his eyes to peer at the blazing sun overhead, a look of comfortable melancholy washed over his face.
Clatter!
Right at that moment, hurried footsteps approached.
A moment later, two beautiful women entered his line of sight, blocking out the glaring sunlight. One had flowing black hair, while the other sported long, light pink hair.
Momousagi and Hina had arrived.
"Ah, it's Mr. Garp. Why is he all the way out here?"
"What? Was Vice Admiral Garp actually defeated?"
"How could Lord Garp ever be defeated? Those evil pirates must have used dirty tricks!"
"Yeah, that has to be it!"
Before Momousagi or Hina could even speak, the soldiers they had brought along were already indignantly condemning Lius and Ace.
"Hey, Garp, this doesn't look like you at all!"
Momousagi frowned deeply at the sight.
"Hina is feeling rather suspicious. Were you actually defeated?"
Exhaling a puff of smoke around the cigarette clamped between her lips, a look of profound skepticism crossed Hina's face.
He was the Hero of the Marines, a living legend from the old era.
Garp represented an unshakable monument for their entire organization.
Yet right now, that very monument was lying flat on his back. Covered head to toe in scorched dust from the flames, he looked absolutely pathetic.
Still, looks could be deceiving.
"Haha, cough, cough!"
Garp tried to belt out a boisterous laugh but immediately broke into a violent coughing fit.
Enduring their suspicious stares, he grimaced and sat up. He clutched his muscular chest and ground his teeth. "Two of my ribs are broken, and you brats are actually doubting me!"
Despite his complaints, he effortlessly climbed to his feet. Staring into the depths of the desert, he gnashed his teeth.
"Kids these days have no sense of martial honor! Those two brats actually teamed up to bully a poor old man!"
"I don't know exactly what went down, but if they managed to injure you, it proves those two are a force to be reckoned with!"
Momousagi remarked casually, throwing a sideways glance at him.
Truthfully, any high-ranking officer who knew Garp understood just how unreliable he could be. It was hard to believe he had genuinely been taken down by two brats.
"Of course they are, especially that brat named Lius!"
Garp nodded. His tone grew entirely serious as he spoke in a low rumble, "His Swordsmanship comes directly from Golden Lion Shiki!"
"WHAT?"
Momousagi and Hina could not help but cry out in shock, all their previous skepticism vanishing instantly.
"Heh, and that's not all. That kid has already gained a rudimentary mastery over Conqueror's Haki coating!"
"Conqueror's Haki coating?"
Confusion swirled in the eyes of the two women.
They were not the only ones; the surrounding marine soldiers were just as thoroughly bewildered.
It was not because they lacked experience.
Rather, those who could master Conqueror's Haki coating were just far too rare in these seas.
"Let me put it this way. The people who can master this ability... in the New World, they are known as the Four Emperors!"
Garp muttered.
The moment those words fell, endless gasps of shock rang out across the crowd.