Chapter 22 – Breaking Through
The three CP0 agents stared at Dante Voss, whose aura had transformed; their expressions turned far more serious.
They'd assumed his earlier display was his true strength, yet it now appeared Dante Voss had still been holding back.
"As expected, he had an ulterior motive—this is his real power?"
"Hmph, so what? Even so, he won't be leaving the Holy Land."
Dante Voss looked at CP0 and curled his lips into a smile.
Whoosh!
He shot into the crowd, beginning another massacre; the boost in strength wasn't meant for those CP0 agents.
Judging by his current Spirit, even with his attributes raised he still couldn't match them.
By his estimate, each of the three CP0 had every base attribute above five thousand.
And they most likely mastered both Haki and the Six Powers.
To defeat them head-on, Dante Voss's current attributes and abilities were still far from enough.
Nor had he forgotten his real goal here: to harvest slaughter points.
"Blood Slaughter Hell!"
The instant he plunged into the crowd he unleashed a sweeping sword technique.
Scores of guards fell dead on the spot.
With his mighty attributes and Intermediate Sword Master-level Swordsmanship, the move's power was devastating.
[Killed a guard: slaughter points +10]
[Killed a guard: slaughter points +10]
Lines of notifications scrolled past; seeing the steady ten points each, Dante Voss exhaled in relief.
He'd feared his rising strength might reduce the points per kill.
Fortunately, that hadn't happened—yet.
From afar the CP0 agents watched him ignore them and keep slaughtering guards; their faces darkened.
"Move in together!"
One CP0 agent barked, charging Dante Voss; the rest followed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
They were faster—faster than Dante Voss.
But Dante Voss's psychic sense had locked on; he sensed them coming.
"Blood Wave Slash!"
He swung the bloodthirsty sword, sending a scarlet arc straight at them.
It was the energy blade he'd awakened upon reaching Intermediate Sword Master.
The lead CP0 agent kicked mid-air, releasing a green shockwave that collided with Dante Voss's Blood Wave Slash.
Boom!
The two forces exploded and canceled out mid-sky.
All as Dante Voss expected—he'd never counted on Blood Wave Slash to injure CP0.
Seizing their momentary pause, he dove back among the guards and unleashed Blood Slaughter Hell again.
[Killed a guard: slaughter points +10]
[Killed a guard: slaughter points +10]
Watching hundreds die before their eyes, the three CP0 surged forward with killing intent.
Their eyes glowed red, locking onto Dante Voss.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three more Blood Wave Slashes shot out—Dante Voss tried the same trick.
This time the agents dodged as if foreseeing every move, slipping past in an instant.
Dante Voss's heart sank.
He realized this must be the world's unique power—Observation Haki.
As the three closed in, Dante Voss gripped the bloodthirsty sword and braced himself.
Whoosh!
The first agent arrived, hurling a fist straight at his face.
The Speed was beyond his Spirit's Ability to trace; relying on instinct, he swung the bloodthirsty sword to meet it.
Bang!
The blow sent Dante Voss stumbling back several steps before he stabilized.
If not for his recent attribute boosts, that strike might have gravely wounded him.
Yet his Spirit attribute was now a serious drag; he had to upgrade it fast.
With that thought, he swiftly opened his status panel.
[Physique: 4,833]
[Strength: 4,642]
[Speed: 4,752]
[Spirit: 3,644]
[slaughter points: 5,344]
Seeing over five thousand slaughter points again, Dante Voss's eyes glinted and the corner of his mouth lifted.
Slaughter was his path to power; with enough lives, he could soon stand at this world's pinnacle.
That was exactly why he'd chosen to stay instead of fleeing.
With the stone of translocation in hand, his life was already guaranteed.
This is the perfect chance to hunt these World Government soldiers.
Killing them gives Dante Voss no guilt at all!
Worth mentioning, thanks to the passive "Nourishment" of the bloodthirsty sword, Dante Voss's Physique has risen by more than a thousand points during this period.
Truly worthy of a gold-grade weapon—every Ability brings Dante Voss tremendous benefit.
Suppressing his joy, Dante Voss quickly allocated his slaughter points to other attributes.
In an instant, that familiar feeling flooded his body; his Spirit and flesh began to transform once more.
The CP0 agent who'd just attacked stared at the sword cut on his arm, eyes widening.
He'd coated the strike with Armament Haki, yet the opponent's weapon still wounded him.
What grade of sword is this?
The CP0's gaze shook as he looked at the blade in Dante Voss's hand. A sword that could breach his Armament Haki—could it be one of the Supreme Grade blades?
"Hmm?"
While still reeling, his perception drew his attention back to Dante Voss.
At this moment Dante Voss had closed his eyes, yet his aura was growing stronger—already surpassing the agent's own!!!
"Impossible! Is he still hiding strength?"
The CP0's heart trembled violently; he no longer knew the true extent of Dante Voss's power.
But they could not afford to lower their guard any longer.
"Attack together—don't give him an opening!"
With that, his Speed surged as he shot toward Dante Voss.
Now he regarded Dante Voss as a genuine opponent: crimson light flared in his eyes and both arms turned pitch-black.
The other two CP0 agents sensed Dante Voss's extraordinariness and charged in the same stance, surrounding him.
Having finished allocating points, Dante Voss already sensed the trio's assault; with his Spirit greatly raised he could perceive every move they made.
Calmly he watched them strike from three directions, simply tightening his grip on the sword.
At that instant the world fell silent; he could hear nothing but the breathing around him.
With Swordsmanship upgraded to Intermediate Sword Master, his Ability to listen to all things grew stronger, letting him clearly sense every breath he focused on.
The bloodthirsty sword bloomed crimson at its master's will, a grim, blood-chilling light.
Finally the three CP0 closed in; before their strikes arrived, three fierce gales hit Dante Voss's face.
Yet Dante Voss stood like unyielding rock amid the storm, softly intoning:
"Aurora!"
He moved!
The bloodthirsty sword flashed at extreme Speed, sweeping attacks at all three foes.
At that moment the sword seemed faster than light itself, faster than the world.
Such Speed hid the hilt from view; only a streak of red could be glimpsed.
Though the three CP0 couldn't follow the blade with their eyes, their Observation Haki still let them sense its trajectory.
But sensing it didn't mean they could dodge!
With massive Speed investments, Dante Voss had surpassed their reaction time.
Left with no choice, they met him head-on, clad in Armament Haki.
"Shhk!"
The bloodthirsty sword cleaved into a CP0's arm; after a brief clash it severed the limb completely.
That black Haki had failed to stop Dante Voss's strike!
After the amputation the sword swept at the other two, but much of its force had been spent, only knocking them back several steps.
All three CP0 quickly retreated, staring at Dante Voss in dread.
If before they'd seen him as negligible prey, now he felt utterly invincible.
Most terrifying was that his blade could pierce their Armament defense and strike their very bodies.
Of course!
Breaking through Armament Haki wasn't solely the sword's feat.
Though the bloodthirsty sword was incomparably sharp, it couldn't breach Armament Haki alone.
What shattered their Haki was the combination of the blade's edge, Dante Voss's Swordsmanship, and attributes that now surpassed theirs.
These three factors together were the root of his might!
[Physique: 4833]
[Strength: 6042]
[Speed: 6052]
[Spirit: 5274]
[slaughter points: 1000]