Chapter 1044: The Monster Cat

Chapter 1044: Chapter 1044: The Monster Cat

In a matter of mere minutes, the tactical situation had swung wildly, from a disadvantage to an advantage, then back to a disadvantage again. Events were unfolding with such dizzying speed that both Daren and Catarina Devon were caught off-guard.

It wasn’t until Gin launched his assault on Catarina that the two of them finally reacted.

Gin lunged forward, his face an impassive mask. His tonfa-clubs spun with a low, whistling hum as he swung them violently toward Catarina, the force of his strike carrying a gale of wind.

BOOM!

Catarina, caught off-balance, rolled away in a desperate scramble. Where she had been standing, the floor shattered under Gin’s hammer-like impact, creating a massive crater and sending shards of marble and stone flying in every direction.

Daren reacted instantly. He surged forward, his thin blade flashing as a streak of silver light, aimed straight at Gin’s face. It was a precise, rapid thrust, a move from the Cran Estoc Style. He had once gone undercover, training systematically under the tutelage of the "Flash Blade," Gergiel Haunger. He hadn’t expected, however, that his former mentor would participate in the Battle of Dressrosa, only to fall at the hands of that man.

Facing the thrust, Gin’s expression tightened slightly. He raised a tonfa to parry, meeting Daren’s thin blade with a deafening CLANG.

"Such power!"

Daren’s face shifted, a gasp escaping him. A massive force surged from the tonfa, forcing his blade aside. The shockwave rattled his hand so hard he felt as though the web of his palm were splitting.

Immediately, Gin swung his other tonfa, aiming a savage blow at Daren’s head.

BOOM!

The whistling weapon struck, but it passed through Daren as if he were a phantom. Without touching a solid target, the tonfa slammed into the floor. A terrifying burst of power erupted; the marble tiles beneath the impact were pulverized into dust, and deep cracks spider-webbed violently outward across the floor.

"You... you’re unexpectedly strong!"

Daren couldn’t help but exhale in relief. He fixed a grave gaze on Gin, his body beginning to slowly sink into the ground.

"The Blood Queen and ’Man-Demon’ Gin... to think you two weren’t at Unzan Port. A grave error on my part."

Before the last syllable had left his lips, Daren had completely submerged into the floor, vanishing from sight.

"He escaped? An annoying Devil Fruit user," Gin muttered, his brow furrowing as he looked at the empty space where his opponent had been only a second ago.

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH, SWISH...

Dodging a barrage of high-velocity arrows, Gorbo reached out and caught one in mid-air. With a sudden flick, he hurled it back. It collided with another incoming arrow with a sharp DING, sending sparks flying as the steel heads warped and clattered to the ground.

"Careful, he might still be hiding underground!" Gorbo warned, finding a moment of reprieve to alert Gin.

At the same time, another group of burly men clad in black exoskeleton combat suits swarmed into the palace hall, surrounding the agents of the World Government. Though the CP agents were formidable, many of them high-ranking instructors, they were struggling to contend with such a vast number of super-soldiers.

Shortly after, on the other side of the room, Daren emerged from the floor, halfway, and called out in a low voice to Puda, who stood a few meters away: "The situation is lost. We retreat!"

"Retreat?"

Puda lowered his head slowly, casting a vicious glare at Daren. He roared, "Never! I will crush this city to dust!"

"You’re making too much noise!"

In a flash, Mina struck. She descended from above Daren’s head, her kick passing through his immaterial form and slamming into the ground. With a thunderous BOOM, the floor shattered, and massive cracks raced outward.

Dust billowed into the air. Puda bared his teeth, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent, and growled, "I’m going to slaughter you!"

Before the words were even out, Puda swiped at Mina’s head, as if intending to twist it clean off her shoulders.

"You think you’re worthy?"

A crimson light flickered in Mina’s beautiful eyes, and a cold, disdainful smirk curled her lips, revealing a strangely captivating and lethal allure.

She didn’t hesitate to counter. Her slender, fair hands rapidly transformed into dark-brown, bat-like claws, wreathed in the invisible glow of Armament Haki. Her thin fingers, sharp as blades, stabbed outward with vicious precision.

SHUCK!

In an instant, Mina dodged Puda’s claw, driving her blade-like hands deep into his chest. Fresh blood began to drip down her arms.

"Die, damn you!"

Puda spat blood, then lunged forward, grabbing Mina’s wrists and snapping his jaws toward her fair, slender neck.

RIP!

Mina realized she couldn’t break his grip. Muscles rippled across her back, and a pair of massive, leathery bat wings tore through the fabric of her dress, snapping open with a sudden WHOOSH of wind that slammed Puda backward.

THUD!

A shockwave of air rippled out. Puda, helpless to resist, was sent flying, vomiting blood as he became a black blur that smashed deep into the inner palace, kicking up a fresh storm of debris and dust.

"Just a washed-up relic trying to return to the forefront of the era. What a pathetic delusion," Mina scoffed, her giant wings, spanning over three meters, flapping gently behind her.

RUMBLE—!

Suddenly, the roof erupted in a shower of debris. A burly figure fell from the sky, crashing into the hall and kicking up a thick cloud of dust.

"Who’s there?"

"Another intruder?"

"Could it be reinforcements?"

The crowd was shocked, pulling back in a defensive formation to watch the newcomer.

"Looks like I’m not too late!"

The man turned to face Mina and Gin, sighing in relief. "I didn’t expect to see Mina-sama and Gin here!"

He was a striking sight, an ugly face, dressed in sleeveless dark-gold armor, with thick arms showing muscles as sturdy as steel bars. On his back, he carried a pitch-black, giant wheel-axe.

"The Orc, Otto!!!"

Catarina Devon’s expression turned grim as she spat out his name.

Yet another Commander-level officer. The revelation caused the intruders’ expressions to change drastically.

"To be at war with the Big Mom Pirates and still have so many officers, and even two Commander-level ones... how confident can one man be?" Obes’s face turned deathly pale.

Counting the members of the Chris Pirates, there were twenty or thirty powerful individuals, but the four senior Officers and seven Commander-level officers were their core strength. They had never imagined that not even all of these core cadres had been deployed for a war against a Yonko crew.

RUMBLE—!

The next moment, another thunderous roar shook the room as the roof blew open again. An even more hulking figure crashed into the hall, sending a violent shockwave swirling through the room.

"Who is this now?"

As everyone squinted through the haze, they saw a figure that looked like a man-sized beast. He was covered from head to toe in dense, golden-yellow long fur, with a massive black-and-white striped tail. His face was hideous, filled with jagged fangs, and a deep scar ran near his left eye. He gripped a double-headed trident, looking for all the world like a monstrous, giant cat.