Marineford War: I Will Stand in the Sky

Clearly, as a former Fleet Admiral, Kong is also an expert in "life return".

Witnessing this scene, Yaen, who had expected it, was not surprised at all, but sighed helplessly in his heart.

"Therefore, those who are purely physically strong are the most troublesome. To defeat them, you either have to completely crush them in one blow or you can only wear down their stamina."

Compared to the "Blackwing Demon," the "Holy Crying Mantis" doesn't have as many fancy abilities, and even its regenerative abilities have degenerated and disappeared.

However, instead, the Holy Cry Scizor possesses the most balanced offensive and defensive capabilities, excelling in Hardhide, stamina, strength, and speed!

Immediately, with a thought from Yann, the power of the Holy Crying Mantis erupted completely, and the six scythes turned into giant whirlwinds, slashing continuously at Steelbone Sky.

"Ta-da!"

The sound of hammering echoed across the battlefield almost like raindrops. Yann didn't even give Steelbone Kong a chance to speak, relentlessly suppressing him with one heavy slash after another.

Because Arn knew very well that if it came down to a contest of combat skills, Steel Bone Sky could crush ten of him, so the only way Arn could suppress Steel Bone Sky in a short time was to use this method of hacking the master to death.

This scene left many soldiers dumbfounded.

The legendary Steelbone Sky Commander was actually suppressed, and he seemed completely powerless to fight back.

"Is...it really that scary?"

"Even Kaido, who is known as one of the Four Emperors, is no better than this, right?"

"A monster! Another monster is about to appear on the sea."

……

Some soldiers couldn't help but mutter to themselves, as if they had seen a ghost.

Keep in mind that just now, it was only by Tiger and Corazon working together that they barely managed to hold off Cyborg Kong's attack.

Now, Corazon is fighting Cyborg Kong alone, and the tide of the battle has turned.

At this moment, even Tiger couldn't help but wonder: Did my presence next to Corazon affect his performance?

However, only he himself knew the frustration he felt.

The Holy Cry Mantis's attacks didn't do much damage to him, but every strike was aimed at vital points, forcing Steelbone Sky to only be able to passively defend.

In this way, the six scythes swung down in a cycle, leaving Steel Bone Sky with no opening to counterattack.

For a time, the battle between Cyborg and Mantis was at a standstill, while the slaves' defenses, with Tiger's assistance, were also barely stabilized.

Although Tiger didn't understand Corazon's meaning, he still commanded the slaves to retreat towards the edge of the Red Line, shrinking the outer defenses.

As a result, with the outer defenses contracting and Tiger providing support from all sides as the core fighting force, the slaves, though forced to the edge of the Red Line, found the situation completely stable, and the number of casualties rapidly decreased, maintaining a certain degree of stalemate.

……

Seeing this, the Five Elders, who were watching the battle from afar, couldn't help but comment with a hint of disdain.

"A meaningless, dying struggle."

"Ants huddling together won't keep warm; they'll only die faster."

"These slaves don't seem to be obedient. Let's kill them all and replace them with a new batch."

"I second that. We can't leave any seeds of resistance, otherwise the constant back and forth will just get too annoying."

"But what's with that human wielding the scythe? His strength is surprisingly high; he was able to suppress Steelbone Sky Commander for a short time."

"Didn't you guys notice? Commander-in-Chief Steelbone wasn't going all out. Otherwise, he could have broken the deadlock at any time, even at the risk of getting injured."

……

Time passed slowly, and the Holy Cry Mantis continued to hack at Steelbone Sky like a merciless machine.

Initially, Steel Bone Kong also believed that the Holy Cry Mantis wouldn't be able to maintain such a high-intensity, high-frequency attack for long.

However, almost half an hour had passed, and Steelbone Sky was almost numb from being hacked away, while the Crying Mantis showed no sign of stopping.

Of course, in reality, Yann was also holding on desperately, squeezing out the power of the Holy Crying Mantis to buy enough time.

Finally, as a peculiar sound of wind reached the ears of the Holy Crying Mantis, Yann breathed a sigh of relief. Without hesitation, he manipulated the Holy Crying Mantis to retreat, quickly moving to Tiger's side.

Steelbone Sky, who remained in place, was momentarily stunned and didn't react. He subconsciously followed the trajectory of the Holy Cry Mantis's fixed scythe swing, repeatedly blocking with his arms left and right before finally stopping with a slight twitch in his expression.

"You little brat, you're a complete jackhammer!"

Steelbone Kong rubbed his completely numb arms, and as he spoke, he walked towards the direction of the Crying Mantis and Tiger.

At this moment, tens of thousands of slaves were huddled together, surrounded by layers of World Government soldiers. Almost all of the slaves who still possessed some fighting ability were wounded.

As Steelbone Kong, who had stepped to the front of the soldiers, swept his gaze over the emaciated, sallow-faced slaves, he was about to speak again to persuade them to surrender when he found their eyes filled with despair and determination.

Despairing of the current predicament, yet steadfast in their beliefs.

Death doesn't seem to frighten them.

Ultimately, Steelbone Kong swallowed his words of persuasion to surrender and instead said, "Prepare for your final fate. You've caused enough trouble already."

Immediately afterwards, Steelbone Kong waved his hand, and some soldiers dressed in rather distinctive clothes appeared, pushing one cannon after another, and aimed at the slaves from all directions.

It seems like it's coming to an end!

The battle had dragged on to this point, clearly exhausting all patience, to the point that the World Government had even moved out those high-powered artillery emplacements for use as weapons.

Now, all it takes is for Steelbone Sky to give the order, and dozens of cannons will bombard them simultaneously, crushing the slaves who have been squeezed into this corner to pieces.

Just as the atmosphere among the slaves became deathly silent, preparing to face their final moment...

Yann whispered something urgently to Tiger beside him, who was preparing to fight to the death.

"Don't say anything later. If I say 'jump,' then you jump off the Red Earth!"

Immediately, Yann manipulated the Holy Crying Mantis to leap onto the shoulder of a small giant, raised the scythe in his hand, and shouted.

"Gentlemen, do you desire a lifetime of enslavement, or a moment of freedom?"

[Chapter 175. It's Just About Going to Die]

A lifetime of enslavement, or a moment of freedom?

Is there even a need to choose in this situation?

Those who are truly slaves in hell, unable to even die, know all too well the despair they feel.

Almost instantly, Yann got the answer from the eyes of the slaves before him.

"Actually, from the moment Tiger and I climbed the Red Line to try and rescue our fellow countrymen, I felt like I had gone mad..."

"The World Government is too powerful for me to resist, but Tiger and I still came."

"Because of freedom!"

The Holy Crying Mantis shouted passionately. Seeing this, the surrounding CP0 thought that the Holy Crying Mantis wanted to incite the slaves to launch a final attack on the World Government. Just as they were about to order an attack, Steel Bone Kong shook his head and said with amusement.

"Wait a minute, let's see what tricks this little brat can pull."

"Yes!"

Regardless, Cyborg Kong is ultimately the Supreme Commander of the Army. Even though he and CP0 are in different systems, Cyborg Kong is the one with the highest command authority on the surface.

And Yann continued.

"Freedom is so precious!"

"Tiger escaped alone and returned to the sea, truly tasting the flavor of freedom!"

"It's an endless sea, azure sky, refreshing sea breeze, fragrant barbecue, delicious wine, and adventurous life to live as you please."

For a moment, under the description of the Holy Crying Mantis, the slaves' originally gloomy and desperate eyes began to glimmer.

"On the high seas, there is nothing better than freedom!"

"And that's precisely why..."

The Holy Crying Mantis's voice suddenly rose, saying, "Tiger understands your suffering even more, understands how much you, as enslaved beings, yearn for freedom and hope to escape this hell called slavery."

"Therefore, Tiger begged the Hueco Mundo organization, offering his own life and the rest of his life to serve the great Lord of Hueco Mundo, in exchange for saving you and leading you to escape the Red Line!"

???

Tiger.

Did I say that? And who is the Lord of Hueco Mundo?

Tiger, increasingly suspicious of what was going on, instinctively wanted to honestly ask who the Lord of Hueco Mundo was.

However, just as Tiger was about to speak, he remembered Corazon's earlier reminder and, out of trust in Corazon, held back.

The other slaves looked at Tiger with eyes full of emotion and tears.

Even though they had already escaped the Holy Land of Mary Geoise and regained their freedom, Tiger returned to save them, even at the cost of his own life.

This...this is the spirit of fearlessness, this is what a hero is!

"At Tiger's pleading, the Lord of Hueco Mundo actually granted us a way out: to jump off the Red Line. I don't know if this was just a perfunctory excuse from the Lord of Hueco Mundo, out of fear of the World Government..."

The Holy Crying Mantis spoke with increasing fervor.

"But no matter how slim the hope that Tiger gave up is, I want to hold on to it tightly."

"Ladies and gentlemen, jumping from tens of thousands of meters above the ground, what awaits us may be death embracing the sea, or it may be the radiance of freedom..."

Before Yern could finish speaking, Tiger suddenly leaped into the air, tracing an arc in front of all the slaves, and jumped straight down towards the Red Earth.

This scene stunned everyone, including Yann.

"I...I haven't finished speaking yet..."

Ya'en's expression twitched slightly, and his voice paused for a moment as he couldn't help but worry in his heart.

"And Tiger jumped way too far, didn't he? Will the buffer airflow created by Dragon not be able to catch it?"

Tiger's example immediately awakened the other slaves, and they almost instinctively followed Tiger and jumped down.

"Jump! So what if I die? No matter what, I want to see the sea one last time before I die."

"I believe in Tiger Hero..."

"Get out of this filthy place."

"Don't push, everyone in the back. Let me think about my last words first."

"Get down here quickly, don't get in the way. Think of your last words after you jump down, don't get in the way."