A magic merchant infiltrating Fairy Tail

Zoro, instead of getting angry, laughed and said, "Likewise..."

The guy in front of me is indeed strong, but in terms of swordsmanship alone, he may not be as good as me. It's only because he has the Devil Fruit power that he's not injured; otherwise, I would have already cut him down with one strike.

However, given Zoro's personality, he wouldn't say things like, "It's not my fault I couldn't break through his defenses, it's just that he has a Devil Fruit."

The two of them pushed back simultaneously with a burst of force. Before they could even regain their footing, Tashigi's Yoru Shigure stabbed at Zoro's... shoulder.

"Fuwangba, Roronoa!!"

A sharp shout silenced the three people present: What was this woman doing? If she was going to fight, to launch a sneak attack, why did she have to shout it out? And why attack the shoulder, a completely non-lethal spot?

Before he could even complain, Zoro swiftly blocked the attack with his left hand, Yukishiro: "You're so annoying! Especially that face... I get angry just looking at you!!"

Erza's eyes lit up, her gossip-loving nature instantly ignited: Are these two...?

However, before she could even conjure up a dramatic story of their past grievances in her mind, she heard a whooshing sound from her side. It was Mr. 1 launching a sneak attack.

In the battle just now, Erza was in the dominant position. Her swordsmanship combined strength, speed and skill, and she had a deep understanding of the essence of swordsmanship. When she attacked, she showed the style of the fairy queen. The other three were very difficult to deal with her attacks and could not find an opportunity to launch an attack.

Now that she's distracted, it's the perfect opportunity to launch a sneak attack!

However, Erza was instantly startled, her gaze becoming clear and sharp again. Her Black Feather Sword struck first, effortlessly blocking Mr. 1's stabbing hand.

The power of the hand chop was dispersed by Erza, grazing her bright silver armor as it passed through her sides, slicing the stone house behind her into four or five pieces from left to right.

Tashigi exclaimed in surprise, her eyes widening: "Just from the aftershocks...?!"

Having failed in his sneak attack, Mr. 1 didn't dare linger and immediately retreated. He then turned to look at Tashigi, who was staring blankly at the ruins, and said calmly, "See that, Marines? That's the right way to launch a sneak attack!"

It looked exactly like a teacher and students teaching each other.

Erza's eye twitched: What are you pretending for? You tried to save face by giving a lesson after your sneak attack failed? If I could be fooled by you like that, I wouldn't be Erza!

Thinking of this, Erza raised her twin swords, stomped her feet on the ground, and charged towards Mr. 1. However, she had only gone halfway when she discovered that a figure had caught up with Mr. 1 even faster than her.

"Sorry, this person is mine!"

Zoro arrived with his sword drawn, hoping to take this opportunity to learn how to cut iron. How could he possibly give Erza Mr. 1, the experience pack?

"Tiger Hunt!!"

The three men assumed a "—|—|—" stance, then lunged forward like tigers hunting their prey. Their blades struck Mr. 1 with a loud clang, but failed to leave a single mark on him.

Undeterred, Zoro unleashed another attack: "Oni-giri!!"

"Dust Slash!!"

The blades clashed together with a resounding clang, hacking the stone house, which had already been broken into several pieces, into fragmented blocks of stone.

"Wow, that's amazing...they're evenly matched..."

Tashigi broke out in a cold sweat, her hands gripping Sayo Shigure trembling slightly as her resolve as a swordswoman wavered: "Can I really defeat this monster...?"

Zoro wields the Three-Sword Style with the ferocity of a tiger hunting and the speed of a demon attacking. The Sandai Kitetsu is eerie and unpredictable, the Yubashiri is light and agile, while the Wado Ichimonji is as upright and righteous as the Way of Man. He can block all three paths at the same time and has rarely met his match before.

But when faced with Mr. 1, who possesses a body of steel, it was ultimately outmatched and was even hacked to pieces, leaving it covered in blood.

"Damn it!! How am I supposed to cut through steel?!"

The same question arose in Tashigi's mind. She looked at Erza and asked, "Miss Erza, how did you manage to cut through steel?"

Erza pondered for a moment before replying, "It's conviction! My sword is wielded to protect my guildmates, and as long as I hold fast to my convictions, there's nothing I can't cut!"

"This……"

Tashigi froze, thinking: Isn't this just like the grand principles written in books? They only give readers a set of seemingly plausible theories, but offer no practical guidance...

The conversation between the two reached Zoro and Mr. 1's ears, but they also only had a vague understanding of it, and the battle became tense.

Seeing that Zoro couldn't break through her defenses and hadn't grasped her 'Conviction Slash', Erza sighed helplessly, "His talent is quite good, but his comprehension is a bit lacking. When I was his age, I had already made a name for myself in the Kingdom of Fiore, and even in Ishgar!"

Although the group is currently engaged in a 'hunting game' competition, it hasn't really come to the point where they need to fight to the death. Besides, Erza isn't a particularly evil person. The reason for this stalemate is mainly to see if she can help these people improve their swordsmanship during the battle.

Of course, she initially only wanted to teach Tashigi, since the two had spent some time together on a naval warship and Erza knew that Tashigi had a desire to become stronger. But since the four of them had met, she figured she might as well teach them both.

To everyone's surprise, after the four of them fought wildly, Erza was astonished to find that Zoro was not only more talented than Tashigi, but also had a stronger belief in swordsmanship and was just like her in taking care of his companions. He was practically another version of herself, which strengthened Erza's resolve to teach him how to cut iron.

Simply put, Erza had a keen eye for talent and couldn't bear to see such a talented person as Zoro go to waste.

"Change clothes!!"

With a soft shout, the Cleansing Robe replaced the Netherworld Armor, and the Demon Blade Red Tassel replaced the Black Feather Sword and the Netherworld Sword.

Erza slowly walked towards the battlefield between Zoro and Mr. 1, shouting at Zoro, who was frantically hacking away, "Watch closely! I'll teach you how to use the Conviction Slash to cut through iron!"

Mr1: "..."

What is this woman trying to do?! Why is she using me as her opponent to teach Roronoa's iron-cutting techniques?! I'm not training equipment!!

Chapter 860 Thanks to the two big shots for the experience pack.

Don't come here! ! !

Mr1 roared inwardly, but it was no use. Erza still swung her red tassel and slashed at him, and he could only grit his teeth and take the hit, because he knew very well that if he didn't, things would only get worse.

So Mr. 1 stood there like a wooden puppet during training, waiting for Erza to make her move, silently comforting himself: "Just consider this training to target my weaknesses..."

The advantage of the Quick-Cut Fruit is that the entire body can be transformed into blades as hard as steel. Therefore, under normal circumstances, Mr. 1 is a four-sword style swordsman who uses both arms and legs.

If this were a battle between ordinary swordsmen, it would be fine; his steel-like body would make him invincible. But now his opponents are Erza, whose swordsmanship far surpasses his and who can even split a meteorite in two, and Zoro, who is about to master the Breath of All Things and break through the Iron-Cutting Realm. In that case, his advantage is greatly reduced.

In the battle just now, every time their swords clashed, Erza's sword could cut a tiny chip on his hand blade, while Zoro's Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri were comparable in hardness to the blades he created, making it difficult to distinguish between them.

Mr. 1's only clearly superior opponent is Tashigi, but every time he attacks Tashigi, Erza and Zoro simultaneously draw their swords to strike him. After several such attacks, he no longer dares to touch the bespectacled woman.

To be honest, Tashigi seemed somewhat out of place in this confrontation.

If Erza is a fairy, Zoro is a demon, and Mr. 1 is a tiger, then Tashigi is undoubtedly a sheep or a little white rabbit—in short, a completely harmless animal, entirely different from the other three.

Her swordsmanship was only mediocre compared to Erza and the other two. She lacked the mindset of a strong swordsman and the unwavering belief to strive for it. In addition, she had a visual impairment—being severely nearsighted meant she was practically blind without her glasses. This put her in a very awkward position in this sword duel.

Tashigi single-handedly lowered the danger of this close-quarters battle and also lowered the average swordsmanship level of the four. Although Erza and the other two had gone easy on her, she still couldn't gain any advantage in the battle.

Perhaps realizing this, and having found a better student, Erza abandoned Tashigi and turned her attention to Zoro instead.

Erza, wielding the Crimson Tassel, was even more ferocious and alluring than when she used the Black Feather and Dark Blade Twin Swords. In the sunlight, she resembled a red fairy dancing gracefully, causing Tashigi's eyes to sparkle continuously.

"Watch closely, this is a normal attack!"

After Erza joined the battle, she didn't immediately unleash her ultimate attack. Instead, she casually slashed a few times with Red Tassel. Her moves were unremarkable and left no marks. After all, Red Tassel was just a weapon forged from a special metal ore. Although it was hard, it didn't have the ability to cut through gold and jade.

However, compared to before, now that Tashigi is gone, Zoro is no longer holding back, Mr. 1's attacks are becoming increasingly fierce, and Erza's gaze has also become sharp. The battle between the three has obviously become more dangerous.

This was a real battle. Compared to this, the exchange between the others was merely a swordsmanship instruction from the dojo master. Tashigi then realized how embarrassing her performance had been, and a blush immediately rose on her face.

Hearing the clanging of metal beside her and watching the flashing swords before her, Tashigi's eyes shone with longing and envy. "When will I be able to become that strong?"

Suddenly, with a violent impact, the three figures were pulled out of the battle and stood still to calm their heartbeats and breathing.

Looking at the three of them, Erza remained calm and composed, as if the battle hadn't even been a warm-up for her; Mr. 1 had several bloody marks on his body, one of which was on his bald head; Zoro was in the worst condition, not only was his breathing disordered, but blood was also flowing from his arm, and his chest was also mangled by Mr. 1's spiral blade.

"You...you guys know what? This is the first time I've been injured since I ate the Quick-Cut Fruit..."

Mr. 1's breathing was erratic, his hands and feet trembling, and he looked at Erza with apprehension: 'This woman not only possesses the power to cut through iron, but her swordsmanship far surpasses mine. My tricky and unpredictable strikes, delivered with my arms, legs, and fingers, are like child's play in front of her.'

Indeed, Erza's knight magic allows her to control weapons at will and perfectly. After training, she can even use her feet to slash people with swords. Therefore, Mr. 1's attack method, which uses his body as a blade, is full of loopholes for her.

So you're going to ask her for medical expenses?

Zoro was panting heavily. The wound on his chest, inflicted by Mr. 1, was still bleeding profusely, which had drained him of a lot of stamina. If he hadn't known that Crocodile had been defeated and that fighting the two of them would make him stronger, he wouldn't have lingered here.

Before this, Zoro had seen many swordsmen who used one or two swords, and he had also seen pirates like Locke who used claws as weapons, but he had never seen an opponent like Mr. 1 whose entire body could turn into blades. If he could defeat him, his sword skills would be greatly improved, as would his power.

Erza was also his only true rival, whose magic, which allowed her to draw a sword at any time, and whose swordsmanship, honed over a long period of time, were also of great benefit to him.

"Pay attention, what I'm about to use is the Conviction Slash!"

As soon as Erza finished speaking, Mr. 1's face turned serious, and he became extremely alert. He knew: the big one was coming!

"Open your eyes wide, I don't teach just anyone."

Mr1 roared inwardly: Please, spare me! If you're going to teach someone extraordinary, shouldn't you also find someone extraordinary to chop up? I'm just an ordinary person!

However, Erza couldn't hear his thoughts. Her eyes narrowed, and she charged forward with Red Tassel in hand. Mr. 1's expression changed drastically. He felt as if he was locked onto by her aura, and no matter how he moved, he couldn't dodge the attack.

Since we can't avoid it, we can only defend with all our might!

Having figured this out, Mr. 1 no longer conserved his strength, converting it all into the power granted to him by the Devil Fruit. He placed his hands in front of him, firmly planted his lower body in a horse stance, held his breath, and transformed his entire body into incomparably hard steel.

Like the iron block of the Navy's Sixth Style!

Kira, watching from outside the screen, knew the tutorial was about to end when he saw Mr. 1 assume a defensive stance. As everyone knows, in the world of One Piece, Iron Body is the most useless technique; it can never defend against an enemy's ultimate attack!

Sure enough, the next moment.

A decisive strike of conviction!

Erza slashed down forcefully, and a streak of cherry-red light filled the entire virtual screen of the live stream, turning the whole screen into grayish-white snowflakes.

"Good heavens! This magic can actually affect my broadcast equipment?! Erza is that powerful now?!"

Kira was caught off guard and froze, staring at the machine that had become ineffective due to the interference of massive magical power. He almost blurted out "Holy crap!"

"I was watching the very last move, and then the picture cut out? This machine is rubbish!!"

Kira hated things that suddenly stopped happening more than anything in his life, and he became irritated.

"But didn't you make this machine?" Lucy asked from the side.

"Yes, so I was criticizing the quality of the machine, not the people who made it."

After a moment, the screen returned to normal.

Erza was no longer on the street; only Zoro, Tashigi, and Mr. 1 remained. Mr. 1 had a bloody wound, but it wasn't deep, indicating that Erza had acted with great restraint and had reached a point where she could freely control the power of her 'Conviction Slash'.

Kira was immediately speechless: "Just how strong has Erza become?! Hmm... should I find some time to spar with her?"

Just then, Killer saw Zoro slowly walking towards Mr. 1 with a ferocious and evil smile on his face.

What's this guy up to?

Just as I was wondering, Zoro's voice suddenly came from the screen: "You should still be able to fight, right?"

"What? Did you really grasp the 'Belief Slash' technique after only seeing it once?"