Lucifer: The Swamp Fruit

One was one of the infamous Eleven Supernovas; the other, one of the most outstandingly powerful Vice Admirals of Marine HQ. Faced with this pincer attack from front and rear, Wilder's only action was to lower his stance, and then—!

BANG! BANG!

Two crisp cracks exploded! A black, claw-shaped arm, imbued with the phantom image of a horned serpent, struck the blade of the longsword coming from behind. The sword's trajectory was forcibly altered, causing it to slash into the massive boulder behind him. The sword gleam penetrated the hard stone, instantly causing it to shatter! Meanwhile, the soundwave attack from the front arrived at the same instant, only to be met by a similar black arm, fingers formed into a claw, unleashing five sharp, black cutting gales! A hurricane briefly erupted on the spot, following the five claw-gales as they shot out, his clothes and black cloak rustling violently! The soundwave attack and the five claw-gales collided, deadlocked for a moment before mutually annihilating each other!

SWISH!

Simultaneously, Wilder flipped, his legs sweeping out. Momonga and Apoo both raised their arms to block! With two sharp cracks and a gust of turbulent air that swirled into wisps of white smoke, both were knocked backward. They flipped several times in mid-air before landing steadily, then rose, looking up at Wilder on the boulder, their expressions grave and tinged with an almost imperceptible tremor.

"Just who are you, sir?" Momonga stood firm, longsword in hand, his gaze narrowed, his tone heavy with gravity!

A bead of sweat trickled down Apoo's face. He had a feeling his gamble had been wrong.

"Regardless, you two are really... quite outrageous, you know." Without answering Momonga's question, Wilder's low voice, laced with amusement, came from beneath his black cloak. "Two against one really isn't fair, is it?"

"However..."

"It doesn't really matter."

"Since it's come to this, let's give it a try then." The black-cloaked head tilted up, and the eyes hidden in shadow erupted with fervent battle intent! Wilder's smile spread across most of his face. With that said, his figure abruptly moved!

BOOM! A ring of air blasted outwards from the boulder! Wilder's figure vanished in an instant, diving towards Apoo below!

"Hahaha!" Accompanied by frenzied laughter, his figure moved as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, Wilder was in front of Apoo!

POW! He threw a punch—a straightforward, unadorned fist aimed right at Apoo's face!

"Hey! Are you serious?! Attacking just like that?! You're too much, man!" An expression of exasperation appeared on Apoo's face as he dodged, barely avoiding the punch.

But the next second! THUMP! A pained look contorted Apoo's features as a fist slammed into his side. He felt an excruciating pain in his waist, and his body was sent flying!

WHOOSH! Before Apoo could recover, Wilder's figure appeared before him again. His right hand formed a claw, coated in black Armament Haki, and thrust down at the still-fallen Apoo!

CRUNCH! Five fingers dug deep into the solid ground. Apoo backflipped and leaped away, narrowly escaping. He landed a short distance away, a look of lingering fear on his face. Glancing at the five dark finger-holes in the ground, he gulped. "Hey, hey! You gotta be kidding me! That kind of attack!"

Wilder didn't press his advantage this time. He stood firm, his gaze falling on Momonga to his right. A grin formed beneath his black cloak. "What's wrong? Not planning to attack together? I'm quite eager to test the strength of the renowned Vice Admiral Momonga, you know!"

As his words fell, his body vanished, reappearing by Momonga's side. Momonga's expression changed. He raised his sword—SHING!—twisted his waist, and slashed out!

CLANG!

Sparks flew. A sound like metal striking metal rang out as an Armament Haki-clad arm and the longsword clashed violently, resulting in a momentary stalemate! Shockwaves blasted outwards from them. Momonga's face was grave as he gritted his teeth, resisting the immense force coming from that arm.

"The sheer density of this Armament Haki... it's truly astonishing!" Momonga exclaimed in surprise. He frowned, let out a great shout, and an equally immense force surged from his hand, breaking the stalemate as his longsword slashed downwards with power! SHIIIING...!

Wilder's gaze was intent as he released his block, kicked off the air with a foot stomp, and moved out of the sword's sweeping range.

"Hmm... hehe, Vice Admiral Momonga's swordsmanship is also quite something. I wouldn't dare take that head-on," Wilder said, his tone teasing. But as he spoke, he felt a dangerous ripple of energy approaching from behind!

BWOOM!

"Die! Hahaha!" Apoo had somehow appeared behind Wilder, a soundwave blasting from his hands!

"Hmm?" Wilder frowned. He felt as if a massive boulder was pressing on his chest, yet a sense of excitement welled up within him! This feeling was called battle spirit! "Nicely done! Hahaha!" He spun and lashed out with a kick!

VROOOM! The soundwave and the tip of his foot collided. The soundwave, met by Armament Haki and force, reached a stalemate. Wilder gritted his teeth, his body being pushed back bit by bit, yet his face was filled with an excited smile.

"Just who is this guy? So terrifying... he's definitely not a nobody," Momonga watched from the side, his expression incredibly heavy, his brow furrowed in thought. Although Wilder currently seemed to be at a disadvantage, Momonga knew this was definitely not the full extent of his opponent's strength. That could be gauged from the beginning. After all, their earlier pincer attack had been broken so easily; that composure and seasoned way of handling it couldn't be faked.

As Momonga was pondering this, Apoo's exasperated voice came from the other side: "Damn it! What the hell are you doing, Momonga, you bastard?! This monster is about to snap my damn neck! What are you still thinking about?!" The last question was clearly a warning to Momonga to abandon any thoughts of watching from the sidelines.

"Tch!" Momonga snorted disdainfully but could no longer remain idle. Because Apoo was right. That guy was indeed a monster. He spread his feet slightly, his handlebar mustache twitching awkwardly. His longsword cleaved out a sharp sword gleam, aimed straight at the fighting Wilder! SHING! A deathly white sword wave swept out, earth and stones churning in its path! Momonga was finally getting serious!

"Exhilarating!" Wilder shattered Apoo's soundwave attack with a punch, simultaneously forcing him back. Stomping a foot on the ground, he leaped high into the air, clenched his fist, and dived!

BOOM!

The sword wave was brutally intercepted mid-air, and the entire unstoppable wave of sword energy instantly collapsed and disintegrated! In the dust cloud, a black shadow knelt with one fist on the ground. A large crater was visible beneath him. It was that punch that had forcefully stopped that terrifying sword strike.

Momonga's pupils contracted. He stared at the figure slowly walking out of the dust, his heart utterly unsettled. Black Armament Haki covered his upper body, slowly receding as he walked out. His black cloak was completely undamaged!