One Piece: The Avengers

Shanter swiftly sidestepped, leaving the path of the **'s advance. However, he did not allow himself to relax. He knew that Xuruo Gu's move, "Xuruo Valley," could not be so simple.

Sure enough, the space wheel accelerated, growing faster and larger as it spun. When it reached a diameter of about 3 meters, it finally stopped expanding, but its speed had already reached over a hundred meters per second.

Shanter knew that if he could defeat Xuruo Gu now, this black "wheel" would naturally disappear. However, it was clearly unrealistic to think of directly killing Xuruo Gu at this moment.

Xuruo Gu controlled the black "wheel," directing it rapidly toward Shanter.

Although the movement speed of this black "wheel" did not exceed Shanter's, he chose not to run but decided to face the challenge head-on.

Firstly, Shanter had little time left. The damage he had inflicted on Xuruo Gu earlier would not be enough to completely incapacitate him, so it was vital to press on. Secondly, while the black "wheel" moved at just over half the speed of Shanter, it was controlled by Xuruo Gu's hands, making it incredibly agile—turning, advancing, or halting with astonishing precision. Unless Shanter ran far away, he would undoubtedly be caught during the maneuvering.

But running was even less feasible. Not to mention whether Shanter and Robin could escape when facing Xuruo Gu, who wielded space fruit abilities, Shanter's body wasn't a circuit, and his consciousness wasn't a power source. A reckless, self-damaging outburst wasn't something he could turn on and off like a switch.

Thus, Shanter found himself in a dilemma. Advancing meant facing the threat of the space wheel; retreating would mean being relentlessly hunted by Xuruo Gu. Fighting was risky as the space wheel was incredibly powerful; stalling, however, would not exceed the limit of Xuruo Gu's attack.

After all, depending on Robin to stop Xuruo Gu was out of the question. While Robin would undoubtedly fight to the death for Shanter, her capabilities were far from a match for Xuruo Gu, regardless of her intelligence. The gap in power between them was immovable by mere will.

Compared to front-line combatants, Robin was more suited for roles like strategy advisor or intelligence gatherer.

"Then, let's try this! If you want to kill me, you're far from capable!"

Naturally, Shanter didn't dare directly confront the fractured spatial layers with his fists. That thing could shred even steel in an instant. No matter how confident Shanter was in his physical strength, he wouldn't play that dangerous game.

So, Shanter drew out Huang Tian.

"Huang Tian, I hope the message you've sent is true." Shanter brushed the blade's edge as he stomped on the ground, cracking the earth beneath his feet, and charged toward the black "wheel" with a furious slash. Even though Shanter wasn't fully confident in the fragmented whispers left in Huang Tian, he only had a modest assurance that the blade could cleave through time and space.

This was, of course, understandable. If one day you received information telling you that you were destined to be a savior or had once been an invincible being, who would believe it? Even with abundant evidence, it would be hard to accept, let alone without any.

But Shanter had no better option; he could only place his trust in Huang Tian and give it a try.

Fortunately, Huang Tian didn't disappoint its owner. The moment the blade met the black "wheel," a thick wave of transparent energy radiated from the blade, effortlessly countering the immense tearing force of the fractured space.

Shanter was overjoyed, but Xuruo Gu frowned. "What kind of sword is this? It can actually resist the force of space? Could it be one of the Supreme Great Blade's Thirteen Works? But even the Supreme Great Blade shouldn't be able to block the power of space, right?"

Huang Tian and Xuruo Gu's black "wheel" were locked in a fierce struggle. However, as the black "wheel" continued to fight against the transparent waves emanating from Huang Tian, it began to shrink, slowly losing its strength.

In this contest, both Shanter and Xuruo Gu were struggling. For Shanter, even though Huang Tian blocked the space distortion, the immense force capable of tearing apart the space itself was still being exerted on his own body. This couldn't be faked.

Xuruo Gu wasn't faring any better either. He was used to controlling the space wheel with ease, but now, from that strange black-backed sword, a strange force was pushing back. Although this force didn't cause actual damage, it still put great pressure on Xuruo Gu, a mental pressure, one of complete domination by a superior.

This feeling was not unfamiliar to Xuruo Gu. In his previous life, he had felt it when he faced the most powerful man in the world, a man whose presence could easily overwhelm anyone. But over time, as Xuruo Gu grew stronger, even facing semi-divine beasts, he never experienced this kind of hierarchical pressure again.

Yet today, he felt it from a mere weapon.

"My strength is clearly above this guy's! But what is this sword? How can it have such power? Could it be some legendary divine weapon, like the King of Hell's or the Sea God's sword?" Xuruo Gu put his all into controlling the space fruit ability, hoping to resolve the situation quickly.

Using the space wheel was a one-off attack, requiring only minimal control afterward. But Shanter had to constantly exert his physical strength. Without Huang Tian's surprisingly powerful performance, Shanter would have been exhausted to death by Xuruo Gu's ability.

But now, it was Xuruo Gu who was starting to falter.

Noticing that Xuruo Gu's control of the space wheel had become sloppy and erratic, Shanter swung his sword.

"Dragon Breaking Slash!" A faint dragon's roar echoed from Huang Tian as a brilliant flash of light split the space wheel in two. The wheel gradually shrank and dissipated.

Shanter, having severed the black "wheel," was not pleased but instead felt uneasy.

Where had Xuruo Gu gone?

If Xuruo Gu had simply run away, Shanter would have noticed immediately. The only explanation was that Xuruo Gu had used spatial concealment.

"Do you really think you can escape like this?" Shanter gripped his sword, pointing it toward the sky.

"Zhou Tian: Falling Stars!" Huang Tian slashed downward at an angle, and suddenly, countless illusory blades filled the sky. They exploded like fireworks on New Year's Eve, flashing and blooming in all directions.

Normally, with Shanter's stamina, he wouldn't be able to execute the ultimate version of this "meteor" technique. However, after using his berserk mode, this attack was effortless.

"Tidal Wave: Endless Sea!" This time, the sword energy surged with a grand and vast force, resembling massive waves crashing against rocky shores, sweeping across the land.

"Storm: Great Tornado!" The sword energy swirled like a whirlwind, mixing with the gusts of wind, and the entire earth seemed to transform into a raging sea.

Having unleashed three ultimate moves in a row, even with Shanter's berserk state, he was slightly winded and took a deep breath.

In truth, despite the grandeur of Shanter's sword moves and their considerable destructive power, the force was not as overwhelming as expected. They lacked that grand, world-shattering majesty. While not underwhelming, it still left some room for disappointment. This was something Shanter had been tirelessly trying to improve in the Myriad Beasts Sword Technique.

"Xuruo Gu, are you really not going to show yourself now?"

(Did someone really say I want to enter the palace? Ridiculous! I will never enter the palace!)

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