The phantom images of the ten fierce beasts behind Bege entered his body one by one. Bege threw back his head and emitted a heart-wrenching cry. His limbs swelled, his clothes were torn to shreds, and the circumference of his limbs more than doubled. Veins bulged all over his body.
Bege raised his head, looking at Moria, his eyes filled with brutality and savagery.
Moria's expression changed drastically. At this moment, Bege's aura was incredibly powerful. In his eyes, the Bege who had been smaller than an infant was now an incomparably dangerous prehistoric beast.
His confident and proud heart wavered once again.
"This ultimate sword technique isn't complete yet. I haven't fully mastered it, so don't die by my sword," Bege said in a low voice.
Bege practiced Fierce Beast Swordsmanship, a peculiar style that imitated the attacks of ferocious beasts. And the ultimate technique he was now using, Ten Beasts Ascending Dragon, was an ultimate sword technique he had created by fusing ten different Fierce Beast sword styles.
Fierce Beast Swordsmanship was a brutal and wild swordsmanship style, akin to a fierce beast. The practitioner needed to possess the brutal aura of a fierce beast. Ten different Fierce Beast sword styles represented the brutal auras of ten different beasts. Merging ten types of brutal auras into one created a degree of ferocity that not everyone could handle. If he couldn't control the brutal aura, Bege could suffer a backlash, and even if he didn't die, he'd be severely injured.
Bege still hadn't completely mastered Ten Beasts Ascending Dragon, and he couldn't control the power output perfectly.
"You're the one who should be worried!" Moria roared. His massive body took a step forward, stomping the ground and causing a tremor. He swung his fist fiercely at Bege.
Bege's wild eyes were filled with extreme savagery. He didn't dodge. His sword was instantly covered in Armament Haki, and he raised it to meet the attack.
Fist and sword collided violently. The ground beneath their feet cracked inch by inch. A circle of dust rose. The air around them twisted and surged, then transformed into a gale, sweeping outwards in all directions. Countless shattered stones were swept up and flung outwards. The surrounding forest was devastated by the violent shockwave. The subordinates on both sides couldn't withstand the force and were blown away.
Moria's crew members fared worse, crashing into the distant forest, all of them injured.
Bege withstood Moria's fist, but blood flowed from the corner of Bege's mouth. Moria's fist was truly terrifying. The Armament Haki on Bege's sword was actually being shattered by the violent force.
"Shadow Corner Gun!"
Moria's shadow instantly transformed into a huge Shadow Corner Gun, thrusting towards Bege.
Bege's figure flickered, retreating backwards, then slashing apart the Shadow Corner Gun.
Moria's fist came crashing down again. Bege's figure vanished instantly. The huge fist slammed into the ground, creating an explosion and sending a gale sweeping outwards.
Bege's figure appeared in the air. With another Soru, his figure vanished again, appearing on Moria's arm.
"One Sword Style – Leopard Shadow Flash!"
Bege's figure charged forward, reaching Moria's shoulder. A massive wound appeared on Moria's arm, exposing bone. Crimson blood sprayed out like it was free.
Moria howled in pain, grabbing at Bege with his other hand.
Bege vanished instantly, appearing in the air, and dozens of Shadow Corner Guns instantly surrounded him.
"One Sword Style – Great Whirlwind!"
Bege's body spun, forming a vortex of sword energy that shredded all the Shadow Corner Guns.
But Moria's fist suddenly appeared, directly striking Bege. Bege was instantly sent crashing into the ground. Moria immediately lifted his foot and stomped on the spot where Bege had fallen.
"One Sword Style Iai – Ascending Dragon Slash!"
Just as his foot landed, a dragon-shaped blast of sword energy struck the sole of his foot, lifting his entire body. He stumbled and fell to the ground.
Bege rushed out of the deep pit, using Soru to charge towards Moria.
"Demon Ape Slash!"
Bege unleashed his most violent sword technique without hesitation. A massive blast of sword energy slashed towards Moria.
Moria grabbed the huge sword energy, brutally crushing it. Of course, the shattered sword energy also left Moria's hand a bloody mess.
Bege's figure flickered, appearing on Moria's stomach. He reversed his grip on his sword and, with lightning speed, struck Moria's abdomen.
He used the back of the blade. Instead of a sharp cut, it was a terrifying impact that made Moria howl in pain. Shadows spurted from his mouth, flying back to the town to find their owners.
Bege unleashed more than ten strikes with the back of his blade in rapid succession, each strike carrying a vast and terrifying force. Moria was struck until his consciousness blurred, and the shadows he had absorbed were expelled one after another. All five hundred shadows he had absorbed were vomited out, and his form rapidly shrunk, quickly returning to his original size.
Bege stood nearby, abruptly spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed, and he sat down heavily on the ground, his face pale. Every inch of his body ached terribly. This was the aftereffect of the ultimate technique.
The castle gates on Bege's chest opened, and a group of doctors and nurses rushed out, quickly bandaging Bege's wounds.
"Don't let him die," Bege urged hastily. He hadn't held back during the fight, and Moria's injuries were even more severe than his. The doctors and nurses rushed towards Moria, bandaging his wounds.
A series of rushing sounds rang out. Modi and the others arrived at the battlefield at high speed. Scanning the devastated battlefield, they discovered that Bege was still alive and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Captain!" Moria's crew members rushed over. Seeing Moria lying on the ground, they were agitated and their gazes were fierce.
"Your captain has been defeated. Do you want to go back on the bet?" Hank sneered at Moria's crew.
"Moria isn't dead!" Bege said gravely.
Moria's crew breathed a sigh of relief, falling silent.
At this moment, Moria woke up. He coughed up blood as soon as he woke up. He struggled to sit up, looking at Bege, covered in dirt and looking utterly defeated.
"I lost. According to the bet, I'll join you. But this bet only involves you and me. My crew is not part of the bet. If they don't want to join you, please let them leave," Moria said gravely.
Before Bege could answer, the man with the long scar on his face said gravely, "Wherever the captain goes, we go. The captain lost, so we will all follow the captain and join you."
"That's right, we won't leave the captain," Moria's crew members shouted in unison.
"Idiots, you are free pirates. You should be chasing freedom," Moria roared.
"Without the captain, where would we chase freedom? This sea belongs to the strong. We don't have the strength," the scarred man shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Moria lowered his head, falling silent.
That's right. Even someone as confident as him had been defeated by Bege before even entering the New World. Not to mention his crew members, who didn't even have bounties over a hundred million. If they continued to sail, they would only end up dead sooner or later.
Bege burst into laughter: "Heeheeheehee, Moria, and the rest of you, become my disciples. I promise that in the future, we will become the overlords of this sea. I can take you to see the beauty and vastness of this ocean, to compete with the big-time pirates and the Marines in the New World. This is my promise to you."