"You bunch of useless trash!"
Even though he'd said he didn't care, Grindwin's face burned red when he saw the White Wolf Pirates' rookies, together with a handful of old and injured giants, actually rescue Giant King Harald.
He truly hadn't cared when some of the powerful royal guards were freed — but Harald was different!
The Giant King was a symbol of the giant race, their greatest bargaining chip.
That was why they hadn't killed him outright after capturing him.
A living Giant King was a useful Giant King.
But now that he'd been rescued? They might as well have just killed him at the start!
No — he couldn't allow this!
Grindwin barked, "Rona, Kong! You two keep Magnus busy — I'll take care of those little rats. I'll be right back!"
With his speed and strength, it wouldn't even take a minute to kill Ripley's group. As long as Rona and Kong kept Magnus occupied for one minute, that would be enough.
If they could kill Magnus and keep Harald here, wouldn't that be perfect?
But just as he moved to break away, Magnus — bloodied and battered — suddenly opened his eyes wide. In that instant, his body surged with power equal to his peak state, and his wounds began closing at a shocking speed.
Ougi: Seimei Kikan (Life Return)!
This was a technique mastered by nearly all top-tier fighters — controlling one's body, hair, even internal organs through sheer will after forging it to the limit.
It was one of the secrets behind the elite's ability to keep fighting.
At that moment, Magnus used it to accelerate his own healing, forcing himself back to peak condition.
Even for him, it was no easy feat.
"Grindwin, get back here!"
Kong barked as Magnus, rejuvenated, met his fists head-on and sent him skidding dozens of meters back.
On the other side, Rona slashed, but Magnus's body folded away from the blade like paper.
In clashes between the strong, the one who could see further into the future controlled the battle. Rona's foresight was two seconds ahead — Magnus's was three.
That one second difference gave him the composure to handle everything she threw at him.
"He's been faking this whole time!"
Kong ground his teeth. "He's even stronger than at Sphinx!"
He was sure of it — Magnus didn't have this level of power back then.
Even with the strength to suppress him, defeating Magnus would have left Kong himself gravely injured.
But now, Magnus's performance was different.
At their level, even the smallest improvement was incredibly hard-earned.
Yet Magnus — already seventy — seemed to have no ceiling at all.
Strong enough that even with Rona and Kong working together, they could suppress him, yes — but if he decided to leave?
They couldn't stop him.
Not just Kong and Rona — even Grindwin realized it.
If he turned back to attack Ripley and the others, Magnus would escape.
Not just escape — he could turn around, close the gap, and come after him instead. In a one-on-one, he'd stand no chance.
They had no choice but to stay and attack Magnus.
It wasn't them trapping Magnus anymore — it was Magnus forcing them to stay here.
"Then we just have to beat him down first!"
Even clay idols have some fire in their belly.
Grindwin admitted Magnus was strong — but did he think he could keep using Seimei Kikan over and over?
No matter how strong Seimei Kikan was, it burned his own stamina and life force. What he spent couldn't be conjured back out of thin air.
Even Kong, a forty-year-old pure martial artist, couldn't do what Magnus just did.
Cells… they really were miraculous.
When he saw the system reward was "cellular vitality," Magnus had guessed something . The body was just cells, after all — the more vital they were, the stronger their life force.
He even suspected that if his vitality continued to rise, he'd eventually be able to regenerate entire limbs.
It was a gradual boost.
If you rated an Admiral's strength on an S-scale:
Half a year ago against Rona, Magnus was around S-. He improved a bit at Sphinx, but still in that bracket.
After Sphinx, he grew further.
Now he was firmly S-tier.
Kong and Rona were S-. Together they could suppress him and maybe defeat him — but if he chose to run, they couldn't stop him.
But there was still one more person here.
Even if not quite at their level, close enough to matter.
Clang! Clang! Clang! On Elbaf, the giants blew the signal to retreat. With the Giant King rescued, the giants stopped trying to tangle with the Marines and began fighting as they fell back.
This was still the giants' territory — they knew it far better than the Marines did.
Newgate carried the wounded Harald on his back, while Ripley, Rox, and the former Giant Pirate crewmates Cassie and Oimo covered their retreat.
As the giants withdrew, the Marines finally noticed Harald's position and began to converge on his team.
On Newgate's back, Harald took a deep breath and began stuffing shrunken slabs of meat into his mouth.
"Enough, child — put me down."
Though puzzled, Newgate did as asked.
And when Harald touched the ground, his body swelled back to its original massive size as he broke Ripley's fruit effect with his own haki.
Then he reached for a nearby tree.
"You little shrimps dare to chase me?"
Even covered in wounds, even standing on one leg —
When the Giant King's aura rose, every seasoned Marine realized something was wrong.
"Get out of the way!" "Too late!"
He'd been holding on all this time — for this moment!
"Look closely! This is Elbaf's wrath — the fury of the giants, and my fury!"
A shockwave cut across half of Elbaf.
"Haōkoku (Sovereign Nation)!"
(End of Chapter)[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome][Thank You For Your Support!]