In the sky, the ashes of the swamp, mixed with the faint crackle of lightning, drifted down.
The entire battlefield was silent, everyone still in a state of shock.
Just as they were struggling to believe what had just happened, the center of the battlefield, where the commotion had just subsided, stirred once more.
Sizzle... Sizzle...!
Arcs of lightning flashed. In the sky, a dark cloud gathered, pressing down on everyone like a black boulder, heavy and oppressive. Within this dark cloud, a particularly distinct shape began to form. In the blink of an eye, it floated down to Big Mom's side.
Thundercloud Zeus had reappeared.
Big Mom grinned, her smile unwavering as she stared at Wilder.
"Ooh!" Seeing this, Big Mom's subordinates grew excited.
"Hahaha! I knew it!"
"So what if he destroyed it? Mom can make as many Thundercloud Zeuses as she wants!"
Hearing their cheers, Wilder's expression remained unchanged. He slowly raised his hand, and a black Germ Spear instantly materialized.
Big Mom, her eyes fixed on Wilder, noticed his movement. Her smile grew wider.
"Mamamamama! That thing can't kill anyone. What do you plan to do with it?" Big Mom's laughter suddenly died down, her voice turning grave and her face darkening. Without any warning, she raised her fist and slammed it down at Wilder.
Clearly, Wilder's act of destroying Thundercloud Zeus had been a true challenge to her authority. This punch was packed with immense power. The air itself roared.
BOOM!
The ground shattered. Even those standing far away could feel the slight tremor under their feet.
Crack! Crack!
Under the force of the punch, huge chunks of rock were lifted from the ground. The roar was deafening, the tremors incessant.
Everyone was terrified by the power of this single punch. A single blow from an enraged Big Mom had caused such a terrifying scene. This was just one punch. They couldn't imagine how terrifying it would be if Big Mom were to fight with all her might.
Everyone stared silently at the distant scene, their hearts shaken. In that moment, they finally witnessed the true power of a Yonko. They finally understood just how strong a Yonko was.
Yet, in the face of this punch, Wilder's expression was unchanged. With a single push of his foot, he had already left the ground, appearing in the sky above Big Mom.
But just then, Big Mom suddenly looked up, a cold smile on her face.
Seeing this, a bad feeling suddenly rose in Wilder's heart, a chill crawling up his spine.
CRACK!
Big Mom suddenly reached up and grabbed at the air. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating half the heavens. In less than a blink of an eye, a thick bolt of lightning struck Wilder, who was still in mid-air.
The people in the distance stared wide-eyed at the cloud of black smoke that erupted from the lightning strike.
"What happened?"
"Is Wilder dead?"
"I saw it clearly. That lightning definitely hit him."
"Hahaha! Under that kind of lightning, it's impossible to come out unscathed. This is it, Morass is finished!"
Big Mom's side was ecstatic, their eyes glued to the black smoke drifting down from the sky.
CRACK!
The next moment, the black smoke in their vision exploded.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Wilder's tall figure shot out from it, using Moon Walk to ascend even higher into the sky.
"What?!"
Everyone who saw this was dumbfounded, completely stunned.
How is that possible?
Wilder had clearly been struck by lightning just now, so why was he completely unharmed? He was still full of life, shooting up into the sky.
This is impossible!
Big Mom's side was dumbfounded, while the people of Morass erupted in excited cheers.
"Hahaha! Who was it that was just talking? Come on, come on! Step forward, I promise I'll leave you with some dignity!" Vice grinned, revealing a mouthful of large white teeth, his smile hearty.
In that moment, everyone's gaze was fixed on that area... and the sky.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
In an instant, Wilder had used Moon Walk to reach a height of several hundred meters.
By now, his shirt had vanished, turned to ash by the lightning strike. His steel-like muscles were clearly defined, exuding a sense of power and a beast-like aura. With every movement, a low rumble, like the roar of a thunder beast, seemed to emanate from him.
Wilder, bare-chested, his long hair whipping wildly in the wind, looked down on the world below with a cold, stern expression.
"Hmm?" On the ground, Big Mom looked up at Wilder, letting out a low grunt. The smile on her face had faded considerably.
"To be completely unharmed... it seems he dodged it."
Gurgle!
Big Mom's hand clenched into a fist, her face darkening.
For her, this result was very displeasing. It was bad enough that a filthy rat had run into her house and caused a ruckus. But now, this filthy rat was actually daring to challenge her authority. This was something Big Mom could not tolerate.
Big Mom looked up at Wilder, her eyes slowly turning blood-red. She opened her mouth and muttered in a sinister tone, "No matter what you're trying to do, today, everyone will be a sacrifice for my tea party!"
Her voice was low, but because she was on the verge of a frenzy, it was unusually shrill. Even Wilder, hundreds of meters in the sky, could hear it.
"You should wait until you've actually done it before you say such things," Wilder said, his expression cold and calm. He wouldn't be swayed by a few words from Big Mom. And because of her words, his own fighting spirit was now ignited.
"A Yonko... I've finally reached this point. It would be a shame not to test myself." Putting aside his other plans for the moment, Wilder's heart began to race with excitement.
He wanted to test the limits of this Yonko, with his own strength.
The attack from Thundercloud Zeus had actually already sparked this thought in his mind. That attack had indeed hit him. But, he was a Logia-type Devil Fruit user, and his physical strength was now on a completely different level. That was why he had been completely unharmed, with only his shirt being destroyed. If anyone else had taken that hit, they would have been seriously injured, if not dead.
Although he hadn't been injured in the end, the attack had still been a bit of an embarrassment for Wilder. Now, hearing Big Mom's words, a strong fighting spirit rose within him.
BOOM!
The auras of Wilder and Big Mom erupted simultaneously. Two hurricanes of energy spread out from each of them. In that instant, they both moved.
A large amount of swamp erupted from Wilder's back, coalescing in mid-air into the shape of a great serpent. It opened its bloody maw and let out a long, beastly roar.
The people in the distance saw the great serpent in the sky, and their faces changed, their expressions filled with trembling fear. This was a control-type technique that Wilder had developed based on the Great Serpent. The serpent had no tail, only a short body. Its head and torso were raised high, the other end connected to Wilder's back. Wilder could increase the serpent's size at will, and it would fight according to his will.
"Interesting," Big Mom said, looking at the giant swamp serpent in the sky. Then, the blood-red in her eyes deepened, and her expression instantly became fierce.
She reached out and grabbed.
"Thundercloud Zeus!"
"Sun Prometheus!"
RUMBLE!
BOOM!
A thundercloud and a ball of fire floated beside Big Mom. Then, Wilder moved, diving down from the sky towards her.
Big Mom raised her hand, her fist clenched, her face contorted. Her eyes were now completely blood-red. As she threw her punch, lightning and fire wrapped around her fist. At the same time, she let out a shrill roar. "Electro-Fire Burst!"
"Mama's angry! This is bad!" From a distance, one of Big Mom's sons watched nervously.
Once Big Mom got angry, she would fall into a frenzy. And at times like these, it was her own children who were the most worried. Because in this state, no one could stop her, including them. And in a frenzy, Big Mom would attack and destroy indiscriminately. Basically, whether you were her husband, her son, or her daughter, if you were caught by her in this state, you were pretty much done for.
Just then, Wilder's attack finally landed. Big Mom's electro-fire fist and the giant corrosive swamp ball spat out by the serpent above Wilder's head collided heavily.
BOOM!
In an instant, sparks flew, and a deafening roar erupted. The swamp ball sizzled, wisps of green smoke rising from it, only to be instantly blown away by the blast wave. The electro-fire and the sphere collided, creating two opposing shockwaves. In an instant, smoke billowed, sparks flew, and flames burned fiercely.
For a moment, the two of them were locked in a stalemate, neither giving an inch.
The fierce wind made Wilder narrow his eyes slightly. His hair whipped backwards, his face calm and cold.
Big Mom's eyes were blood-red, the force of her punch continuously pouring out. The fire and lightning at her fist formed a terrifyingly explosive point of energy.
The difference in their sizes was immense, but at this moment, both of them were like ancient, rooted trees, standing their ground, unmovable.
Their gazes clashed. Big Mom's eyes were filled with a violent, destructive desire. Wilder's eyes were as cold as a blade, sharp and chilling.
And the onlookers, both from Big Mom's crew and from Morass, had all stopped fighting, staring at the scene with nervous and grave expressions.
Just then, a dry leaf fluttered into the center of their clash. In an instant, like dust in the wind, before it could even get close, it was shredded into countless tiny pieces by the surrounding shockwaves and disappeared into the air.
It was only then that the scales of victory finally began to tip, ever so slightly.
Wilder, in the end, was still young. Although his physical strength had been enhanced twice and had reached a level close to the top tier, compared to Big Mom, whose strength was already among the highest of the Four Emperors, he was still at a slight disadvantage.
BANG!
The ground beneath Wilder's feet collapsed, and his body sank slightly. Then, an even more violent force was transmitted from Big Mom's fist. Wilder's body began to be pushed back, bit by bit.
But there was no change in Wilder's expression. It was still as cold and calm as ever. Although he hadn't tested it before, Wilder had expected this. In a contest of pure strength, he was still no match for Big Mom.
But if it was something else...
Thinking of this, Wilder's expression didn't change, but his body, in that instant, stopped.
"Hmm?" A hint of confusion appeared in Big Mom's blood-red eyes, and she let out a low grunt.
ROAR!
The next moment, the giant serpent let out a long roar and actually abandoned the sphere it was holding in a stalemate with Big Mom. It held the giant sphere in its mouth and flung it upwards with great force.
In an instant, the sphere was thrown high into the sky. And with it, Big Mom's fire and lightning, which she hadn't had time to retract, were also thrown upwards. This was done entirely by using Big Mom's own strength; the giant serpent's action was merely a guide.
But to the others watching, it looked very different. They were all stunned.
"Wh-what?"
"Is... is this Wilder's true strength?"
"He... he actually sent Mama's attack flying..."
Some of Big Mom's less experienced children were in disbelief, completely shocked.
Oven, hearing his younger siblings' words, couldn't help but twitch his lips, a pained expression on his face.
"Shut up! Don't talk nonsense! Can't you see that guy knew he couldn't win and used Mama's own strength to throw her attack away?" Finally, Oven couldn't take it anymore and turned to roar at his chattering siblings.
"Oh! I see!" In an instant, everyone was relieved.
They had just turned to express their admiration for their older brother Oven when they saw him get punched in the face by a large man and sent flying. Then, the large man leaped, and before Oven could get up, he sat on him and began to beat him mercilessly.
"Hahaha! You actually have the nerve to pay attention to other things during a fight! You're just asking for a beating! But who told you to run into me? I'll grant you your wish!" Vice laughed heartily as he pummeled Oven.
"Get off me!" Oven was about to go mad with rage. Didn't everyone just stop to watch the fight? I was just taking the opportunity to teach my younger siblings a lesson! Is this guy even human, not even letting such an opportunity go?
Too sinister! This guy must have been pretending to watch the fight, but he was actually watching me the whole time!
Oven was incredibly frustrated. In his fight with Vice, he had had a slight advantage. After all, in a fight between two brawlers, his special abilities were bound to give him some edge. But it wasn't much, because he was inferior to Vice in other aspects, including strength and fighting skill. And the most terrifying thing was his body. This guy was too tough, and he couldn't break his defense. Those hard scales were his best shield. Even with his Heat-Heat Fruit, he couldn't easily break through his defense.
But Oven quickly calmed down. His body began to heat up, and in an instant, his entire body was glowing with a fiery orange-red.
"Ah! Hot, hot, hot!" Vice quickly leaped off of Oven.
On the other side, Wilder and Big Mom were on the move again.