A normal sword cannot pierce 'flame'.
Even beings with 'fire slash' or 'lightning slash' skills, when facing elemental bodies, can only cut through them without causing any harm.
After all, even with intelligence, it is still a mass of elements; fire and clouds cannot comprehend what pain means...
But facing this sudden slash, Prometheus, as a flame, truly felt 'pain'.
The pain of a Homiez soul being torn apart and nearing death.
"Napoleon..."
The little sun's face moved from front to back with a look of disbelief.
"It doesn't go by that name anymore, and you... won't be called Prometheus either!"
Pfft!
Sage fiercely punched the fireball on the blade, scattering the flame as well. The unconscious soul carrying the flame attribute entered the black jade bead chain on his neck, causing the chain to emit a fiery red glow.
He closed his eyes slightly, feeling the newly controlled power, standing still in the air.
Boom!
At this moment, a dust cloud burst in the center of the split sea.
"Norton Sage, what did you do to my Homiez!"
Charlotte Linlin emerged from the dust cloud, her massive body covered in blood, her hands bent at ninety degrees.
The weight and power of the slash prevented her from resisting immediately, knocking her downward. Fortunately, the sea water parted, revealing the seabed surface, preventing her from being swallowed by the sea.
Once she went down, she felt the soul tearing again... no, it was somewhat different from tearing; it seemed like something that belonged yet didn't belong to her was suddenly extracted.
Her gaze reignited with white fire, her broken bones sang loudly again, forcibly setting them straight.
"What did you do?"
Sage looked down at her and laughed, "Let me show you what I've really done!"
He lowered the curved blade, gathering a lot of lightning at the tip, and suddenly flames ignited at the position of the blade guard, seeming to act as some kind of propulsion, using the curved blade as a base for shooting.
Swoosh!
A high-density laser shot downward, through Charlotte Linlin's incredulous gaze, piercing her heart, causing huge upheavals on the sandy seabed below.
The massive body was hit by the strike, seemingly unable to react in time, about to crash to the ground, but just before falling, she took a step back, forcibly stopping her body, glaring intensely at the person in the sky.
Thunder, flame, sword...
She was more than familiar with this type of technique.
"Lightning Cannon, is that what it's called?"
Sage laughed grimly at Charlotte Linlin.
"Sage!!"
Charlotte Linlin roared, swung her fist straight out, unleashing a Haki Shock.
But this simple outburst wasn't her forte, and in this high-altitude barrier, even if it reached Sage's location, it was simply cut open by his blade.
"You've grown weak, old lady..."
Sage said, "This time, you can't give me any new surprises."
"Ha, ha..."
After punching, Charlotte Linlin gasped heavily, having fought a high-intensity battle from the start, along with soul activations all over her body, and the tearing feeling from losing her three Homiez already made her very weak.
The high-density laser just now, she couldn't even react in time to use Haki.
Charlotte Linlin's eyes filled with blood, she glanced at the plaza-like sand, and the sea arms split open, like gigantic high walls, fiercely saying:
"Is this my prepared graveyard? Even you resort to such petty tricks?"
Fwoosh!
Just as she finished speaking, the sky's thunderclouds dispersed, and Sage's figure appeared in front of Charlotte Linlin.
"I know what you want. You want me to face you directly, and I intend to do just that."
Sage sneered, "You're right, this is indeed your graveyard, but I'm not one for petty tricks. Charlotte Linlin, I have the strength to defeat you head-on!"
This made her pause for a moment.
Indeed, she had planned to provoke Sage to come down; otherwise, without any means of flight, she could not have reached back up here.
She didn't expect Sage to be so straightforward.
Charlotte Linlin laughed loudly: "Mama mama mama mama, boy, underestimating opponents isn't a good habit! After I kill you, I won't underestimate anyone again!"
As she spoke, the white fire in her eyes burned stronger, enlarging her body again, raising a fist above her head, glaring at Sage below, "Just obtaining my Homiez doesn't make you invincible. Haki..."
Boom!
Her fist swung, resembling a mountain descending, emitting substantial purple lightning of Supreme King.
"Is what stands above everything else!!"
Bang!!!
The descending fist was suddenly halted, on the large fist's surface, a black-red thunder-tinged fist suddenly attacked.
The golden gemstone hilt Sage held, and the skull-guarded curved blade transformed back into a wrist guard, also punching against Charlotte Linlin's fist.
After a stalemate, Sage raised his head, revealing a smile.
Bang!
The clash between Supreme King and Armament, in the gap between fists, seemed to have decided victory, with Charlotte Linlin's purple lightning shattering, ejecting her arm upward, while the huge impact also struck her face.
Like a cannonball exploding, blasting her head over heels, the giant body landed heavily amid a loud boom, raising surrounding seabed sand.
"You brat!"
Charlotte Linlin clutched her face painfully, sitting up halfway, angrily confronting Sage, "Is your Haki infinite? Why is it still strong even now?"
Haki isn't sustainably at peak; as the battle progresses, it will definitely deplete in 'quantity', especially for their kind of combat, where absolute focus on mind, body, and skill accelerates consumption.
Sage, however, is unreasonable; he doesn't engage in normal gradual escalation combat, but after a simple warm-up, goes directly for big moves, forcing Charlotte Linlin to deal with it.
Under this consumption, even if her Haki is strong, prolonged use will lead to weakening.
She could weaken, but logically, Sage should too.
No matter how strong the will, it's inescapable.
"You're right."
Sage nodded, "My Haki amount is infinite. Rest and recovery, for me, take just one or two seconds even if I use all Haki; against every one of your strikes, I use my maximum strength."
"It's truly... infinite."
Charlotte Linlin froze, then began laughing again, "There really is a brat like you on the sea, what do you want? To be Pirate King?"
"Of course."
Sage extended his hand, gripping firmly, "I'm a pirate, and I'll reach the pinnacle of pirates to achieve my goal of becoming the world's largest landowner!"
"Charlotte Linlin, you're a stepping stone; the times have changed, and you, an old lady, should step down with the times."
"Mama mama mama mama!"
Charlotte Linlin laughed heartily, her massive body standing up again. This time she didn't use Soul Activation to restore the dented half head from Sage's punch's impact, but she flexed her body, raising her fist again.
"I'm... not that easy to retire!!"
Rumble!
The originally wide-open sky transformed once more into a divided scene.
This woman's will seemed to have risen again, fists powerful enough to shake mountains and lands, launched once more.
Bam!
But once again, Sage blocked it.
"You're certainly not easy... so, we're fighting to the death!"
Sage's eyes glinted fiercely, grinning savagely, "Only a death battle can determine victory!"
Win by strategy?
That's tactics.
Win by synergy?
That's soft power.
Sage desires nothing more than to kill this old lady punch by punch!