Facing the spore army surging forward like a tidal wave, Colonel Ronald forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart.
The saber in his hand flashed repeatedly with cold light, cutting down several spore soldiers that had rushed close, turning them into drifting clouds of powder.
He spun the blade sharply in his hand, the reflected gleam illuminating his resolute face.
"Listen up, everyone! Squad One, take the left defensive line—crossfire formation, suppress their advance! Squad Two, hold the right flank! The flamethrower unit will be under my direct command. Follow me and conduct area sweeps on my order!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
"All other squads—clear the flanks and prevent interference for me and the flame unit!"
Ronald's gaze locked firmly on the distance, on Morris, who stood leaning against the giant mushroom behind the spore army.
"Morris maintaining an ability of this scale must be consuming enormous energy. His real body is his greatest weakness! As long as we take him down, these spore constructs will collapse on their own! Decapitation operation—personally executed by me!"
Before the words had even fully fallen—
He suddenly exploded forward!
"Shave!"
Only a fading afterimage remained where he had stood, along with dust bursting from beneath his feet.
Using the explosive speed of the Six Powers – Shave (a high-speed movement technique that propels the user forward by kicking the ground dozens of times in an instant), Ronald instantly dashed past his subordinates who were exchanging fire with the spore vanguard and violently plunged into the front line of the spore army.
"Stop him!"
Seeing this, Morris's pupils abruptly contracted. With a surge of will, more spore soldiers poured in from all directions like ants smelling blood, trying to build a living wall with their bodies.
But Ronald was simply too fast.
"Tempest Cut!"
The instant his saber swung, even the air let out a shrill scream.
This was no ordinary slash.
Ronald had taken the essence of Six Powers – Tempest Kick (a technique that creates vacuum blades through extreme high-speed movement) and perfectly fused its principle into his own battle-hardened swordsmanship, creating a flying slash technique.
Buzz—!
A crescent-shaped pale cyan vacuum wave shot out from the blade. Dozens of spore soldiers in the fan-shaped area ahead were cut cleanly in half, bursting into clouds of spore dust.
With that single strike, an empty zone was carved out of the battlefield.
"Quick! Follow the Colonel!"
Behind him, the elite flamethrower unit composed of more than a dozen soldiers unleashed full firepower. More than ten blazing tongues of flame roared forward, turning the spore swarms attempting to close in from the sides into a blazing wall of fire and drifting ash.
They pushed forward along the opening Ronald had torn apart, attempting to carve a burning path toward the giant mushroom.
"Damn it! Don't let him get close!"
Morris's eyes grew even more frantic.
He knew he absolutely could not allow this terrifying Marine colonel to reach him.
He abruptly lifted both hands from the mushroom stalk. His fingers curled like claws as he grabbed toward Ronald's advancing direction.
"Fungal Bind – Hellish Net!"
In an instant, the soil beneath Ronald's feet and ahead of him began to churn violently.
From the earth burst countless gray-white living mycelium strands, writhing like tentacles with lives of their own. They instantly formed a massive fungal net covering more than ten meters, crashing down toward Ronald.
Facing the overwhelming net, Ronald's eyes remained icy cold, showing not the slightest panic.
Gripping the saber with both hands, he lowered his stance slightly and slashed forward at a speed beyond the eye's ability to capture. In a blink, he unleashed more than a dozen pale cyan vacuum slashes that crisscrossed the air.
"Tempest Cut – Chaos!"
Shhhhhh—!
The storm of razor-sharp slashes instantly shredded the fungal net into fragments, while the spore soldiers exploded in clusters.
Using the opening created by the attack, Ronald once again closed the distance to Morris.
"Bastard!"
Seeing how relentless and unstoppable Ronald was, Morris finally began to feel fear.
He could clearly sense it.
Maintaining the spore army, animating the mycelium…
Controlling so many things at once was draining his stamina and mental strength like a flood bursting through a dam.
His face had already turned as pale as paper, and his breathing had become erratic.
No. Absolutely not. He must not get any closer!
"Morris, your crimes end here! Surrender now and you might still get a chance to go to Impel Down!"
"Protect the captain!!!"
The final two cadres beside Morris stepped forward from both sides.
They knew they could not allow this terrifying Marine colonel to reach their captain.
"Out of my way!"
Ronald's eyes sharpened. Not only did his charge not slow—it accelerated again at the very limit.
The cadre on the left swung a heavy spiked hammer down toward him.
Ronald's footwork shifted subtly at high speed. His body slid sideways like a ghost, narrowly dodging the hammer by a hair's breadth. At the same time, he thrust his blade backward in a counterattack.
"Tempest Cut – Pierce!"
At the tip of the blade, a tightly compressed spiral of cutting air formed a drill-like vortex that instantly pierced through the cadre's chest, spraying blood.
Immediately after, Ronald brought his right hand back to block.
Clang!
The machete of the cadre on the right was stopped by the saber. At the same moment, Ronald's left fist shot forward like a cannon shell, smashing violently into the man's abdomen.
"Ugh—!"
The cadre's eyes bulged as his body folded like a shrimp and he was blasted backward, crashing into the giant mushroom stalk.
With the final two obstacles eliminated, the distance between Ronald and Morris shrank to less than twenty meters.
Only a few hurried rows of spore soldiers remained between them.
The manic laughter on Morris's face had long vanished. What remained was pale shock, anger, and an unmistakable hint of weakness.
He desperately drove his power harder. More spores fell from the giant mushroom cap, trying to gather into a thicker defensive wall before him.
"Useless, Morris! Your tricks end here!"
Colonel Ronald exhaled sharply, his speed surging again.
Gripping the saber with both hands, he poured his entire body's strength into the blade. The weapon even began to vibrate faintly.
"Six Powers Secret Art – Tempest Slash!"
He leapt high into the air.
Unlike his previous rapid strikes, this attack condensed all his power, speed, and the principles of the Tempest Kick's vacuum blades into a single decisive slash.
The saber transformed into a dazzling arc of brilliance—so sharp it seemed capable of cutting even light itself—as it descended mercilessly toward Morris.
Before the blade even arrived, the overwhelming sharp aura alone nearly suffocated him.
Victory or defeat seemed destined to be decided by this single strike.
A trace of madness flashed through Morris's eyes.
"Damn it… you forced my hand! No one will stop me!"
"Awaken—Giant Mushroom Guardian!"
RUMBLE—!!!
This time, the tremor far surpassed anything before.
The entire colossal mushroom—from its roots to its cap—let out a deep roar.
Under the shocked gazes of Ronald and all the Marine soldiers, the massive mushroom stalk suddenly bulged and writhed several meters above the ground.
Two enormous fists formed from hardened fungal flesh—each as large as a small house.
"Take this punch!"
"!!!"
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