Chapter 177: Colosseum

"100 consecutive victories!"

"1,000 consecutive victories!!"

"2,999 consecutive victories!!"

"Today, at this Colosseum, the legendary 'Undefeated Swordsman' is about to face his 3,000th duel!"

The streets of the town were bustling with crowds, vendors calling out, and the aroma of various foods filling the air.

Today was indeed an important day in Dressrosa.

But it wasn't the kind of important day Adrian had imagined, like the king's coronation anniversary or any other significant holiday.

The reason this fiery, passionate island was engulfed in a festive atmosphere was all because of that legendary invincible swordsman.

"Kyros, huh?"

At that moment, Adrian was holding a portion of "Jamon"—a delicacy made with meticulous selection of ingredients, using free-range black pigs fed only acorns. After adding secret seasonings, the meat is air-dried at high temperatures and then thinly sliced into pieces as delicate as cicada wings, one of Dressrosa's most classic dishes.

Casually taking a slice of Jamon into his mouth, Adrian's mind slowly recalled relevant information about Kyros.

There wasn't much information, and it wasn't difficult to explain either.

Only one point was worth mentioning – his daughter was great. {Every men ever!?}

Hmm, I'm talking about clothes. {Oh~}

"Come to think of it, Kyros shouldn't be married yet, right?"

"Although Rebecca's physical development and dress style are very 'adult-like', she actually hadn't reached the standard age for setting sail in the pirate world, had she?"

"Tsk!"

Adrian let out a meaningless interjection, it was unclear if it expressed regret or something else.

He quickly finished the Jamon in his hand and decided to go to the Colosseum to observe Kyros' strength up close when he was younger.

A swordsman with three thousand consecutive victories, even within the scope of the four blues, is considered an exceptional hand, not to mention in the more brutally competitive New World.

Aside from the fact that his daughter was indeed impressive, Kyros left a striking impression on Adrian.

His act of beheading Doflamingo was a particularly eye-catching performance.

Although it was later revealed to be just a string-clone of Doflamingo…

The power Kyros unleashed after harboring anger for over a decade was truly not to be underestimated.

A series of dazzling, colorful fireworks burst and fell in the sky, like meteor flashes leaving trails of warm, blue smoke beside the people on the streets, adding to the festive atmosphere of the island.

In this carnival-like atmosphere, Adrian arrived in front of a huge elliptical arena, entirely built of marble, its shape faintly resembling the Roman Colosseum of his past life.

At that moment, the Colosseum was abuzz with noise, with a dense crowd of spectators continuously screaming and shouting from the stands, and even the gentle-looking ladies were excitedly cheering loudly.

Around the stone platform in the center of the arena, four huge bonfires burned at the corners, allowing every spectator, no matter where they were, to clearly see everything happening on the platform.

Adrian had just arrived when the previous duel had ended.

"Next, let's welcome our most anticipated player today, the legendary undefeated swordsman, Kyros! Will he break the Colosseum's unprecedented '3,000 consecutive victories' record today?"

On the announcer's booth, a slick looking host was shouting dramatically into the mic, constantly hyping up the atmosphere.

Suddenly, a roar like crashing waves erupted from the arena.

Adrian squinted his eyes as a dark-skinned, muscular man stepped onto the platform. He wore a green tight vest and matching battle kilt, with a crimson cape draped behind him and a great sword nearly as tall as himself slung over his shoulder.

"Kyros! Kyros!" The crowd chanted almost deliriously.

The announcer then introduced Kyros' next opponent for his 3000th duel.

"Who will be Kyros' opponent for his three thousandth duel? Let us welcome— the gladiator Riki!"

Amidst a chorus of boos from below.

A similarly large man climbed onto the stage, dressed only in a dark brown leather kilt, with a deep blue cape draped behind him, and steel shoulder guards adorning his shoulders.

Oddly, the gladiator Riki was wearing a fully enclosed iron helmet that completely concealed his head and face, only exposing his eyes.

As soon as the signal for the duel started, Kyros slightly bent his knees and explosively charged towards Riki like a leaping leopard, swinging his massive two-handed great sword overhead towards his opponent's head.

Gladiator Riki did not dodge or evade, but pushed forward with both hands, his long sword blocking the edge of the great sword, and with a side motion, he swept down, aiming for Kyros's sword-holding arm.

Kyros made a split-second decision, releasing the hilt and tapping the ground with the tip of his right foot, sidestepping away.

Gladiator Riki's sword move changed, the downward sweep instantly turned into a horizontal slash, and just when he thought he had succeeded in his attack, a sword edge flashed before his eyes.

When did that happen?

Gladiator Riki had no choice but to abandon his attack, leaning his upper body backward, successfully avoiding the throat-slitting strike, but the helmet on his face was deeply scored by the great sword.

"This Riki's level is a bit… lacking," Adrian shook his head slightly.

Just as Kyros had released the hilt and sidestepped, he reached out his hand to catch the falling great sword, and struck down again, aiming for the enemy's head.

"The opponent for the three thousandth battle doesn't even have the Observation Haki mastered? Did I overestimate Kyros's level?"

Because the opponent's level was misjudged, this battle was considered insignificant by some discerning spectators.

However, such close-range cold weapon combat still elicited waves of exclamations from many female spectators below, and the dueling atmosphere heated up as well.

The two fought back and forth for quite a while.

In the center of the high platform, Gladiator Riki's movements had begun to slow down, and his fighting strength was not as strong as at the beginning.

Although Kyros was somewhat puzzled as to why the arena would match him with such a level of opponent at such a crucial moment, he was not prepared to show any mercy.

Kyros took a deep breath, gripped the hilt with both hands, and leaped towards his enemy, ready to deliver a strong downward slash!

"Sword of Destruction!"

The swordsman Riki had no time to dodge, and was directly hit by this powerful slash. The helmet on his forehead flew out immediately, and the whole person was also knocked into the air and landed. He fell heavily on the duel stage more than ten meters away.

Just when all the spectators in the arena thought the battle was over, the swordsman Riki stood up unsteadily and revealed his true face.

For a while, there were constant exclamations on the field.

"King Riku?!"