Chapter 41

Daz·Bonius spoke logically and persuasively, leaving Shanter with no reason to doubt him. Moreover, when compared to Daz·Bonius' life and the safety of Robin, his own life seemed trivial.

Shanter stopped in his tracks and turned, rushing back toward Robin's location.

"Girl, you better not be in trouble!" Shanter muttered, both worried and feeling guilty.

"Turn around!" As Shanter returned to the scene, he saw Robin flipping over the body of a bounty hunter, slamming his head and body against the wall and floor.

"Flower of Rotation!" At that moment, a bounty hunter, taking advantage of Robin's distraction, tried to launch a surprise attack. But from his body, multiple arms sprouted, twisting and breaking his joints in a rotating motion.

"Careful! This kid is a Devil Fruit user! I'll take care of her!" The leader of the bounty hunters shouted.

"Who do you think you're trying to fight?" A black longsword cleaved through the air in response.

Shanter, who had calmed his rage, glanced around briefly. The enemy numbered nearly 500, though thankfully most of them were weaklings, with only a dozen or so stronger ones. Fortunately, Robin could handle herself. After confirming that Robin was not in immediate danger, Shanter decided to "capture the leader first" (though, in truth, Shanter himself was the real thief).

The leader of the bounty hunters showed some skill as he swiftly drew his large sword from his waist, blocking Shanter's strike, though he was still forced back several steps.

"Such strength!" The leader of the bounty hunters thought to himself, startled.

Shanter didn't care about his thoughts and launched another heavy blow.

"Bang—" The two swords clashed, ringing loudly.

"Is this the Muramasa?" Shanter was surprised to find that the sword in front of him was one of the legendary Muramasa blades, specifically the 13th generation of the Unparalleled Great Sword.

"Yes, this is the Shizhou Muramasa, Fourth Generation Muramasa." The leader of the bounty hunters said smugly.

Unlike the Ghost Blade Chie, which only had one generation of Muramasa, all Muramasa blades, from the first to the fourth generation, were classified as Unparalleled Great Swords.

"Muramasa? It's just an inferior cursed sword." Shanter scoffed. Only someone like Shanter would dare say such a thing, especially since his own sword, Huang Tian, was a divine weapon that could shake the entire multiverse. It had once been refined by the Huang Tian Yi, tempered by True Sunfire, and was capable of severing karma, good, and evil. It was unmatched by any weapon, let alone a mere Fourth-Generation Muramasa.

Of course, Shanter still couldn't fully wield the true power of Huang Tian. After all, Huang Tian had originally been just a regular steel long sword, but it had been transformed through the care and enhancement of its owner, allowing it to possess terrifying power that could cut through the very fabric of the world. If we were to talk about materials alone, without considering the Dao embedded within the weapon, Huang Tian might not even be superior to the Muramasa.

Huang Tian neither fears the weak nor the strong; it simply responds to the strength of its master to determine the power it can unleash.

"You're full of yourself!" The leader, annoyed by Shanter's words, made a slash in the shape of a "井" (well) symbol with his sword. "Let me show you the true power of the Shizhou Muramasa!"

Such an attack would have been impossible to harm Shanter, who simply swung Huang Tian with ease, dispelling the blow without a trace.

Seeing his strike fail, the leader continued to slash repeatedly, each strike releasing blade energy. However, Shanter effortlessly blocked them all. During the exchange, Shanter found time to unleash a powerful ranged slash, cutting down over ten minions and relieving Robin from her encirclement.

"Is that all you've got? What a waste of good cabbage being pushed by pigs." Shanter mocked.

In the past, Shanter rarely spoke during combat. But since meeting Robin, for some reason—perhaps due to a more relaxed lifestyle—Shanter seemed to talk more than usual.

"Oh? Is that so?" The leader didn't get angry but smiled, swinging the Shizhou Muramasa once more.

The blade of the Shizhou Muramasa was 73.32 cm long, with extraordinary cutting ability. However, it felt wasted in the hands of this bounty hunter leader. His strength simply didn't match the potential of such an Unparalleled Great Sword.

"Bang—" Another clash of metal rang out. The leader was forced back by Shanter's blow, stumbling seven or eight steps before regaining his footing.

"Dammit, Daz·Bonius! Didn't he say he'd hold off 'Asura' for at least half an hour? How could he be back so soon? Has Daz·Bonius already been dealt with?" The leader cursed silently in his heart.

Of course, he had no idea that Daz·Bonius had given Shanter a heads-up about the situation in advance to preserve his own life. After all, neither of them knew that Shanter had become much stronger than before.

Had this been six months ago, Shanter and Robin would have already become nothing more than a historical footnote.

Shanter didn't want to waste any more time, as Robin was still under siege. Even though he had provided support from a distance, Shanter wasn't sure how long Robin could hold on.

"Qian Gang!" Shanter's black longsword moved with incredible agility, slashing out countless intersecting crosses that formed a massive web, encircling the leader.

The Shizhou Muramasa continued to swing, but it couldn't withstand the overlapping strikes, and the leader was soon left battered and bruised.

"Now, I'll finish you!" Shanter jumped into the air, descending with a forceful blow.

"Bang—" Shanter was surprised to see the near-dead leader manage to block the strike, though several of the underlings around him were sent flying by the wind of the sword.

"Ghost Qi?" Now, the leader's body was surrounded by a purple-black aura, making him look eerie, mysterious, and terrifying.

Shanter immediately understood: the leader of the bounty hunters had absorbed the ghostly energy contained within the Shizhou Muramasa into his own body.

"Seeking death," Shanter muttered, knowing full well that Ghost Qi was a special energy created at the brink of life and death. While it could temporarily boost one's strength, it would inevitably destroy the body over time. Using Ghost Qi only weakened the user, causing continuous illnesses until death, much like drinking poison to quench thirst.

The leader of the bounty hunters had no choice. If he didn't use Ghost Qi, he would certainly die sooner. A slow death was better than an immediate one.

"One Hundred Ghosts!" The leader drew the Shizhou Muramasa through the air, tracing an oval. Suddenly, the howls of countless ghostly spirits echoed through the air.

"Seriously?" Shanter was shocked. "With such weak power, he can actually create an illusion? The Shizhou Muramasa truly lives up to its name as an Unparalleled Great Sword!"

To create an illusion strong enough to be perceived by others through sword techniques, one had to reach the realm of "Breathing of All Things," also known as the ability to cut through steel.

The leader didn't care what Shanter was thinking and weakly swung his sword. The terrifying illusion of a hundred ghosts rushed toward Shanter.

Suddenly, the wind grew cold, and a chilling aura filled the air, evoking the feeling of the underworld.

Shanter certainly wouldn't let these ghostly images get close. This was Ghost Qi! Even a slight touch would at least leave him bedridden with illness. With so much Ghost Qi in the air, Shanter had no intention of directly confronting it.

Of course, Shanter wasn't the type to simply accept such an attack.

"Qian Lang!" Huang Tian surged from the ground, flipping and spinning as countless vertical slashes were unleashed in a moment, like waves crashing against the shore.

The overwhelming aura expelled the Ghost Qi, causing the eerie and mysterious energy to vanish in the clash, rendering the threat of the Hundred Ghosts invisible.

"Ha, ha." Shanter panted, having expended a great deal of his energy and stamina in a single move, feeling a little fatigued.

"Are you tired? Then, you'll die!" The leader's cold voice rang out.

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