"Boom——!"
The entire battlefield trembled the moment the blade collided with the fist.
The massive shockwave shattered the surrounding ground into countless pieces, and the air was filled with violent energy ripples.
Jin An and Blackbeard were simultaneously knocked back several steps, their figures appearing extremely disheveled amidst the ruins, yet their eyes remained full of fighting spirit.
"This is truly amusing!"
Blackbeard wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grinned again.
"Come on, Jin An! Let me see if you're just putting on a brave face or if you have the strength to back it up!"
Jin An didn't respond, his tightly gripped longsword trembling slightly.
His eyes were as sharp as ice, and although his body was exhausted, his fighting spirit remained as fierce as a flame.
The atmosphere of the battle was like a solidified volcano, ready to erupt with even more violent impact at any moment.
The battle between Jin An, Blackbeard, and Im had already reached a fever pitch, with the interweaving of blade light and fist shadows, shockwaves tearing apart the ground, and gale-force winds whipping up sand, stones, and shattered remnants of buildings, making the entire battlefield resemble the descent of doomsday.
Jin An panted heavily, his silver pupils burning with cold fighting intent.
His longsword was razor-sharp, each swing carrying an unstoppable determination, and even in the face of Im's power, capable of destroying the world, he still didn't retreat in the slightest.
Blackbeard grinned, his mouth full of blood, his panting interspersed with excited laughter.
His eyes flashed with madness, as if he were enjoying the thrill of this extreme battle.
The power of darkness surged around him like a tide, while the elasticity of the Nika Fruit made his attacks unpredictable.
With every punch he threw, the space seemed to warp along with it.
"Zehahaha! Jin An! How long do you think you can last against Im?"
Blackbeard laughed wildly, throwing another punch, the force of the punch bringing a whistling wind, directly towards Im's chest.
Jin An snorted coldly, his figure flashed in place, accurately avoiding Im's attack.
He ignored Blackbeard's provocation, instead seizing the opportunity to quickly counterattack, his longsword turning into a flash of cold light, slashing towards Im's shoulder.
The blade light was biting, forcing Im to retreat a few steps to avoid the strike.
But just then, a sudden change occurred—
A sharp chill suddenly enveloped the entire battlefield, as if the temperature between heaven and earth had instantly dropped to freezing point.
That cold killing intent pierced into their nerves like a tangible substance, causing Jin An and Blackbeard to stop their movements in unison.
"Buzz——"
An indescribable pressure filled the air, as if the entire space was pinched by an invisible hand.
Jin An and Blackbeard turned their heads simultaneously, their eyes falling on Im not far away.
At this moment, Im stood quietly in the ruins, her robes swaying slightly in the wind.
Her gaze swept coldly over the two, her eyes devoid of any emotion, only a godlike indifference and majesty.
"Enough."
Im's voice was clear and low, carrying an irresistible pressure, echoing across the battlefield.
The moment her voice fell, her hand slowly raised, pointing towards Jin An and Blackbeard.
The movement seemed slow, but it contained endless killing intent.
"Since you two overestimate yourselves and attempt to shake my authority, then die together."
As her voice fell, the sky suddenly changed color.
The originally gray clouds began to surge wildly, as if the entire heaven and earth were responding to her will.
Beams of pitch-black energy descended from the sky, carrying endless destruction, slamming straight towards Jin An and Blackbeard.
Im stood on the high ground of the battlefield, coldly watching Jin An and Blackbeard, a mocking sneer on the corner of her mouth.
There was no emotional fluctuation in her eyes, only contempt and disdain for the two in front of her.
She slowly narrowed her eyes, her tone as cold as a knife:
"Mice are just mice, and you're even thinking of joining forces."
She slightly raised her hand, a wisp of pitch-black energy surging in her palm, like a nimble snake, emitting a suffocating pressure.
The sky seemed to be dyed dark gray under her power, and the entire space was filled with an indescribable sense of oppression.
"You wouldn't naively think that joining forces could contend against me, would you?"
She spoke coldly, her words mixed with contemptuous mockery, as if a god overlooking mortals, high above.
Jin An pursed his lips, the longsword in his hand trembling slightly.
The unyielding fighting spirit still burned in his silver pupils, but he also knew that Im's power was outrageously strong, and even if he and Blackbeard joined forces, it would be no more than hitting a stone with an egg.
He took a deep breath, suppressing all distracting thoughts, his eyes fixed on Im, his body tensed, ready to meet the next round of confrontation.
Blackbeard stood aside, the smile on his face already stiff.
He licked his chapped lips, his hands secretly exerting force, the power of the Dark Fruit tumbling around him.
Although his eyes were full of apprehension, the madness and greed had not diminished in the slightest.
He cursed in a low voice:
"Zehahaha... what a monster.
But, I won't give up so easily!"
The atmosphere between the three was extremely tense, the air seemed to be filled with invisible sparks, ready to detonate the entire battlefield at any moment.
"Move!"
Jin An shouted in a low voice, taking the lead to rush out.
His body turned into a silver stream of light, the longsword in his hand carrying the force of thunder, slashing fiercely towards Im's direction.
Blackbeard followed closely behind, his body wrapped in the energy of darkness, his fist expanding like a black hole, pouncing towards Im from the other side with endless devouring power.
Im stood still, the cold smile still on her lips, as if she didn't take the two's attacks seriously at all.
"Foolish fellows."
She whispered to herself, her fingers moved slightly, and the surrounding space instantly twisted, a huge force of repulsion spreading from her palm.
"Boom——!"
Jin An's blade had just approached her body when it was repelled by that invisible force, a burst of fiery sparks splashing on the blade.
His body was shaken back again and again, and a deep mark was plowed under his feet.
Blackbeard's fist followed closely and smashed down, but before it touched Im's body, it was forcibly dissolved by the twisted space force.
The dark energy collapsed rapidly as if it had encountered a natural enemy, Blackbeard's body was hit hard by an invisible force, and the whole person flew out like a kite with a broken string, hitting a boulder and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"Heh."
Im chuckled softly, raised her palm, and the pitch-black energy quickly condensed into a huge spear, the spear devoured the surrounding light like an abyss, emitting a palpitating aura.
Her gaze swept over the two, and she said softly:
"With just this little ability, you still want to shake me?"
The energy in Im's hand was about to be fully released, and the next strike was likely to be a destructive ending.
However, in this desperate situation, Jin An and Blackbeard's eyes accidentally met.
Although they were full of vigilance against each other, at this moment, they both understood that they must resist together, otherwise no one would be able to survive.
