Chapter 154: CHAPTER 154 - Taking Down One First
"ROOM, Slaughterhouse!" Hearing Alice's words, Law frowned but still complied, teleporting her out of the encirclement.
The Rear Admiral then focused on Law himself. Although Law's abilities were formidable, he had yet to master Haki, making it impossible for him to face a Vice Admiral. Even against a top-tier Rear Admiral, he didn't hold a significant advantage. This could be inferred from his performance on Sabaody Archipelago—his bounty roughly matched his strength, with no major discrepancies.
In contrast, two years later, Law was a completely different person. Perhaps the New World had honed him; the weak had no right to survive there.
Moreover, Law had to protect Pittas and Natalie. Fortunately, Natalie wasn't entirely useless. She often warned of incoming attacks and even joined the fight against the enemies.
Currently, Alice had managed to save about thirty injured Latisians, who huddled together in a defensive formation, struggling to hold off the Marine assault with Law's help.
"This is bad. Marine reinforcements are here! We can't save them anymore. We need to think about retreating," Law muttered, his expression grim as he watched rows of Marines approaching, even bringing heavy weaponry.
It seemed their only option was to escape, perhaps taking Pittas and Natalie with them. As for Crocodile, there was no way to save him.
Law never expected that Lantis Island would attract the full force of the Marines, including a renowned Shichibukai whose fame surpassed even Crocodile's.
How could they possibly fight this? It was a one-sided beating with no chance of victory. Among the five, Law couldn't confidently defeat any of them.
The fact that Crocodile hadn't been instantly taken down was already shocking enough.
"Bear Impact!" A smaller version of the attack landed in Rosen's area, causing a massive explosion.
Dust filled the air. Rosen stood up from the smoke, frowning as he examined the sword wounds on his body. Thanks to his golden sand defense, most of the damage was mitigated. Combined with his exceptional defensive skills, the injuries weren't fatal, but they still hurt, especially the holes left by Eric's Armament Haki-infused finger strikes. Though shallow, they would affect his combat effectiveness over time.
Seeing another incoming slash of sword energy, Rosen countered with a sand curtain slash, neutralizing the attack.
"How should I fight this?!" Rosen frowned. After a series of exchanges, he could confirm that Kuma's strength was on par with his own—definitely at the Vice Admiral level.
As for Eric, his Haki and physical combat skills surpassed those of a top-tier Vice Admiral. In terms of pure skill, Eric was far more proficient than Rosen. However, in a one-on-one fight, Rosen could hold his own using his Devil Fruit abilities and combat skills, even gaining a slight advantage.
But that was it. The odds of winning were roughly 50-50 or 60-40.
As for Reiser, he was a top-tier Vice Admiral, while Admiral O'Niell only displayed the strength of an elite Vice Admiral. If these two teamed up, Rosen could at best hold his ground, but winning was out of the question.
The Rear Admiral, on the other hand, was merely a nuisance.
But when all five of them targeted Rosen simultaneously, the pressure was overwhelming. A single misstep could mean death. It was a dire situation.
"With a bounty of 400 million, excluding the Rear Admiral, the others all qualify. My only hope lies in taking down one of them to gain a bit of strength and a chance at survival..." Rosen's mind raced.
This was the first time Rosen had to rely on a system task to survive.
Whoosh! At that moment, Alice fought her way through the Marines. After being teleported out of the Rear Admiral's range by Law, she had been cutting down Marines to reach Rosen.
It was unclear how many she had killed, but her entire body was stained red, resembling a blood-soaked Asura.
"Leave those two to you. Hold them off for a while. We won't die so easily," Rosen said, his eyes flashing with a dangerous glint.
He pointed to Ben and Admiral O'Niell—targets within Alice's capabilities. Reiser was Rosen's chosen target. While Alice could handle Eric and Kuma temporarily, a prolonged fight would be impossible.
If they didn't escape and kept fighting head-on, Alice would inevitably fall.
"Got it," Alice replied without hesitation. Wielding her daggers, she charged at Admiral O'Niell and Ben, unleashing a flurry of attacks.
"The third-in-command of the Crimson Queen, the vice-captain of the Madness Corps!" Vice Admiral O'Niell, who had been stationed on the Eight Islands for a long time, was familiar with Lantis' top fighters and didn't dare underestimate her.
He met her attack head-on.
"Then I'll take you down first," Rosen said, glancing at the three preparing to attack him, his gaze settling on Reiser.
Reiser's expression turned grim. Crocodile, on the brink of death, still dared to boast. Even with O'Niell and Ben occupied, the three of them could easily take down Crocodile.
And now he wanted to kill Reiser first? Was he insane?
"Rankyaku: Cross Judgment!" Eric frowned, delivering a powerful kick that sent a cross-shaped air slash toward Rosen's position.
Kuma also unleashed a barrage of pressure cannons, while Resier slashed out a wave of sword energy. All attacks converged on Rosen, but this time, he didn't defend. Instead, he charged forward.
Sprinting at high speed, his arms coated in golden sand and Haki, his lower body turned into flying sand to increase his speed. He dodged the cross slash, shattered Reiser's sword energy with a punch, and let Kuma's attacks hit him.
There was no way he could block all the attacks from different directions simultaneously. After enduring the barrage, his body was bombarded by shockwaves.
But Rosen's resolve didn't waver. Ignoring his injuries, he closed in on Reiser, summoning a sandstorm to engulf him and obscure his vision.
"Black Prison Bullets!" Rosen fired 11 sand bullets—a pre-planned move.
"Hmph!" Eric snorted, coating his hand in Haki. "Tekkai: Full Body!" He caught Rosen's bullets, but when he opened his hand, he saw his palm had been slightly injured.
His Tekkai wasn't enough to fully block the attack?! Eric was shocked. Though it was only a minor injury, it had happened while his Tekkai was active.
"You're much stronger than the intel suggested. Join the World Government, and we might consider sparing your life," Eric suddenly said, casually discarding the sand pellets.
"Too much talk."
"Stubborn fool!" Eric stopped wasting words, and the battle resumed. Even without Admiral O'Niell and Ben, Rosen was still heavily outmatched.
But Rosen was waiting for the right opportunity. While Eric and Reiser were eager to finish him off, Kuma seemed to be holding back, merely going through the motions.
Kuma wasn't sure what was happening, but based on how the Lantisians treated Crocodile, it was clear he wasn't involved in harming them.
So he wasn't putting in much effort, though he couldn't make it too obvious, or it would raise suspicions.
(End of Chapter)
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