One Piece: The Legend of Beasts

Chapter 111 Darkness

Charlotte Lingling rode on Thundercloud Zeus and galloped along the winding and rugged mountain path. The dark red lightning gushing out of her body left intricate scratches on the stone walls on both sides. The strong wind caused by the full sprint blew stone chips and dust everywhere.

Along the way, many navy and government soldiers who had no self-awareness tried to intercept them, but in the end they were either knocked unconscious by Lingling's domineering color or had their entire lifespan taken away by her soul spell.

Although she had a body of steel and was not bleeding or injured, there were several scratches on her body and her cloak was slightly damaged, as if she had been through a fierce battle not long ago.

Her left hand tightly grasped a scaly, bizarre-shaped fruit, which shone with a cold metallic luster in the sun. It was one of the treasures that countless pirates who swarmed here had been longing for: the Fish-Fish Fruit, the Mythical Beast Species, the Blue Dragon Form.

Even though such a precious treasure had fallen into Lingling's hands, there was no joy on her face. Instead, her expression revealed an unprecedented solemnity and gloom. Even when Zeus, who felt dizzy due to the fast speed, called her name several times, she did not respond.

Until now she still couldn't forget the series of events that she had just encountered in the square.

After finally snatching the Fish-Fish Fruit from the afro-haired kid who was trying to take advantage of the situation, another treasure that also belonged to Beehive Island, the Meat-Ball Fruit, was taken by his companion first. This made Lingling, who was thinking about stealing all the treasures and then running away in the chaos, feel extremely unbalanced.

What's worse is that an old man in a suit with a cane suddenly appeared from somewhere. No one knew what means he used, but he just glared at the big kid who had eaten the Meatball Fruit and sent him flying. It didn't look like the effect of the Conqueror's Haki.

After that, the old man didn't seem to be in a hurry to take action, but started a long conversation with the child. The deafening roar of artillery shells continued to ring in her ears, causing Lingling to completely lose hearing what they were talking about. She could only vaguely hear words like "history determines" and "Nika", and she couldn't figure out what these meant. The only thing she could confirm was that the old man was one of the five elders with the highest power in the world today.

Although she didn't know why a big man at the top of the world would appear on this remote island, Lingling, who had been exposed to the dark side of the government in the underground world, knew very well that behind the hunting meeting that seemed to be for the enjoyment of the Celestial Dragons, there might be some unknown dark secrets hidden.

Perhaps the child's words triggered a certain keyword that stimulated the other party. The old man's body suddenly swelled several times, his face became hideous and distorted, and a flame-like black streamer emerged from his armpits to his back, surrounding his body. Eight long legs as sharp as spears fell to the ground with a bang, deeply embedded in the solid soil.

In just less than a moment, the originally elegant and noble old man suddenly turned into a giant monster with a spider in the lower body and a bull's head in the upper body, just like the notorious monster Bull Ghost in the legend, overlooking the entire earth with a condescending attitude, as if all things in the world were ants in his eyes.

The next second, the monster without any warning stretched out one of its long legs with smoke coming out of the tip, and stabbed towards the young boy who was so scared that he forgot to dodge and stood there in a daze.

Seeing that the child, who was probably no more than ten years old, was about to be stabbed through the chest by the giant leg, perhaps out of a mother's instinct, Lingling suddenly felt a strong desire to protect him. She could no longer suppress her emotions and without thinking, she quickly drew out the big knife behind her and jumped up from the ground. She saved the boy at the critical moment and started a fierce conflict with the monster old man who was neither human nor ghost.

Even though Lingling used her powerful strength and swordsmanship to suppress the old man, no matter how much damage the old man suffered, he could recover in an instant. The limbs cut by the sharp blade would soon grow new ones to replace them, and the blood stains and scratches on his body gradually faded under the cover of the black flames, as if nothing had ever happened. Even the soul spell that Lingling was proud of had no effect on him, which made her wonder whether her opponent had no fear of her at all, or whether he had already escaped from the scope of human beings.

Just when Lingling was at a loss as to how to deal with the powerful enemy who could not be killed no matter how hard she attacked, the old man who had always maintained a calm expression on his face suddenly changed his expression. He froze in place like a puppet sculpture, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and he moved his lips, muttering something, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying, and his whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

His respectful attitude was like that of a humble servant meeting his noble master. How could he look like a superior at all?

When Lingling had this thought, the inexplicable old man quickly returned to human form, slowly turned around in Lingling's surprised eyes, and a circular magic circle gradually emerged from under his feet. Groups of black flames gushed out from the center of the magic circle, wrapping the old man tightly like a curtain, and in the blink of an eye, they turned into pieces of ashes and gradually merged into the ground, and finally disappeared. Only a gloomy and strange voice echoed in the air.

"The descendants of the Bakhaniya tribe who committed a heinous crime were finally let go by a woman who was exiled by the government... It's really ironic. Let's just leave the victory or defeat for now.

"But don't think you can leave this island safely, because with him..."

When Lingling heard the word "Bakannia", she was stunned at first, but then she reacted immediately. She could no longer suppress the indescribable excitement in her heart. She looked back impatiently, but found that all she saw was the ruined streets and the blazing wall of fire. The big kid and his afro companion had disappeared at some point.

"Tsk! This is really annoying...!"

When she thought about missing out on the rare species she had always dreamed of, Lingling suddenly felt as if a large piece of her heart had been dug out. The sense of accomplishment she had felt from taking back the Fish-Fish Fruit was instantly thrown out of her mind. She couldn't help but curse through gritted teeth, "Next time I run into that spider bastard, I'll chop him into pieces! And who on earth is that 'he' that bastard is talking about?!"

"Look, Mom, something's wrong with the sky!"

The slightly panicked shouting of Baiyun below quickly brought Lingling back to reality from her anger, making her look up at the sky impatiently, and this sight made her eyes widen suddenly.

But one could see dark fog rising from the southeast of the island, sweeping over everything around like a huge wave, and spreading in all directions at an alarming speed, instantly polluting the sky, which had just seemed a little blue, into a dark and deep black.

"Who did this... Even if I say it's the awakening of the fruit, it's a bit too exaggerated, right?"

Witnessing this earth-shaking change, the anger on Lingling's face disappeared, replaced by uncertainty about the unknown. Even her voice was trembling, and the speed of driving slowed down a lot unconsciously. Finally, she stopped at the mouth of a huge valley. Her whole body and mind, filled with the sense of loss that she had never felt for the Bakanni people, gradually plunged into the endless darkness.

"Ah! Help me! My body is being dragged in!"

"It's so dark! I can't see anything!"

"Hey! What happened to the fight that was going on?! And what's going on with this black gas?!"

Looking at the armored soldiers and government officials standing in front of him being swallowed up little by little by the rolling black fog, and after a burst of heart-wrenching screams, everything fell completely silent. Even Kaido, who had seen countless battles, couldn't help but feel a palpitation in his heart.

However, he did not have time to ponder the nature of the black fog. He immediately jumped onto a higher hillside and looked down at the place where he was a second ago and the surrounding ground, which had been stained as black as thick ink. The surrounding trees and grass withered one after another as soon as they touched the black fog, as if they had lost their vitality.

"I was so scared that I broke out in a cold sweat. If I was sucked in, it wouldn't be as simple as just getting injured and bleeding, right?"

Through his Observation Haki, Kaido could no longer sense any living creature nearby. He couldn't help but take a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and raised his head inadvertently. Then he noticed the abnormality in the distant sky. His pupils suddenly shrank into needles, and his inner shock and astonishment were beyond words.

What is that…?

Even natural disasters such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions pale in comparison to the darkness that seems to be able to swallow up the sky and the earth.

This is the only thought left in Kaido's mind at this moment.

"Skiti-Captain! Something terrible is happening!"

"What are you arguing about! Can't you see I'm busy?!"

Suspended in the air, Shiki swung out two sharp slashes to deflect the oncoming crystal bullets, and shouted angrily to the ship's doctor who was anxiously calling his name, "If anything goes wrong with me, I'll kill you first!"

"At least listen to what the other person says before you draw any conclusions!"

Indy Gordon felt wronged after being scolded for no reason. He drove the special airship to the idiot boss and stopped, pointing at him and scolding him, "Look down carefully! Whether the battle is won or not is more important than the loss of the ship, right?!"

"Boat?"

Shiki was stunned when he noticed an important word in Indigo's words. He subconsciously stepped back to keep a distance from his opponent and looked down at the situation below. He saw that the sea water around the Valley of the Gods had turned into a turbid ink color at some point. The navy and pirates who were originally fighting did not even have time to scream before they were quickly dragged down by the lifeless sea water like mud along with the ships they were on, and there was no movement at all.

"That's really exaggerated. There is no one else who can do this except that guy, right?"

Even though Shi Ji had seen a lot of storms and waves, he couldn't help but be surprised when he saw such a weird scene. He stroked his chin and kept muttering to himself, "If he had used this ability at that time, I'm afraid it would be a miracle that I could still be alive within an hour, right?"

Seeing the boss's inappropriately deep look, Indigo couldn't help but twitch his lips: "Why are you still sentimental and forgetful?! The point is that we can't go back without a boat!"

"Yeah! I almost forgot!"

Shi Ji, who had just reacted, slapped his head belatedly, and hurriedly turned back to shout at the second-in-command who was already furious, "Fortunately, I have prepared a lot of airships in advance. You take those guys and wait nearby, and wait for my order..."

"It's not appropriate to distract yourself from other things during a battle, Shiki-chan~"

The moment the familiar frivolous voice reached Shiki's ears, he turned around reflexively and quickly crossed his two swords to protect himself. However, he noticed that the opponent he was fighting with was lazily lying on a crystal flying carpet. He picked his nose leisurely, flicked the booger away, and gave him a weird smile, "Don't be so nervous, I didn't say I was going to launch a sneak attack, okay?"

"You guy...can you be more serious..."

In an instant, Shiki felt that he was being looked down upon. His arms holding the double swords trembled uncontrollably, veins popped up on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot. Indigo swore in his heart that the expression on his boss' face at this moment was something he would only see when destroying a country.