"Another one."
Enel's apple-eating paused mid-chew.
"Killed in the same encounter?"
A sense of foreboding filled his heart.
"No, I have to go see."
The Four Godly Priests, no matter how useless, possessed a strength that couldn't be casually killed in Skypiea. Even he, without going all out, might not be able to kill them so easily.
Shadley could be explained by the first encounter, not knowing the enemy's capabilities and being caught off guard.
But after Shadley's death, the other four Godly Priests would have been on high alert. To think that Shura was still instantly killed in one exchange.
Baffling.
That was Enel's mood at the moment.
*Crack—!*
Taking a bite of the apple in his hand, Enel snapped back to attention. He tossed the half-eaten apple aside, sat up straight, and looked at the few Godly Priests in front of him, his gaze cold. "Notify the God Soldiers. Gather them all at the ruins. Stop blocking those Qinghai people in the forest."
"Yes!"
Sensing something, he shook his head. "Never mind, they've already encountered them."
As he spoke, he stood up and drew a golden staff from beside his chair.
"I'll go take a look. You clean this place up."
With that, Enel's body turned into a bolt of lightning, and with a "buzz," he vanished from his spot.
"Yes, Lord."
The Godly Priest and the maidservant responded. Straightening up, they saw that Enel was no longer there. They were used to such scenes and silently withdrew their gazes, returning to their tasks.
As long as their Lord acted, no matter who the opponent was, they were destined for death.
They believed this with unwavering conviction.
Even the maidservant, who was terrified of Enel, had no doubt about his strength.
Therefore, even though she was deeply afraid and disliked Enel, and Enel had not restricted her movements, she dared not escape.
Over the years, she had seen too many other maidservants who had been struck by divine punishment from Enel for attempting to escape, and had never reappeared.
"By the will of God, we shall bestow divine punishment upon you who have trespassed onto God's Island."
"Will you not kneel and beg for God's forgiveness, meow~"
A tall, sturdy Godly Priest, accompanied by nearly 50 God Soldiers clad in white robes, gray gloves, and two horns on their heads, emerged from behind the trees. They surrounded Kong Tai and his group, filling the area around the giant trees.
They all carried an air of superiority, looking down with disdain at Kong Tai and his party below.
"Kneel..."
The voice resounded throughout the forest, filled with contempt.
"This fellow is Enel's God Soldier Captain, 'Da Shan.' And these God Soldiers surrounding us are all experts who use 'Slash-Slash' shells."
Beside Kong Tai, Gan Fall spoke casually, looking at Da Shan on the giant tree ahead. "Slash-Slash shells are shells that can absorb slashes and then expel invisible slashes. They are shells that we don't have on Angel Island."
"And these God Soldiers were brought by Enel from other Sky Islands. I suppose these shells are a specialty from other islands!"
"What? Do you still intend to resist, meow~"
Seeing that Kong Tai and his party remained silent for a long time, and the old man, the former God, kept muttering to the silver-haired brat, Da Shan couldn't help but step forward. He stared at Kong Tai and his party, his voice low. "Facing ten times your numbers, how do you intend to resist, meow~"
Hearing this, Kong Tai looked up for the first time. He gazed at Da Shan, his eyes revealing calmness, yet laced with a chilling indifference.
"Uh..."
Da Shan, who had been so arrogant moments before, suddenly tensed up as if his throat had been gripped. He took a step back, intimidated by Kong Tai's indifferent gaze.
Then, as if realizing something, he seemed to have been deeply insulted.
A flush quickly crept onto his face. He straightened up, his eyes fiercely fixed on Kong Tai. "Brat, I hate your gaze, so I've decided to kill you last."
Saying this, he raised his hand and waved it towards Kong Tai and the others. "Attack, all of you, meow~"
"Meow~"
The numerous God Soldiers cried out in unison. They spread their arms, one in front, one behind, and pushed off the tree trunks with their feet, shooting towards Kong Tai and his group with a "whoosh."
"Die by our Slash-Slash shells that cut through everything!"
Facing the multitude of God Soldiers rushing from all directions, everyone remained calm, their expressions unwavering.
Kong Tai raised his head, starlight swirling in his eyes. His gaze flickered across the many God Soldiers.
"Cuts through everything?"
*Buzz—!*
Suddenly, the space fell silent. An inexplicable power froze all the God Soldiers rushing towards them, along with the whistling wind and falling leaves, in mid-air.
Kong Tai looked up at Da Shan.
*Thump—!*
He stepped on the empty space in front of him and then, as if climbing a ladder to heaven, ascended step by step to the same height as Da Shan.
"I hate your gaze. What right do you have to look down on me? Who do you think you are?"
As his words fell, Kong Tai's gaze sharpened. He reached out and lightly tapped the void in front of him with his index finger.
*Thump~*
The surrounding space, with him at the center, rippled outwards like stones dropped into a calm lake. The ripples spread towards the immobilized God Soldiers.
*Pfft—!*
The ripples, like an unstoppable blade, easily sliced into the bodies of the many God Soldiers, then disappeared behind them.
The bodies of the God Soldiers, which had been wriggling moments before, suddenly went still. Blood seeped from the cracks created by the ripples, pooling in the void where they were held, not falling downwards.
"Wh-what is this!"
Whether it was the Shandians arriving later, Da Shan, or even Gan Fall.
At this moment, looking at Kong Tai in the sky, their eyes were filled with terror.
He had done nothing, yet his gaze had frozen 50 God Soldiers, and with a single finger, he had killed them, suspending them in mid-air without any visible means of support.
At this moment, Kong Tai felt not like a god, but something even greater.
"Now! Tell me, what right do you have to look down on me."
At some point, Kong Tai's figure had vanished from his spot and reappeared before Da Shan.
After he left, the God Soldiers frozen in the air began to fall in a freefall.
*Bang bang bang!!*
The muffled sounds were incessant.
As dust kicked up from the ground, blood soon gathered into streams, flowing towards lower ground.
The people at the center, where the God Soldiers had been, had already leaped out of the encirclement the moment the soldiers fell. They watched the scene, which resembled an earthly purgatory, with calm expressions.
Only Gan Fall remained standing there, dumbfounded.
He knew Kong Tai was strong. He knew it from their first meeting, because an ordinary person couldn't captain a powerful crew.
But even if he had guessed Kong Tai was strong enough to defeat Enel, he never imagined he would be this powerful.
These God Soldiers, while not individually formidable, were elites among elites, all equipped with Slash-Slash shells.
With a single finger.
Using just one finger, Kong Tai, in a way he completely couldn't comprehend, had crushed these God Soldiers as if they were mere ants.
"This..."
Gan Fall looked up at Kong Tai's back, a trace of reverence in his eyes.
He knew he could no longer treat Kong Tai and his crew as ordinary people. Judging by the strength displayed by Kong Tai's group and Kong Tai's power, which far surpassed his understanding, Enel's defeat was already a foregone conclusion.
So, he should consider how to entertain and repay Kong Tai and his crew.
With this thought, he didn't mind the blood on the ground. He withdrew his gaze, a smile returning to his face, and walked forward.
"Hmm!"
Relaxed, unprecedentedly relaxed.
Before Kong Tai had shown his true strength, he had guessed Kong Tai was strong, strong enough to be compared to another pirate he had met decades ago. But these were just his guesses.
But now that Kong Tai had truly revealed the strength he had speculated, he had completely relaxed.