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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 44: The Slaughter
Crocboy was tightly ensnared by the Tentacles, being pulled away into the distance. He felt the immense pressure of the bindings, yet he remained calm.
He gradually exerted force with his arms and legs, attempting to pry the Tentacles apart little by little.
Xiaqiu sensed the resistance and was unwilling to relent. She adjusted the Tentacles, wrapping them around his upper arms and thighs.
Four pairs of Tentacles coiled around him tightly.
He wanted to break free, but his arms could only push to one side, resembling a lateral raise motion. He primarily relied on his deltoids and biceps, but the leverage was too long, making it difficult to exert force.
Moreover, Xiaqiu simultaneously wrapped around his upper arms and forearms, leaving him with no space to apply strength.
The same applied to his legs; with his upper body being much wider than his lower body, his thighs and calves were wrapped several times, rendering him unable to exert any power.
This effectively limited his strength.
Crocboy could not apply force with both arms and legs at once; he first attempted to break free with his arms. His immense strength slightly pried open the Tentacles, but that single effort had already drained him.
During his struggle, Xiaqiu briefly countered his strength, then relaxed the muscles of the Tentacles as the pressure increased.
Once his force diminished, she contracted her muscles again.
The Tentacles were not capable of performing overly complex movements; most actions relied on the contraction and relaxation of the Tentacle muscles to facilitate movement.
The greatest action the Tentacles could perform was to tighten some muscles while relaxing others, anchoring themselves to the ground and crawling forward at an astonishing speed.
Of course, with Xiaqiu's weight, it was impossible to achieve this.
Xiaqiu controlled the muscles of the Tentacles, continuously relaxing and contracting, causing Crocboy's strength to dissipate time and again.
Damn it.
Crocboy couldn't break free from the Tentacles, and Xiaqiu had already taken him, rushing toward the ocean, heading for the depths far away.
"This is bad."
Seeing Xiaqiu's actions, a sense of foreboding surged within Crocboy. Once he was taken away, there would be no one to help him.
Moreover, entering the deep sea would drain a lot of his energy, even if he could breathe underwater.
Thinking of this, Crocboy struggled once more to break free.
Crack, crack, crack.
This time, his strength was immense and persistent, prying the Tentacles open little by little.
Xiaqiu had to maintain the pressure, hoping to keep him restrained.
Crack, crack, crack.
The Tentacles binding Crocboy's upper body began to show fine cracks on the surface; under his force, they started to sustain damage.
The power was great.
Even with all the preparations made, he still could not withstand his immense power.
However, Xiaqiu did not let go and continued to charge forward, tightly entangled.
Boom.
Xiaqiu's speed rapidly increased, reaching over ten meters per second, quickly widening the distance.
Crack, crack, crack.
The cracks on Xiaqiu's tentacles grew larger; if this continued, the tentacles would break.
But Xiaqiu endured the pain and did not loosen his grip, instead continuing to swim downward into the depths.
The water grew deeper—two hundred meters, three hundred meters.
Snap.
One of Xiaqiu's tentacles broke, leaving only three tentacles binding him above, and they were being stretched apart by him.
But at that moment, Crocboy's strength suddenly weakened.
Feeling this change, Xiaqiu let out a breath.
It was time to reach the limit.
He had been holding his breath for a while, but he needed air; his strength was limited and had already reached its peak.
"That's it."
Crocboy's face turned pale; he had exhausted too much of his power. Even using all his strength, he could not escape the bindings.
Meanwhile, Xiaqiu slowly retracted its Tentacles, squeezing Crocboy's body.
With the remaining strength he had, Crocboy could only keep Xiaqiu's Tentacles at bay, preventing them from closing in further.
Splash.
After a while, his strength waned again, and the Tentacles advanced further, constricting his bones until they creaked. Bruises began to appear on the surface of his skin.
Almost there.
Thinking this, Xiaqiu surged forward toward a massive rock on the ocean floor in the distance.
Boom.
Xiaqiu propelled itself and Crocboy straight toward the rock.
"Huh?"
Crocboy tilted his head back and saw the distant rock, realizing Xiaqiu's intention: it wanted to smash him against it.
No way.
Crocboy struggled violently, but he was already unable to break free from Xiaqiu's grip.
He watched helplessly as the rock loomed larger before him.
Boom.
Crocboy's head collided directly with the top of the rock.
Crack.
The top of the rock shattered, Crocboy's skull fractured, and a buzzing filled his head as darkness crept into his vision.
Yet, he had not sustained a fatal injury.
His resilience was remarkable; this blow was not enough to kill him.
However, Xiaqiu had already released its tentacles and was now lunging toward Crocboy.
Ah~
Still reeling from the intense dizziness and the pain radiating from his head, Crocboy's vision was a blur, making it impossible to discern what lay ahead.
But he could feel himself being lowered, followed by an overwhelming pressure approaching.
It was coming; he had to dodge.
Crocboy thought as he sensed the rush of water around him. Suddenly, he pushed off with his legs and shot to the side.
Boom.
Xiaqiu's body brushed against his as it passed by.
Huh, he actually dodged.
Xiaqiu didn't expect him to still have the strength, but in that moment of evasion, he used sound waves to capture the tilt of his body and spun around.
Bang.
The massive Pectoral Fin collided with Crocboy.
Puff.
Crocboy was sent flying, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Meanwhile, Xiaqiu had already swung his body and was chasing after him.
He had to run, he needed to get away from here.
But Xiaqiu was getting closer and closer, opening his enormous mouth to bite at his body.
No.
Crocboy turned around weakly and raised his fist to strike backward.
Bang.
Crocboy's fist hit Xiaqiu's upper jaw, but it lacked any real power.
In the next moment, Xiaqiu had slightly turned to the side, biting into his body. Her teeth closed around him, crushing most of his form.
Crunch, crunch.
Xiaqiu devoured Crocboy's body, swallowing it whole and letting out a breath.
Finally, victory was hers.
At the beginning of the battle, she encountered some trouble, but by the mid-point, she had established absolute dominance.
The Tentacles played a significant role.
She was not afraid to confront her opponent head-on, but she worried that Crocboy might avoid direct confrontation altogether and choose to dodge, targeting her weak spots instead.
However, the Tentacles provided protection, restraint, and binding capabilities.
With that, her shortcomings in battle were largely compensated for.
In front of her were horns and teeth; on the sides were Pectoral Fins; on her back was a dorsal fin lined with hard spines; her tail could strike; and her abdomen was equipped with Tentacles.
She had no obvious weaknesses.
But it still wasn't enough.
The binding strength of the Tentacles was somewhat lacking. Facing Crocboy, two of them were severed, one broke free, and others sustained injuries as well.
In terms of raw power, Crocboy was second only to Arlong among the Arlong Pirates and was not considered weak in the East Blue.
The only ones capable of restraining him, currently active only in the East Sea and never having ventured into the Grand Line, are the strong ones who can break through their Tentacles, and such individuals are quite rare.
However, his ultimate goal is Arlong, and that is still not enough.
Moreover, there are countless individuals stronger than Arlong. Being in the East Sea now does not guarantee he won't encounter powerful foes in the future.
Thus, the ability of his Tentacles needs to be enhanced. Not only should they grow longer, but they also need to gain more offensive power.
For instance, claws—like those of a Giant Pacific Squid.
If he had claws, combined with the strength of his Tentacles, he could have easily crushed Crocboy just now.
Xiaqiu already has a new target in mind.
But for now, he must first digest the Enhanced Energy within him.
Inside Xiaqiu, Heat Flow has already emerged; this is the Evolutionary Energy born from his consumption of sharks.
Before attacking Crocboy, Xiaqiu had just hunted a group of sharks and returned to find a Naval Battleship.
This energy is continuously repairing Xiaqiu's wounds.
The injury on his skull, the damage to his tail fin, and the wounds on his abdominal Tentacles.
Just as this Heat Flow began to weaken, in the next moment, an even more powerful Heat Flow appeared within Xiaqiu's body.
It has arrived.
The flow of heat was immense; if the heat provided by the Dominique Pirate Crew's fourteen pirates was a stream, this heat was a mighty river.
Moreover, it was intensely hot, surging toward every part of Xiaqiu's body.
Creak, creak.
Xiaqiu's body emitted strange sounds as he felt the overwhelming heat flow, far greater than ever before. Joy surged within him.
Though injured, this journey was not in vain.
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