bookmarkrole Chapter 673: The Sun and the Earth
Chapter 673: The Sun and the Earth
The two collided, and the world fell silent.
No sound.
Only light.
Luffy is that blazing white light that tears through space.
The sun god's full fury crashed into the earth's explosive power surrounding Im.
The two forces collapsed instantly.
The air was compressed and exploded.
An energy ring exploded from the two of them, sweeping outwards in all directions.
Wherever it passed, the ice fields were torn apart, shredded, and ground into powder like pieces of paper.
The ice layer within a radius of 800 meters was flattened with a single stroke.
All the protruding ice rocks, cracks, and ravines disappeared.
All that remained was a sheet of ice so bright it reflected the sky.
It is 800 meters in radius.
Cut it flat with one stroke.
An energy ring swept across the entire battlefield.
Whitebeard's first move was to cut down Murakumo and plunge the blade into the ice, with most of the blade going in.
He pressed his hands together against the knife handle, and his feet were firmly planted on the spot.
The shockwave struck his broad back with a muffled thud.
The ice beneath his feet exploded into a spiderweb pattern, but he didn't move.
Rocks gritted his teeth and activated his Armament Haki.
A dark purple aura exploded from his body, enveloping him like a shell.
The impact produced a sharp, metallic sound.
He was pushed back seven or eight meters, his boots carving two deep furrows in the ice.
Loki wasn't so lucky.
His severely injured body was thrown into the air.
Tie Lei grabbed his wrist, and the two of them crashed into a surviving boulder.
Loki's fingers dug deep into the cracks in the rock, his nails splitting and bleeding, while Ironhide lay on the rock face, using his weight to hold him back from being swept away.
The wind and snow, mixed with ice shards, slapped at everyone's faces.
Ice shards cut the skin, leaving streaks of blood.
Even breathing felt like a stinging pain.
No one had the energy to look up at the sky anymore.
At the center of the collision, Luffy's giant white-flame fist slammed into Im's front.
Where the fist struck, the air shattered like glass.
White flames poured down.
"Bang!"
A dark golden barrier stood three feet in front of Im.
It is not flowing demonic energy; it is solidified.
It's like a piece of land being moved entirely to the sky.
Thick, dense, and completely still.
When the white flame collided with the barrier, only a very shallow ripple spread across its surface.
Luffy's fist was engulfed in white flames, his knuckles turning white.
The barrier remained intact.
He paused for a moment.
Before, no matter which layer of demonic energy shield I tried to break through, it would be easily burned through by the white flames, as if it were made of paper.
But this thing in front of me isn't demonic energy.
It pressed down like a mountain, and when the white flames tried to ignite it, they only produced sparks and couldn't get it going at all.
The power of the earth.
The authority to bear and protect all things.
It doesn't buy into any of the "freedom" theories.
Luffy's eyes lit up.
He grinned.
It wasn't panic, it was excitement.
"Oh? Hard?"
He pulled his right fist back, and then immediately followed up with a powerful left punch.
White flames exploded on the surface of the fist.
A clear crack appeared on the dark gold barrier after it was smashed.
The cracks spread like a dried-up riverbed.
White flames poured in along the crack.
Before the cracks could expand, the power of the earth surged out from inside the barrier.
A dark golden luster flowed through the cracks, like soil filling in gullies, and in less than three breaths, the cracks were completely repaired.
Luffy threw another punch.
The barrier cracked.
Healing.
Smash it again.
Re-healing.
Each punch sent tremors through the air, yet each punch was also smoothed out by that almost rogue force.
It's like pounding the earth.
You make a hole, and it immediately fills it in.
Luffy's punches are getting faster and faster.
Layers of white flames overlapped, the temperature so high that the air itself seemed to distort.
He attacked with both hands, his fists transforming into a shower of white light that rained down on various parts of the barrier.
He wanted to ensure that the earth's power wouldn't have time to mend all the cracks.
The barrier began to tremble.
Its dark golden luster flickers intermittently.
Im moved.
The power of the earth beneath his feet solidified, allowing him to stand firmly in the void, as if treading on invisible land.
The sword of the law was held horizontally in front of him.
The dark gold patterns on the sword resonated in sync with the barrier.
Then he swung his sword.
A pure, dark golden arc of light.
Thin as paper, fast as light.
Nothing happened where the sword light passed.
It simply and quietly cut through.
Luffy's hair stood on end.
He sprang up from the air, his body stretching and twisting backward like rubber, dodging at an incredible angle.
A dark golden arc of light grazed his side, passing through the void two inches away.
He saw it.
A slit was cut into the air.
It's not a metaphor.
It's a physical opening.
A thin, dark gold line hung in mid-air.
The crack paused for two seconds before making a soft "crack" sound and slowly healing.
Space cutting.
He is not afraid of demonic energy.
But this power, concentrated on the sword's edge, could even slice through the void.
His rubber body probably couldn't withstand a single blow.
His fighting spirit soared even higher.
"Good heavens!"
Luffy stepped on the surface of the air blast and used the rebound force to launch himself out.
White flames spread from his fists to his forearms, leaving two long white tails behind him.
Im raised his sword to meet him.
In the following scene, no one could see the details clearly.
In mid-air, there was a chaotic ball of light.
The white fist shadows and the dark gold sword light mingled together.
The ball of light expanded and contracted continuously, each collision radiating a shockwave that crushed the surrounding ice and rock.
Luffy's fist smashed the barrier.
Im's sword then slashed at his weakness.
Luffy could only retract his fist and dodge.
The barrier has been repaired.
The sword light appeared again.
Endless loop.
Neither can suppress the other.
The sun god could not break through the earth's protection.
Even the sharp edge of the Earth God cannot sever the embodiment of freedom.
One needs to be demolished.
One must be guarded.
They are naturally mutually restraining, and neither can defeat the other.
High in the sky.
Chen Ye hovered amidst the sea of clouds, his dark golden eyes reflecting the sphere of light below.
His Observation Haki was like countless needles, piercing into every corner of the battlefield.
He understood.
"Freedom" versus "protection".
Nika's white flames need to dismantle the rules.
The power of the earth is meant to solidify everything.
Water poured on water, neither side could gain the upper hand.
"If it's purely a contest of strength, the two..."
His voice was very low.
"Evenly matched".
After speaking, his gaze moved between the two men twice before finally settling on the Codex Sword in Im's hand.
He didn't say anything more.
On the edge of the battlefield.
Loki lay sprawled on the broken ice, with Ironhide kneeling beside him, both of them covered in blood and looking utterly wretched.
But their eyes were fixed on the divine battle in the sky.
The white flames and dark gold sword light flashed alternately, illuminating their faces in alternating light and shadow.
Loki, panting heavily, slammed his fist into the ice.
"Hang in there... Straw Hat Boy..."
Hoarseness.
Each word was squeezed out of his chest.
He carried with him a plea that was rare in the life of this giant war god.
He lived too long, fought too many battles, and never hoped that anyone would win.
If we lose, we lose.
If you're dead, you're dead.
On the battlefield, there is no one you can rely on.
But for the first time in his life, he so desperately wanted a little kid to stand until the end.
Because that white flame was the only thing still burning on this desolate, icy plain.
Tie Lei didn't say anything.
He just stared intently at the sky, his eyes red-rimmed and his lips pressed into a thin line.
The grappling continued in mid-air.
Im's sword swings became faster and faster.
The dark gold sword light transformed from one strike to two strikes, then four strikes, finally becoming an impenetrable sword curtain.
Each sword strike carries a sharpness that cuts through the void.
Luffy's offensive was gradually pushed back.
His fist could shatter the barrier, but before it could penetrate, the power of the earth surged up to mend it.
He needs a second punch to break through.
But that sword wouldn't give him a second chance.
The moment he retracted his fist and then struck again, the dark golden sword blade was already pressed against his body.
Luffy was forced back three steps.
He flipped backward, stepping on the air, and white flames exploded beneath his feet to dissipate the impact.
Im's sword light swept across him.
He dodged to the left, and the sword light followed suit.
He turned to the right, where a second sword light was already waiting.
Luffy's left shoulder was grazed by the wind from the sword.
not heavy.
It was just wiped clean.
But that dark golden power seeped through the skin and into the flesh, like a lump of iron being forcibly embedded into the muscle.
Luffy grunted, and a burst of white flames suddenly shot up, forcibly burning away the force, but a coin-sized bruise was still left on his shoulder.
He steadied himself.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and then rubbed it on his arm.
Bloodstains mixed with white flames, burning up a wisp of blue smoke.
Luffy stared at Im.
More precisely, he was staring at the black sword in Im's hand.
Dark gold patterns flow endlessly along the sword's surface.
Ancient, heavy, sharp.
From the start of the battle until now, Im has never let go of that sword.
It was this that blocked my pursuit, which could have broken through the barrier.
It cuts a fatal arc every time it gets close.
It is this that turns "passive protection" into "active suppression".
Luffy's eyes changed.
dignified.