"Corrida Cloak!!!"
At the exact same moment, Diamante found himself besieged by a flurry of tentacle-like, jagged stone pillars lunging at him from every direction.
Realizing there was nowhere to run, he swiftly flung up his massive crimson cloak and deactivated his ability, transforming it into a hardened steel shield.
As it turned out, Diamante's flamboyant cape had always been forged from steel; lightweight in appearance, but ready to shift into a solid barrier at a moment's notice to block enemy attacks.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
But in the next instant, those enormous, sharp stone pillars slammed against the steel cloak like monstrous tentacles. Each blow carried overwhelming force, shaking the very air.
Though Diamante's steel cloak was extremely durable, the relentless pounding sent violent tremors through his body. His blood surged in chaos as he staggered backward repeatedly, nearly coughing up blood from the internal shock.
And then came the final strike, a pillar even thicker than the others, hurling toward him like a battering ram cloaked in a fierce gust.
It smashed into the steel cloak with a deafening crash, unleashing a shockwave that hurled Diamante clean off his feet.
He flew backward a dozen meters before slamming into the sandstone ground with brutal impact.
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
Cross gasped for breath, sweat pouring down his brow. Exhaustion clouded his face.
To animate such a vast stretch of terrain in one go had taken a toll on him, especially when he'd only recently consumed the Live-Live Fruit. Even with his new powers, this was a monumental effort.
Fortunately, he had overheard Diamante's conversation with Doflamingo earlier. They had mentioned the Marines approaching. If not for that, he might've already abandoned Humil and the others to flee on his own.
"There! Over there!"
"After them!"
"How dare these pirates cause chaos in the Lvneel Kingdom!"
From the distance came a commotion; shouting voices, rapid footfalls. It sounded like an army on the move.
Soon enough, rows of brown flags rose over the horizon. A thousand-strong battalion emerged in formation, drawing near to Cross's position.
They were clad in partial iron armor; some carried flintlocks, but most bore long swords, spears, and shields. The army fanned out in a wide crescent formation, moving to encircle him.
"Pirates ahead! We are the Royal Army of the Lvneel Kingdom! If you lay down your arms and surrender, we may yet spare your lives!" shouted an officer through a tin megaphone.
Clearly, the Lvneel Kingdom had lumped Cross together with Doflamingo and the rest, viewing them all as invading pirates.
"Fuffuffuffuffu~ What a bunch of annoying little bugs!"
Doflamingo turned his head toward the army, veins bulging on his forehead, a vicious smile curling on his lips.
A second later, without even sparing Cross a glance, he launched himself into the air, soaring toward the soldiers like a predatory flamingo in flight, his killing intent cascading like a tidal wave.
"Something's coming this way!"
"Wait... that's a person?"
"He's flying?! No way, I must be seeing things, humans can't fly!"
Panic rippled through the army as chaos broke out. Many stared in disbelief at the airborne Doflamingo, their faces drained of color, shaken to their core by his overwhelming aura.
"Hey! It's dangerous, get out of there!"
Cross's face twisted with alarm as he shouted at the soldiers.
But his warning came a heartbeat too late.
Doflamingo spread his arms wide, unleashing dozens of razor-thin threads that glittered faintly in the light. They fanned out into a colossal web, descending over the army like a silken death trap.
Then, with a subtle flick of his hands, the net contracted with terrifying speed.
The soldiers had no time to react. The ultra-sharp threads sliced through them like butter—armor, weapons, bodies—nothing could withstand it.
"AAAAAHHHH—!!!"
"MY HAND!!"
"I—I can't feel my legs! AAAHHHH—!!!"
"It hurts... it hurts so much... Just kill me already! Please, kill me—!!!"
In an instant, the battlefield was transformed into a butcher's yard.
Soldiers were carved into bloody chunks, bodies collapsing like piles of discarded building blocks. Flesh, limbs, and entrails were strewn everywhere as if they had been dumped from a slaughterhouse. Even trees, rocks, armor, and blades were helpless before the glinting threads of death.
Under the fading twilight, Cross stood frozen. Before him stretched a field of carnage; limbs scattered, intestines piled on the earth, and steaming blood soaking the grass in a grotesque crimson. The stench of iron and death saturated the air.
Screams and wails rang out, mingled with ragged sobs. The few soldiers who survived clutched their heads, collapsing to their knees, crying out in horror and despair.
"Urgh—!"
Cross slapped a hand over his mouth, struggling not to vomit.
He had killed pirates for two years, seen more corpses than he could count. He was no longer the green boy who once couldn't bear to kill a chicken.
But this... this was something else.
He had never witnessed such a massacre. The scale of death, the brutality of the scene, it didn't resemble a battlefield. It was a human abattoir.
So this... this is how fragile human life really is?
To the strong, a mere gesture could annihilate hundreds. Perhaps to monsters like Doflamingo, ordinary lives weren't even numbers to be counted. They were ants, crushed without a second thought.
After all, no one bothers to count how many ants they've killed.
"Fuffuffuffuffu~ What a beautiful color…"
Doflamingo burst into maniacal laughter, releasing the frustration he'd built up from being thwarted by Cross.
Over a thousand soldiers had been nearly wiped out in a single move, more than half killed or gravely injured. The survivors, if not driven mad, had completely lost the will to fight.
To them, Doflamingo wasn't a man, he was a monster. An unstoppable force no ordinary human could ever hope to resist.
Yet, the massacre wasn't enough for him.
Doflamingo spread his hand wide, sending out a storm of ultra-thin Parasite Threads, so fine they were nearly invisible to the naked eye. They rained down like falling stars, embedding themselves into the bodies of the surviving soldiers.
"Parasite!"
Doflamingo's voice was low and calm as he raised his right arm forward. His index and ring fingers folded inward while his thumb, middle, and pinky remained extended.
With this motion, he began puppeteering the soldiers now entangled in his threads.
"AH—Why are you attacking me?!"
"No! It's not me! I can't control my body!"
"Move... move away from me! Someone, help—!"
"This has to be a nightmare! How can something like this be real?!"
A new wave of chaos erupted as possessed soldiers suddenly turned on their comrades, swinging their blades wildly.
Tears streamed down their faces as they screamed, begging their friends to flee or end their suffering. But their bodies moved like deranged puppets, hacking indiscriminately at those around them.
It was clear, Doflamingo wasn't just killing them. He was playing with them.
And he was enjoying it. He wore a look of sick pleasure as the screams of despair echoed across the blood-soaked field.
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