Xia Ling spoke coldly, "It's me. I won't allow you to harm my comrades. Will you let go on your own, or shall I make you?"
Ye Ming's expression turned grim, his heart shaken. A sense of pressure emanated from Xia Ling, making him cautious.
However, two of his executives had already died, and he had no choice but to act.
His raised right hand swiftly descended, the Five-Colored Thread in his hand slicing towards Lin Chuan.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Yet, just as his hand was about to reach Lin Chuan's neck, Ye Ming was instantly frozen solid.
Cold energy surged from Xia Ling's feet. Some of the crew members of the Rakshasa Pirates managed to jump in time, narrowly escaping disaster. Others weren't so lucky—their feet froze, and the ice quickly spread throughout their bodies, turning them into ice sculptures that shattered upon hitting the ground.
Lin Chuan quickly got up and retreated to Xia Ling's side, apologizing.
"Vice Captain, I'm sorry for making you step in to save me."
"It's fine. After all, you were up against the Captain of the Rakshasa Pirates. Let Ling'er heal you first."
Qiao Ling'er, who had arrived with Xia Ling, quickly activated the power of the Heal-Heal Fruit to treat Lin Chuan.
Under the astonished gazes of many, the numerous cuts on Lin Chuan's body, caused by the threads, began to heal at a visible rate. Although he wasn't fully recovered, his condition had improved significantly.
This left many pirates envious.
"That healer is really something."
"She's probably the only one of her kind."
"This battle has shown us the strength of the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew. Even though the fight has just begun, it's clear they're stronger than we imagined."
...
Crack!
At that moment, the ice encasing Ye Ming shattered, and he broke free, though his body was still chilled, and his expression remained grave.
Xia Ling's fighting spirit surged. "Come on, let's see what you've got."
But Ye Ming had no intention of fighting.
"I don't want to fight you, at least not now."
This drew mockery from many.
"Is he scared?"
"Xia Ling, with the Ice Fruit, seems formidable."
"Ye Ming probably isn't a match for her."
...
Ye Ming explained, "From the start, we didn't plan to fight you to the death. So, a battle to the death is pointless. You also want to conserve your strength for when the Flying Sky and Overlord Pirates arrive, right? To help Ye Yu? Otherwise, if only Ye Yu is preserved, how will you stand a chance later?"
This made Xia Ling frown slightly. There was some truth to his words, but she knew she had to strike the head to defeat the snake.
"If I defeat you first, your morale will drop, and your crew might even flee."
Ye Ming's expression turned even uglier. Though it was humiliating, he still spoke up.
"How about this? The city is yours. We'll leave. That way, you won't expend much energy, and the Flying Sky and Overlord Pirates might not even come."
This proposal tempted Xia Ling.
Meanwhile, Jin Mo and Song Ling, watching the live broadcast, were visibly upset.
"What is he saying? Giving up? Isn't that shameful?"
"Keep fighting! We'll be there in an hour! If they don't fight now, the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew won't be weakened, and it'll be hard for us to gain the upper hand."
This was why they looked so displeased.
They hadn't brought their full force—only two main ships, one from each pirate crew. They had hoped the Dominant Feather Pirate Crew would exhaust themselves fighting the Rakshasa and Sandstorm Pirates, allowing them to reap the benefits.
But if they gave up so soon, that plan would fail.
Xia Ling frowned. "How do I know if you're really withdrawing or just waiting for them to arrive?"
Ye Ming said, "We can sail in the opposite direction to leave, so we won't have to worry about them coming. We can join forces with them."
Xia Ling shook her head, "What if they come, surround this place, and then you return?"
This left Ye Ming helpless, "We won't."
"Humph, we won't believe you just because you say so. Stop talking nonsense."
Xia Ling took action directly.
Ye Ming quickly retreated while slashing out with the Five-Colored Thread, shattering the incoming Ice Spears.
Ye Ming genuinely didn't want to continue fighting. Just at the beginning, they had already lost two Executives, which was a significant loss. He didn't want to sacrifice his Pirate Crew just to let the Flying Sky and Overlord Pirates take advantage.
Even if Xia Ling knew what he was thinking, she had to exhaust them further, ensuring that when the Flying Sky and Overlord Pirates arrived, they wouldn't be able to join the fight.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yan'er faced off against Sha La, the Flare-Flare Fruit user against the Sand-Sand Fruit user.
Simultaneously, battles broke out in multiple areas. Despite the guerrilla tactics, some fights had already begun.
Soon, Xia Ling's earpiece buzzed with the tense and somewhat panicked voice of a crew member.
"Captain, the situation in our area isn't looking good."
"What's happening?"
"Our combat crew, over a hundred strong, but now more than half have been turned into toys, losing their combat abilities."
This made Xia Ling's expression darken as she thought of Ye Tong, the vice-captain of the Rakshasa Pirates. Though not particularly strong, his ability was somewhat bugged—he was a Child-like Fruit Ability User.
"Captain, we're almost all turned into toys."
At this moment, Ye Yu spoke up through the earpiece.
"Xia Ling, don't get distracted. Just focus on fighting Ye Ming. I'll keep an eye on things."
Xia Ling felt reassured, "Alright."
By now, Ye Yu had naturally already noticed what was happening. He hadn't acted yet because turning into toys didn't pose an immediate life-threatening danger.
But he felt it was time to intervene. As long as he could intimidate Ye Tong into unconsciousness, the fruit's ability would be nullified.
At this point, many had witnessed Ye Tong's ability.
"So impressive."
"It's really bugged."
"Right now, he can't turn people much stronger than him into toys, but it's still pretty overpowered."
"Once turned into toys, they can't fight effectively. I've even heard that at a higher level, he can make toys lose their memories."
"It's indeed overpowered. Ye Yu's Conqueror's Haki knocked out many low-tier fighters, but they'll wake up soon. But this ability is permanent—turning into toys and later losing memories means they're completely useless. Without memories, they won't even try to recover, thinking they were always toys."
...
For a moment, many felt that Ye Tong's ability was indeed bugged.
At this moment, Ye Tong was quite pleased with himself, feeling that he had finally showcased his abilities, which had been seen by so many.
"Though I'm not as strong as my brother, my ability is overpowered."
Ye Tong was much shorter than Ye Ming, but in reality, he wasn't male—he was a girl disguised as a boy, making herself appear more formidable. Otherwise, looking like a 1.5-meter-tall loli would make her seem too weak. Besides, her own strength wasn't particularly impressive. Earlier, with the enemy Executives around, it was difficult for her to turn them into toys.
Meanwhile, Wu Xingyun was acting alone, arriving at the base of a moving abandoned building.
"There are no enemies around; they're really good at hiding. I'm a bit tired from walking, so I'll take a break."
Wu Xingyun entered the abandoned building and sat down on the stairs.
Originally, Ye Yu was about to make his move, but he noticed that Ye Tong was approaching Wu Xingyun.
So he held back, wanting to see if the person who had contracted with Usopp could handle the situation.
Ye Tong quietly approached, first jumping to the second floor. His footsteps were light, and he wasn't detected. Then he silently descended the stairs, step by step, getting closer to Wu Xingyun, who was sitting on the stairs.
Just then, Wu Xingyun's phone rang. He opened it and checked a group chat, where a video of a beautiful woman dancing was playing. She was wearing very little.
Wu Xingyun's eyes lit up as he opened the video and started watching. The sound was low, but when he turned it up to the maximum, he could hear it clearly. She danced well and sang beautifully, and as she bent forward, her cleavage was revealed.
Wu Xingyun stared intently, leaning closer. But in the next moment, the screen suddenly changed to a terrifying ghost face, so horrifying it could scare someone to death, accompanied by a ghostly scream.
"Ahhh!!"
Wu Xingyun was startled and dropped his phone.
At that exact moment, Ye Tong's hand was about to touch Wu Xingyun, ready to use his ability to turn him into a toy.
But Ye Tong also saw the sudden appearance of the ghost. Being naturally timid and easily frightened, he instantly turned pale, screamed, his eyes widened, and he nearly fainted from fear, collapsing unconscious.
Wu Xingyun, startled, turned around and quickly backed away.
"Who is this? Why are they behind me?"
At that moment, the hundred crew members who had been turned into toys instantly reverted to their original forms, all sighing in relief and filled with admiration.
"Who dealt with that Child-like Fruit Ability User? Was it the Captain?"
"The Captain is still on the high building; it's not him."
"That guy's ability was too terrifying. This
person is amazing; who is it?"
"Do we have someone that powerful on our ship?"
...
Sensing this, Ye Yu couldn't help but smile and sighed lightly, "As expected of someone who contracted with Usopp, they also possess the luck of Conqueror's Haki."
(End of Chapter)