Chapter 154: Mastering the Iron-Cutting Technique

“The strongest move? Heh, do you know what sets me apart from you?”

With a cold sneer, Alon’s eyes blazed with fierce light as he stared at Tang Shen.

“Different? Your teeth? They do look quite sturdy.”

Tang Shen cast him a sideways glance.

“...”

“Could it be your nose?” Tang Shen guessed uncertainly.

“Baka!! It’s the race!! Lowly species can’t comprehend the so-called bloodline gap!”

Infuriated by Tang Shen’s response, Alon suddenly plunged headfirst into the nearby sea, swimming swiftly like a shark beneath the waves. His narrow eyes emitted a chilling gleam.

“I’ll pierce you through with my nose! Make you understand what true fear is! Tremble, lowly species!!”

Alon’s wild and cruel laughter echoed from beneath the water.

Hearing that, Nami’s delicate face instantly turned pale, and the villagers all broke into cold sweat, terror written across their faces. Alon’s strongest point—his nose!

It was even harder than steel. Back then, with that nose, he had slain countless villagers of Cocoa Xia. That brutal scene remained a nightmare etched into everyone’s memory.

“Roger... Run!” Noki suddenly shouted, snapping back to reality.

“Captain...” Nami murmured, dazed and helpless.

Yet Tang Shen’s gaze was calm and steady as he fixed his eyes on the sea. Slowly, he drew his long sword, gripping it firmly. He felt the familiar touch of the blade, as if it were an extension of his own arm. Countless days and nights had been spent honing this sword technique.

Now was the time to test it!

The long sword moved slowly through the air, but to everyone’s surprise, even at this leisurely pace, afterimages appeared!

One...

Two...

Three...

...A hundred!

Wherever Tang Shen’s sword passed, countless afterimages flickered in the air. Nami’s eyes widened in disbelief as she watched.

Such a familiar sight!

She had seen Tang Shen on the Swan, practicing this simple yet tedious technique tirelessly day and night, seemingly without fatigue.

“This is...”

She whispered in trance.

Meanwhile, beneath the water, Alon’s aura surged dramatically compared to before. The Fishmen were naturally strongest in the water; upon contact with seawater, their combat power soared tremendously. He moved like a razor-sharp arrowfish, nose leading the way, slicing through the waves and leaving an astonishing trail.

“Die! Nose stab!”

A wild, sinister laugh rang out, and the sea surface exploded instantly.

Splash—

Water sprayed in all directions, and Alon became nothing more than a blur. His furious acceleration underwater made his power even more terrifying. He believed that even if he faced a warship at this moment, he could pierce a hole through it!

Tang Shen stood firm like a spear, his gaze icy as he fixed on the rampaging Alon. His grip tightened on the long sword, and a powerful force surged through it. The blade emitted a startling hum, like a tsunami roaring, instantly piercing the eardrums.

“Stacked Blade Slash: Hundred Layers of Waves!”

As the sword descended, an almost tangible blade burst forth from its tip, striking straight at Alon charging headlong.

“Clang—”

The heavy, forceful impact sounded like metal ringing against metal!

Then came a bone-chilling sound of bones shattering. Everyone saw a streak of blood appear in midair, splattering the ground. With a tremendous crash, Alon was hurled backward, smashing a nearby wall to rubble.

Dust and debris filled the air!

“...What... what happened?”

“Mr. Roger... is he dead?”

“The one who just flew out... was that Alon?!”

“Impossible, but...”

...

The villagers stared in disbelief as the dust slowly settled, revealing the figure inside.

Upon seeing it, the entire crowd fell silent.

“...”

Complete silence.

Alon’s proud nose was broken. His eyes widened—his iron nose, capable of piercing steel, was shattered?

“That’s a titanium dog nose for sure!”

Watching the cracked and fractured fine steel sword in his hand, Tang Shen entered an extraordinarily profound state, as if his body and mind were immersed in the process of severing that nose, harder than steel.

Clash, slash, break...

Every detail replayed in his mind. Suddenly, Tang Shen’s eyes brightened, understanding dawning instantly. A faint smile of delight touched his lips.

“So this... is ‘Iron Severing’!!”

In truth, Tang Shen’s strength and level had long been sufficient, but he lacked the opportunity. Forcibly breaking Alon’s nose became that opportunity, the perfect moment.

“Damn bastard! You actually broke my precious nose, but your weapon is shattered too! Next, I’ll tear your bones apart piece by piece!!”

Alon roared furiously. His most treasured asset was broken, but now this opponent had lost his key weapon. This fight—

He was sure he’d win!

“Is that so? To deal with you, I don’t even need a fine steel sword. This will do just fine.”

Dropping the ruined fine steel sword, Tang Shen slowly raised a new wooden training sword. He paid no mind to the mocking eyes of the Fishmen around him. His gaze was steady as water, and with a slow, deliberate slash, he cut through the air.

“Iron Sever.”

The dim blade struck Alon squarely, though no dramatic effect followed.

Alon’s sinister grin froze. He opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly the world around him shifted. The villagers and his Fishmen subordinates all looked at him in horror, as if seeing a ghost. They seemed to be screaming something.

In a daze, Alon suddenly saw a familiar figure appear beside him.

“Is... is that... me?”

His eyes widened in shock. The world spun, and he saw a headless Alon standing in place.

Thud!

His head rolled off, and the headless Alon collapsed with a heavy crash.

Behind him, a beautifully decorated building emitted a grating sound as it slowly slid sideways and then collapsed with a thunderous crash, shocking everyone.

“Hiss...”

The crowd gasped, eyes wide as they witnessed the feat of a single sword strike—

Such terrifying power!!

“Ah... Brother Alon...”

“Dead?”

“Brother... dead?”

...

All the Fishmen stared blankly, unable to believe it. The strongest pirate in the East Sea was dead? Impossible!!

A wooden sword... cut through a building?!

At that moment, Tang Shen suddenly collapsed onto the ground, face pale as his energy drained from the repeated Hundred Layers of Waves and Iron Sever techniques. Exhausted, his strength was completely spent.

Fortunately, he had brought plenty of prepared jerky and quickly devoured it, allowing his energy to slowly recover.

Everyone stared at Tang Shen in bewilderment.

What was going on here?

He killed Alon, then just sat down and ate? Was this guy crazy?

“Ah—he killed big brother!!”

“Big brother is really dead! How could this happen?!”

“Avenging big brother! Kill him!!”

...

The enraged Fishmen shouted and charged with bloodshot eyes.

Seeing these furious Fishmen, Tang Shen’s gaze grew colder. After eating the last piece of jerky, he sprang to life. “Heh, pathetic Fishmen. Seems you still haven’t grasped the meaning of death!”

“Then I’ll send you down to meet Marx and raise your consciousness a bit.”

His movements were as fast as the wind, stepping with the Eight Trigrams footwork!

Nami and the others only saw a dazzling blur of speed and slashing blades. The charging Fishmen froze instantly, meeting the same brutal slaughter as before.

Splash!

Blood spurted from their necks; all the Fishmen fell down in unison.

In the face of absolute strength, quantity cannot make up for quality.

“Roger... you bastard!!”

Nami and Noki, overwhelmed with relief and tears, rushed over, while Tang Shen, dizzy from exhaustion, collapsed completely, his recently replenished energy drained dry.

He landed right on Nami and Noki’s ample bosoms.

“This sea... is really soft...”

That was Tang Shen’s final thought.