On the massive bridge, the prisoners, ready to risk their lives, ran forward like madmen. Soon, a portion of them reached Minokoala and Minorhinoceros.
The two behemoths stood motionless. Minokoala, holding a tiger-fork in his right hand, his small, squinting eyes looking somewhat dazed at the prisoners trying to run past him. After a long moment, he seemed to react, swinging the fist holding the tiger-fork down with a not-so-agile movement.
"Boom!" A whirlwind exploded, stone fragments shattered, and the terrifying force stirred up a gust of wind.
"Aaargh!" A large group of prisoners cried out under this punch, flying backwards and scattering, accompanied by the sound of falling debris.
"Hmph~" Immediately after, Minorhinoceros also moved. Perhaps due to the poisonous effects of the leaves Minokoala had fed him, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with violent rage. He roared, exhaling a breath from his nose, and slammed the two short spiked maces in his hands down repeatedly and rapidly onto the bridge.
The stone surface of the bridge buckled and erupted. Prisoners trying to run past were thrown off their feet by the rising stones, their screams rising and falling.
Despite this, thanks to the prisoners' fearless, life-risking charge, a small number of them managed to break through.
The scene was utter chaos. The pursuing jailers from behind caught up at this point, and guns, fists, and whips began to clash.
On the bridge, the only area slightly calmer than the very front was where Wilder, a bloodthirsty smile on his face, stood facing the turned-around Minotaurus Zebra.
Minotaurus Zebra's narrow eyes stared coldly at Wilder. After a long moment... heavy footsteps began to move, one step at a time, towards Wilder.
The huge spiked mace was carried on his shoulder. With each step, the shadow gradually rose, until, when Minotaurus Zebra stopped in front of Wilder, the shadow completely enveloped his head.
"Hiss..."
The stationary Minotaurus Zebra exhaled a breath from his nose, looking down, his eyes cold, at Wilder shrouded in shadow.
Wilder raised his head, looking at the zebra several times taller than him, the smile on his face unchanged.
"Gurgle..." Swamp dripped from his hand.
"Hiss..." Minotaurus Zebra also raised the mace he'd been carrying on his shoulder high above his head.
Time seemed to stand still...
"Big guy, do you know what it feels like to be strangled by a swamp?" Wilder's bloodthirsty smile suddenly intensified, the killing intent in his eyes exploding!
"Boom!" But almost at the instant the words fell, Minotaurus Zebra attacked without warning. His eyes opened wide, killing intent surged, and the mace held high above his head crashed down towards Wilder's head!
"Gurgle...!" Thick swamp erupted from Wilder's body. He seemed to transform into a swamp monster, his body below the chest turning completely into swamp. Driven by inertia, the swamp that Wilder's body had transformed into slid out like a mudslide the moment it appeared.
Instantly, it submerged half of Minotaurus Zebra's body, who was standing in front of Wilder.
But that wasn't all. Just as the huge spiked mace was about to land on his head, Wilder's upper body also suddenly transformed into swamp, flowing and surging upwards, instantly climbing onto Minotaurus Zebra's body.
"Bang!" The huge spiked mace landed at that moment, but Wilder's body was no longer within its range of attack. The swamp that his lower body had transformed into engulfed most of Minotaurus Zebra's body on the ground. The mace smashed into the swamp, causing a momentary splash on the surface before sinking deeply into it.
Entanglement!
The swamp, formed from his upper body, was like a living entity, wrapping around Minotaurus Zebra's body, taking the form of a giant serpent.
That's right, a giant serpent, formed by the swamp he had transformed into.
Wilder named this move Serpent Demon!
A creation born from a state of extreme physical exhaustion!
The constriction gradually tightened. This was the only state in which Wilder could fully control the swamp, for the swamp formed by his own body was, of course, under his control!
Released swamp was too free. Achieving ultimate control was difficult, like a dam that could direct the general flow of water but couldn't control the individual waves surging within.
Neither shaping nor other non-physical forms of control could compare to the swamp formed from his own body. At least, Wilder was currently unable to achieve nuanced control over the swamp that had flowed out of his body and gained a degree of autonomy, as he was doing now, controlling his own body, allowing the swamp to have the variation of entanglement.
Swamp itself, of course, doesn't possess the ability to entangle, but the swamp Wilder transformed into could, because this swamp was originally his body.
Serpent Demon was a fighting style with significant meaning for Wilder, a move born from the necessity to adapt his combat style in a harsh environment to conserve stamina.
From entering the Blazing Hell to the Maniacal Swamp he had unleashed not long ago, Wilder's stamina had been constantly depleting. And after releasing Maniacal Swamp, he even felt a sense of collapse.
Releasing a large amount of swamp to cover and drown opponents might be the fastest and most effective way to kill, but... that was only possible with a strong foundation of power.
Wilder never did things that would cost him dearly for little gain. He also didn't want a single, monotonous fighting style.
This trip to the Blazing Hell gave Wilder a deeper understanding of the shortcomings of his Swamp-Swamp Fruit ability. The biggest drawback and flaw was: either go all out, or fail to kill.
Therefore, excluding characteristics that were too difficult to develop and large-scale attacks that consumed too much stamina, if he had moves that didn't consume much stamina but still possessed killing power, it would not only compensate for the lack of versatility in his combat, but also... make him stronger.
And Serpent Demon was born under such constraints.
"Nyehehehe..." At the head of the giant serpent, two blood-red eyes emanated a bloodthirsty aura. Wilder's low chuckle echoed within the swamp.
His body, like a real giant serpent, constricted and wrapped around Minotaurus Zebra's body.
Minotaurus Zebra's eyes bulged, and he exhaled a breath. Terrifying power erupted from his body, attempting to break free.
But the thick swamp on the ground firmly held his lower body, preventing him from moving an inch. The swamp's closed-off nature created a powerful suction. If the swamp weren't so shallow, Minotaurus Zebra might have already started sinking.
"Crack~" The constricting power of a snake is terrifying. Minotaurus Zebra's eyes bulged, blood vessels spreading across his eyeballs. As the giant serpent tightened further, the bones in his body emitted a crisp cracking sound under the increasingly powerful constriction.
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