Chapter 46: Clash of Titans: Karl vs the Snow Lion General

“Boom!”

“Crash! Splash!”

Even though the Snow Lion General managed to block Karl’s punch, his massive body carved a trench hundreds of meters long into the ground.

He looked up, face full of shock, and spoke.

“What incredible strength!”

“We’re not done yet.”

“Wind God’s Kick!”

Karl’s face broke into an excited grin. He’d never felt strength quite like this before. Despite his towering, bulky form, he moved even more quickly and nimbly.

Pushing off the earth, Karl leapt high into the air, right leg swinging down in a brutal kick aimed at the Snow Lion General.

“Frost Claw!”

The Snow Lion General’s face went taut with focus. He wasn’t powerless to resist; cold energy wrapped around the tips of his claws.

“Ssshh!”

Both their bodies shimmered with Armament Haki, but the Snow Lion General managed to force frigid energy into Karl’s right leg.

After that exchange, the Snow Lion General realized pure strength wouldn’t win. He couldn’t overpower Karl, but his real aim was to freeze Karl from the inside out.

“Hiss!”

Karl grimaced in pain. He could feel icy cold racing from his right leg, spreading through his whole body until the limb turned stiff.

“Golden Light Spell!”

Karl was startled by the lethal power of this icy wind. He quickly activated the Golden Light Spell, circulating its warmth through his body until the frost gradually faded.

The Snow Lion General saw the frost retreating from Karl’s leg and immediately pressed the attack.

“Frost Claw!”

Before Karl could even catch his breath, the Snow Lion General hurled himself at Karl’s titan-like form, attacking relentlessly.

Karl was forced to defend against the crazy onslaught, Golden Light Spell running wild through his veins. Still, he felt his body growing stiffer and stiffer, ice creeping across his giant form.

…

Meanwhile, Newgate and Kreuss’s battle had ended. Newgate could tell Kreuss’s life was at its limit.

“Didn’t expect I’d be the last one standing…”

Covered in wounds, Kreuss looked up at King Tyr and Giles, forcing a bitter smile.

He glanced at the terrified townsfolk still hiding in the corners and back rooms, reading the fear in their eyes.

He understood what horrors awaited, but by now he no longer had the strength to change anything.

“I’m sorry…”

Even the sky seemed darker, like it was mourning their fate.

A few fallen leaves fluttered at Kreuss’s feet, a silent symbol of their fading lives.

Though Kreuss died in battle, he kept standing tall on the soil of the Tyr Kingdom.

“Kreuss the strategist is dead too. Let’s get out of here.”

“Run, retreat!”

As soon as Kreuss fell, most of the soldiers on the field broke ranks and bolted for the rear.

It started with one person, then ten, then a hundred. By the end, everyone left on the battlefield was running for their lives. No one wanted to die here.

They knew the fight was lost. All that was left was to scatter and save themselves.

When the pirates saw the soldiers fleeing in droves—

“Awoo!”

“Boys, get after them!”

…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, a busy dock was jammed with boats of all sizes.

Most citizens of the Tyr Kingdom had started packing to flee as soon as they heard the Rocks Pirates were coming.

King Tyr knew full well that if they lost, the Rocks Pirates wouldn’t spare a single soul on the island.

So along the main escape routes, he scattered gold everywhere, trying to distract the pirates.

Say what you will—King Tyr may have lost his kingdom, but at least most of his people managed to escape.

“Gold!”

“Haha, that’s mine!”

The first pirate to spot the glinting gold let out a lecherous laugh and scooped up handfuls, stuffing his shirt.

More pirates arrived, their eyes lighting up at the river of gold. Soon all of them stopped, grinning wildly.

This delay bought invaluable time for the islanders to get away.

Slowly, everyone’s focus drifted back to Karl and the Snow Lion General.

The two of them were still locked in a no-holds-barred fight, neither caring about life or death, defense or pain. Both looked like they were in a berserker rage.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

A golden light crashed against a blinding white one with lightning speed up in the air, separating and colliding again and again. Each impact sent showers of sparks and an unbearable pounding of metal through the air.

The sky was filled with thunderous booms.

In just moments, they’d traded hundreds of blows. Karl, powered by raw muscle and unstoppable force, kept punching again and again.

The Snow Lion General darted around with inhuman speed and razor-sharp claws, slashing Karl open over and over, with each strike pumping even more frost into Karl’s body.

Karl pressed his attack, but another part of him was lost in awe at the relentless rush of power inside him—so much, he could barely control it.

But slowly, Karl realized even this strength wasn’t enough to counter the Snow Lion General’s icy might. Which made sense—the General was a true heavyweight, and Karl’s own bloodline powers weren’t fully awakened yet.

He knew if the deadlock dragged on, he’d be the first to collapse.

“Warm-up’s over.”

“Wasn’t planning to show this so soon.”

“But I’ve got no choice now.”

After driving the Snow Lion General back with a single blow, Karl’s face turned serious.

Lightning began to ripple across his skin, the purple bolts spreading until they blanketed his entire body.

“Thunder Titan!”

To the Snow Lion General, Karl’s power suddenly shot up a level. Every hair on his body stood on end as a surge of danger crawled over him.

The Snow Lion General couldn’t just sit and watch Karl gather his strength. As he rushed to interrupt him, streaks of lightning started pouring from the sky.

“You can use thunder too?”

The Snow Lion General was awestruck, never expecting Karl could wield the power of thunder.

“I’ve never heard of your Devil Fruit before.”

He ducked and dodged the rain of lightning, still desperate for answers about Karl’s powers.

Karl’s face twisted with intense effort.

Just controlling this raging storm inside him took everything he had. He couldn’t spare a thought for the Snow Lion General’s questions.

“Thunderbolt Barrage!”

At last, Karl channeled all the wild electricity in his body into his right hand, then hurled it like a massive lightning bolt straight at the Snow Lion General.

A purple corridor formed in the wake of the lightning’s path.

The air crackled with heat.

That blast shot toward the Snow Lion General faster than sight. He froze, feeling its lock tighten around him.

“Blizzard Storm!”

The Snow Lion General realized this was it, and his face hardened.

His lion form drew in a deep breath, unleashing a stormy blast of wind and snow to clash with Karl’s thunderbolt. Wherever the blizzard passed, it left mountains of ice meters thick.

For a moment after they collided, the world went silent.

Then a mushroom cloud mushroomed from the collision’s center. The gloomy sky shattered apart, letting bright sunlight rain down.

That was all Karl had left in him. He couldn’t hold his Titan form any longer.

Shrinking back to normal, Karl’s body returned to its original size.

The Snow Lion General was sent flying by the blast, smashed hard into the mountains behind.

Karl made his way over at a slow, steady pace.

In no time, he reached the giant crater. Everything around—flowers, bushes, and trees—had been scorched to ash by the raging lightning.

The Snow Lion General’s hands were gone, blood pouring from every opening, his body reeking of burnt flesh.

“Why didn’t you leave?”

Karl’s expression twisted with confusion.

It was a question that had haunted him for a long time.

From the first moment he sensed the General’s presence, he’d wondered about it.

To him, someone of the General’s caliber could have slipped away before battle ever started. There was no reason to die here.

“You just don’t understand.”

Now, though, the Snow Lion General seemed completely at peace.

“Everyone in this world seeks meaning in their lives!”

“My purpose is to defend the weak and uphold justice across the sea.”

“You and I—we have different beliefs. What a shame…”

Regret flickered across the General’s face, as if he couldn’t believe someone as powerful as Karl wasn’t part of the Navy.

Karl understood what he meant, but they fought for different sides. His own beliefs could never work within the Navy.

“It’s just a pity. I never made it back to see cherry blossoms in my homeland.”

“If you don’t mind, I’d like you to visit Wano one day. See if the cherry blossoms are blooming at home.”

The Snow Lion looked at Karl with hope bright in his battered face.

“Don’t worry. If I get the chance, I’ll go.”

With Karl’s promise, the Snow Lion General finally closed his eyes for good.