Chapter 149 Is it just you alone?

After the brief clash and retreat, Laffitte did not stop to continue speaking. Instead, holding his breath, he charged at Luo Lan once again.

Flapping his wings, countless feathers fell off, floating around Laffitte’s body.

As Laffitte moved forward with his sword, all the feathers transformed into sharp blades once more, following his motion in a synchronized charge.

His massive webbed feet stepped onto empty air just as Luo Lan had previously used the Moonwalk, causing the air to ripple violently while his speed continued to climb.

Looking at the sky full of flying feathers once again, Luo Lan suddenly felt a bit concerned for Laffitte.

Squandering feathers in such quantities, wasn't Laffitte worried about turning into a bald goose?

On second thought, Luo Lan figured that this was probably Laffitte's final battle anyway, so becoming a bald goose didn't matter. If he took a gamble and won, it would still be better than losing his life.

Wielding the Nara, Luo Lan moved forward once again.

If Laffitte showed no hesitation, what reason did he have to cower and hold back?

"One-Sword Style: Piercing Void!"

Luo Lan uttered a low cry, and with the aid of the Soru technique, his speed surged to its absolute limit.

Amidst this soft shout, the Nara suddenly thrust forward like a white rainbow, moving at an incredible velocity. On its way toward Laffitte, the sound of tearing air faintly exploded in its wake.

Amidst this immense momentum, Luo Lan reached Laffitte in the blink of an eye. With just a gentle push, the sea of feathers transformed into razor-sharp blades was instantly reduced to fine dust, scattering away with the wind.

Yet the destructive power of Luo Lan's attack did not stop there. After shattering those feathers, the tip of the Nara continued aggressively forward, aiming straight at Laffitte.

"One-Sword Style: Winding Dream."

Crisis descended, and the terror in Laffitte's heart escalated notch by notch.

If this sword strike hit home, he would undoubtedly lose his combat capability entirely, reduced to nothing more than fish on Luo Lan's chopping board, at his mercy.

Rather than sitting there and waiting to die, it was far better to unleash his ultimate technique and clash directly with Luo Lan.

In the flash of a spark, Laffitte flapped his wings once more.

This time, it wasn't just the feathers falling from his wings; every single feather across his entire body flew out simultaneously.

High up in the air, these feathers danced and spun, resembling a blade-like tornado that destroyed everything and everyone that came close.

The power of this tornado was far more terrifying than the previous descending rain of feathers.

Merely brushing against this tornado was enough for anything visible to the naked eye to be instantly crushed, ground down, and reduced to fine dust.

Right at the very center of the tornado, Laffitte laughed hideously. Flapping his wings, his webbed feet stepping on the air, he clutched the Wuming and drove the swirling tornado relentlessly closer to Luo Lan.

At that moment, Luo Lan finally composed his expression, casting aside the playful mindset he had held before.

Wielding the Nara, Luo Lan glanced at the surrounding buildings and sighed softly.

If it were anyone else, they would undoubtedly focus entirely on maximizing self-preservation without giving a second thought to these structures.

However, he was different. Even though the World Government provided compensation for the destruction caused by the Marines wiping out pirates, the residents would still suffer through a period of displacement.

If such a situation could be avoided, it was best to prevent it whenever possible.

Closing his eyes, Luo Lan took a deep breath, then abruptly opened them.

"One-Sword Style: Cloud Cutter."

Accompanied by a soft shout, Luo Lan shifted his grip from a single hand to a double-handed hold on the sword.

An astonishing aura instantly erupted from his body. The moment it left his physique, it condensed into tangible currents of air, sweeping out in all directions.

This was the swordsmanship taught to him by Shiki the Golden Lion. The first time he used it was five years ago against that exotic praying mantis beast on the floating island.

Concentrating his power into both his legs and hands, Luo Lan moved the very second Laffitte closed in on him.

With tremendous explosive force, Luo Lan smashed through a rooftop, causing a time-weathered building to collapse instantly.

High in the air, Luo Lan's speed was astonishing, yet his momentum was completely imperceptible.

Yet it was precisely this unremarkable appearance that caused the fear in Laffitte's heart to climb higher, and higher, and higher.

The feeling was akin to opening the gates of hell and stepping one foot inside.

Swallowing hard, Laffitte knew that trying to pull back now was entirely too late; he had no choice but to fight for his life.

He simply refused to believe that an eighteen-year-old punk, no matter how much training he had undergone over a maximum of ten years, could possess strength that went beyond reason.

Though he was merely engaging in self-deception, it clearly proved effective, as the fear in Laffitte's heart diminished quite a bit.

At least the foot he had placed inside the gates of hell, as far as Laffitte was concerned, had been pulled back out.

Then, the very next moment, Laffitte realized that he had been hallucinating.

It was true that his feet were drawn together, but this wasn't because he had retrieved the foot from hell's threshold; rather, his other foot had stepped inside as well.

This meant that his entire being had now walked right into hell.

Opposite him, the aura that Luo Lan had completely restrained earlier had erupted out of nowhere, possessing a terrifying intensity.

Grisly power condensed upon the blade, and the pale blue edge, like a recurring nightmare, hacked through his ultimate technique—the Winding Dream—inch by inch, shred by shred.

Like a hot knife slicing through butter, his feathered blade tornado was steadily cleaved apart by Luo Lan, turning into fine dust and vanishing into the thin air.

Before Laffitte could even process what had happened, Luo Lan had already appeared behind him, slowly sheathing the Nara back into its scabbard.

"On this island, are you the only member of the Blackbeard Pirates?"

Luo Lan slowly turned around, gazed at Laffitte, and asked the question he had been eager to know all along.

"You..."

Luo Lan whipped his head around, eyes wide, filled with utter shock.

How was this possible? How could this fellow possibly know of the Blackbeard Pirates' existence?

Why?

Unfortunately, his consciousness ended right there.

The gates of hell behind him slowly closed, completely cutting him off from this world.

A moment later, the lower half of his body plummeted straight down, followed immediately by his upper half, both crashing into the ruins he had created.

Returning to the ground, Luo Lan looked at Laffitte, whose eyes were still frozen in disbelief, and shook his head slightly.

Why did he have to die so soon? He had been asking him quite seriously; even in death, he should have at least waited until answering the question.

What a complete waste. Breaking in half wasn't even enough to last through a conversation.

"Major Luo Lan, we received word that Commander Zoro requires medical treatment. Where is he right now..."

After the battle concluded, a squad of marines appeared on the scene, every single one of their gazes overflowing with admiration and awe.

Not everyone had come out of the East Blue with Luo Lan, so a portion of the marines were unfamiliar with his true strength, knowing him only by rumor.

Now, having witnessed Luo Lan in action with their own eyes, all their lingering doubts vanished completely.

The shockwaves from the recent battle alone had left them utterly stunned.

Such a terrifying monster had been defeated so effortlessly by Major Luo Lan.

Does that mean Major Luo Lan truly possesses the strength of a Vice Admiral?

"Uh, Zoro... You'd better look for him somewhere in the ruins."

Luo Lan scratched the back of his head, somewhat awkwardly. He had gotten too excited during the fight and seemed to have forgotten all about him.

Fortunately, that guy was practically an unkillable cockroach, so it shouldn't be too big of an issue.

"If you find Zoro, take him back to the warship for treatment first. I have a few things to take care of here and will head back before evening."

Luo Lan walked over to Laffitte, slid the Wuming back into its gold-gilded scabbard, and carrying it with him, started walking in the direction of the Famous Swords Museum.

Halfway there, Luo Lan suddenly thought of something, pointed at Laffitte's corpse, and instructed:

"Right, pack up this guy's body for me. Make sure proper preservation treatment is applied; I need to take it back to the Charmant Fortress."