Chapter 27: Battle Against the Tier-Three Devouring Zombie [Second Blood-Pumping Update]

"Awooo..."

The Tier 3 Devourer Zombie let out a terrifying cry and charged at Luffy. Black hair sprouted from its head, and countless strands shot toward Luffy like deadly needles—an uncanny and horrifying sight.

This kind of Devourer Zombie was far too dangerous. If it were allowed to grow, the destruction it could unleash would be unimaginable, unmatched by any.

But Luffy was no pushover. In an instant, he activated the Dragon Emperor's Dominance Technique. His strength became unfathomable as he raised his sword high and clashed with the incoming hair from the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie.

A thunderous explosion sounded as the two mighty forces collided, sending shockwaves rippling in all directions. The surrounding zombies were blasted away, flying through the air.

Luffy was forced back dozens of steps, while the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie also staggered back over ten steps, its fury intensifying. Without hesitation, it unleashed countless strands of hair, binding several nearby zombies, its massive maw opening wide to devour them.

Luffy would not allow it to grow stronger. Seizing the opportunity, he unleashed a Cross Flame Slash at the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie. Wherever the flaming cross passed, hair was severed, and the zombies bound by the hair fell to the ground.

The Cross Flame Slash cut straight into the Devourer Zombie's mouth.

A burst of blood splattered.

The Tier 3 Devourer Zombie let out a furious, anguished howl and staggered backward.

Luffy launched an immediate assault, activating both the Samsara Heavenly Eye and the Dragon Emperor's Dominance Technique. His awareness, reaction speed, and vision became preternaturally sharp, sensitive, and clear. Moving so fast he left afterimages, he appeared right before the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie.

Raising the Crimson Dragon Sword high, he performed the third move of the Flame Sword Technique—the Great Flame Sword.

An enormous flaming sword apparition appeared in Luffy's grasp, and he brought it down with tremendous force.

The Tier 3 Devourer Zombie's hands, tipped with black nails, transformed into a black sword, blocking in front of it.

Another thunderous boom rang out as the swords collided. Luffy's strike drove the Devourer Zombie's feet deep into the earth, spiderweb cracks radiating from around it.

With a sickening crack, the black sword was cleaved in two, and in an instant, the Devourer Zombie's body was split in half. The massive phantom flame sword swept through, obliterating dozens more zombies behind it.

Such was the fearsome might of the combined Dragon Emperor's Dominance Technique and the Flame Sword Technique.

Yet even when split in two, the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie did not die. Instead, it instantly transformed into a mass of hair, then reformed into a humanoid shape, emitting a furious wail.

Countless black hairs shot toward Luffy, killing swathes of zombies wherever they passed.

Luffy's left eye transformed into a rapidly spinning yin-yang fish, allowing him to see every strand of hair with perfect clarity. Moreover, their speed seemed to slow by several times, enabling him to evade their attacks with ease.

In the blink of an eye, Luffy appeared behind the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie, now formed of black hair.

Just as he was about to strike with his blazing sword, a sword formed from black nails flew out from the zombie's back, hurtling toward Luffy's heart at lightning speed.

Luffy twisted his body sharply to the side. His armor was pierced, leaving a gaping hole, and the black sword whistled past, tearing through his battle gear.

The Devourer Zombie moved with sudden violence, slamming both hands to the ground.

Countless swords of black nails erupted from the earth like a field of deadly traps.

Luffy was startled, cold sweat beading on his brow. This Tier 3 Devourer Zombie was overwhelmingly powerful. Instantly, he activated his protective dragon aura and dashed to the side, narrowly escaping death as the black swords stabbed into the ground where he had just been.

Panting and sweating, Luffy realized that his strength was nearly spent—and so was the zombie's. Both man and monster gasped for breath, locked in a deadly standoff.

Luffy prepared to use the most powerful move of the Flame Sword Technique he currently knew—Flame Sword Flash. At the moment when his sword burned with its highest heat, he would dash toward his target, incinerating all in his path.

He gripped the sword one-handed, point down, his eyes steely with resolve.

The Tier 3 Devourer Zombie seemed to sense this was Luffy's strongest attack—and in response, prepared its own ultimate move: the Sword Falling from the Heavens.

Luffy braced himself, driving his feet into the ground and channeling the full might of the Dragon Emperor's Dominance Technique and the Flame Sword Technique, pushing both to their limits. He shot forward like a cannonball.

Suddenly, the world turned black and white. The zombie's black sword shot past Luffy's side. Luffy's figure flickered, vanishing in an instant, only for a blood-red blur to flash past the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie.

It all happened in a heartbeat.

The image froze.

With a metallic clang, the black sword broke in two, its hilt clattering to the ground. Blood poured from a deep wound on Luffy's hand.

Behind him, a blazing pillar of fire erupted from where the zombie had stood, shooting skyward like an inferno. The Tier 3 Devourer Zombie was reduced to ashes, leaving only a single, large Tier 3 crystal core falling from midair.

Luffy leaned on his sword, panting heavily, but stood firm and did not collapse.

Countless zombies lay dead around him; the battle still raged between Zeng Hongseng and the others. Luffy quickly produced a drop of Tier 3 Banyan Essence and drank it, his wounds healing rapidly.

His stamina returned quickly as well. Slowly, he walked over to the Tier 3 crystal core and picked it up. The system absorbed it—it was worth five thousand regular cores.

His desperate fight had not been in vain.

Luffy then took out a Tier 2 Dragon Blood Pill and swallowed it, recovering half his strength before rushing back into the fray, continuing to slaughter zombies.

Without the lure of the "thousand silk" attack, no more zombies were drawn to them, and soon the battlefield was clear.

They had killed a total of thirty thousand zombies—apart from the Tier 3 Devourer Zombie and a few Tier 2 elites, they had wiped out nineteen thousand Tier 1 zombies. An impressive feat.

Crystal cores were precious resources.

Luffy handed each of his companions a vial of Tier 2 Body-Tempering Solution to restore their strength, then proceeded to dig out all the crystal cores.

At last, they could return to the villa to rest.

Though their stamina had recovered, everyone's minds were exhausted—they had no desire to move once they returned to the villa.

The entire day had nearly passed. Luffy had only opened one red envelope, but had acquired thirty thousand crystal cores. Combined with the six thousand left from before, he now possessed thirty-six thousand cores in total—a resource that would allow them to grow much stronger, much faster.

After dinner, Luffy distributed five vials of Tier 2 solution to each of his thirty companions, using up another four thousand five hundred crystal cores. He also exchanged for fifty Tier 2 Dragon Blood Pills for himself—he had to strengthen himself further, or he would have died facing such a formidable Tier 3 Devourer Zombie.

Everyone was thrilled with the body-tempering solution.

Returning to his room, Luffy began taking the Dragon Blood Pills, activating the Dragon Emperor's Dominance Technique. The effect was even better than before—his strength increased from one hundred and thirty times normal to one hundred and forty-five times.

Fifty Tier 2 Dragon Blood Pills had only boosted his strength by fifteen times. How infuriating.

He opened the shop and discovered there was a Tier 2 Enhanced Dragon Blood Pill, each costing one hundred crystal cores and capable of increasing strength by thirty times. But with the way Luffy consumed pills, even a threefold increase per pill would be enough.

He spent twenty thousand crystal cores to buy two hundred Enhanced Tier 2 Dragon Blood Pills, leaving him with nine thousand cores.

He bought each of his thirty companions a vial of Enhanced Tier 2 Body-Tempering Solution—at sixty crystal cores each, this used just eighteen hundred cores. Each vial could increase strength twentyfold—an excellent return.

With that, their preparations for the next challenge were well underway.