Grand Olympia: Further Horizon - Chapter 15: Wrath
The battlefield was a ruined wasteland of destruction.
Craters, crushed trees, and shattered grounds painted the ground in devastation. Fires flickered along the edges, the air thick with smoke and the nauseating scent of venom.
Yet, despite the relentless onslaught, the serpent still lived. Not just lived—thrived.
It had endured countless attacks, wounds deep enough to kill anything else, yet its golden eyes burned with intelligence. This wasn't just an animal. This was something worse.
Something that had faced death a thousand times—and refused to fall. And now, it is adapting. It inhaled sharply, muscles tensing.
Musashi, standing among the exhausted fighters, realized the danger first.
"Sh*t, it's gonna do it again—"
The serpent reared its head back—And exhaled.
A thick, suffocating cloud of black venomous mist poured from its maw, rolling over the battlefield like a deathly fog. The smoke coiled around their feet, swallowing everything in darkness.
…
Billy when the poison smog was coming, he quickly reacted fast using the tree to climb to the top before the poison could affect him.
Billy watching from the treetops, away from the chaos. From his high vantage point, he could see everything. The fight. The tactics. The mistakes. And the fact that this thing wasn't going to go down easily.
Across from him, perched on another branch, was the mysterious spearwoman. A single bead of sweat ran down her cheek.
"You know, those three down there are part of my group," she said casually, her spear resting on her shoulder.
Billy raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? And?"
"When I got here, I was immediately attacked by some small critters. Took them out, got a medallion. Then the explosions started, so like everyone else, I followed the noise."
Billy glanced at her. "And why are you telling me all this?"
The spearwoman smirked slightly.
"Because, no matter what happens, even if we get all the medallions, we don't need our teams to reach the top."
Billy's grip on his revolver tightened slightly, listening.
"We stay together because it's smart. We don't know this world, and being alone means death. But when it comes down to it—we're all still strangers."
She turned to look at him.
"So tell me, outlaw. Do I owe them my life? Should I risk everything for them?"
Billy let out a slow breath, adjusting his hood.
"Well now, sweetheart, that's a mighty fine question."
He twirled his revolver once before holstering it.
"See, we all come into this world with nothing but ourselves. And in the end? That's probably all we leave with, too."
The spearwoman narrowed her eyes, intrigued.
"But here's the real kicker—nobody gets through life alone."
Billy leaned against the tree trunk, looking at the fight below.
"Sure, you can abandon 'em. But what happens when you're the one that needs help? Trust ain't given, it's built—through blood, sweat, and knowing someone's got your back when sh*t hits the fan."
He tilted his head toward her.
"Now, you wanna leave 'em? That's your choice. But me?"
He cracked his knuckles.
"I ain't dying today. So I reckon I'll help those sons of b*tches down there before this damn snake eats 'em whole."
The spearwoman was silent for a moment. Then, she smirked.
"You're a real pain in the *ss, outlaw."
Then—she jumped.
Billy let out a low whistle.
"Well, I'll be damned."
…
The black mist spread rapidly, swallowing the battlefield.
Edward & Zheng Yi Sao spun their weapons like wind shields, trying to blow the poisonous smoke away.
Zheng gritted her teeth. "I swear to god, I did not sign up for this!"
Edward chuckled between coughs. "Too late now!"
Then—
A blur of white and steel shot through the fog.
Qin Liangyu landed in the middle of the battlefield, her spear suddenly splitting into three sections—connected by a flexible metal chain.
She spun it expertly, whipping the air around her, forcing the mist to scatter.
Billy, still on top of the tree, blinked.
"Whoa. Cool."
Edward's head snapped toward her.
His grin widened. "Finally, someone familiar shows up!"
Zheng groaned. "Why the hell are you late, Qin Liangyu?!"
Yasuke, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes. "Be careful—the poison's still in the air!"
Qin Liangyu smirked. "No need for the warning."
With incredible speed, she spun her segmented spear like a cyclone, dispersing more of the toxic cloud.
The serpent, now fully surrounded, let out an ear-piercing roar.
It coiled tightly, then—it spun.
Like a massive tornado of scales and destruction, the beast rotated wildly, its tail smashing through everything in its path.
Visibility somewhat dropped again.
But the warriors had no choice but to attack blindly.
The Unrelenting Assault
The Battlefield Erupts
The massive serpent roared, its deep, guttural cry shaking the very earth beneath them. Its coiled body tightened, muscles flexing—
Then, like a storm given form, it spun violently, a whirlwind of scales and destruction.
A tornado of death.
The sheer force of its movement blew away much of the toxic smog, the thick black mist scattering into the air. Visibility returned—just barely.
For the first time in minutes, the warriors could see each other. And the serpent?
It was completely surrounded. The air was charged with tension. A moment of stillness before the next clash.
Then—
Laplapu moved first. With unyielding force, he slammed his shield into the serpent's body, the impact echoing across the battlefield.
Before the beast could recoil, he drove his kampilan forward, the blade piercing deep into a crack in its thick hide. The serpent hissed, its body writhing in pain—
But before it could react, another warrior was already moving.
Musashi was next.
He weaved through the chaos like a shadow, his movements fluid, controlled—measured.
With a flick of his wrist, his wooden swords found the weakened gaps in the serpent's armor, slicing through exposed flesh with surgical precision.
Every strike counted. Every cut had intent. The serpent thrashed wildly, but Musashi never lingered in one place, always three steps ahead.
Fu Hao followed—
But where Musashi was precise, she was ruthless. With a feral grin, she lunged at the serpent's side, her massive axe carving deep, messy gashes into its flesh.
The blade bit through muscle and scale, her strength ripping through the beast with sheer force alone. Blood sprayed across the battlefield, staining the ground in thick, dark green.
"Now that's more like it!" she laughed, gritting her teeth.
Jeanne moved in, spear in hand.
She wasn't as strong—but that didn't matter. Every thrust of her spear weakened the serpent bit by bit, stabbing into exposed wounds, leaving it open for the others to deal the finishing blow.
Her dark short hair was slick with sweat, but her determination never wavered.
She fought not for herself—but for the others.
Then came Yasuke.
With a deep breath, he raised his massive kanabo over his shoulder. The beast turned its head, its glowing eyes locking onto him.
It lunged—
Yasuke did not flinch. He swung.
The kanabo connected with the side of the serpent's skull, a thunderous crack echoing across the battlefield.
The sheer force of the blow splintered sections of its armor-like scales, sending fragments flying like shattered glass. The serpent screeched, its massive body whipping wildly in agony.
Zheng Yi Sao seized the moment. Her movements were fast, methodical—practiced.
With a sharp flick of her wrist, she planted explosives along the cracks in the beast's body, moving with the agility of someone who had done this a thousand times before.
She leaped back, just as the detonations went off.
BOOM!
The shockwave rippled through the air, shaking the battlefield. Scales tore apart as fire and shrapnel ripped through the serpent's flesh.
Edward Teach stood at a distance, watching it all unfold.
Then—he smiled.
"You motherf*ckers just love getting too close."
His fingers tightened around his chains, his muscles flexing with power.
With a single, brutal motion, he swung his heavy anchors, the massive steel weapons whipping through the air in wide arcs. The moment the serpent lashed its tail—
Edward's chains wrapped around it. The weight of the anchors stopped the serpent's attack mid-motion. For a moment, it struggled, snarling.
Edward dug his heels into the ground, veins bulging in his arms.
"You ain't getting another free hit, b*tch!"
With every ounce of his strength, he yanked the chains backward, slamming the serpent's tail into the ground.
The battlefield shook.
There was movement in the mist.
Fast. Unpredictable. Qin Liangyu had finally joined the fight.
She was a blur of white and steel, her three-section spear splitting apart like a dancer's ribbon. She was everywhere at once. A whip of steel—striking the serpent's underbelly. A flash of movement—her weapon twisting mid-air, slamming into its jaw.
She landed near Yasuke, grinning.
"Hope I'm not too late."
Yasuke let out a deep, rumbling laugh.
"Good timing."
From the high ground, Billy and George provided support. Billy crouched low, adjusting his aim.
"Alright, big guy," he muttered, focusing his revolver.
His bullets didn't need to kill—they just needed to hit where it hurt.
George, rifle steady, aimed for the serpent's remaining eye. He exhaled slowly.
BANG!
The bullet flew, striking the beast's scaled eyelid, forcing it to flinch. The serpent shook its head, momentarily blinded.
And in that instant—Musashi saw his opening.
But the serpent refused to fall. Its body twisted violently, thrashing in one last desperate attempt to crush them all. Its tail lashed out—fast. Too fast!
Then—
The serpent roared, violently thrashing in every direction. Zheng was too close. The beast's tail slammed into her, sending her flying across the battlefield.
She crashed through the ruined stones, her body hitting the ground hard. She did not get back up.
Edward turned, distracted—And the serpent's head snapped toward him.
It lunged.
Edward barely had time to raise his chains before the massive fangs clamped down on him. The impact sent him flying, his body slamming into broken stones.
He groaned, coughing up blood. He tried to stand up—But his vision faded to black.
Musashi, Lapulapu, Yasuke, Fu Hao, Jeanne, and Qin Liangyu stood their ground. Edward and Zheng were down.
The serpent was still alive. And now? It was angrier than ever.
Musashi cracked his neck. "Alright. Now we're pissed off too."
Lapu-Lapu readied his shield.
Yasuke gripped his kanabo tighter.
Qin Liangyu spun her segmented spear.
Fu Hao smirked. "Let's f*cking kill it already."
The battle was far from over.