Chapter 38: A Single Move to Instantly Defeat

Feng Kun was terrified, well aware that he could not afford to be touched by the power of the Nether. Unless he had Armament Haki for defense, a Tyrannosaurus Rex’s hide would be as fragile as paper against such a force. He dodged hastily, but his subordinates were not so lucky. More than a dozen were struck by the Nether energy, their bodies instantly decaying and dissolving into dust.

After unleashing that attack, Meng Kui could no longer maintain his hybrid beast form. His body trembled violently—a result of severe physical exhaustion. Although he had developed a new technique, its speed was lacking, and the difficulty in gauging the angle of the strike had compromised its accuracy, allowing Feng Kun to escape unscathed.

Watching over a dozen men vanish in a single blow, Feng Kun felt a lingering fear, yet he was also glad he had waited until Meng Kui’s stamina was depleted from fighting zombies before showing himself. He pointed his long blade at Meng Kui’s throat. "Surrender, or die!"

Facing the blade, Meng Kui was unfazed. "You want me to surrender? In this world, only my boss is worthy of that!" He spat, "You? You don't even come close!"

Feng Kun was incensed. "Are you not afraid of death?"

Meng Kui chuckled. "Death? In this apocalypse, who can say they won't die? But my boss has treated me with immense kindness. Even if I am a coward who fears death, I am certainly no turncoat or villain!"

"Fine, fine, fine!" Feng Kun repeated the word three times. "Since you want to die, I will grant your wish!"

"Roar!" He tossed his blade aside, transformed into his full Tyrannosaurus Rex form, and opened his jaws, intending to tear Meng Kui apart and swallow him whole. Even in death, he would make his enemy suffer.

As the foul-smelling, blood-dripping maw descended, Meng Kui closed his eyes. *Am I really going to die? I didn't manage to protect my parents, and I finally found a reliable boss who gave me so many incredible things, including the most precious Devil Fruit. Now, before I even have a chance to repay him, I’m going to die.*

Just as he lamented his fate, a familiar voice echoed: "You dare to kill my people?"

A steel whip whistled through the air as Ao Xin hurled it. The force of the throw was immense, the speed blinding. Feng Kun didn't even see what was coming; relying on his survival instincts, he swerved, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow to the heart, but the whip still pierced through his shoulder blade.

He was horrified. The Tyrannosaurus Rex was renowned for its strength and defense! This man had not used any Devil Fruit powers or Haki, yet with a single long-range throw, he had pierced his body? His current physique could withstand ordinary bullets, meaning this man’s throwing power surpassed a firearm! Why did such a monster exist in this world?

Feng Kun was terrified. Looking back, he saw a bamboo-jointed steel whip embedded deep into the wall nearby. *Is this some kind of divine weapon?* he wondered, even as his attacker arrived before him.

The man was a handsome youth with a tall, upright stature, dressed in casual clothes. Beside him stood a dainty and adorable young girl.

"Feng Kun?" Ao Xin walked slowly toward him. He had seen this giant dinosaur from afar once before. Back then, Ao Xin had been a nobody without a Devil Fruit, while Feng Kun was a powerhouse actively recruited by big shots. But in this life, Feng Kun was nothing more than a small fry in his eyes.

"Daring to touch my people—do you have a death wish?" His voice was quiet, yet it struck an instinctive fear into Feng Kun. Under the shadow of the Tyrannosaurus, Ao Xin looked as small as an ant, yet in Feng Kun's eyes, he loomed as majestic as a mountain.

"Boss!" Seeing Ao Xin, Meng Kui was overjoyed; he knew he wouldn't die today.

Ao Xin, however, did not look pleased. "You can't even beat a small reptile? What a waste of a Mythical Zoan fruit!"

Meng Kui lowered his head in shame. Despite being a burly thirty-year-old man, he followed behind Ao Xin like a scolded child.

"In the apocalypse, you dare to exhaust your stamina so recklessly?" Ao Xin ignored the massive dinosaur, lecturing Meng Kui with his back turned. "Do you think having a Mythical Zoan fruit makes zombies the only threat? Humans are the most terrifying things in this apocalypse. Regardless of the situation, you must always reserve some strength to guard against the human heart."

He was not only warning Meng Kui but also teaching Ao Chen. Many people thought that because they had read countless apocalyptic novels, they knew to kill off the 'saints' first, but when the end of the world truly arrived, they struggled to shed their kindness and consistently overestimated human morality. This was not a problem solved simply by being "decisive."

"Yes, Boss," Meng Kui replied, savoring the lesson.

Seeing Ao Xin’s dismissive attitude, Feng Kun’s terror turned back into rage. "What are you? How dare you be so arrogant before me!" He lunged with his massive jaws, aiming to vent all the "humiliation" he had just suffered.

Behind him, his hundred-plus subordinates recovered from the fear of seeing their comrades die and swarmed forward to surround the three.

"Rabble," Ao Xin murmured. He ignored the encirclement, releasing a faint aura that struck the depths of their souls, instantly magnifying their inner fears. Over a hundred men collapsed to the ground; some were so terrified they wet themselves, the stench of urine causing Ao Chen to frown in disgust.

Ao Xin threw a punch at the Tyrannosaurus’s face. Wrapped in Armament Haki, his fist struck Feng Kun’s cheek faster than the beast could react.

*Bang!*

A crisp sound echoed—the sound of the Tyrannosaurus’s facial bones shattering. The massive body toppled backward. As agonizing pain flooded his senses, the terror induced by the Conqueror’s Haki deepened. Relying on the superior endurance of his Zoan fruit, Feng Kun forced himself back into his hybrid form and struggled to stand.

"Armament Haki... Conqueror’s Haki... How are you so strong?" His face was bleeding, and several teeth had been knocked out. He had completely lost the courage to fight Ao Xin. They were not even on the same level! And this man hadn't even used his Devil Fruit power—he had rendered him helpless using nothing but physical combat!

"Meng Kui, you were defeated by him. I leave it to you to decide how to deal with this person." Stepping over the paralyzed subordinates, Ao Xin pulled his steel whip from the wall and left with Ao Chen.

Left behind were Meng Kui and the battered Feng Kun.

"Who... who was that?" Feng Kun finally dared to ask.

"My boss," Meng Kui announced proudly. "The legendary Azure Dragon!"

"He is the Azure Dragon?" Feng Kun slumped to the ground. "He didn't even use his fruit powers, defeating me with mere martial arts..." He had thought he could conquer this Mythical Zoan-wielding force, but a single subordinate had nearly killed him. Had he not waited until Meng Kui was exhausted, he wouldn't have even survived long enough to see Ao Xin’s face!