The boiling heat boils over, forming a raging torrent that rushes towards the sky, unleashing a scorching breath that engulfs everything in its wake.

The ominous heat descends, casting the world in a pale shadow, as the air twists and writhes and buildings spontaneously combust.

“How will he contend with such a move?”

All eyes are fixed in horrified awe, as the black dragon unleashes the same attack it had used before, reducing everything to ashes, even the strongest among them fell in an instant. What chance did Rhodes stand?

“Dragon’s breath?”

But Rhodes’s expression remains composed as he gazes upon the fearsome dragon breath, his eyes aglow with a fierce blue light.

The divine dragon that Kaido, the beast king, had transformed into, could level entire cities with just a single breath of scorching heat.

Though this black dragon’s breath paled in comparison to Kaido’s, it was still a formidable force not to be underestimated.

With a steady grip on his sword, Rhodes swung it downward with a sudden flourish.

“Thunder dragon!”

A deafening roar echoed as the power of thunder coalesced, forming rippling blue waves, before erupting forth with Rhodes’s sword strike.

The deep blue thunder, took shape of a colossal and awe-inspiring thunder dragon, with its mane, scales, and tail all intricately detailed, it writhed in mid-air for nine turns before crashing into the black dragon’s breath with a deafening boom.

The collision of thunder and heat sparked a dazzling display of blue and red light as if two worlds had collided and unleashed a terrifying energy fluctuation.

The earth shook with a deafening boom, as the area was engulfed in a shocking roar. Thunder and heat swirled and collided, bursting and scattering, setting the earth ablaze and splitting it apart.

Each fissure was at least a foot wide, dense, and crisscrossing. The destructive power on display was unimaginable.

“It’s too terrifying!”

The people in the distant port who had retreated earlier now showed deep expressions of reverence.

For these people in the early stages of the Grand Line, this was nothing short of a battle between gods, a power that they could not comprehend. They couldn’t even get close to the battlefield, a stray blast of heat or thunder would be enough to end their lives.

Under the gaze of all present, the earth-shattering collision ultimately ended with the black dragon’s defeat.

It was seen stopping its breath of heat, flapping its wings, and taking off, avoiding the thunder dragon’s attack that followed closely.

With a deafening boom, the remnants of the thunder dragon crash on the ground, instantly creating a large pit with a diameter of over ten meters, and the surface blackened.

The black dragon’s eyes showed a highly humanized hint of fear and solemnity, but were still filled with an innate arrogance; after all, it was a dragon, the most dignified creature in the world.

With a buzz, the void trembled, and the black dragon moved as fast as lightning, fiercely attacking Rhodes. Its body seemed like a black mountain shooting into the sky.

Faced with the black dragon’s fierce attack, Rhodes stood unfazed, his sword slicing through the air with precision.

Shh!

A silver-white blade of energy shot forth, cutting through the sky like a comet, leaving a trail of glistening sharpness that hurtled towards the black dragon.

The black dragon’s massive body moved with a nimbleness that belied its size, its fleshy wings flapping lightly as it tilted its body, narrowly avoiding the attack and continuing to press on towards Rhodes.

Rhodes’ expression remained unperturbed, his sword still in hand, as he struck out once more.

The black dragon, now close enough to strike, extended its two massive, darkly gleaming claws.

Ding!

The two clashed in mid-air.

Rhodes, at a disadvantage due to his smaller size, was sent flying backwards, but he quickly regained his footing with Geppo.

“To be able to block my strike, you are quite resilient. You are worthy of being the ultimate material said to be used in creating the ultimate great sword.”

Rhodes’ lips curled into a smile, as he charged once again, this time with more caution, avoiding the dragon claws.

On one hand, the dragon claws were incredibly resilient and it would be difficult to inflict significant damage.

On the other hand, Rhodes did not want to waste such a rare and precious material, not when it could potentially be used to forge a new, ultimate great sword in the future.

With the power of thunder coursing through him, Rhodes moved with lightning speed, darting across the sky like a bird of prey, charging towards the black dragon with determination.

As Rhodes gracefully evaded the black dragon’s attack in mid-air, he landed on its body with precision.

With a powerful strike, he wields his sword, his legs propelling him forward with incredible strength as he climbs up the dragon’s body, pummeling and rattling its frame.

Normally, the sword’s power would be enough to crush the earth beneath, but as it landed on the dragon’s scales, it failed to shatter them, instead causing the black dragon to lose its balance and falter.

The black dragon sensed the danger as Rhodes inched closer to its head, but it was powerless to stop him.

In a desperate attempt, the dragon tried to hit Rhodes with his tail.

Whoosh

However, Rhodes anticipated and guarded against the dragon’s tail strike, and the black dragon ended up hitting itself causing it to cough up a mouthful of blood.

With an anguished roar, the black dragon felt the world’s deep-seated malice towards it.

Why does such a small creature possess such immense power?

It’s suffocating!

It’s audacious!

Its claws can’t grab, its teeth can’t bite, and its tail landed on itself instead.

The black dragon spiraled and flew in mid-air, unable to shake off the ant on its back, emitting suffocated dragon roars that left all onlookers in shock and disbelief.

“This can’t be true! It must not be true!”

“Oh my god, is he a dragon knight?!”

Everyone rub their eyes, unable to fathom what they were witnessing.

The black dragon let out a final, furious roar before plummeting to the earth, crashing down like a black mountain, unleashing a powerful gust of wind.

Boom!

The sound of thunder echoed as the shockwave of destruction swept through, leaving nothing but rubble in its wake. Buildings were reduced to ruins, rocks were sent flying, and the scene was nothing short of catastrophic.

On the edge of the battlefield, onlookers retreated in fear, while only the bravest captains remained, their eyes fixed on the unfolding events.

“What is happening?”

To most, the black dragon’s desperate counterattack was akin to a massive naval warship exploding. Surely, even the strongest warrior, Rhodes, could not have withstood such a blow. Even if he had survived, he would have been gravely injured.

Vivi’s nerves were stretched to their breaking point as she watched on, her heart heavy with the thought that the hard-won opportunity for the kingdom may have been for naught.

As the wind died down and the dust cleared, an incredible sight emerged from the war-torn landscape.

A young man, dressed in white and bathed in the light of thunder, stood tall and proud, with a sword in hand. At his feet, the once-invincible black dragon lay still, its head held high and its eyes glinting with a sense of peace, as its life slowly slipped away.

The port was eerily silent at that moment.

All present stared in disbelief, their eyes reflecting the dreamlike and impossible scene before them.

Just moments ago, an army of nearly ten thousand gathered, all for the purpose of appeasing the hunger of a black dragon – nothing more than a one-sided slaughter.

But now, this young man in white, armed with nothing more than a sword, slew the black dragon single-handedly!

“Bathed in the thunder, he cut down the black dragon!”

“From this day forward, Rhodes will be a name known throughout the world!”

A pirate captain spoke with intensity, his words ringing with conviction.

All hearts were heavy.

This port was built specifically for the purpose of dragon-slaying, for many years, countless brave swordsmen came here, attempting to complete the dragon-slaying feat, and become famous throughout the world, but they all ended in defeat, becoming food for the black dragon.

“After the sword God, Ryuma, we’re witnessing the birth of the new generation of dragon-slaying swordsman…”

The port’s administrator spoke with a tone of nostalgia.

All present felt as if they were witnessing history, some swordsmen were incredibly excited to the point that tears welled up in their eyes.

In the swordsmen world, there are only two titles that are most prominent.

One of them, is of course “the world’s strongest swordsman,” this title represented the pinnacle of swordsmanship, overlooking all swordsmen of an era,.

The other was a title only achieved by Ryuma, the dragon-slaying swordsman, in history.

The world’s strongest swordsman has been crowned one after another.

The dragon-slaying swordsman, Ryuma, is the only one in history.