Chapter 151: Single-Handed Combat Against the Underworld Monarch

Garen roughly figured out why the damage boost measured by his ultimate earlier was less than thirty percent:
His system probably regarded Cavendish's two personalities as two independent characters.
Otherwise, judging by the ferocious expression, the sinister smile, and the bloodthirsty gaze on the face of the current murderous-ghost persona of Cavendish...
Not cleaving him to death with a single sword would do a disservice to Garen's righteous Great Sword of Demacia.
"Hahaha..."
The murderous ghost Cavendish burst into unbridled laughter, his frantic voice instantly echoing across the deck:
"I'm finally out! Haha!"
He glared at Garen with crimson eyes and taunted harshly:
"You tin can, are you the one who dealt with that weakling?"
"To thank you..."
The smile on the murderous ghost Cavendish's face grew increasingly malevolent: "I'll make sure to leave your corpse intact."
"......"
Garen's expression sank.
He suddenly felt a bit regretful that he had killed Hogback; otherwise, he could have asked that genius surgeon to perform a prefrontal lobotomy on Cavendish to completely cure his terrible mental condition.
And the murderous ghost's clamoring continued:
"Tin can, remember this:"
"The one who kills you is not Cavendish, but I, 'Kamaitachi'!"
"You even gave yourself a nickname, you're seriously ill!"
Garen muttered, somewhat speechless.
"It seems..."
Garen raised his greatsword once again, and retorted with disdainful mockery:
"I'll have to give you a proper taste of physical therapy for mental illness today."
"After this treatment, you'll know to think twice before coming out next time."
"Heh..."
The murderous ghost 'Kamaitachi' let out a cold sneer instead, and shouted in an exaggerated, high-pitched tone:
"Do you think I'm that weakling Cavendish?"
"My swordsmanship is twice as strong as his!"
"Hmm..."
Garen's expression suddenly turned peculiar:
"Well then, esteemed master of swordsmanship..."
"Where is your sword?"
The expression of the murderous ghost 'Kamaitachi' instantly froze.
He twitched his empty palms, his entire body stiffening: "Where is my sword?"
"Stop looking."
Garen pointed at his own chest without changing his expression, where a Western-style rapier was still chillingly thrust deep:
"You left this here just now and forgot to take it."
The murderous ghost 'Kamaitachi' felt the world go dark before his eyes, and couldn't help cursing Cavendish in his heart for being such a sabotaging "teammate" idiot.

Stiff all over and not knowing what to do, he watched as Garen's ill-intentioned smile continuously magnified in his field of vision.
After a session of "physical therapy"...
Garen left a profound impression on the murderous ghost 'Kamaitachi' with his greatsword, making this arrogant and bloodthirsty madman finally realize his mistake and obediently shrink back.
Cavendish finally quieted down and passed out completely.
Garen silently withdrew his sword and stood upright, striking the pose of an undefeated master lonely at the top.
However, the joy of victory had not lasted long before trouble arrived.
"Garen!"
A somewhat hurried shout from Doberman came from afar: "Come and lend me a hand!"
"Uh..."
Garen's expression stiffened, and he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say:
"I-I'm coming right now."
Garen had been so engrossed in playing the doctor that he had forgotten about this huge trouble waiting for him nearby.
Had he known this would happen, he should have shown some mercy and sparred with Cavendish a bit longer.
On the other side:
The battle between Doberman and Rayleigh was taking place above the open sea; otherwise, the shockwaves of their collisions alone would have crushed those two warships into smithereens, leaving the innocent civilians and navy soldiers on board with even less chance of survival.
Rayleigh and Doberman did not use any esoteric sword techniques. At their level of strength, any so-called clever techniques or changes became useless in a duel.
All that remained was the collision of brute force and the contest of aura.
As the weaker party, Doberman was destined to fall in defeat during such a pure and unadulterated battle.
Doberman's movements began to grow sluggish, and his muscles ached intensely. Even the miraculous effects of Life Return could no longer save his body, which was gradually collapsing under the strain of the intense combat.
The net of blades formed by Doberman's eight swords looked airtight and terrifyingly sharp, yet it simply could not stop the heavy, formidable black blade wielded by Rayleigh.
Therefore, the moment he saw Garen free up his hands, Doberman—whose body was already covered in several gaping, bloody wounds—couldn't wait to send a cry for help to Garen.
Garen's situation instantly became very awkward.
Garen had just finished playing the friend of the navy and had acted as a righteous knight to rescue a group of Moria's prisoners, putting his prestige at an all-time high.
As soon as Doberman uttered those words, the crowd of navy soldiers and rescued civilians all cast expectant gazes upon Garen.
"Sigh..."
Garen felt rather embarrassed under their gaze, and could only bite the bullet and make a decision:
Anyway, the Dark King Rayleigh probably wouldn't kill him outright; a fight is a fight.
Besides, he had Doberman, a formidable teammate, and joining forces with him might actually give them a fifty-fifty chance against the Dark King Rayleigh.
So, gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, Garen stepped on the explosive recoil of the air and leaped into the sky.
Seeing the terrifying scene ahead that resembled a hurricane of sword auras, Garen had no choice but to pin all his hopes on Doberman, praying that the latter would rely on his naval sense of justice to trigger a sudden outburst in adversity, pulling off some secret ultimate technique akin to a "Doberman Second Gear."
However, Garen—who was still strategically observing from the edge of the battlefield—had already caught the eye of the Dark King Rayleigh.
Noticing Garen's presence, Rayleigh suddenly broke into a calm and composed smile amidst the storm of clashing blades.
Doberman sensed a vague premonition of danger, but Rayleigh's calm voice cut clearly through the deafening din of metal clashing and reached Doberman's ears:
"Doberman, your strength is not bad."
"But if you want to capture a pirate like me..."
"You are still far from ready!"
Doberman's pupils constricted as he was horrified to find that Rayleigh's movements suddenly accelerated manifold.

Not only was his speed as swift as lightning and gale-force winds, but the aura Rayleigh emitted was as oppressive as a tsunami, making it hard to breathe.
With a simple vertical slash, the edge of that black blade was completely etched into Doberman's mind.
Without any overflowing white shockwaves, the force of this strike was entirely concentrated on the slender black blade, condensed to a terrifying degree.
Doberman hurriedly raised eight samurai swords in front of him, erecting an indestructible web of blades for defense.
The thick, pitch-black Armament Haki, reinforced by Doberman's full-power burst, made this sword net even sturdier.
Yet even so, the black blade Shusui in Rayleigh's hand cleaved through Doberman's defense like a hot knife through butter, leaving a horrifying wound running from top to bottom across Doberman's body.
With a splash of blood, Doberman's completely exhausted body plummeted from the sky, crashing heavily into the sea and kicking up monstrous waves.
"This..."
Garen, who was rushing toward the battlefield using Moon Walk, stumbled mid-air, nearly falling straight out of the sky from the shock of this terrifying sight.
"Haha..."
Rayleigh, however, turned around and took the initiative to dive toward Garen, a mysterious smile plastered across his face that made Garen's scalp tingle.
Seeing Doberman's fate, Garen was suddenly seized by a bone-chilling sense of dread.
He abruptly realized a problem:
The Dark King Rayleigh indeed didn't kill people often.
But if he insisted on hacking away until his opponent was completely drained of strength and bleeding profusely, just like he did to Doberman...
Then even if Garen were hacked to death by Rayleigh, he wouldn't be able to do a thing about it...
Garen hesitated for a split second, and the force beneath his feet pushing the Moon Walk grew even stronger, propelling him forward at an even faster speed.
Though the direction was backward.
However, this was entirely useless; Rayleigh's speed was far greater than Garen's.
In the blink of an eye, Rayleigh closed in on Garen.
Garen's expression sank, and he had no choice but to bite the bullet, activate the Turtle Stance shield, and prepare for a head-on collision with Rayleigh.
The black blade and the greatsword clashed directly, the exploding airflow forming layer upon layer of white waves like a tsunami.
And the result of this sword clash was...
A dead heat!
Garen looked at Rayleigh in front of him with astonishment:
Although Rayleigh's strike looked immensely grand with sound and light effects even more dazzling than when he fought Doberman, the actual force landing on Garen's sword was practically close to zero.
Garen couldn't help but sigh with excitement in his heart:
What incredible control! What profound mastery of swordsmanship!
No... wait, that's the wrong sentiment...
This is a blatant holding back on me!
Garen's inner excitement became even harder to suppress.
Rayleigh simply left behind a meaningful smile and brushed past him.
When he maneuvered and returned through the air once more, the two crossing blades struck a second blow that was evenly matched.
The crowd of navy soldiers watched with jaws dropped, feeling that their superior's evaluation of this Shichibukai "Great Swordsman" was indeed completely accurate.