Soon, both figures rose again from the rubble. Grand General Budo's armor bore a deep gash across the chest, faint traces of blood seeping through.
On Wood's side, his face was obscured by the armored helmet, but the golden arcs of electricity still flickering on his faceplate made it clear—he had taken a heavy punch, and it hadn't been gentle.
"Seems like you've decided to change your strategy," Budo remarked, his voice calm yet stern. "You're abandoning endurance for an exchange of blows to end this fight quickly."
As a battle-hardened veteran, Budo immediately understood Wood's intention. Still, he had no choice in the matter. Wood's strength wasn't inferior—if anything, it was slightly greater. If Wood chose such a reckless style, Budo could only face him head-on.
"Changing strategy?" Wood replied, a smirk evident in his tone. "This was always my style."
"Back then, I had magic reserves to spare and a healing array inscribed on my body. Fighting like this wasn't reckless—it was strategic.
"Now, things are different. But let's see whose body lasts longer!"
Without hesitation, the two surged forward again, clashing with a force that shook the earth.
This was no longer a duel of precision or tactics. It was a contest of brute strength and endurance.
Wood's blade tore into Budo's armor, while Budo's electrified fists struck the reinforced plates of Wood's armor. The exchange was relentless—neither man holding back, both driven by the weight of their respective convictions.
Wood's Frost Knight armor, though bolstered by Haki, bore visible dents from Budo's devastating strikes.
Meanwhile, Budo's Adramelech, though formidable, was riddled with cracks and gouges, its once-pristine form now reduced to a battered shell.
With every exchange, the rubble of the palace was reduced further—from massive boulders to mere dust.
Even Chelsea, who wasn't a combatant, could see it—Wood was gaining the upper hand. The tide was shifting in his favor, and the gap between them was only growing.
Budo was formidable, but age was his greatest weakness. In contrast, Wood, though battered, had his armor, his Haki, and a level of resilience that gave him a clear advantage.
Finally, with a decisive slash, Wood sent Budo flying, the blade carving deep into his opponent. Budo collapsed in a pool of blood, his wounds too severe to recover from.
The once-mighty Thunder God's Wrath: Adramelech lay shattered, beyond repair.
Breathing heavily, Wood gazed at his fallen foe. "Your resolve to protect the empire," he said, his voice cold, "wasn't as strong as my determination to destroy it.
"You were a great general, but a terrible steward. As a loyal guard dog, you've served admirably.
"But as a leader tasked with safeguarding this empire? You failed."
Leaving those words behind, Wood turned and sprinted in the direction Honest and the Emperor had fled.
The remaining Rakshasa Demons—Ibara and Sten—moved to intercept him, but Chelsea and Mine blocked their way.
Suzuka and Mez hesitated, but when Wood turned his icy glare toward them, they froze.
"I have no time to waste," Wood said coldly. "If you wish to stop me, try.
"But don't expect a second Budo to save your lives. My mercy is finite."
Paralyzed by fear, Suzuka and Mez didn't dare move.
Their instincts screamed at them to run, yet their bodies refused to obey. In that moment, they felt death itself looming over them.
Wood's gaze alone conveyed an unmistakable truth: any move against him would be their last.
Wood left the palace ruins at full speed, his mind racing.
He worried Honest might have already escaped.
The corpulent minister had proven surprisingly capable in combat. Though Wood had ended the battle with Budo as swiftly as possible, valuable time had been lost.
Enough time for Honest to slip into the city, vanishing into the chaos.
Yet, to Wood's surprise, the trail didn't lead outside the palace. Instead, Honest and the Emperor had retreated deeper into its core.
When Wood finally caught up, Honest stood before the Emperor, his voice low and conspiratorial. The young boy clutched his scepter, stepping toward a grand, ornate throne.
"Rebel," Honest said, his voice laced with mockery, "do you know where you stand?
"This is the heart of the palace, the sanctum of the imperial bloodline! Here lies a weapon of unmatched power, crafted for the Emperor's blood alone.
"Behold—Imperial Guardian: Shikoutazer!"
Honest's face twisted into a grotesque smile as he continued, "Shikoutazer—the first and greatest Imperial Arm.
"It is the origin and pinnacle of their creation, a weapon said to grant the power of gods to its wielder.
"And only one of royal blood can awaken it!"
The Emperor stepped forward, placing his scepter into the throne's keyhole. The chamber rumbled, ancient mechanisms springing to life.
"You think I'd flee?" Honest sneered, turning to face Wood. "Why would I abandon the empire I've built?
"This empire will not fall. Soon, you will face the power of a god!"
Chapter 446: The Strongest Imperial Arm—Shikoutazer!
Wood was indeed incredibly strong, but their victory wasn't guaranteed. After all, once the strongest Imperial Arm, Shikoutazer, was activated, the tides could easily turn.
"Boom—Boom—Boom—Boom!"
With the ground trembling violently, a pair of crimson lights began to flicker in the darkness.
As the massive Shikoutazer slowly rose, shaking the very foundation of the palace, Honest burst into wild, unrestrained laughter.
Honest could have easily claimed the empire and crowned himself emperor. Yet, he hadn't done so. Instead, he chose to keep the young emperor alive and even ensured to take him along during their escape. The key reason for this decision was that the young emperor alone could wield Shikoutazer, the strongest Imperial Arm.
The form of Shikoutazer bore a slight resemblance to the armored-type Imperial Arms wielded by Wood, Tatsumi, and Wave. However, its size was exponentially more outrageous.
While standard armored-type Imperial Arms typically capped at around two meters tall, Shikoutazer stood at a staggering height of nearly a hundred meters. When it rose to its full height, it effortlessly burst through the palace ceiling.
No, it would be more accurate to say that when Shikoutazer stood, the entirety of the palace, and even the imperial capital itself, looked like nothing more than a miniature model by comparison.
As soon as Shikoutazer activated, its mouth began to open, rapidly gathering an immense concentration of energy.
"Whoosh—!"
In just a matter of breaths, an enormous red beam shot out of Shikoutazer's mouth, hurtling toward Wood at breakneck speed!
The beam, unleashed from its colossal form, had a terrifying width of several meters. Its speed outclassed even the lightning attacks from General Budo's Imperial Arm.
As the massive crimson energy beam bore down on him, Wood's Observation Haki sounded an alarm. Uncertain of Shikoutazer's full power, he chose not to confront it directly.
With swift decision-making, Wood utilized his high-speed "Soru" technique, narrowly dodging the devastating laser.
"Boom!"
The red beam missed its mark, streaking past Wood. Moments later, a massive explosion erupted behind him, forming a colossal sphere of energy.
A gigantic mushroom cloud ascended over the imperial capital as the shockwave rushed toward Wood from behind. The sheer force nearly sent him tumbling.
When Wood turned to look, he was utterly stunned.
Where he had been standing moments before, a deep trench several fathoms wide stretched from the palace all the way through the capital's streets for kilometers.
The surface of the trench had been completely scorched into barren ash. Everything in the beam's path had been obliterated without resistance.
At the end of the trench—where the crimson laser had finally detonated—was an enormous crater nearly ten kilometers in diameter.
In the center of this crater, there was no sign of buildings, nor even a hint of the ground itself. It was as though someone had taken a massive scoop and carved a hole straight out of the imperial capital's map.
"Damn… this is insane. I could accept if this was some kind of futuristic giant mech. But this thing has nuclear-level firepower? That's just straight-up cheating!"
Faced with the catastrophic destruction caused by Shikoutazer's casual laser attack, even Wood couldn't help but curse out loud.
The power of Shikoutazer was simply too overwhelming.
One laser was enough to instantly wipe out an army of a hundred thousand. Against such a monstrosity, even the strongest armored Imperial Arms would be nothing more than scraps of metal.
No defense, no matter how strong, could withstand a direct hit from such an attack.
Wood admitted that even with his Winter Knight armor coated in Armament Haki, he would have struggled to survive that kind of assault.
And to think, this terrifying machine was an invention from a thousand years ago. If this wasn't cheating, what was?
The young emperor, clearly operating Shikoutazer for the first time, hadn't yet mastered its full range of functions.
After the initial laser missed its mark, a series of barrels began to emerge from Shikoutazer's shoulders.
Sensing something amiss, Wood's instincts flared just as countless smaller red lasers began to fire from these shoulder cannons.
Although the lasers from its shoulders were neither as powerful nor as wide as the mouth laser, they made up for it with sheer numbers and a homing capability!
"This thing is way too OP! It has nukes for long-range destruction, and now it's throwing in homing and area-of-effect attacks? This is ridiculous!"
Wood relied on "Geppo" to leap into the air, continuously dodging the death beams. With his agile movements and sharp reflexes, he avoided the barrage. Meanwhile, the entire palace was reduced to rubble under the sweeping lasers, the once-grand capital now sliced apart like a cake.
"Hundred Ghost Sword Style: Kamaitachi Dance!"
Being on the defensive wasn't Wood's style. While dodging Shikoutazer's relentless assault, he found openings to launch counterattacks. Swinging his blade, he unleashed a storm of wind blades toward the colossal machine.