Chapter 125: Battles Between Dominator-Class Entities

A deafening roar echoed, and a thick cloud of smoke engulfed the white silhouette. Silence fell upon the spot, leaving it unclear whether he had survived the blast.

Gou, the one who had thrown the bomb, leaped backward, muttering, "A futile struggle!" As he landed, he reached out to pull a rose thorn that had embedded itself in his right palm. He hadn't expected the white silhouette to launch a counterattack at the very moment of impact; he had truly underestimated him.

"That was a close call," a cold voice suddenly emerged from the dissipating smoke, reaching Gou's ears. The opponent he had been longing for had finally revealed himself. "If I were still in Luffy's body, I would have been blown to pieces."

The white silhouette, having returned to his true form, stepped slowly from the smoke. His pristine clothes were tattered at the edges from the blast, and a trickle of crimson blood ran down his cheek from a wound on his forehead caused by the shrapnel.

He wiped the blood away and licked it from his finger, his eyes freezing as he gazed at Gou. "A demon who controls and creates bombs—a rare find. While I am pleased to encounter an opponent of the Ruler class, I am still going to kill you."

"Contestant Bai Ying has transformed! That was truly a narrow escape, though he didn't manage to dodge the bomb entirely; he's injured. Even so, the terrifying demonic aura radiating from him is chilling—it’s actually making me shiver! So cold! It’s thrilling, but I wonder if Bai Ying can neutralize Gou's offensive. The outcome is unpredictable again! Ah! It's too cold; I’d better hide on the sidelines..." Unable to withstand the oppressive aura, Miss Xing Meng scurried toward the edge of the arena, ready to flee. These two were not playing around; with such terrifying power and explosive capabilities, a single lapse in judgment could cost someone their life.

"I wonder if you have the ability to do so!" Seeing Bai Ying emerge, Gou’s face lit up with excitement. It had finally appeared—that terrifying aura was nostalgic; this was the true power of a Ruler. No longer holding back, Gou extended his hands, unleashing his demonic energy, which materialized into strange creatures hovering around him.

They resembled small, winged demonic bombs, similar to the "Big-Eyed Monsters" from the Four Saint Beasts' castle. Each featured a round eye flanked by two bat-like wings, but unlike the monsters, these had fuses atop their heads that sputtered with sparks, indicating they were primed to detonate. They were homing bombs created by Gou’s sheer will.

"Not bad," Bai Ying remarked, his eyes showing a touch of appreciation. As a Ruler-class demon, he hadn't encountered a worthy rival in a long time. Seeing one here, he licked the blood from his finger, his gaze cold and devoid of emotion, as if looking at a corpse. "As a Ruler capable of controlling bombs, it seems that Bai Ying, in his human form, is truly no match for you."

"Is that your excuse for failure?" Gou flicked his finger, sending the winged bombs hurtling toward Bai Ying. "You can see these now, can't you? They are homing bombs created by my intent. No matter where you run, they will follow you until you are blown to bits. Well? Want to try them out?"

Bai Ying leaped into the air, dodging two of the homing bombs. They struck the arena floor, detonating violently. Unwilling to clash head-on, Bai Ying sprinted toward the edge of the arena, calling out to Gou as he ran, "Do you know of the Man-Eating Flowers in the Dark Forest of the Demon Realm? They are perennial herbs that close their leaves at the slightest vibration or scent of gunpowder."

"Is that so? I have no interest in gardening," Gou replied, crossing his arms with a look of smug certainty. "You’ve been surrounded by my homing bombs. Still want to run? This is what you call a dead end."

"That remains to be seen!" Bai Ying stopped abruptly and pressed two fingers to his lips. "Scylla-Bab-Gaia!" Following the incantation, a massive patch of giant-leaved plants erupted from the ground where he stood, instantly swallowing the homing bombs. Those that weren't swallowed detonated upon contact with the foliage.

Stirred by the explosions, the massive plants writhed as if searching for something. They seemed highly sensitive and agitated, their giant mouths snapping shut with jarring, smacking sounds, ready to devour anything nearby. Bai Ying glanced at Miss Xing Meng, who was cowering on the ground, and spoke coldly to Gou, "If that woman wants to live, she shouldn't move. The Man-Eating Flowers attack anything that moves; it seems they’ve already marked you as their prey. No one escapes their jaws!"

"Click, click, click!"

The flowers, sensing Gou's demonic aura, extended their vines and lunged at him. Their tops were shaped like shark-toothed jaws, surrounded by retracting leaves that fluttered like human palms, reaching out to drag him into their maws.

Six of the flowers pursued Gou, their vines snapping forward faster than a spring-loaded trap. They slammed into the spot where Gou had been standing; had he not dodged, he would have been swallowed whole.

The force of the impact left deep craters in the arena floor. The hardened floral discs were tougher than steel, embedding themselves deep into the stone.

Pulling themselves free, the flowers showed no signs of damage, as if armored. Finding no prey, they sniffed the air again, locked onto Gou’s scent, and launched another relentless assault.

Enraged by the humiliation of being chased by a plant, Gou condensed his energy into a small bomb and hurled it directly into the mouth of the leading flower, determined to destroy it from within.

The mouths of these Man-Eating Flowers were their hardest feature, evolved over millennia to crush the most terrifying creatures in the Demon Realm. The explosion muffled inside the flower's gullet caused no damage; instead, it only fueled the plant's ferocity. "Half-baked attacks only backfire," Bai Ying said, mimicking Gou’s earlier gesture by tapping his own temple. "BANG!"

"Woah!"

As if influenced by Bai Ying, Gou faltered for a split second. A flower surged forward, wrapping its giant leaves around him and shoving him into its maw.

Gou’s eyes widened in agony as the flower clamped down. He vomited a stream of blood, which caused his mask to fall away.

Seeing the prey captured, the other flowers swarmed in, eager for a share, wrapping their leaves around him until he was encased in a writhing, giant ball of vegetation. From within, the sickening sound of snapping bones echoed, suggesting Gou was being completely consumed.

"Less satisfying than I thought," Bai Ying muttered, disappointed. For a Ruler-class opponent, he had been far too weak. "I expected to play for at least two or three more minutes."