One Piece Gunslinger

The enemy couldn't have flown in, and there was only one damaged naval warship in the harbor. Therefore, the enemy must have sailed the ship to a place where Vergo couldn't see it, perhaps on the other side of the island.

Only this explanation could explain why Vergo couldn't see a single ship in this direction.

Why send all the ships to the other side of the island? Vergo's idea was to prevent certain people from seeing them. He didn't want certain people to know what faction they belonged to. And those certain people were, in short, the navy.

So, they're not afraid of you, they won't leave, but they've hidden the ship. What else could it be but a planned ambush? They're waiting for Vergo to get close to the island so they can capture him in one fell swoop.

As for why Sabo knew Vergo was coming from this direction and hid the ship on the other side, it's a simple matter of logic.

Since the previous warship was in this direction, these people must have come from this direction as well. They can't possibly go the long way around the island to dock at the other end.

Having figured out these issues, Vergo quickly took out a Den Den Mushi (snail phone) to contact G-5. After failing to reach him, he called Doflamingo, but still received no response.

"So, they used some strange method to block the news?" Vergo said calmly after his unsuccessful attempt.

This action was simply to confirm his conjecture.

But he was confident in his abilities, and this proved true; he only felt that things were somewhat tricky and troublesome, but he didn't believe these people could do anything to him.

"Unfortunately, you've ambushed the wrong person this time. I'm no ordinary navy officer," Vergo said, and continued sailing straight toward the Kingdom of Enix without dodging or avoiding.

Little did they know that their opponents were just ordinary naval forces; this wasn't an ambush against a regular navy, but a direct attack on Vergo. The ships Sabo had hidden themselves weren't planning a surprise attack; taking down Vergo with artillery fire was unrealistic.

Sabo simply didn't want anyone to see the Revolutionary Army's insignia, and he didn't want to alert them and scare them away.

If Vergo sees the Revolutionary Army's ships and insignia, he will surely try to escape and relay the news back to Doflamingo.

Although Vergo had not discussed this issue with Doflamingo, he at least understood the simplest truth: if the Kingdom of Enix were to be occupied by the Revolutionary Army, Doflamingo would be essentially being ridden on the face by the Revolutionary Army.

Just as the World Government wouldn't stand by and watch Dressrosa fall to the Revolutionary Army, Doflamingo wouldn't want to border the Revolutionary Army either.

"Report! A naval warship is approaching." Sabo's situation wasn't resolved yet; he had just led his men into the palace when Leon received news of Vergo's arrival.

"Did you see clearly? Was there someone wearing a white plaid coat and sunglasses?" Li Ang asked immediately.

"I saw it clearly, this person is standing at the bow of the ship," the scout who came to report said truthfully.

Heh heh, Vergo was observing the situation of the Kingdom of Enix from the watchtower, but Sabo was well aware that he had also arranged scouts on the high ground by the sea, keeping an eye on when Vergo would arrive.

"Very well, I'll go and meet him." With that, Li Ang pushed open the door and headed towards the coast.

"Chief of Staff, I'll go inform the Commander right away." With that, the scout headed to the palace to find Sabo.

However, Li Ang stopped him, saying, "No need. I can handle this myself. There's no need to inform him. He has a lot to do at the palace. Don't disturb him."

The scout didn't say much, just responded. After all, Li Ang was the chief of staff, so whatever he said went.

Leon was extremely interested in Vergo, who had mastered the Six Styles of Maritime Transport and Armament Haki to perfection. He did not want to deal with him with Sabo, but planned to refuse him personally.

In fact, Li Ang has never had a real sense of his own strength, since he has hardly ever encountered any decent battles. He has resolved most of his problems with words.

Even if he can't defeat Li Ang, he can still sabotage him and devise tactics to exploit his opponent's weaknesses. In recent years, Li Ang has never engaged in any fair fight, nor has he found a worthy opponent.

Especially within the revolutionary army, Li Ang had absolutely no desire to spar with anyone. He needed someone who could defeat him in a single move, or someone who might accidentally defeat someone in a single move.

This is mainly because Li Ang's high attack and low defense mean he can truly one-shot opponents; he can't stop. But if he doesn't use these skills, he can't win and can only take a beating.

Thus, at this very moment, Vergo was perfectly positioned to serve as a touchstone for Leon.

First, Vergo is not a Devil Fruit user. This renders the Seastone that Leon has relied on useless. Therefore, Leon cannot replicate the techniques he used to outmaneuver Crocodile.

Secondly, Vergo had also developed a powerful aura and excellent physical skills, which made it difficult for him to kill Vergo with a single shot.

Conversely, Li Ang wasn't too afraid of Vergo's attacks. Compared to Vergo's own abnormally strong defense, which was built up with Armament Haki, Vergo's offensive power was considerably weaker. Li Ang believed he could handle it, and at least wouldn't be defeated in just two or three moves.

Wait a minute, isn't this a classic case of high defense and low offense? This is a perfect match for Li Ang! No wonder Li Ang took a liking to it.

That's why Li Ang chose to face Vergo alone, without taking Sabo along.

"Today I'm going to test my true strength on you." Li Ang quickly arrived on the roof of a house, looked down at the naval warships docked below, and took out a sniper rifle.

Li Ang quickly got into the zone, aiming his sniper rifle at the warship below: "Let me find it first, yes, that's the man. Then slowly zoom in, hold your breath, and place the crosshair on his head..."

"boom!"

With a gunshot, a slender bullet flew toward Vergo's head at a speed of about Mach 3.

Chapter 239 Barely Breaking Through Defenses

The bullet fired by Li Ang traveled at approximately Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.

At such high speeds, it's impossible for someone to hear a gunshot and immediately take cover. After all, by the time you hear the sound, the bullet is already right in your face.

Even so, the bullet, flying at high speed through the air, still failed to hit Vergo's head as expected, but instead landed in his hand, in that pitch-black iron hand.

Although the sound was left far behind by the bullet, it didn't exceed the speed of light; in fact, nothing in this world can travel faster than the speed of light. Vergo saw the bullet.

Vergo sensed something the moment Leon pulled the trigger. His Observation Haki, which was almost negligible compared to Armament Haki, still played a role.

A strong sense of crisis rose in his heart, and he quickly turned his head. Only by using his Observation Haki could he catch the bullet flying at supersonic speed and save his life.

"Snapped!"

This was the sound of the bullet coming from Vergo's hand as he caught it. Two seconds later, Vergo heard a faint "bang."

Leon launched his first attack on Vergo from a distance of over a thousand meters.

Of course, apart from Vergo, no one else heard what happened behind them. They only heard a "snap" and then saw Vergo, who was completely black-clad, with his left fist clenched and raised in front of him. Blood was seeping from between his fists.

Only then did the rabble realize what had happened, their faces turning grim as they shouted, "Lieutenant General Vergo has been attacked!"

Although these G-5 soldiers had various problems with their character and conduct, and their combat effectiveness was extremely poor, far inferior to regular naval soldiers in both discipline and other aspects, Vergo never took these rabble seriously.

But their respect for Lieutenant General Vergo was genuine; one could even say Vergo was the only person who had earned their respect. Seeing Vergo injured, of course they had to make a fuss.

However, Vergo dared not join in their shouting, nor did he dare to react to their shouting. He simply kept his eyes fixed on the direction from which the bullets were coming, without letting his guard down for a moment.

He simply let his left hand hang down, loosened his fist, and let the bullet, now a shredded metal, fall onto the deck mixed with blood. Only then did everyone see that Vergo's palm was a bloody mess.

Even though Vergo narrowly avoided the attack, he almost lost an arm. If it weren't for his exceptional Armament Haki training, someone with mediocre Haki might have had their entire hand pierced through.

Now, of course, one cannot afford to be careless and must remain vigilant for the sniper's next bullet, especially after hearing that soft "bang."

Vergo is far more knowledgeable than these idiots.

The bullet was received first, then the gunshot was heard. What does this mean? It means the bullet's speed exceeded the speed of sound. Moreover, considering the faint gunshot and the time difference, the sniper launched the attack from an extremely long distance, and the bullet's speed was not simply faster than sound.

The fact that this sniper could aim so accurately at the head from such a distance suggests that his skill level is among the best in the world.

As a vice admiral, Vergo had heard of the famous gun "Sonic Leap," which earned its name because of its unparalleled ability to exceed the speed of sound.

In retrospect, the bullets fired in this attack were faster than the "Sonic Leap" missile; it was practically "Sonic Leap."

Moreover, Vergo doesn't recall ever seeing a bullet that could damage Armament Haki; its power is simply unbelievable.

Vergo even considered capturing the weapon to present to Doflamingo, hoping to see if he could develop the technology.

This is why, after catching the first bullet, Vergo did not choose to hide or retreat, but instead remained standing and waited for Leon to fire again.

Because the first shot was fired too hastily, he only roughly saw the trajectory and direction of the bullet, and could not pinpoint Li Ang's exact location. If Li Ang fired a second shot, he would definitely be able to find Li Ang's location.

Li Ang could see everything Vergo did clearly through the sniper scope, including how he caught the bullet and how Vergo was now standing on the empty deck, seemingly defiant, waiting for him to shoot.

An enemy soldier stood brazenly in an open area, waiting for a sniper to fire, as if to say, "Go ahead and shoot me." Let me tell you, no sniper would accept such provocation.

However, Li Ang did not intend to be so easily lured into the trap and then unleash an unprecedented attack.

Previously, when Vergo found the bullet, he didn't have much time left and had to catch it with his left hand. But this time, he was completely focused, waiting for the bullet to come at him.

Even if a bullet only takes a second to arrive, for someone of Vergo's caliber, a second is more than enough time to react, lock on, and dodge.

Therefore, if Li Ang continued firing, his shot would inevitably miss, and he would unnecessarily reveal his position. Li Ang would naturally not do something so foolish.

So he climbed onto the roof, mounted a sniper rifle but didn't use it at first. Instead, he took out a Red 9, aimed for a while, and then fired a shot in Vergo's direction.

Although a pistol can have a range of over a thousand meters, don't actually believe that a pistol can kill someone from over a thousand meters away.

As a pistol, it would be a miracle if the Red Nine could be accurate at a distance of 1,000 meters. Even for a marksman like Li Ang, who possesses superb marksmanship and Observation Haki, he could only be certain that the bullet would fly towards Vergo, without deviating too much. As long as it landed near Vergo, that was all that mattered.

"I saw it." However, Vergo had no idea what kind of bullet Leon had fired, given the distance of over a thousand meters. Even with all his might, he could only vaguely make out a glint of cold light, assuming it was the same kind of bullet as before.

Moreover, he can't tell which part of his body the bullet hit.

After pinpointing Leon's location, Vergo leaped high into the air to dodge the bullet hurtling towards him, while simultaneously preparing to execute Moonwalk in mid-air, heading straight for Leon.

But Li Ang was waiting for this moment when Vergo relaxed his guard. He immediately locked Vergo onto the crosshairs with his sniper scope and pulled the trigger again.

"Wait, why is this bullet traveling much slower? It hasn't even hit the ground yet." Vergo noticed this problem two seconds after jumping into the air. At the previous speed, the bullet should have already been embedded in the mast or passed through the deck.

Although Vergo reacted quickly, even with his lightning-fast thinking, he was still a step too slow. By the time Vergo realized that the previous bullet was just a cover and the real killing blow was yet to come, it was already too late.

Believing that Li Ang couldn't fire continuously in a short period and that dodging this bullet meant he was safe, he naturally didn't have the same focused attention as before. Moreover, the warning ability of Observation Haki wasn't always effective.

Vergo felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and almost fell off the sky. He quickly looked down and saw that his dark abdomen was covered in blood.

Li Ang naturally couldn't aim at a high-speed moving object, and he didn't dare to continue aiming at the head, lest he miss even slightly and waste this opportunity.

Therefore, Li Ang aimed at the torso, which was the easiest part to hit, and this time the design did not disappoint Li Ang, and he successfully hit the target.

Fortunately, Vergo had maintained this state of Armament Haki covering his entire body since Leon's first shot, otherwise Leon's shot would have been enough to send Vergo on his way.

Even so, Vergo's Armament Haki in his abdomen was not as strong as that in his fist, and he was still seriously injured by this shot.

"We can't retreat; we have to get close during the intervals between his shots." But Vergo has seen his share of storms and has a wealth of combat experience over the years, and this small wound is not enough to make him back down.

Seeing that Vergo, despite being shot, was still enduring the pain and using Moonwalk to quickly approach in mid-air, Leon sighed and put away his sniper rifle.

After that shot, it's impossible to snipe from such a long distance. The same trick won't work on a Saint Seiya. Even if Li Ang tries the same trick again, Vergo won't fall for it.

Li Ang turned and leaped off the roof, disappearing into the complex network of houses and alleyways.

"Wait, what did you say? The Chief of Staff went to fight alone?" Sabo had just dealt with the ministers and their and the king's assassins in the palace and was about to appease the other civilians when he received the news that Leon had gone out to fight alone.

"I'm speechless. You said I act without thinking and am reckless all the time. And you still have the right to say that to me?" Sabo handed over his work to others while heading in the direction Leon had gone.

"boom."

Although it was very faint, Sabo couldn't be mistaken for the familiar gunshot and quickened his pace: "That's the sound of a sniper rifle, right? They've already fired. I hope I can make it in time. Please don't let anything happen to you."

Sabo had spent many years with Li Ang and knew at least 70-80% of his abilities, if not 100%. Everyone knew Li Ang's strength lay in his high attack but low defense. In his own words, "I could kill ten of myself with one shot."

Therefore, no one felt comfortable letting him challenge someone who had mastered Armament Haki alone. If he couldn't kill them with a single shot, then things would be dangerous.

Chapter 240 Solo Kill