Attack

The merchant ship sailed into the distance, ripples spreading across the water as fish followed in its wake.

Whoosh.

A seagull dove down into the water, seized a fish in its beak, and soared back into the sky.

I'm hungry.

Xia Qiu felt overwhelming hunger in his belly. It had been two hours since he left the harbor, yet they had only traveled twelve or thirteen nautical miles.

A sailing ship like this usually traveled at six or seven knots, far slower than he could swim.

His digestion was extremely fast. Even though he had deliberately eaten before leaving, he had already digested everything.

I need to eat.

Xia Qiu looked at the fish around him. They swam alongside him and the merchant ship.

In the ocean, some small fish followed ships and large creatures such as sharks or whales.

The main reason was that they could use the larger creatures' massive bodies for cover while feeding on scraps left behind after they hunted.

Many of these small fish traveled alone or had become separated from their schools.

They would usually follow for a while before scattering.

Because of the fish trailing behind the ship, seagulls often circled overhead as well, waiting for a chance to hunt.

Xia Qiu had no interest in hunting them. They were too small, not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

Xia Qiu dove straight down.

It was deep.

The waters here were already several hundred meters deep. As far as he could see, there was only profound darkness.

Since Xia Qiu had to follow the ship, he did not dive too deeply.

There.

Xia Qiu fixed his gaze on the distance. A school of fish swam freely there, their bodies silver-white and slender.

They gathered together, swimming toward the front left one moment and the front right the next. Sometimes, they even spun with the current, forming a silver-white whirlwind.

Xia Qiu charged straight at them, opened his enormous mouth, and bit down.

Splash.

The fish scattered in every direction, but Xia Qiu still swallowed seven or eight of them. He crushed them between his teeth and swallowed them into his stomach.

Too little.

Those fish did not even count as a mouthful.

Xia Qiu did not pursue the fleeing fish. The energy he spent chasing them would probably exceed the energy they provided.

Xia Qiu searched all around for prey. There were many schools of fish, but most were small fish and not worth catching.

Xia Qiu glanced toward the surface and continued diving. The surrounding light gradually dimmed.

After reaching a depth of one hundred meters, Xia Qiu continued swimming forward while constantly sensing the ship above him.

Xia Qiu possessed a Lateral Line Nervous System and Mechanoreception, allowing him to detect vibrations caused by fish or animals in the water from as far as six hundred meters away.

The ship was large, and the vibrations it created while sailing were even stronger. He could sense it from up to two hundred meters away, so Xia Qiu did not need to worry about the merchant ship leaving his range of perception.

Both the Lateral Line Nervous System and Mechanoreception had grown after he ate and were abilities acquired through evolution.

Most of his special evolutions came from the creatures he hunted.

Thus, he had largely gained these two abilities from sharks. He had eaten dozens of sharks during his growth, evolving the corresponding abilities.

Of course, sharks had given him more than just those abilities. For example, his molars—he had many rows of teeth, all of which had originally been sharp. However, after they fell out several times, the teeth behind them had turned into molars.

There was also his sense of smell, which had improved drastically and was the ability that had developed the fastest.

Sharks had an extremely keen sense of smell. They could detect the scent of blood at a concentration of one part per million. Even if a gram of amino acids were dropped into ten thousand tons of seawater, a shark could detect it.

His sense of smell was also extremely sharp, allowing him to easily locate injured creatures.

Xia Qiu swam onward. After he left, the small fish he had scattered gathered together once more.

After swimming for some time, Xia Qiu suddenly discovered a huge fish not far above him.

Hm?

Xia Qiu slowly rose, locking onto his target.

The fish was around fifteen meters long, with a slender, spindle-shaped body. Black scales covered its body, its head was slightly flattened, and its mouth was enormous, filled with dense, fine teeth.

Good.

Xia Qiu locked onto his target and immediately charged upward.

The fish sensed Xia Qiu's approach. Though it was only three meters shorter than Xia Qiu, two fish of the same species measuring fifteen and eighteen meters in length could differ in weight by more than ten tons.

Its body was slender, and it weighed even less than Xia Qiu had at fifteen meters—probably only around twenty-five tons.

Xia Qiu now weighed around fifty tons. The difference between them was enormous.

Xia Qiu's arrival put immense pressure on the fish. It chose to flee almost instantly.

Run?

Do you think you can get away?

Xia Qiu twisted his body, his enormous fins swinging. He had more pelvic and anal fins than many fish, so he was naturally much faster.

Xia Qiu quickly reached its rear and opened his mouth to bite down.

Whoosh.

But in the next moment, the fish turned sharply to the left, and Xia Qiu bit nothing but water.

Very agile.

Xia Qiu caught up again, closing the distance until he was behind it. Then he suddenly dove.

The fish swam to the left again, but Xia Qiu had anticipated it. The instant it turned, he swung his head around and bit down.

Crunch.

Xia Qiu bit into the middle of the fish, tearing off a large portion of its body.

The fish twitched a few times before going still.

Xia Qiu immediately pounced on it, tearing away huge mouthfuls and swallowing the flesh into his stomach.

This time, Xia Qiu intended to eat more. He consumed nearly three tons of food, enough to ensure he would not go hungry for two hours.

After eating, Xia Qiu swam toward the surface and caught up to the ship.

After he left, the other fish swarmed over and surrounded the dead fish.

"That fish is back."

Marcel leaned over the railing and shouted toward the distance.

"Really? Looks like it's fallen in love with our ship," a voice called from afar.

Marcel turned his head and stared at the fish below. He was very curious why it was following the ship.

He had boarded ships from a young age and had seen dolphins, whales, and sharks follow vessels.

But most of them only followed for a short distance before leaving.

Yet this fish had followed them for three hours. What exactly was it trying to do?

Marcel watched the fish with great interest.

But at that moment, a voice suddenly rang out from the mast. "Pirate ship! A pirate ship is heading this way!"

Pirates?

At his shout, everyone felt uneasy, but no one panicked. Every one of them had encountered pirates before.

As long as they handed over their wealth, pirates generally would not choose to kill anyone. As for kidnapping, unless there was a valuable target aboard or the ship belonged to a major trading company, pirates generally would not bother.

So they began making preparations in an orderly manner. Some went to notify the captain, some raised the sails, and some prepared to turn the rudder and evade them.

Joezer picked up a telescope and looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Did you see them? Which pirate crew is it?"

The captain emerged from the cabin and shouted.

Joezer's expression darkened. "The Dominic Pirates."

Upon hearing Joezer's words, everyone's expressions sank, especially Marcel's. His face filled with anger and hatred.

The Dominic Pirates were the pirate crew that had killed Marcel's father.

They were vicious and greedy.

Encountering them meant the odds were grim.