Overwhelming Force

Dominic reached the side of the ship. Leo had already lowered the small boat and jumped into it, where he directed the others to carry down water and food.

Some people had gathered by the ship's side, watching Dominic expectantly.

The ship was sinking. They knew the pirate ship could barely hold together any longer, and Dominic having the small boat lowered only confirmed their suspicions.

If they stayed aboard, they would sink with the ship. So they hoped to follow their captain and leave in the small boat.

Dominic ignored them. He first jumped down with Old Josen and waited in the small boat.

At that moment, Johansen was called over. The pirate who had summoned him climbed into the boat as well.

At the same time, quite a few people rushed out of the cabin and gathered at the ship's side. There were more than a dozen of them.

"Lyon, Joseph, Bell, get down here."

Dominic's eyes flickered as he selected three men and pointed at the boat.

These three were relatively strong fighters and were also Dominic's trusted subordinates.

"Yes, Captain."

The three jumped down excitedly.

That made eight people. There was room for six more.

"Captain, take me with you! I can help you!" one pirate shouted.

"Captain Dominic, me! Me! Take me!" another pirate cried, trying to rush forward.

Dominic ignored them and called out, "Cory, Dafu, Allen, you three, get in."

The three had just been carrying food and water, and Dominic let them board the boat.

That brought the number to twelve.

There was room for two more.

Dominic looked at the people around him, seeming somewhat hesitant.

But at that moment, a figure climbed over the rail, about to jump down as he shouted, "The ship's sinking! I can't stay on board!"

The pirate's words jolted everyone awake. In a panic, they began jumping toward the small boat.

Bang.

But just as the pirate was about to jump down, a gunshot rang out. His body trembled, and he toppled off the ship. Dominic gave him a push, sending him crashing into the sea.

"Don't move, or I'll shoot him dead," Johansen said, aiming his musket at the people on the ship.

Johansen was a renowned sharpshooter among the Dominic Pirates. Faced with his threat, no one dared to move.

"Let's go."

Dominic no longer intended to fill the boat. He waved his hand, and the pirates aboard rowed away.

"What do we do?"

The ship continued to sink. All the pirates had gathered on deck, staring at the sea in extreme panic.

"The mast, the planks—tear them apart."

Some of the pirates had plenty of experience. They began chopping down the mast and tearing off planks, gathering life rings and anything else that could provide buoyancy and give them something to cling to at sea.

Even so, once the pirate ship completely sank, only a small number of them found floating objects.

Some pirates swam toward the others, but some of the debris could not support too many people. To ensure their own survival, they began fighting one another, blood spilling everywhere.

Meanwhile, Dominic and the others had long since rowed away in their small boats.

"They're killing each other," Johansen said with a frown.

"That's good. Their wounds and blood will attract that sea fish, giving us the perfect chance to escape." A cruel smile appeared on Leo's lips.

"Captain, where do we go next?" Bell asked Dominic.

"The merchant ship is moving away. We can't catch them."

Dominic looked into the distance through his telescope, then frowned and asked, "Does anyone know if there are any islands nearby?"

"There's a village less than twenty nautical miles from here." Old Josen took out a compass, determined the direction, and pointed into the distance. "It's over there."

"We'll go there."

Dominic nodded. Twenty nautical miles was not far; they could reach it in half a day.

But at that moment, Lyon stared blankly at the nearby sea and said, "What's that?"

"Hm?"

The other pirates followed his finger and looked out over the water. A massive black shadow was charging toward them, less than five meters from the small boat.

Bang.

They had no time to react before the black shadow rammed into one of the boats.

Crack.

The small boat shattered instantly. The people aboard were struck as though they had been hit by a ship. Some died on the spot, some spat blood, and some had their bones broken.

"Damn it, it's that fish!" Dominic shouted from the distance.

"It caught up! It caught up!" Old Josen trembled in terror.

So you finally ran.

A teasing look appeared in Xia Qiu's eyes. They had not dared to enter the water and fight him, choosing to flee instead. That proved they knew they were no match for him and were afraid.

Xia Qiu had been worried about encountering powerful pirates. Though he had never seen this Jolly Roger before, he could not afford to underestimate them.

But since they had chosen to avoid him, it proved they lacked the ability to deal with a sea fish like him.

He could now judge their strength. They were not much stronger than Muir and the others.

Xia Qiu opened his huge mouth and swallowed a man in a single bite, crushing him between his teeth before gulping him down.

"Run! Run!"

Seeing another boat shattered, Dominic hurriedly shouted, "Get us out of here!"

"Help! Help!"

The pirate who had fallen into the water stared at the enormous mouth before him, trembling in terror.

But the next moment, Xia Qiu swallowed him whole.

The people aboard Dominic's boat rowed desperately into the distance.

Trying to run?

Xia Qiu ignored the remaining pirate corpses and charged straight at the other boat.

"It's coming! It's coming!"

Old Josen screamed. Johansen raised his musket and aimed it at Xia Qiu.

Bang! Bang!

The bullets struck Xia Qiu's head above the water, denting his scales and leaving tiny cracks, but they did not break through them.

Not to mention the thick, hard bones beneath them.

The next moment, Xia Qiu closed in on the boat and slammed into it with his entire body.

"Die!"

Dominic and Leo leaped up from opposite sides. One wielded a machete, the other dual blades, and both slashed at Xia Qiu's head.

Screech.

The three blades struck Xia Qiu's head. Where the machete landed, his scales dented slightly.

It was quite powerful.

But where the twin blades struck, they only left white marks without even damaging the scales.

Too weak.

Xia Qiu snorted coldly and lunged forward, ramming into the small boat.

Crash.

The small boat fell apart instantly, and Dominic and Leo were sent flying.

Pfft.

Both Dominic and Leo spat out blood as the sound of bones breaking came from their bodies.

Splash.

After Dominic fell into the water, pain flooded his body. His arm was numb and impossible to raise. He steadied himself and had just lifted his head when he saw a huge mouth descending upon him.

"No! Don't!"

Dominic screamed.

But the next moment, the enormous mouth swallowed him. Its sharp teeth closed, crushing his body before swallowing him into its belly.