They're All the Same

Orange-red light flashed abruptly. The explosion left everyone dizzy, and the blast wave that followed sent many sailors tumbling across the deck. Several unlucky ones fell straight into the sea.

Fortunately, they had spent years drifting at sea and were all decent swimmers, so they would not drown so easily.

But no one cared about them at that moment. Every eye was fixed on Yinsen and Sean.

"Fire Magic Stone Equipment!"

"That kid actually has two pieces of Magic Stone Equipment?"

"No, there was also a translucent shield that blocked the Captain's attack earlier."

"So... three pieces?"

"That can't be possible... Since when has Magic Stone Equipment become so common in the Sea of Tranquility?"

Yinsen looked at Sean, whom his fireball had blasted away, and furrowed his brow tightly.

"This guy can really take a beating?"

He truly had not expected a single fireball to fail to instantly kill this so-called Hand of Flame. It seemed he had underestimated the man before.

He had been rather pleased with himself for running circles around his opponent. Nearly every step had followed his "script," and he had successfully created an opportunity to unleash a fatal strike. He had thought that, even if the blast did not blow his opponent to pieces, it would at least cook him half-done. There was no way the man could survive.

Yet the fireball had struck Sean squarely, and it had been fired from close range. Even Yinsen himself had only avoided getting caught in it thanks to the Ice Shield. Even so, the powerful shockwave had forced him back a considerable distance, and he had only managed to steady himself by barely planting his feet on the rail.

Before anyone could recover from their shock, Yinsen was already striding toward Sean, who lay on the ground unable to move. Even if the man was merely clinging to his last breath and looked as if he might die at any moment, Yinsen had no intention of giving him a chance to turn things around. Strike while the iron was hot—he did not want to give someone like this an opportunity to make a comeback.

He still remembered that Sean's nickname was Hand of Flame. The glove on his left hand was most likely a Fire Attribute Magic Stone, and though Yinsen did not know exactly how powerful it was, the fact that Sean had earned such a title proved that it could not be easy to deal with.

All his earlier maneuvering and calculations had been meant to deny the man any opportunity to use that equipment. He had deliberately appeared weak, giving Sean the impression that he could kill him without using Magic Stone Equipment. By the time Yinsen revealed his fangs, Sean no longer had time to activate it.

Just as Yinsen lunged forward, a sudden sense of danger rose from the depths of his heart. He had no time to think before his body instinctively dodged.

He had experienced a similar feeling in the Diablo World. More than once, it had helped him escape enemy ambushes. This time was no different.

A throwing knife skimmed past Yinsen's forehead by a hair. Had he not dodged, it would have struck him right in the brow.

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Yinsen immediately raised his hand and fired a short arrow back toward where the knife had come from. Only then did he have time to see who had ambushed him.

It was a thin man, slightly taller than Yinsen. However, compared to Sean, who was lying on the ground not far away, he could only be considered of average build.

The man wore an ordinary vest. The only remarkable thing about it was the many throwing knives tucked into it. He held two more knives in each hand, and when he saw Yinsen fire a short arrow at him, he almost instinctively flung the knives in his hands.

Boom!

The throwing knives collided with the short arrow in midair, triggering an explosion that startled everyone present.

"The short arrow explodes?"

Cold sweat trickled down Throwing Knife Man's forehead. He had reacted almost entirely on instinct just now. Under normal circumstances, he would have either dodged or used his knives to parry. But if he had done that, an explosion of that magnitude would have seriously injured him even if it did not kill him—the distance had been too close, and the impact from the explosion alone would have been unbearable.

"Could it have been those explosive short arrows that seriously wounded Sean?"

Yinsen and Sean had been too close together earlier. Most people had only seen the flash of the explosion and did not know the specifics. They assumed Yinsen had severely wounded Sean with those short arrows, which were fired from the bracer on the young man's right wrist. This time, everyone focused their attention on that utterly unremarkable bracer.

When they turned their attention back to Yinsen, they noticed that he had taken advantage of everyone being distracted by the explosion and charged at Sean once again.

Unexpectedly, Sean's recovery power was astonishing. In such a short time, he was already able to move. Staggering, he ran back to his own ship and then collapsed beside the throwing knife man.

"Gino, use the Magic Stone Cannon!"

Gino, the throwing knife man and this ship's First Mate, Sean's most trusted subordinate, nodded. "I will, Captain." The throwing knife in his hand traced a beautiful arc through the air, splashing up brilliant crimson blood. "After you're dead!"

"You..."

Sean had never imagined that the subordinate he trusted most would suddenly attack him. Having narrowly escaped death at Yinsen's hands, he died abruptly on his own ship.

After killing Sean with a single slash, Gino calmly removed the glove from Sean's left hand. After making a few simple adjustments, he put it on himself.

"I've waited a long time for this day!"

Perhaps because he had suppressed himself for too long, Gino began chattering away at Sean's corpse without a care for anyone around him after putting on the Magic Stone Gauntlet. "You stupid bastard, did you really think I would willingly be your lapdog? Did you ever stop to think about how you treated your men? Over the years, several hundred people have served under you. How many of them got a good ending?"

"None! Not a single one!" Growing more emotional as he spoke, Gino suddenly roared at Sean's corpse. "You treated us like trash! Why shouldn't I kill you? What's with that look of disbelief in your eyes?"

Unfortunately, Sean could not answer. He had long since become a corpse, his face frozen in the final expression of disbelief from the moment before his death.

With no response forthcoming, Gino gradually calmed down, and his tone became even. "Such excellent Magic Stone Equipment is a tremendous waste in your hands. This equipment, this ship, and all the men will be taken over by me!"

As he spoke, he suddenly turned to face Yinsen and Arthur. "You two are exceptionally capable young men. Are you interested in joining my ship? I can make you my First Mate!"

Yinsen and Arthur were still somewhat dazed by the sudden infighting and were debating whether to seize the chance to kill everyone and end this battle once and for all. They had not expected Gino to suddenly invite them—wasn't that a little absurd? The two of them had just killed quite a few of these men and had even beaten the original captain to the brink of death.

Of course, judging by Gino's words and the fact that not a single sailor around them had suggested avenging their captain, the burly man named Sean had truly been unpopular. It seemed his subordinates had all been eager for him to die.

"Well... I'm not interested."

Yinsen had no desire to get involved with these people. They had been following Sean for who knew how long, and there was no way they were innocent little lambs. They had probably done plenty of bad things—whether willingly or not.

"Is that so..." Gino looked a little disappointed. "You two are too young. You have no idea how dangerous this world is. Do you really intend to cross the Sea of Storms with only the two of you? Even if you make it across, do you know what kind of world will be waiting for you?"

Gino still seemed to hold out a sliver of hope, as though he wanted to persuade Yinsen to change his mind. "It is a broader world, a more dangerous world—a world with more good things, but also more powerful people."

"Do you know why Sean had never dared to challenge the Sea of Storms? Because he knew that in those waters, a single Magic Stone Gauntlet amounted to nothing. That was why he wanted to find more high-quality Magic Stones in the Sea of Tranquility and create more Magic Stone Equipment before going there once he had enough strength."

Gino paused, his expression turning solemn. "So, you understand what this means now, right?"

Both Yinsen and Arthur were clever and quick-witted. The moment Gino's tone changed and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, they understood the hidden meaning behind his words.

Yinsen was simply more direct, bluntly exposing the meaning Gino had kept hidden.

"So, what you mean is that to cross the Sea of Storms and reach new waters, you also need more Magic Stone Equipment... Since we refused to join you, you intend to keep attacking and rob us, don't you?"

Gino nodded. "You're very clever. I'm suddenly glad you didn't agree to join."

He waved to the sailors beside him, a cruel, twisted smile spreading across his face. "In that case, be buried in the sea along with your ship! I'm not like that idiot Sean, who can't even tell what really matters."

He did not care how many Supplies were aboard Yinsen's ship. His need for basic supplies was no longer so urgent. High-level Magic Stone Equipment was what truly mattered, and the core magic stones inside such equipment were not easily damaged. All he had to do was blow up both the ship and everyone aboard it. At worst, he would waste some time salvaging magic stones from these waters—the magic stones would still be there, and no amount of time spent recovering them would be a loss.

"Fire! Don't be stingy with those inferior magic stones—blast them to pieces!"

Yet Yinsen shook his head. "I expected this. Did you think I didn't know you were deliberately stalling for time so you could use the cannons?"

As he spoke, his left hand pulled a thick leather-bound book inlaid with a White Magic Stone from behind his back. As the White Magic Stone on the cover slowly began to glow with magical radiance, a white Magic Barrier appeared with perfect precision between the two ships.

Almost at the same moment, the Magic Stone Cannons of the Lord of Flame fired orange-red Energy Cannonballs!