End of the Sea Battle

He let out a wild roar from his mouth.

Facing the swift three-sword attack coming at him, Zack, after "transforming," abandoned the agile attack style from the beginning. He directly ignored the long swords about to hit him, twirling his scimitar into a whirlwind and charging at Evan.

With a stance of hard-hitting confrontation, he seemed to have become a second Black Bear Billy, who only used brute force, intending to take Evan down with him.

This kind of response, which was completely unreasonable for an experienced swordsman, Zack performed naturally. Clearly, the immense power brought by the strange potion to Blood Anchor Zack was not without its side effects.

"Blade Wave" surged forward.

However, Evan couldn't compete with him in who feared death less. He quickly withdrew his sword, his feet moving like a small boat, drifting backward on the spray. It looked incredibly dangerous, yet he handled it with ease.

Both were "monsters" whose physical fitness far surpassed ordinary people. The limited space on the deck could no longer contain them. Like two nimble monkeys, they chased and fought.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

After a brief clash, they climbed the ropes and leaped onto the spar of the main mast, the "yardarm," one after the other. They clashed with clanging sounds, like a battle on a single-plank bridge, a true "narrow path encounter"!

Up here, let alone fighting, an ordinary person would struggle to even stand steady. It wasn't just because the footing was narrow, but also because the ship drifted with the waves at sea, causing the yardarm to sway constantly.

But how could Evan not consider himself when he chose this battlefield?

Although the main mast's yardarm was thick and long enough for at least twenty people to stand on, Zack's agility and reaction speed were inevitably weakened along with his doubled strength. The narrow foothold perfectly restricted his movements.

On the contrary, for Evan, who had mastered White Sail Swordsmanship and was skilled in Ship Combat Art, it was a tailor-made battlefield, which could only be described as "like a fish in water."

The mastery-level White Sail Swordsmanship not only granted Evan the ability to use [Esoteric Truth] but also provided him with a monstrous level of balance!

At this moment, all the yardarms and rigging on the four levels of the main mast had become Evan's stage.

His nimble form, like a monkey, suddenly appeared above, then below, his attack range and angles always unexpected. His long sword flashed like lightning, constantly grazing Zack. In just a moment, the once imposing Blood Anchor Zack was covered in bloody wounds and bleeding profusely.

But Zack seemed completely devoid of pain. Even with sword wounds all over his body, his expression didn't change, and he continued to bellow:

"Gaga, kid, are you tickling me? Don't run, come here obediently, let Uncle Zack twist your head off!"

Evan's response was even fiercer sword light. He preferred to silence his opponents with his sword rather than his words. Moreover, the unique terrain created an immobile "target," allowing him to display his swordsmanship to its fullest.

Yet, even in an absolute disadvantage where he was almost reduced to passively taking hits, his obsession kept Zack's hatred locked firmly on Evan. He didn't even consider jumping off the main mast to find a more favorable battlefield.

Instead, he climbed the rigging, relentlessly pursuing Evan upward.

Perhaps in his currently simple mind, he firmly believed that if he could just catch Evan once, he could quickly finish him off.

Zack chased Evan all the way to the yardarm at the very top of the main mast, where the mainsail was located, at a height of at least four stories above the deck.

Now, his eyes were solely fixed on Evan, his hatred at maximum. He completely disregarded the screams and cries for help coming from the pirates below.

"Ah—!"

"Captain, save me!"

"Bang—bang—"

Yes, Captain Joseph, despite his average combat prowess, was a qualified teammate. After Evan drew away the clearly disoriented Zack, he began to rally his subordinates, commanding the crew to encircle and divide the remaining pirates, crushing them with superior numbers.

If not for the initial engagement being disrupted by the high-level fighters Zack and Krulu, his command abilities would not have led to such a perilous situation. If Evan hadn't intervened, the battle might have already ended, with him being the loser.

Now that he had an opportunity, how could he not seize it to regain his honor?

The two men on the "yardarm" stared at each other, commencing their "final" duel.

Their coat tails fluttered in the sea breeze, giving them the air of master swordsmen dueling, but in reality, it was extremely dangerous.

Because of the constant wind and waves at sea, ordinary people would sway even on the lowest deck, let alone at the top of the main sail, nearly twenty meters high, where the swaying would be even more intense.

Even masters like Evan and Zack, whose skills were close to the peak of an Apprentice Knight, would suffer irreparable serious injuries if they fell from here.

Just then.

A gust of sea wind blew, and Zack's foot slipped slightly, almost causing him to fall. He quickly grabbed a rope to steady himself.

"Hahaha, Blood Anchor, are you afraid of heights? If you are, you can go down first, I won't laugh at you!"

"Kid, you're asking for death!"

Even as a seasoned old pirate captain, Blood Anchor had never done something as crazy as dueling on the top of a mast. However, he was also supremely confident in his Cesi Scimitar Art and God Blood. He believed that even in this place, he would be the victor.

Because in the short time they were talking, the sword wounds on his body had already begun to close. Perhaps in a few more minutes, they would heal completely.

"Hmph—!"

Zack flicked his blood-red cape and stepped forward, swinging his scimitar first.

Evan didn't back down, unleashing his swordsmanship without reservation, regardless of whether his opponent still had hidden trump cards or if his Data Vision had finished collecting the opponent's data. Evan simply wanted a satisfying battle.

Blade met sword, and with their evenly matched physical prowess, a quick victory was unlikely in a normal contest. Evan also noticed the abnormality on Zack, the granulation tissue wriggling on his wounds, healing at an extremely fast rate.

But on this special battlefield, Evan held the initiative and would never give Zack a chance to recover calmly.

The fierce aerial battle continued for another two minutes. The sounds of fighting from below had gradually subsided. Evan, slightly out of breath, glanced at their position on the "yardarm" and thought to himself, "The outcome is decided!"

Without further hesitation.

"Swish—"

Evan charged forward, his incredibly sharp thrust forcing Zack to withdraw his blade in defense. Unexpectedly, Evan didn't change his move flexibly as before. Instead, he put force into his feet, pressing his longsword against Zack's scimitar and slamming into him.

His foot suddenly missed its mark, and Blood Anchor Zack realized with a start that he had unknowingly been cornered by Evan at the very end of the "sail spar."

Below him was the hard deck, twenty meters down.

"No—!"

Watching Zack fall, Evan silently thought, Sorry, I still used moves other than swordsmanship.

But then again, in battle, the sword in your hand is swordsmanship, the footwork beneath your feet is swordsmanship, and the wisdom in your mind is also swordsmanship. Who's to say the planet's gravity isn't a form of swordsmanship? Right?

"Bang!"

The loud noise startled everyone on deck. The crew, who had just finished their own battles, hadn't even had time to pay attention to the fight between the two powerhouses when they saw the powerful, arrogant, and unstoppable Blood Anchor Zack fall from the main mast, crashing heavily onto the deck.

His limbs twitched and contorted, blood spraying everywhere, like a smashed tomato.

There was no doubt, the victor was Evan from their side.

As Zack fell, Evan, using the aid of a rope, landed lightly right after him.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump..."

On the silent deck, the sound of Evan's boots drew all the crew's awestruck gazes.

From top to bottom, all the members of the Yellow Swan stood at attention and saluted Evan. There was no evasion; he accepted it calmly.

This era was not like his previous life where gentlemanly conduct was popular. As the greatest contributor to this battle, he deserved the corresponding honor and spoils of war.

At this moment, Blood Anchor Zack was covered in blood, his bones broken in who knows how many places, yet he still struggled to get up. Evan walked slowly to within three steps of him and met his venomous, frenzied eyes. Evan remained silent, not speaking.

After a moment, Evan took two steps back, drew his short flintlock pistol from his waist, and amidst Zack's final terror and malice, sent a hot lead bullet into his forehead.

"Bang—!"

The moment Zack fell.

A blood-red mist, thick with a fishy smell, suddenly rose from his body, rapidly spreading to cover the deck within a three-meter radius. Whether it was the iron sword, the ropes, or the wooden planks, everything under the blood mist emitted a corrosive sizzling sound.

"Ah! It's sorcery!"

"Don't get close, run!"

The onlookers scattered, retreating far away, looking at Evan, who had already moved far off, with even greater reverence.

They didn't know that Evan had also silently wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow. He secretly rejoiced that Grandpa Leo's teachings were indeed profound wisdom. Even when holding the advantage in battle, one must learn to play it safe and be wary of being counter-killed when delivering the finishing blow.

When the sea breeze blew the blood mist away, they saw Zack's shriveled, hunched corpse left on the spot. The crowd felt disgusted. Was this the Blood Anchor Zack who had just displayed immense power and was unstoppable, or this ghastly sight?

Evan had a guess. This guy must have obtained some kind of mysterious potion from somewhere that could stimulate human potential and grant strange self-healing abilities.

But he didn't know that such potent potions that stimulated physical potential absolutely could not be used frequently. His pale and gaunt body before must have been related to this potion. Moreover, his departure from this world in such a brutal manner was utterly sinister!

"Mister Evan, are you alright?" The tall and strong Captain Joseph, shedding all pretense of captain's dignity, respectfully walked up to Evan and bowed, asking.

"I'm fine... hiss!" Only now, as his tension eased, did Evan realize he wasn't unscathed. There were bloodstains on his ribs and left arm, which stung sharply as they mixed with sweat.

"I have wound medicine; I can handle it myself. Captain Joseph, you don't need to worry about me; you still have a lot of work to do."

Following Evan's gaze, Captain Joseph saw the devastated Yellow Swan, as well as the Black Sail and Blood Anchor, drifting further away unattended. He didn't insist on tending to Evan, merely asking him to return to his cabin to rest.

Afterward, Captain Joseph issued orders.

The crew of the Yellow Swan carried out their duties: collecting the bodies of their comrades, cleaning the deck, repairing the ship, and assigning personnel to the Blood Anchor to inventory the spoils of war. They were busy yet orderly.

By this time, the sun had begun to set, casting long silhouettes of the two ships on the sea, bringing the naval battle to a close.