Fear

A jumble of assorted debris was piled haphazardly at the rear of the deck, with wooden crates of varying heights scattered about, along with all manner of rooms and raised platforms. An ordinary person would have found it difficult to move through.

But this was not much of a problem for Arro. He possessed Advanced Cat Form Fist—Tree Climbing, and being small and thin, he could swiftly slip through many narrow gaps.

What Arro had not expected was that the pirates were also remarkably nimble. They were not slow at climbing and scrambling through the clutter either.

"Watch out for his sneak attacks!"

Relying on the difference in their climbing speed, Arro had repeatedly climbed to high places to lie in wait and counterattack. He had already killed several pirates in succession, and the remaining pirates had become far more cautious.

"Surround him and force him out!"

The pirates shouted without the slightest attempt at concealment. Most of them had never seen Arro truly fight, so although they had seen him ambush several men, they all assumed that sneak attacks were all he could do.

That was precisely what Arro wanted.

He had to deal with these pirates quickly. The Siege Ladder had long since been set up. Even if he drew away more than a dozen pirates, more would swiftly fill their place.

Hidden around a corner, Arro used the perception of Master Level Cat Form Fist—Dash to clearly sense a pirate slowly approaching just behind the wooden crate against which he leaned.

Three...

Two...

One!

Move!

The pirate had only just taken half a step when his vision blurred, as though a black shadow had flashed past. He was about to strike back when he felt a slight chill at his throat, followed by the taste of rust surging into his mouth.

Pain!

Arro slit his throat with one stroke and swiftly retreated, paying no heed to the corpse collapsing behind him.

Thud!

"Who was that?"

"Go take a look!"

Two pirates quickly rushed over. When they saw the situation on the ground, their expressions changed slightly as they warily scanned their surroundings.

"Another brother's dead! Everyone watch your surroundings!"

Arro closed his eyes, concentrating all his attention on his hearing and Down Perception Ability. Slowing his Footsteps, he carefully threaded his way through the assorted debris.

He normally would not close his eyes, because the eyes detected their surroundings through visible light, and light always traveled faster than sound.

But things were different now. This place was Arro's strongest battlefield. He did not rely on vision; with only the perception of the down all over his body, he could sense every movement around him!

Cautious?

Would that help?

Arro sneered inwardly. He held his longsword at a slant, opened his eyes to a thin slit, held his breath, and waited quietly for a moment.

When lying in ambush, he could not keep his eyes closed. He had to rely on his vision to observe the pirates' reactions and prevent himself from being injured by accident.

More often than not, being wounded on the battlefield was practically the same as dying.

Whoosh!

Two!

The Knight's Longsword in Arro's hand truly deserved to be Grandfather's treasured collection. Even after cutting down so many people and becoming coated in a film of mixed grease and blood, its sharpness remained unaffected.

Not far away, weapons clashed, miserable cries rang out, and wild laughter erupted. All kinds of sounds poured forth without end.

The low, muffled groans that occasionally sounded here were inadvertently swallowed up by them.

Things had gone even more smoothly than Arro had imagined!

After confirming again and again that there were no living things left, Arro made a few quick adjustments.

Mainly, he cut away the bandages on his Right Hand, which had swollen after being soaked in blood. Then he pulled some bandages down from his wrist and wrapped them around his palm again.

After using his teeth to help tighten the bandages, Arro spat several times in succession.

When he had bitten down just now, he had felt the blood soaked into the bandages flow into his mouth. The stench of blood lingered in his mouth for a long time.

Suppressing his nausea, Arro used the clothes of a nearby corpse to lightly wipe down the Knight's Longsword. Crouching low, he climbed up onto the platform again and quietly crawled toward the deck.

Like a pack of wolves skilled at hunting, the pirates circled the weak flock of sheep, slicing away several Academy students at a time as though cutting flesh with a dull blade.

Then—tearing them apart, devouring them!

Blood—was flowing.

Young heads were ruthlessly severed. Innocent Maidens were cruelly carved apart.

Then the broken limbs were tossed back amid the pirates' mad laughter.

"Hahaha! Catch!"

"Little boy, catch it!"

The remains of their companions struck the students again and again.

They—were afraid.

"No, I don't want to die!"

"Let's jump into the sea!"

"If we jump, we're really dead for sure!"

"Wizard Desi, save us!"

Lying atop the platform, Arro silently watched it all.

Those discarded remains not only crushed the students' morale, but pounded against Arro's heart as well.

What a slaughter!

The ones being slaughtered were the youths who had still been laughing in front of him only days ago.

The wrist gripping his sword hilt twisted involuntarily.

Arro—hesitated.

He had long known there would be a Death Assessment, but when such brutal and revolting scenes suddenly unfolded before his eyes, his heart could not help trembling.

His emotions roared: Everyone has empathy. Just days ago, those youths had treated me with respect. They even spoke the same language I spoke in this life!

Look at them now!

They're being dismembered, torn into pieces—piece by piece—before countless people!

When one creature suffers, its kind feels the pain!

His reason tried to persuade him: he could not possibly drive back so many pirates on the open deck, especially when the Pirate Captain, whose strength was unknown, had yet to make a move.

Arro was afraid. He was afraid he would lose control of himself and rush out like an idiot.

In the past, the people he despised most were those who overestimated themselves. He was also afraid of becoming one of them.

At the same time, he could think of countless more reasons.

For example: perhaps the Academy did not like people who acted without knowing their limits.

For example: what was the use of saving them now? They would probably split up afterward anyway. Even if he gave it everything, he would not gain a single benefit.

For example: you already drew away so many pirates and wiped them all out. Do as much as your strength allows.

He came up with countless reasons, all to suppress the impulse that was becoming harder and harder to contain.

He kept weighing it in his heart.

Think this through. If you act now, you may very well lower your score. Are you really willing to let your perfect score become flawed?

Trade your future for one or two lives?

As the ancients said: Even if plucking one hair would benefit the world, I would not do it!

"Sob... sob... I'll kill you!"

Blood splashed. Tears and blood mingled on the youths' faces as they continued resisting with difficulty.

"Please, let us go!"

At the rear of the crowd, terrified youths fell to their knees and repeatedly smashed their foreheads against the ground.

"I'll kill you!"

At the front, the fearless Noble Youth let out a desperate cry. He suddenly seized a pirate's weapon, completely ignoring the way it pierced through his palm, and viciously bit down on the pirate's throat!

Like the last straw that broke the camel's back, the Noble Youth's charge caused the youths' defensive line to collapse completely. The surging pirates swiftly smashed through it.

"Die!"

"Kids—I love killing kids most!"

"Hahaha!"

"Knight's Potion! I want Knight's Potion!"

This was a carnival.

"Look at this head. So beautiful—I'm keeping it as a collection!"

A pirate raised a pale Girl's head high into the air.

Arro turned to look without thinking.

Oh. It was Isha.

It was Isha.

It was—Isha!

Her crying and vomiting in the room.

The grateful look in her eyes when she was saved.

"Young Master Arro, thank you for taking care of us these past few days."

"Thanks to Young Master Arro's care these past few days."

"Otherwise, I might not have lasted until now."

"Is this the sunlight after the storm that Mother always spoke of?"

Beneath her grayish-white coarse linen clothes, her beautiful white collarbones.

Before Arro's eyes, Internal Organs and severed limbs flew everywhere.

Countless thoughts churned through Arro's mind.

It was as though an invisible force had seized—his heart!

He breathed—and it hurt so much.

His thoughts were in chaos.

He despised his own cowardice.

Arro, are you worthy of the Martial Arts System in your mind?

Do you have even a shred of fighting spirit?

Is the purpose of your pursuit of strength merely to become like everyone else?

No wonder the Martial Arts System cannot be activated in This Way.

Martial!

What does it mean?

Do you understand?

Arro—slowly rose to his feet.

His emotions roared: Kill!

His reason tried to reassure him: Teacher Gemma was on the ship, and Mother must be hiding nearby. With Teacher Gemma here, and Mother here, he absolutely would not die!

Arro's blood was not hot; his heart—was even colder!

Arro raised his sword and roared:

"Die!"