Harvest!

Having lived life on the edge for years and skilled in the dirty fighting of thugs, Abis was already on guard when Merlin got close.

And at this moment, He sensed the appearance of the low-blow tactics he rarely used anymore.

Abis's pupils constricted, and he quickly raised his left leg, which collided with Merlin's left knee with a BANG!

Anger surged in Abis's eyes as he cursed, "Damn bastard!"

Merlin's expression remained unchanged. The dagger in his left hand scraped fiercely against Abis's greatsword, but because Merlin was blocking with his dagger against the hilt of Abis's sword, Merlin received less of a phản lực for the moment.

Abis glared at Merlin and suddenly threw a punch with his left hand towards Merlin's head, trying to force Merlin back.

However, at this moment, Merlin's gaze didn't waver, and the tip of the Katana in his right hand, held in a reverse grip, stabbed sharply downwards.

Slish!

The sharp blade slid smoothly through the shoe's surface and into the instep of his left foot.

The pain, like a connection to his very soul, made Abis involuntarily let out a muffled groan. His eyes flashed with ferocity and madness, and after a brief pause, his forward-swinging left fist smashed forward again.

Should I use my abilities?

Abis is the perfect opponent to use as a whetstone, to hone my combat skills.

But Merlin's gaze hesitated for only a moment before his eyes narrowed. Black Flame rose from his right hand, spreading along the hilt and onto Abis's foot in the blink of an eye.

Calamity. Crimson of Pain.

At the same time, Merlin suddenly lowered his head and rammed it into Abis's abdomen.

With a dull THUD!, Abis's fist swept over Merlin's head, while Abis himself was in so much pain his mouth hung open.

And then.

The Black Flame instantly spread across Abis's body.

In an instant.

Ghastly penetrating wounds appeared all over his body.

Wounds penetrating his arms and legs.

A gash on his neck.

Dense ruptures across his chest and abdomen.

In the blink of an eye, Abis, bleeding from head to toe, became a bloody mess.

An incomparably tragic howl was squeezed from his throat. Merlin realized the strength in his greatsword had vanished.

He forcefully pushed Abis's greatsword away with his left arm, then a cold glint slashed upwards, smoothly slicing across his neck.

In an instant, More than half of Abis's neck was severed.

His body instantly went limp and he leaned forward. Merlin drew his sword and flashed past his side.

As Abis fell to the ground, Merlin swung his sword from his right side, cutting across his nape.

With a Slish!, a blood-spewing head with thick hair and beard rolled to the side.

The exchange between the two lasted less than a minute.

And as Abis's earlier screams had already attracted the attention of the two groups on deck, his beheading by Merlin now caused the fighting in the field to come to a standstill.

A wisp of Black Flame flashed in Merlin's eyes. He turned his head slightly, scanned the surroundings, then pushed off the deck with his foot, his figure rapidly approaching the nearest Pirate to his right.

"Kill them all!"

As Merlin's cry rang out, the sailors on the passenger ship's morale surged, while the Pirates fell into a panic.

No one had expected their usually imposing captain to die so swiftly.

And that black flame?

Those with some knowledge on the ship roared a single word in their hearts: Ability User.

And at this moment, before Merlin even got close, the Pirate was already scared out of his wits. He screamed and quickly turned to run.

Unfortunately, Merlin was faster. Just as the Pirate climbed over the railing connected to the ropes, Merlin's Katana smoothly pierced his lower back.

At this moment, the guard captain, Rainer, excitedly yelled at Merlin, "Kid, shall we take down this first mate together?"

And Arthur's eyes, filled with despair, also held a hint of madness. Their leader was dead, the battle had become one-sided, and he probably wouldn't survive.

However, his gaze remained fierce as he glared, sweeping between Merlin and Rainer.

Merlin saw it but didn't respond. Instead, he jumped onto the railing, pushed off with force, and his body traced a parabola through the air.

He landed precisely on the deck of the Pirate ship, four meters away on the opposite side.

When Arthur saw this, despair flashed in his eyes again. His escape route was gone. Gritting his teeth, he charged furiously at Rainer:

"You damn piece of shit, even if I die today, I'll take you with me."

He roared, wildly swinging his twin axes.

Clang clang clang clang!

A series of dazzling sparks erupted from where the weapons collided.

Seeing that Merlin wasn't responding, Rainer's lips twisted into a bitter smile. He admitted he'd put Merlin in a tight spot earlier, but now he was suffering the consequences himself.

He noticed that although the first mate's axe skills were terrible, like a few basic moves repeated over and over, this person's brute strength was even greater than Abyss's.

Instantly, his guard was fully raised.

He defended with all his might, loudly calling for the surrounding sailors to come and help.

However, at this moment.

The few pirates left on the pirate ship were terrified when they saw Merlin charging at them. One of them even raised a flintlock gun and pulled the trigger, bang!

A scorching lead ball shot out.

But Merlin had already noticed the pirate holding the gun.

The moment the pirate raised his gun and pulled the trigger, Merlin suddenly rolled forward, dodging the bullet, and rushed in front of him.

Then, he sprang up, and his dagger plunged into the pirate's throat from under his chin.

One kill, instantly.

Seeing Merlin's ferocity, the remaining three pirates' eyes widened in fear, and they fled in separate directions without hesitation.

Merlin casually pursued one of them, noticing the other two running towards the ship's edge.

Two breaths later, he caught up and decisively killed his target with a single slash. At that moment, a splash and a dull thud sounded.

Merlin went to where the dull thud came from and saw that the pirate had already gotten onto a small boat tied to the stern.

He must be the ship's navigator.

Merlin merely glanced at him, then ignored him. He turned and quickly jogged towards the ship's cabin.

The cabin was silent at this moment.

But because of the silence, Merlin could hear a rapid heartbeat.

Merlin's hearing was now extremely sharp; at close range, he could hear the heartbeat of living creatures.

Because of this, his gaze shifted, and he slowed his pace as he approached the door of a partially concealed cabin. Pushing the door open, Merlin found the first mate, who had been injured by his grenades.

He was currently struggling to get up from a wooden bed.

Merlin's gaze was calm as he walked forward and swiftly ran his sword through the first mate's heart.

He watched him die quietly.

After a while, Merlin arrived at the door of a cabin within the ship's hold and looked at the words "Captain's Room" carved on the doorplate.

He pushed open the tightly shut door.

A wave of sweat, smoke, and foot odor assaulted his nostrils. Merlin's brow furrowed slightly, "Dirty, messy, and chaotic! He doesn't even clean his own den. Two stars!"

Of course, Merlin had no intention of cleaning it for him. His sharp gaze swept over the layout of the cabin.

There was a two-and-a-half-meter-wide bed by the window, a three-meter-tall wine rack with only a few bottles of wine on it, an open wardrobe, and a small round table with three chairs.

On the small round table were an opened box of cigarettes and a delicate golden lighter.

However, Merlin's attention was drawn to a half-meter-long, reddish-brown wooden box by the head of the bed.

His eyes flickered as he walked to the head of the bed and looked at the locked wooden box. But it wasn't a problem. He jumped onto the headboard, placing his left foot on the wooden box, and inserted the tip of his knife into the lock's clasp.

With a forceful pry, crack!

The entire lock came off.

Merlin then moved away from the wooden box and extended his arm, using the tip of his knife to lift the lid.

Seeing that there was no reaction, Merlin stepped forward and looked inside.

His brow furrowed. The inside was lined with silk cloth, upon which rested a slightly smaller white skull. Judging by its moist appearance, it even had a patina.

"Polishing a skull?"

Merlin frowned.

He was not interested in such hobbies.

"But, no treasure?"

Merlin scanned the surroundings again:

"The only places treasure could be hidden seem to be the wardrobe and under the bed."

Merlin jumped off the bed and lifted the bedding. He immediately discovered a long, rope-connected section on the bed board.

Pulling the rope, a wooden board opened, revealing a suitcase.

Merlin took out the suitcase, and as he opened it, a smile appeared in his eyes:

"As expected, how could a pirate captain not have some savings?"

He looked at the stacks of Belly bills of various denominations neatly arranged in the box.

with a beautifully sheathed straight shortsword, after a moment, Belly counted, Merlin chuckled:

"Thirteen million Belly."

Clang! With a sound, the shortsword was drawn from its sheath, revealing a cold glint.

Forty-two centimeters in length, two and a half fingers thick.

The edge alone looked piercingly sharp, but the blade had a dull, dark luster.

Merlin flicked his finger against the blade, producing a crisp, resonant ping. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, along with two beautiful, inscription-like characters near the hilt:

"Is the quality even better than that fine sword, Fine Snow? A good fast sword?

And the sword's name, Steel Breaker."

Seeing this, Merlin couldn't help but glance at the family heirloom dagger on his right thigh.

His Equipment Slot could [synthesize] Equipment, so in the future... he had this synthesis idea.

However, that would have to wait until his Equipment Slot had enough empty spaces later on.

Merlin closed the briefcase, picked it up, and stood. He then took the remaining few bottles of alcohol from the wine rack and smashed them, before lighting the bed with the lighter on the table.

Soon, seeing the flames ignite within the cabin, Merlin turned and left.

Arriving on the deck outside, Merlin saw that the battle on the passenger ship had already concluded.

He then leaped back onto the passenger ship from the railing. At this moment, seeing Merlin return, the sailors cleaning up the corpses on deck looked at him with respect in their eyes.

The captain of the guards, Rainer, walked forward with admiration, his eyes holding a hint of apprehension but not the slightest bit of dissatisfaction. He then spoke to Merlin:

"On behalf of our passenger ship, I express our deepest gratitude for your assistance this time, Mr. Merlin.

Abyss's head has been secured. This is your spoils of war, and I will personally deliver it to you once it's processed.

Also, to thank you for your help, we will refund your ship fare in full later, and if you wish, we can arrange more comfortable accommodation for you right now."

Merlin glanced at him, making no comment on his fawning. After all, he had tried to trick him earlier. Merlin didn't know if it was intentional, but he was too lazy to give him a friendly reception anyway.

He said calmly at this moment, "No need. I'm just an ordinary passenger. If you truly want to thank me, then just give me Abyss's bounty.

I'll waive the odd change, just give me ten million Belly."

Rainer chuckled awkwardly, realizing his previous actions were indeed a bit underhanded. He quickly nodded and said:

"Don't worry, I'll prepare it for you shortly. Also, I apologize for what happened just now. I really didn't mean to."

Merlin nodded. Seeing that he was so understanding, he decided not to pursue the previous matter any further. He still said calmly:

"I'm tired. I'm going back to my room to rest."