Facing the Enemy Head-On

"Lower the Small Boats. Prepare for battle."

Facing the Fishmen charging toward them, sailors aboard the warships shouted one after another and began lowering the Small Boats hanging from the ships' sides. Sailors and mercenaries jumped down from the warships onto the boats, preparing to close in on the Fishmen.

After all, not every sailor could raise Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship to a transcendent level. Since they could not move and fight freely across the water's surface, fighting from Small Boats became their only option.

Liu Zhi jumped onto a Small Boat as well. Two people were already standing aboard it: one mercenary and one sailor.

When Liu Zhi jumped down, the sailor said, "When the Fishmen reach us, kill the first wave immediately. Do not hesitate. There are too many Fishmen. If we fail to take down the first batch at once, they'll force us off the boat. Once we're in the water, we won't be a match for them."

The mercenary did not reply, merely readying his weapon. Liu Zhi noticed that the mercenary was actually holding a Hand Crossbow strapped to his arm.

Seeing Liu Zhi looking at him, the mercenary even smiled. "Don't look at me like that. You can't do it."

Liu Zhi was still somewhat puzzled when the sailor explained, "He's a famous sharpshooter. That's why he dares use a ranged weapon at a time like this. Haven't you noticed that we didn't even bring down our muskets? The Fishmen's weak points are the Tentacles around their mouths. Ordinary musket balls would only hurt them a little at best. A gun is less useful than a blade here."

"That's right. I've got talent with a Hand Crossbow. Watch!" The mercenary flicked his left arm, and a bolt shot out. Liu Zhi clearly saw a Fishman charging toward them collapse on the spot.

The bolt had severed the Tentacles on the Fishman's left cheek and lodged itself in its left eye.

Liu Zhi's eyes lit up. "Can you teach me?"

"Of course... not. For mercenaries, this is a little trick that keeps us alive, the foundation of our livelihood. I won't teach you. But if you want to learn, you can study it yourself. As long as you have talent like mine, it won't take long."

Seeing the mercenary's arrogant expression, Liu Zhi wanted to say something else, but the sailor spoke first. "Watch out. The Fishmen are here."

Liu Zhi quickly turned his attention back to the charging Fishmen. Meanwhile, the mercenary smugly fired another three bolts, taking down three Fishmen.

Only when the Fishmen were five or six steps away did the mercenary switch to an ordinary sailor's cutlass.

The Fishmen at the very front were Tide Warriors. As they neared the outermost Small Boats, they actually leaped into the air atop the waves.

Liu Zhi flicked his left hand, throwing out a Throwing Net.

His timing was excellent, striking at the crucial point of the Fishmen's attack. The net tangled up one Fishman and, in passing, knocked several other leaping Fishmen back down.

The Fishmen's attack formation immediately fell into disarray. Without a second thought, Liu Zhi took a step forward, ran several paces over the waves, and sliced off the Tentacles of two Fishmen with his cutlass.

Then Liu Zhi retreated. Without even checking whether the two Fishmen had died, he leaped backward and landed on the Small Boat where he had been standing.

Only then did the Fishmen reach the Small Boats and descend into a melee with the sailors and mercenaries aboard.

After fighting for a while, Liu Zhi felt that battling on the Small Boat was far too awkward. This was a Small Boat used for ferrying, capable of holding at most six people. With three people standing aboard, there was barely even room to turn around. Any technique requiring broad, sweeping movements was difficult to use.

Especially since Liu Zhi had spent the past few days practicing one against many. He had grown accustomed to constantly moving around and evading Fishman attacks. A place like this was the worst possible battlefield for him.

After cutting off the Tentacles of another two Fishmen, Liu Zhi simply charged off the Small Boat again. Stepping over Fishman corpses and waves, he launched a countercharge into the Fishmen.

Liu Zhi's actions drew some attention, but most people only glanced over before dismissing it. The battle had only just begun. He was merely a minor mercenary and had not yet caught the commanders' attention.

At most, they thought this mercenary was somewhat stronger than usual, having raised Sailor's Basic Swordsmanship to a transcendent level.

But before long, some people began to notice what was different about Liu Zhi. He seemed especially familiar with Fishmen. Every time a Fishman attacked, he could easily evade and use the opening to slice through its Tentacles.

Even when the Fishmen protected their Tentacles, he could still injure them from other angles. That was what truly made him formidable.

People had been able to do this before, but they had all been masters of swordsmanship. At their level, they were unwilling to fight Fishmen at all.

What the sailors and mercenaries did not know was that Liu Zhi was full of resentment right now. The experience gained from killing Fishmen was steadily decreasing. Even Tide Warriors with classes only gave eight or nine experience points, and the amount was still trending downward.

For Liu Zhi to fight his way desperately into the Fishman army like this was practically risking his life, yet his gains were not even as good as half a day's gains in Tortuga Port.

Just as Liu Zhi was considering whether to retreat back into the human formation, he suddenly heard the sound of drums.

The drums came from behind the Fishman battle line. Liu Zhi abruptly looked toward the sound and discovered a group of Fishmen that appeared even stronger.

These Fishmen were larger than ordinary Fishmen. Their scales were no longer the grayish white of the Surging Tides Clan, but a seaweed-like green. Besides coral spiked clubs, they carried shields made from shells or conches.

It was clear that these Fishmen were the Surging Tides Clan's elite troops.

At the center of these Fishmen stood two unusual-looking Fishmen. The Fishman that had pursued Liu Zhi last time was there, pounding heavily on a drum.

Although it had changed mounts, Liu Zhi recognized it at a glance. It was the rival the game had assigned to him.

Beside it stood a large Fishman wielding a coral trident. This Fishman was nearly as tall as a human. Its once-scrawny arms were packed with bulging muscle. Clearly, it was a powerful Fishman strengthened in some way.

Yet its eyes lacked the murderous intent of ordinary Fishmen. Like a shield, it stood guard beside Liu Zhi's rival.

At last, Liu Zhi smiled faintly. Why had he killed Fishmen for research? Why had he risked joining Tortuga Port's mission to clear out the Fishmen? Wasn't it all for this very moment?

Liu Zhi reached back and touched the items in his backpack. Taking a deep breath, he ran against the current over the waves toward that Fishman.