First Battle with an Extraordinary

The crewman facing him froze briefly, glanced at Ian from the corner of his eye, then had no choice but to keep dealing with the charging pirates.

Ian reached behind his back with his left hand, and another hand axe appeared in his grip.

The slaughter just now had not made him uncomfortable. Instead, it gave him an inexplicable thrill. Precise! Everything had been like instinct, requiring no adjustment.

A pirate on the outskirts spotted Ian running along the bulwark. Holding a longsword in a low guard, he charged at him.

The pirate's steps were steady and his stance unshaken. He should have had some foundation in swordsmanship.

Ian did not break stride. Spirituality surged in his eyes, and with a sweep of his left hand, the hand axe shot toward the pirate's face.

The pirate had been prepared, but he had clearly not expected the axe to be so fast. He stopped short and raised his sword to block. At the brink of death, he barely managed to hold the blade across his body.

Just as the pirate thought he had blocked it, the hand axe traced a slight arc around the sword and buried itself deep in his right eye.

The pirate's face was full of disbelief as he fell backward.

Without slowing, Ian dashed past the pirate and casually pulled the axe from his head.

The faint Spirituality fluctuation had gone unnoticed by the two people fighting fiercely nearby. Ian slowed down, concealed his presence, and approached the battlefield.

"Take care of you first!"

He planned to deal with the pirate providing support first. This pirate was tall and sturdy, yet his footwork was delicate. A hand crossbow mounted on his left arm gave off a faint Mana aura. He aimed but did not fire, making him seem like one of the pirates' elites.

However, Ian sensed no Spirituality fluctuation from him. He most likely had not yet entered the Extraordinary.

Ian hung his scimitar behind his back, gripped an axe in each hand—one held forward, the other near his waist—lowered his body, and suddenly shot toward the crossbow-wielding pirate.

Ian often played games. He knew that saving skills in a small-scale team fight would only lead to endless trouble. Burst them down in one go and prevent accidents!

Spirituality surged through his body, Mana boiling as it threatened to burst forth. Ian felt like the master of the battlefield. Every fluctuation within dozens of meters lay reflected in his Spirituality.

The sudden Spirituality fluctuation instantly set off the nerves of the two men fighting. Both were on high alert, unable for the moment to tell whether the newcomer was friend or foe.

The crossbow-wielding pirate was clearly slower to react. Only after seeing the two men's movements did he realize something was wrong, but it was too late.

Two hand axes howled through the air, streaking toward him one after the other.

"Bill—" The Bloody Hand Pirate's warning came too late.

The crossbow-wielding pirate, turning his head, also realized death had arrived. He kicked off desperately, twisted his body, and threw himself backward in an attempt to dodge. But before the strength in his waist and abdomen could take effect, a short axe had already come flying at him.

Every hair on his body stood on end. Even with all his strength, he only had time to raise the hand crossbow slightly. The axe split through the crossbow without slowing, then swept across his right shoulder, severing his entire shoulder and arm and sending them flying.

"Ah..."

His sharp, brief scream had not even left his throat when the other sharp axe came streaking in. It carved an upward diagonal arc across the pirate's chest, sending a terror-stricken head flying toward the sea.

"I'll tear—"

The Bloody Hand Pirate had barely begun to roar when his Spirituality suddenly warned him. Following his instincts, he stopped and leaned backward, shattering the oak deck beneath his feet. His left hand swung its sword toward the source of danger he sensed.

"Ah—"

It was as though an invisible blade had sliced across the Bloody Hand Pirate's forearm. Half his arm, along with his sword-wielding left hand, was cut off.

Even the captain froze for a moment at the sudden turn of events, unconsciously adopting a guarded stance.

Ian stood by the rail. With a pinch of his right index and middle fingers, he caught the silently returning card between his fingertips.

Only then did the two of them sense that it was a completely transparent card. As the Spirituality fluctuation caused by the attack gradually subsided, the card quickly vanished from Spirituality perception as well.

The first things awakened Spirituality enhanced were perception and reaction. A newly initiated Extraordinary might not be stronger than an ordinary person, but their perception and reactions were certainly far superior.

Therefore, as long as an Extraordinary had ample Spirituality, it was difficult for a small number of muskets or cannons to hit them.

That made [Hidden Attack] even more terrifying, because it left its target far too little time to react.

"Spiritual Equipment?"

The captain was not certain. Such equipment was rare, and some could even conceal themselves within the Spiritual World. He had never seen one before.

"Stop him!"

Ian had been watching the Bloody Hand Pirate. Seeing him about to pick up his fallen half-arm, Ian hurriedly warned the captain, who was slightly dazed.

That bloody arm looked unusual. If it really could be reattached, that would be troublesome.

The captain was Extraordinary after all and had not truly lost focus. With a flick of his right hand, the azure scimitar spun rapidly toward the Bloody Hand Pirate, trailing white Battle Aura.

The Bloody Hand Pirate no longer dared to retrieve his arm. He hastily raised his blade with his right hand to block and was driven back several steps.

The azure scimitar spun around and returned to the captain's hand.

The Bloody Hand Pirate shot Ian a resentful look, then decisively turned and ran. In just a few steps, he reached the rail and leaped back onto the pirate ship.

"Retreat—"

The Bloody Hand Pirate's voice carried into the distance. The pirates quickly cut the ropes between the two ships and nimbly climbed back onto their vessel.

The merchant ship's crew did not stop them. They exchanged glances, their faces filled with relief at having survived.

Ian did not pursue them either. The captain looked at Ian in confusion, but Ian merely played with the card in his hand, half leaning against a halyard without responding.

When all the ropes between the ships had been severed and the vessels began to separate, Ian suddenly drew the scimitar from behind his back. Aiming at the pirate ship's mainsail, he hurled it with all his strength. The scimitar swiftly cut through two lines and a stay before losing momentum and falling into the sea.

It was not that he had not wanted to pursue them earlier. He simply could not.

Derivative Cards differed from Main Cards. They were equivalent to Spiritual Equipment, and using them consumed his own strength. The energy of a Main Card, however, was stored within the card itself. Even if his Spirituality were exhausted, he could activate it instantly as long as he retained a shred of consciousness.

Ian had only recently entered the Extraordinary. When he woke up, his Spirituality and Mana had been nearly depleted. The previous attacks had already consumed much of what little Spirituality and Mana he had left. His remaining Spirituality could only launch two more Attack Cards, so he had to save it in case of emergencies.

Perhaps he could have killed that Bloody Hand Pirate just now, but then what? There were still at least a hundred pirates left. He could not win in a direct fight.

Besides, the Slave Ship captain might not necessarily be an ally!

"Everyone, return to your positions immediately!"

Seeing Ian's actions, the shrewd captain immediately understood. Ignoring his wounds, he knew this was not the time to relax.

"First Mate, take the helm!"

"Sailmaster, raise all sails! Run before the wind!"

"First Mate, organize the men to put out the fires and repair the damage!"

"Captain, the First Mate is dead."

"..."

"Gunner, take over the First Mate's duties!"

"Anyone who can move, get moving!"

"Where's the Boatswain?"

"Captain, Will is dead too," the bearded First Mate called out again.

"Fuck!"

"Carpenter, take men and use the slaves to fill the gaps. Get this ship moving. And remember, keep a close eye on them!"

The captain grabbed the short, stocky Carpenter and spoke with a grave expression.

"Understood, Captain!"

Ian leaned alone against the bulwark, staring at the pirate ship gradually sailing away. The Bloody Hand Pirate was no longer visible on the quarterdeck, while the pirates were scrambling to repair the rigging.

"Will they come after us again, Captain?"