Demonic Sword of the Dark Slashes Pirates

A bullet whizzed past Sarah's ear, stirring up a gust of wind that lifted her fiery red hair.

The curvaceous, red-haired woman's eyes were focused as she weaved between the tavern tables and chairs, dodging the dense barrage of gunfire from all directions. Finally, she lunged forward, taking cover behind a pillar, and let out a slight gasp for breath.

"Tch." Sarah gritted her teeth, holding her well-crafted twin pistols. "These scumbags should be thrown from Grayport to feed the bone-picking fish!"

Judging by the direction of the gunshots, besides the two already killed, at least five others were ambushed throughout the tavern, continuing to pour fire onto the pillar where Sarah was hiding.

"Damn it, I was careless. I didn't expect a common tavern to be an Iron Hook Gang stronghold."

Sarah was somewhat annoyed. She had come alone to relax at a tavern without bringing anyone else, only to be recognized by members of the Iron Hook Gang, triggering an immediate firefight.

It was only thanks to Sarah's keen intuition and agile movements that their sneak attack failed. Instead, she had taken down two of them first.

Just then, the barrage of gunfire slowly stopped.

As Sarah was about to discern the enemy's movements, she heard a man's rough voice, tinged with amusement, "My, my, look at our famous Miss Fortune, the rising star of Bilgewater bounty hunters, being pushed to such a state by mere sailors like us?"

Sarah turned her head, inching closer to the edge of the pillar.

Through her peripheral vision, she could roughly see a stout man with tattoos of waves and hooks on his face, using a collapsed table as cover, lying prone to her right rear.

"I say, Miss Fortune, since you have no chance today, why don't we talk? Lay down your weapons, and we promise not to shoot at you anymore, and then... we can do something more interesting."

The fat man licked his lips, his eyes fixated on the exquisite face of the red-haired woman and her ample curves that her clothes couldn't fully conceal.

The other men, relying on cover and bearing similar tattoos on their faces, breathed heavily.

Sarah was now the Iron Hook Gang's number one enemy. Since her sudden appearance, she had brought in the heads of over a dozen wanted gang leaders to claim bounties, even evoking the legend of the Blood Harbor Ghost that had recently become popular in Bilgewater.

She was swift and decisive in dealing with targets on her kill list, showing none of the hesitation of a novice hunter.

The Blood Harbor Ghost was ultimately just a legend, as no one had ever seen it. However, Sarah before them had undeniably spilled the blood of the Iron Hook Gang.

Enemy or not, Sarah possessed a body that made one's blood surge. If she could be made to submit before them...

The Iron Hook Gang members sniffed, a hint of hesitation creeping into their minds. It seemed like a waste for that perfect body behind the pillar to be riddled with bullet holes and perish...

Listening to the heavy breathing behind her, Sarah finally lost her patience. These lackeys were as vile as their master, Gangplank!

She had been too merciful earlier. Feeding them to the bone-picking fish was no longer enough to vent Sarah's rage. They should have been dragged to the bottom of the sea by another terrifying legend of Bilgeport—the Deep Sea Titan—when they were out at sea, smashed into meat paste by a giant anchor!

The breathing exposed the positions of the others. Sarah planned her next move in her mind, rehearsing it a few times. Taking a deep breath, she moved agilely, rolling out from behind the pillar and quickly adjusting her stance, raising her twin pistols to aim in two directions: "I'll...!"

"I will cleave your filthy body, cut you open, and chop you to pieces!"

Sarah froze. Just as she rolled out, a beam of bloody light suddenly burst through the tavern door, along with two sailors guarding it, flying towards the fat man in the back.

The fat man didn't even have time to react. The three were pierced by the bloody light and pinned to the ground.

The sudden turn of events reversed the situation in the tavern. Sarah instinctively seized the opportunity, firing both guns simultaneously. The two distracted individuals fell to the ground in response.

After killing the last two, Sarah raised her guns and scanned her surroundings. Once she confirmed no one else was present, she focused her gaze on a particular spot, her expression shifting slightly.

It was a blood-red greatsword, as tall as a person. Its black blades curved and twisted on both sides, and the black spikes above the hilt glinted coldly. It felt as if the thumping sound of a beating heart pulsed in time with the red light flickering on the blade. Although the greatsword pierced through the bodies of three people, no blood flowed out.

"Was that sound coming from this thing? Is it a talking sword?"

Sarah remained wary of the greatsword, but the subsequent development made it impossible for her to stay calm. The three people who had been impaled suddenly erupted in black and red light, and then their bodies began to decompose, finally vanishing. The entire process looked as if the greatsword had absorbed their bodies.

"What in the world is going on?" Sarah tightened her grip on her twin guns and slowly moved toward the door. Reason told her that she should leave the tavern immediately. The blood-red greatsword looked far more dangerous than the undead wandering the streets during the Soul Eater's arrival!

"You maggots, maggots!" the blood-red greatsword roared, the frequency of its red light clearly accelerating. "Why, after devouring enough flesh and blood, can I still not form a body! What did that ant do?"

"Save it, old man."

A man with a well-proportioned build walked in through the door with a light, unsteady gait. His voice was lazy, as if he had just woken up, and he scratched his messy black hair.

Upon seeing Sarah, a sliver of drowsiness left his face. He then sighed, "Oh, Naga Kaboros, look who it is. The renowned Miss Fortune. You are indeed as beautiful as the rumors say."

"Humble ant!"

"Why does everyone recognize me wherever I go today?" Sarah sighed, but she didn't let down her guard. She asked with a hint of confusion, "Naga Kaboros? Are you Baru?"

"Insignificant mortal!"

"No, I was just casually sighing to someone." The man shrugged, then walked directly towards the blood-red greatsword. "Please wait a moment, beautiful lady. This sword is really too noisy."

"I couldn't kill you a thousand times over!" The greatsword seemed incapable of independent movement, only able to express its anger through words and rapid flashes of red light. Otherwise, Sarah felt it would have already flown over to attack.

"Ant, what exactly did you do?"

"What did I do? I didn't do anything. You darkin sealed within weapons always fight for control with your hosts."

The man paid no mind to Sarah overhearing this, continuing his conversation with the greatsword.

"I almost forgot. After all, you are the strongest Ascended. In the thousand years since you awoke, no one could overcome your will, and you easily took over others' bodies each time. But this time, I regret to say you lost."