Means Unleashed

Ato held his sword in one hand, his face expressionless. He didn't care whether the undead had any intelligence.

In Ato's eyes, the situation was simple: the enemy jungler was trying to gank our bot lane, and I'd caught them while counter-ganking.

He swung his sword arm, knocking aside the undead's arms, which had mutated into withered claws.

Sarah hadn't even seen Ato move. All she saw was the undead in front of her cut in half at the waist. Its lower half was sucked into the Demon Sword, while its upper half landed on the deck a short distance away.

The remaining half of its body crawled relentlessly toward Sarah.

"Thank you." Sarah's full chest rose and fell rapidly.

"I promised you that no one else would threaten you within the next month."

"But why can't these low-level undead born from the Ruinous Curse sense me? Sarah, you really do have a remarkable allure."

"...This isn't the time for jokes." Sarah stared intently at the half-undead.

The mindless undead naturally didn't understand Ato's words. Even with only half its body left, it still had to complete the mission given to it by that being!

Ever since its creation, it had wandered the Shadow Isles, serving the powerful being who had fused with his warhorse.

How dare this creature, which looked no different from an ordinary person, give it orders!

The undead roared. It pulled back its outstretched, withered arms and shifted its hatred to the Mysterious Person standing in the way of its chance to earn merit.

The undead's instincts told it that the only reason this person could stop it was because he was lucky!

There was no way anyone in the world could stand against the Shadow Isles' army.

Yes, that had to be it.

Ato shook his head helplessly.

Ordinary pirates were one thing, but why were the undead just as clueless about their own limits?

The Demonic Sword of the Dark looked enormous, but in Ato's hands it seemed weightless.

After blocking the attack aimed at Sarah, Ato drew the Demon Sword back into his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he casually brought it down in front of him, cleaving through the deck and splitting the undead in two.

It raised its withered claw one last time, then let it fall limply. Its body gradually turned to ash and merged with the Demon Sword.

They were called undead, but they had physical bodies just like humans.

If they were hit by a firearm or a cleaver, they could still be reduced to ashes if damaged enough.

The undead that had attacked Sarah was swiftly slain by Ato.

Sarah's heart tightened. If Ato hadn't been on her side, she might have had to pay for her survival on this Harrowing with Mother's Twin Pistols.

At the same time, the people aboard the Siren heard a series of loud explosions from the southeast.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

"Looks like Gangplank has sent his main forces to Grayport," Ato said, sheathing his greatsword as he looked at Miss Fortune.

"Hmph. This is just Gangplank's way of maintaining his rule."

Sarah was unimpressed. Even as she heard the sounds coming from Grayport, southeast of Bilgewater, her face remained twisted with disgust.

"More importantly, Mr. Ato, thank you for earlier. These pistols mean a lot to me..."

Sarah couldn't help remembering the first time she'd met Gangplank, when she was very young.

"You shouldn't let your guard down, Miss Sarah." Ato tightened his grip on the greatsword. "The Harrowing has only just begun."

Sarah abruptly came to her senses, pulled free of her memories, and instinctively moved closer to Ato.

"Every Harrowing lasts at least a full day. Mr. Ato, how do you think we should get through it safely?"

Just lie back and let me carry... Ato grumbled inwardly, then replied casually, "Maybe you've struggled through every Harrowing before this one, but this time, you don't have to worry about a thing. I'm here."

Southeast of Bilgewater, two enormous ships unleashed a relentless barrage of firepower. Each was three or four times the size of the Siren.

Countless iron cannons blazed across their decks, their shells crashing into the sea and raising towering waves.

Along with the cannon fire, figures wielding swords and knives fought across the decks. The undead had already invaded the waters around the Dreadnought and the Leviathan.

Gangplank stood by the door to the Captain's Cabin, high above on the Dreadnought, surveying the entire battle.

The Black Mist blocked his view, leaving him with very little information. It made him restless; he hated anything beyond his control.

He took a fierce bite of the peeled orange in his hand, drew the Gauntlet Cleaver at his waist, and descended the stairs to join the fight against the undead.

"You mindless beasts! What do you want with my kingdom?"

Fuming, Gangplank used the flashes from the cannon fire to spot the nearest undead. He tensed his muscles and chopped off its head before it could react.

"Hmph. Still as weak as ever. You'll serve as stepping stones to secure my rule!"

As an experienced pirate, Gangplank had faced the Harrowing more than once and knew how to kill the undead.

Firearms didn't inflict enough damage to kill them outright. Even after taking several shots, they could still remain mobile.

The most effective method was to cut off their heads. After struggling for a few moments, the undead would stop moving and turn to ash.

Otherwise, you had to hit them with a cannonball—but they were too small to hit easily.

"Everyone, listen up!" Gangplank ran to a loudspeaker on the ship. "Aim for the heads of these lowly creatures! Anyone who doesn't understand will be eating bullets after the Harrowing is over!"

Suddenly, Gangplank felt a chill behind him. An undead's claw swept through the air, sending a cold gust toward his back.

Years of combat experience kept Gangplank on his toes. He ducked quickly, and the claw shattered the loudspeaker.

Gangplank rolled to one side and pulled out a pistol with his other hand, firing to stop the undead from making its next move.

He seized the chance to close the distance and tried to slash at its neck again, but this time the undead was ready. Its hard, bony claw blocked the blade.

He couldn't break through the bone claw's defense, no matter how hard he tried, so he retreated. His eyes stayed fixed on the undead, like a leopard watching its prey, waiting for it to expose an opening.

The Black Mist invaded from every direction, and Gangplank's fleet could only stop part of it.

As time passed, the Black Mist finally spread from the waters near Bilgewater to the islands themselves.

Warnings from the Baru Temple spread across the islands. Now every household in Bilgewater had shut its doors, though even that couldn't guarantee the undead wouldn't suddenly appear indoors.

From the moment the warning arrived, pirates and ordinary residents alike had prepared their ammunition and weapons, staying awake through the night.

The Baru Temple stood not far from Grayport.

The High Priestess of the Buhru, a strong, dark-skinned woman named Illaoi, noticed the darkness gradually deepening around her. Beside her stood a group of Buhru dressed in similar attire.