Carnival of Slaughter

The atmosphere on the deck was oppressive to the extreme.

Even battle-hardened veterans could not help tightening their grips on their flintlock rifles, cold sweat pouring from their palms as they faced the imminent fight for life and death.

The recruits who had enlisted alongside Rochi were even paler with fear, their legs trembling.

"Pirates... actual pirates! Are we going to die?"

Yet amid that crowd filled with fear and tension,

Rochi stood alone at the very front of the ship's bow, facing the raging wind, his gaze fixed firmly on the island at the end of the horizon, where thick black smoke had already begun to rise.

That black gun smoke, along with the faint, despairing screams drifting over on the wind, instantly pulled Rochi's memories back to his hometown nine years ago.

But this time, there was no helplessness or despair in his heart.

There was only violent killing intent, boiling to its limit and ready to erupt!

Half an hour later.

The warship crashed into the dock at Oak Island.

Before the gangplank had even fully lowered, the heavy stench of blood and the pungent smell of scorched flesh rushed at them.

The entire town had become a sea of flames. Civilian corpses lay scattered across the ground, while desperate cries echoed through the land.

"Everyone, attention! Maintain formation!"

The captain leading the unit drew the long saber at his waist and roared, "The enemy has firearms! First row, half crouch; second row, stand! Advance under cross-cover! Do not act alone! Violators will..."

Before he could even shout the words "be dealt with under military law,"

a white afterimage, like a ferocious cheetah breaking free of its chains, leaped from the warship's deck in an instant, soared over the captain's head, and crashed heavily onto the stone dock!

Boom!

The paving stones cracked as dust billowed into the air.

Under everyone's stunned gaze,

Rochi casually tossed the cumbersome standard-issue Navy rifle into the sea as though it were worthless scrap metal. Barehanded and alone, he charged madly toward the smoke-filled streets ahead!

"Hey! You recruit!"

The captain's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He cursed furiously, "Are you insane?! They have twenty guns! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

The veterans around him watched Rochi's retreating figure as if he were a fool who did not know his own limits.

"It's over. That kid is definitely some rookie desperate to earn merit."

"Charging in without a gun? Isn't that just throwing his life away?!"

"He didn't even scout the terrain or enemy firepower. In five seconds at most, the pirates' volley will turn him into a sieve!"

Everyone closed their eyes in despair, as though they could already see the tragic sight of that reckless recruit's blood splattering across the ground.

But they had no idea.

Within that thick black smoke, a crimson tomoe had silently appeared deep in Rochi's dark eyes.

His wild laughter cut through the wind like a blade.

"Pirates, my experience points... I'm here to collect!"

In the center of Oak Island, the once-prosperous streets had become a living hell.

Burning houses crackled and burst. Several vicious-looking pirates laughed loudly as they waved bloodstained scimitars and firearms, wantonly harvesting the lives of innocent civilians.

"HAHAHA! Run! The more you run, the more excited I get when I kill you!"

At the entrance to a secluded alley, three pirates were forcing a young woman in disheveled clothing, her face full of despair, into a corner.

The woman collapsed on the ground, frantically kicking her legs as she shrank backward. Tears mixed with dust, washing two muddy streaks down her face.

"Please... let me go... I still have children at home..."

"Let you go? Hahaha!"

The one-eyed pirate at the front walked forward with a cruel grin, grabbed the woman by her long hair, and violently tore open her coat.

"Don't worry. After us gentlemen have had our fun, we'll send you to hell to see your children!"

Just as the three pirates were about to commit their beastly act, and the woman's eyes sank completely into dead-gray despair...

Boom!

Accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom like a cannonball striking the ground, an afterimage carrying astonishing killing intent crashed into the alley entrance!

A gale swept up the sand and dust on the ground, forcing the one-eyed pirate to squint sharply.

"Who the hell..."

He instinctively turned his head, only managing to utter half a sentence.

What answered him was an iron fist with clearly defined knuckles and bulging veins, tearing through the air with a sharp howl!

There was no nonsense, no flashy technique.

Bang—!!!

Rochi's straight punch, like a ten-thousand-pound warhammer, slammed squarely into the center of the one-eyed pirate's chest!

Crack!

A bone-breaking sound that made scalps tingle rang through the alley.

The one-eyed pirate's hard breastbone caved in instantly before that violence in its purest form, collapsing like a brittle biscuit into a horrifying dent!

His nearly two-hundred-pound body was sent flying like a kite with its string cut before he could even scream, smashing through a thick brick wall behind him.

His whole body became deeply embedded in the rubble. Blood poured from all seven orifices, and he died on the spot beyond any doubt!

One strike, instant kill!

The lewd grins on the other two pirates' faces froze. Their eyes bulged, and their minds went blank for a moment.

What kind of monster was this?!

He punched the first mate straight through a wall?!

But Rochi gave them no time to think.

The instant he threw that punch, his body used the terrifying recoil to execute a perfect midair turn. His right leg became a heavy steel whip, carrying a fierce gale as it swept savagely toward the pirate beside him who still held a gun!

Bang!

Another dull thud, like a watermelon bursting apart.

That pirate's neck snapped at an utterly bizarre angle. His body spun three or four times in the air like a top before crashing heavily to the ground, never moving again.

Two moves, less than two seconds.

Of the three arrogant pirates, two had been cleaned up like trash!

At that moment, a cold mechanical notification finally rang in Rochi's mind like heavenly music.

[Ding! Killed a soldier-class pirate. Obtained 10 experience points!]

[Ding! Killed a soldier-class pirate. Obtained 10 experience points!]

[Congratulations, Host, you have reached Level 3. Experience required for the next level: 30 points!]

Hearing the system's feedback, the blood in Rochi's body instead boiled completely like magma set ablaze!

The last surviving pirate finally came back to his senses from his overwhelming terror.

Seeing the miserable deaths of his companions, warmth spread through his pants. Like a madman, he raised the flintlock musket in his hands, its black muzzle aimed at Rochi's cold, merciless face just inches away.

"Monster! Die, you monster!"

Bang!

The muzzle spat blinding fire and thick gun smoke. A deadly lead ball tore through the air, shooting straight for Rochi's face!

At such close range, there was no way to dodge!