Mash Led Astray / The Hasty End of Okeanos

The rampaging lightning forced Hector back, and he sighed. "Are people from the future all this foul-mouthed?"

"Don't stand in the way, weakling!"

Bai Ming's furious roar echoed through the sky. Hector only heard a gust of wind as a sense of danger engulfed him. The instincts honed through war made him raise his spear before his chest. The next instant, the spear suffered a violent impact. Its shaft bent sharply, and even he was forced to hunch over as he was sent flying by the brutal blow. Bai Ming did not even spare him a glance, instead directly hurling the halberd in his hand. Hector spat out a mouthful of blood and desperately swung his spear, knocking away the halberd Bai Ming had thrown.

He himself was sent straight into the distant sea by the halberd's impact.

Bai Ming then continued toward Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Anne Bonny reacted before Mary Read, firing several shots at Bai Ming in rapid succession. Bai Ming neither dodged nor moved. Once the bullets approached, they lost all momentum within the dense golden radiance surrounding him.

Seeing that Mary Read still could barely move, Anne Bonny immediately grew anxious.

Anne Bonny was Irish. During Bai Ming's simulations, he had not brutalized Ireland much, so Anne Bonny's fear of Joslin was not particularly deep. But Mary Read was English through and through.

Joslin's legends had accompanied her since childhood—disobedient children would be seized by Joscelin Brando and sent away for forced labor; those who committed evil would have their whole families slaughtered by Joscelin Brando. Some had even formed an assassin organization in Brando's name, imitating Joslin's deeds by killing unjust nobles and tyrants.

Although the records stated that Joslin had died alongside King Arthur, and Mary Read had long stopped believing in such legends, what she witnessed today filled her with terror. He had charged alone into the enemy formation, blocked Hector's spear, severely wounded him with one punch, and sent a legendary great hero flying.

Perhaps the Bloodaxe King from earlier had also been beaten to death by an enraged Joslin.

Joslin was fucking not dead! The records were fake! Joslin had really come to kill her!

Fear spread through Mary Read's heart. She had forgotten that she and Anne Bonny had been summoned together—if one was defeated, the other would also lose her ability to fight. All that remained was her fear of Joslin.

"My bullets, my glory, our name is freedom. Let us seize our prey with the swiftness of hawks!" Anne Bonny chanted alone. "Wedded Wings!"

This was the Noble Phantasm that embodied the legend of Anne Bonny and Mary Read fighting to the bitter end before their capture, surrounded by countless soldiers. The worse the situation, the greater the damage it could inflict. But with Mary Read's fighting spirit gone, Anne Bonny could only wield half its power alone.

Bai Ming still neither dodged nor evaded. He directly hurled the Jade Purity Supreme Brick, which possessed nothing but hardness and weight, at Anne Bonny's Noble Phantasm bullet.

The brick directly blocked the bullet.

After throwing the brick, Bai Ming had already charged forward. In an instant, he reached Anne Bonny, crushed the gun in her hand with one grip, seized the five-foot-seven Anne Bonny, and smashed her straight into the ground. Anne Bonny heard the sound of her own bones breaking. Blood sprayed from her mouth. Then Bai Ming grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward Mary Read.

Anne Bonny could only let out agonized cries from the pain in her body and scalp.

Only then did the man speak coldly. "My name is Bai Ming, and I am also Joslin—Joscelin Brando, the strongest man who ended Britain's Divine Era and killed Britain's White Dragon and Red Dragon. I am also the Master who will save Humanity Foundation and reclaim humanity worth preserving—you worthless sows, mongrels, and stray dogs standing in my way..."

Mary Read stared blankly at the tall, heroic man. Anne Bonny's near-death state had already left her unable to resist.

"Duke Joslyn, I—"

The moment Mary Read spoke, Bai Ming grabbed Anne Bonny's head and used her as a weapon, smashing Mary Read away. The two women landed heavily beside Blackbeard, whose body had been trampled beyond recognition by Asterius. Bai Ming walked over step by step.

"I don't want to hear the meaningless explanations of a worthless bitch like you. Just understand this: you chose this path yourself, and you brought death upon yourself!"

Bai Ming then swung his fist. Anne Bonny and Mary Read's heads were smashed apart, and their bodies completely dissolved into spirit particles, vanishing within the Singularity.

◇ On the deck of the Golden Hind, Mash watched Bai Ming's words and actions, analyzing them methodically and learning from both his speech and conduct. Beside her, Euryale sighed. "So that's the legendary aesthetics of violence... Come to think of it, your senior is completely the sort of Chaotic Neutral lunatic, isn't he? And here I thought that man was just someone with a sharp tongue but a kind heart—"

Drake repeatedly clicked her tongue. She had always thought Bai Ming was the type who would not use vulgar language, but now it seemed... this wild and forceful man truly suited her tastes.

But what was this sense of danger?

Drake immediately drew her gun and fired at the place where she sensed danger. The sound of a bullet striking metal rang out.

"You really are alert."

The relaxed Euryale suddenly had a cold spear tip pressed against her lower back.

"That man really can fight—well now—this old man swam for so long, and while you were all in chaos, I finally stole Teach's Holy Grail. Then I climbed up from the other side and caught my real target. That brave young fellow over there, could you stop now? One of your people is in my hands, you know?"

Hector held Euryale hostage as he walked to the ship's edge. Bai Ming looked at Hector, who had climbed aboard the Golden Hind, and smiled. "How do you know I didn't deliberately let an old mutt like you, who obstructs Humanity Foundation's restoration, go just to find out how many worthless animals are blocking Humanity Foundation's recovery?"

Hector did not dare leave for the moment and asked seriously, "Young man... what exactly are you trying to do?"

"When I do things, I don't care about the process, only the result. Humanity Foundation has already been incinerated anyway. As long as these foundation points remain intact and history develops normally, that's enough, right? So it doesn't matter who the cores of you garbage Servants obstructing my efforts to save Humanity Foundation and humanity really are."

Bai Ming walked step by step from the Queen Anne's Revenge back onto the Golden Hind, swaying his head as he took out an exquisitely crafted object resembling a button mechanism and spoke arrogantly.

"You can try it. You can take that useless goddess away, and you can take the Holy Grail too. But I guarantee that the second you take her away, everything in ancient Greece, including you, will be invaded by a group of high-dimensional lifeforms from beyond the universe.

"At that point, all life in the universe will be in danger. The entire Earth, all humanity, will become enemies of the universe—and the one responsible for all that will be you, the great hero of the Trojan War. Want to gamble? Shall we see whether you become the great hero of the people holding your leash, or the coward of all life in the universe? I can't guarantee that other lifeforms don't have methods to invade the Throne of Heroes and torment you—

"For example, they could alter the heroic deeds recorded in the Boundary Record Belt—the Throne of Heroes—into something like, 'During the Trojan War, Hector had his backdoor greeted in turns by countless soldiers led by Agrius,' then hack that back into reality."

"Lunatic."

Hector did not dare gamble. Even if there was a 99.99% chance Bai Ming was lying, he did not dare wager on that 0.01%.

Bai Ming walked toward Hector step by step. "If you move, I'll directly call those lifeforms from beyond the universe too. But you're right—I am a lunatic. Can you bite me to death, you impotent middle-aged man with weak kidneys who needs to hold a little girl hostage? Anyone bearing the Brando name will use every means possible. Crazy? That's praise. So put down the Holy Grail, release that little runt, then kill yourself and make a dignified exit."

Watching Bai Ming approach, Hector grew increasingly uneasy, but he still put on an easy expression. "Young man, aren't you afraid I'll kill her on the spot?"

"Then kill her. The one who needs her alive is the master behind you, old dog—not me."

Bai Ming's finger was already resting on the mechanism's button. Hector shoved Euryale toward Bai Ming and threw away his weapon.

As someone active in the twelfth century BC, Hector had heard a little about the Greek gods and outsiders. Furthermore, Earth had always obtained certain things drifting in from within and beyond the universe. In the current age of Humanity Foundation incineration, Hector simply did not dare gamble on whether Bai Ming would add fuel to the fire.

The other man looked like a complete madman. If he lost that gamble, everything would be over.

"...Sigh. I surrender."

Bai Ming kicked aside Euryale, who had been shoved toward him, and casually threw away the exquisite mechanism. He then directly shattered all four of Hector's limbs. Hector gritted his teeth without making a sound. "Now give me the location. Tell me what breed of animal the master behind you old dog is, then take me there. Otherwise, I'll let you experience what it feels like when sea fish bite off your dick."

After seeing Euryale safe, Asterius boarded the Golden Hind and immediately stepped on Hector's face.

The little bull's thoughts were simple. Stepping on faces felt good!

The Tainted Mash

Because Bai Ming still needed Hector alive, Asterius did not keep stomping on him. After one kick, he went to sit at the edge of the Golden Hind and kept watch vigilantly.

"So—"

Euryale clutched the chest Bai Ming had kicked and picked up the exquisite mechanism he had tossed away. "What is this?"

Mash took the exquisite mechanism from Euryale's hand. "It's a portable Magic Workshop Da Vinci personally made for Senior. It's not a problem to fool amateurs like this."

Bai Ming glanced at Mash and said coldly, "Mash, extra training when we get back. Someone got this close and you didn't even notice."

"Yes, Senior!"

Mash lowered her head. Senior was simply too reliable, and that had made her relax too much.

"Now, Captain Drake, give the order. Follow the direction this useless middle-aged Trojan gave us. If anything goes wrong, strip him naked and hang him from the back. Use his dick as bait. I doubt his dick has the power to pierce through everything."

"You Trojan curse psychopath!" Hector finally snapped.

Muttering, "What Magus is mentally normal? I'm still within the normal range for a Magus," Bai Ming left the deck to rest.

After Bai Ming left, Mash said to Hector with a faintly eager expression, "The psychopath is you."

The strange sensation of insulting someone spread through Mash like a drop of ink blooming across white paper. She felt as though a new world had opened before her, then continued, "You were willing to fight the nearly unbeatable Agrius for your country's survival, yet now you stand in the way of Humanity Foundation's restoration like an animal. Someone like you is trash that reeks worse than garbage."

Euryale's expression turned subtle as the corner of her mouth twitched. A pure and kind girl had fallen!

Hector could only remain silent. It truly was easy to learn bad habits and hard to learn good ones. How pitiful for the elders who had raised this pure and kind girl.

As time passed, the Golden Hind soon encountered the Argo.

A frivolous blond man aboard the Argo shouted, "You actually brought the Holy Grail to me! Wonderful! I'll beat you down and take the Holy Grail, then obtain the Ark of the Covenant, and then I'll become king of these four seas!"

Bai Ming emerged from the cabin, looked at the man aboard the Argo, then glanced at Asterius. The little bull immediately stomped on Hector's face. Bai Ming said, "How pitiful. Your master doesn't care about a dog like you."

Bai Ming then looked at the blond man aboard the Argo. "The one beside you is the Magus Medea Lily. That makes you, you golden-haired toy poodle, Jason—so you say you want to be king?"

The clear sky suddenly darkened, and thunder rumbled.

Medea Lily, standing beside Jason, immediately turned grave. Divine Era Magi formed contracts with gods and could thereby exercise a portion of divine authority, yet the power this man displayed surpassed the vast majority of Divine Era Magi and even most demigods.

"Answer me, you worthless poodle."

"Yes!" Jason shouted. "You evil army bent on correcting the world, and we heroes dedicated to preserving the world's proper order, shall settle things here! I'll defeat you and become king of these four seas!"

The next moment, Medea Lily, standing beside Jason, released all her magical energy to form a barrier and resist the thick lightning bolt descending from thin air.

Bai Ming's voice echoed through the wind and thunder as he flew toward the Argo. Bai Ming had originally intended to kill Medea Lily with one punch, but another Berserker stopped him—Heracles. Bai Ming and Heracles exchanged a fierce punch. Asterius then roared with all his strength, stomped a hole into the Golden Hind, and leaped straight onto the Argo, where he began fighting Heracles.

"You worthless animal collective that obstructs humanity from reclaiming its future—since you call us an evil army, you should be prepared, right? Mash, Joslin's second lesson. Watch closely."

Bai Ming formed a hand seal with one hand, and his mount, the Five-tailed Pénghóu, transformed into a streak of light and escaped. Without needing Bai Ming to say anything, Pénghóu immediately began absorbing the abundant natural elements in the environment, then assisted Asterius against Heracles. Bai Ming proceeded toward Medea Lily amidst the raging lightning. Jason immediately sensed that something was wrong and stepped before Bai Ming to attack him.

Bai Ming directly caught Jason's wrist. The sound of bone breaking rang out, and Jason screamed. Bai Ming's expression did not change as he unleashed his terrifying A++ strength, kicking Jason hard enough to break his bones. He said coldly, "Mongrel, you crowned me with evil, so be prepared to welcome evil. Experience the reproductive worship of myths. You'll have your backdoor used by men a thousand times and become a completely lewd sow—boar. Go be your gay king!"

He then grabbed Jason and threw him toward the Golden Hind, where he landed heavily on the deck.

The Golden Hind and the Argo entered boarding combat. Mash considered things for a moment, then smashed Hector to death with her shield while he was completely incapable of resisting before charging toward the Argo.

Drake sighed as she took out her Holy Grail and fulfilled Bai Ming's wish, summoning three hundred muscular men who liked Jason. Rather excitedly, she exclaimed, "Bai Ming, you'll definitely become an excellent pirate!"

She then fired several shots in succession, killing the Dragon Tooth Warriors Medea Lily had prepared in advance.

Meanwhile, Bai Ming watched the sweat-covered Medea Lily from outside her magical barrier and said flatly, "Keep it up~ Keep it up. Seeing animals like you makes me very angry. Please me in my hands, and if I'm happy, maybe I'll give you a quick death. If you make me feel ecstasy, maybe I'll let you live."

"You—"

Medea Lily gritted her teeth after hearing Bai Ming's filthy words. Bai Ming smiled. "You were the ones who called me evil, weren't you? I'm a very petty person, so I generally take revenge on the spot."

As soon as he finished speaking, the lightning vanished. Even Medea Lily's High-Speed Divine Words could not match Bai Ming's full-force speed and strength. In an instant, the staff in Medea Lily's hand was seized by Bai Ming, and he grabbed her head and smashed her straight into the ground.

Medea Lily's mind went blank. Then excruciating pain brought her consciousness back. Something had been stuffed into her mouth, all four of her limbs had been broken by the man, and she was thrown back toward the Golden Hind. Midair, Mash smacked Medea Lily into the deck with her massive shield, then swiftly tied her up.

Mash carefully studied Bai Ming's way of doing things.

Cripple men and women alike; use trash talk to harass opponents during battle, but stop once the battle ends; give those with foul mouths the harshest punishment, while simply killing innocent people or restraining them for questioning.

The tacit understanding between Master and Demi-Servant manifested in a subtle form. Mash had become even more like Bai Ming.

Mash then watched three hundred muscular warriors battle Jason, whose limbs had been crippled. Though she felt embarrassed and somewhat physically uncomfortable, her curiosity toward this novel sight overcame her instincts.

"Um, Senior... perhaps we should stop."

"Is that your own thought, or did Galahad tell you through your Spirit Origin?"

"Personally, I don't really want Senior to do this. After all, Jason was the only one who called Senior evil, and he only said it verbally."

Mash crouched down and said, "But Sir Galahad was the one who suggested it. He said this violated the spirit of chivalry."

"What fucking chivalry are you talking about on a battlefield? I haven't even settled accounts with you for betraying King Arthur and choosing death immediately after obtaining the Holy Grail. Where was your knightly loyalty then? If you dare use Independent Manifestation, Galahad, I guarantee you'll receive the same treatment as Jason."

"S-Senior?! Sir Galahad dumped his Spirit Origin, combat experience, and Noble Phantasm on me, then ran away!"

Mash was utterly shocked.

The Hasty End of Okeanos

"It's normal for him to run. Among the Knights of the Round Table, aside from Sir Tristan, none who saw me ever failed to lose three parts of their courage first."

After all, Bai Ming always kept his word. He often shouted, "To hear the Way in the morning is enough to die in the evening," then went in the evening to beat the knights who had provoked him until they could not get out of bed or did not dare leave their doors.

The man looked toward Asterius and Heracles clashing, waved to recall the Five-tailed Pénghóu, which could not participate at all and could only absorb natural elements nearby, then took off his clothes and handed them to the blushing Mash.

His muscular body was exposed to the air just like that.

"Mash, strip that woman of all her Magic Materials, then kill her. Don't give her a chance to speak. Take inventory of the materials, and I'll inspect them when I return—remember, take everything off captives first. If appropriate, strip them completely naked to prevent them from hiding weapons. You should even inspect places like their breasts, because you can't be sure whether these Magi might hide explosives in their B point or something."

Bai Ming walked step by step toward the two muscular giants colliding passionately. "I can't miss a clash like this. Heracles, I shall grant you a warrior's end here. Olga, don't heal me. Don't tarnish a warrior's glory."

Olga Marie: "...You really are impossible."

The next instant, three muscular men collided violently aboard the Argo.

"Uwaaaaaah!"

"Roar—!"

"Wryyyyyy!"

The moment the three muscular men met each other's eyes, they seemed to forget everything else. They instantly let out their distinct roars and charged together without distinguishing friend from foe, beginning a chaotic melee.

Attacks constantly landed upon one another—there was no magical energy and no technique. The three merely beat each other with pure strength.

With fists, feet, elbows, knees, even their foreheads.

Every body part capable of offering itself became a powerful weapon for the three to strike one another.

Bai Ming drove an elbow into Heracles's face, Heracles kicked Asterius, and Asterius rammed his head into Bai Ming's.

The entire Argo rocked violently from the impact, but the muscular men did not care about the shaking ship. Their minds held only the urge to keep beating one another, to make the other kneel, to make the other submit.

Meanwhile, aboard the Golden Hind, the four-limbed-crippled Jason was watched by the three hundred warriors summoned by Drake using the Holy Grail. Jason was tall but not especially muscular, yet he was still the ancient Greek hero who had sailed aboard the Argo to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Three hundred warriors watching him could be considered worthy of his heroic reputation.

Jason had never felt so miserable—his absurd self was filled with boundless regret. Why had he said anything about justice and evil to that man who clearly did not seem normal? Why had he wanted to become king of the four seas?