Boom!
A violent thunderclap ripped across the sky. Silver-white lightning flashed, making Xia Lun narrow his eyes.
The monster was ablaze. Raindrops struck its body one after another, turning into billowing layers of scalding steam.
It limped and writhed. A casual shudder of its massive body blew the battered reinforced door's remains outward. Splinters mixed with blood and fire rained down before Xia Lun.
Then a long, crimson eye opened in the monster's sea-cucumber-like body. Its supernatural healing had grown it a new eye. It could see again!
Xia Lun drew a flintlock pistol from his weapon belt and aimed at its eye. The instant the monster saw him, it shut the eye and swept its ribbon-like tentacles across its face.
Bang! The pistol roared. The lead ball struck a tentacle and splashed slime everywhere.
The monster screeched in triumph, then hurled its enormous body at Xia Lun like a runaway train!
Wind and flame rushed toward him. Blisters raised by the fire swung at his face like heavy hammers.
There was no avoiding it!
The instant that thought crossed his mind, Xia Lun activated Heightened Focus for the second time.
In a heartbeat, he seemed to enter another world. The chaotic noise around him faded away, as though dragged into the depths of the sea.
His pupils widened slightly. The world grew extraordinarily vivid. He could make out tiny currents in the air, the sparks flying toward him, and his own face reflected in round raindrops.
Countless details flooded his mind and were processed at once. Guided by his swordsmanship instincts alone, Xia Lun found the best route past the attack.
He tightened his core, planted a foot hard on the deck, and charged straight toward the monster!
Hummm—
The silver-gray blade caught the firelight, then flashed.
A clear, cold hum rang out, followed by the sticky drag of metal cutting through soft flesh—and then a scream of pain!
Scalding slime mixed with cold rain flew from the blade. Xia Lun's expression remained calm as he slipped past the monster like a shadow, stirring a gust of wind and sparks.
This was only the beginning.
Xia Lun stopped sharply. The force of his charge became a fearsome jolt that traveled up through his ankle and spine.
He turned his left foot outward half a step to reset his stance, raised his Short Sword, and assumed the standard ready position for a furious strike.
In Heightened Focus, he could feel force passing through his muscles and joints. As the momentum reached his shoulder, he drove off the deck and twisted his waist, sending himself and his sword into a Whirling Slash!
Slash!
Black slime burst into the air. One of the monster's tentacles was severed in an instant!
Xia Lun stopped again, used the momentum of a sliding step to push off and twist his waist, and unleashed another crushing Whirling Slash!
Slash!
Amid the rain, the silver-gray blade flashed once more. The monster wailed as the tendrils supporting one side of its body shattered!
Plop.
Only then did the severed tentacle hit the deck, twitching faintly.
The pain drove the monster berserk. It swept its tentacles wildly around itself, but Xia Lun clung close, circling clockwise like a parasite. However it struck, its tentacles could not so much as brush his clothes.
Then the monster abruptly stopped turning. Just as it expected, Xia Lun darted in front of it.
With a screech, it thrust five tentacles at him. But then—
Click.
It heard a Hammer cock.
Bang!
Xia Lun raised his second flintlock pistol and shot the monster in the eye!
It was blind again!
Xia Lun threw himself backward. His strength was nearly spent, and he dropped out of Heightened Focus.
The monster shrieked in pain and stumbled back in every direction like a traveler who had lost his way. A few seconds later, it raised a tentacle, and another compound eye split open along it!
It had grown yet another eye!
Some of the pirates' reinforcements had arrived. The old man reached the edge of the battlefield with a heavy support-mounted musket.
The weapon was less a musket than a small cannon. Its caliber was terrifying; during the Borland Kingdom's civil war, one shot from such a gun had once torn through an entire line of infantry.
The monster clearly recognized it. It froze for an instant at the sight, then abandoned Xia Lun, who was close by but noticeably slowing, and charged straight at the old man!
Despite its wounds, the monster surged forward at a startling speed. The whole ship rocked beneath its charge.
It bore down on the pirates like a collapsing mountain!
The pirates scattered at once, but the old man raised his head and looked straight at the monster.
Boom!
Lightning split the night and lit the puddles across the deck.
The heat had left steam rising from them. The old man's cold face stared back from the murky water.
He neither dodged nor retreated. He watched the monster with chilling calm as he swiftly loaded a measured charge of powder and a ball.
One shot. That was all it would take to cripple the monster. Then the beast would no longer threaten his family on the island!
The old man gripped the gun and aimed at the monster!
His two white eyebrows drew together like blades. Sour rainwater dripped slowly from their edges...
The monster closed in!
"Die!" The old man's stern calm vanished. A murderous ferocity filled his eyes, as though the whole world had turned the color of blood!
His mouth opened wide, showing broken teeth. The monster's tentacle came lashing toward him like lightning. "Aaaah!"
His finger pulled the trigger!
Bang! Bang!
The thunderous report reached Xia Lun from a distance. Near exhaustion, he jerked his head up and saw a blinding muzzle flash.
The monster recoiled as though struck by an invisible giant hammer. Wailing, it slid back two steps, then staggered several yards farther. Slime poured from it like water from a punctured sack.
Xia Lun breathed a sigh of relief. The next instant, his eyes narrowed.
In front of the monster, a bloodstained tentacle had cut both the old man and his heavy musket in two!
The one-eyed old pirate fell backward. Bright blood sprayed into the air and stained his wrinkled face.
The old man was dead!
Xia Lun's heart sank, but there was no time to grieve.
Without hesitation, he ran for the Gunpowder Barrel packed with nails.
The old man's final shot had left the monster on the brink of death. One last heavy blow would finish the dreadful Evil Spirit!
The main body of the pirates' reinforcements had arrived. Nearly ten pirates, led by Geliide, rushed toward the monster.
Perhaps because victory seemed close, they charged with wild, bloodcurdling cries. Cackles, taunts, and howls rang through the rain, eerie and grotesque.
Gravely wounded, the monster seemed to have lost its nerve. It dared not face them and kept backing away until it reached the main stairs to the Forecastle.
"Brigadier General!" Geliide's voice was icy, her scarred face full of murderous intent. "Prepare to die!"
The fire on the Forecastle had not gone out. Fanned by the wind, its orange flames lit the monster's huge, sagging form. Pirates stood before it and fire behind it. There was nowhere left to retreat.
Suddenly, the weakened monster began to screech again.
"I never thought that, after preparing for so long, it would still come to this." There was almost a note of regret in its screech. "Now that everyone's here, let's bring it all to an end."
Seen from above, Xia Lun, the monster, and the pirates formed a straight line.
Xia Lun stood near the bow, the pirates occupied the deck toward the stern, and the monster was trapped between them like a hunted beast.
At the monster's strange words, Xia Lun glanced up at it.
Then he frowned.
Near the Poop Deck stairs, unnoticed by the pirates, several horrifying Walking Corpses crawled into view, their bodies engulfed in flames!
Burns covered their peeling skin. White bone and flesh had nearly melted together in the heat. They seemed to be clutching something to their chests.
Xia Lun narrowed his eyes to get a better look. His pupils contracted sharply!
Gunpowder Barrels!
Every one of the Walking Corpses was carrying a Gunpowder Barrel!
The monster had brought out all the Gunpowder Barrels from the ship's munitions hold!
If they exploded on deck, the consequences would be catastrophic!
Xia Lun drew his pistol and shouted a warning. "Enemies behind you! Gunpowder Barrels!"
Geliide froze for a moment, then turned. Her sharp curse rang out. "Fuck! Get down! They're going to blow!"
"Too late!" the monster screeched gleefully. With a piercing hiss, the burning Walking Corpses ignited the Gunpowder Barrels in their arms!
We're done for. Xia Lun's blood ran cold.
Time seemed to stop. He barely managed to turn away and throw himself flat before blinding white light burst out behind him!
The glare left Xia Lun dazed. For an instant, the world seemed motionless. Then the entire ship began to shake violently!
The shock wave became a blast of air. Sheets of rain struck an expanding, invisible dome and turned instantly to steam!
Crack!
With a deep splintering roar, the middle of the deck buckled and broke as though split by a giant sword. Pirates and monster alike fell through the dazzling white light into the hold!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Only then did the terrible sound erupt, driving a cloud of searing vapor before it.
The world spun!
A few seconds later, the shaking subsided.
Tap, tap, tap...
Through a distant ringing in his ears, Xia Lun heard raindrops hitting the deck again.
It took him a moment to realize that his distance from the blast, and his quick reaction, had spared him serious injury.
He licked the blood seeping from his gums, pushed himself up, and hurried to the hole the explosion had torn open.
Orange flames roared below, illuminating a hellish scene in the hold. Severed limbs and charred pirate corpses lay scattered everywhere, streaked with glaring pools of crimson.
In the hot black smoke, the survivors' hopeless, feeble moans rose from all directions, only to be drowned out by the crackle of burning wood and the monster's agonized screeches.
The blast had worsened the ship's already unstable list. It was now visibly tilting.
Not far away, the pirates in the lifeboat seemed to be wavering. If the ship went down, the resulting whirlpool would put them in grave danger.
In other words, Xia Lun had little time left to get away safely.
He took a deep breath. The hot, gunpowder-laden air carried stray sparks. He turned toward the Gunpowder Barrel the old man had prepared, packed with nails and lying on the deck.
Throw it down, shoot it, and this will all be over.
The benefit was clear: the dying monster could not survive another blast, and he could kill it without taking any further risk.
The cost seemed negligible: pirates who had earned their fate and whom he had only recently met would be blown to pieces.
Xia Lun stood at the edge of the hole, his expression shifting.
The choice before him was not difficult. Anyone with a shred of sense would know what to do.
A scorching gust washed over his face. Then he gave a short laugh and made his decision.
He grabbed a hooked rope from the deck, fastened it to a nearby wooden post, and jumped straight into the hole!
Thud.
The rope pulled taut. Xia Lun landed hard, sending black smoke swirling across the floor.
Amid the burning wreckage, the badly wounded pirates stared in astonishment at Xia Lun, who had dropped in from above.
"If you can still move, get over here," Xia Lun said. "Climb the rope. The lifeboat's still there."
Several pirates who could barely move crawled out of the wreckage. They thanked Xia Lun over and over, then scrambled up the rope.
Before climbing, one pirate who had lost an ear turned and looked at Xia Lun for a long moment. "Lord Xia Lun, I'll make sure the lifeboat waits. You have my word!"
Xia Lun raised an eyebrow. "Good."
Then he turned to the gravely wounded.
To his surprise, those too badly hurt to move showed no bitterness. They watched him and their escaping comrades with calm, even relieved expressions.
One pirate who had lost half his lower body asked softly, "They're up there. What about you?"
Unlike the wary respect in his voice before, he now spoke with pure admiration.
Xia Lun gave a cold laugh and slowly drew his Short Sword. His face was reflected in its chilly blade. "I'm going to settle accounts with the monster."
A cascade of Cobalt Blue text flashed at the edge of his vision.
[Feat! You rescued allies from a desperate situation. You gained 50 Memory Points!]
[Adoration! You earned widespread admiration. You gained 200 Memory Points!]
Xia Lun did not linger. Once he had confirmed that everyone who could leave had gone, he unhooked the rope and strode toward the next room.
The monster should be just ahead.
"This is ridiculous. I'm fighting with Cold Weapons, and the monster's using firearms." Xia Lun tossed out a dry joke. "Talk about everything being backward."
As soon as he spoke, a familiar laugh, strained but unmistakable, came from somewhere close ahead.
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