First Battle in the Western Sea

The entire battlefield erupted in an instant.

Shock froze on the blood- and sweat-smeared faces of the lackeys, only to be swept away by a crushing sense of absurdity, turning into shrill laughter and venomous curses.

"Ha ha ha! Did this big idiot get kicked in the head by a donkey?"

"Just you? Empty-handed? Hahaha!"

"Get the hell home and drink your milk, brat! Don't dirty your grandpa's blade!"

Mocking laughter, jeers, and crude curses surged like waves, merging into a sea of malice. The two sides, who had been fighting to the death moments ago, now found a twisted sense of mutual understanding in this shared target of ridicule.

Even the two leaders, who had instinctively tensed at the other man's inhuman build, could not stop a trace of contempt from crossing their faces.

The Blood Anchor leader bared his teeth in a vicious grin.

"Fuck, what a waste of all that size. Turns out he's a brainless idiot!"

The Dagger leader's gaze was cold, his snake-like eyes roaming over Adams's powerful body as he silently licked his lips.

"What a shame, such a fine body... wasted on an idiot."

Faced with the overwhelming mockery, not even a ripple crossed Adams's handsome but expressionless face.

The next instant—

Boom!

The ground beneath Adams's feet was struck as if by an invisible warhammer. Dense, terrifying spiderweb cracks exploded outward from beneath his soles, sending stones and mud spraying like a fountain.

A silver blur carrying suffocating pressure crossed several meters in an instant. The Blood Anchor lackey laughing the hardest had not even had time to turn his grin into shock before a palm as huge as a fan slammed down onto the crown of his head.

"Urgh?!"

The lackey felt an irresistible force descend from above. His vision flipped upside down, and the entire world spun and blurred before his eyes.

Bang—crack!

A dull, heart-stopping impact mingled with the crisp sound of shattering bone.

His head was forcibly driven into the hard ground by that terrifying hand. His entire upper body sank deep into the earth, while his legs twitched at grotesque angles. His exposed feet kicked twice before going completely limp.

The expressions of the gang members who had been laughing wildly a second ago froze instantly. Overwhelming terror poured over them like icy water from head to toe, freezing their limbs stiff.

Several lackeys nearby were thrown off balance by the violent tremor from the ground. They staggered back miserably, crashing into walls or companions, with nothing but pure terror left in their eyes.

"Courting death!"

"Hack him to death!!"

The brief silence was shattered by even madder roars. Adrenaline mixed with primal fear, igniting the viciousness buried in these desperados' bones.

The nearest lackeys, eyes bloodshot, let out beast-like howls and raised their bloodstained blades. From different angles, they viciously slashed at Adams's unguarded neck, waist, ribs, and the backs of his knees, their blades tearing through the air with murderous desperation.

Yet the expected sight of flesh flying never appeared. The blades left only faint marks on Adams's skin, like fingernails scratching stone.

Within a few breaths, those marks vanished as if erased by an eraser. His skin was smooth as before, as though he had never been attacked.

The sneers froze on the lackeys' faces. The hands gripping their blades began to tremble uncontrollably, and their pupils contracted wildly at the incomprehensible sight.

An illusion? It had to be an illusion!

Adams gave them no time to think. His eyes remained utterly calm.

His arms shot out like lightning, each hand precisely seizing the head of the nearest lackey on either side, their movements slowed by terror.

"Stop—!"

The desperate scream had barely escaped halfway.

Boom! Boom!

Adams hurled the two heads into the walls on either side with unmatched arm strength. The rotten wooden walls burst open with two huge holes as if they were made of paper.

Wood chips and chunks of brick flew everywhere. The two heads were embedded deep in the walls, their bodies hanging limply like discarded rag dolls.

The sight of their companions' fate burned into the hearts of the remaining lackeys like red-hot brands. Terror was thoroughly ignited by bloodshed, transforming into hysterical madness.

"Kill him! Avenge our brothers!"

The remaining lackeys roared like trapped beasts, waving blades and spears as they charged again without regard for their lives. Bladelight formed a net, raining down wildly upon that silver-haired demon!

Adams did not even block. He merely shifted his center of gravity slightly, and his mountain-like body withstood attacks from every direction as he took a step forward!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blades struck his shoulders, back, and arms with dull impacts, still leaving only shallow marks that vanished in an instant.

Adams's arms struck like giant serpents, every swing carrying a heavy gust of wind.

He grabbed one lackey by the throat, lifted him like a chick, and smashed him viciously into the ground. Bang! Mud and blood splattered everywhere.

He seized another lackey around the waist and swung him like a massive hammer, slamming him hard into a wooden pillar beside them. Crack! The pillar broke, and the lackey's spine gave a teeth-grating crunch as he collapsed into a limp heap.

Simple, brutal, and utterly devoid of technique. There was only pure, absolute force.

Every heavy impact was accompanied by the crisp sound of breaking bones and the muffled groans of dying lives.

The narrow alley had become a sandbox for a giant's casual destruction. The walls groaned, the ground trembled, and bodies were smashed into mud or embedded in walls like bloodstained totems.

Watching the men he had brought fall one after another like stalks of wheat, the Blood Anchor leader's fleshy face twisted completely out of shape. His eyes were bloodshot with rage and a faint, barely noticeable fear as he roared like a beast.

"Shoot! Shoot the bastard! Kill that monster!"

"B-Boss... if we shoot, we'll hit our own men..."

A lackey reminded him in a trembling voice.

"I said shoot!"

The Blood Anchor leader was like an enraged bull, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the subordinate who had spoken.

"Do I need to repeat myself?!"

Fear of their leader temporarily overwhelmed their terror of the monster.

Gritting their teeth, they raised their loaded flintlock guns with trembling hands. The black muzzles aimed past their companions still fighting Adams and toward the huge moving figure in the center of the alley.

Bang bang bang bang bang—!

A dense barrage of gunfire exploded like popping beans, and the narrow alley was instantly swallowed by thick, pungent gunpowder smoke.

Muzzle flashes flickered within the smoke.

Lead bullets ripped through the air with shrill death-whistles.

"Argh—!"

"My leg!"

"Fuck! Who the hell shot me?!"

Screams rose one after another. Most of the bullets missed without suspense, either burrowing into rotten wooden walls or mercilessly tearing through the bodies of their own men in front. Blood sprayed through the smoke as the shot lackeys fell wailing.

Only a few bullets pierced through the chaotic figures and drifting smoke, drilling viciously into Adams's body.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Bloody blossoms burst open within the thick smoke, scarlet liquid splashing onto the muddy ground in a glaring display.

The huge figure suddenly stopped beneath the force of the successive hits, as though struck by an invisible heavy hammer.

Smoke rolled and obscured the view, revealing only the vague sway of that figure.

"We hit him!!"

A lackey shrieked in wild delight.

The Blood Anchor leader's taut nerves suddenly loosened, and a wave of near-collapse ecstasy surged through him.

He threw back his head and laughed instinctively. His rough laughter echoed through the smoke-filled alley, full of the savage thrill of surviving disaster.

"Hahaha! No matter how tough your bones are, you can't withstand lead! Turn into a sieve for me!"

His subordinates also began recovering from their fear. Seeing the figure that seemed frozen in the smoke, they let out dry, agreeing laughter and cheers.

The Blood Anchor leader hefted his heavy ship anchor, panting heavily as he turned his murderous gaze toward the Dagger leader not far away and grinned viciously.

"Skinny pole! The nuisance is dealt with! Now it's time to settle the old score between us!"

TO BE CONTINUED