In less than ten minutes, all the fighting was over. Most of the sailors in the merchant fleet had been killed. A few had been captured or surrendered willingly, leaving only a dozen or so survivors, including Mulan.
But in the center of the Star of Heaven's deck, surrounded by corpses and pirates, the resistance seemed not quite over yet.
"Hraaah!"
Mulan growled under his breath. Four or five pirates could not hold him down, and he slowly forced himself upright. The blades pressed against his neck and body had already cut through his skin.
"Stay still! Do you want to die?" "Hold him down-"
Fists and feet rained down on Mulan, and a rifle butt slammed hard into his cheek. Only then did the pirates beside him finally manage to force the ferocious sailor back down together.
Two rifle butts hammered repeatedly into the backs of Mulan's knees. This time, eight or nine men piled on and pinned him flat against the deck.
"Hrgh, hrgh, hrgh, hrgh!" "Aaargh-!"
Mulan roared. The nine pirates used both their knees and hands, feeling as though they were restraining not a man, but a vicious beast.
The other captured sailors were also brought aboard this, the largest armored steamship.
All four pirate captains came aboard the Star of Heaven. There were only four because Mulan had killed the fifth.
The pirate leader shook the blood from his blade, glanced at the dozen or so quiet sailors nearby, then looked admiringly at Mulan, who was still struggling. He walked over and pressed the cold flat of his blade against Mulan's cheek.
"A retired soldier from Dierjia's imperial army?"
"So what if I am?"
The pirate captain smiled. Everyone else looked desperate for mercy, yet this man still wore a savage expression.
"What? Even now,