The third time!

A pirate who wasn't greedy wasn't a proper pirate.

The pirates present were undoubtedly all proper pirates. After briefly weighing the feasibility of Green's proposal, they all made the same choice-stay and wear Jaeger down to the bitter end.

As for the danger to their lives?

What day in a pirate's life wasn't dangerous?

Besides, they had a punching bag to draw its fire.

Jaeger rose upright, the tentacles serving as its feet covering dozens of meters with each stride, and soon caught up with Dunn and the others.

"Roar!!"

Bang... bang... bang...

Accompanied by furious roars, Jaeger's five tentacles unleashed their full power, carving furrows through the ground and walls. Dust billowed everywhere.

Dunn and the others had already been struggling to dodge. Now the drifting dust obscured their vision, making it even harder to evade the tentacles' attacks. Any of them could be struck at any moment.

"Damn it, why did we turn? Couldn't we have run into the passage to hide from it?!" Feishman, who had instinctively followed Astor's turn as Astor ran ahead, suddenly thought of this and couldn't help complaining.

"Idiot. Those tentacles might be harder than steel when they attack us, but it's a soft-bodied creature. Getting into the passage would be child's play." With a grim expression, Astor explained to Feishman while keeping watch and dodging the tentacles.

Dunn and the others had their reasons for not choosing to hide from Jaeger in the corridor.

The tentacles were soft, after all. Even though Jaeger spanned over a hundred meters when stretched out, entering the corridor would still be child's play.

For Dunn and the others, the corridor's cramped space would hardly be favorable for dodging the tentacles' attacks.

"So what? At least it wouldn't catch up with us so easily in the corridor."

"Damn it, I called you an idiot, and you're still arguing. That pit!" Astor snapped irritably at Feishman. "What if we still haven't shaken it off when we reach that pit? What then? Who crosses first, and who crosses last?"

At Astor's mention of the pit, Feishman immediately understood.

If they reached that pit before exhausting Jaeger's energy, they would inevitably argue over the order of crossing. After all, the farther ahead someone was, the safer they would be, while whoever brought up the rear would most likely be done for.

The outcome was almost foreseeable: they would inevitably turn their weapons on one another, then be wiped out by Jaeger.

After all, everyone present was a pirate. There couldn't possibly be anyone willing to sacrifice themselves for others.

"At this rate, I'm afraid we'll all die before its energy runs out," Grant told the others, panting heavily. As the only surviving professional with high perception, his stamina was draining very quickly under the dual torment of those eerie whispers and the tentacles.

"If you have an idea, just say it, Captain Grant."

"We each pick a direction and run separately. Whoever's unlucky enough to be targeted by Jaeger will have to fend for themselves."

The others froze briefly at Grant's suggestion, then strange expressions crossed their faces. Soon, they all agreed to his plan.

Dunn's expression darkened at Grant's proposal, however. Unlucky, my ass. This is clearly aimed at me.

While they had been fleeing together, Dunn had deliberately used Soru to adjust his position so he wouldn't draw two tentacles at once. Soru was, after all, a short-range rapid movement skill; it was difficult to run completely beyond the tentacles' attack range with it.

Yet one tentacle was still relentlessly targeting him, bombarding him with attacks. If everyone scattered, that tentacle's interference meant Jaeger would inevitably set its sights on him.

So Grant's suggestion was clearly aimed at him, and this was also why the other captains had agreed so readily.

"Since no one objects, get ready to move."

Suddenly, after failing to land a hit for so long, the tentacle targeting Dunn stopped. The densely packed eyes covering it darted about. A moment later, the eyes stopped moving and collectively stared straight at Dunn.

Being fixed with the stares of dozens upon dozens of huge, doll-like eyes sent a chill through Dunn. Then a rustling sound inexplicably rang in his ears.

Layer upon layer of whispers kept burrowing into Dunn's brain. He felt as though he were drunk, the entire world spinning before his eyes. It was as though something had covered his ears, severely muffling his hearing, leaving him able to make out only faint, rustling whispers.

Now Dunn finally understood how those perception-based professionals had felt. Those eerie whispers had actually come from Jaeger.

Perhaps Dunn's perception stat was too low, or perhaps the ability this tentacle was using was more powerful. Unlike the perception-based professionals, who could still move normally under the whispers' influence, Dunn was completely unable to move.

Dunn felt as though the whole world were receding from him. Sight, hearing, smell-everything gradually blurred.

Bang!

With a tremendous crash, the tentacle took advantage of its ability holding Dunn in place. It reared high and delivered a charged, powerful blow squarely to his body, sending him flying once again.

The violent force swept away the surrounding dust, exposing the scene clearly to everyone.

Everyone who saw it was stunned. We haven't even made our move, and our designated meat shield is already gone?

What are we supposed to do now?! The captains exchanged bewildered looks, their heads full of questions.

Fuck, that's the third time!

The moment he felt that explosive impact strike his body, proving that at least his sense of touch hadn't abandoned him, Dunn had only that one thought.

This wasn't like last time, when the shock wave had merely grazed him, nor like the first time, when he had been fully prepared and used Tekkai to defend himself.

This time, the tentacle had struck him head-on while he was completely unprepared.

His senses had already fully recovered as he flew backward through the air, the scenery rushing past him.

With nothing blocking his path this time, Dunn was sent flying almost a hundred meters before hitting the ground. He bounced several times with heavy thuds before finally coming to a stop.

Then excruciating pain hit him, almost making him pass out. Even with his pain sensation halved, its intensity was still almost more than Dunn could bear.

He struggled to open his eyes and inspect his condition. Half his body had turned black and blue. Although he had never experienced it before, the sensation in his chest probably meant broken bones. Exactly how many were broken, Dunn couldn't tell.

In short, one word described his current state-miserable!