Chapter 38 - 35 This Time Its Pirates
Chapter 38: Chapter 35 This Time It’s Pirates Chapter 38: Chapter 35 This Time It’s Pirates Editor: Atlas Studios Da Fei, with an impassive look, finished scanning the posts about the bounty on his head, unfazed. After all, back in the day, Da Fei was the man who pacified the entire server.
Is getting PKed to level zero such a big deal? Thinking they can curse me to death? And a server-wide manhunt? What a joke! That just goes to show how small the world of the national service is. But on second thought, times have changed, and now I have to earn money as a professional player, having a long list of enemies does become a bit problematic. Even though I only have one enemy for now, my infamous red name sticks out like a sore thumb. I don’t kill people, but people want to kill me, and that’s quite a hassle. Damn Blood Sea Wave, using others to do your dirty work, you’re truly something!
Right now, the top priority is to figure out a way to get rid of this red name. I’ve collected quite a bit of rare BOSS information this time, selling it should greatly increase my reputation. In short, it’s not going to be easy to finish me off with what I’ve left from the old days.
Then Da Fei started watching an interview program about Epic Heroes, when suddenly—
—System Prompt: Reconnaissance Skill warning! Three unidentified ships are approaching you, please be alert!
Unidentified ships? Da Fei was jolted into action, rushing to the deck to peer through a telescope, and indeed, three ships were speeding towards him from the front, left-front, and right-front directions!
They were paddle sailboats! Definitely pirates!
Some of the wealthier large pirate ships and ordinary kingdom warships don’t have much difference; if they don’t fly a flag, they’re hard to recognize. But paddle sailboats are definitely pirates. These so-called paddle sailboats have sails on the deck and oars on the bottom cabin. The rows of long oars protruding from the bottom of the ship look like a giant centipede. The advantage of such ships goes without saying: with both wind and manpower, they speed along like dragon boats, especially when pursuing against the wind, the advantage is even more pronounced. In short, once they’ve got their sights set on you, there’s no running away, only fighting.
As for the downside, it’s also quite clear; after all, people have to row in the bottom cabin, so the draft of the ship is shallow, and it performs poorly in waves, unsuitable for sailing out in the vast ocean. Thus, merchant ships have an easy way to avoid them: simply keep away from the nearshore. Another drawback is due to the shallow draft, the ship’s body is not high, and it’s hard to forcibly board higher vessels, so it requires higher combat skills from the pirates.
Now, Da Fei was targeted! There’s definitely no escaping. And with an attack from three sides, fighting is not an option! What to do!
For a moment, Da Fei was rooted to the spot. Just as the great white shark shows up, pirates come too! System, how can you make me believe you’re not putting on a show?
—Bang! Bang! Bang! Three black signal flares with long black smoke trails shot up from the pirate ships. Although the meaning was unclear, it was definitely nothing good.
They’re getting closer, and through the telescope, Da Fei could already see the decks of the pirate ships and their masts crowded with dense numbers of pirates. Indeed, because the paddle sailboats have low hulls which make it hard to board larger ships, the pirates all stand on the masts, and once they engage in combat, they will, like acrobats, throw grappling hooks to catch onto the masts or bulwarks of their targets, either sliding down or swinging like Tarzan—the essence of risky and technical moves.
After being stunned for a moment, Da Fei finally came to his senses.
So many pirates and they didn’t even notice such a big obstacle ahead? Even if you won’t give me face, at least show the great white shark some respect.
There’s only one tactic left—using their own strength against them. Put more colloquially, it means luring monsters to attack them. I’m quite the master at this. Whether it succeeds or fails, this is the last and only strategy.
Da Fei walked over to where the cable was tied to the mast, the cable already taut and the mast creaking ominously.
Da Fei tried to pull the vibrating cable, but it wouldn’t budge. Then he went ahead and did a bit of tight rope walking on the taut rope. Since the shark’s belly had swallowed such a big mass, surely stirring things up here would anger it somewhat? It’s bound to show some reaction if provoked?
Da Fei tried jumping on the rope, and bang! Water splashed wildly up front, the whole ship suddenly shook—there was a reaction!
I keep jumping!
—Bang! Waves surged skyward!
Da Fei recoiled in fright! Don’t really go overboard; it would be awful if I end up hurting myself in trying to harm others.
The pirates, clamoring all the while, drew closer, but upon the sight of the great white shark stirring the seas, they suddenly fell silent! The speed of their ships also abruptly slowed!
It’s time to draw blood! Da Fei immediately rushed to the gun cabin below decks, aiming at the dense crowd on one of the pirate ships to his right and fired two shots straight at them! Screams rose!
—System Prompt: You’ve killed a pirate, gained +40 Experience!
—System Prompt: You have acquired partial information about a pirate.
—System Prompt: You’ve attacked the pirate ship, dealing -78 damage!
This cannon fire was indeed the fuse of a bomb; the already raging great white shark instantly turned into a torpedo, rushing toward the pirate ship on the right side at an unbelievable speed. Amidst the horrified screams of the pirates on board, the shark struck in the middle, BOOM!!!
The pirate ship shook violently with the impact, the pirates who were standing on the mast fell like dumplings, clattering to the floor. Those holding onto the ship’s rail to steady themselves were equally fierce, pulling out throwing axes to attack.
The great white shark, struck by the flying axes, became even more furious and rammed hard into the bottom of the ship, almost flipping the entire ship over!
Success! Da Fei felt an exhilarating mix of surprise and joy!
— Bang! Bang! Two more smoke signal flares went up; the pirate ship in front moved to support the one on the right side, while the pirate ship on the left continued to approach the Flying amidst shouts, damn it!
How are we supposed to fight this! This is definitely not a trial, I’ve definitely run into real pirates, right? It’s over! The ship’s done for!
Da Fei steeled his heart, considering he had made enough for this trip anyway, he was ready to go all out against them. Da Fei immediately rushed to the deck, preparing to chop off the rope binding the great white shark and let the shark wreak havoc!
But at this moment, the pirate ship on the left side had already closed in—a double-masted paddle sailboat, half the length of the Flying. Da Fei could already see the pirates on the opposite mast, their heads wrapped in cloths, knives in their mouths, and hooks in their hands.
“Muahaha!” Seeing Da Fei appear, the pirates immediately sneered and threw their rope hooks, with a clattering sound, the hook caught on the Flying’s rail!
Damn it! No time to cut the rope!
“Damn it!” Da Fei immediately rushed forward and shot at an acrobat sliding down the rope, -13!
— System Prompt: The enemy is affected by Paralysis Poison, their actions are interrupted…
Ah! The pirate’s hand loosened on the rope, and with a scream, he fell into the sea with a splash. Da Fei’s eyebrows twitched! This action interruption effect was almost like an instant kill!
Clatter! Clatter! Two more grappling hooks landed on the Flying’s rail. For these desperate pirates, losing a few mates didn’t stop their assault.
Damn it! If one comes, kill one; if two come, kill a pair! Da Fei immediately rushed to another grappling hook, took another shot in mid-air—splash! Another one hit by Paralysis Poison fell into the sea.
And at that moment, a wave surged between the two ships—BOOM!!! The pirate ship shook violently!
The great white shark had made its move! Wherever there was someone falling into the water, it would be the first to show up! In the water, it could reach a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour! (Has your car reached that speed yet? Have you lost all your points?)
Da Fei finally couldn’t help but burst into uproarious laughter! Relative to the tall sailboat, the great white shark in its frenzy would instinctively attack the smaller paddle sailboat. Facing this bloodthirsty, frenzied king of predators, that moved like the wind, what chance did these three little pirate ships have? Especially since the shark’s size was comparable to the pirate ships. Da Fei was even more grateful that he hadn’t made his move on the great white shark. Otherwise, how many hits could his battered ship withstand?
The pirates quickly realized the situation and started to turn around to retreat. Unfortunately, the pirate ship on the left side had just suffered violent shaking, causing a lot of water to flood into the rowing cabins; the ship began to tilt and couldn’t get away. The pirates immediately ran to the other side of the ship to counterbalance it, trying to keep it upright.
Of course, Da Fei wouldn’t just stand by and watch. He immediately ran to the Gun Cabin, pushed the Crossbow Cannon to the gun port on the left side, and then, well, aimed it at the crowd trying to balance the ship—no no no, should aim at the side with the leak! Ah, who to shoot at? This question actually made me hesitate, hahaha! Anyway, I survived again, I am really a pro; it’s just so awesome!
Finally, with both Da Fei and the shark’s relentless attacks, the pirate ship capsized and sank. Hundreds of pirates in the water waved their swords in a last desperate resistance, but in the end, they became ghosts beneath the teeth of the great white shark, a sight too gruesome and inhumane to witness…
— System Prompt: You have sunk a medium-sized pirate ship and obliterated a unit of pirate troops, gaining +80,000 Experience! You have obtained the achievement “Victory in the 1st Battle,” Command Power +10.
— Newbie Tip: When you completely annihilate the enemy’s entire force, you will receive additional Command Power achievement rewards. Additional rewards are related to the strength of the enemy troops and your combat losses, up to 10 points.
Da Fei’s eyebrows twitched, to think I, a lone fighter, actually won a battle! Such terrifying experience!
The sun was setting in the west, and the sea also turned a deep red. The great white shark, covered in wounds after the battle, floated on the surface of the water, bleeding profusely, both physically and mentally exhausted, finally at its limit.
Ah, what can I say? This is the highest level of watching the fire from across the shore. Da Fei, feeling an emotional complexity akin to mourning the death of a fellow predator, sighed, “Brother, I’ll see you off on your final journey!”