Chapter 268: Section 56: I Want to Escape
The Justice Pirate Group was invigorated.
Whether Captain Long Fu was bluffing or truly had a trump card, facing a Gold opponent with such high spirits was enough to inspire others.
The military texts of the Eastern Empire had a saying—The general is the backbone of the army!
The Dragon-man youth took a deep breath, and his Blast Fighting Spirit surged again, forming an explosion that propelled him forward in a charge against Golden Hook.
Fearless!
Golden Hook’s eyebrows lifted as he saw the Dragon-man youth’s attacking posture, and he laughed in spite of his anger.
...
Combat Skill—Brewing Fist.
The Dragon-man youth’s pupils shrunk sharply.
In an instant, Golden Hook’s fist disappeared from the youth’s field of view.
The next moment, the Dragon-man youth was struck by a powerful force in the chest, sent flying backward at a faster speed than before, and crashed into the main mast of the Silver Hook with a loud thud.
The mast groaned, nearly breaking from the impact.
The members of the Justice Pirate Group all held their breath at once.
On the other hand, the pirates on Silver Hook’s side cheered.
This was the majesty of a Gold-level fighter!
But the Dragon-man youth quickly stood up straight, regrouped, and charged toward Golden Hook again!
Golden Hook’s eyelids twitched, surprised.
His previously used Combat Skill seemed improvised, but he had actually been building up power during his hurried return.
“This Brewing Fist is a marvelous Combat Skill I learned from a Panda-man tribe in the southern parts of the Empire. The longer I charge it, the more powerful it becomes, to the point it could even harm myself.”
“Most Silver Fighters would not be able to stand up after being hit by that punch I just threw.”
“This guy… he clearly doesn’t have the Cultivation of a peak Silver Level…”
Golden Hook was acutely aware of the power of his move, but the physical prowess of the Dragon-man youth astonished him.
Golden Hook had clashed with Dragon-folk before, but this Dragon-man youth before him was very different from those he had previously encountered.
The Dragon-man youth kept charging and being repelled.
Golden Hook stood his ground, tall and upright like the highest peak. No matter how the Dragon-man youth attacked, he remained immovable.
In contrast, the Dragon-man youth’s injuries grew worse, his breathing more labored, blood soaking his body.
The clash between the two commanded the battlefield’s attention.
Their duel could even decide the outcome of this great battle.
Golden Hook appeared nonchalant, but inside, the shock grew. His keen eyes focused on the wounds of the Dragon-man youth.
He discovered that the Dragon-man youth’s injuries were rapidly healing.
“What kind of Bloodline is this?”
Silver Hook, seeing the Dragon-man youth repeatedly rise after being beaten down, felt his wariness intensify, “Just before, I stabbed right through this guy’s chest and back, and yet under my brother’s attacks, he is still so fierce!”
“It’s my turn!” Golden Hook suddenly lowered his voice, abandoned defense for offense.
Combat Skill—New Moon Hook!
He swung his fishing rod, his Fighting energy concentrated at the end of the line, turning into a massive curved hook.
The Fighting energy hook was extremely sharp, cutting pirates at the waist, severing the mizzen mast effortlessly, and slicing through sturdy sails like they were nothing!
The Dragon-man youth retreated again and again.
His Dragon Scales could not withstand such an onslaught.
At the crucial moment, Zong Ge and a gray figure used their Combat Skills to come to the captain’s aid.
The three of them fought fiercely against Golden Hook, sharing the pressure and successfully holding their ground.
Meanwhile, Silver Hook, the One-eyed Elf, and the Silver Fighter who wielded a sword, needless to say, weren’t going to sit around awaiting their fate, continuously engaging in battle.
Some tried to attack the Sea Snake Lady; others continued to tie down Zong Ge and his companions.
Golden Hook’s reinforcements did not bring a decisive end to the battle.
The battlefield remained at a stalemate.
Both sides engaged in unending combat.
Silver Hook, unfortunately, became the main battlefield, with the ship creaking constantly.
The fighters of Silver Level and above were undoubtedly the shining stars on the battlefield, forcing Bronze fighters like Xu Ma to be exceedingly cautious.
Xu Ma was already disheveled with his face covered in dirt, as he awkwardly tumbled on the deck and hid behind two barrels.
Xu Ma gasped with difficulty, “I can’t keep fighting! I used to think that Lion Flag was crazy about battles, but Captain Long Fu is even worse! He’s a madman to dare strike at Golden Hook!”
This Bronze Thief was terrified and pessimistic about the Dragon-man youth’s chances.
“Even if they eventually win, I’m afraid I won’t live long enough to see it.”
“Getting caught up and rushing up to the deck was simply preposterous!”
“Now, no one will notice me—I need to retreat quickly.”
Bang.
A gunshot rang.
A Bronze pirate tossed aside his flintlock short-barreled firearm and took large strides toward Xu Ma.
“So you were here!” the Bronze pirate bellowed furiously.
The taste in Xu Ma’s mouth was bitter; he didn’t know why this Bronze powerhouse had targeted him specifically.
“But this is also an opportunity!”
Xu Ma parried a few blows and took a cruel hit, then tumbled over the ship’s side, falling onto the ice below.
The Bronze pirate immediately clung to the side of the ship and looked down to see Xu Ma’s “corpse” in a pool of blood.
“Hmph, it’s because you, kid, resemble a rival of mine from my younger days,” declared the bronze pirate, full of triumph. He turned and went back to the fray.
Xu Ma stealthily cracked one eye open and saw clearly that the bronze pirate had left.
“Good!” His spirits lifted, he immediately turned over and stood up, then clutching his abdomen, he feigned serious injury and retreated rapidly, distancing himself from the Silver Hook.
His departure went unnoticed.
The Silver Fighters on board the Silver Hook along with Golden Hook were embroiled in intense combat, too engrossed to pay attention to anything else.
Combat Skill—Great Swordsman’s Blaze!
Zong Ge growled, invigorated his arms, and unleashed a sword light as tall as a man, making a horizontal cut toward Silver Hook.
Silver Hook kept dodging, but the sword light pursued him even more fiercely.
Fortunately, by continuously back-pedaling, he bought himself some crucial time and was able to execute his Combat Skill.
Combat Skill—Turn Hook.
A fishing line twirled in front of him, forming a semi-transparent, silver-white fishhook.
The sword light collided with the fishhook and was deflected, sliding off at an angle and zipping past the Silver Hook.
“What’s that noise?” Xu Ma’s ears twitched, and he quickly turned back, only to see the Great Swordsman’s Blaze heading straight for him.
Xu Ma dodged in a hurry.
Boom!
The sword light exploded, shattering a large expanse of the icy surface.
Although Xu Ma wasn’t hit directly, the shockwave still affected him, flinging him through the air like a sack, and he began to vomit blood before he even landed.
Thud.
Xu Ma crashed onto the hard ice and slid a distance.
His head was spinning, every part of his body ached, but inside he felt lucky: “Thank goodness I ran. If I had been on board, it would have been even worse.”
“How could I have joined that fight?”
“I would have been courting death!”
Xu Ma stood up and continued to run on the ice.
But this time, he didn’t need to pretend to be injured because he really was hurt.
Combat Skill—Gray Mist Wave!
One dressed in gray shook his Stabbing Sword, shortening his fur suddenly, and burst forth a cloud of gray mist.
The mist formed a fan shape and pushed straight forward.
The Silver Fighter facing the one in gray was already severely wounded and now knelt on the ground, unable to muster his Combat Skill to fight back.
Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his necklace and ripped it off forcefully.
The necklace was threaded with countless small metal pieces.
Once freed from the string, these metal shards expanded to form numerous small shields.
The shields spun rapidly, annihilating the approaching gray mist.
The one in gray wanted to continue the attack, but he was held back by an arrow from the One-eyed Elf.
The Silver Fighter was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Golden Chin came charging, bearing a giant shield.
Bang.
The Silver Fighter was sent flying, and the delicate Flying Shields around him scattered in all directions.
One of them flew out far and bounced a few times on the icy surface, landing near Xu Ma’s feet.
“What’s this? Looks like some Alchemy Item,” Xu Ma wondered, just as the small shield shakily levitated and then started spinning rapidly.
With only Xu Ma nearby, the small shield charged straight at him.
Xu Ma was terrified, frantically moving his legs to escape the shield.
Sometimes the small shield was repelled by Xu Ma’s Dagger or Combat Skill, and sometimes it caught up to him, slashing wounds across the bronze pirate’s body.
While running, Xu Ma bled profusely, his heart filled with misery.
Finally, he grew fierce and, with all his might, destroyed the relentlessly pursuing small Flying Shield.
“Damn, losing too much blood,” Xu Ma felt his vision darkening.
“I have to leave quickly, the farther from the battlefield the better!”
Xu Ma bit his lip, moving ever closer to the Little Bird.
He did not choose the Justice because that ship was Captain Long Fu’s flagship, and he could not simply sail it away. Moreover, both the Justice and the Silver Hook were currently trapped in ice and immobile.
“Keep going, I’m almost there!”
Seeing himself drawing nearer to the Little Bird, Xu Ma’s eyes shone with hope.
But in the next moment, the Little Bird crashed into the ice.
Numerous pirates rushed down from the Little Bird.
“Kill!”
“Support the Captain!”
“Kill one to break even, kill two to make a profit!”
Xu Ma was shocked!
“These idiots,” he cursed inwardly.
The crowd surged forward, with many pirates brushing past him.
Bai Ya was among them and noticed Xu Ma: “Senior, you’re seriously injured! Don’t go to the Little Bird; it’s about to sink. We’ve all come down from it!”
Xu Ma: ?!
The expression on the bronze pirate’s face as he clenched his teeth was a spectacle, filled with anger, hatred, unwillingness, despair, and more—too complex to describe.