"The other two ships can go, but this flagship is quite the prize!"
Leilin voluntarily dispelled the effects of his flying spell and landed on the enemy's deck.
"What? That idiot mage actually came down on his own?"
The Mermaid Pirate
A horde of pirates — grotesque in appearance, sporting crab heads and even octopus heads — immediately surrounded Leilin, their eyes gleaming with vicious intent.
Phut! Phut!
The air warped and twisted, then two sharp daggers materialized from the void like vipers baring their fangs at Leilin.
"Hm! Shadow Stealth — comparable to that Mank fellow from before!"
A savage grin spread across Leilin's face. "Pity. With the likes of you small fry, it's nowhere near enough!"
A flash of blood-red light, and the Devil Blood Dagger materialized directly in Leilin's hand. Dagger in hand, Leilin seemed to transform into a spirit of the night, every movement imbued with a unique, deadly elegance.
"Shadow Dance!" With the Chip's assistance, a technique used only by the most elite thieves and assassins was deployed just as effortlessly by Leilin.
The crimson radiance spiraled into a whirlwind, engulfing both assassins in an instant.
The life-force absorption effect far surpassed that of Vampire's Touch — the moment the daggers pierced them, both assassins were reduced to desiccated husks that crumpled to the ground.
Bang! Clang!
The clash of metal rang out, and several more fish-men nearest to Leilin toppled to the deck. Threads of blood-red energy were continuously siphoned into Leilin's daggers, stripping them of every last ounce of vital energy. One touch and they would crumble to dust.
"He's a devil! A demon from the Abyss!"
This horrifying scene immediately left the vicious pirates wetting themselves. They were no strangers to killing, but such a ghastly way to die was something even they had never witnessed before.
The unknown — any sentient creature would always harbor some degree of fear toward it.
"As expected... this is what truly satisfies — reaping lives with your own hands..."
A sinister curve tugged at the corner of Lei Lin's mouth: "[Strength of the Bull]! [Grace of the Cat]!"
Two spells shimmered into being across his body, and with the power and agility now coursing through him, Lei Lin seemed to transform into the Grim Reaper himself, reaping the lives of the surrounding pirates at will.
While cutting down his opponents, several zeroth-level and even first-level spells continued to shoot from his hands in rapid succession.
The [Devil's Blood Dagger] was no ordinary metallic weapon, and of course it posed no hindrance whatsoever to a mage's spellcasting. Furthermore, the absence of steel armor allowed Lei Lin's movements to be even swifter and smoother.
"As I thought! The vast majority of a pirate crew are melee fighters — not a single magic-user among them..."
Lei Lin tore through them like a tiger among sheep, his gaze still sweeping the surroundings, searching for his next prey.
If any magic-user were to step forward now to provide even minimal disruption — a Web spell, or even a Grease spell — it would give him at least some trouble.
But unfortunately, even if the Mermaid Pirates were backed by Marquis Louis, there was no way the man would equip a band of pirates with something as valuable as a mage.
Perhaps only among the three great pirate fleets could one find magic-wielding forces.
"Do you see that?! Our captain has already taken out two of their warships — only one left! Charge in there! Kill them all!"
At that moment, the captive pirates let out howls like wolves: "Kill them! Kill them!"
Pirates who had previously been utterly demoralized now erupted with two hundred percent vigor and fervor, howling as they rammed straight into the Mermaid Pirates.
The boarding battle ignited in an instant!
"This can't go on!" The captain of the Mermaid Pirates watched as his crew dwindled one by one, with enemy pirate vessels bearing down on them. His expression grew uglier by the second.
"Damn it all — where the hell are these pirates from? They've got this kind of strength and a mage backing them, and they still came after me..."
But at this point, it was clear the enemy had come with the sole intention of destroying them. Any hope or wishful thinking had become utterly impossible.
The captain knew full well that even if he chose to surrender, the common pirates might walk away unscathed, but he and his inner circle would almost certainly be forced to walk the plank.
At that thought, a vicious light blazed in his eyes. He tore off his cloak, revealing a suit of plate armor forged from fine steel.
"Get back! Archers, prepare!"
When backed into a corner, their opponent was clearly preparing to enter the fray personally — and this pirate fishman captain's strength was nothing to scoff at.
"Combat Technique — Charge!!!"
The pirate captain's body was enveloped in a dense layer of battle qi, and in the next instant, he charged forward like an iron chariot.
"Probably a Level 10 warrior as well... and that armor and ring of his..."
Lei Lin's figure retreated rapidly, the gleam in his eyes enough to send a chill down his opponent's spine.
At that moment, the Chip projected the data it had collected onto the field of vision before Lei Lin: [Name: Unknown? Gender: Male? Strength Estimate: 11+? Agility Estimate: 5? Constitution Estimate: 8? Spirit Estimate: ? Overall Combat Assessment: Warrior Level 11!? Evaluation: Dangerous! Magical radiation fluctuations detected on the chest armor and ring — classified as Magical Items!]
"Hah! Combat Technique — Whirlwind Slash!"
Riding the momentum of his charge, the pirate captain's waist twisted with explosive force, sending the greatsword in his hands spinning like a windmill.
Bang! Bang! Crack! Wherever the blade's wind reached, planks of the deck were torn up, sending wood splinters and debris flying in every direction.
This combat technique was his proudest skill. To learn it, the pirate captain had served diligently under a high-ranking warrior for three full years before finally earning the man's approval and instruction.
But it was all worth it! After mastering this skill, he had relied on the terrifying power of the Whirlwind Slash to cut down several warriors of even higher level than himself, ascending all the way to the captain's seat of the Mermaid Pirate Crew.
What's more, this opponent was merely a mage. Even if the fellow had some rogue abilities, his defense would certainly be no match for a warrior of the same level.
If he were caught inside the Whirlwind Slash — the pirate captain's lips split into a savage grin, as though he could already see the scene of the opponent's body being torn to shreds.
"Decent technique, but you're too slow..."
A quiet voice drifted over, and the pirate captain's expression changed drastically. In the next instant, he saw a black shadow — thin as paper — slip through the gaps in his Whirlwind Slash, and a blood-red dagger traced a line across his chest.
Thud! Like a sledgehammer striking rawhide, a layer of protective force suddenly erupted from the captain's armor, deflecting the dagger from its original trajectory.
Even so, the tip of the blood-red dagger still left a deep mark across his chest.
Seeing his chest armor nearly sliced clean through, the pirate captain's face was filled with the look of someone who had barely cheated death.
"What a waste... If I hadn't used my Commander-rank spell slot to memorize Flight, a [Dispel Magic] would have broken straight through his defenses and killed him just now!"
Lei Lin's figure didn't pause for even a moment. He charged into the pirate mob once more, and several heads went flying, trailing fountains of blood behind them.
The blood hadn't even hit the ground before it was absorbed by the dagger in Lei Lin's hand, causing the several minor wounds on his body to heal completely in an instant.
"That ability—you're a vampire!"
The pirate captain seemed to recall some terrible memory and screamed in horror. The ability to drain the life force of others and regenerate rapidly was indeed very similar to the vampires spoken of in legends.
**BOOM!** A massive impact shuddered through, making the deck feel as though an earthquake of magnitude eight had struck.
Just as Lei Lin was single-handedly holding down all of their forces, the Black Tiger had already rammed directly into them. Numerous skiffs and grappling ropes with iron hooks latched onto the ship's edge, and then a flood of pirates wielding weapons glowing with blue light surged aboard.
These poisoned weapons, coated by Lei Lin, dealt the merfolk pirates a devastating blow the moment swords clashed. Even a small scratch would leave them paralyzed on the ground within seconds, helpless to do anything but await the enemy's killing blow.
And the guards, enchanted with Lei Lin's Magical Weapons, cut through the opposition like a hot knife through butter. Isabelle charged at the forefront like a valkyrie, sending the merfolk pirates fleeing in utter disarray.
"What's wrong? Thinking of running away?"
Lei Lin stood before the pirate captain with a pleasant smile on his face, blocking his path. The captain's expression was grim.
"Hraagh! Combat Art—Burst Slash!"
It was clear that this pirate captain understood he had no hope of escape until he had shaken off Lei Lin completely. After several flickers of changing expressions, he lunged forward, the greatsword in his hands erupting with a blazing blade of light.
And the very moment he charged, a ring on his right hand suddenly erupted with dazzling magical radiance.
"Swift Burst!"
The sudden surge of magical reinforcement boosted his attack speed by fifty percent! If the enemy wasn't prepared, they would certainly take a devastating hit.
But Lei Lin had seen all of this long ago.
Facing the charging pirate captain, he simply smiled and snapped his fingers.
"[Grease]!"
*Whoosh!* The deck instantly became impossibly slick, and the merfolk captain, caught mid-charge, felt his expression twist as his entire body lost its footing.
"I already know every card you have left to play. Under these circumstances, you have only one fate—to walk peacefully into the embrace of death..."
Lei Lin moved like an elegant dancer, his ethereal figure sweeping past the merfolk pirate.
A head soared high into the air, followed by a fountain of blood.