Chapter 165: Shellbreak

Chapter 165: Shellbreak



On the 'Shipwreck,' in the captain's quarters, Mara Nasar, the captain, dressed in a black robe, was in a rare moment of discussion with his first mate and chief mate instead of fiddling with his potions and vials.

The first mate was a one-eyed middle-aged man with a rugged face and a fierce aura, clearly possessing at least senior knight-level strength. He spoke up, "Boss, why are you against the collaboration between Bloodhand Will and the Eagle Federation?"

"I've examined the fifty matchlock guns they brought. They are finely crafted and quite powerful, showing genuine sincerity."

"Although these matchlock guns pose no threat to our extraordinary knights, they can significantly enhance the combat capabilities of our crew."

"Indeed, boss," the chief mate, a bearded man with sideburns, chimed in, "the men below have been complaining all day. Please ask Bloodhand Will to allocate a few guns to the Shipwreck."

Mara, with a worried expression, looked at the two men and said, "We can cooperate with other pirates, but if we collaborate with the Eagle Federation, we might become a thorn in the Empire's side!"

"Furthermore, do you really think the Eagle Federation is here to help us? They merely want to use us to further weaken the Imperial Navy."

The one-eyed first mate and the bearded chief mate were not fools. Upon hearing Mara's words, they immediately realized the situation and exchanged glances.

"Boss, why don't you try a divination?" The one-eyed man hesitated for a moment, as if struck by a thought.

"I've already performed a divination, and the result was neither good nor bad. But I have a strange feeling, as if something is interfering with the divination process." Mara paced as he explained.

"However, I plan to perform another divination right now!" Mara's pale face became determined.

This time, he intended to use 'Bloodgrass Divination,' a more advanced form of divination compared to 'Watergrass Divination.'

'Bloodgrass Divination' required the diviner to mix their blood with watergrass, enhancing the accuracy of the divination.

However, due to its physical toll, Mara rarely employed this advanced divination technique.

But his wizard apprentice's keen senses seemed to warn him of impending danger, especially since his eyelids had been twitching all evening!

At the quay.

The assault on the Bloodsail Pirates' flagship, the 'Bloodsail,' had commenced. Four peak knight-level naval officers led the charge, followed closely by the naval assault team. A naval lieutenant general and another expert provided support.

Among them, fifteen members of the naval assault team remained behind, led by another naval officer, apparently preparing for a simultaneous attack on the 'Shipwreck.'

"By the way, Leonard, how long will the divination interference on Mortre Island last?"

"It will continue until dawn. If the diviner is merely a wizard apprentice, I believe they won't encounter any issues," a naval captain confidently stated behind the lieutenant general.

The use of 'Divination Interference' was a standard procedure for certain special operations.

The lieutenant general nodded and turned to an eight-character bearded middle-aged man in hunter attire, "Sir Theo, let's go meet Bloodhand Will and the Eagle Federation's envoy."

"Of course, I'd like to witness Bloodhand Will's prowess as well." Theo, the leader of the Assessment Team, smiled and agreed.

"Hmm!"

At that moment, the lieutenant general seemed to sense something and turned towards the direction where Rain was standing.

Rain, holding a two-handed weapon in each hand, began to chant a spell.

"Heat Field!"

As the deep incantation echoed, Rain's body subtly transformed within three seconds.

Although Rain's figure remained visible to outsiders, the change in air density due to temperature differences caused light refraction.

In simpler terms, if an enemy were to strike at Rain's eyes with a sword, there might be a slight deviation, causing the attack to hit Rain's forehead or nearby areas instead.

The next second, Rain's body suddenly expanded, his muscles growing twofold!

Fortunately, he was now wearing otter skin armor, which was much more flexible than metal plate armor, preventing it from bursting instantly.

Rain, with a throwing spear-like motion, forcefully hurled the glowing greatsword in his hand towards the stern of the three-masted 'Shipwreck,' located twenty to thirty meters away!

"Swoosh!!!"

In an instant, the greatsword became a giant arrow, shooting at incredible speed towards the ship's stern.

By the time the sound reached everyone's ears, the greatsword had already pierced the ship's hull, traveling a distance of several dozen meters. It penetrated the thick hull by half a meter, and its shiny blade vibrated, still protruding about a meter.

With 'Limit Break' and the extraordinary trait 'Great Strength lv3' activated, Rain kicked off from the quay and charged towards a small boat docked at the shore.

The next moment, Rain's foot landed on the deck of the small boat, and the strain was evident as the boat creaked under his weight, sinking several centimeters.

Rain used the small boat as a 'transit point,' and with his tremendous strength, he pushed down on the boat, causing its hull to sink by several dozen centimeters.

Immediately after, he leaped into the air like a large bird, flying towards the stern of the three-masted ship, the 'Shipwreck.'

At this moment, the beautiful Navy Lieutenant Marika, standing on the beach, had her mouth wide open, as if she could fit an entire apple inside. Her eyes widened in astonishment, unable to recover from the surprise.

It was as if her expression had frozen in that very moment.

By the time Rain had flown directly from the dock to the stern of the 'Shipwreck,' Marika finally snapped out of her daze, murmuring, "With such strength, why didn't he join the others? And what is he up to?"

"The stern."

The red-haired girl, Evelyn, also widened her eyes in surprise, watching Rain soar like a large bird towards the stern of the 'Shipwreck.' However, her mind was quickly analyzing Rain's intentions.

His previous actions had already proven that Rain was undoubtedly a formidable opponent, surpassing her in skill.

But Evelyn still couldn't quite understand Rain's current actions.

Why didn't he use the conventional gangplank to board the 'Shipwreck'? At this moment, the gangplank of the 'Shipwreck' was still in place, connecting the ship to the dock. With his abilities, entering directly should have been a breeze.

Why was he heading to the stern?

Perhaps he thought there would be fewer people at the stern?

That seemed to be the only explanation!

Evelyn nodded, thinking to herself.

The naval officer standing next to Lieutenant Marika, a Peak Knight, also looked on in amazement at Rain. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

This young man might just give them an explosive spectacle.

Additionally, he muttered, "He's definitely not a newly-advanced Full Knight. Even a Senior Knight's muscle transformation isn't this exaggerated. Could it be that he's..."

Further away, the naval lieutenant general and the middle-aged man from the assessment team raised their eyebrows, their eyes clearly expressing surprise.

"Could he be planning to attack the captain's cabin directly?"

"But the hull of a three-masted ship is over thirty centimeters thick," the middle-aged man with the goatee seemed to have instantly guessed Rain's intention, speaking in a low voice.

"It seems so," the naval lieutenant general nodded, agreeing with the middle-aged noble's assessment.

As the onlookers on the shore watched, they wondered what Rain's next move would be.

Rain descended, positioning his feet on the glowing greatsword that was lodged in the ship's hull, stabilizing his stance.

Due to his weight and the impact from his previous leap, the exceptionally resilient starfish sword bent by about thirty degrees, like a taut bowstring.

At that moment, Rain prepared to jump, bending his knees.

With a powerful thrust from his bent knees and the upward force from the sword, Rain, holding the heavy pig-head hammer, soared upwards by over four meters.

"Explosive Strength!"

At the same time, his already swollen muscles expanded further, and he swung the pig-head hammer with tremendous force, executing the 'Indestructible Power' technique, spinning 360 degrees from bottom to top. The rotating hammer struck the thick hull where the captain's cabin was located.

"Dragon Ascension Hammer!"

Inside the captain's cabin of the 'Shipwreck.'

Mallar was biting his fingers, dripping blood onto a slender watergrass.

Suddenly, he caught a glimpse of a shadow passing by the small window on the side of the cabin.

As he focused his attention, puzzled...

"Boom!"

The thirty-centimeter thick wooden hull in front of his table exploded! Countless tiny wooden splinters, under the influence of a powerful force, flew in all directions! These wood fragments, varying in size and shape, had sharp edges like high-speed bullets, rushing towards Mallar and the other two inside the cabin.

If it were just the hull fragments, it wouldn't have been a problem, as all three were Extraordinary Rank and would suffer at most minor injuries.

But as they raised their hands to block the wood fragments from hitting their eyes, a shocking event occurred that left Mallar stunned! Through the gaps between his fingers, he spotted a massive hammer, gleaming with a dark metallic luster, falling from above towards his forehead, along with the flying wood chips.

"Earth-Splitting Hammer!"

At this moment, the instincts of the wizard apprentice within Mallar's body took over, and his first reaction was not to dodge or roll away. Instead, he immediately used his spiritual power to activate the amulet on his chest, a one-time instant-cast wizardry tool that Mallar would never use unless absolutely necessary.

Just like the sudden woodchip storm, he hadn't wanted to use it.

"Ahhhh!"

With Mara's scream, the amulet on his chest suddenly burst, and at the same time, a thin blue film instantly enveloped Mara.

With this shield-like film's protection, Mara no longer panicked when faced with the heavy hammer's strike. His terrified expression calmed down considerably.

"Sizzle!!!"

On the black pig-headed hammer's tip, the dense array of black spikes suddenly appeared, and the longest and thickest one among them managed to pierce through Mara's 'Water Film Shield', which he relied on for survival.

Although it only pierced a tiny bit, that black spike carried a powerful force that caused a two-centimeter deep puncture in Mara's forehead.

At that moment, Mara's pale blue 'Water Film Shield' seemed to burst like a bubble, shattering completely!

Reyn, on the other hand, maintained his stance with both hands gripping the hammer, ready to deliver a downward strike with his 'Earth-Splitting Hammer' technique.

Mara stood rigidly, his palms still spread open in a defensive posture, but his facial expression remained fixed in a look of relief, as if he had finally unleashed the life-saving 'Water Film Shield'.

"Bang!!!"

Mara, with the spike piercing his forehead right through to the back of his head, suddenly exploded.

Blood-red liquid and white brain matter splattered everywhere!

In an instant, his head was hollowed out.

Although Mara's back of the head had exploded, his front face remained intact.

This gave the illusion that, from the front, Mara still wore a relieved expression, as if he were still alive.

The next second, his body twitched twice before falling heavily to the ground.

At that moment, the first mate and the chief mate, who had been blocking the flying wood chips, finally lowered their arms.

They stared at the scene before them in utter shock, their eyes bulging and mouths agape.

The previous events had transpired too quickly for them to react, but as the storm of shattered wood chips subsided, they witnessed a scene that made their hearts race with fear.

Their leader had been killed right before their eyes!

Mara, a master of divination and water-based wizardry known for his exceptional self-preservation skills, was dead. This sudden turn of events felt utterly absurd to them, as if Mara had done nothing but stand there and let his opponent hammer him to death. But that was impossible; even a cornered rabbit will bite, let alone their leader!

Previously, Reyn's 261% strength-enhanced hammer strike under the 'Three-Tiered State' had almost broken through Adams' black film shield. Therefore, this time, Reyn chose an even more aggressive approach.

With his further improved strength, the combination of the 'Earth-Splitting Hammer' technique and a 273% strength-boosted strike, he finally achieved a shield-breaking blow.

2. After killing Mara with a single hammer strike, Reyn deactivated his 'Limit Break' and retained only his 'Extraordinary Trait' of 'Great Strength' and the 'Heat Field'.

3. Reyn's physical stature shrank significantly as he deactivated the 'Limit Break' state. Although his physical attributes had improved, the burden on his body remained significant due to the combined effects of the 'Limit Break', the 'Extraordinary Trait' of 'Great Strength', and the 'Heat Field'.

4. Compared to the previous 'aftermath' of muscle tearing, his condition had improved noticeably.

5. However, to onlookers, Reyn appeared to be in a state of 'weakness' after killing Mara, as if he had exhausted himself using some secret technique.

6. The commotion in the Captain's Quarters immediately caught the attention of the two occupants, who reacted with a mix of shock and anger, shouting, "He killed Mara! Someone, get him!"

"You're dead! Someone, stop him!"

There was no need for them to shout; the noise from the Captain's Quarters was enough to alert the nearby crew members.

Upon seeing their leader's corpse with its skull blown open, the crew members' faces paled in shock.

"Ahhhh!!!"

The less experienced crew members among them screamed, covering their faces.

Just a few seconds later, many people's skin had already been scorched by Reyn's 'Heat Field'.

From a bright red, it began to turn pale, a sign of being almost cooked!

Several of the pirates grabbed their faces too hard, and with one grab, the facial skin was torn off, revealing the bloody subcutaneous tissue.

The surrounding Bloodsail Pirates witnessed this eerie scene, and for a moment, they hesitated to approach.

But soon, among the incoming Bloodsail Pirates, several raised brand new matchlock guns, and the match was already lit.

Reyn narrowed his eyes, and although his extraordinary trait 'Iron Skin lv3' was not afraid of such powerful pellet attacks, he also didn't need to endure the confrontation.

"I might as well stick to the plan we had before!" Reyn thought to himself.

The next second, Reyn was seen using a heavy pig-headed hammer to strike the floor, directly smashing a large hole in the captain's room's deck, and he jumped right into the lower deck.

Compared to the ship's hull, this deck was much thinner, making it easier to break through.

The Bloodsail Pirates, like a pack of hyenas, led by the burly first mate and the bearded chief mate, followed closely behind Reyn.

But as they just jumped down, some Bloodsail Pirates who had just come around from the outside to the lower deck saw Reyn striking the deck again and quickly jumping into the hole, reaching the very bottom deck.

This made the first mate and chief mate of the 'Shipwreck' a bit confused!

They had never seen an 'assassin' continue to venture deeper into enemy territory after completing their assassination instead of fleeing.

This mysterious move by the opponent was completely incomprehensible!

At this moment, as Reyn smashed through the decks one by one, almost all the Bloodsail Pirates on the 'Shipwreck' were mobilized.

So, nearly two hundred Bloodsail Pirates started rushing towards Reyn's current location.

This made the burly first mate and the bearded chief mate feel extremely confident!

"You're a damn Grand Knight, and this time you're dead! One person can be drowned by a single bubble of urine!" the first mate shouted.

At the edge of the dock.

"What the hell are you doing? Even if you can break through the ship's hull, it's foolish to storm in alone and face the siege of the Bloodsail Pirates!" exclaimed the male naval officer standing next to Second Lieutenant Marika, after his initial surprise.

His extensive military experience made him highly value 'unified pace and close cooperation'.

He despised such 'individual heroism'.

Additionally, as a Master Knight, when he first saw Reyn smashing through the thick hull of the 'Shipwreck' and breaking into the captain's lounge, he was initially astonished by Reyn's strength but immediately furrowed his brows.

Because no matter how strong an individual is, their strength has its limits.

Facing the siege of more than a dozen, or even several dozen Bloodsail Pirates, is definitely not a wise move.

But out of a sense of duty, this Master Knight-level naval officer quickly chased after Reyn towards the hole in the 'Shipwreck'.

He knew he might not make it in time, but he wanted to at least try to collect the opponent's body.

At this moment, the beautiful Second Lieutenant Marika, who was in charge of the ennoblement examination, finally snapped out of her shock from seeing Reyn smashing through the thick hull.

She quickly regained her composure and followed closely behind Reyn.

As one of the recorders for the ennoblement examination, she needed to stay close to capture the situation firsthand.

Behind her, two naval officers and a member of the assessment team dressed in noble hunter attire immediately followed.

These three individuals had long breaths and swift movements, and their every action was crisp and efficient, seemingly all peak knights.

Reyn's strike that broke through the 'Shipwreck's hull caught the attention of not only the naval lieutenant general but also the eight-character-whiskered middle-aged man.

But strangely, the two of them didn't move, as if they weren't worried about Reyn at all.

The naval lieutenant general watched Reyn rush into the captain's room, and after several seconds, he smiled and turned to the eight-character-whiskered middle-aged man beside him, asking, "Lord Theodorus, in your many ennoblement examinations, have you ever seen such an interesting young man?"

The eight-character-whiskered middle-aged man also showed delight and, after a brief thought, replied, "General Silva, it's been about three years since I last saw such a spirited young man."

The ennoblement examination leader, Lord Theodorus, used the word 'spirited', which was quite intriguing.

Naval Lieutenant General Silva naturally understood his meaning and continued, "Yes! There are many young people with strength, but those with such spirit are rare."

"Lord Theodorus, I might need to trouble you with something."

"Oh?" Lord Theodorus raised an eyebrow, intrigued, waiting for General Silva's next words.

After all, it was not easy to earn the favor of General Silva, a young and promising officer in the Imperial Navy.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end