Chapter 123: The Decisive Battle to the Death 5
TL: Etude
Boss! The pirate groups deputy leader, his voice trembling and shaky, suggested to Mudfish Gaden, Shouldnt we retreat first? The enemys weapons are too powerful.
Those leaders who stayed behind without participating in the battle hadnt taken the drug a second time, so they still retained their sanity.
However, his suggestion received no response. The pirate groups leader just stood there, blankly watching as his underlings were slowly slaughtered by the enemy.
Gaden, leader?
After calling out a few times without a response, the deputy leader carefully patted Gaden on the shoulder.
What happened next was unexpected. Gaden turned around with a speed almost too fast to see and grabbed the deputy leader by the throat with his right hand. Lifting him up, the deputy leaders feet left the deck.
A growl-like sound emerged from the pirate leaders throat, Coward! If it werent for your incompetence, we wouldnt be in this situation!
I I Cough!
The deputy leader struggled to pry open Gadens fingers, which were tightly embedded in his neck, but all his efforts were in vain. Gadens grip was like a vice, clamping down on his neck.
The surrounding pirate leaders were stunned by this sudden turn of events, and nobody dared to step forward to intervene.
Soon, the deputy leaders face turned the color of liver due to lack of oxygen, and his struggling weakened, eventually ceasing altogether. Gaden continued to hold him by the throat, his body swaying due to the struggle that had just occurred.
With a shout of release, Gadens right hand tightened.
His fingers dug fiercely into the deputy leaders throat, ripping out a large chunk of flesh along with the Adams apple, blood gushing everywhere.
With a thud, the deputy leaders body fell onto the deck, his throat fatally wounded, clearly beyond saving.
The leaders who remained on the ship were stunned, unable to comprehend what had gotten into their leader to act so violently.
They vaguely sensed that Gaden was no longer the patient, inscrutable leader he used to be.
Gaden, while staring at the deputy leaders corpse, took a few breaths and then suddenly raised his head to look at the others.
A chilling voice emanated from the pirate leader, What the hell are you idiots still doing here?
What else could they do? Jump onto the enemy ship like the underlings and get slaughtered? The thought crossed everyones minds.
To battle!
To fight!
Go! Over there! Fight for your lives!
The pirate leader suddenly roared at his subordinates like a madman.
Just as Gaden finished speaking, a stray bullet flew in, hitting a leader in the head. The lead bullet, carrying tremendous force, blew off his skull, and brain matter splattered onto those nearby.
With a splash, a leader jumped into the sea, frantically swimming towards a nearby navy ship that was nearly done with the battle.
Then the second, the third finally, all the leaders remaining by Gadens side jumped into the sea, heading towards the enemy ship.
We surrender! We surrender!
They shouted to the navy soldiers on the ship from the cold seawater.
With their underlings nearly all dead and their leader gone mad, the pirate ship entangled with the navy vessels, it was too late to run. What other choice did they have but to surrender?
Die heroically in battle? Dont be ridiculous, they were pirates.
The gruesome sight of a skull being blown off instantly led these opportunistic pirate leaders to make the choice most beneficial to themselves.
The soldiers on the various ships were busy cleaning up the aftermath and didnt have the time to deal with them immediately. An officer loudly ordered them to stay put in the water for the time being, as these fellows were excellent swimmers.
At this time, the Hope had also ended its battle with the three pirate ships it had previously engaged.
If these three pirate ships had braved the cannon fire and rushed in for a boarding battle, their numerical advantage might have allowed them to capture the Hope.
However, having joined Mudfish Gadens pirate group only recently and not being united either before or after joining, the captains were all intent on preserving their own strength.
As a result, each ship hesitated to advance, waiting for others to take the lead.
Without the danger of being boarded, the Hope fired continuously with ease. Although not every shot hit the enemy ships, they gradually inflicted more and more casualties on the enemy.
Then the crew on the three pirate ships saw Gadens direct subordinates rush towards the other Alda navy ships.
The course of the battle surprised many, who initially thought that with the help of the mysterious drugs, they could defeat the navy, though not without difficulty.
But reality harshly disproved their assumptions. As the scales of victory completely tipped in favor of the Alda navy, one pirate ship fled into the distance, while the remaining two raised white flags to surrender to the Hope.
The battles on the decks of the ships soon concluded. Most pirates were killed, some surrendered voluntarily, and others were captured due to severe injuries.
Guided by the prisoners, the navy soldiers saw Mudfish Gaden, left alone on the pirate ship.
They maneuvered their warships to surround Gadens ship.
Surrender! You have no way out! someone shouted at him.
Why bother with surrender? Just shoot him dead! another person impatiently suggested.
Or maybe we should use the cannon to kill him? It would be more satisfying than a gun.
At this moment, the pirate leader was oblivious to the various voices around him, muttering to himself, It shouldnt be like this! It shouldnt be like this!
His eyes bulged, and his mouth split into a grimace that resembled a grotesque smile.
He could not accept reality.
He had painstakingly accumulated power, making cautious decisions at every step. His pirate group had finally started to take shape.
Then a mysterious individual claiming to be a wizard appeared, offering him tremendous assistance. With the wizards mysterious power, his pirate group quickly grew stronger.
Just as his dream of becoming the next great pirate like Edward was about to come true, a single misstep turned his long efforts to dust.
It shouldnt be like this!
Gaden shouted, drawing the attention of the soldiers on the surrounding ships who were discussing how to deal with him.
Under the incomprehensible gazes of the crowd, Gaden shakily unfastened a bag from his waist, turned its opening towards his mouth, and began pouring something into it.
A prisoner explained to the navy soldiers watching over him, Hes taking drugs. After consuming that kind of drug, one can gain strength far beyond that of a normal person!
The soldiers, curious, watched the pirate leaders performance closely.
Whats happening to his body? a soldier exclaimed in disbelief.
Im going to kill you all! Im going to kill you all! Along with these words of madness, Gaden, having consumed a large amount of the drug, began to swell. His height shot up to around two meters.
His clothes burst from his expanding body, revealing explosive muscles on his chest, arms, and thighs.
Gadens face also distorted grotesquely, his bulging veins creating a scalp-tingling sight.
His fists became the size of sand pots not metaphorically, but literally and at the ends of his thick fingers were nails like small daggers.
The creature before them could no longer be called human; it had completely transformed into a monster.
However, the observing soldiers were not frightened, as it was clear that the monster was in great pain.
The monster that Gaden had become roared loudly, the sound laden with indescribable agony.
He banged his head against the mast repeatedly, shaking it as if it would break.
Then he frantically clawed at his own chest with his sharp nails, quickly turning his body into a bloody mess.
As they watched the pirate leaders tragic state, the crowd didnt know whether to pity him or hate him.
Navy Commander Austin shook his head and gave the order to the sailors: End it.
A row of riflemen aimed at Gaden, and after the sound of gunfire, calm returned to the sea.
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