049. Outlaws of the Eastern Sea 3
Two men faced off on the deck of the ship, swords locked in combat. None other than Bin and Gold Tooth.
Clang!Clang!Clang! The sharp ring of steel reverberated through the vessel.
Bin's greatsword plunged straight through Gold Tooth's abdomen.
Yet Gold Tooth was grinning ear to ear.
Sensing something amiss, Bin glanced down at the wound.
Sure enough, just as his uneasy hunch suggested, Gold Tooth's belly had melted into liquid.
Lip curling, Gold Tooth opened his mouth. "Kid from the land, you think this sea's some easy ride?"
Bin scowled at the sight. 'Water...?!'
He wasn't seeing things. Gold Tooth's midsection had truly transformed into water.
As Bin faltered, the horde of pirates aboard the Gold Force erupted in raucous laughter.
"Hahaha! Look at that panicked stare."
"You can't underestimate the captain's weapon ability—body transformation. Hahaha!"
They threw their heads back, howling with delight at the ignorance of this newcomer who didn't know Gold Tooth's weapon power.
Codic, locked in combat with one of the pirates, whipped his head toward Bin at the sound of their mocking cackles.
"Those wretched vermin... daring to mock my lord..."
He itched to rush to Bin's side right then and there. But he couldn't abandon the weary Ront and Mia beside him. Bin wouldn't want that either.
Codic nodded firmly at Bin. 'My lord, I trust you...!'
Redoubling his efforts, Codic swept aside the surrounding pirates with his massive arms.
"Begone, you filth!"
Thud!
"Urk...!"
Two pirates let out dying gasps as Codic hurled them off the Gold Force. They plunged into the sea with twin splashes.
Splash! Splash!
But even after shoving two aside, enemies swarmed from every direction. Before Codic could summon his skeletal soldiers, blades, spears, and maces rained down relentlessly.
Codic narrowed his eyes at the ship teeming with pirates. All he could do now was shield Ront and Mia from the onslaught.
Clang! Clang! Clash!
Shing...!
"Damn these vermin..."
Dozens of pirates encircled him. He'd already felled two, but the ring of foes left him no openings. He could only block their enchanted weapons with his thick right arm.
Meanwhile, Bin gritted his teeth. He knew the situation had turned dire.
Gold Tooth smirked wickedly at him. This opponent was no pushover—clearly not just any fool who'd troubled the Bascon family enough to earn the title of pirate captain.
Baring his gold teeth, Gold Tooth thrust his sword toward Bin's gut.
Shwick.
In that instant, Gold Tooth's blade pierced Bin's abdomen.
"Filthy brat with such tender meat. Never overlook a weapon's power. Stay vigilant until the enemy's breath is snuffed out."
Gold Tooth thought victory was his. But the pierced Bin wore a faint smile.
Gold Tooth's brow furrowed at the sight. 'What... is that grin...?'
Bin chuckled inexplicably and spoke. "Hey, don't let your guard down before you cut off my breath."
His eyes brimmed with unshakable confidence. Gold Tooth couldn't hide his unease.
Bad omens never lied, they say. In a swirl of layered shadows, Bin's form vanished—only to reappear at Gold Tooth's back.
'Ma-Mana of Agility...?!'
Gold Tooth panicked. He hadn't expected a mid-teen like Bin to wield Mana of Agility.
Bin materialized behind him, greatsword slashing once more toward his gut.
Gold Tooth whipped around, eyes widening. "......!"
Shwick— The blade bore down again.
But Gold Tooth's body wasn't ordinary flesh. His abdomen had already turned to translucent water.
Forcing a grin, Gold Tooth taunted Bin. "Your attacks won't work anyway."
Bin smiled back. "Will they now?"
Luminare began to shimmer with silver light. Bin raised the greatsword in a diagonal arc to the right.
Shwick!
Blood spurted from Gold Tooth's watery form. A wet, tearing sound followed as flesh ripped open.
Gold Tooth's agonized scream filled the ship. "Arrrgh!"
It was the searing pain of skin shredding. Bewilderment twisted his face. Even 4th-class knights couldn't harm his body—yet this kid had wounded him with skilled mana.
"......"
The pain choked off his voice. Clutching the gash with one hand, Gold Tooth snarled through clenched teeth. "You bastard...! I'll chop your fingers off one by one and grind them with these gold teeth. Surround him—all of you!"
He staggered back briefly, but his crew swarmed in, heavy footsteps thudding around Bin.
Thud. Thud.
Nearly fifty pirates hemmed him in—a hopeless siege on all sides.
They closed in with sinister grins. "Looks like a fancy young lord. Too bad you're shark bait now. Hehehe."
"Sharks'll chew your bones nice and tender."
"We could let you live if you grovel and lick our crotches—out of respect for your skills. Kekeke."
Bin ignored their vulgar jeers. He had no time for retorts. His sword was growing heavier by the second.
'The weight's increasing...'
Anyone else might have surrendered. But Bin ground his teeth, plotting his escape.
He leveled Luminare at the pirates with a murderous glare. "Come at me if you dare."
The pirates bellowed back. "As you wish!"
"Raaah!"
Dozens charged. Moments later—
Clang! Clash! Shing!
The melee raged as scores of weapons hurtled toward Bin—swords, spears, clubs. Too many to track, a blur to the naked eye.
Shwick. Shwick.
Bin's back was soon stained red. For facing over fifty foes alone, his wounds were remarkably light.
"Hah... hah..."
He'd squeezed out his last drop of mana. On the verge of collapse, a golden hook snagged his leg—Gold Tooth's doing.
Thud.
Bin sprawled on the deck in a sprawling X.
His slack gaze lifted to the darkening sky. He scanned his surroundings. Codic was overwhelmed too.
Gold Tooth loomed over the fallen Bin. "Got you at last, you rat. I'll start by gouging out those eyes and savoring them!"
Despite his will, Bin's hooked leg wouldn't budge. Images of his mother, Danel, flashed in his mind.
'I can't end like this...'
As Gold Tooth raised his sword over the gritted-teeth Bin—
Bin jammed his greatsword into his left arm and thrust it toward Gold Tooth. Blood sprayed into the pirate's eyes.
Splat.
Defiant to the end.
"This little shit won't quit..."
Gold Tooth winced, rearing back for another swing. That's when a blue glow flared from Bin's left hand.
The waves churned in response. Rumble. Rumble.
The Gold Force began to lift, rocking wildly. Gold Tooth scowled at the ominous sea.
"You! Check what's happening out there!"
A pirate scrambled to the railing, leaning out in a crooked 'G' shape to peer at the waters.
The usual deep blue sea. "Nothin' wrong—"
His pupils trembled mid-sentence. Something had changed. An unidentified brown mass was rising from the depths.
He gulped instinctively. Gulp.
His gut screamed: mortal danger approached.
His eyes bulged. "Huuuh...!"
Enormous tentacles, sucker-lined and massive, began slithering over the ship's edge.
The pirate whirled, mouth agape—but a thick tendril coiled around him first.
"Urk..."
Like an anaconda squeezing prey.
Gold Tooth's eyes flashed at the sight, words failing him. "......!!"
One tentacle breached, then a swarm poured through cracks and gaps, wrapping around pirates and crushing them.
"Urghhh...!"
Faces purpled as bodies crumpled. Crack.
"......?!"
Gold Tooth gaped in shock. All the while, the blue seal on Bin's left hand pulsed steadily.
Bin stared, a certain woman's face coming to mind: Irin Taia in her blue uniform.
'No way... a monster from the Taia family...!?'
Before he could process it, Gold Tooth bellowed. "Th-the sea's calamity, Kraken! Everyone, retreat!"
They slid down ropes to their original ships as they'd boarded. But as Gold Tooth returned to his vessel, the nightmare truly began.
Ships around the Gold Force shattered one by one under colossal tentacles.
Smash! Smash! Smash...!!
Seawater erupted as hulls splintered instantly.
Gold Tooth roared at the behemoth. "Fire everything!"
Cannonballs streaked toward the Kraken. Boom! Boom! Boom...!
A tentacle burst on impact, and the beast briefly submerged.
Gold Tooth thought, 'It's working.'
But that complacency shattered. Regenerated tentacles coiled around his ship.
Slither. Slither.
Gold Tooth stared blankly. "High-speed regeneration?!"
At those grotesque, sucker-studded limbs, doubt crept in. "Why... us alone..."
No time to ponder. Smash! Smash!
His ship cracked under the assault. Gold Tooth's legs buckled in despair.
No counter. Just endure... The Kraken lived up to its title as the sea's scourge.
CRASH!!
In mere minutes, eight ships lay in ruins.
The Kraken, having wrought havoc, turned toward Bin. Their eyes met.
Black pupils ringed in yellow. More docile than expected.
Still reeling from the shock, Bin held his breath. "......!"
The Kraken approached, staring blankly. Then it extended a single tentacle toward him.
Slither.
Like offering a handshake.
Bin blinked in stunned confusion. "......"