Chapter Thirty-Four: The Star Hunters Appear, The Battle Begins!

These dozen or so ships were encircling the Black Pirates’ vessel, their greater numbers and murderous aura forming an overwhelming force. These pirates, who had recently risen to power in the waters near Thousand Peaks Island, were terrifyingly strong. They had attacked countless fishing and merchant ships, leaving behind rivers of blood and slaughter.

At this moment, the flags on their ships flapped in the wind, bearing the gruesome emblem of a blood-splattered lone star.

"Go, go, go! There’s no avoiding the coming clash between the Star Hunters and the Black Pirates—we must flee at full speed!" First Mate Bai Yuanji bellowed on deck.

Confronted with such foes, the danger of death was very real. Unlike the Black Pirates, the Star Hunters never left survivors—without bloodshed, escape from their clutches was nearly impossible.

"Raise the sails! Full speed ahead!" Bai Xuan shouted his commands. The sailors scrambled across the deck, quickly coaxing every bit of speed from the great ship.

...

Meanwhile.

In the waters where the Black Pirates held sway, fire lit up the sky. Over ten great ships clashed in brutal combat, fierce figures darting across the decks, locked in deadly battle.

"Bi-Tong, Zong Shen! Show yourself!" From among the Star Hunters, a figure leapt into the air, his movement uncanny, shadows trailing behind him as he charged at the Black Pirates’ flagship.

"Hmph! Li Qicheng, so you’ve joined the Star Hunters? After all these years, you’ve still not reached the Grandmaster’s level, and yet you dare challenge me?" The old man with jade-green eyes appeared, and in an instant the two met in a violent collision. The blast of power shattered the surrounding deck.

"It’s been so many years—perhaps the tides of the Eastern Sea are about to change!" In the blink of an eye, the entire sea was transformed into a battlefield between the Star Hunters and the Black Pirates.

...

"Thank goodness they’re so caught up in the fight, they don’t care about us," someone sighed in relief as the ship sped away. Bai Xuan and many others could finally breathe. The battle had drawn in at least a thousand combatants—a true warzone. Any ordinary fisherman caught in it would surely be annihilated.

But then, a Star Hunter warship broke formation, visibly pursuing the Qianliu.

"A Star Hunter ship is coming after us!"

"This is bad—they’re catching up!"

Panic erupted aboard the Qianliu. The sailors were gripped by terror, the lookout’s horn blast stirring the entire ship to commotion.

In the past year, the Star Hunters had suddenly emerged as a new force, battling the Black Pirates for supremacy at sea, burning, looting, and killing without restraint. Their power was truly fearsome.

The Bai family alone had lost more than one whaling vessel to the Star Hunters, with hundreds dead or wounded. It was said that among the Star Hunters, warriors who had broken through the "three surges of vital energy" could at best become a first mate.

"Are they really after us?" Even Bai Xuan felt a knot of tension in his chest. He was already very strong, yet in true battle, with blades flashing and chaos everywhere, anything could happen.

"We’ll have to fight for our lives," Bai Xuan resolved, his gaze turning steely.

...

As chaos swept the ship, Bai Xuanji appeared at the stern, his expression grim.

"If they catch us, I’ll hold off their vanguard. Archers, ready your bows and crossbows! Whaling team, prepare yourselves!" he commanded in a low voice.

The enemy ship drew closer. The time had come to fight.

"Fire!" At the order, a volley of crossbow bolts screamed through the air, shrieking as they flew. Several Star Hunters, caught off guard, were struck down in an instant.

But as the ship came nearer, a burly giant on its bow raised his long saber. As the bolts flew at him, he cut through them in a flash, a dozen shimmering blade shadows slashing the projectiles from the air.

"Attack!" the man roared. Without another word, he leapt across more than ten meters, landing aboard the Qianliu.

One after another, enemy experts vaulted onto the deck, while a hail of arrows shot from behind, covering their advance.

"Open!" Bai Xuanji clapped his palms together, blocking much of the arrow storm. Every arrow he struck shattered and fell.

But this momentary delay allowed the enemy vanguard to swarm aboard.

"Die!" The burly giant’s vital energy exploded—he was a warrior who had achieved three vital energy surges. Beside him, a thin man with a curved blade shouted, his energy also surging—another of the same level!

Bai Xuanji gave no reply. In an instant, he engaged both, a pair of dark iron gauntlets appearing on his hands. He caught their blows with a roar of wind, parrying their onslaught.

On deck—

"Kill them!" Third Mate Liu Yuezhi’s eyes were bloodshot. He kicked out in rapid succession, shattering the bones of a pirate and sending him flying overboard.

Beside him, Gao Hong fought shoulder to shoulder, his palms striking out, his body spattered with blood.

All around, sailors clashed with pirates in a deadly melee, blades ringing out. In the blink of an eye, blood splattered and bodies fell—five or six killed within moments.

"So brutal," Bai Xuan thought, his heart quaking. He moved quietly among the sailors, hardly noticeable, yet every gleam of his fish spear claimed another head.

"Die," he whispered coldly. With his cold-iron spear, he stepped forward, the weapon’s point flashing as he cut down a pirate. Blood sprayed as the pirate was nearly sliced in two.

He remained calm, never jumping out to shout or boast, but striking from the shadows—each blow deadly.

A hiss—Bai Xuan beheaded another pirate, his body drenched in blood. This drew the attention of a nearby pirate expert.

"Prepare to die! Remember my name, you die at—" The pirate charged, vital energy surging, but before he could finish, the cold-iron spear flashed lightning-fast, a mysterious spiral force bursting forth.

With a hiss, the spear pierced his skull. Bai Xuan pulled back the weapon, flicking off the blood, and the expert toppled headfirst into the sea.

"Such pointless bluster," Bai Xuan muttered, his killing intent rising, his eyes suddenly turning blue.

Three surges of vital energy!

Amid the chaos, no one noticed him—not even First Mate Bai Yuanji, who was locked in combat with another fierce opponent.

His adversary was nearly at the third surge of vital energy, wielding a long blade that hinted at some profound technique, its power gathering with each movement. With a swing, it formed a semicircle, sweeping down.

A harsh sound—Bai Yuanji staggered back, his left arm gashed, blood dripping. Even his vital energy armor was breached.

"This is bad," Bai Yuanji realized, knowing he was in danger. The enemy’s blade technique was a true transmission, its attacks fearsome. Bai Yuanji’s scarred face darkened as he prepared to risk everything for a mutual kill.

But at that instant, a spear shadow flashed—like a sea serpent, it shot along the deck. The blade-wielding enemy’s face changed, but he had no time to dodge.

A cold-iron spear struck, piercing him from behind. Blood gushed like a spring, his hardened body broken, and he was lifted into the air.