Chapter 82: Slave Ship! Annihilated with a Wave of the Hand!

“Pirate ships?” Bai Xuan narrowed his eyes. Rising to his feet, he stepped forward, transforming into a barely discernible phantom, and in a flash, appeared on the deck.

“How fast!” The young sailor blinked, finding the captain no longer before him. He hurried to the deck and saw Bai Xuan gazing into the distance, his eyes deep as the sea.

“Star Hunters, three ships... a small fleet, really.” Bai Xuan’s gaze sharpened. From afar, he could see that, with the speed of the Swallowing Sea’s three-masted sails, they could easily evade pursuit.

But now, his strength was nothing like before. He had no weaknesses, feared no rain of arrows, and could, like a consummate master, face thousands alone—an unstoppable force.

“As long as there’s no expert above master level, none can match me. It’s time for battle.” At that moment, the pirate fleet was gradually approaching. Clearly, the Swallowing Sea had not hoisted sails to flee at full speed, giving the pirates their opportunity.

“Captain, what should we do?” Bai Rongxuan hurried over, speaking in a low voice.

“Those without blood and qi, return to the cabin. Sailors of first rank or above, don your sharkskin armor, unsheath your blades!” Bai Xuan’s voice was steady. “Prepare to advance at full speed—close combat! It’s time for you to see blood!”

His words carried a faint murderous intent, making the gathered sailors’ hearts tremble, yet stirring a bold spirit within them.

“Yes, Captain!” Bai Rongxuan replied, excitement in his voice.

“Below first rank, to the cabin! First rank and above, armor on, blades drawn!” As Bai Rongxuan’s call rang out, most sailors without a breakthrough in blood and qi hurriedly packed up nets and ropes, retreating swiftly into the cabin.

More than twenty first-rank sailors remained, all clad in sharkskin armor, their waists adorned with Azurewater blades. With a click, their powerful crossbows were loaded.

With the Thousand Mountains Army established, Bai Xuanji had allocated to Bai Xuan’s ship eighty Azurewater blades, one hundred repeating crossbows, and fifty sets of sharkskin armor—armed to the teeth.

The Swallowing Sea raised its sails, accelerating swiftly toward the three pirate ships.

On the other side—

“Hm?” The pirate leader was dumbfounded.

“They’re not fleeing—they’re charging at us?” No mockery crossed his mind; instead, he was suddenly alert, sensing danger. After all, they had three ships, while the enemy had only one. Unless they were fools, something was amiss!

“Prepare to evade... No, they’re already upon us.” The sense of crisis surged in the pirate leader’s heart.

The Swallowing Sea was a three-masted whaling ship, already fast, and now, with Bai Xuan at the helm, its speed was astonishing.

“Captain’s skill at the helm couldn’t have been achieved without over ten years of practice,” the helmsman marveled, eyes glued to Bai Xuan.

“Simple,” Bai Xuan said calmly.

In moments, the ships drew close.

“Three hundred meters, two hundred... Ready the crossbows!” The pirate leader barked. With no escape, battle was inevitable.

The Star Hunters had pillaged ships across the East Sea, equipping themselves with crossbows, long blades, and armor—well-armed, too.

At his command, pirates readied their crossbows, loading them with a click, waiting for the enemy to close within a hundred meters to unleash a volley.

But—

At that moment—

“The distance is right.”

Bai Xuan’s eyes narrowed. His blood and qi contracted sharply, and on his limbs, black streaks appeared!

Whistling Wind Steps!

Boom!

Bai Xuan stepped forward, drawing out waves of force like a roaring river, endlessly surging!

Two hundred meters, crossed in a single stride!

The pirate leader didn’t even react—just felt darkness descend as a finger grew in his vision, looming until it blotted out his eyes!

“What’s he doing, planning to crush me with a finger?” The pirate leader was still bewildered.

Bang!

His head exploded, bones shattering, red and white matter spraying across the deck.

With a thud, the pirate leader collapsed backward, the shockwave from Bai Xuan’s finger deeply denting the bulkhead behind, reverberating intensely.

“The leader is dead!”

“Bad news—he’s a top-tier expert, run for your lives!”

Seeing disaster, the pirates on deck scattered in panic—half fled, many stumbled blindly, while those who remained, realizing escape was futile, unleashed their crossbows at Bai Xuan.

“Crossbows?” Bai Xuan vanished before their eyes.

Boom, boom, boom!

With a casual sweep, his palm struck like a blade, cleaving pirates in two, blood splattering!

In one strike, terrifying power erupted, so fast that seven or eight were cut at the waist, blood forming a great semicircle across the deck.

Swish, swish, swish!

Bai Xuan’s figure flashed, plunging into the pirate ship!

“Kill them!”

Behind, the Swallowing Sea caught up, arrows flying, ship-mounted crossbows killing four or five pirates instantly.

Onboard, the twenty-plus first-rank sailors defended with blades. Any enemy who boarded was met with a volley of arrows, killed on the spot. Some brave souls drew their blades, hacking down pirates amidst the melee.

“Is that the captain?” Amidst the bloodshed, someone paused, glimpsing Bai Xuan’s awe-inspiring figure on the pirate ship, shaken to their core.

“What? The leader’s dead?”

Bai Xuan alone suppressed the enemy flagship. A pirate captain sensed disaster—rather than fight, he shouted,

“Turn the helm! Turn! Flee!”

At that moment—

“I alone am enough to suppress these three pirate ships!” Bai Xuan was grasping the essence of Whistling Wind Steps, his speed reaching the extreme—one stride spanning two hundred meters. At first, waves of force crashed forth, breaking through the air, hinting at shockwaves.

Soon, the black tiger patterns solidified, and Bai Xuan’s step parted the air itself, vanishing into the wind!

Silently, his figure flickered, and over a dozen pirates’ heads were severed, their bodies exploding!

With a sweep of his hand, blades and swords crumpled like waste paper, bows and crossbows like straw. A gust of wind sent them twisting, shattering, piercing through other pirates.

With every effortless blow...

He unleashed one hundred thirty thousand pounds of force, turning pirates to blood mist, unable to offer even the slightest resistance!

“So this is the power of a consummate master on the battlefield—what use are bows and blades?”

Bai Xuan halted, looking back at rivers of blood. Pirates, terrified, fell to their knees, their courage broken, collapsing helplessly.

“I surrender!”

“Don’t kill us—we surrender!”

Within moments, pirates knelt one by one, overcome with fear. Facing the Swallowing Sea’s assault, a single man had slaughtered three ships—they were utterly powerless.

This battle lasted only a short time; within two quarters of an hour, the three pirate ships were subdued, over a hundred pirates killed, the rest surrendering.

Onboard—

The deck was stained with blood, bodies everywhere, severed limbs and shattered heads strewn about.

“Terrifying...” A sailor patrolled with blade in hand, heart trembling. It was his first time witnessing such a scene—one man slaughtering three pirate ships, corpses scattered everywhere.

“What’s there to fear? That’s the captain’s might. With a flick of his wrist, even a pirate fleet is crushed and swept away!” A young sailor was both shocked and exhilarated. “Remember when we went fishing for Black Pirates? There was a similar incident—pirate ships under Qian Yuan were blood-washed, none survived!”

Elsewhere—

“Are you victims?” Bai Xuan overlooked several dozen strong men, freed from their bindings.

“Yes, yes—we’re all victims, caught by pirates, honest fishermen at first...” The leader smiled obsequiously.

He had been locked in the hold; now, seeing the carnage on deck, he felt chills, swallowing nervously.

Three Star Hunter ships, wiped out like this?

“Captain, our sailors found these men are slavers—there are over a hundred slaves onboard, destined for the island cities!” A young sailor hurried over to report.

“Slave ships?” Bai Xuan narrowed his eyes.

“No—never! We were forced, the pirates made us do it!” The slaver leader protested desperately.

Just then, sailors boarded from the Yan boat, bringing along a small, emaciated boy.

“That’s him!” The boy, seeing the leader, shouted, eyes full of hate: “He led them to our island, burning, killing, looting! My mother... my mother, she...”

“Take them away, execute them.” Bai Xuan waved his hand.

“Execute me?” The slaver leader sensed doom, gritted his teeth, and sprang up, flipping like a hawk, diving toward the water. Three darts flew at Bai Xuan and the boy!

Freed, his blood and qi restored, he had battled the pirate leader before capture—indeed, he possessed captain-level strength, having broken through blood and qi three times. Realizing peril, he tried to escape.

“If I reach the water, I’ll be safe.” The slaver leader hoped.

But—

Bai Xuan didn’t even glance, merely flicked his finger.

A faint ripple crossed the air. Bang! The slaver leader’s upper body exploded into blood mist!

Splash! The lower half crashed into the sea, the sound reaching them after a breath.

“Take the rest away for execution.” Bai Xuan’s command was answered by a dozen Bai family sailors, who grabbed the limp slavers and dragged them off!

Three more chapters at noon, two at night—updates depend on subscriptions, brothers. The author’s off to write.

(End of chapter)