Chapter 409 Pirate "Goblins"

In group combat, you always cut down the backline first.

For any adventurer in this world with even a sliver of combat experience, targeting the enemy's vulnerable points during squad combat was a matter of course.

Mages, archers, and clerics leaning toward support roles often possessed powerful abilities that could dictate the flow of battle. Compared to front-line warriors and barbarians, however, their class traits left them with weaker physical attributes and a much lower margin for error. They were easily targeted and eliminated.

Under these circumstances, protecting the steady output of one's own backline—while shattering the enemy's outer defenses to strike at theirs—became the critical tactical gamble whenever two adventurer squads clashed.

Take the current encounter at sea between the Black Gull and the pirate ship.

The moment they spotted the approaching pirate ship, the half-elf archer of the Silver Claw Osprey squad retreated under the cover of his teammates, moving to the side of the deck farthest from the enemy's attack line. Even as the sailors used their height and distance advantage to fire on the pirates, the archer refused to shoot blindly and expose his position.

Staying as hidden as possible, he carefully observed the enemy's movements while maintaining a vigilant watch over the sky and sea to ensure no unseen foes could launch a sneak attack.

As an ordinary three-person squad, their combat strategy was destined to be conservative. Rather than aggressively pushing forward, caution and stability were the keys that had allowed the trio to survive on this ocean.

Things were different on the Flying Fish Oil Barrel.

Captain Oily Hand Bourne might have looked incredibly heroic charging at the very front.

But a closer look revealed that as he rushed onto the boarding plank, he was followed by just two ordinary sailors.

The true backbone of the pirate crew—the Class Holders—were positioned much further back. Hiding among the regular sailors, they subtly formed a protective ring around the spellcaster Grass Snail. They clearly had their own mature strategy for group combat.

Xia Nan felt his combat talent was fairly decent.

While he didn't overthink things, he usually grasped the crux of a problem instinctively and made the right choice.

In his view, the current situation was actually quite simple.

The Black Gull was a standard mid-sized wooden ship with an average sailing speed. Now weighed down by a massive cargo haul, its speed had plummeted.

Facing the pirates' single-masted sloop on the open ocean, outrunning them was impossible.

Battle was inevitable.

Operating on that premise, the main combat force aboard the Black Gull consisted of five adventurers, including himself.

He wasn't very familiar with the three members of the Silver Claw Osprey squad, but his aura perception told him their strength was fairly average—roughly around lv2 or lv3.

The halfling Alton was a bard. His Class Level might not be high, but his status as someone favored by the divine made his actual combat power a mystery. To be safe, Xia Nan treated him as a support role for now.

On the other hand, his perception told him the pirate ship's lineup was much stronger.

They had around six to eight Class Holders, and the vast majority of their auras were relatively condensed. These were clearly not novices who had just completed their advancement.

The fierce-looking man standing at the very front with a cutlass, who looked like the leader, likely boasted a Class Level exceeding lv3. His combat power was definitely not something to scoff at.

Under normal circumstances, the Black Gull would have no ability to resist their charge. Being pillaged and slaughtered was a foregone conclusion.

But right now, the battlefield possessed one unpredictable variable—himself.

Knowing his teammates alone couldn't survive this brutal clash, he needed to exert his role to the fullest and inflict massive casualties before the enemy could even react.

He had to utilize his far-above-average combat abilities to their absolute limit in the shortest time possible.

Unfortunately, Xia Nan lacked reliable ranged attacks, and his [Gravity Control] hadn't yet developed enough to break free from gravity for flight or even a brief glide.

Out on the open sea, he could only wait for the enemy to close in. He wouldn't have a chance to unleash [Fang Hunt] and plunge into the fray until the decks were close enough.

Fortunately, it was precisely because of his patient restraint—suppressing his battle intent to calmly wait for an opening—

—that he noticed the greatly weakened kinetic energy of arrows falling freely from the sky and the agitated magic particles in the air. Through this, his keen perception locked onto the spellcaster on the pirate ship.

Thanks to the media of his past life and several terrible experiences since his transmigration, Xia Nan maintained the utmost vigilance against spellcasters.

If possible, he didn't want to give the enemy even half a second to cast a spell.

Combining his intuition and combat instincts with the battlefield information his perception had gathered, Xia Nan moved the moment the pirates' boarding planks slammed against the gunwale.

His target was naturally the spellcaster on the enemy deck—the one standing under heavy protection who had just ended his spell concentration.

To some extent, Xia Nan's actions could be considered reckless.

By executing a decapitation strike, he was hurling himself directly into the enemy's encirclement.

Whether he succeeded or failed, he would likely face a siege from all directions once the enemy reacted.

Yet he remained strictly cautious.

With his perception pushed to the absolute limit, he carefully tracked every movement on the deck. He split off a sliver of intent to linger on the [Deathline] ring, ready to unleash a Deflection Field to block incoming attacks at a moment's notice.

Opening with [Fang Hunt], the eerie wolf howl abruptly echoing across the sea drew the instant attention of every enemy. This allowed the terrifying deterrence of [Night Mother's Gaze] to achieve maximum coverage.

Almost half the sailors on the pirate ship failed the check. Struck by [Night Mother's Gaze], they immediately dropped their weapons and plunged into boundless fear.

The Class Holders displayed varying reactions. Some, like Bourne, were only slightly dazed and quickly recovered, while others with firmer willpower resisted the effect completely.

Perhaps due to the distance, only one rogue had his mental defenses completely shattered, losing all combat ability to extreme panic. As the rogue fled, Xia Nan—still tearing forward in his [Fang Hunt] dash—casually sliced off one of his arms while the sharp gales wrapped around the technique churned several unlucky sailors behind him into meat paste.

As for the young spellcaster Xia Nan had marked as his target...

To be honest, the process was much easier than he had imagined.

Advancing to lv3 and gaining the three-point attribute bonus from maxing out [Gravity Etching] had caused his physical qualities to skyrocket. Consequently, his explosive speed when using [Fang Hunt] had risen to a whole new level.

Between his dynamic vision and exaggerated speed, the entire world seemed to slip into slow motion.

By the time he carved a path of blood and gore to appear right in front of his target, resting the dark gray blade of the [Ember Fall] straight sword against the man's neck, the spellcaster's expression hadn't even had time to change.

The entire process was unbelievably smooth.

There were no protective enchanted items like he had expected, nor were there any defensive spells prepared in advance.

He didn't even need to use [Gravity Etching] or [Heavy Tide]. With just a light exertion of his wrist riding his body's momentum, Xia Nan sliced the man's head off.

The man hadn't acted like an Academy Faction mage who spent half the day preparing before every battle. Instead, he seemed like a self-taught amateur—a lopsided student who had completely missed the fundamentals.

"Whoosh—boom..."

Blood spurted wildly as raging gales swept up shredded meat and wooden splinters, blasting outward in all directions.

As the head hit the deck, shrill wails and furious roars erupted from the surrounding pirates at almost the exact same time.

These sailors might normally rely on the Flying Fish Oil Barrel's reputation to throw their weight around in front of commoners, but facing Xia Nan in the middle of the deck, not a single one dared to step forward.

The afterimage of the deep, twisted, pitch-black wolf beast still lingered in the air. Like an illusory black hole, it devoured every last ounce of their courage.

In contrast, the reactions of the Class Holders were much more typical.

Seeing Grass Snail's headless corpse collapsed on the ground, they let out furious roars and charged.

But how could Xia Nan just let himself be surrounded and plunged into an extremely disadvantageous position?

Even if the cramped space of the deck severely limited his highly mobile combat style.

It still wasn't as cramped as a narrow corridor where swinging a sword would be difficult. He still had room to duck, weave, and maneuver.

And having leveled [Fang Hunt] to its lv5 maximum, he could now actively control his dashing distance.

Awooo—

A chilling wolf howl suddenly split the air, and the dark phantom of the wolf—which had only just begun to dissipate—solidified once again.

A roar, a leap, a pounce.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished from where he stood.

This time, Xia Nan's target was a middle-aged man hiding even further back, tightly gripping a wooden hand crossbow.

Just a moment ago, his perception had picked up a flicker of lethal intent aimed at him.

"Swish!"

Perhaps the oppressive aura of the pitch-black Winter Wolf was just too intense. Before Xia Nan could even close the distance, the terrified man released the bolt already resting on his bowstring.

His aim was poor to begin with, and Xia Nan applied a tiny pulse of gravity to twist the bolt's trajectory even further.

The shot missed completely.

Before the stray bolt could even splash into the distant sea, the man's head rolled across the deck amidst the howling wolf.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

A barbarian wielding a massive shield roared as he charged straight at Xia Nan. His knotted muscles looked like solid steel, and the boundless Rage surging in his heart caused a faint red light to envelop his skin. The bulging veins on his neck looked ready to burst right through his flesh.

His roar seemed to carry a primal tribal power that stirred an unconscious urge in Xia Nan's heart to attack the man head-on.

Knowing this was likely a Taunt combat technique, and even though his high Perception attribute of 12 allowed him to pass the mental check in an instant, Xia Nan made no effort to retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward to meet the barbarian's charge. On the blade of the [Ember Fall] straight sword in his hand, an ochre-red light began to compress and flow like runes.

[Gravity Etching]!

"Boom!"

The force field energy exploded violently alongside the descending blade, blooming into a small ochre-red firework.

The massive shield, which looked as tough as solid rock, disintegrated instantly under the kinetic impact. It shattered into a spray of fine wooden splinters and mangled scraps of iron.

With the shield pierced, the remaining third of [Gravity Etching]'s kinetic energy poured unreservedly into the barbarian's wildly roaring face.

His roar abruptly cut off amidst the sickening crunch of shattering bone and tearing flesh. The barbarian's massive body slumped forward like a sack of potatoes under his own momentum, leaving behind nothing but half a mangled head spraying red and white gore.

In the end, the barbarian's death still managed to contribute to his team.

Taking advantage of the moment Xia Nan swung his sword, a short gnome rogue gripping twin short daggers sneaked right behind him under the cover of shadows.

He raised his sharp blades high, ready to plunge them down.

But with Xia Nan's keen Perception, how could he possibly fail to notice the sneak attack?

Riding the momentum of his sword swing, he planted his left foot firmly on the deck. Using his waist and core as an axis, he violently spun around.

Before the gnome could even thrust his daggers, Xia Nan's right leg lashed out like a whip, slamming right into his body.

The air rippled around his calf as [Heavy Tide] activated upon impact.

The gnome rogue felt a sudden, crushing force slam into the side of his chest. His ribs shattered, and agonizing pain rapidly spread through his body.

Forcibly swallowing the pain, the gnome vainly tried to rely on his natural agility as a rogue to stabilize his body in midair. He wanted to use the momentum of the blow to launch himself away and temporarily escape the battlefield.

But the instant that thought crossed his mind, the secondary effect of [Heavy Tide] triggered.

The gnome had barely managed to stabilize his center of gravity by relying on years of experience and his core muscles, but for some inexplicable reason, his balance was suddenly thrown into utter disarray.

His legs gave out, and he crashed flat onto his back as if he had slipped on ice.

He had been thrown into an "Imbalanced" state.

He didn't even have time to get back up.

In his panic, he tried to push off the deck with his arms to scramble to his feet, but before he could even exert any strength, his arms suddenly went limp and convulsed.

The gnome rogue's head, still frozen in a look of absolute panic and bewilderment, had already vanished from his neck.

Five seconds.

To be exact, it was 4.67 seconds.

In the mere 4.67 seconds since Xia Nan had sliced Grass Snail's head off his shoulders right in front of everyone...

Three more Class Holders lost their heads to the whistling swing of the dark gray straight sword.

When combat techniques, physical stats, and equipment were completely outclassed across the board—and when even Class Levels were higher than the opposition's...

Facing someone like Xia Nan—who specialized in instantaneous bursts of power, fought with terrifying aggression, and possessed completely overpowered attributes...

These pirate adventurers who threw their weight around on the high seas were no different from the ugly, scrawny Green-Skinned Goblins rotting in their caves.