The Double-Gun Pirates Get Whipped
"Whoosh!"
A crescent-shaped, scorching white slash swept across the sea with a piercing hiss, cutting through Yang Ning's field of vision.
Even the long beard of the dual-wielding Ivers trembled with fear.
He stared wide-eyed, utterly disbelieving, as the flying object approached:
"Am I seeing things? Did you see anything flying towards us?"
Beside him, his underlings panicked.
Then a huge crescent moon appeared, slashing across the water. Anyone with eyes could see it clearly.
They all swallowed hard.
"Boss, it looks like something is flying this way!"
"Huh?"
There was no time to react further. Through the gap between the two massive cannons of the Twin Guns, a crescent-shaped slash slammed into the bow of the ship.
Tear… crunch!
In an instant, a huge crack ripped through the wooden planks at the bow, extending several meters toward the deck. Without the support in the middle, the two long cannon barrels drooped and tilted to the sides.
Unlike cannon fire, the impact of the slash wasn't overwhelming. Though the Twin Guns suffered considerable damage, the ship itself did not experience much turbulence.
Ivers was quick-witted; he glared angrily, gripped the railing, and roared:
"Quickly! Hoist the sails and turn around!"
This is tough… damn it, run!
The pirate ship in front of him executed a 360-degree turn while skimming the sea, and Yang Ning touched his nose thoughtfully.
"This captain is remarkable."
But he had no intention of letting them escape. His Windbreaker wasn't some public thoroughfare. The converted speedboat was faster than even the versatile Twin Guns.
Yang Ning didn't push old Johnny to chase at full speed; instead, he kept a careful distance behind, relying on his Starfire Blade to continuously strike the Twin Guns.
It was fortunate that this Double Gunner was heading toward Frostmoon Island. Wherever it went, Yang Ning had no choice but to pursue.
After enduring countless flying slashes, the frustrated Twin Guns opened several windows, pushing out iron cannons.
"Oh ho, not only do you not surrender, but you dare to resist?"
Yang Ning cheerfully chopped apart each cannon barrel.
Onboard the Twin Guns, Ivers stared at the small boat behind him with utter despair. He was completely at his wit's end.
The East Sea, the weakest of the seas, had few swordsmen capable of unleashing a flying slash or performing aerial maneuvers like Moonwalk. Ivers had sailed these waters for seven or eight years and had never witnessed such an attack.
It was just a small pirate ship, flying a pirate flag he didn't recognize. How had he ended up facing this?
Thus, a peculiar sight unfolded at sea. A small boat trailed a large ship, and white crescent moons flew out from the small boat, striking the larger vessel repeatedly.
The battered ship groaned like a whipped black slave, struggling to survive.
Yang Ning felt somewhat helpless. His damage output looked high on the panel, but in reality, the performance fell short of his expectations.
Hawkeye could cleave Krieg's Grand Fleet to pieces with a single slash, and two years later, One-Eyed Zoro could slice a ship larger than the Twin Guns in half with one strike.
His Starfire Blade felt like a toy in comparison. He had already slashed nearly a hundred times, yet the ship still floated.
"The task is arduous, and the road ahead is long," Yang Ning sighed deeply, unleashing another slash in a single breath.
Behind him, old Johnny and Esdeath's eyelids twitched as they watched.
'You twisted monster… you're worrying now? What on earth are you unhappy about?!'
Finally, just before the sun kissed the sea, Yang Ning succeeded in sinking the Double Gun. He sheathed his sword with a sigh of relief.
Onboard the Twin Guns, Ivers and his crew also breathed sighs of relief. They only glanced at the ocean from afar, having endured an entire afternoon of relentless attacks—over three hundred cuts in total. For moments, they considered sinking the ship themselves. Now, finally, it sank.
As the Double Gun slowly disappeared beneath the waves, a whirlpool formed on the sea surface—a typical sign of a large ship's demise.
"Oh? It finally upgraded. Does that count?"
Feeling the warmth flowing through his body, Yang Ning summoned his control panel, which he hadn't checked carefully in a long time.
Name: Yang Ning
Level: 6
Health Points: 1376/1376
Attack Power: 21
Armor: 97
Magic Resistance: 13
[Passive Skill: Hellfire Curse (80)] Harvests souls of enemies who die nearby, granting 1 Armor and 1 Ability Power per soul.
[Skill 1: Soul Drain Strike (153)]
Active: The next basic attack gains +25 range and deals 508 (30 + 1 AD) physical damage (+passive effects).
Passive: If an enemy dies from Soul Drain, permanently increases its damage by 3.
Current Damage: 459
[Skill 2: Soul Furnace (239)]
Passive: Killing a unit grants 4 maximum health.
Active: Grants a shield absorbing 282 (+0.4 AP) (+10% max health) for 3 minutes. After one minute, if the shield remains intact, it can detonate, dealing 282 (+0.4 AP) (+10% max health) magic damage to nearby enemies.
[Skill 3: Starfire Blade]
Passive: Attacks deal an additional 38 (20 + 20% AP + 10% bonus AD) magic damage.
Active: The next attack becomes ranged and deals extra magic damage based on 10% + 0.01 AP of the target's missing health. At level 20, the attack explodes on impact, damaging nearby enemies. Applies both attack and spell effects.
[Skill 4: Feast (1)]
Devour an enemy for 460 (+0.1 bonus health) (+0.5 AP) true damage, or 1216 (+0.15 bonus health) (+0.5 AP) to non-humanoids. Killing an enemy with Feast grants a stack, increasing maximum health depending on the target.
Current Digestibility: 71%
Current Max Health Bonus: 100
Ignoring the skills, Yang Ning was pleasantly surprised: his basic attack power had finally reached the average level of an adult male in the One Piece world.
His eyes glistened; it must have been tough to get here.
"It's a bit wasteful. The pirates who died gave me experience, stacking Hell Curse and Soul Furnace, but I didn't get a Soul Drain Strike stack."
Yang Ning felt a pang of regret. Soul Drain Strike was currently his most powerful offensive weapon.
But since the ship had sunk, he wasn't heartless enough to fish out the pirates and kill them all again.
---
"So… it really can't be retrieved?"
Old Johnny sighed at his captain's obsession. How could he salvage pirates who wouldn't even surface, as if committing suicide? He was just an old pirate, not a sea king.
Changing the subject, he pulled out a nautical chart:
"Captain, we're only a day's journey from Seymour Chiki Village."
"Oh?" Yang Ning's eyes lit up.
Seeing this, Old Johnny wiped a bead of sweat from his brow; the captain had finally stopped worrying about salvaging dead pirates.
"Hurry up! I need to have dinner in that village before sunset tomorrow!"
Still crazy, Old Johnny thought, lowering the sails. At sea, ships never sail at night unless absolutely necessary.