c018 Don't waste your experience!
After killing Zarick with ease and gaining 30 experience points, Lin Mu immediately turned his attention to the fleeing Marines, his gaze as calm and cold as when he first stepped onto the deck of the warship.
Nearly 100 people either jumped directly into the turbulent sea or desperately escaped in lifeboats lowered in panic. With the vast ocean and the chaos of the battlefield, it was naturally impossible for him to chase every single one of them down. No matter how tight the encirclement, there would always be fish that slipped through the net.
All Lin Mu could do at this moment was to minimize his losses as much as possible. Anyone who escaped meant only one thing to him lost experience points that would never return.
He had worked hard on the sea for four or five days straight, wandering through the waters controlled by East Blue pirates, finally finding a pirate group with less than fifty members, and even then he had only managed to gain a little more than 100 points of experience after a bloody battle.
And now, the Marines had sent three standard Marine warships in pursuit, each flying the seagull flag of justice, with a total force of more than 600 people aboard. To Lin Mu, this was no pursuit at all, it was simply delivering experience to his doorstep!
Six hundred people, even if they were all ordinary Marines with basic training, were worth at least 1,200 experience points in total, which was more than enough to allow Lin Mu to directly level up without hesitation.
The Marines had sent such a huge "gift," complete with warships, cannons, and neatly organized ranks. If Lin Mu did not accept it properly, wouldn't that be a complete disgrace to the Marines' sense of justice?
"Ding, kill ordinary Marine and gain 2 experience points!"
"Ding, kill Marine Sergeant and gain 5 experience points!"
"Ding, kill Marine Corporal and gain 3 experience points!"
...
After Lin Mu's one-sided hunt and slaughter continued for a while, the deck of the warship finally fell silent. Soon, only Lin Mu remained standing amid broken masts, shattered cannons, and pools of blood. Apart from a little more than thirty people who had managed to escape out of over two hundred Marines on this ship, all the others had been converted into Lin Mu's experience points.
The Marines on this single warship alone had brought Lin Mu more than 400 experience points. Adding this to Lin Mu's original accumulation, he now needed less than another 400 experience points to gather enough experience to upgrade directly!
Therefore, Lin Mu's eyes calmly shifted toward the remaining two Marine warships that were still afloat on the sea.
Among them, the warship belonging to Marine Division 45 had moved in closer to provide support and was now less than 200 meters away, its cannons already adjusting their angles. Meanwhile, the warship from Marine Division 48 was positioned farther back, more than 500 meters away, clearly hesitating after witnessing the massacre.
Given the situation, Lin Mu naturally chose the warship of Division 45 as his next target without the slightest hesitation!
After accelerating across the shattered deck, Lin Mu directly stimulated the speed of Quicksilver, his muscles surging as he rushed toward the warship of Division 45. With his current speed and explosive power, crossing 150 meters of open sea was no longer an impossible feat for him!
The Marines on the warship of Division 45 saw Lin Mu charging toward them like a demon emerging from the battlefield, and in their panic, countless artillery shells and dense gunfire were poured down toward him.
Facing the oncoming artillery fire and flying ammunition, Lin Mu neither dodged nor evaded. His expression remained icy cold, without the slightest ripple of fear.
"These cannons and bullets might injure me," Lin Mu thought calmly, "but unfortunately for you, these injuries can be healed in a moment. However, once I board your warship, every single one of you Marines will become my experience!"
When he was less than fifty meters away from the warship, Lin Mu suddenly adjusted his posture, plunged straight into the sea, and began to dive underwater, his body cutting through the waves as he swam rapidly toward the hull of the warship of Division 45.
After dozens of seconds, Lin Mu reached the underside of the Marine warship, his body clinging to the hull as the waves surged, and then the sharp steel claws suddenly popped out from his hands and began to chop violently at the side of the warship!
The standard Marine warship, built according to the unified specifications of the East Blue branches, was as fragile as tofu in front of Lin Mu's steel claws. With just a few strikes, a large hole was cut open in an instant, wooden planks and iron reinforcements flying apart, and Lin Mu directly slipped into the cabin through this huge opening!
At this moment, all the Marine soldiers inside the cabin had already gathered on the deck above, following the orders of their officers to prepare for defense, so Lin Mu did not see a single person inside.
Although the internal structure of a Marine warship was relatively complicated, with cabins, storage rooms, and ammunition depots connected by narrow passages, this was not a problem for Lin Mu at all, because from the very beginning, Lin Mu had no intention of taking the normal route!
Instead, he directly raised his steel claws and chose the most brutal method, going straight upward and forcibly carving out a passage through the ship's interior!
On the deck of the warship belonging to Marine Division 45, Colonel Iden stood at the forefront with a grim expression, frowning deeply together with his soldiers as they searched for Lin Mu's whereabouts, their eyes constantly sweeping across the sea surface.
At first, they believed that the pirate they were hunting was a Devil Fruit user, one of those rare "capable people" recorded in Marine intelligence, but judging from the current situation, that was clearly not the case. After all, it was absolutely impossible for a Devil Fruit user to dive and swim freely in the sea!
Just as many Marines on the deck kept staring nervously at the surrounding waters, trying to locate Lin Mu's position, a Marine suddenly felt a slight vibration beneath his feet. Just as he was about to lower his head to check, three sharp steel claws pierced straight up from below, directly stabbing through his feet!
"Ahhh!"
The Marine soldier only had time to let out a miserable scream before he felt a terrifying tearing force pull his entire body downward, and then his footing gave way as he fell straight down into the darkness below!
This sudden movement instantly attracted the attention of the surrounding Marines. When all the Marines' gazes turned toward that spot, they saw that a large hole had been torn open in the deck, broken planks scattered everywhere, and then a slightly thin teenage figure leapt out from the hole and landed steadily on the deck!
The boy held sharp steel claws in his hands, his body carrying an overwhelming killing intent, and on his shoulder sat Kabuto, the small white fox with alert eyes. It was none other than Lin Mu!
"It's him, Troyson D. Lin!"
"He destroyed the Marine warship of Division 42, and he even killed all the Marines on board!"
"He's here to kill us again, what should we do?"
Lin Mu's sudden appearance right in the middle of the Marine formation instantly caused chaos. Fear spread rapidly among the soldiers, as everyone worried that they would become the next Marine to die under Lin Mu's claws, and they subconsciously began to retreat.
In just the blink of an eye, within a dozen meters around Lin Mu, an empty vacuum zone was formed. No one dared to step forward even half a step!
As the highest-ranking officer present, Colonel Iden finally could not bear it anymore and roared angrily: "What are you afraid of? So many Marines being scared by a child like this? Are you all a bunch of useless trash! Move together and kill him!"
Although Colonel Iden shouted with all his strength, his veins bulging, not a single Marine moved forward.
Obviously, his orders were still unable to suppress the deep-rooted fear Lin Mu had planted in the hearts of these soldiers!
"You… very good!" Colonel Iden narrowed his eyes slightly, a fierce light flashing within them, and then he directly drew the long knife from his waist. Striding toward a Marine who was shrinking back in fear, he swung his blade without hesitation and beheaded him on the spot!
"If you retreat again, I will kill you myself!" Iden roared after killing one of his own men in such a bloody manner, his murderous gaze sweeping across all the Marines on board at the same time.
The Marines who were swept by Iden's eyes felt their hearts freeze. The fear of Colonel Iden's brutality finally overwhelmed their fear of Lin Mu, and they clenched their teeth, raised their weapons, and rushed toward Lin Mu!
As for Lin Mu, he completely ignored the Marines who were charging at him. At this moment, he only wanted to shout at Iden in his heart: "You bastard, don't waste my precious experience points!!!"