Chapter 5

Thud!

Another dull impact, much louder than before, the merchant ship swayed, and one could faintly hear the painful hiss mixed in.

Gato listened intently and waved his hand sharply.

"Stern right, nine o'clock direction!"

Before his roar fell, the searchlight at the top of the mast had already hit it.

Siano was staggered by the rushing sailors, and when he finally squeezed to the ship's side, the pale light beam had split the night, vaguely revealing the outline of that thing.

Everyone couldn't help but gasp.

It was a behemoth tens of meters long, shaped like an eel and a sea snake, and under its water-blue fins, iron-gray scales reflected a cold, chilling light.

"This... what the hell is this thing?!"

A young crew member shouted in panic.

"It's a Sea King, you idiot!"

"Damn it! Since when did Sea Kings appear on this route!"

"Fire the cannons! Fire quickly, scare this guy away!"

"No! It's right against our ship's side, we must pull away first!"

Amidst the noise and chaos, Siano gripped the railing, forcibly suppressing the fear and shrinking that grew in his subconscious, and stared at the bottom, squinting.

Growing up in Cocoyasi Village since childhood, this was his first time seeing a Sea King.

The excitement brought by the adrenaline rush made his vision seem much sharper at this moment.

Or perhaps the angle was just right; through the pitch-black night, he actually saw the appearance of this Sea King clearly.

In its scarlet, bloodshot eyes, the black pupils were as thin and long as snakes, and ferocious fangs crisscrossed and spread, almost covering its neck...

The more he looked, the more wrong it felt, the more familiar it looked.

"Lord of the Coast?"

He was stunned, frowned, and whispered uncertainly.

In his impression, the Lord of the Coast often cruised around the Goa Kingdom, which was far away from here. Could it be that after being scared away by Conqueror's Haki, it changed its range of activity?

Or perhaps it wasn't the same one, just of the same clan?

Thud!

The dull, loud noise resounded across the sea again. This time, many sailors saw clearly that it was clearly the Sea King taking the initiative to hit the ship with its abdomen.

What is this doing?

Including Old Captain Gato, everyone was suspicious. If it were hunting, the people on the deck would have been swallowed long ago, and it wouldn't be impossible to capsize the whole ship.

But this Sea King didn't seem to have such intentions.

"Hey, look!"

A sailor with sharp eyes pointed somewhere and exclaimed, "There seems to be something in the monster's stomach!"

Thud! Thud! Thud! When everyone looked over, the frequency of the Sea King's impact also suddenly accelerated, one after another, the merchant ship swayed more and more violently, and the hiss from under the sea became more and more painful. Every time it arched its back, it would briefly reveal the unnatural bulge in its stomach.

The skin surface around the bulging part was covered with scars and bruises, both blunt injuries and scratches, as well as many pus-filled blisters caused by ulceration and infection.

It seemed that something was stuck in its organs, making it painful, constantly looking for hard objects to hit and scrape, wanting to force it out.

Eventually, it turned itself into the current state of being covered in bruises.

Reefs, giant rocks, warships... judging from the various scars, these might have all been targets, but it had never been able to solve the problem.

"This is really big trouble."

Gato's face was livid.

If it keeps tossing like this, the ship will collapse and disintegrate sooner or later, and the full cargo and sailors will not escape the end of sinking into the sea.

The crisp sound of cargo straps breaking and the dull sound of collision after disorder had been coming from the bottom hold continuously.

The old captain suddenly turned his head and looked at the pale face behind the helm—the young helmsman was almost hanging on it, so he wouldn't be thrown away, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged with every turn.

"Still can't pull away!"

While he roared, another wave of salty spray hit the deck, drenching everyone.

"Can't do it, Captain!"

The helmsman's neck turned purple, and his voice carried a taste of despair. "This guy is the flexible type; our ship's speed can't compare at all. We pull away a little, and it sticks to us again immediately!"

"Damn it!"

Gato spat out a mouthful of spit, mixed with blood from his gums, drawing a dark red trail on the swaying and tilting deck.

Dropping his pipe, he suddenly drew the sword at his waist and gripped it tightly. When he looked at the Sea King again, a trace of crazy scarlet appeared in the old man's eyes.

Good, good, really not giving any way out, really treating him as a soft egg. Even if he can't take one with him, he will break a few of its teeth before dying!

Don't look at him being kind and gentle to everyone now; when he was young, he was also a veteran who had been on the battlefield to defend the kingdom, killing his way out of a pile of dead people flowing with the smell of blood!

"Those responsible for logistics, take that kid named Siano and hide in the safe cabin below! Maybe there's still hope of survival!"

"All other combat personnel, prepare to risk your lives with me!"

Gato squeezed out a hoarse voice from between his teeth. "Damn it, at worst..."

"Mr. Gato."

Siano's calm voice suddenly interrupted his charge words full of chicken blood.

Hmm?

Gato subconsciously turned his head, only to be astonished to see the boy clenching his fists, staring at the sea, eager to try.

"Let the starboard cannons aim at the Sea King's stomach and fire a few shots. Leave the rest to me; I have a way to make this guy calm down."

"What a joke!"

Gato's face turned black, and he cursed without thinking. "Hurry up and hide in the safe cabin. Is this the time to play the hero, you brat! What kind of messy idea are you proposing!"

"Is there any other way!"

Siano suddenly turned his face back, his voice also raised an octave. "I know what you're going to do! Jump over and die, cut a few knives before dying, does it mean anything if you're not a coward! Treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor, what's wrong with letting me try!"

"Also!"

While shouting back, he tore off his thick coat and shirt, revealing his well-defined, strong torso.

The chest full of explosive power reflected a cold and hard luster in the night, and the leopard-like back muscles, just slightly bulging, instantly twisted into knife-carved gullies.

"My mother might have forgotten to tell you one thing, sorry."

The black-haired boy looked at him sideways, his clear and immature face completely mismatched with his low and calm voice at this moment.

"In the entire Cocoyasi Village, you can't pick out a man who can fight better than me."

"..."

Gato's eyes widened instantly.

After a short contact these few days, in his impression, this was clearly a thin and weak bean sprout, and the wooden sword he carried was a toy for children to play house, which was laughable.

Who knew that he only realized now that it was clearly the maternal love that was too bloated in autumn and winter that sealed the other party's true figure.

(End of this chapter)