“Damn it.”
Before he could catch his breath, Hermes launched another attack.
Chainman rolled to the side just in time, but while he dodged the first strike, the second was relentless. Hermes stuck to him like glue.
Splurt!!!
Blood spurted from a wound on Chainman’s shoulder. If he hadn’t moved quickly, his heart would have been pierced.
“You bastard! This is too much!”
“You’re despicable!”
Under the fierce onslaught, Chainman’s body was covered with wounds.
Hermes didn’t say a word, just kept pressing the attack with deadly focus.
“Spare me! I promise I won’t come after you.”
“You can have all my treasures.”
Desperation crept into Chainman’s voice. From cursing and threatening, he shifted to begging for mercy, embodying the stubbornness of a man who won’t admit defeat until faced with the end.
“Damn it, if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me!”
Chainman went berserk.
Abandoning defence, he aimed to drag Hermes to hell with him. Desperate beings fight fiercely, and Chainman is no different.
Crack.
Hermes’ face paled as his ribs were struck by a chain, breaking two of them. The wound on his back, which had started to heal, tore open again. Despite the pain, he knew he had to end this quickly.
“I can’t die here, not like this!”
With his heart pierced, Chainman spat blood, glaring at Hermes with unyielding eyes before collapsing.
“Captain, what happened?”
“Where’s the enemy?”
Pirates burst through the door, weapons drawn. But they were too late. Their captain had fought hard but had fallen.
“It’s the kid who killed Captain Joya.”
“The pirate hunter Hermes Jörmungandr.”
“Captain!”
“Oh no, the captain’s been taken down.”
Staring at the chaotic room and the blood-soaked bodies of Chainman and the doctor, the pirates were stunned. Not one of them thought to shoot in revenge at first.
Shock and surprise hit them hard.
“Shoot!”
“Take down that kid!”
Finally, someone snapped out of it.
The second and third-in-command of the Chain Pirates started shooting, already imagining themselves as the new captain.
Bullets flew wildly as Hermes shrank to five millimeters, darting through the hail of gunfire.
“Ah!!!”
A scream echoed. Hermes had shrunk, approached quickly, returned to normal size, struck with a Shigan, and then shrank again to dodge away.
The pirates couldn’t keep up.
One after another fell, while Hermes remained unscathed. His ability to grow and shrink at will was too overwhelming, making it impossible for them to land a hit.
“Damn it, what kind of ability is this?”
“He’s too small to hit.”
Some pirates began to waver. With their captain dead, there was no point in dying here.
“Retreat.”
The second and third-in-command called for their loyalists to fall back, needing to preserve their forces for the upcoming power struggle.
As the pirates retreated, Hermes didn’t pursue them.
Taking his prize, he quickly vanished from the base.
Soon, news of Chainman’s death spread. Hermes Jörmungandr’s name echoed through Mayotte Town, striking fear into the hearts of many pirates.
If killing Captain Joya was luck, what about Chainman’s death?
“What? Chainman’s been taken down too?”
At the Twin Wheel Pirates’ camp, Captain Kokos looked grim.
First Joya, now Chainman. Coupled with Hermes Jörmungandr’s profession, it was clear they were being targeted.
“Captain, it’s confirmed that Chainman is dead. The Chain Pirates are in chaos. Should we move in and take over?”
One crew member suggested. The spoils from the Dog-Dog Pirates had already strengthened the Twin Wheel Pirates. Absorbing the remnants of the Chain Pirates would make them the dominant force in Mayotte Town and one of the top powers in the entire Providence Kingdom.
“Captain, that pirate hunter might be targeting us next.”
Some crew members weren’t just hot-headed; they saw the pattern. With Joya and Chainman dead, the only valuable head left for the pirate hunter was Kokos’s.
It was a very real possibility.
“Don’t say that!”
“We haven’t provoked that guy.”
“Neither did the Chain Pirates, but their captain’s dead now.”
“That guy is a pirate hunter, collecting our heads for bounty.”
“Hmph! Our captain isn’t as weak as Joya and Chainman. If that kid dares to come, our captain will take care of him.”
Some pirates had blind confidence in their captain, which made Kokos inwardly wince.
He’d fought Joya and Chainman many times, knowing their skills. While he could injure them, killing them was another matter. If he tried, he’d be severely wounded himself.
This pirate hunter was no joke.
Kokos had survived by being cautious.
Now, with the highest bounty in Mayotte Town, he knew the pirate hunter would come for him eventually.
Damn.
Why did I have to become a target while minding my own business?
“Recall all our crew. Stay low for now and don’t provoke the pirate hunter. Let’s absorb the Chain Pirates’ remnants first.”
Kokos chose to keep a low profile. If the kid did come for him, he’d deal with it then.
“Yes, Captain.”
The pirates nodded, gathering their forces to take over the Chain Pirates’ territory.
Meanwhile.
Hermes, carrying his prize, returned to the small clinic.
“You again…”
The doctor, reading a magazine, looked up to see Hermes, bloodied, entering. He was stunned.
He remembered Hermes well.
A week ago, he’d come for treatment. By normal standards, he should still be recovering. Yet here he was, clearly having fought again.
“Patch me up.”
Throwing a blood-stained bundle on the floor, Hermes stripped to his underwear.
Old wounds had reopened, and new ones showed exposed flesh. His chest was particularly bad, with several broken bones.
He had kept his body tight, suppressing the pain. But now, as he relaxed, the agony surged.
“Out making a living again?”
The doctor sighed, preparing his tools to treat Hermes.
The young man was unbelievably resilient.
“You could say that. Got a decent haul this time.”
Hermes tried to relax, though his neck muscles tensed, veins bulging. He endured the pain without anesthetic, relying on sheer willpower.
“Hang in there.”
The doctor began setting bones. He had a lot of work to do.
An hour later.
Hermes’s upper body was almost entirely bandaged. The doctor, wiping sweat from his forehead, felt a sense of accomplishment, especially with the payment in his hand.
This young man was his golden goose.
“For your own sake, take it easy for a while.”
“Thanks for the advice.”
Hermes waved, leaving the doctor with a view of his carefree retreating figure.
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