Chapter 386 Fair Ireland
The powerful rifle bullet hit the merman's flank, shattering his hard scales and sending his flesh and blood flying out, spilling onto the deck.
The darkness still affected the bodyguard's accuracy. If he had hit the head, the monster might have fallen down on the spot.
“Bang, bang—”
Cleves and Klein's revolvers also fired simultaneously, bullets hitting the murloc, causing it to scream like a baby.
Having eaten a lot of pepper, it was obviously still a little dazed. Its two bulging eyes glanced left and right, not knowing which enemy to deal with first. This gave several people an opportunity to reload. After a few seconds of silence, three guns, two short and one long, continued to roar, and the smell of gunpowder and blood filled the deck.
Looking at this fishman, which could be considered an extraordinary creature, staggering under the orderly attack of three ambushers, Angel shook his head with half regret and half relief.
It was a shame that this creature, likely one of the ingredients for a Sequence 9 potion, had fallen to such an ordinary weapon. Fortunately, he didn't have to participate in the battle, and Donna and Denton beside him could watch safely...
Angel's spirit suddenly issued a warning that danger was right beside him!
She suddenly looked behind her and saw a pair of deformed webbed arms clinging to the railing of the ship not far from her. The next second, the arms holding the railing were retracted, and a fishman over two meters tall flipped out of the ship and onto the deck.
Seawater and thick mucus flowed under its feet, and the scales on its body gleamed in the moonlight. Its extremely protruding eyes were fixed on Denton, who was closest to it. The latter stared at the horrible monster with wide eyes, and was so frightened that he forgot to even scream.
Bang, bang!
The fishman approached with quick steps, his flippers making dull sounds on the wooden deck. Angel immediately stretched out her hands, grabbed Donna and her brother in one hand, and pulled them back. She then used the reaction force to rush forward to meet this monster that was taller than her.
The pungent smell of cattle and sheep offal on the deck and the fishy smell of another fishman's blood aroused the monster's ferocity. It looked at Angel who was approaching quickly, raised its thick arms, and slapped them down with a strong wind.
As an extraordinary creature, the power of the murloc is incomparable to that of ordinary people, and its thick scales give it extremely strong defense. This simple horizontal and vertical sweep can fully demonstrate its powerful strength, and it is an invincible killing move in the sea.
Unfortunately, it was facing a Sequence 5 Beyonder.
Angel slightly turned sideways to avoid the fishman's blow that weighed more than a thousand pounds. The "knight bracelet" on his left hand turned into a slender bone sword, and at the speed at which the two sides passed each other, he gently slashed it across the fishman's gills.
The next second, the fishman with half of his neck cut off fell forward as if he was tripped, and fell on the deck with a dull sound. He slid two meters away before his forward kinetic energy was exhausted, and he stopped in front of Donna and Denton who were hugging each other with their eyes closed, leaving a trail of blood.
——
With a soft sound like a sword being sheathed, the bone sword in Angel's hand returned to his wrist, transforming back into the bone bracelet that looked like an artifact unearthed from Bayam. The small amount of blood on the sword lost its support and spilled onto the ground, adding a touch of color to the deck covered with seawater and mucus.
This weapon is really convenient. It even saves the trouble of wiping off the blood... Angel thought secretly and looked at the other side of the deck. A middle-aged man walked out of the shadows there. He was wearing a dark red coat and a boat hat on his head. He was holding an old single-shot pistol in his hand, and his face was full of solemnity.
It was Captain Ireland Kag who gave the "speech" at noon. Did he see me take action?
But it's okay to see it. I didn't show any extraordinary abilities. It's just that the weapon thing is hard to explain...
Countless thoughts flashed through Angel's mind. He watched Captain Ireland approach. The latter forced a smile and said:
"As the captain, I must be prepared for any accidents."
He pointed his pistol at the fishman's corpse, but his eyes remained on Angel.
"As a passenger, I don't want any accidents to happen during the journey."
Angel replied that she was not afraid of the captain, but she really meant what she said.
Ellan nodded with satisfaction, stepped over the body of the murloc, raised his gun, and pulled the trigger. The huge muzzle emitted far more flames than ordinary guns. Not far away, another murloc who was being attacked by several people and was staggering towards the side of the ship fell down, and only blood holes pierced through his head remained in the place of his two protruding eyeballs.
This gun is so powerful, it can't be a magical item... But it may just be because of its large caliber and large amount of powder. After all, it is a single-shot pistol.
Angel looked at the weapon in the captain's hand with some curiosity. At this time, Cleves, Cecil, and Klein walked over from the other end of the deck. Except for Klein, who had already noticed the movement here, the other two bodyguards looked at the fishman's corpse lying on the ground with blood still oozing from the neck in surprise.
“This… how could there be another murloc…” Cleves first glanced at Donna and Denton, and seeing that they were safe and sound, he nodded to the captain, “Captain Ireland, thank you for your timely assistance.”
"Actually..." Ellan turned his head to look at Angel. Seeing her shake her head imperceptibly, he immediately changed his words, "...The swordsmanship I learned in the navy is a bit rusty, otherwise I should be able to chop off its head with one blow."
He patted the short knife hanging at his waist and replied with a smile.
"According to the rules of the sea, you can challenge the spoils first."
Glancing at the fishman's corpse, whose blade had been neatly cut and had obviously been killed by a single blow, Cleves sheathed his revolver and dagger and spoke respectfully.
Judging from the battle record alone, Captain Ireland has the right to take the lion's share. What's more, everyone is on his ship now. With a shout from this retired navy captain, all the sailors on the ship will come over and throw the bodyguards into the sea, leaving them with no room for resistance.
"This one's mine, and that one's yours," Ellan pointed his pistol at the murloc's corpse at his feet and then at the one farther away. "Besides, instead of waiting two days for us to land and let the murloc's corpse lose some of its value, why not just sell it to me for a little bit? 180 pounds, how about that?"
His eyes swept over the two bodyguards, Klein and Angel, one after another, lingering on the latter two for a longer time.
The extraordinary materials on the murloc should be able to be sold for around 200 pounds. Considering the advantage of directly paying in cash, this price was obviously beyond Cleves' expectations. He raised his eyebrows and quickly nodded in agreement.
"'Fair Ireland,' the sea tale is true."
The former adventurer murmured, his body completely relaxing.
At this time, Donna and her brother, who were frightened by the approaching merman with bared fangs and claws, came over. Denton squatted down and studied the merman corpse on the ground with some curiosity, while Donna looked at Angel thoughtfully.
Suddenly, she smiled brightly, and imitated Angel's actions, raising her fingers to her mouth, indicating that she would abide by the agreement made during the day and keep her secret.
————
On the large open space in front of the deck, several crew members laid out fire-proof asbestos blankets and set up a wide grill. They placed strips of cut fish belly meat on the iron rack, lit the charcoal fire and began to roast it. Next to them was a small oil pan in which a large piece of fish ribs was being fried.
The first-class cabin's dedicated chef was called up from his warm bunk to prepare a midnight snack for the captain and several passengers who had just participated in the battle. He expertly mixed a seasoning mixture of pepper, sea salt, fennel, and other spices with sweet and sour lemon juice and smeared it on the surface of the fish. The fragrant aroma was carried by the sea breeze and spread throughout the entire deck, making Klein and others sitting in the temporary seats swallow their saliva.
"Try these first. These are the best parts of a murloc. On land, even nobles don't have the chance to taste this fresh delicacy."
Captain Ireland came over with a tray filled with pieces of tender meat as thin as cicada wings, which he had sliced from the fishman's cheek under his eyes with a knife.
"Raw?"
Donna, who was sitting next to Angel, asked with some confusion.
“If it’s cooked, it won’t be tender.”
The captain replied, picked up a piece first, threw it into his mouth, chewed it exaggeratedly for a few times, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
Seeing him eating like this, several adults reached out to the plate and ate the fishman's cheek meat raw without any seasoning.
Angel also took a piece and put it into her mouth hesitantly. She was instantly overwhelmed by the silky taste with a hint of saltiness. She tried to chew it as exaggeratedly as Ireland did, but accidentally swallowed the delicious piece of meat into her stomach and quickly reached for the tray again.
"Here, give it a try."
She grabbed the second piece of meat, resisted the urge to put it in her mouth, and handed it to Donna beside her. The latter closed her eyes, opened her mouth slightly, and wrinkled her face. She took the piece of meat like a hungry bird, chewed it slowly, and her brows gradually relaxed.
"It's delicious! Denton, you should try it too!"
Several people quickly devoured the precious cheek meat, looking at the grill with some reluctance, imagining what delicious food would be next.
Angel left his seat at Captain Ireland's signal and went to a corner away from everyone.
"Here, this is your share. It's two hundred and thirty pounds."
Ireland pulled an envelope from the inside pocket of his coat and handed it to Angel.
230 pounds... This factored in all the potential gains from a murloc's Beyonder traits and other spiritual parts. Was this "Fair Ireland" being fair, or perhaps more generous, because he couldn't see my strength and was deliberately showing goodwill to avoid conflict?
Angel understood and did not refuse. He took the envelope and opened it in front of Ireland. After counting the money carefully, he put it in his pocket.
"Thank you for your generosity, Captain Ireland."
She expressed her sincere gratitude for the unexpected windfall.
"I hope you're satisfied, Miss Sage," the captain said with a faint smile. "May I ask your real destination?"
You guys...it seems like this captain has included Crane, no, Gehrman Sparrow as well...
Angel turned his head to look at the table and chairs next to the barbecue grill. Klein was holding a bottle of golden-red wine and studying it in the moonlight, but his eyes were secretly looking over here.
"It's just a vacation to Bayam, both him and I."
She answered honestly.
"Then I wish you a happy holiday in advance."
Ellan nodded without changing his expression.
Then he and Angel returned to the round table in the middle of the deck. At this moment, the chef also brought out a large plate of fried fish ribs. They had a crispy skin and were tender inside. The heat of the oil and its salty aroma made Angel couldn't help but sniff.
She sat back between Klein and Donna, looking in surprise at the full glass of wine in front of her. It was the golden-red wine that Klein had just been studying.
"Sonia blood wine, tastes great."
Klein gave a concise introduction.
Looking at Cleves and Cecil who were stifling laughter on the other side of the table, Angel tilted his head in confusion.
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