Chapter Eight: The Pirate Chief

"Everyone, get out of the way!"
Chu Cheng, grasping two curved blades, charged into the midst of the pirates, the others looking on as if he'd lost his mind.
"Who is this fool?"
Three pirates on the outskirts swiftly moved to intercept him, one on the left, one on the right, and one in the center, their curved blades swinging down at him.
Chu Cheng, under their incredulous stares, didn't dodge but rushed in headlong, meeting their blades with his face.
Many refugees watched in horror; the timid ones couldn't help but cover their eyes. Yet, in the next instant, a shocking scene unfolded before them.
The three blades struck Chu Cheng's face—left cheek, right cheek, and neck—drawing vivid lines of blood. From the splattering wounds, three translucent blood patterns rippled outward, reaching a thirty-meter radius with Chu Cheng at the center. All pirates caught within the range shuddered as three massive wounds appeared on their bodies.
-30
-30
-30
In a flash, a cascade of blood-red damage numbers filled the air, creating a spectacular display.
"Damn!"
"Too careless."
Chu Cheng exclaimed, covering his face, realizing belatedly that the pirates' earlier attacks hadn't broken his defenses. He had forgotten that at level ten, the pirates' basic attacks dealt over forty points of damage—enough to breach his defenses.
Taking the blow with his face had left him disfigured.
Fortunately, the wounds were not deep, only three shallow cuts.
It wasn't a major issue; wounds received in battle usually healed upon leveling up, so he wasn't worried about permanent scars unless he deliberately kept them.
The Black Sails pirates above level ten had more than two hundred health each; reflecting three strikes wasn't enough to kill them.
But Chu Cheng, shielding his face, plunged directly into the pirate ranks. Instinctively, they swung their blades at him, and some who had their flintlock pistols loaded drew and fired without thinking.
Gunshots erupted in a wild cacophony, and the pirates dropped like stalks of wheat, leaving only a few leaders and a captain with enough health to stay standing, though they were barely hanging on.
"This..."
Not only the pirates, but also the refugees and militia were dumbfounded.
Chu Cheng alone remained clear-headed, his eyes gleaming as he eyed the wounded pirate leaders and captain.
Pirate Squad Leader (Common): Level 13, 240/480 HP.
Ethan (Elite): Pirate Captain, Level 15, 1360/1600 HP.

This captain even had a name—a clear sign he was a minor boss. Chu Cheng immediately raised his blades and called to the militia:
"The pirate leader is here! Surround him, don't let him escape!"
He then charged at the pirate captain without hesitation. As the blades flashed before him, his exceptional reflexes kicked in, and he crossed his blades, sparks flying as a powerful force drove him back a step. He lifted his foot and kicked the pirate captain's raised leg, causing both to stagger backward.
"My strength is just a bit lacking, but not... hmm? Trying to run?"
The pirate captain was shrewd; seeing his men wiped out, he used Chu Cheng's kick to retreat, and, noticing the militia hadn't completed their encirclement, decisively turned to flee.
Chu Cheng, of course, wouldn't let the boss slip away. He gave chase immediately.
His extraordinary agility granted him fifty points of movement speed and doubled his jump distance. With a single leap, he caught up to a squad leader, but ignored him, focusing solely on the fleeing captain.
The pirate squad leader swung his blade at Chu Cheng's waist, dealing -20 damage. The squad leader staggered as a -30 floated above his head.
A few more leaps brought Chu Cheng right behind the captain. He thrust both blades at the captain's lower back, aiming for the kidneys.
The captain twisted violently, dodging the kidney strike, and roared:
"You're courting death!"
Gripping his curved blade with both hands, its edge gleamed, crackling with electricity as his speed skyrocketed, and he slashed down.
Chu Cheng's reflexes allowed him to react, but his body lagged behind; he could only lean back as the blade, shining with lightning, cut into his chest.
-114
A tremendous force tore a huge gash through him, the blade biting deep into bone.
"You have been struck by Pirate Captain Ethan's combat skill 'Lightning Slash,' taking 190 points of physical damage. Your talent absorbs 30 points, your defense absorbs 46 points, leaving you with 114 points of physical damage."
"Pirate Captain Ethan's Lightning Slash tears your wound, inflicting you with the passive effect 'Minor Bleeding': lose 15 HP every three seconds for 15 seconds."
Chu Cheng endured the pain, using the momentum to fall to the ground and roll away, dodging the captain's kick. His blades crossed, clipping the captain's ankle—two -36 damages appeared.
Though his weapons weren't impressive, his base stats were high, and dual wielding allowed two attacks per round, so his output was respectable.
-56
-30, -36, -36...
-57
-30, -36...
miss...
The first numbers were the captain's basic attacks, followed by Chu Cheng's talent-reflected and dual blade attacks, occasionally dodged or blocked.
The captain's normal strikes dealt as much as 110; after talent and defense reductions, it was still 56 points. For others, it would be seventy or eighty points at minimum. Students around level ten had only about two hundred health, and those with ranged or agility builds might have even less.

Faced with such high damage, three strikes meant instant death.
If struck by Lightning Slash, one hit would leave them crippled, two would kill them outright.
This boss required a strong team of students to take down, yet Chu Cheng was able to solo him.
The extraordinary constitution and agility granted by his profession specialty were invaluable.
His high resilience allowed him to shrug off the stun and slow effects of heavy blows, and his reflexes far surpassed his tier, letting him respond to attacks and even evade them with skill.
Aside from attack and health, he already outmatched the pirate captain in every other respect.
By now, the two pirate squad leaders had already fallen. Among the remaining militia, a few were quick enough to catch up, but the wounded captain couldn't withstand their encirclement.
The freed militia now formed a wide circle, watching the duel unfold.
Chu Cheng would tank four or five blows, then roll aside behind the militia, letting them intercept attacks. He quickly used linen bandages to restore some health, and with his innate regeneration of six HP per second, he could recover over a hundred health in just ten seconds.
After resting twenty seconds, his health was nearly full again, so he grabbed his blades and rushed back in.
So it went, their health bars closing the gap and then Chu Cheng taking the lead.
After only two rounds of resting, Chu Cheng managed to outlast and kill the pirate captain by sheer endurance.
As the captain fell, Chu Cheng sat heavily atop the corpse, scooping up the glowing loot orb and finally crying out in pain.
"Still too reckless!"
Without militia support, it would have been easy to escape due to his superior speed, but killing the captain would have been far tougher.
"My burst damage isn't enough—I need better weapons and skills."
"Hopefully this boss drops something good."
After a brief rest to regain his strength, Chu Cheng went to retrieve the loot orb from the other squad leader's corpse; only one of the two had dropped loot.
The militia didn't interfere—they couldn't see the loot orb.
He then approached the militia captain. Standing beside him, an elder greeted Chu Cheng with a respectful bow:
"Honored adventurer, thank you for saving so many civilians!"
As the words faded, Chu Cheng caught a semi-transparent line at the corner of his eye:
"Notification: You have received the gratitude of the refugees of Brad Town. Brad Town Reputation +200. Current reputation 265/500: Friendly."