It was only after Karon managed to struggle up from the ground that the fellow wielding the great axe stepped out! The already battered bulkhead immediately shattered, revealing a giant man wearing a black leather hood, standing at least seven feet tall. His hands were encased in black leather gloves, **and clear suture marks scarred the visible skin. Even more bizarrely, numerous bloody, sharp iron spikes, over four inches long, protruded from his very flesh, looking as if something parasitic inside him was forcefully extruding these steel barbs!

The giant let out a bestial roar from his throat, dragging the terrifying weapon behind him as he lunged toward the pirates. It gave the impression that his body served as a shield, while the dreadful weapon was the entity truly worth protecting. An utterly foul odor emanated from him, like a corpse that had rotted and then been waterlogged. The stench was enough to induce nausea. One seasoned old pirate screamed in terror:

“A Corpse Soul! It’s a Corrupted Soul from the Voodoo Cult!”

The Voodoo Cult was the most infamous dark society among the Caribbean pirates; Blackbeard himself was a master of its black arts, and in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, his core crew consisted of reanimated corpses. The Corrupted Soul, however, was a different, extremely evil creation: a monster stitched together from the strongest organs harvested from multiple corpses. Once created, it wouldn't exist long in this world, but during its brief tenure, it knew neither fatigue nor pain. Its appearance signaled an impending storm of death and carnage!

Two figures emerged trailing behind the Corrupted Soul. The first was a dark-skinned old man with salt-and-pepper hair and beard, sporting a crew cut, belted with a strip of red cloth, his face adorned with two coiled snakes drawn in white powder. His gait was peculiar, as if he were deliberately walking in a low horse stance, making him appear tottering and strange. Beside him was a robust man with a gray headscarf, his face etched with hardened resolve—this was Guttas, the captain appointed by Fernandes. He carried a strangely curved cutlass, raised it, and blew a sharp, high whistle. A torrent of heavily armed sailors flooded in from the other passages of the chamber, raising their weapons and shouting war cries. －－－－－－This was clearly a meticulously planned trap.

The great merchant Fernandes must have anticipated a boarding action with the pirates—no pirate would be foolish enough to sink a merchant ship before looting it. Therefore, he had recruited several Voodoo high priests in advance, setting the trap within the merchant vessel and arranging the ambush! Yet, for Amand, this situation was perilous but not hopeless! Because he had thoroughly purged the enemy during his advance, his retreat route remained open, meaning he could fall back to the Bell and Goblet at any moment.

Amand, after all, was one of the future Pirate Kings of the Seven Seas. Once back on deck, he could immediately order his men to sever the mooring lines connecting the two ships. Amand could then launch his devastating Captain Skill, forcing the highly mobile Bell and Goblet away. The heavily damaged, clumsy merchant ship would stand no chance of pursuit. With the vast ocean separating them, no matter how powerful the Corrupted Soul or how elite the enemy sailors, they would simply be worn down and left to die!

“Retreat!” Amand commanded decisively, the single word seemingly squeezed out between his gritted teeth. As the saying goes, an army collapses like a falling mountain; pirates are equally experienced in flight. Although their casualties were heavy, the price paid was not entirely unacceptable. But when Amand burst onto the deck, he was met by the sight of three lifeboats pulled alongside the Bell and Goblet, swarming with regular Spanish Armada marines climbing aboard. A chill instantly flooded his entire being! The enemy’s plan was viciously thorough; they had already cut off his escape route a step ahead of him!

“No! I must get back to the Bell and Goblet immediately! If those damned Spaniards gain control of the deck, we’re doomed to die here today!” The battle-hardened Amand made this cold, resolute decision.

He signaled to the wounded Boatswain Karon. Karon paused, his eyes instantly blazing red, letting out a wild roar. He turned and, without hesitation, led a group of his most loyal elite pirates, screaming, to block the passageway, desperately attempting to stop the terrifying Corrupted Soul from forcing its way out. Strictly speaking, they were sacrificing their lives to buy precious time for their captain!

But just as Amand, face grim, strode towards his own pirate ship, a lithe figure leaped suddenly from a window on the merchant ship’s gunwale—it was Captain Guttas himself. Immediately following him, several brave sailors gripping cutlasses in their mouths jumped up, blocking Amand’s path back. Guttas pressed his left hand to his chest and bowed slightly with a gentlemanly flourish, but his right hand gripped the hilt of the cutlass at his waist. This short distance of twenty meters seemed to instantly transform into an insurmountable, terrifying chasm for Amand!

“A rather exquisite trap…” Fang Senyan leaned against the mainmast, tilting his head to gaze thoughtfully at the merchant ship opposite.

“Using lifeboats to deliver a fatal blow—this tactical concept is at least four centuries ahead of its time. It suggests that among this Spanish Armada, there must be a Contractor present, and this individual must hold a significant position and prestige to enforce their combat ideology so completely. Amand, Amand, you project an image of great talent and strategy, but at your core, you cannot escape the inherent greed of a pirate. That is the fundamental reason you were successfully outmaneuvered.”

“They outnumber us.” Fang Senyan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping past the Spanish marines preparing to cross the gap some seven or eight meters away, then past the pale-faced, bewildered pirates on the deck.

“Their weapons are more refined than ours.” Fang Senyan’s gaze swept past the exquisite scabbards at the sailors’ waists, finally resting on a trembling old pirate nearby holding a sawed-off cleaver, his hand shaking uncontrollably.

“Their morale is higher than ours.” This was confirmed by the loud, spirited shouts of the marines.

“But…”

“But they haven't brought any long-range offensive weaponry!”

“In this kind of wind and wave, the occasional rogue wave can easily wash over the lifeboat gunwales. Even if they carried matchlocks, they’d be too soaked to fire! Moreover, the height difference between the lifeboats and the Bell and Goblet is nearly ten feet! This dictates they must use grappling hooks or similar gear to board successfully!”

The hull of the Bell and Goblet swayed slightly as a Spanish lifeboat bumped against it. In the briefest moment, several grappling hooks were thrown and firmly latched onto the gunwale, and a few broad-shouldered sailors expertly began to climb.

At this moment, Fang Senyan walked to the edge of the boarding zone with a cold smile. His composure and calm stood in stark contrast to the panicked chaos surrounding the pirates. Casually, Fang Senyan picked up a heavy axe—one used during boarding actions to deeply embed into the enemy ship’s planking, with a rope tied to the end for securing purposes. Weighing nearly 220 pounds, Fang Senyan managed to lift it single-handedly onto his shoulder, relying on his Strength of 11. While not comparable to that monstrous Corrupted Soul, it was certainly enough to draw the eyes of the pirates on deck.

Two Spanish sailors had already nimbly climbed aboard using the hooked ropes! Fang Senyan suddenly spun in place, let out a great roar, and the nearly 220-pound axe swung across with a heavy, dull whistle. The two sailors, their feet barely finding purchase on the gunwale, were struck violently. They were swept away instantly without a sound, their screams trailing out as they fell into the churning ocean with a splash—their chances of survival looked grim!

Immediately afterward, several other Spanish sailors who had successfully boarded surrounded him and viciously hacked down with their cutlasses. Blood splashed, and Fang Senyan instantly received five or six long, ragged wounds across his body! Blood poured forth, quickly staining half his torso crimson. But the heavy axe, now gripped in both hands, swung back in a massive arc across his waist with a great whoosh. Wherever it passed, wood splintered, and dust flew up. Those sailors were brutally smashed clear over the gunwale, flailing wildly in the air before plummeting into the water with piercing screams!

Fighting many alone, and achieving total victory!

That presence, truly embodying the fierce spirit of standing alone against ten thousand!

And Fang Senyan had not retreated a single step!

Wind howled, and huge waves crashed behind him, shattering into a million fragments of spray. Fang Senyan stood firm on the gunwale, ignoring the seven or eight bleeding wounds, and tore off the tattered remnants of his shirt with one hand. Gripping the half-damaged heavy axe single-handedly, he raised it to the sky, letting out a furious roar!

“CEN, you idiots!!” .................. Ahem, it’s time for today’s reader interaction.

Today’s question is rather difficult. Heh heh, the Corrupted Soul mentioned in this chapter is actually borrowed from a certain famous game (which has also been adapted into a movie).

Can any reader guess its prototype? Which game or movie is it from?

Same rules as always, see you in the review section.

Also, there's another chapter at 12 o'clock. Heh heh. (To be continued, please visit for the latest chapters.)