Chapter 10

As the sun gradually sank below the horizon, the dim night was about to fall, but the battle at sea had just begun. Even though the sailors had exerted all their strength, the merchant ship's speed could not match that of the pirate ship. After several consecutive launches from the catapult, the sails on the merchant ship were finally shattered by the stone projectiles, and the entire ship lost control, tilting sideways.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the pirate ship accelerated and caught up. Before the two ships could align, the fierce pirates grabbed the sail ropes, leaped over the gunwales with sinister grins, and swung their curved swords, brutally slaughtering the sailors. In a moment, over a dozen sailors were cut down, and the deck was stained red with blood.

"Great job, in ten minutes, I want to see a ship full of dead men." The pirate leader, standing on the mast, revealed a sinister smile, and the piercing laughter carried by the wind sounded like metal scraping on glass.

"Who is that guy?" Lin Taiping picked up the telescope and looked far away. The pirate leader, bare-chested and as thin as a bamboo pole, had black skin coated with olive oil. His long neck looked extremely strange, like that of a vulture.

"That guy's nickname is Vulture. He's a skilled swordsman and also a subordinate of the pirate captain Blood Eye." Kristin opened her eyes wide and thought for a moment. To better convey his strength, she added, "And he's worth two hundred gold coins."

Such a direct introduction left Lin Taiping in awe. However, the pirate captives from a few days ago were only worth a few dozen gold coins, while this Vulture was worth two hundred gold coins, which already said a lot.

"Two hundred gold coins, that can buy a lot of food?" Tulu was already excited, his eyes red. "Lin, what are we waiting for? Let's charge over now and turn these guys into gold, and while we're at it, loot that merchant ship."

"Great idea!" Lin Taiping raised both hands and feet in agreement. "But it seems we don't need to go over, because those guys are already preparing to board... Be careful!"

Before he finished speaking, the pirate ship had already noticed the abnormality and quickly turned around. With the sharp sound of a horn, the old catapult fired again, and huge stone projectiles whizzed through the air, smashing into the Black Pearl, causing towering waves.

"Charge over, get ready for boarding." Lin Taiping immediately made a wise decision. This was something he had learned from the great sailing game: if your long-range firepower is far inferior to the enemy, then get close and fight in a melee.

In fact, Kristin was already doing this. Under her skilled control, the Black Pearl quickly changed direction, narrowly avoiding a stone projectile, and then sped forward with the wind, colliding with the pirate ship.

In just a moment, the Black Pearl had closed the distance to within a kilometer. The minotaurs, shrouded in black robes, were eager and impatient, ready to give the pirates a big surprise as soon as the two ships came together.

But the pirates were clearly smarter than expected. Vulture twisted his long neck, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips. "Boarding? Foolish guys, I don't know why you have such courage, but to be safe, I won't give you this chance."

Under his command, the pirate ship quickly retreated, its speed even exceeding that of the Black Pearl. At the same time, several pirates rushed to the stern, and as large pieces of sailcloth were torn away, a larger catapult was revealed.

"Damn! Two catapults?" Lin Taiping and Kristin looked at each other, suddenly realizing the situation was dire. Kristin immediately frantically turned the rudder, trying to make the Black Pearl change direction.

But it was too late. The two catapults began to fire in a crisscross pattern, and huge stone projectiles whizzed through the air, smashing into the sides of the Black Pearl. After several misses, a stone projectile finally locked onto its target, descending with a terrifying shadow.

"Be careful!" Lin Taiping shouted, grabbing Kristin and pulling her to the side. At the same moment, a stone projectile weighing hundreds of pounds smashed down, creating a large hole in the deck and causing the ship to violently shake.

Under this immense inertia, Kristin was thrown forward, and with a soft thud, the two of them ended up in a close embrace, feeling each other's hot breath. The worst part was that, in a subconscious reaction, Lin Taiping's hands ended up... well, they were quite soft, weren't they?

A few seconds later, Kristin's face turned bright red, like a volcano about to erupt. But before she could lose control, the air was filled with a sharp whistling sound, and another stone projectile smashed down.

I love this stone projectile! Lin Taiping was moved to tears, leaping back a few steps. But in that instant, the stone projectile hit the ship's side, causing the Black Pearl to tilt uncontrollably.

Unable to maintain his balance, Lin Taiping was thrown backward. Seeing a sharp piece of wood in front of him, he instinctively reached out to block it. The fireball ring on his hand was dented by the impact, and the ruby on the ring shattered completely.

"My ring!" Lin Taiping was deeply pained, but at that moment, the shattered ring suddenly burst into a brilliant red light, enveloping him.

To his amazement, when he opened his eyes, he found himself standing alone in a vast, majestic temple. In the center was a black altar burning with fierce flames, and above it, towering statues of gods, enveloped in silver-white light, exuded a terrifying aura that seemed to crush the world.

"Temple? Sacrifice?" In the face of this indescribable pressure, Lin Taiping found it hard to breathe. As he struggled against the pressure, a deep, hollow voice echoed throughout the temple:

"Mortal, kneel before the gods and offer your sacrifice with a devout heart, and you will receive the blessing of the gods!"

"Gods?" Even in shock, Lin Taiping couldn't help but smirk. Don't joke around. Even if there were gods in this world, they would just be powerful beings, and such powerful beings might have long left this world, otherwise the minotaurs who worship the Dark God wouldn't be so miserable.

As he expected, even without his devout kneeling, the voice did not become angry, but continued to repeat in a hollow, emotionless tone:

"Mortal, kneel before the gods and offer your sacrifice with a devout heart, and you will receive the blessing of the gods!"

This time, when he heard the words again, Lin Taiping's heart stirred. In the next moment, he raised his head thoughtfully and asked, "May I ask, what sacrifice should I offer, and what will I receive?"

The voice did not become angry at his impertinence but paused for a moment before answering in the same emotionless tone: "Magic crystals and magic cores are the most satisfactory sacrifices to the gods. The more you offer, the more blessings you will receive."

So that's how it is. Lin Taiping felt he had grasped something. After a few minutes of thought, he immediately tried to take out six magic crystals. These were "voluntarily" offered by the pirate captives, not of high grade, but still worth five to six hundred gold coins on the market.

"Alright, I hope this doesn't disappoint me." Taking a deep breath, he picked up the six magic crystals and gently threw them into the burning flames of the altar.

The flames, as if imbued with a strange power, instantly consumed the magic crystals. After a moment of silence, the voice spoke again:

"You have offered a sacrifice to the gods, and the gods are satisfied with your offering. They grant you the blessing of the Sea God... from now on, you will have the talent aura of Nautical Proficiency, lasting for three days."

As the voice spoke, the statue of the Sea God, holding a trident, suddenly burst into a brilliant light, enveloping the entire altar.

Bathed in this light, Lin Taiping felt a warm sensation all over his body. Countless runes swirled in his mind like birds, and when he suddenly came to his senses, he found himself back on the damaged deck.

"Boss, what are you daydreaming about?" Kristin, unaware of what had just happened, grabbed him and shouted, but at that moment, two stone projectiles were already whizzing through the air, the sharp whistling sound piercing the ears.

Taking a deep breath, Kristin immediately frantically turned the rudder, trying to make the Black Pearl avoid the attack, but this was useless. The stone projectiles were too fast, and even if they could avoid one, there was no time to avoid the other...

"Let me handle it!" Lin Taiping pushed her aside, grabbed the still turning rudder, and quickly turned it to the left. Then, he paused for a moment and turned it back.

With a creaking sound, the rudder seemed about to break, but under this rough handling, the Black Pearl managed to sharply turn to the right, and then, after a violent shake, moved a few meters to the left.

At the same moment, the first stone projectile smashed down, narrowly missing the Black Pearl's right side. A few seconds later, the second stone projectile whizzed through the air, hitting the sea on the left side of the Black Pearl, causing a large splash.

An unbelievable miracle! If they had been just a second slower, the poor Black Pearl would have been shattered to pieces. But this irregular, subtle movement had somehow allowed it to avoid the stone projectiles, without even a scratch on the hull.

"How is this possible? Vulture almost fell from the mast, his long neck twisting. "How is this possible? Even the most skilled pirate captain couldn't do this... Damn, is that guy the bastard son of the Goddess of Fortune?"

"Boss, are you the bastard son of the Goddess of Fortune?" Kristin had the same question. "Wait, if I'm not mistaken, you seemed to know nothing about sailing?"

"I know now, isn't that enough?" Lin Taiping smiled, completely ignoring her shocked gaze.

At that moment, when his hands touched the rudder, he immediately felt a sense of connection, as if the Black Pearl had suddenly come to life and fused with his body, every movement feeling natural and effortless.

"Nautical Proficiency? Talent Aura?" He stroked his chin thoughtfully, turned to look at the dazed Kristin, and his eight white teeth gleamed in the sunset.

"Um, dear Kristin, have you ever danced the tango... I mean, with a ship!"

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This month, many veteran authors are starting new stories. I'll just watch from the sidelines. Everyone, please support by collecting, clicking, and voting.

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