Chapter 10: Knowledge of Fish

This was the most common method for dealing with the fish-men; in most of Liu Zhi’s previous battles, he had always aimed directly for the tentacles on their faces. But as elite warriors among their kind, fish-men knew well their own weaknesses. In fact, from the rank of Tide Warrior onward, they consciously strengthened their tentacles. When Liu Zhi swung his blade, the fish-man puffed up his mouth, and the two tentacles beside it snapped rigid, appearing like hard spikes jutting from his face.

Liu Zhi’s blade struck, only to be rebounded.

Seizing upon Liu Zhi’s failed strike, the fish-man thrust his spear forward, the motion somehow evoking the surge of waves pushing from behind.

Yet the days Liu Zhi spent fighting fish-men by day and dissecting their bodies by night were not in vain. To fend off any assassins from rival competitors, he poured all his energy into discovering ways to defeat the fish-men.

Faced with the spear already at his front, Liu Zhi neither evaded nor retreated; instead, he charged forward. Raising his left hand, he scattered a cloud of white powder, enveloping the fish-man.

This powder was quicklime, which Liu Zhi had collected on a whim. In his research, he discovered that the fish-men’s mucous reacted violently to quicklime. For humans, a faceful of quicklime might blind them at worst, but for fish-men, it could ignite their bodies.

And so it was now. As the quicklime settled on the fish-man, white smoke began to rise from his skin. The mucus on his scales turned thick and turbid, bubbling like volcanic mud.

The spear’s thrust lost its force, and Liu Zhi seized the moment, curving his blade to slash at the fish-man.

Originally, Liu Zhi intended to test a technique he’d devised specifically for the fish-men’s scales. During dissection, he discovered that striking against the direction of the scales could strip them away like scraping fish scales. Yet he had never tried this move on a living fish-man and wasn’t sure if it would work. Presented with such an opportunity, Liu Zhi would not let it slip.

To his surprise, his blade slid easily into the fish-man’s scales—a sensation he had not felt since he first fought them. It was reminiscent of the effortless strikes he’d experienced in previous battles against pirates.

In that instant, Liu Zhi realized he had uncovered the fish-men’s greatest weakness: quicklime not only destroyed their mucous but also softened their scales.

With this thought, Liu Zhi’s strikes grew faster, raining blows upon the fish-man. All the places he’d previously struggled to cut, he now tested one by one.

As he swung his blade, Liu Zhi quietly berated himself for focusing only on dissecting dead bodies and failing to consider the differences between living and dead fish-men. Clearly, some things needed to be tested in the field; he couldn’t risk facing his rival only to find his research was too one-sided—or even wrong.

Distracted, Liu Zhi struck harder than intended, severing the fish-man’s head in a single blow.

A ringing sound echoed in his ear.

Before Liu Zhi could examine the information that popped up before him, Black One-Eye clapped him heavily on the shoulder from behind. “Impressive! That was a Tide Pilgrim!”

“Who knows if it was real or not,” Liu Zhi replied with a smile. “By the way, could you have the brothers hold off on releasing more fish-men for a bit? That last fight rattled me—I need a moment.”

“Of course! I’ll have the men check if any other Tide Pilgrims are hiding among them. Ha!” Black One-Eye laughed heartily and walked off.

Finding a quiet corner, Liu Zhi finally had time to check the information that had appeared.

[Ding! After prolonged analysis and research, you have mastered marine fish knowledge. Current level: 1.]

[Fish Knowledge Level 1: Master various information about fish, easily identifying their strengths and weaknesses. (Note: Fish includes intelligent fish-men and merfolk.)]

[Note: Knowledge gained through killing and dissecting fish-men grants a significant advantage when fighting them.]

Liu Zhi blinked. Passive skill? Could it be that all his magical and necromantic knowledge was acquired in the same way?

Just then, Black One-Eye’s men called out, “Ready yet?”

“All right, get ready—I’m coming.”

Liu Zhi spoke as he rose, blade in hand, his left hand preparing as well. He intended to test every aspect of his fish-man research, for today, Tortuga Harbor would not see so many fish-men available for experimentation again in a long time.

Previously, he had only used fish-man corpses for his experiments. Now that he understood more, he would not let the opportunity go to waste.

Watching Liu Zhi pull out an array of items from behind him, Black One-Eye’s men were stunned. They could see clearly that all these things were designed specifically to target fish-men. What grudge did Liu Zhi have against them—to pay to come and kill fish-men, and to study them so thoroughly?

But none of them said a word. Once Liu Zhi was ready, they released the next batch of fish-men.

This time, Liu Zhi brought out something resembling a net, woven from fishing line and adorned with stones around the edges. As the fish-men charged toward him, Liu Zhi flicked his wrist and tossed the net.

Just as he’d anticipated, the net ensnared a fish-man and rapidly tightened, constricting until it even snapped some of the scales.

Next, Liu Zhi dashed forward and threw some spheres onto the ground. These were also designed for fish-men; since they normally walked on sand or coral, their feet were adapted accordingly. On slippery surfaces, they were much more prone to falling.

Then Liu Zhi tested all the other items he’d brought—special oils, poisons, targeted attack positions, and more.

After every ten fish-men he slew, Liu Zhi paused to record his findings in a notebook, more diligent than ever.

Black One-Eye hadn’t thought much of Liu Zhi’s actions at first, but as he watched, his shock grew. He hadn’t expected Liu Zhi to be so thorough.

Finally, Black One-Eye considered for a moment before saying to Liu Zhi, “Say, are you free lately? Tortuga is planning to clear out the nearby fish-men—they’ll need skilled professionals.”