Chapter 14: The Kill

Boom!

A burst of flame ignited on the body of the merman prophet. The fire was pure yellow, writhing upon him like that yellow jelly-like substance from before. Compared to quicklime, this fire did not inflict much harm upon the merman; this concocted substance did not truly wound his essence. Its only troublesome quality was its stubborn refusal to be extinguished.

Liu Zhi knew this fire well—he had experimented with it before on over a dozen mermen. He understood that a strong and robust merman, if he braced himself, might survive a wave of this fire. So, the very moment the merman prophet caught aflame, he leapt forcefully upon the sea’s surface, covering several meters in a single bound, and landed atop the back of the shark.

That shark had been trained by the mermen for a long time: it could twist within a small range on the water and keep the drum on its back from toppling into the waves. Such training had naturally dulled its diving and movement abilities to the utmost.

Liu Zhi landed on the shark’s back, clamping his left hand tightly around the fin while his right hand strained to pull himself upright. By now, the merman prophet, having overcome his earlier panic and confusion, had steadied himself despite the flames still burning on his body. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he hurled himself at Liu Zhi, swinging his hammer down toward Liu Zhi’s head.

“I’ll kill you! If I kill you, I can find the City of Gold!”

The merman prophet shrieked, his voice like that of a drowning man, desperate and gasping for breath.

Liu Zhi let go with his hand and slid toward the water. At the same time, his right hand twisted, and his curved blade struck the merman prophet’s foot. This stroke employed the technique of scaling fish—cutting against the grain of the scales, slicing upward. Before the scales could fall, Liu Zhi’s blade had already carved a cross-shaped wound into the merman prophet’s foot.

With a flick, he plunged headfirst into the sea.

The merman prophet’s hammer missed Liu Zhi and, for all his effort, left him staggering awkwardly. Beneath the water, Liu Zhi spun swiftly and pressed his blade against the shark’s belly, forcing it in deep.

Sharks have no scales for defense, and though the sea offered some resistance, Liu Zhi’s curved blade still slid easily into the shark’s heart. The shark began to thrash and roll in the water, flinging the merman prophet from its back and into the sea.

Seeing this, Liu Zhi raised his hand and cast a net. Movement in water was difficult, but the distance was not far. The net tangled the merman prophet, ensnaring him.

The merman prophet, now desperate, forced his hand to his mouth and bit down hard with his sharp teeth, emitting a strange sound. Liu Zhi, who had been planning to swim over slowly, immediately sensed something was wrong. With his level-three knowledge of magic, he clearly felt an electric current gathering at the merman prophet’s mouth—he was preparing a spell of lightning.

Liu Zhi would not allow his opponent a chance at a comeback. He kicked with his legs, shot up from beneath the water, and lunged at the merman prophet.

The prophet was in the midst of casting his spell; unable to move while chanting, and now further bound by Liu Zhi’s net, he was helpless. As Liu Zhi hurtled toward him, the prophet could only raise his mangled, bitten hand toward Liu Zhi.

“Static Shock!”

A silver net of electricity spread out from the prophet’s injured hand. Liu Zhi, suspended in midair, had no choice. Gripping the handle of his blade with his left hand, he aimed at the prophet’s burning face and struck down with all his strength. This time, Liu Zhi poured every ounce of power into his blow, targeting the prophet’s tentacles. Even as the electric net paralyzed his body in that instant, his aim remained true. With the force of his downward momentum, he severed the merman prophet’s tentacles.

Doused in a spray of green blood, Liu Zhi plunged into the water. Still, both hands clung tightly to his curved blade. He realized that luck played a large part in this battle, for in that final moment, he was uncertain whether the shock would force him to release his grip.

He remained submerged for nearly ten minutes. Only when the mermen battling by the ship broke ranks and fled did Liu Zhi snap back to himself. His curved blade was still in his hand; forcing his stiff fingers to release it, Liu Zhi let the blade slip into the depths. Now, only a dagger remained at his side for protection.

At this point, the flames on the merman prophet’s corpse had finally died, reducing his body to a charred black. Yet to Liu Zhi’s eyes, a faint white glow shimmered from the corpse, as if beckoning him to discover something. He turned the body over and found that the back, soaked in seawater, was not fully burnt. On the merman prophet’s scales, he noticed what first seemed to be tattoos. But upon closer inspection, the intricate lines merged into a small map before his eyes.

Before Liu Zhi could react, the map vanished, replaced by three messages:

[Hint: You have slain a rival competitor. The competitor will respawn in 30 days, with increased strength and renewed actions.]
[Hint: You have slain a competitor and obtained a Competitor’s Chest (Basic).]
[Hint: You have slain a competitor and acquired information related to the identity quest—Curse of the City of Gold. Please check your map for details.]

“Haha, hahahaha!” Liu Zhi laughed with exhilaration at these messages. He knew he had gambled correctly—he had not only eliminated a rival, securing thirty days of safety, but had also gained rewards and clues regarding his identity quest.

But after just a few laughs, he broke into a fit of coughing, suddenly remembering he was still afloat in seawater—hardly the time to celebrate.

Pushing aside the merman prophet’s corpse, Liu Zhi groped around. His blade had already sunk to the seabed; now, only a dagger remained for self-defense. Surveying his surroundings, he set his sights on the warship of Tortuga Harbor and prepared to swim toward it, when he heard cheers of excitement from that direction.

Several small boats were quickly rowing toward him, and people aboard were loudly calling Sandrew’s name.

It took Liu Zhi a moment to realize that was the name he was currently using. Before he could respond, a wave surged from behind and pushed him to the side of a small boat.

A man stood aboard, smiling at him. “Can you tell us what you used just now against the mermen?”