True Apocalypse Game

"AHHH—!"

The pirate who had been shot through the eye screamed and collapsed onto the deck, clutching his face and writhing in agony.

The remaining Ghost Pirates on the ship immediately raised their crossbows and unleashed a volley of arrows, bombarding the girl hiding behind the wooden barrel.

With a series of THUNKS, the wooden barrel was riddled with so many arrows it looked like a porcupine.

"Stop!" a bald man on the Ghost Pirate Ship shouted, raising a hand to halt the others' attacks. Judging by his position and attire, he seemed to be the first mate.

The bald man said to the middle-aged man wearing a tricorn hat:

"Captain, that woman is a Minstrel. Should we...?"

The Ghost Pirate Captain was a burly man with a small moustache. Hearing this, his eyes narrowed and he cursed,

"How the hell is she a Minstrel...? I thought the AN-13 Floating Island Market didn't have a resident Minstrel..."

He also raised a hand, signaling his men to hold their fire for the time being, clearly hesitant as well.

Shen Feng couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. 'I didn't expect Minstrels to have such high status in the Water World.' Just announcing her title was enough to make these vicious Ghost Pirates stop their attack.

And that was after she had already taken down two of their men.

This had to be the moment when the "poet" class reached its peak deterrent power. It was as if the girl hadn't announced she was a "Minstrel," but rather some infamous underworld title, like the supreme chieftain of seventy-two mountain strongholds.

The Ghost Pirate Captain was still conflicted.

Although he had always operated outside the bounds of existing human society, he knew a thing or two about these Minstrels.

These people were a bunch of psychos who didn't know their place. Provoke one, and a whole swarm would show up. Anyone who dared to kill a Minstrel would be hunted relentlessly by the entire Minstrel community until they were dead.

Moreover, each Minstrel didn't just represent themselves; they also represented the powerful forces that backed them. This included the armed forces of many Floating Island Markets, and even the legendary militias from within the Cordillera Islands.

On top of that, the Minstrels themselves possessed formidable combat strength.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to provoke a Minstrel.

"Boss, these Minstrels have always been extremely disrespectful to the World God. If we offer a Minstrel as a sacrifice to the World God, we might even receive His blessing. Besides, we don't mix with these ordinary folk anyway. If we kill her, we kill her. We just sail our ship out to sea. You really think those psalm-singing hacks can find us?" a gaunt, buck-toothed man beside the Ghost Pirate Captain said grimly. "You saw it yourself, that's over ten ships full of minerals—all good stuff! This haul is enough for the brothers to live it up in the Free Port!"

The Ghost Pirate Captain's eyes narrowed again. He stroked his small moustache, instantly swayed by the man's words.

What truly moved him wasn't the idea of a sacrifice to the World God, but the loot!

This Floating Island Market was a fat sheep, ripe for the slaughter. If they could devour it whole, it would be enough for them to live carefree for many years.

She was just one Minstrel. So what if they killed her? If they were worried about word getting out, they could just kill everyone on this Floating Island Market and burn it to the ground. No one would ever know what happened.

Having made up his mind, the Ghost Pirate Captain brandished the long spear in his hand and said grimly:

"Kill her."

The moment he spoke, the pirates, who had been waiting for the order, immediately pulled the triggers on their Crossbow Mechanisms and firearms, shooting at the large wooden barrel where Witch Tower was hiding.

At the same time, the gunners on deck began adjusting the angle of the Mortar, preparing to blow the barrel and the young Minstrel to smithereens with a single shot!

Seeing these vicious enemies attack again, the guards of the Floating Island Market, along with members of the Beast King Pirate Group who had been relaxing elsewhere on the island and had just rushed over, immediately began to return fire.

However, they were completely suppressed. Their Crossbow Mechanisms and Javelins simply couldn't reach that far, forcing them to hide behind various forms of cover and look for a chance to advance on the Ghost Pirate Ship.

Meanwhile, the gunmen on the Ghost Pirate Ship were crack shots, injuring or killing a member of the Floating Island Market with every bullet.

A flash of anger crossed Witch Tower's turquoise eyes. She abruptly turned, about to lean out from behind the barrel, but the instant she showed her head, several bullets shattered the barrel's edge right in front of her, pinning her down completely.

Then, she was shocked to see that the outsider was just standing behind a thick wooden pillar, watching everything unfold with a curious expression, as if he were just a spectator at a show. He showed no awareness at all that he was about to be killed by the Ghost Pirates.

Witch Tower quickly shouted:

"Outsider, get out of here! These Ghost Pirates have gone mad; they'll probably massacre the whole island! Hurry back to the watchtower! There's a carrier pigeon outside the window in the room. Write down what's happening here on a piece of paper, tie it to the pigeon's leg, and set it free! The other Minstrels will avenge me! Can you read?"

Shen Feng nodded slightly. 'So they have carrier pigeons. That's actually a pretty efficient way to send messages in this world.'

Seeing that the Mortar on the Ghost Pirate Ship was almost aimed, he instantly petrified the main surfaces of his skin, shifting into combat mode. He emerged from behind his cover with heavy steps, strode to the edge of the dock, and waved at the nearby Ghost Pirate Ship.

"Don't fire! Let me say a few words."

Witch Tower's eyes went wide at the outsider's actions. She yelled,

"Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish? They'll turn you into Swiss cheese!"

Shen Feng winked at the girl and said, "With those dinky little guns they're holding? Not a chance."

At this point, the people on the Ghost Pirate Ship had also noticed Shen Feng's strange behavior. They, along with the members of the Beast King Pirate Group and the people on the Floating Island Market, all stared at him as if he were an idiot.

Was this guy really tired of living?

This was practically suicide.

"BANG!" A gunshot rang out. A bullet struck Shen Feng on the forehead, snapping his head back. A collective gasp rose from the crowd.

In their eyes, the young man was surely dead.

But just then, the young man straightened up again. He reached up and touched his forehead, where a white mark was now clearly visible. He grimaced and said,

"That stung a little... Now, can you listen to me?"

The Ghost Pirate Captain's eyes were wide with disbelief. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

He had never seen someone who couldn't be killed by a gunshot to the head. It was incredible!

His eyes narrowed, and he said to Shen Feng:

"Who are you?"

Shen Feng let out a dry laugh and said,

"Who I am isn't important. I just want to know where you got that Mortar. Also, these ships are pretty nice. I quite like them. Can you just surrender? I'd hate to damage the ships."

He then added, "Oh, the Mortar is that little cannon of yours. Pretty handy, isn't it?"

"Where did this punk come from, daring to mock us!?" The Ghost Pirate Captain's anger flared. He pointed at Shen Feng and ordered grimly, "Blow him to pieces!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Mortar, which was still being adjusted, was immediately re-aimed, preparing to fire directly at Shen Feng.

Witch Tower grew frantic and yelled,

"Run! You're really going to die!"

The pirates from the Beast King Pirate Group also shouted from a distance:

"Boss, get out of there!"

"Don't, Captain! Run!"

"Don't be reckless, Captain!"

They had just found such a generous captain; they didn't want him to die just like that.

A corner of Shen Feng's mouth curled up. He shook his head slightly. 'Looks like those Ghost Pirate Ships are goners...'

Then, he raised his hand to his wristband and gave a command:

"Requesting summons of an item from the original Doomsday World: Duke of Wellington-class Sailing Battleship."

The moment he spoke, a massive Space Wormhole appeared on the surface of the sea beside the dock, directly facing the Ghost Pirate Ships.

In the next instant, the roar of auxiliary propellers was heard as a bow dozens of meters high emerged from the Space Wormhole. Encased in a solid titanium alloy hull, it came hurtling into this world of water!