Chapter 2: Ship's Doctor

When facing a creature larger than oneself at close range, a person instinctively feels fear.

The crimson killing intent of the Black Bull, rushing towards him, pressed down on him like a massive beast.

"Hu, hu..."

Chen Qi clenched the handle of his knife, but his body couldn't stop trembling.

Had he crossed only to face death immediately...?

The ageless Witch, the Steam Mecha, the Transcendent power...

He didn't want to become an unnamed corpse atop the ocean before he had even experienced this world.

No, mostly likely not even a corpse, Chen Qi mocked himself bitterly, then stared intently at the Black Bull.

My starting agility isn't low, and the Black Bull has just been through a battle royal with eight others, draining much of his stamina.

Coupled with my recent talent, I gained 5 points of strength and 5 points of agility! In the early stages, these are already quite high values!

Based on Chen Qi's gaming experience, although they seemed drastically different in weight, he believed he also had a fighting chance.

The Black Bull didn't attack immediately, but instead caught his breath and picked up a long-handled axe:

"Kid, stick your butt out, I'm going to chop your ass into..."

Opportunity! Chen Qi bent down, lowered his center of gravity, and unleashed a stabbing move from below!

Clang!

The Black Bull couldn't use his axe to block in time and had to bend his arm to forcefully withstand the slash!

"Court death!"

After parrying, the Black Bull roared angrily, found the angle, and launched a fierce kick!

Does this Black Bull not feel pain? Chen Qi quickly drew his knife, then stepped back to dodge the attack.

"Good that I didn't get greedy with the slice..."

It was his first time using such a fierce attack on someone, and the counterattack was more ferocious and faster than he expected.

Still, the Black Bull was ultimately just a human and, after retaliating, his arms couldn't help but tremble.

In terms of speed and reactions, I have the upper hand! Chen Qi held onto the knife hilt, again looking for an opportunity to attack.

"Wow!"

His attack instantly ignited the passion of the onlooking pirates.

Having thought no one could match the Black Bull, they were surprised someone dared to strike him!

"Kid, nicely chopped!"

"Kid, do you know what your odds are? A full thirty times, thirty times!"

"Kill the Black Bull, kid, and you'll be a free man, a member of our Black Whale Group!

Not only that, I'll gift you a bottle of rum!"

"Win, and I'll gift you a night with a woman!"

"Goddess above, they get excited just seeing a single strike. Does the Black Bull look scared?"

The previously one-sided betting now filled again with suspense.

Many pirates chasing high odds began cheering for him.

"During the final moments, I underestimated you, little one. I won't give you a second chance!"

A twitch appeared at the corner of the Black Bull's eye as he tilted his head back, as if he was no longer a slave but a noble knight with the power of life and death over the common people.

He took a fierce two-step lunge forward and chopped his axe towards the opponent's neck.

His movements were stiff and slow... Chen Qi sidestepped, slashing his knife in a sweeping arc, inflicting a major wound on the Black Bull's deltoid!

Critical hit!

This chop harshly sliced through his flesh!

The Black Bull wasn't in good shape; after all, he was just a normal human, and after prolonged fighting, he was pushing his physical limits!

Also, numerous wounds accumulated on his body made his movements extremely slow.

Chen Qi saw the first light of victory:

"The advantage is mine!"

His opponent's life hung by a thread!

How could it be? The Black Bull shook his head, unable to stabilize his frame despite having slain several men just moments ago.

The dynamic shifted, stirring up the pirates once again.

"Black Bull, killing the last man is so hard! If it's too hard, use your secret weapon!"

"Kill him, kill him quick! Black Bull, in the final moment, think of your woman lying in someone else's arms, you better give it your all!"

Amidst the shouting crowd, the Black Bull seemed like a pressure cooker ready to explode.

Originally a minor gang leader who had stolen the boss's woman, he had been sold onto this ship, always believing he was far superior to these lowly and weak slaves.

"Trash from the backwaters! I can't die at the hands of a bumpkin like you!! I'm going to cut you into pieces and feed you to the fish!""

Gasping heavily, the Black Bull considered his next attack.

In these final moments, he didn't want to die because of underestimating this little guy.

Though weak in strength and build, his reactions were too fast. Blind chopping was useless and would only expose his weaknesses!

Come on... Chen Qi concentrated intensely, ready to execute a dodging counterstrike to end the Black Bull's life.

However, the next second, something unexpected occurred!

Instead of attacking, the Black Bull bit down on his teeth, retreated, and suddenly grabbed a disgusting octopus-like thing from the deck.

Immediately, the pirates gasped in surprise.

"Black Bull, I can't believe you'd dare to use a Parasitic Sea Beast!"

"No way, Black Bull, you're the last one to resort to a Parasitic Sea Beast!"

"That's it, the bet's over! Kid, you're about to lose your head!"

Parasitic Sea Beast...

Chen Qi sweated coldly as memories of it surfaced in his mind.

A Parasitic Sea Beast, as the name suggests, refers to sea beasts that parasitize humans.

In the Witch Sea, these creatures are extremely dangerous, feared by all fishermen.

A Parasitic Sea Beast would take its host into the deep sea and turn the host into a monster.

However, in the eyes of lawless pirates, these parasitic creatures were not just dangerous beasts but also items that could enhance combat strength for a short time.

Although these creatures were highly lethal, humans parasitized by sea beasts would temporarily exhibit superhuman speed and strength!