The pirate ship cut through the waves, approaching from afar. Wilder smiled. With a splash, his body vanished from the rock.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" The air exploded with dull thuds as he stomped through it.
"What?" The pirates on deck looked up, only to have a foot imprint itself on one of their faces!
"Crack!" He landed!
"Who are you!" Quickly, the forty to fifty pirates on the ship reacted, staring furiously at Wilder, who had descended from the sky.
"Thousand Needle Burst Stream!"
Giving them no time to react, nor answering their question, Wilder, the instant he landed, spread his feet slightly, leaned his body forward, raised his head, smiled sinisterly, and his eyes revealed a bloodthirsty glint.
Countless fine needles shot out from his body, dense and numerous, like a torrential downpour, sweeping towards them.
"Pft! Pft! Pft! Pft!" Soon, agonizing screams echoed across the ship. The pirates fell one after another, the hardened swamp needles, like incredibly strong senbon, piercing their bodies and continuing on to embed themselves in the ship's hull and deck.
The dense barrage was like a bombing run. The deck was showered with flying splinters of wood and spurting blood. Tiny holes punctured the pirates' bodies and the ship. Wood fragments, pieces of clothing, and blood splattered everywhere, scattering across the deck.
The sharp needles covered the entire deck. Not a single one of the dozens of pirates remained standing. The screams faded to faint, lingering gasps. Blood flowed out, pooling thickly on the deck and then dripping down through the holes.
"Tap... Tap tap..." Footsteps came to a halt. Wilder crouched down and lifted up a pirate who was still clinging to life.
"Tell me, where is Paison?" His voice was indifferent and low, devoid of any emotion. He stared at the pirate, smiling.
"Cap... Captain... cough... Captain is in Chenoat," the pirate managed, blood continuously spilling from his mouth, his eyes gradually losing focus.
"Hmm? Hehe, one last question. Answer it, and I can help you avoid further suffering. Why wasn't Paison on the ship with you?" Intuition told Wilder something was off.
"Cough... Okay! Captain... he went to kill the people from the Black Serpent Merchant Guild, because they killed the captain's brother, the president of the Cloud Sea Merchant Guild..."
"Crack!" Wilder expressionlessly released his grip, letting the pirate, his neck now twisted at an unnatural angle, fall lifelessly.
"What inconvenient timing," Wilder muttered to himself, wiping his fingers.
He unleashed his Observation Haki, enveloping the entire pirate ship, inside and out. After scanning it thoroughly, he found nothing of value.
However, a living creature in the captain's cabin did pique his interest.
He arrived at the door and slowly pushed it open. A massive, dark-colored anaconda, as thick as a large bowl, was coiled up in the captain's cabin. Its abdomen was distended, and even the commotion outside hadn't disturbed it; it seemed to be digesting its prey.
Its dark body was about seven meters long from head to tail. The fierce snake's head had cold eyes that emitted a crimson glow.
The anaconda, sensing Wilder's entry, slightly turned its head. A rumbling, thunderous hiss emanated from its body. It raised itself into a striking pose, its mouth slowly opening! Dozens of sharp, serrated teeth were revealed, menacing and dangerous.
"So this is the First Mate, is it?" Wilder smiled, staring at the giant snake. The swamp behind him surged, transforming into a swamp anaconda equal in size to the real one. The swamp snake opened its massive maw, revealing four sharp fangs, facing off against the anaconda.
"This is only fair," Wilder muttered to himself like a madman, grinning. The swamp anaconda behind him lunged.
The two large snakes grappled, the struggle causing quite a commotion.
The black anaconda tightly constricted the swamp snake's body. Its terrifying constricting power was usually infallible. Any prey caught in its coils had no chance of escape, their bones breaking and their breath leaving them – death was their inevitable end.
But this time, things seemed different. When the swamp snake was constricted, it didn't struggle desperately like previous prey. Nor were there any cracking sounds of bones breaking under pressure. Everything seemed too easy.
The anaconda hadn't even needed to exert much force. The swamp snake's body had begun to disintegrate the instant it was constricted, turning into a puddle of muck.
"Quagmire of the Underworld."
Wilder controlled the swamp snake to turn into a pool of swamp. The anaconda, its coils suddenly finding nothing to grip, instinctively sensed danger and tried to escape. But it was too late. The swamp was already on its body; where could it run?
The Quagmire of the Underworld spread across its body and the floor. The anaconda struggled, but it only sank deeper into the swamp.
"Hiss!" Wilder could tell that it was the anaconda's desperate hiss, driven by its survival instinct.
A faint smile curled Wilder's lips. He was somewhat fond of this fierce beast. Only those with a strong will to survive could live long, just like him, Wilder. He would live long...
Finally, the anaconda was completely submerged in the swamp. The snake's head, which had been desperately trying to poke out, was covered by the last bit of ooze.
Wilder turned and left the captain's cabin.
Boundless swamp surged from his back. An even larger swamp anaconda wrapped itself around the entire pirate ship. Piercing creaks and groans echoed as the ship's hull was squeezed and deformed, cracking under the pressure.
"Crash!" Large pieces of wood broke off from the ship and plunged into the sea. The swamp anaconda, like a real snake, its massive body twisting and constricting, crushed the pirate ship.
Wood splintered and collapsed! Soon, the intact ship was reduced to fragments, some floating on the surface, others sinking directly into the depths.
Watching the pirate ship slowly sink, Wilder stomped on the air. The air burst, a dull, explosive boom echoing as his figure vanished.
In the inner city of Chenoat, at the headquarters of the Black Serpent Merchant Guild, a figure shrouded in a black robe entered. He looked up at the guild emblem hanging on the wall of the main hall, a bloodthirsty smile spreading across his face, which was covered in fine scales.
But soon, his smile froze.
"I've been waiting for you, Mr. Paison."
The voice came from the sofa in the hall. Only then did Paison notice a tall man sitting behind the sofa.
A slicked-back hairstyle, a stern face, a scar running down from the corner of his forehead, a cigar clenched between his teeth, a large build...
"He's..." A chill crawled up Paison's back from his spine to the base of his skull. His face gradually turned pale, and beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead. The more he looked... the colder his heart became.
Why...! Why is someone like that here!!
Paison couldn't understand. Fear crept across his face. He turned and fled without hesitation.
On the floor, a pool of swamp appeared. The black anaconda crawled out of it.
"Consider it your pledge of loyalty. If you want to live, kill him," Wilder's cold, emotionless voice rang out, his eyes fixed on the snake.
The black anaconda, without the slightest hesitation, gave chase to Paison.
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