Chapter 90

No sooner had the man finished speaking than the beasts burst from the thickets. They were of all possible colors and sizes. It was pure chaos.

Somewhere ahead was the land octopus that Bill had already fought, with a deep scar on its face, but it did not slow it down.

As the creatures approached, Bill sprang into action, planning to repeat his previous strategy.

As he moved, Bill stepped on a long-legged fox-like creature.

Cannons from the watchtowers fired, striking the octopus in the back, sending it backward before it disappeared into the brush.

While Bill couldn't see the pirates, he heard gunfire but didn't see any clear effects.

No, as the fight around the perimeter continued, the most effective was the random cannon fire.

The Marines were well-trained and chose their targets. Even when they missed the main targets, the cannon fire caused enough damage to provoke fights among the beasts.

With each strike, blood flowed like a river. The more blood was spilled, the more enraged the beasts became.

In less than thirty minutes, Bill's forearms were stained red. He avoided using the Moon Step technique, but now his knuckles were beginning to turn blue from the strikes.

Immersed in a trance, he knew only one thing—how to move and how to strike.

The fact that he was punching beasts, roaring, terrifying monsters, with his bare hands, didn't even cross his mind.

As Bill brought down the three-horned red goat, a powerful cannon shot sounded just a few meters from him. Turning to the sound, Bill was thrown back.

Falling, he saw a green shadow with pincers and eyes on stalks looking down at him from above. At that moment, for the first time in eight years, Bill felt real fear as he looked into the eyes of the giant mantis.

The world slowed down, and Bill faintly heard a crackling sound. From his perspective, he saw a small bullet fly in from the side and strike one of the insect's eyes directly.

Turning his head, Bill saw Hollandez slowly lower the gun with one hand, while reaching for his chest with the other.

As soon as Bill realized time had slowed down, everything suddenly sped up, as if trying to return to reality.

Without hesitation, Bill used the Moon Step to accelerate while on his back, stirring up sand before jumping to his feet.

Barely comprehending what had happened, Bill ran toward the mantis as fast as he could and punched its fragile back.

Huff Huff

Though physically not exhausted, Bill now felt morally drained.

Watching the animals go mad over the mantis, Bill used the moment to survey the surroundings.

Surprisingly, all six pirates were alive. They had split into two groups of three: one team with muskets, the other with pistols and axes.

Torn bodies lay all over the beach. Even as he stood there, cannons continued to fire.

Looking around, Bill caught sight of the waves from the corner of his eye.

One glance was enough to realize it was a giant crocodile with a python in its jaws.

These creatures were so enormous, they seemed unreal. Stopped far out in the sea but likely touching the ocean floor, the crocodile abruptly lifted its head as if preparing to swallow the snake.

As the crocodile began to eat, the beasts attacking the camp fell silent and started retreating slowly.

Bill and the others watched this, but when he heard their cries of joy, he had a bad feeling.

The kilometer-long crocodile looked worn out. It was almost as if it were falling apart.

Its scales were cracked and faded. Using his enhanced vision, Bill could even see that its teeth and eyes were sunken. Damn, Bill thought, this thing could barely lift its head!

If Bill didn't know better, he would have said the python looked the same!

'Damn! Could the crocodile have found it already dead?!'

Then, with a sudden impulse, Bill began scanning the sky.

In the distance, he spotted three humanoid figures.

Was it fear? Bill didn't have time to contemplate his feelings—he shouted to the pirates, "Get up and run to the boat!"

The watchtowers were large, and while Bill didn't want to leave anyone behind, he first wanted to ensure the Marines were safe.

Using the Moon Step at full power, he reached each watchtower in the blink of an eye, ordering everyone to head to the ship.

When he glanced back up, the trio in the sky was much closer. There was an old man, a clown, and a gorilla. Most importantly, Bill thought they seemed to be flying freely!

Tuning his hearing, he caught what he believed the clown said: "Typical! The gigantification is a failure, the structure becomes too fragile!"

Carefully observing the Marines leaving the watchtowers, Bill noticed that the pirates ran off, but he did not pursue them.

He couldn't stop them from their suicidal path, something told him they'd be lucky to survive this situation.

Listening to the flying trio speak, Bill heard the gorilla say, "Oh, are there Marines here?"

Someone else exclaimed, "Shihahaha! Let's see who we have on this little island!"

As the trio flew swiftly, Bill experienced something akin to a Doppler effect—it seemed like whoever they were, they were heading to visit Captain Hina.

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