Defying Death

"Seraphina, we need to climb the mast! It's our only chance!" Lucas Hall shouted, assessing the situation.

He had observed the movements of the devil sharks and realized that they could only jump on the deck, and they only had hind legs. This meant the devil sharks couldn't climb. If they could just get up to the mast, they'd be in an invincible position!

Without hesitation, they sprang into action.

Lucas gripped his flintlock in his left hand, and the Sea Serpent's Fang in his right—ready for both ranged and close combat. But Seraphina didn't have a suitable weapon. Using that small dagger against a shark would be far too dangerous.

"I've got a bow in my room. I'll grab it when we run past. You can use it," Lucas said.

Seraphina nodded, her hair whipping in the fierce wind. There was no trace of fear on her face; on the contrary, she seemed a bit excited as she kept glancing at the sharks.

"I want a whole shark, especially with the eyeballs intact!" Seraphina suddenly said.

"We'll talk about that once we survive!" Lucas replied urgently.

The two immediately sprinted toward the right side of the ship. The sharks were all concentrated on the left, so the right side was relatively safer.

They crouched low, moving swiftly against the gusting wind.

The captain's cabin on the right side had no door, but Lucas could easily create one with his flintlock. The cooldown time for the gun was probably just right.

Lucas fired a shot, and a massive hole appeared in the cabin wall, big enough to grab something.

He reached in and found a pirate bow in the corner, along with twenty or so simple wooden arrows, all coated in poison.

He handed the bow and arrows to Seraphina, and the two continued toward the ship's center.

The wind was much calmer there, and the space between the captain's cabin and the cargo hold provided some shelter. The effect on shooting arrows would be minimal.

As soon as they entered the middle deck, a devil shark suddenly lunged from the shadows.

If Lucas hadn't noticed in time, it would have tackled him to the ground.

He drew the Sea Serpent's Fang and prepared to strike, but before he could, an arrow shot from behind him, striking the shark's eyeball.

The shark seemed to lose all coordination after being hit. It flopped around on the ground, writhing in confusion, completely disabled.

Lucas glanced back at Seraphina.

"Your archery is amazing," he commented.

"I used to study medicine," Seraphina replied casually, not missing a beat. "But in high school, I was the provincial archery champion. I could've made the national team."

"You should've mentioned that sooner!" Lucas said, feeling both impressed and frustrated. "If you were this good, why didn't you use a bow when we fought the sea demon?"

"The bow fell into the sea when I was ambushed…" Seraphina's face flushed slightly.

"Ugh..." Lucas groaned. Had he known she was this skilled, he'd have prepared far more arrows. He wouldn't have been worried about these jumping sharks.

But now, their arrows were running low. They couldn't afford to waste time.

Some of the sharks had even swum to the right side, planning to trap them from both sides. More sharks were continuously leaping onto the deck.

Luckily, the two had made it to the base of the mast.

Taking advantage of the new sharks' distance, they had to climb the mast quickly.

"You go first. Once you're up there, shoot to cover me!" Lucas said, positioning himself against the mast and eyeing the sharks closing in from both sides.

This was the most logical plan. If Lucas climbed first, he'd only have his flintlock to fight with. While it was powerful, in this situation, the bow and arrows would be much more useful because they allowed for multiple shots.

Seraphina understood immediately. Without wasting any time, she shoved the bow and arrows into her bag and began climbing.

Lucas gripped the Sea Serpent's Fang horizontally and held his flintlock in his left hand, ready for combat.

The first shark arrived from the left, leaping toward Lucas.

He had studied their behavior long enough to understand that these sharks always jumped in the direction their heads were pointed. They could only leap forward.

Using this to his advantage, Lucas sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the shark's attack.

As the shark passed him, Lucas stabbed forward with the Sea Serpent's Fang, driving it deep into the shark's gills. The shark flailed violently before collapsing, its insides spilling onto the deck.

"Got it!" Lucas grinned, quickly evading another shark's jump.

He repeated the process, killing three sharks in total.

But Lucas wasn't a seasoned warrior. Just a little while ago, he had been bedridden and couldn't even stand. His fighting skills were far from perfect—he had only succeeded because of his sharp observations and calmness under pressure.

Unfortunately, not every attempt went smoothly.

On the fourth attack, he made a mistake. He didn't dodge quickly enough, and a shark's teeth sank into his right shoulder.

The excruciating pain almost made him lose consciousness.

But Lucas was tough. He immediately jammed his flintlock against the shark's flat head.

This shot had to go off!

He pulled the trigger.

Click.

The damn gun misfired again at the worst possible moment.

"Damn it!"

Lucas refused to give up. He quickly switched hands, loosening the Sea Serpent's Fang from his right and stabbing it into the shark's gills with his left.

Just then, an arrow whizzed past his head and struck the shark's eye.

The shark cried out in pain and released its grip, allowing Lucas to break free, but his right arm was now a bloody mess.

"Get up here quickly!" Seraphina shouted.

She was already sitting on a horizontal beam about five meters off the ground. The sharks couldn't reach her.

At that moment, she was drawing her bow, her arrows flying with incredible precision, covering Lucas as he climbed.

"I'm out of arrows, hurry up!" she called out.

Lucas grit his teeth, strapped his flintlock to his waist, and climbed despite the sharp pain.

The sharks behind him were shot one by one by Seraphina, keeping him safe for now. But he was moving slowly.

His legs burned, his left arm and cheek were pressed tightly against the mast, and he pushed himself up with every ounce of strength he had left.

"Hurry, I only have three arrows left!" Seraphina urged.

Lucas had barely climbed two meters when the ominous news reached him.

Soon, the last three arrows were gone.

Now, Seraphina could only hold the mast with one hand, her body low as she tried to pull Lucas up.

But the distance between them was too great.

Just then, a shark prepared to leap, aiming directly for Lucas's leg.

The sharp teeth clamped down on his calf, the sickening sound of bone and teeth colliding filling the air.

"Lucas!" Seraphina screamed in horror.

Lucas' body froze, his body trembling from the pain. The agony made him feel like vomiting, but he couldn't afford to let go. He gritted his teeth and held on.

He knew that if he let go, he was dead.

The shark hung from his leg, its razor-sharp teeth tearing into his flesh.

Lucas felt his head spin, his vision blurred by tears.

He looked down at the shark, meeting its two massive, blood-red eyes.

It looked like it was laughing...

Laughing at how hard Lucas had tried, yet still could not escape death.

"No..."

Suddenly, a wave of rage exploded in Lucas' chest, a searing heat that consumed him.

At that moment, a notification popped up.

[?????? Condition Met: Face Death 3/3, you have unlocked the talent—Defy Death!]

[Defy Death: When your health falls below 10 or when a fatal injury is received, it triggers. Your health will not fall below 1, and you will defy death for 5 minutes. All attributes except for mental stats will increase by +2, mental stats -2, sanity -50. You will enter a 24-hour weak state after this effect ends, with all attributes except mental stats decreased by -2 (during the weak period, Defy Death will no longer be active).]

PS: Defy Death can break the limits of mortal attributes.

[Your sanity has fallen below 50, you enter a state of madness. You are immune to most mental negative effects, strength +2, agility +1, constitution +1, mental -2, you are immune to pain, tirelessness, fearless, until your sanity recovers.]

With the dual effects activated, Lucas's strength reached an incredible 8, though his sanity was now reduced to 4.

His eyes turned bloodshot, and his previously limp right arm suddenly regained strength, clutching the mast tightly.

At the same time, he reached down with his left hand, grabbed the devil shark's eye, and crushed it with a casual squeeze, causing the eyeball to explode with a sickening squelch.