Thud!

The head fell to the ground and rolled beside my feet; I watched the masked head, unable to believe that I killed him.

He was really powerful, and I didn’t even think about killing him My only goal was to survive, but the freak chance provided the opportunity, and I took it, leading to the current circumstances.

With him being dead, all the pain given from his skill vanished. Only the pain from the injuries has remained.

I looked at it for a moment, before taking out the potion bottle. I might have killed him, but there are enemies everywhere around me.

I have to deal with injuries as soon as possible and be ready to face the other enemies. There will be it will probably be an enemy leader, who will come at me after he has finished with Captain Azalea.

It won’t take him long.

I took out the potion bottle and gulped it all down before taking out another and beginning to spread it to my injuries.

Hun!

I was amidst that when suddenly I noticed something from the corner of my eyes, before moving my head.

And what I saw shocked me.

….

Azalea

Rip!

Another bloody wound appeared on my stomach, and it was hurting like hell. I thought the bandit leader was bad, but this bastard is even worse than him, with more insidious skills.

I don’t think I could last long in front of him; even ten seconds would be a challenge. I am already heavily injured, and every fresh injury getting me closer to death.

I do not fear death, but unwilling to accept it so quickly. It would be a good death, but I want it grand.

I like to die on the battlefield, fighting against the grand enemy instead of on a ship in the sea.

It is a regret that I couldn’t show those bastards how big the mistake they have made sending me here.

It is basically a punishment posting; most middle-level officers and some high-level ones have been sent to boundary regions because they have made some mistake or pissed off someone powerful.

“I think I have wasted enough time on you. It is time, I finished you and kill the target!” said the leader and attacked again, but this time, the attack was different.

‘It is really an end,’ I thought, seeing his blade.

He had been hiding his skills; the attack coming was faster than any of his attacks. I don’t think I would be able to defend against it.

Still, I am not going without a battle and harnessed every bit of power I could from my skills.

Pushing them for the one last defiance, before the death.

My sword reached his, but it didn’t clash. Instead, it evaded my sword gracefully despite my attempts and came toward my neck.

Hun!

Soon, the sword was right in front of me, and I looked at it directly and calmed my unwilling heart to accept death when something shocking happened.

Another sword appeared in front of me. On the path of the one coming to kill me.

This sword is familiar, but unfamiliar at the same time because it had a faint bronze energy covering it.

Clang!

Both swords clashed, and I felt some sparks hitting my face, but I didn’t even notice them. As I am seeing, the man who is already tall and big, becoming even bigger, with bronze energy covering his whole body.

Even the enemy seemed shocked at seeing the sudden developments.

“Giant blood,” said the enemy, looking at Stone covered in bronze energy.

He is a giant blood, it is not a secret; one careful look is enough to tell one that, but what is happening to him is clearly shocking.

He had awakened his giant blood, the blood of the elder race.

No, not awakened. He is in the process of awakening.

I am one of the few people who have seen a complete awakening, and it is not. Stone had only been able to bring out the energy and not marks, and his size only increased slightly.

It is not easy to awaken the blood of the elder race; most people die in the process. Especially during the awakening of the giant’s blood.

“Thank you for protecting me, Captain Azalea,” said Stone, before appearing in front of me and turning to the enemy leader, who was looking at him angrily.

That only lasted for a moment before the emotions changed, and mirth appeared in his eyes.

“So, you have started the awakening. The extra payment would be good,” said the leader and attacked. His attack was fast. So fast that he turned into a blur, but even a blur, I could tell the incredible power his attack contained.

My expressions couldn’t help but become serious, seeing that. If he had used such power against me, he would have been able to finish me, in a single attack.

…

Clang Clang Clang

The enemy leader and Stone begin to fight at speed, which is completely a blur to me. I could only see their colors and nothing more.

A few seconds ago, I was preparing for death, but now, I have hope, a real hope. I didn’t feel that before.

Stone is harnessing the power of his giant blood and it has not just made him bigger, but also stronger. He is still not as strong as the enemy leader, as he revealed his true power, but more than strong enough to keep him contained in his place.

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Captain Azalea had already drunk and applied the potion and now has moved to deal with a different enemy.

Everyone noticed it, especially our people, and it had done wonders for their morale. It is so visible that even a dumb person will be able to see the changes in their fighting.

Our enemies have also noticed, especially their mage on the ship. Whose spells have become stronger.

I could see how Zela was visibly struggling against the mage, but she was fighting with the aid of Captain Perry, who was still attacking the enemies with the cannons.

Though his attacks have become much more targeted, he has also started to use the energy cannons.

Thankfully, all the cannons on the ship are dual-used. They could use the physical cannonballs, as well as the energy ones.

Hun!

I was watching that when I saw a spell coming at me; the wind blades and they encompassed by a large area.

I immediately moved with the rapid steps. As I did, the shield appeared in front of me, and a second later; the wind blades crashed into them.

All of them stopped by the shields; not a single one was able to touch me.

If one asked me, who I was most impressed with in this battle, then I would say the mages. They are doing incredible; I have been attacked by hundreds of spells and arrows, but they have not let even a single one hit me.

They have defended against all.

Hun!

I was feeling grateful for the mages when I saw Zela neutralizing hundreds of water missiles. It made me relieved; as those missiles would have torn through everyone on the ship.

The relief was short-lived as a moment later; the wave began to form, getting bigger and bigger with every passing second.

Soon, it had become as big as the last one, that crashed into the ship, earlier and still growing bigger and bigger.

It grew so big that people fighting on the ship had slowed down.

Everyone could feel, seeing how big the wave had become; it could really flip the ship and the thing is.

It is still growing.

It continued to grow, till it grew nearly twice as the wave before when it had suddenly stopped and started to fall toward the ship.

Seeing that, nearly everyone separated except for Stone, Jon, and Captain Azalea; they kept fighting their opponents, without care for the wave.

I am not like them; I am close to the starboard and quickly went near the railing and gripped them tightly with my hand while keeping the sword ready to deal with any danger that came at me.

The last time, the captain's skill had saved us, but this time, the wave was big enough that it could upend the ship. I need to be ready to face everything and this is a good spot, even if it comes with its own dangers.

The wave got closer and closer till; I could feel the drops of water on my face.

I could also feel skills activating and three of them were quite powerful that, I could tell, they were from the captain.

BANG!

Finally, the giant wave crashed.

It crashed with such force that I felt like it would crush my bones. At the same time, I felt the ship moving to one side while I saw nothing but the water around me.

The wave is huge, containing an enormous amount of water; it is a good thing, I had taken a deep breath.

Still, it wouldn’t be enough; the force of the wave moving the ship to one side and with the way it was moving, the ship would upend.

The ship had reached a sharp angle, throwing a couple of people into the sea, and was about to upend, when suddenly it stopped as if something had blocked it before it began to fall back into its place.

The water on the deck also came down, and I could see the sky again and breathe, but stopped breathing a moment later when I saw the scene on the ship.

Third of the people seemed to have fallen off the ship, while those on the ship were able to stay on it by clinging to different things.

Though three pairs of people are still fighting as if the giant wave that nearly tripped the ship into the water, hadn’t affected them at all.

They are fighting even more intensely, and it is all blurry to me, that I can’t see any moves they are making. Though, that doesn’t mean I am not seeing anything.

I could still understand a few things.

I can see, how Captain Azalea dominating her opponent, while Jon and the rogue seemed to be on equal terms. Stone, on the other hand, is slightly suppressed, but he is keeping the enemy occupied.

I could see how the leader was trying to come at me, but Stone was blocking his every attempt.

Though, if I am asked who I am worried about, then it would be Zela. The other mage is clearly stronger than her, and she is keeping him occupied, but the question is, how long will she be able to do that?

Once she is defeated. I could forget about surviving. There is no way I could survive.

There is a reason why the mages are so feared.