Dominic arrived at the ship's side. Leo had already lowered the small boat and jumped down, standing on it and directing people to bring water and food aboard.
Meanwhile, a group of people had gathered by the ship's side, looking expectantly at Dominic.
The ship was sinking, and they knew the pirate ship couldn't hold on much longer. Dominic also having the small boat lowered only solidified this belief.
If they stayed on the ship, they would sink with it, so they hoped to follow their leader and escape in the small boat.
Dominic ignored them and first jumped off the ship with Old Josen, waiting in the small boat.
At this point, Johansen was called over, and the pirate who called him also boarded the ship.
However, at the same time, quite a few people ran out from the cabins and came to the ship's side, numbering over a dozen.
"Rhine, Joseph, Bell, you three come down."
Dominic's eyes flickered as he selected three people and pointed to the boat.
These three were relatively strong fighters and Dominic's trusted subordinates.
"Yes, Boss."
The three jumped off the ship, somewhat excited.
That made eight people, with room for six more.
"Boss, take me, I can help you," one pirate shouted loudly.
"Captain Dominic, I, I, take me," another pirate rushed forward.
Dominic ignored them and instead called out, "Cory, Dafu, Allen, the three of you come up."
These three were the ones who had been transporting food and water earlier. Dominic had them get into the boat.
This brought the total to twelve people.
There was still room for two more.
Dominic looked at the people around him, hesitating slightly.
But at this moment, a figure climbed onto the ship's side and was about to jump off, shouting, "The ship is sinking, I can't stay on this ship."
The pirate's shout startled everyone, and they frantically jumped towards the small boat.
Bang.
But just as the pirate was about to jump, a gunshot rang out. The pirate trembled and tumbled off the ship. Dominic pushed him, and he splashed into the sea.
"Don't move, or I'll shoot you dead," Johansen said, aiming his firearm at the people on the ship.
Within the Dominic Pirates, Johansen was a renowned sharpshooter. Faced with his threat, everyone dared not move.
"Let's go."
Dominic no longer intended to fill the boat. He waved his hand, and the pirates on the boat paddled away into the distance.
"What do we do?"
The ship continued to sink, and all the pirates gathered on the deck, looking out at the sea in utter panic.
"Mast, planks, take them down."
Some pirates, with rich experience, began chopping down the mast and dismantling planks and lifebuoys. These could provide buoyancy at sea, allowing them to find something to hold onto.
But even so, after the pirate ship completely sank, only a small number of people found floating devices.
So, some pirates swam towards others, but some items couldn't support too many people. Thus, for their own safety, they began to fight amongst themselves, blood spilling everywhere.
Meanwhile, Dominic and the other pirates had already paddled far away in the small boat.
"They're killing each other," Johansen said with a frown.
"This is good. Their injuries and bleeding will attract that Sea Fish, giving us a chance to leave," Leo said with a cruel smile.
"Boss, where do we go next?" Bell asked Dominic.
"The merchant ship is sailing away, we can't catch them."
Dominic looked into the distance with his telescope, then frowned and asked, "Does anyone know of any islands nearby?"
"Less than twenty nautical miles from here, there's a village," Old Josen took out his compass, determined the direction, and pointed into the distance, "It's over there."
"Let's go there."
Dominic nodded. Twenty nautical miles wasn't far; they could reach it in half a day.
But just then, Rhine looked at the sea not far away and said blankly, "What is that?"
"Huh?"
The other pirates followed his gaze to the distant water surface. They saw a huge black shadow charging towards them, less than five meters away from the small boat.
Bang.
Before they could react, the black shadow had already crashed into a boat.
Crack.
The small boat shattered instantly. The people on board were hit as if by a ship. Some were killed instantly, some vomited blood, and some had their bones broken.
"Damn it, it's that fish," Dominic shouted loudly from a distance.
"It's catching up, it's catching up," Old Josen trembled in fear.
"Just waiting for you to run."
A hint of amusement flickered in Xia Qiu's eyes. The fact that they dared not fight him in the water and chose to flee proved they were afraid, knowing they were no match for him.
Xia Qiu worried about encountering powerful pirates. Although he hadn't seen this pirate flag before, he couldn't underestimate it.
But their choice to evade proved they were incapable of dealing with a sea fish like himself.
Their strength could be judged; they wouldn't be much stronger than Moor and the others.
Xia Qiu opened his massive maw and swallowed a person in one gulp, crushing and consuming them.
"Run, run!"
Seeing the other ship shattered, Dominic yelled, "Let's get out of here."
"Help, help!"
The pirates who fell into the water trembled in fear as they looked at the gaping maw before them.
But in the next moment, they were swallowed by Xia Qiu.
Meanwhile, the ship Dominic was on, its crew rowed frantically towards the distance.
"Trying to escape?"
Xia Qiu ignored the remaining pirate corpses and charged straight ahead, crashing into the other ship.
"Here it comes, here it comes!"
Old Josen shouted, and Johansen raised his flintlock, aiming at Xia Qiu.
Bang, bang.
The bullets struck Xia Qiu's head above the water, denting his scales and causing fine cracks, but they didn't break through.
Not to mention the thick, hard bone beneath.
In the next moment, Xia Qiu was close to the ship and rammed into it.
"Die!"
Dominic and Leo leaped up from either side, one wielding a cutlass, the other dual blades, slashing at Xia Qiu's head.
Sizzle.
Three blades landed on Xia Qiu's head. Where the cutlass struck, the scales dented slightly.
The force was immense.
Where the dual blades struck, only a white mark was left, not even damaging the scales.
Too weak.
Xia Qiu snorted coldly and charged forward, colliding with the small boat.
Crash.
The small boat completely disintegrated, and Dominic and Leo were sent flying.
Puff.
Dominic and Leo both spat out mouthfuls of blood, the sound of cracking bones echoing from their bodies.
Plop.
After falling into the water, Dominic felt pain throughout his body, his arm going numb and unable to lift. He steadied himself, and just as he looked up, he saw a giant maw descending.
"No, no!"
Dominic shouted.
But in the next moment, the giant maw swallowed him, its sharp teeth closing, crushing his body and consuming him.
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Translation by: randomtranslator.com
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