HLnovel Chapter 22 Relentless Pursuit
Chapter 22 Relentless Pursuit
Henry immediately changed his target and charged at him, but the man drew his sword in time to parry.
The attack was blocked, and upon seeing this, Henry immediately aimed at the opponent's weapon and launched an attack.
The soldier raised his sword to parry again, but Henry broke the entire sword in two.
Soldiers without weapons are like fish on a chopping board; with Henry's next swing of the axe, they too become victims of Henry's blade.
However, the soldier's earlier shouts had already attracted the attention of the other soldiers.
A soldier with a gun appeared in front of Henry, and another soldier drew his sword and rushed out from inside the house, the two of them surrounding Henry from both sides.
The situation was very unfavorable for Henry.
Engaging in sword combat can lead to prolonged grappling, which means that your back may be exposed to an enemy on your blind side for an extended period of time.
On the battlefield, a moment's carelessness can have a fatal price.
If they can get close to the armed enemy, the situation will turn into a one-sided massacre, and the battle may end instantly!
Henry immediately made a decisive move and charged toward the pikemen.
This is a high-stakes gamble; a stab is hard to avoid, and Henry could very well fall victim to a gunshot.
The spearmen retreated while simultaneously retaliating with their spears.
Fortunately, Henry was lightly equipped and had a significant speed advantage.
He was only stabbed in the skin under his armpit, yet the distance between them was reduced.
Henry did not hesitate for a moment and slashed at the other man's arm.
The soldier's right arm, along with his arm guard, was neatly severed, and blood gushed from the end of the severed limb.
He loosened his grip on the gun with his left hand, clutched his wound, and howled in pain.
While backing away, he tripped and fell to the ground in his panic.
This man had already lost his fighting ability, so Henry immediately turned around and focused on dealing with the last remaining enemy.
Only then did they realize that the other side had already closed in and launched an attack.
Henry had no time to block and could only try to dodge.
But he was still hit in the left arm.
Fortunately, although the wound was deep, the angle at which the opponent swung the sword was not ideal, and the iron sword was blocked by the bone, preventing it from advancing further.
Henry immediately retaliated, swinging his axe with one hand, but unfortunately, due to insufficient strength, it was deflected by his opponent's sword.
This is bad; Henry's left hand is now completely unable to be raised.
Henry's fighting skills were not top-notch, and he was able to fight almost entirely thanks to this enchanted axe.
However, the axe is a weapon that requires a great deal of strength. If you cannot use both hands, you will not be able to gain any advantage in the fight.
We must find another way.
Henry chose to retreat, running around the stone house, and sure enough, the soldiers gave chase.
The soldiers, clad in armor, had no chance of catching up with Henry.
After rounding two corners, Henry lay in ambush behind the wall, listening to the distinctive clatter of the enemy's plate armor as they ran.
coming!
The moment the soldier came into view, Henry leaped up, raised his axe, and swung it down.
Since the strength of one hand is not enough, then use body weight to increase the power!
However, the soldier seemed to have been prepared, and immediately parried the sword above his head.
But this was within Henry's expectations; he certainly wouldn't pray that such a simple tactic would work.
And what he was aiming at was the opponent's weapon.
The enchanted axe struck the opponent's sword heavily, but although the force was still somewhat lacking, it did not break the sword directly.
However, this also left deep cracks in the area where the knife was struck.
After landing, Henry slashed forward again.
The soldiers blocked them calmly, however...
The sword broke at the crack.
Henry saw the bewildered look in the soldier's eyes beneath his half-helmet.
He showed no mercy, and with another blow, Henry extinguished the soldiers' pointless emotions.
Without any hesitation, Henry immediately found the spearman and, amidst his pleas for mercy, killed him.
Looking back, the ground was littered with corpses, and even the snow-white stone walls were stained red.
"I am still a pirate," Henry thought breathlessly. "When I kill, my emotions don't even falter."
Henry swung the axe in mid-air, scattering blood droplets in all directions, before walking straight toward the stone house door.
Upon entering the house, one immediately sees Wall and Wilson, bound hand and foot and thrown into a corner.
Henry could tell from the bruises on their faces that the two men had suffered some hardship.
The two men stared intently at Henry, who slowly approached them, pondering how to deal with them.
If this reactionary group is really a headache, dealing with them here might be a good option.
He had just verified that killing could not shake his resolve.
Even if these two were his crew members, that's probably the case.
Henry tightened his grip on the axe in his right hand. Since letting the two men onto the ship was difficult for him, he might as well give them a quick death to spare them the torment of the loyal dogs, since they would ultimately still not escape death.
Just as Henry was about to make his move, Wall spoke up:
"If it were Mattim, he definitely wouldn't have gotten hurt."
Pirates are always sharp-tongued and sarcastic; don't expect them to be gentle and kind.
These words sounded sarcastic at first glance, but Henry could tell they were a compliment.
Henry swung his axe forward...
The ropes binding the two were cut.
Henry chose to save them, but not out of kindness.
All the shrimp on the Flying Sail were completely convinced of the old octopus, Mattim.
Wall's comparison of Henry to Matim shows that he has now truly accepted Henry.
If the leaders of the reactionaries on board all bowed down at Henry's feet.
Therefore, Henry will no longer need to worry about his team's cohesion, and the internal strife crisis on the ship can be declared over.
After stretching their stiffened bodies from the ropes, Wall and Wilson said coldly:
"I'm gone."
The three quickly left the ravaged battlefield and headed to the warehouse where they were to meet.
Not long after, Benson returned as well.
They carried the goods to the location where the ship was hidden.
The small boat glided leisurely across the sea, Benson and Wall rowing, while Henry leaned against the bow, gazing toward the harbor.
The thick smoke has dissipated, and the fire Benson started should have been extinguished.
The four remained silent, probably because they were all exhausted.
Wall and Wilson made no comment regarding Henry's rescue of the two men.
There was neither apology nor gratitude.
However, Wilson tore off his own clothes and silently began to treat the wounds on Henry's left arm and chest.
Sweet words without sugar, ruthless acquisition with plenty of grain.
All pirates believed that talking was pointless; they only felt safe when they had something in their hands.
They prefer to let their actions speak louder than their words.
They then returned safely to the Soaring.
The shrimps began to divide up the newly purchased wine, while Henry stood at the bow of the ship, gazing at the horizon.
But his eyes seemed unfocused.
Henry followed a flawed lead to Elbow Point, but Natalie disembarked midway through the harbor.
Why did she disembark? And where was she going?
Henry had no idea that even if he returned to the port now, it would take time.
At that time, he would be two months behind Natalie, and the area he needed to search would be so vast that it would drive Henry to despair.
To make matters worse, the Soaring Spacecraft is unable to take flight on land.
The chances of finding Natalie had long since become extremely slim.
I made a promise to the curator... Henry was melancholy and sad... But what should I do now?
After leaving the library, Henry felt lost for the first time; he had lost his way.
Suddenly, someone reported to Henry:
"Boss, ship spotted!"
Henry pulled himself together and, following the other person's directions, looked eastward.
It was a three-deck, four-masted sailing ship with a black hull and a huge ram with prominent horns on its bow.
The cross-shaped sword and knife pattern painted on the mainsail, and the skull and crossbow flag flying on the mainmast, all proclaimed that it was a pirate ship.
"What a huge guy!"
Some people sighed.
No, Henry frowned as he recalled, that was the Black Goat!
The Black Goat was the most sturdy pirate ship. Both pirates and sailors feared it. It sailed the seas for decades and was always invincible.
Henry recognized it at a glance, and he was absolutely certain he wasn't mistaken.
Because his father was once the octopus on that ship, and Henry was supposed to inherit it.
He would never forget how he escaped death from that ship and spent six years in a library on the edge of the world.
Just moments before, Henry had been confused, but now his eyes were unusually firm, and his pupils seemed to be burning with a raging fire.
Henry never expected that he would encounter it again.
And since the sea god was guiding him with ocean currents, and Henry had just lost his target...
Henry ordered, "Weigh anchor, hoist the sails, and head for that ship!"
All the crew members were stunned for a moment, until they saw Henry's unwavering face, and then they realized that Henry was not joking.
The anchor was slowly pulled up, the sails gradually rose, and the Soaring began to move on the sea.
Henry smiled; his earlier hunch had been right, and he was indeed going to "reunite" with his loved one today.
However, the person he reunited with was not Natalie, but the Black Goat, Henry's past as a pirate, and the grudges and entanglements he had temporarily forgotten!
Henry just wanted to get closer to the Black Goat as soon as possible, although even he himself didn't know what the point of approaching it so rashly was.
Suddenly, Benson, who was positioned below the megaphone, shouted:
"Boss! Something's up. We've spotted another ship to the north."
Henry was startled and looked north.
It was a beige boat with a hunting dog sculpture at the bow.
Hubert Payton!
Henry pounded his fist on the railing, gritting his teeth as he said:
"That damn loyal dog, always ruining my plans!"
Since the loyal dog caught up here so quickly, it means that he saw through Henry's trick and did not chase after the false bait that Henry had set out. Instead, he rushed in the opposite direction and finally found the Soaring.
Should I praise his keen intuition? Henry wondered to himself, or compliment his sensitive nose?
It can only be said that it is a loyal dog, and it is also a very troublesome opponent, causing Henry a lot of trouble.
The appearance of the third ship made the situation extremely complicated.
At the same time, it also made Henry calm and clear-headed.
The situation is spiraling out of control, and no matter how eager Henry is to settle old scores, the time is hardly ripe.
Benson asked:
"Boss, what do we do?"
"Turn the boat around and sail with the wind!"
Henry squinted at the dog-headed ship, took a deep breath, and solemnly gave the order.
Since the loyal dog wouldn't let go, the seagull had no choice but to spread its wings and flee!