Swords, magic, and martial arts

Quentin and several sailors also ran up the stairs leading to the cabin. His head and hands were covered in blood, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath, and he looked extremely angry.

"They killed Allen, Bill, Carey... If I hadn't blocked it with my hand, I would have died up there too. I'll make them pay for this in blood later," Quentin said angrily.

Rhodes patted him on the shoulder, offered a few words of comfort, and told him to take his crew down to get their weapons first.

After a while, the people on the boat stopped throwing.

"They definitely still have that kind of weapon, they just stopped when they saw everyone on deck was dead, and they'll continue as soon as we peek out," Baron told Rhodes.

"I think they're on the landing deck now. Let's get out there quickly. If they're landing, we'll try to cross halfway; if not, we'll storm their ship," Rod said quickly.

Baron was about to ask what "halfway across" meant when he saw Rod rush out, and he followed after him with his water-milled staff.

Once on deck, they found that the situation was similar to what Rod had expected. The ship opposite had lowered ropes, and people were constantly climbing down to board their ship. Several fast climbers had already boarded.

Rod charged forward with his sword and slashed diagonally at a river pirate.

The sword moved so fast that before the river pirates could even raise their hands to parry, Rod decapitated them with a single stroke.

Rod quickly dodged a river pirate's thrusting sword with a sidestep, and then delivered a powerful Taizu Long Fist to the chest of another river pirate, sending him flying into the air.

Before he could even marvel at his increased strength, Rhodes dodged several attacks in quick succession, retreated to a suitable position, and warily eyed the river pirates opposite him with his sword in hand.

If he were given another chance, he would definitely go down, put on the dragon scale armor, grab the two-handed sword, and come back again.

Without his dragon scale armor, he dared not be as reckless as before. He had already discovered during the battle at White Deer Fortress that the Golden Bell and Iron Shirt techniques couldn't completely withstand a full-force sword thrust. If that cavalryman had been able to hold out a little longer, the outcome of that battle would certainly have been different.

Rod glanced at Baron's situation and saw him fighting several river pirates simultaneously with his ink-wash staff. Baron, who was not familiar with this weapon, was still able to suppress several fierce river pirates.

Feeling they had a numerical advantage, the river pirates charged toward Rhodes together.

Rhodes instinctively used the White Rainbow Sword Technique, which he had mastered to an unparalleled degree, to parry their attacks.

Although the horizontal scalpel and the sword are not much different, Rhodes felt a very awkward and uncomfortable feeling when using the White Rainbow Sword Technique with it, which is why he was slashed several times by the river pirates.

The sword could only slash at Rhodes, who was not wearing dragon scale armor and was only protected by the Golden Bell Iron Shirt. Some attacks that did not exert their full force could only leave a bloody mark on his body.

Rhodes deliberately met a rusty one-handed sword slashed down by a river pirate.

The rusty one-handed sword landed on Rhodes' shoulder, leaving only a red mark without even breaking the skin, while Rhodes used his sharp dagger to pierce the river pirate's vulnerable throat.

Blood gushed from the hole in his throat, the scalding blood splattering onto Rhodes' right hand. The river pirate clutched his neck and collapsed to his knees, coughing up bright red blood.

After drawing his sword, Rhodes dodged several attacks by turning around several times, but he was still slashed on the back by a one-handed sword, feeling the pain of his skin being cut.

"Hold on!" Quentin shouted from behind as he led a group of crew members armed with knives and swords back onto the deck.

Their arrival made the deck even more chaotic, and the young crew members were no match for the experienced river pirates.

Rhodes had previously worried that he wouldn't be able to distinguish friend from foe once his crew joined the battle, but now he realized he had been overthinking it.

Those with youthful faces and clumsy fighting skills were on his side, while those with fierce appearances and cautious fighting skills were his enemies.

Quentin seemed to have some skill, wielding a war club and defeating several river pirates.

The already cramped deck was packed with people, and people kept falling to the ground, never to get up again.

Rhodes found an opportunity to retreat to the back, and with a mental spell, he used a spellball to lift up the river pirates while they were focused on fighting, and threw them into the river.

This only temporarily relieved their pressure. It was summer, and the skilled river pirates could climb out of the water and rejoin the fight in no time.

After doing all this, he felt that his magic power was insufficient and he could no longer throw anyone down.

The Mage Ball is the simplest beginner-level spell. It is weak but consumes a lot of mana. The mana he just used was actually enough to cast an expert-level spell, such as Incinerate or Thunderstorm.

It's a pity he doesn't know how; otherwise, one spell would have crippled or killed everyone on the deck.

After throwing several people into the river, Rod returned to the battle with his sword.

Rhodes attempted to channel his inner force into the horizontal sword, and a layer of sword energy appeared on the surface of the sword. Rhodes tried to launch the sword energy like sword energy, but found that the sword energy still adhered steadily to the surface of the horizontal sword.

With the added power of the blade's energy, the horizontal sword became incredibly sharp. Rhode severed several weapons that tried to parry his attacks and even decapitated their owners.

Rhodes traversed the battlefield, specifically seeking out lone river pirates, and could take one down in just a few rounds.

Even so, river pirates still have the upper hand; an ordinary river pirate can hold his own against an attack from two crew members.

Baron's performance improved as the fight progressed. Previously, he could only barely suppress five or six river pirates, but now he was able to occasionally take down a life even when facing an attack from eight or nine river pirates.

Rod couldn't figure out whether these river pirates came to rob or to kill.

If they were there to rob, they should have demanded tolls or goods after ramming the ship. Instead, they immediately declared they would kill everyone on the "Flyer," which Rhodes found strange. Killing everyone before robbing would have cost them dearly; it was better to use intimidation tactics and then threaten them to demand their goods.

River pirates kept climbing down the ropes from their boats, which made the young crew members, who had never experienced real combat, feel desperate.

Having experienced the slaughterhouse-like Battle of White Harts, Rhodes now only finds this situation a bit troublesome.

"Kids, hold on! If we lose, we're all going to die here! They won't give us a chance to live!" Quentin shouted. The crew on this ship were all his relatives and descendants, so he could easily call out to the kids.

Based on his years of experience sailing this river, if these river pirates were there to rob, the pirates, having gained such an advantage, would try to stop the fight and give them a chance to buy their lives, which would be beneficial to both sides.

The adventurers and mercenaries who rode in the flying vehicles also put on their equipment and boarded the deck to join the battle. They had been observing and thought that they could just pay to settle the matter, but they did not expect that the river pirates on the other side were determined to kill them all.

"Close your eyes." A familiar voice echoed in Rhodes' mind.

For some reason, Rhodes obeyed the voice's command and closed his eyes during the battle. Not only him, but the crew and adventurers on the Flying Warriors' side also closed their eyes.

A golden ball of light rapidly rose into the sky and then exploded. If Rhodes could see it, he would surely think it was more beautiful than any fireworks he had ever seen before.

The orb of light exploded, and dazzling golden light filled the area around the two ships, but it was quickly swallowed up by the night.

When Rhodes opened his eyes again, the river pirates opposite him were blinking their eyes, which were stung by the bright light. After being stimulated by the bright light, they could not see anything.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Rod picked up his sword and swiftly began reaping the lives of the river pirates...

……