The crimson moon hung high. Klein walked over to
Crevis's female companion Cecil let out a clear sigh of relief, picked up the rifle on the deck, bent over, and quickly moved to another direction, still about ten meters away from the pork and beef entrails sprinkled with pepper.
"Uncle, is it starting..." The young girl with playful freckles, Donna, suddenly felt a bit nervous, but her face showed curiosity and anticipation.
Klein raised his left index finger and pressed it to his lips, signaling the two underage kids to be quiet.
At times like this, he couldn't help but thank Roselle. Because of the efforts of that predecessor transmigrator, some of his habitual gestures had become standard body language across the Northern Continent, avoiding misunderstandings.
He had heard that in the early Fifth Epoch, the gesture for "don't speak" meant an insult in Loën, and in some places in the Southern Continent, it meant "kiss me"... Klein's thoughts momentarily wandered.
Donna and Denton didn't dare to speak anymore and quietly crouched there, focusing on watching Crevis prepare for battle.
The former adventurer picked up a fishing rod and cast the line with a piece of pork and beef entrails over the gunwale.
Plop. The bait entered the water.
Crevis unhurriedly scattered the remaining entrails, took his weapon, and stepped back one by one, hiding in the shadow opposite Cecil. The line between the two of them and the gunwale where the fishing rod was set formed an angle of about 60 degrees.
Leaning the triangular bayonet and other weapons nearby, he raised the rifle and aimed, testing the feel.
The deck fell completely silent, leaving only the roar of the steam engine and the sound of waves hitting the ship.
Time ticked by, and Donna and Denton couldn't help but change from crouching to sitting, leaning their backs against the cabin boards to relieve the numbness in their legs.
Just then, they saw the fishing rod on the gunwale sink down.
A muffled scraping sound quickly rose, getting closer and closer. Suddenly, a figure jumped onto the deck.
It was a monster bathed in the crimson moonlight, its body covered in dark green scales, with a greenish mucus flowing from it.
It didn't have much resemblance to a human; it was like a giant fish with sturdy limbs, with distinct webs between its fingers and toes.
This fishman was over 1.9 meters tall, with bulging eyes, gills on its cheeks, and an appearance like a legendary demon. Donna covered her mouth with her hand to keep from screaming instinctively.
At the same time, she also covered her brother Denton's mouth.
Not bad awareness... Klein laughed inwardly and carefully observed the fishman.
Unlike the "Sailor" out-of-control individuals he had seen before, the real fishman didn't have a human-like head; it was purely a monster.
The fishman looked around with some vigilance, then crouched down, picked up the scattered pork and beef entrails on the deck, quickly stuffed them into its mouth, and made distinct chewing sounds.
In its mostly white eyes, the luster gradually dissipated, as if it had fallen into a daze.
Low intelligence... Klein shook his head, making a judgment.
Bang!
Crevis pulled the trigger. A bullet flew out of the rifle and instantly hit the fishman's chest and abdomen, smashing scales and splattering blood and flesh.
"Wah!" The fishman let out a cry like a child's wail, pushed off with its hands, and pounced on Crevis in the shadows, as fast as a steam train.
At that moment, Cecil from the other position also opened fire.
Bang!
The rifle bullet hit the fishman's side rib, breaking off many bits of scale and making its tall figure stagger.
The fishman that had eaten the pepper appeared visibly sluggish. It stopped there, unsure which enemy to deal with first.
This gave Crevis and Cecil the opportunity to calmly reload.
They aimed again and pulled the triggers one after the other.
Bang! Bang!
Blood blossoms bloomed one after another. The pain returned clarity to the fishman's eyes.
It rolled and dodged the subsequent shots, then closed in on Crevis as if unharmed.
Crevis calmly put down his rifle and picked up the triangular bayonet leaning beside him.
Instead of ducking away, he leaped forward, rolled to the side of the fishman, and violently and accurately plunged the bayonet into the broken scales on its side rib.
The fishman spun around abruptly, bringing a gust of wind, and forcibly threw off the bayonet along with Crevis, sending the former adventurer crashing heavily onto the deck with a thud.
The fishman shook its head, as if feeling great discomfort in its body. It stopped attacking Crevis and Cecil, strode toward the gunwale, and tried to leap into the sea.
Bang!
Cecil's bullet hit it again, creating a bloody blossom, but still didn't incapacitate it.
With two thumping steps, the fishman ran to the right spot, bent its knees, ready to jump.
But then its body went weak, and it failed to gather enough strength. Its jump was clearly insufficient, and it could only fall back onto the inside of the gunwale.
Bang!
Bearing the damage from the rifle, the fishman tried to climb over the gunwale.
Seeing that it was about to escape, Klein drew his revolver.
Just then, a loud bang came from another direction!
The fishman's left eye immediately turned into a bloody hole, through which could be faintly seen a pale, wriggling gelatinous substance inside.
It was not dead yet. Lying near the cabin, it struggled to crawl, trying to stand up again.