Chapter 56: A Crimson Sun

“How is it, my dear Hidden Dragon? What do you think of these gauntlets?” Achilles laughed heartily.

Lu Ming glanced impassively at his right fist and replied, “They’re nothing special.”

Achilles burst into laughter again. “Then let me show you how powerful they truly are,” he said, charging once more, both fists blazing with blood-red battle energy, descending upon Lu Ming like meteors from the heavens.

Meanwhile, Adolf, moving like a phantom, hid beneath Achilles’s shadow, slashing fiercely at Lu Ming’s waist with his blade. Given the dagger’s sharpness, a single touch would surely cleave Lu Ming in two.

All the big shots present sighed, unwilling to watch further. The two attackers moved in perfect harmony, wielding the latest high-tech weaponry, while Lu Ming faced them alone, already at a disadvantage, and now bare-handed. How could he possibly survive?

Yet at that moment, Lu Ming let out a booming laugh. His right fist met Achilles’s descending blows head-on, while his left foot flashed with golden light, sweeping sideways toward the attacking Adolf.

Achilles wore a confident grin, exerting even more force with his fists. Adolf narrowed his eyes, shifting his dagger to intercept Lu Ming’s left foot.

With a thunderous crash, Lu Ming and Achilles collided again. Achilles, as if struck by a cannon, had both arms broken and was punched in the chest, sent flying through the air. He spat out a mouthful of blood, spun around without hesitation, and charged at the cruise ship’s bulkhead. With a resounding crash, his body created a gaping hole in the thick wall. Without looking back, Achilles sprinted across the sea, making his escape.

Meanwhile, Adolf’s dagger slashed at Lu Ming’s ankle, only to ring out with a metallic clang. The dark matter alloy dagger, said to be able to cut anything, failed even to scratch Lu Ming’s skin.

As Adolf was struck dumb with horror, Lu Ming’s foot, imbued with overwhelming force, landed squarely on his body. Adolf spun through the air, crashed to the ground, and vomited blood endlessly, unable to move.

Lu Ming stared at the fleeing Achilles and called out coldly, “You think you can run?”

He drew a deep breath, and his right fist lashed out into the air. “Go to hell!”

Achilles, racing desperately across the sea, was terrified beyond measure. During their first exchange, he hadn’t sensed anything remarkable about Lu Ming. He’d been confident that one full-powered blow from his dark matter gauntlets would be fatal for Lu Ming.

But in the next clash, Lu Ming seemed transformed, like a descendent of the gods, breaking Achilles’s arms with a single punch and crashing through his chest. That one strike left Achilles gravely wounded, and he immediately understood that even combined with Adolf, they were no match for Lu Ming.

He reacted instantly, smashing through the bulkhead to escape, hoping to reach the warship and use its powerful artillery to kill Lu Ming, securing a slim chance at survival.

But at that moment, he felt a tremendous force surge behind him. He tried to evade, but it was too late. The force, like a shell fired from a cannon, slammed into his spine, nearly splitting him in two.

Achilles’s body arched backward, flung into the air. His massive frame crashed onto the sea’s surface, sinking slowly beneath the waves.

Not only were all the big shots stunned, but even the pirates stood frozen in shock. From the moment Achilles attacked to breaking through the bulkhead, Adolf gravely injured, Achilles sinking into the sea—all had occurred in the blink of an eye.

They had not yet grasped what happened, and their leaders were already dead or incapacitated.

At that moment, Adolf, his face pale as gold leaf and vomiting blood, used the last of his strength to speak into his collar communicator: “Fire! Sink the Phoenix! Kill everyone!”

Even the pirates were shocked—why would their leader order the Phoenix sunk, disregarding their own lives?

Adolf knew they had severely underestimated Lu Ming’s power; Lu Ming was verging on something non-human. Adolf suspected that even a direct hit from the warship’s giant cannon would not harm him.

But this was his last resort. As a mercenary leader, even in death, he wanted to take down as many as possible—and the people here were more than enough.

Just then, Lu Ming suddenly let out a long, resounding howl.

An overwhelmingly terrifying aura swept through the entire hall. Everyone present felt a profound fear deep within their souls, as if an unknown, ancient, and immensely powerful beast was about to descend and devour them whole.

In that moment, all they wished was to kneel and submit before this dreadful presence, to offer their highest reverence.

Yet, under this aura, they could not even move their eyes; beyond the boundless terror within, even their consciousness seemed frozen.

Lu Ming stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the blood-spewing Adolf. “Let you and your men accompany my fallen brothers in death,” he said coldly.

He suddenly shouted, “Explode!”

Instantly, Adolf and all the pirates’ bodies burst into clouds of blood mist, scattering across the hall.

This was an ability Lu Ming had gained after consuming the dragon and mastering the Dragon Ascension Technique: Dragon Might!

Dragon Might, a talent from the ancient world, belonging to the highest creatures, could suppress nearly all others. Even ancient beasts trembled before it, let alone frail humans.

After a moment, the terrifying aura gradually dissipated. The crowd finally regained their freedom, staring at Lu Ming in terror, unable to comprehend what he had done.

This was an ability only gods possessed.

At that moment, three thunderous booms echoed—the warship’s main cannons fired again.

The crowd suddenly remembered: though the pirate leaders were dead, the warship remained outside. On Adolf’s order, it had begun firing without restraint.

With the warship’s terrifying barrage, they feared that within a few minutes, the Phoenix would be blasted to pieces, and they would all be lost to the depths.

Just then, Lu Ming said, “Send your men to deal with the pirates in the cockpit.”

With that, he leapt through the hole Achilles had made in the bulkhead and raced across the waves toward the warship.

His direction was unmistakably toward the warship.

Finally, Huo Xiangying was first to react, barking orders to his men: “Head to the cockpit and eliminate the remaining pirates!”

“Yes, sir!” Two men responded, rushing toward the cockpit. Though most of their strength had been spent, dealing with a small group of pirates would be easy.

Just then, a shrill whistling sounded overhead—the shells from the warship’s main cannons were about to fall.

Everyone stared at the screens in terror, watching as three shells streaked toward them, trailing flames.

If the Phoenix were struck repeatedly by the warship’s main cannons, no matter how large or advanced its hull, it would surely sink.

How could they survive in the vast ocean then?

At that moment, everyone saw Lu Ming, running across the sea, suddenly leap into the air, heading straight for the incoming shells.

The crowd gasped at the images. “What’s he doing?”

“Is he going to withstand the warship’s main cannons with nothing but his own body?”

“Impossible! No one can survive a direct hit from those cannons!”

As their cries rose, Lu Ming soared into the air. He drew his hands into circles, and the incoming shells seemed pulled by a powerful force; the three shells, originally scattered, converged toward Lu Ming.

“Oh my god.”

“Be careful!”

Watching this, everyone felt a surge of worry for Lu Ming.

But as the shells approached, Lu Ming exhaled, his hands coming together, a blinding golden light erupting from his body, like a crimson sun rising over the midnight sea.

With three thunderous explosions, dazzling fireworks burst in the sky. The crimson sun slowly fell to the surface of the sea.

“Is he all right?”

“This… This…”

“Please, let him be safe.”

“To withstand warship cannons with his flesh—he must be a demigod!”

As the crowd watched anxiously, the crimson sun wavered on the sea.

Everyone held their breath, watching intently.

Moments later, the red light faded, and Lu Ming’s upright figure appeared atop the waves. Apart from some torn clothing, he was otherwise unharmed.

A sudden wave of cheers erupted in the hall, as people rejoiced from the depths of their hearts at Lu Ming’s survival.

Just then, Lu Ming, lingering briefly on the sea, took off again, racing toward the warship.

“What is he doing?”

“Could he be planning to destroy the warship?”

Someone whispered in terror.

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