21: Chapter 21: Bloodbath on the Deck, A Brilliant Strike

Chen Rui's warning was like a stone thrown into stagnant water, instantly breaking the silence of the coast. Near the gangway, seven or eight Pirate Undead with ghostly green fire burning in their eye sockets, like a disturbed swarm of corpses, waved their rusty weapons and lunged silently but swiftly! The cold breath of death was like a physical wave, slapping against everyone's faces.

"Act according to plan!" Li Mubai's voice was steady and powerful, instantly suppressing the chill in everyone's hearts. The [Star Rail] on his shoulder shone brightly, its astrolabe spinning rapidly, projecting a miniature light and shadow that marked the positions, movement trajectories, and even the energy intensity of the undead ahead with different levels of brightness. "Three o'clock, the harpooner has the strongest energy! Eleven o'clock, the two swordsmen are the fastest!"

"Roger that!" Zhao Hu roared and charged forward instead of retreating, like a tiger out of its cage! [Combat Instinct] allowed him to accurately predict the slashing trajectory of the first charging swordsman undead; he slid low to the side, avoiding the rusty blade while his fist, wrapped in a faint current of air, smashed hard into the undead skeleton's ribs!

*Crack!* The sound of breaking bones rang out, but the undead only stumbled. With a flicker of ghostly fire, the broken bones actually showed signs of healing!

"Physical damage isn't very effective!" Zhao Hu shouted.

The Saber-toothed Tiger cub [Roar] on his shoulder let out a deafening Roar, sending out invisible sound waves mixed with Battle Intent. The ghostly fire in the eyes of those undead flickered noticeably, and their movements stalled for a moment! This Roar seemed to have an additional interference effect on spiritual bodies!

"Understood! Sun Yu, fire coverage!" Li Mubai immediately ordered.

"Watch me!" Sun Yu pushed out with both palms. The leaping spirit [Little Flame] beside him suddenly expanded, turning into a searing wave of fire that swept forward! Fire was indeed effective against these sinister things; the undead engulfed in flames let out silent shrieks (on a mental level), their tattered clothes ignited, their bones crackled as they burned, and their movements slowed significantly.

"Nice job!" Relying on [Agility Enhancement], Qian Xiaomin moved like a ghost along the edge of the battlefield. Her spirit [Swift Shadow] turned into a gray light, specifically attacking the wrist joints of the armed undead. Although she couldn't cause heavy damage, she effectively interfered with their attacks.

However, the undead were numerous and unafraid of pain. Several rusted scimitars and harpoons still came at them with a lethal, cold glint.

"Zheng Gang!" Li Mubai shouted.

"Strongwall, deploy!" Zheng Gang barked. The tortoise-shell-shaped spirit [Strongwall] in front of him instantly expanded, forming a pale yellow, translucent energy shield.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

The undead's attacks landed on the shield with dull thuds. The shield fluctuated violently, but it successfully blocked this concentrated wave of attacks. Zheng Gang's face turned pale; maintaining the shield clearly consumed a massive amount of energy.

"We'll be worn down at this rate! Their weakness is the ghostly fire in their heads!" Zhang Hao, who had been under protection, suddenly spoke up. His [Logical Connection] Talent allowed him to quickly analyze the undead's behavior patterns and damage reactions. "Silver Star, mark the real-time positions and energy flow nodes of all the undead's ghostly fire cores!"

"Marking complete." Blue light wove through [Silver Star]'s eyes. Instantly, on every teammate's visual assistance interface (connected via Team Cards), the ghostly fire inside each undead's skull was clearly highlighted, and they could even faintly see the subtle trajectories of energy flow.

"Zhou Mei, interfere with their energy flow! Wang Jingjing, find the structural weaknesses of the gangway! Lin Wan, prepare the power of nature and try to purify or dispel them!" Li Mubai instantly understood Zhang Hao's intention and issued a series of commands.

Zhou Mei took a deep breath. Her spirit [Tuning Fork] vibrated at a high frequency, emitting a specific sound wave that was almost imperceptible to the human ear but could cause disorder in energy bodies. The undead enveloped by the sound waves clearly became stiff and uncoordinated, and the ghostly fire in their eye sockets began to flicker.

Wang Jingjing's spirit [Logic Core] targeted the decaying gangway and hull structure, quickly analyzing them. "The third wooden plank on the back left of the gangway is the most corroded! The rivets on the right side of the hull are loose!"

"Zhao Hu! Attack the marked points! Sun Yu, focus fire on the one with the harpoon!" Li Mubai seized the opportunity.

Zhao Hu roared, abandoning his ineffective attacks on the torsos. His fist wind whistled as he aimed straight for the flickering ghostly fire inside the undead's head! [Roar] also lunged in coordination, its claws (though it was a cub, spirit attacks have innate energy attributes) tearing at the ghostly fire core!

*Pop!* Like a bubble bursting, the undead whose ghostly fire was hit let out a shrill mental wail, and its entire skeleton instantly collapsed to the ground, no longer moving.

Sun Yu also concentrated his fire. The waves of flame were no longer scattered but shot accurately like spears toward the head of the harpoon-wielding undead. Under Zhou Mei's sound wave interference and Silver Star's node marking, the fire hit its mark!

*Boom!* The harpoon-wielding undead's head was like a lit lantern; the ghostly green fire exploded violently and then completely extinguished.

The rhythm of the battle changed instantly! With precise weakness marking and effective interference, the team's efficiency increased greatly. Chen Rui also used his agility and stealth to strike from the shadows from time to time, using a specialized dagger (a low-level enchanted weapon obtained in the Dream World) to stab at the undead's ghostly fire.

Lin Wan tried to guide [Qingyu] to release green light spots full of vitality. When these light spots landed on the undead, although they couldn't purify them directly, they caused extreme discomfort, as if they were being burned. They let out even stronger mental shrieks, further weakening their offensive.

Finally, with everyone's tacit cooperation, the undead near the gangway were cleared out.

"Quick! Board the ship! There are even more undead on board!" Li Mubai urged.

The group quickly rushed up the decaying gangway. Before boarding, Zhang Hao took one last look at the battlefield while Silver Star quickly scanned and recorded the data of the undead remains. "These undead... seem to be bound and controlled by some kind of core." He noted this discovery and turned to follow the team.

The moment they stepped onto the deck of the "Sirens Wail," a thicker scent of blood, decay, and resentment hit them. The dilapidated deck was vast and fraught with danger; more ghostly green fire lit up in the shadows of the cabin and behind the broken masts, like countless malicious eyes staring at these uninvited guests.

The bloody battle on the deck had come to a temporary close, but the real challenge had only just begun. The journey to find the Mermaid's Teardrop was destined to proceed through thorns on a ghost ship infested with the undead.