Chapter 358 - Rending Strike

Two groups of 30+ people each were facing off against one another in what looked like a runway. There were wrecked, still burning remains of small ships along one side.

Energy blasts from ranged weapons and sword lights shot from one place to another, occasionally followed by an ear-piercing scream.

"Stay close! Watch your fire!"

"Yes sir!"

"Yes sir!"

A bearded man shouted at a group of ship crew members while swinging his gigantic ax in front of him, pushing away a few beastmen that were trying to break through their lines.

The man looked no older than 40. He had a muscular build and would remind anyone of the Vikings back from earth, especially with his current attire which left him topless, exposing numerous scars and tattoos. There was a glass bottle in his right hand which he would take a sip from every few seconds.

He was the one in charge of this entire side of the ship. But like almost every other department, he was also severely understaffed with only about 5 actual cultivators under him while the rest were barely able to use Qi channelers skillfully.

*Crack*

*Shatter*

Suddenly, the barrier that was standing between the main pirate fleet and the rest of the ship cracked and finally broke from the continuous barrage of cannon fire.

The bearded man's pupils contracted while the grin on his face vanished. He looked back and saw the main doors that separated about 5,000 civilians from the wretched scum that were now increasing in number by the second.

Since the barrier was gone, more and more pirates started landing on the runway. Some were on flying beasts that looked like Pterodactyls, while others were capable of flight themselves. Eight entire vessels had entered the ship's air space and were beginning to land.

Within moments there would be hundreds of them here.

"Stay together and slowly fall back. Do not leave anyone behind! Move towards the door!" he ordered grimly. There was a smaller barrier surrounding the door, that was their aim.

While bringing up the rear himself, he quickly clicked on his spirit band and dialed a number.

"What the hell is going on? Where is our backup? The outer barrier is down and if they are not stopped here, all those people's deaths are on you motherf*ckers!"

Before the other party could even say anything, he started yelling and cursing at them as loudly as possible. But the response he was expecting didn't come. There was silence for a few seconds followed by a sigh.

"Matheo, there is no backup, Hanger 3 is completely lost. Everyone inside is dead. The department heads are coming down themselves but it will be a few minutes. If the situation gets bad, just retreat with your men. There is no reason for you to die as well. The civilian's families will be appropriately compensated by the company," a solemn voice replied, leaving Matheo stupified.

It took him a few seconds to wrap his mind around what he had just heard. His expression turned ugly as he spoke in a deep voice.

"So you want me to leave these civilians and run away on my own? Do you think money will make their families happy? Do you think it will solve ANYTHING? DON'T BULLSHIT ME MOTHERF*CKER! TELL THOSE C*NTS TO GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" yelling at the top of his lungs he hung up before they could respond.

The 27 people still alive behind him looked at him with helpless gazes. They were all used to his occasional outbursts. A girl of about 23-24 years of age walked forward while waving the shortswords in her hand.

"Relax commander, it's all good. We have gotten out of worse situations. At most we'll die, at best we'll take a few hundred with us. That's not so bad. Right guys?" she asked the others that were beside her and every one of them promptly nodded their heads.

Matheo was one of the four profound realm experts in charge of the defense of the ship. Each one was responsible for 1 hanger and its surrounding areas. He had been serving for over 10 years but had never lost a single civilian under his protection.

He surveyed his men and his chest puffed out subconsciously. From the bottom of his heart, he was feeling proud to be able to serve with these bunch of 'b*stards' as he would call them.

"God damn right! What is death?!"

"Just a new beginning!" all of them shouted in unison.

"If you are afraid then go inside right now, this is a place for actual warriors!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!"

"Fight! Fight!"

Not a single person retreated, even the ones that were using Qi channelers didn't take a single step back.

Matheo nodded and looked out towards the runway. There were more than 200 pirates gathered there already, firing and banging at the barrier.

"It has been a pleasure!" he mumbled and gulped down the rest of the contents of the glass bottle, breaking it on his head. He grasped the Ax with both hands and let out one last battle cry.

"FIGHT! KILL! We do not need to win, just stall them here for a few more minutes!" without waiting for anyone else to make a move, he leaped out of the barrier himself and unleashed the entirety of his cultivation.

"Law of Mercy!"

A blue energy surrounded him from head to toe and created an armor. It went into the Ax, making it light up with numerous sigils, spelling out the word 'mercy' with them.

*Slash*

"Rending strike!" like a tornado he started spinning around with the Ax extended outward and shot directly into the biggest group of pirates, splattering blood and body parts everywhere.