Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 30 The Way to Death
"Captain, they want to land in small boats!"

"Full speed ahead, ram them!"

"what?"

"What the enemy approves of, we must oppose! The enemy is already prepared for a landing operation, but we'll fight a skirmish! Charge!"

Shi Ming took the helm personally, quickly adjusting the angle of the entire drifting boat and increasing its speed to the maximum.

With a powerful roar, the drifting ship, like a wild horse that had broken free, crashed into the Sakura, which was eighty meters away.

The hull hardness and strength of a Silver-class drifting ship are at least five times that of a Bronze-class ship; in a violent collision, only the other side will suffer.

However, few people have ever done this kind of opening before.

There are very few bronze ships that have the courage to challenge silver ships.

He had to admire the courage of the woman in hunting attire.

Eighty meters was a very close distance, leaving little time for the enemy to react. In no time, the collision of the two ships created a violent shockwave.

Shi Ming stood at the bow to maintain his balance and was not affected in the slightest. The other ship, however, was much more unlucky in the violent collision. Less than a quarter the size of the Silver Ship, although its hull was not punctured, it rocked violently. Many crew members did not have time to react and fell onto the deck unexpectedly.

"What a courage!"

The middle-aged woman in the hunting outfit was stunned. She really hadn't expected this kid to be so tough!

How dare an ordinary nobody working for Chunyi come up here to court death?

Shi Ming drew his sword.

"Martial arts?" The woman in hunting attire wiped her mouth. "You can't beat me with martial arts! Our country's fighting techniques are the foundation of martial arts!"

"ridiculous!"

As the two ships collided, many of the exploration team members began to seize the initiative. They took the weapons that Shi Ming had distributed to them earlier and rushed forward as the other ship rocked violently.

“You are young and full of spirit,” the woman in hunting attire said.

“If I had met a man like you years ago, I would never have killed you. Instead, I would have kept you around to enjoy you slowly.” She glanced at Shi Ming. “But now, I understand that men are the root of all evil. I am superior to Chunyi in every way, yet I am still not valued by the general because of my gender. But now that Chunyi is dead on the new island, I will kill you and slowly unlock the ship’s permissions. Then it will be mine.”

Shi Ming didn't want to waste words with this woman. He gripped his horizontal sword tightly, and with the awakening enhancement, the blade began to hum, as if it were emitting a desire for battle.

Zheng——

In a flash, the two blades clashed.

In the first clash, Shi Ming used less than a quarter of his strength, and the woman's right hand even went numb from the impact of the swords.

???

"My Snow-Slaying Blade Technique is inherited from my family, and no one is more skilled in it than me. How could this kid possibly go toe-to-toe with me? Could he also be an Awakened One?"

The woman in hunting attire was taken aback, a sense of unease creeping into her heart.

Her family is a prestigious samurai family. She has been training in fighting skills and swordsmanship since she was a child, and it has been more than 30 years now. Even when the world entered an era of wandering, she has never relaxed and has been practicing hard every day.

Unexpectedly, a young man in his early twenties was able to go toe-to-toe with her and not be at a disadvantage.
"I haven't used my full strength yet! Again!" the woman roared.

"As you wish!" Shi Ming rushed forward.

By taking others as a mirror, we can understand our own gains and losses.

A warrior can only improve through combat; working in isolation will only waste one's potential. Fighting other Awakened Ones is the only way to enhance one's strength. This woman is the second Awakened One he has encountered, a formidable opponent.

It's also a good whetstone.

This is his best chance to understand the strength of other Awakened Ones and to compare the differences between S-rank, D-rank, and C-rank.

Therefore, he did not use the Arm of Power for the time being, and his power was well controlled. *Clang—*

boom--

After exchanging two blows, the woman was filled with shock.

She originally thought that after Junichi died while exploring the new island, the remaining crew on the ship were just a rabble, and the ship's fighting force had been mostly exhausted, making it a weak point in both offense and defense. But she didn't expect that this kid would be so good at fighting, actually putting her at a disadvantage.

No more time to waste.

We must finish this quickly and use our awakened power to kill this brat.

The woman in hunting attire thought to herself.

But what this woman didn't know was that Shi Ming's sparring with him so far was only to assess the difference between S-level power and ordinary awakened individuals.

The horizontal sword in Shi Ming's hand trembled sharply once again.

After several exchanges, the purpose of testing each other has been achieved.

Wasting any more time could lead to unnecessary casualties on board. The crew is already short-handed; if more die or are injured, I, as the captain, might have to do the work myself.

This was something he couldn't stand.

"With such limited skills, you still dare to come here and provoke us?" Shi Ming said.

His right hand, gripping the knife, rapidly increased its strength, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to his opponent.

"Didn't your captain teach you that arrogance is a fatal flaw?"

The woman was successfully provoked.

In her view, Shi Ming was able to inherit the ship because the captain handed over control to him before his death. After all, if it hadn't been passed down by the previous owner, inheriting the ship would have required spending a great deal of time cracking many of the ship's systems, something that couldn't be done in a day or two.

Therefore, she was even more unwilling.

Why is it that these people can easily obtain better resources, while they themselves, whose bloodline and skills are no less than others, can only own a lowest-grade bronze drifting ship?

"He only taught me that false self-confidence can lead to death."

The knife in Shi Ming's hand, carrying immense force, slashed towards the woman before him.

The woman with her hair tied up in a bun didn't flinch; she just smiled, her hair falling loose down her back.

Her skin became rough, like the cement floor that Shi Ming had seen before.

Don't rush, kid!

Let me show you my awakened skill! This was prepared for your captain! Who would have thought he'd be so foolish as to die on that island! That island was my gift to him, a fatal gift!

The woman thought to herself.

The power of awakening gave her ample confidence.

A distorted smile appeared at the corners of her mouth.

C-rank Awakening Skill!

Hard steel shell!

This is a skill she awakened three years ago in a pool of blood and gore after killing a gray-armored crab!
Once used, her skin will harden, greatly enhancing her defense and making her impervious to knives, guns, and bullets.

Even if shot at close range with a hunting rifle, not a single mark will be left on the skin!
This is what she considers her source of confidence!

Shi Ming grinned. "C-level?"
Let's see if my knife is harder, or your skin is harder!
(End of this chapter)