Chapter 567: These Flies Are Unwanted
“So that person was the captain? He also jumped into the oil depot for a soak at the time, and then hurriedly left. It seemed like he had something urgent to do, but after that, he sent these two to stop me,” Sebastian said, pointing at the two corpses on the ground.
The flames by the engine had now slowly died down, and the soldier’s body was completely scorched. I thought the fire might spread directly to the oil depot and even cause a huge explosion, blowing up the entire ship.
However, not even the engine exploded. Only the area around the fuel pipe was singed black. It seemed the flammability of the fuel was just as it was, or perhaps because it hadn’t been started in too long, the remaining amount of fuel was actually not much?
“Who are they? They don’t look like crew members of Sturgeon No. 3, nor do they look like soldiers sent by Captain Delana. Their weapons are so unique.” I picked up the folding knife. It was full of delicate design and gleamed with a silver light; it was a very beautiful knife.
“They are crew members of the Iberian Royal Navy’s Invincible Armada, the ones who went missing after boarding the ship the day before yesterday. This folding knife and repeater crossbow are their Standard Weaponry.”
As Sebastian spoke, he actually took out a folding knife and a repeater crossbow from behind his belt. However, they were covered in black and red grease, just like him, which obscured their exquisite and beautiful appearance, making me not notice them before.
“You have one too?” I asked in surprise, looking at the soldier who had been killed by the two of them. He also had a repeater crossbow on his back, which he hadn’t had a chance to use during our close-quarters combat.
“Yes, I killed one earlier, outside. Then I took his weapon. These two are spoils of war,” Sebastian said while playing with the folding knife.
I unbuckled the repeater crossbow from the dead soldier’s waist. It was a very exquisite weapon, perhaps a little longer than my forearm, with an automatic mechanism to draw the string back. It had five bolts loaded in the groove.
The wooden stock, wrapped in metal, had relief carvings on it and was very well-maintained. At a glance, one could see the wealth of the Invincible Armada; even ordinary soldiers were equipped with such high-quality weapons.
At the same time, I also realized why they chose repeater crossbows. The tips of these crossbow bolts were rounded, and grappling hooks could be attached to them. The crossbow also had a retraction mechanism. The moment I got it, a lot of knowledge about mechanisms flooded my mind.
In other words, this was a tool used for boarding enemy warships during boarding battles or for climbing to high places. It could also be used as a harpoon at sea, not just as a weapon.
“What a pity. That person’s crossbow was already burned. Ah, and the folding knife was also deformed by the fire. Otherwise, we would have had three sets of weapons, one for each of us,” I said, looking at the scorched corpse. I was quite interested in these two exquisite weapons.
“Uh, I don’t need them. You two can share,” Mr. Zhang said, but his eyes had been full of longing when he looked at the repeater crossbow just now. It was clear he thought this exquisite weapon was very valuable.
“I’ll let you have mine; I already have a cane and a gun, and I’m used to these weapons,” Sebastian said humbly first.
“No, I won’t take it. This is your spoils of war, you keep it,” I also shook my head and said. I had already memorized the structure of the repeater crossbow and could make one myself, although it might be rougher and not as delicate and artistic, but its function would definitely not be inferior.
Such a beautiful and exquisite repeater crossbow, I was certain it wasn’t purely handmade, otherwise, the price would be exorbitant. Even if the Invincible Armada was rich, they wouldn’t equip such Standard Weaponry.
It must have been mass-produced in a factory. For example, the metal wrapping on the stock was probably cast from a mold, and the delicate mechanical parts in the front were also products from the assembly line, all manufactured to the same specifications.
Soon, we realized that such mutual concessions were completely meaningless. We were still in such a dangerous environment, and the captured spoils of war must be able to be used immediately. So, we quickly agreed on a distribution method.
My steam gun was out of bullets, and my revolver didn’t do enough damage to mutated humans, so I needed a repeater crossbow as a ranged weapon. At the same time, I wasn’t good at close combat, so I didn’t need a spring knife.
Sebastian’s flintlock gun was slow to reload. Although its power was decent, it had to be saved as a trump card. At the same time, his cane was previously a multi-functional weapon for subduing prisoners. When the purpose was to kill enemies, it didn’t do enough damage. Therefore, Sebastian took a set.
Mr. Zhang primarily engaged in close combat, so he didn’t need such a large repeater crossbow. Also, his captain’s scimitar was more powerful than a folding knife, so he didn’t need it. However, he still kept a folding knife fastened to his waist as a backup.
At the same time, I promised that after we left, I would give the repeater crossbow to Mr. Zhang as thanks for saving me several times. If he didn’t accept it, I would feel uneasy and would need to offer other valuable gifts in return.
Mr. Zhang did indeed want it, so he readily agreed. In fact, this was originally his spoils of war, and I was getting the better end of the deal. I could only repay him by fully assisting him in learning Simplified Chinese afterwards.
After discussing and finalizing, Sebastian and I decided to go into the oil depot to take a look and destroy it. Mr. Zhang, on the other hand, would stay outside to keep watch and notify us if any enemies appeared.
Entering the oil depot, a pungent smell of gasoline mixed with the Smell of Blood entered my nostrils. In front of me was a pool of black and red viscous liquid, like a swimming pool.
The problem was that this black and red liquid seemed to be alive, slowly wriggling. The surface of the liquid was uneven, rising and falling, as if a large pile of Slime had gathered together.
Although I had been using “fuel” to refer to this stuff, I actually had no idea what kind of oil it was. At least in my previous life, I had never encountered such oil, nor was it possible.
If I had to say what it resembled, it looked quite similar to the black mud flowing from the Holy Grail in the Fate series I had watched. If someone told me now that this entire pool before me was All the Evils of the World, I would believe them. It was so disgusting that I couldn’t describe my feelings upon seeing it.
“You fell into this stuff? And you actually survived?” I looked at the churning black oil covering the pool, thinking that if I fell in, I would definitely be disgusted to death.
“If I had climbed out earlier, I would have truly died. That captain seemed to think that by falling in, I would inevitably mutate and become his companion, which is why he left,” Sebastian said. It seemed he knew that he was now in danger of mutating at any moment.
“Here’s a Sedative for you. Inject it into your butt. I hope it helps,” I threw a tube of Sedative at him, then turned my head to focus on the oil pool. I had no interest in looking at a man’s butt.
At this moment, a swarm of flies suddenly flew out of the oil pool. They were my Acid Plague Flies, and they seemed to want to return to me!
Holy crap! Beelzebub above! Can I not have these flies anymore?!
