Unlike those ragged villagers, these people wore matching uniforms with badges on their chests. Whether in terms of presence or strength, they were on a completely different level from the rabble.

　　David Carter screamed!

　　“Don’t just stand there, grab your weapon!” Ethan shouted at him.

　　“So this is the real challenge? Not bad!” Mark Smith spat, “Just killing wildlings who only know how to run isn’t interesting at all. It’s opponents like these that are worth fighting.”

　　“Hah!”

　　On the other side, Ethan Clark had already charged forward.

　　She was as fast as a cheetah!

　　Her new body was clearly only about 1.45 meters tall, but the power she unleashed was no less than that of a wild beast! At the same time, the spear made up for her lack of size—when she thrust the spearhead, the distance of over ten meters between the two sides was closed in an instant.

　　The opponents apparently hadn’t expected such a decisive counterattack, and in the blink of an eye, one of them was stabbed and fell!

　　“Beautiful moves,” Mark Smith praised, “Leave the other one to me!”

　　“Wait, something’s wrong!” Ethan’s expression suddenly changed.

　　The one who had been knocked off his horse quickly scrambled back up, seemingly uninjured. He drew his sword and threw it at Ethan, forcing her to pull back her spear and switch from offense to defense, flicking the sword aside with her weapon.

　　“They’re wearing armor under their uniforms!” Ethan shouted in warning.

　　“What did you say!?” At this point, Mark Smith was already locked in combat with another cavalryman. Compared to the lightning-fast Ethan, his fighting was much more chaotic, relying purely on instinct to swing his weapon. After just four or five exchanges, he was clearly at a disadvantage.

　　“Kid, get over here and help me!”

　　But before David Carter could do anything, two more cavalrymen charged in from the flank, and the situation on the field instantly became overwhelmingly unfavorable for the “pirate crew.”

　　What made David Carter even more desperate was that this time, the cavalrymen closing in raised the guns in their hands.

　　That’s right… they had firearms!

Chapter 3: Divination

　　“Damn it, what kind of bullshit design is this!” Mark Smith cursed angrily. In response, there were two gunshots, and the Russian fell to the ground, blood from his chest splattering everywhere.

　　At this moment, the cavalryman fighting Ethan shouted a few sentences—not in Chinese, nor in English, but in a completely incomprehensible language.

　　But only they couldn’t understand it.

　　The newly arrived cavalrymen immediately reacted.

　　One stayed on horseback to reload his musket, while the other drew a pistol from his waist and charged toward Ethan.

　　Clearly, among the four of them, only Ethan Clark had any real skill with cold weapons.

　　Because of this, she was seen as the primary threat by the enemies, while David Carter was completely ignored.

　　Once she fell, it was obvious that everyone’s “pirate career” would come to an end.

　　David Carter understood this as well. He kept muttering, “It’s just a game… it’s just a game…,” gripping his axe with trembling hands. As the cavalryman swept past him, he let out a wild howl, leapt up, and swung at the enemy with all his might.

　　Though he looked clumsy, at least he wasn’t waiting to die.

　　This move seemed to catch the cavalryman off guard.

　　The opponent was forced to pull back his pistol and block the axe with his arm. Just as Ethan had said, what came through the axe handle wasn’t the sticky resistance of flesh, but the jarring shock of metal on metal. The huge recoil sent the axe flying from David Carter’s hands, and the cavalryman was knocked off his horse.

　　He did it!

　　David Carter rushed forward to pin the enemy down, just about to snatch the pistol, when he suddenly felt a cold sensation in his abdomen.

　　Looking down, he saw a dagger had already pierced his stomach.

　　“Damn it, this monster… can switch weapons…”

　　David Carter managed to say with the last of his strength.

　　His vision quickly blurred.

　　He saw Ethan Clark being attacked from both sides by the reinforcing cavalry. Caught off guard, she was beheaded, blood spurting high from her neck. The Russian, after being shot, didn’t die immediately, but his end was even worse—having lost the ability to fight back, the previously cowering villagers plucked up their courage, grabbed pitchforks and sticks, and joined the fight. By the time he died, there was hardly a patch of intact flesh left on him, with gaping holes everywhere.

　　Then a white light enveloped everything.

　　Just like when they entered the game.

　　“Ahhhhhhhhhhh—!”

　　A sharp gasp.

　　David Carter yanked off his VR headset, gasping for air as if suffocating, but even so, he couldn’t calm his wildly pounding heart.

　　The others weren’t much better off; there was hardly any color left in their faces.

　　“Cyka blyat, you lied to me! You call this no pain?” Anthony Smith shouted, “I felt like those shots almost killed me!”

　　“For the customer’s sensory experience, pain reduction is not set to zero,” the host replied in a steady tone. “But I can assure you, this value will not have any impact on your physical or mental health.”

　　The Russian glared at him for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. “What I mean is… can you turn it up a bit more? This is fucking exhilarating!”

　　“That’s right, without experiencing it myself, I could hardly imagine there was a game like this in the world!” Joe James lit a cigarette—this time a real one—and took a deep drag. “Guys, you’re going to make a fortune!”