"AAAH—!!!"
"Spare me!"
"Damn it!"
"Bastard kid—fight me one-on-one if you dare!"
The night was thick and oppressive.
Screams echoed endlessly through the darkness.
After openly clashing with the Twin-Wheel Pirates, Hermes made a decisive temporary withdrawal—
and immediately entered hunting mode.
In terms of numbers alone, the Twin-Wheel Pirates were overwhelming.
After absorbing the Dog-Dog Pirates, the Chain Pirates, and several affiliated or annexed crews, the Twin-Wheel Pirates now had a massive headcount.
One person versus an entire group was obviously a disadvantage.
Hermes wasn't stupid.
Instead, he adapted to the situation—
systematically hunting down the Twin-Wheel Pirates' lower members, slowly turning Twin-Wheel Gunner Kokos into a commander without soldiers.
For three or four consecutive days, whenever Hermes had time, he would strike.
As a result, the Twin-Wheel Pirates were now in complete panic.
Anyone who left the base might as well be walking straight to the afterlife.
Many pirates were on the verge of mental collapse.
And the worst part?
They had no countermeasure.
Even when Kokos himself led groups of thirty or forty people, Hermes would still pick them off.
Worse still—the enemy's methods were vicious beyond reason.
He always targeted the kidneys.
That kind of fixation was enough to enrage both humans and gods alike.
Before anyone realized it, Hermes had gained a brand-new nickname:
Kidney-Stabber .
"Captain, the brothers who went out to gather supplies… all wiped out again."
Inside the headquarters, Kokos' face darkened. He slammed his palm against the table.
How many waves was this already?
At least half of his crew had vanished into thin air.
Their strength had been gutted.
And the worst of it—
That damn kid fought like a turtle hiding in its shell.
No frontal battle.
No honor.
No trust.
Absolutely shameless.
"So this keeps up, we'll be wiped out one by one."
"We should take the initiative!"
"How?! That bastard never fights us head-on!"
"People like him are the most troublesome."
The pirates were furious, anxious, and helpless.
A lone wolf like this—if you couldn't swarm him and kill him outright—would retaliate endlessly.
Like a loach slipping through mud, always striking when someone was isolated.
Dirty.
Despicable.
Infuriating.
Meanwhile, among the civilians who had long been oppressed—
The atmosphere was nearly festive.
They were all waiting.
Waiting for the great benefactor, Pirate Hunter Hermes Jormungandr, to finish off the Twin-Wheel Pirates once and for all.
"Did you hear? Another Twin-Wheel pirate got killed by Lord Ymir."
"I saw the body. Died horribly."
"They deserve it—after all the evil they've done."
People felt vindicated.
Spirits lifted.
Some even lasted three extra seconds during nighttime activities.
"I wonder if Lord Ymir is handsome…"
Some girls' eyes sparkled—many of them women who had been indirectly saved by Hermes.
"I heard he's really good-looking."
"Waaah~"
At the same time—
Inside a Twin-Wheel Pirates warehouse.
This place stored massive amounts of supplies and was located not far from the main base.
Hermes, reduced to five millimeters, stood atop a pile of grain sacks, contemplating whether to burn it all down.
Food was vital—especially in the pirate world, where starvation was common.
Burning it felt wasteful.
Besides food, there was gunpowder and weaponry.
In the end, Hermes decided not to burn anything.
Once the Twin-Wheel Pirates were wiped out, all of this would become his spoils.
Sell it.
Donate it.
Either way—both reputation and benefits would come flooding in.
Recently, the pirates had been killed badly enough that many refused to leave the base.
With no other choice, Hermes infiltrated the headquarters itself—
hunting directly under Kokos' nose.
That was how he ended up here.
Still five millimeters tall, Hermes exited the warehouse.
Outside, two slightly drunk pirates were on guard.
A flash—
Finger Pistol.
Both died instantly, without pain.
Hermes continued deeper.
"AAAAAAAH!!!"
"ALERT—THE PIRATE HUNTER IS INSIDE!"
"Damn it—save him!"
Even silent killing couldn't stay hidden forever.
Some pirates never even saw Hermes—
but they were absolutely certain it was him.
After all, that kidney obsession was unmistakable.
"Devil…"
"He's a devil…"
Some pirates completely lost it and ran screaming.
Kokos, already nursing a headache, rushed over with his elite men.
The sight made his expression turn murderous.
Bodies lay everywhere—each killed by a clean, precise strike to a vital point.
Most of them: kidneys.
It was so consistent that Kokos genuinely began to suspect Hermes had kidney issues of his own and couldn't stand seeing others with intact ones.
The cruelty was excessive.
"Ymir! If you've got the guts, come out and fight me one-on-one!"
Kokos roared, scanning his surroundings with burning fury.
He knew the kid was nearby.
Maybe hiding under a leaf.
That shrinking ability was outright cheating.
"You coward! Come fight our captain!"
"You're no match for him!"
"Our captain has a forty-four million bounty—he could kill you with one hand!"
"Cowardly turtle!"
The pirates shouted desperately, praising Kokos while trying to intimidate Hermes—terrified their captain wouldn't be enough.
Hermes didn't reply.
He acted.
A pirate dropped silently behind them.
Hermes restored to full size for a split second—
Finger Pistol.
The back of the pirate's skull shattered.
Before the body even hit the ground, Hermes shrank again and vanished into dead grass and fallen leaves.
"DAMN IT—he really is nearby!"
The pirates' faces twisted in rage and fear.
Those closest to the victim were shaking uncontrollably.
They hadn't even seen how he died.
It was ghost-like.
Kokos felt his lungs about to explode.
But Hermes simply refused to give him a frontal fight.
"AAAAAAH!"
"FIRE—FIRE!"
"COME OUT IF YOU DARE!"
Another pirate fell in the distance.
Gunfire erupted wildly—
hitting nothing but air.
"What do you want?!"
"That earlier thing might've been a misunderstanding!"
Kokos was suffocating with frustration.
If this continued, he really would become a commander with no soldiers.
He tried negotiation.
Stall Hermes.
Stabilize the situation.
Then kill him with a surprise strike.
But Hermes ignored him completely.
He continued hunting patiently—
killing when possible, waiting when not.
Another day passed.
Then another.
The Twin-Wheel Pirates were reduced by more than half.
Those not killed had fled.
Some died on the toilet.
Some in their sleep.
Some while drinking water.
No one knew when the devil would appear next.
The pressure alone was enough to break people.
One deserter became two.
Then ten.
It was unstoppable.
That night—
Kokos stood before his remaining lieutenants.
"You take your men and leave first."
"Once I tear that brat apart, you come back."
He refused to sit and wait any longer.
The kid's target had always been him.
The only reason Hermes hadn't fought him directly was because of the numbers.
So—
He would remove that variable.
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 10 reviews — drop a comment!
◇ 1 bonus chapter for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ Read 60 chapters ahead on P@treon → patreon.com/arcanechronicals