"You crazy son of a b**ch!

You better stay right where you are.

This daddy must have his revenge!"

(*^*)

Instantly, the pirates rushed towards Josh, filled with murderous intentions.

The manner in which Josh ran made them feel very pumped up.

Josh ran while holding something in his arms, making the pirates conclude that it was the child.

"Get him! He has the boy!

Don't let him escape!"

~Splack. Splack. Splack.

The muddy puddles of rain splashed away as the heavy footsteps of the pirates descended on them.

Josh slowed down his pace, always making sure that they were somewhat close to him.

He always made them feel that just a little bit more, and they would catch him.

Some ran behind him, trying to shoot him with their bows and arrows.

But with the fierce wind and the heavy rains, it would be impossible to hit any target.

Many typically thought that pirates weren't archers... But that was a lie.

Even back on earth, Vikings, who were also a different kind of pirates, commonly used bows and arrows in battle.

It was just that unlike battles on land, the battles in the seas were too different.

They needed more swift action and didn't have time to be drawing bows and arrows.

One needed to act fast with their fists, swords or anything else.

They, as pirates, preferred using swords, hooks, stones and other sharp objects.

It got the message through faster.

Archers felt very disadvantageous in close-range battles.

Their enemies would have too many opportunities to take them down.

.

~Whoop! Whoop!

The arrows whistle through the air fiercely, But the turbulent winds changed their trajectories, making the pirate archers stop and struggle to catch up with the target.

They raced through the mushy forest, expending a lot of energy along the way.

But they dared not give up.

Their target was just a few steps away from them.

He was so close!

The gang of pirates ran for what seemed like forever, making Josh smile broadly.

He had successfully led them on, running at a slow pace.

Because of the wet grounds, even the outages could run at full speed.

And so calculating everything in his mind, Josh moved at a speed that would ensure that they kept up with him.

Just like that, he had led them too far away from the cliff.

Even though running in the rain had its cons, like getting sick, it also had pros that were all in line with Josh's plan.

Running in the rain doesn't make one feel the heat and stickiness of sweat.

To some extent, it was indeed refreshing, and as they ran, even though it was cold, the body heat created during the run seemed to balance things up.

All these things contributed and aided the pirates to run so long and keep up with him even though they were tired.

And when Josh felt like he was too far apart from the cliff, he decided to take action.

.

As for the Pirates who were just a few feet away from him, they couldn't help opening their eyes wide again when they saw him speeding up.

They had a feeling that he was playing with them, but they had no evidence.

'Brother, why do you still have so much energy in you? Are you sure you're human?'

They looked at the disappearing silhouette in an aggrieved manner.

This was a joke, right?

Josh, who was now far away, quickly found a large puddle of mud and dived into it.

~Splash~

He hurriedly coated his entire body and clothes with thick mud before cutting several leaves from the bushes and sticking them on him.

Alright. It was time to make a big splash!

Of course, he couldn't just leave, even if he led them this far.

Some might think that he was just a diversion and would go back to properly search for the boy.

Even though there was a slim chance that they would find the cliff, Josh wouldn't allow things like this.

He decided to act as if he was really sent by someone to protect the child.

All that time, he had been carrying a stone, making these pirates think it was the kid.

So they would most likely believe in what he was about to do next.

'To make it more believable, I need footprints for the boy.

The kid's footsteps have to go in the opposite direction.'

Very quickly, he printed his knuckles onto the ground and used a stone to adjust, carve and print several convincing child-like prints.

He worked very fast, creating a few that led further ahead just a bit before suddenly disappearing underneath a tree.

Well, this should do for now.

Hopefully, they buy it.

With that, he made a U-turn, stealthily making his way to the group of pirates again.

.

Meanwhile, the Pirates who were now running forward, briefly stopped to catch their breaths.

"F***!... I'll kill him! I'll kill him!

Where did that son of a b**ch run off too?"

"Dammit! Are assassins this adept at running nowadays?

What the hell is up with this guy?"

"Hey! Since when did the Pyno continent have such high-ranked assassins?

Could it be an assassin from Morgany?"

"No way! No right-minded assassin in Morgany would dare oppose his Royal Majesty Raigen. Because death wouldn't worry any assassin, his majesty would make sure that lives, prestige, and everything else linked with assassination would be stripped!"

"That's true. So, who could it be?"

"I don't know. But it's definitely a Morg. Only Morgs can train such an assassin."

"I think it's a rogue Morg assassin. Those bastards would pick up just about any kind of mission. What a disgrace!"

"F***! Whoever he is, the guy just made me his lifetime enemy!"

(*^*)

The group of pirates continued talking while staring at Josh's footsteps in rage.

They swore to catch the bloody bastard tonight!

With that, the group angrily exclaimed amidst the loud rain and readied themselves to move again.

But unbeknownst to them, a set of fierce eyes were currently watching them coldly.

'Want my life, then come and get it!'