Chapter 239
Chapter 239
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 239
Chapter Title: Battle of Dirporus Strait
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The sea where the sun had completely vanished from sight. To ordinary folk, the late-night ocean was an enigmatic expanse stirring a peculiar dread, but that description didn't apply to pirates.
To them, the sea was as familiar as the yard right outside their front door.
"Multiple galleons spotted ahead! It's the Olivia Navy!"
A lookout shouted through the telescope enchanted with a vision spell. This kind of artifact was basic equipment to counter the narrowed visibility of night.
Thanks to it, the sailor perched atop the mast could clearly make out the Olivia Navy's ships.
This meticulous attention to even the smallest details was precisely why the Kybele Pirates were considered elite.
In truth, separate from the lookout's cry, Atis had already anticipated the presence of navy ships in the vicinity.
"Heh, so they're lying in wait at Dirporus Strait after all? At least they're not total idiots."
A backwater northerner who'd barely seen the ocean before sailing to Olivia, let alone fought a naval battle, yet he grasped the principles of sea warfare quite well.
Having dealt with minor coastal pirates, Atis readjusted his evaluation of Jerome once more.
Of course, this time it was a downgrade rather than an upgrade.
"Kukuku! That's why book-smart theorists are no good. Did that brat really think we knew nothing about Dirporus Strait?"
That was the limit of these young pups. Their narrow vision, assuming others shared the same tiny scraps of knowledge rattling around in their pea-sized brains.
Judging island pirates based on a few ragtag coastal bandits.
"Well, fine. Let's play along for a bit. It'll cost them dearly, though."
The elite island pirates were putting on a full show, after all. A hefty fee was only fair.
"Olga, tell the lads to loosen up and get ready."
"Kuku! Got it."
Olga's eyes gleamed red with excitement at the impending slaughter.
"Split the vanguard in half. Olga, you take the left flank. I'll handle the right."
"Right flank!"
The pirate atop the mast echoed Atis's order, relaying it via communication orbs to each ship.
The pirates split left and right with disciplined precision, turning their prows accordingly.
At the forefront, Atis curled his lips into a smirk.
"Come on, rookie. Show me that reputation the continent raves about."
If you can't, you'll pay with your life right here.
Olivia's coast was dotted with countless small islands. Among them, Dirporus Strait saw its currents accelerate dramatically the moment one crossed a certain point.
The uninitiated would flounder as their ships failed to adapt to the sudden shift.
That is, if they were uninitiated.
Rather than charging straight into the strait, the Kybele Pirates—now split left and right—veered toward the back sides of the islands flanking it.
As Atis's ships rounded the right island's rear, small vessels came into view, quietly anchored along the shore.
Any fool could see they were an ambush force.
Pfft!
With a deflating chuckle, Atis dropped his hand.
Boom! KABOOOM!
Cannon fire erupted simultaneously from the pirate ships' guns.
Crunch! KABOOM!
The navy ships shattered under the barrage's destructive force.
Caught off guard by the detection of their ambush, the Olivia Navy couldn't muster a response and were obliterated without a fight.
-Aaaargh!
-Aaah! Save me!
Faint screams drifted over. A satisfied smile spread across Atis's face.
"Kukuku! What is this? Too easy."
The strategy cooked up by that rookie Jerome was obvious without seeing it.
Once the currents threw the ships into chaos, the hidden vessels would unleash a volley from stable waters.
It was so one-dimensional, it was almost yawn-worthy.
-Fweee!
A small flare rocketed into the distant sky.
It was from First Mate Olga's direction.
The color signaled similar success on her end.
Swoosh!
Atis's gaze shifted to the shore. No intact ships remained; only wooden wreckage and navy corpses bobbed limply on the beach.
"Shield Family pup, looks like your turf will be mine by tomorrow."
Confirming no vessels left, Atis leisurely turned back toward the strait with a cruel grin. Without ambushes, he could smash the frontal fleet in moments.
There was no reason to waste more time.
Whoosh!
Perhaps the waves had washed it all away.
No trace of blood lingered on the shore, where only ship fragments and bodies floated amid the Kybele Pirates' merciless cannonade.
Olga's ships approached from afar.
"Hot damn."
Thud!
First Mate Olga leaped aboard from the ship lashed beside the flagship.
"How'd it go?"
"Kukuku, just like you said, Captain. They were huddled up like rats. Mopped 'em clean with the cannons."
As expected.
Atis had spotted prime ambush spots upon eyeing Dirporus Strait and preemptively obliterated them.
No more worries about getting hit from behind.
Word must have spread of the ambush squads' annihilation, as the ships lined up at the strait's exit grew disorganized.
But they held formation, refusing to break ranks.
They were banking on the strait’s ferocious currents, too swift for upstream progress.
But that had been anticipated too.
"Activate gravity magic and fire up the boosters."
"Pfft! Those rookies are in for a shock."
At Olga's signal—per Atis's order—the entire pirate fleet hummed to life.
Vwooom!
Hidden by darkness, blue light flashed along the keels, and scorching winds blasted from the sterns.
Fwoosh!
Surging forward, the Kybele Pirates traversed the strait at a speed that mocked its raging currents.
Gravity magic weighed down the hulls, steadying them against the flow, while the rear thrusters propelled them upstream like salmon leaping rapids.
The rookie's strategies were now utterly useless.
"So, what now? If that's all you've got, game over."
Atis leaned back against the prow, brimming with overconfident certainty of victory.
"Here they come."
"Expected as much. They wouldn't have plundered Olivia all these years without crossing this strait."
Even as the pirate ships closed in at terrifying speed, Delro's expression remained unflappable.
"Frankly, we'd be in trouble if they didn't."
Swoosh!
Since the pirates appeared, Delro had periodically scanned the sky.
Confirming the moon—now hanging farther east and higher—he finally sprang into motion.
'Alright, let's see what you've got.'
Even in his greener days, this admiral had nearly captured Pirate King Ballak, thwarted only by the Sword Family's interference.
His prowess demanded respect.
Delro drew his command saber, raising it skyward before slashing forward through the air.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
Boom! Kaboom!
Shells streaked in a straight line toward the Kybele Pirates amid thunderous roars.
Splash! Splash!
Nearly ten ships unleashed a salvo, yet astonishingly, not a single shell struck home.
The pirates had instantly yielded to the currents, slipping backward at high speed.
Then, as if nothing happened, they pressed forward again.
Repeated volleys yielded the same result.
They were committed to firing until powder ran dry. Enemy or not, their seamanship was impressive.
"Heh heh, not bad."
Yet Delro chuckled at their maneuvers like a grandfather amused by his grandson's antics.
As time passed, he casually loosed a flare into the sky, as if it were nothing.
Bang!
A golden signal flare—radiant as the Shield Family crest—burst overhead with a boom, answered by explosions echoing from all directions.
Boom! Kaboom!
From the rear of Dirporus Strait, where the Kybele Pirates had passed.
KABOOOM!
Just a minute—or mere dozens of seconds—ago, the pirates had sneered at the navy's sloppy gunnery. Now, thunderous blasts rocked their decks.
"Gaaargh!"
"Uwaaaagh!"
Splash! Splash!
"S-save me!!"
"Glub, glub...! Cough! The c-current...!"
Screams rang out nonstop from sailors pulverized by cannon fire or swept into the sea by blast shockwaves.
"W-what the hell?!"
Atis, clinging to the foremast railing to weather the shock, couldn't hide his bewilderment.
"Olga! What is this?! You said all ambushes were cleared!"
"I-I... We definitely wiped them out...!"
Olga, half-dazed by the unforeseen rear assault, shook off Atis's grip on her collar.
"And what about your side, Captain? Ships popped up there too!"
"You bitch...!"
Atis glared at her defiance but had no retort.
He had eyes. Just as she said, fresh ambushes had reappeared from the direction he'd cleared.
'Damn it!'
Figuring out how would come later.
First, escape this mess.
"All hands, turn about! We're breaking out of the strait!"
A brief window existed before the next salvo, since the cannons had just fired.
"B-but the men in the water...!"
Atis seized the babbling sailor's collar and hurled him overboard.
Splash!
"Anyone else got something to say?"
"......!!"
"......!!"
"Move!!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Cowed by Atis's ferocity, the pirates scrambled to reverse course without further protest.
Grind!
'Just you wait. We'll regroup and come back to slaughter you.'
The ships were battered by the surprise attack, but manpower remained plentiful.
Regroup and fight calmly—they could turn it around.
So Atis thought as he withdrew, unaware his nightmare was only beginning.
"Heh heh, scrambling to escape, as expected."
"Delro, you sure this is fine? There's no one on those rear ships who can handle that pirate captain."
This battle had mobilized a hefty force: me, Rampang, Miron, Misha, Aria, and Set.
But we'd all been positioned on the frontal ships in the strait.
Delro had staunchly opposed placing us in the rear.
-Victory with help from the lord's castle residents would be easy, but pointless. This fight must be won by the navy's strength alone.
To boost the Assei's morale, or so he claimed.
I respected Delro's view, but it left the rear guarded only by regular sailors—no heavy hitters to protect them. Worrying was inevitable.
"Heh heh. No need to fret, Baron. Stronger guardians than you imagine are watching over the Assei."
Delro chuckled with grandfatherly ease, then checked the moon's position.
"It'll start soon."
Cryptic as a riddle, but the meaning became clear quickly.
Changes rippled through the strait where the Kybele Pirates lurked.
Whirrrrr!
"As I told you, Baron, the pirates only know 'half' of Dirporus Strait."
As Delro said, with nightfall and the moon's shift, the currents slowly reversed course.
The once-straight upstream flow twisted wildly under the three moons' pull, gradually forming whirlpools.
"Our Assei will be guarded by this very sea."
Crack! Crunch!
The whirlpools' force was so immense that the pirates' magic-enhanced ships crumpled helplessly, unable to resist.
"And the price for ignorant fools trespassing our waters is death."
"......"
Watching Delro's battle, I finally understood how this seemingly frail old man had once cornered Ballak in his youth.
Tactics exploiting the sea's nature wielded power beyond any brute force.
"Baron, best prepare yourself. Can't have the one you're here to rescue swept away too."
"Ah, right."
Delro's strategy had me so engrossed, I'd momentarily forgotten our goal.
"Lady Aria, the item I requested."
Aria, seated quietly aboard, sighed and handed me a gem.
"The thing you mentioned. I infused it with enhanced wind magic—it should hold up decently underwater, but I can't guarantee it against those currents. Rescue fast."
"Haha, ideally, I won't need to dive in."
Seeing that insane maelstrom, I had zero desire to jump in voluntarily.
This was purely insurance for the worst case.
Moments later.
The Kybele Pirates, thrown into utter chaos by the sudden natural disaster, failed to notice.
Beneath the deck of the encircling navy's flagship, a small boat carrying a handful of souls was stealthily closing in on them.