Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 240
Chapter Title: The Pirates' Desperate Escape
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The Cybele Pirates didn't boast a fleet on the scale of Samuel's Neptune Pirates.
But every pirate worth their salt in the archipelago knew the truth.
The Cybele Pirates were a cut above the Neptune crew.
Their numbers were few, but every sailor was an elite who could hold their own anywhere.
Of course, plenty of pirate crews in the islands outmatched the Cybele Pirates in raw strength, but even they acknowledged the superior quality of Cybele's men.
That fearsome growth spurt of theirs was the talk of every port.
And now, those Cybele ships were sinking one by one into the depths.
Blasted by incoming cannon fire and crushed by the vortex's relentless pressure.
"Aaaargh!"
"Damn it! I can't go down alone! Fire back!"
"You idiot! Who's gonna load cannons in this mess? Worry about surviving... Gahk!"
These elite-of-the-elite sailors floundered like greenhorn rookies, scrambling in panic.
But no one could blame them. Artis, least of all—he didn't have the mind for it.
"Raaargh!!!"
Crack!
Even smashing the deck and roaring didn't ease his rage one bit.
'Those bastards lured us in on purpose.'
He'd been played perfectly. Those ambush ships earlier? Bait, tossed out to reel them in. The real trap lay deeper.
And this vortex. Artis's gut screamed it wasn't natural.
He didn't know if Jerome or some other naval commander was calling the shots, but no genius who orchestrated this wouldn't have factored in the whirlpool.
'We're done.'
The vortex's pull was monstrous. Even with gravity magic reinforcing the keels, their reinforced galleons couldn't break free no matter how hard the boosters fired. They shattered helplessly.
Trapped front and rear besides. No escape for the Cybele Pirates.
Yes, the Cybele Pirates.
But Artis's own ship was another story.
It had led the charge, smashing into the naval blockade at the strait mouth. Now it lagged at the rear.
So far, it had dodged the worst of the rear ships' barrage and the vortex's fury.
"Olga! Cut all fleet comms!"
Artis's cryptic shout.
"...!!"
But Olga got it. Not just her—every sailor on the Cybele Pirates' main force did.
A secret known only to the original crew who'd started the Cybele Pirates with Artis himself.
Activate the magic triggered only when the fleet faced total annihilation.
Vmmm!
As mana surged through the flagship, it began greedily siphoning the magic from the still-intact pirate ships.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
"Why's the gravity magic failing all of a sudden?! Boosters are dead too!"
The other galleons, barely hanging on, lost their magic and got sucked into the vortex in seconds.
"Aaaargh!"
"Y-you! The flagship! Captain Artis, you son of a bitch!!!"
Beside their helplessly shattering hulls, the captain's ship sliced through the whirlpool.
Shrouded in denser gravity magic, boosters blazing full throttle.
"You fucking bastard!!!"
Boom!
The pirates' curses at Artis drowned in the roar of fresh incoming shells.
"When do we get more powder and shells?! Hurry it up!"
"Sorry for the delay, Jason! Shells here!"
Two months back, at Delro's sudden order, young Assei—Jason—had bolted for the beach first. His quick thinking and solid work had earned him a rep in the navy.
Thanks to that, despite his youth, he commanded the cannons on an ambush ship.
"Faster! Not a single ship escapes, got it?!"
Like any scrap with pirates, but this battle had Jason fired up extra.
Baron Jerome von Carviot himself had joined the fray—the man he admired most.
Sure, the baron wouldn't spot every little thing Jason did, but with him on the field, Jason couldn't afford a single slip.
As Jason steeled himself anew...
The pirate ships in the strait shifted.
'Huh?'
From the chaos of sinking galleons, one ship burst forward suddenly.
The fleet's largest. It charged them like the vortex didn't touch it.
Jason was a soldier, not a mage—no clue about the magic on those ships.
But he knew an escape attempt when he saw one.
"That ship! All cannons on the one breaking for the strait mouth!"
His ship alone wasn't thinking it—most of the barrage zeroed in on the flagship.
Boom! Kaboom! Splash!
No amount of boosted gravity magic or stacked boosters could dodge that barrage from so many galleons.
The Cybele flagship, battered to hell, failed to breach the encirclement. It sank slowly just shy of the naval line.
"We got the flagship!"
"Total victory! We won!"
"Yaaay!"
Naval crews cheered, hugging amid the sinking flagship and the vortex-devoured wrecks.
Near-total victory, negligible losses on their side.
Jason was thrilled too.
"...Something's off."
Yeah. Something felt wrong.
He couldn't pin it exactly.
Young as he was, Jason wouldn't claim to know every pirate trick. But the ones the navy had caught these past two months? Even cornered, they'd scrapped desperately to live.
This flagship, though. Abandoning the fleet for a solo break? It sank too easily.
Like it was showing the navy it was sinking on purpose.
Telling them it was over—so celebrate away.
Thud-thud!
Jason scrambled up the mast on instinct.
"Huh? Jason, what's up?"
His mate, solo-celebrating below deck, asked. Jason snatched the spyglass instead of answering.
Click!
He scanned the flagship's vicinity, adjusting focus meticulously.
'...Just my imagination?'
Nothing after a thorough sweep. As he lowered it...
"What the—?!"
Jason spotted a tiny dot slipping behind the sinking flagship, far off to the lower left.
Just before the flagship sank.
Confirming his ship sucking mana from the others, Artis bolted to the captain's cabin.
Clunk!
Yanking a handle under the desk revealed a small compartment below.
Artis climbed in. Huddled inside: a few young kids and a girl on the cusp of womanhood, clinging together.
Startled by the distant booms and tremors, terror in their eyes—it tugged at the heart.
But Artis had no time for pity.
"Move it! Now!!"
Thud!
The kids shrank at his wall-pounding threat. But the oldest girl, Jemi, sized him up coolly.
Messy hair. Soaked clothes. Endless shocks and screams. Desperate vibe.
"...You lost."
Everything screamed Cybele Pirates—his pirates—defeated.
"Y-you? You calling me 'you'?"
"Coming here means you're sneaking out. Ditching the men who trusted you."
Jemi read it perfectly. And why he'd come for them.
"Not ashamed as a man?"
She provoked him, against her nature. Bait him to snap and kill her.
"You damn bitch!"
Shing!
Artis drew his cutlass. Yes, swing it. Do it.
But instead, his meaty off-hand cracked across her cheek.
Slap!
Blood filled her mouth from torn gums.
Thump!
Artis steadied his breath, watching her crumple.
"Huuu... Yeah. Gotta run. Hate losing these ships I've built. But it's fine. I can rebuild."
Crack!
"Aaaak!"
Yanking her hair, Jemi screamed in agony.
"With your talent, five years tops to rebuild it all. Heh heh heh!"
Artis leered through bloodshot eyes.
"Cute little thing. Thought provoking me would make me kill you? Dream on. You're my insurance."
Jemi squeezed her eyes shut. No head for schemes like this.
"Part of me wants to off these brats too. But I'll hold back. Hell, I'll feed 'em better, pamper 'em. Gotta make sure you never run, right?"
Drag-drag!
"Aaaak!"
Gripping her hair, Artis strode out.
"Brats, keep up. Slack off, and you're dead."
Olga and the crew awaited outside.
"Ready."
"Let's go. No time."
Olga smashed the deck at Artis's word.
Crack!
Beneath: a sleek mini-galleon, far smaller than the flagship.
Escape craft, flagship-exclusive.
"Onboard, quick!"
Rumble!
Artis boarded, dragging Jemi. Crew followed, parceling out the kids.
All aboard, Olga turned a stern handle slowly.
Groan!
A narrow exit opened. Crew rowed hastily.
Specially designed silent oars to stay hidden.
Artis grinned darkly, clutching Jemi's hair.
"Heh heh heh. Not over yet. With this girl, I can rise again anytime. Just watch—who's the final winner."
Scalp-ripping pain be damned, Jemi prayed desperately.
'Please... spot his game. Please...!'
Miss this chance, and she'd never escape this hell.
But with her siblings' safety? She couldn't move.
Prayer was all she had.
And it stayed just that—a prayer.
Boom! Kaboom! Boom-boom!
-Wooo!
Behind them, shells hammered the husk of a flagship. Naval cheers echoed from afar.
'...All wrong.'
Sensing her despair, Artis sneered colder.
"Kekeke! Thought they'd save you? Give up. Drunk on victory's sweet wine, they won't lift a finger for you."
While Artis mocked, the boat rounded the Dirphorus Strait's rear, slipping into a cove on the right isle—the fake ambush spot.
"Clear the boat! Hide it in that ravine!"
"Move it! No dawdling!"
Couldn't risk navy patrols spotting them.
They stashed the escape craft unseen in the ravine, crept inland from the shore.
"We hole up here awhile."
"How long you figuring?"
"Dunno. Depends how hard those bastards comb the area. Prep for a month underwater."
"Whew, damn. Gonna suck."
As Artis and Olga planned ahead, one of Artis's flagship guard units—the Killer Whale Squad—watched the kids' cave.
"Goddamn, bad enough we got wrecked, now babysitting. How'd we end up like this?"
"Screw it! Run and join another crew?"
"Forget it. Crawl in half-dead, we'll just be laughingstocks. Tough it out."
Swipe!
A squadman thumbed back.
"Least that girl's efficient. Worth sticking for."
"Tch! Waste, man. If the captain hadn't said, I'd have... Heh heh!"
Lewd grin at Jemi's beauty. Another swatted it away.
"Dream on, punk. Touch her, spook her talent, captain'll end you. Don't croak ruled by that limp dick."
"You... what's 'limp dick' mean?!"
"......"
Pride stung, but no reply.
"You... asleep?"
"......"
"...What?"
Turning, the squadman saw: his chatty mate's neck snapped.
"Huh?"
Crack!
"Filth like you don't deserve a mouth—it's a snout."
A cold voice whispered faintly in his ear. Then the foulmouthed thug moved no more.