Chapter 257
Chapter 257
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 258
Chapter Title: Ambush at Krol Wall
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"Hohoho! Useless anywhere but the center, just as I thought!"
The vice-captain of the Iron Maiden Pirates, Grace, burst into laughter as she watched Olivia Navy's second-line forces crumble in a rout.
It was just as expected. To gather such overwhelming power to push back Captain Omar, their flanks had to be weak—it was only natural.
With the vanguard forces pulling apart to the sides, a clear path opened for the Gardik Pirates and the King's Barque Pirates straight to the center.
Let them handle the tough enemies. And now that they had seized both flanks, it would be hard for the North or South Command forces to wedge their way in.
'Which means the credit in this war goes to us.'
They would claim more merit than North or South Command, while East Command exhausted itself in a slugfest with the center.
Naturally, the Iron Maiden Pirates would emerge as the biggest winners in this war.
At least in this moment, Grace's enemies were the other pirate captains on par with her as commanders—not Olivia.
But as with all things, trouble starts with a moment of carelessness.
Just as the Iron Maiden Pirates relentlessly pursued the retreating Olivia Navy past Krol Wall in the Korantos Gorge...
Flicker!
Tiny lights sparkled atop Krol Wall, out of everyone's sight.
And in an instant, those star-like gleams transformed into scorching sun-like fireballs that engulfed the Iron Maiden Pirates' galleons.
KABOOOOM!
The galleons exploded pitifully amid the roar and flames.
"Gaaahhh!"
"Aaaagh! What the hell?!"
Splash! Splash!
The pirates screamed from the sudden heat and dove beneath the churning waves.
But even there, safety was an illusion. In fact, it was arguably more dangerous.
-BZZZZRRR!
The pirates who sought refuge in the water convulsed with wide, rolled-back eyes from the electrifying surge and drifted helplessly away.
In the midst of this sudden hellscape, a staff officer on Olivia's flagship watched the chaos unfold with cold detachment from afar.
Confirming the magic had hit true, Seira nodded to Aria.
"Second row, advance."
Clank!
The exhausted mages from the previous volley stepped aside, replaced by reserves preparing another round.
"Blazing flames..."
"Raging thunder..."
Mana swirled fiercely before the mages' staves.
As the mana swelled to its limit, Aria—who had been chanting alongside them—finished first.
"...turn my foes to a handful of ash. Flame Buster!"
KWHOOOOM!
Aria's staff unleashed a torrent of fire, followed by...
"Flame!"
KWHOOOOM!
"Lightning!"
ZZZCRACK!
The mightiest elemental magics—fire and lightning—rained down below. Individually not high-circle spells, but en masse, their firepower was tremendous.
And for good reason. These were Fran Kingdom's proud Magic Corps.
In a nation without knights, these battle mages handled all combat, their mastery of military magic unmatched.
It was the result of Aria's father, Darius von Wendinel, raising hell in the capital Prasiah to secure them.
"Phew!"
"Good work, Aria."
Seira, who had fired from the first row and been on standby, handed Aria a water flask.
"Thanks, sis."
Having bonded like sisters through trials in Olivia, the pair recovered their mana while scanning the distant battlefield.
"Looks like it landed properly on our side."
"Yeah. The issue is Young Master Saladin's flank... but Young Master Dwain said he had a plan there, so we trust him... Oh?"
Aria was about to suggest repositioning now that the plan had worked when she saw Seira's eyes widen, her own gaze following instinctively.
And soon, her eyes bulged just like Seira's.
"Uwaaaahhh!"
Grace, looking like a drowned rat, let out a guttural roar.
She was West Command's vice-captain, after all. Even caught off-guard, a master like her—or Tetsai—shouldn't fall to mere mages.
Yet the strike had wiped out a third of her left flank— a sixth of her total force.
To suffer such grievous losses from a moment's lapse enraged her to the core.
"You pathetic scum! I'll catch you all and peel your skin off layer by layer, then salt it!"
Just as Grace, eyes bloodshot, ordered her crew to hunt the fleeing navy...
KABOOOOM!
Another attack struck from a completely unexpected quarter.
"What the...? Why are they pushing so hard?"
Tetsai couldn't hide his bewilderment at the Iron Maiden Pirates' blistering advance.
Unlike his ship-handling-only crew, they were fighting Olivia Navy head-on while surging forward.
Yet the gap between them wasn't closing easily.
In other words, West Command's galleons were massacring Olivia's navy.
"Damn, did I back the wrong horse?"
While Tetsai scratched his cheek in dismay, Martel eyed the rampaging Iron Maidens with sparkling eyes.
"Pull back a bit. Don't get swept up."
"Huh? Captain, what do you...?"
As Tetsai started to question,
KABOOOOM!
A massive magical barrage plummeted from Krol Wall onto West Command's fleet.
The shockwave rocked even the Mermaid Pirates' galleons far below.
"Tch, stay put and we'll end up in the middle."
As Boniga shot him a pitiful look from the side, Tetsai barked.
"Wh-what?! I was just impatient, I knew all along!"
"Sure, sure."
"Kyaaak!"
Unlike the duo's pointless banter, Martel read the attack's implications.
'...If we'd sided with the king for glory, we'd be tangled in that frontline now.'
Had he chosen loyalty, he'd have sped up to close on Iron Maiden for credit.
And taken massive damage from this strike.
This confirmed it—they had brains over there.
Sharp ones, ruthlessly keen.
Time to meet expectations, then.
"All hands, advance. If we're doing it, let's do it right."
Thus, the Mermaid Pirates struck from behind the still-reeling Iron Maidens.
"Hm, it was real after all. The situation we'd hoped for—this opens some breathing room."
On the right flank, right after the magic corps led by Lady Aria and Princess Seira struck, Delo and Dwain focused there intently.
With their lines disrupted, it was the perfect moment for a counter-ambush.
If South Command was as smart as rumored, they'd seize it—and thankfully, they did.
"Now we can ease up on the right for a bit...?!"
Delo clapped Dwain's shoulder urgently, thinking they had margin there.
"Staff officer, look!"
"!"
No sooner had South Command's Martel struck West's rear than mid-tier Gardik Pirates encircled the Mermaids.
"Staff officer, we need reinforcements! If we leave them, the sandwiched Mermaids get devoured!"
Dwain bit his nails at Delo's frantic plea.
East Command's Drake was the real monster succeeding Balak. Countering him and Gardik demanded serious commitment.
'The admiral's right. Leave it, and Mermaids are wiped out. But...'
What if this was their trap too?
That doubt stalled his decision.
"I'll go."
From behind the pondering Dwain, a stoic knight with a cold face rose calmly.
"Sir Beskin, but..."
"I understand the staff officer's dilemma. But look there."
Beskin's scabbard pointed to South Command's sailors, including Martel, locked in fierce combat with Iron Maidens.
"That killing intent can't be faked."
"......"
Dwain said nothing. No martial expert, but even he saw the raw bloodlust—it was no act.
"To me, it's a signal to us. 'We're on your side—send aid.'"
Dwain saw it too. Still, he hesitated.
"Staff officer—no, Young Master Dwain."
"......"
"Everyone here, including me, is fighting with their lives on the line. You know that best."
"......"
"Please, give the order."
At Beskin's steady voice, Dwain finally decided.
"...Blizzard Knight Order including Sir Beskin, Elf Rangers, Lycanthropes—prepare wyvern mounts. Intercept East Command's pirates."
"Understood."
"Got it, grrr!"
Behind the flagship, wyvern riders sprang into action.
"Also, Sir Youngken and Sir Mark—head right with the navy. Leave ship-to-ship to them; handle boarding actions."
"Leave it to us, Young Master Dwain."
In the shifting chaos, Olivia's main force finally mobilized.
"Dwain. We ignoring Saladin's side?"
Lampang, guarding him fiercely, glanced left while asking.
Unlike the active right, left had no orders yet.
"Don't worry, Lady Lampang. It's handled. And..."
Dwain's gaze flicked left briefly.
"I trust Young Master Saladin."
Playful and flighty usually, but Jerome's most trusted man. He wouldn't hold alone without a plan.
"Yeah, you have it figured. And anyway..."
Crack!
Lampang stretched, slowly drawing forth her Beast King's aura.
"I won't have leisure to worry about others soon."
With Gardik diverting left, the sea lane to main Olivia lay open.
And opposite...
A black galleon bearing a three-horned skull emerged.
Pirate King Balak.
His flagship, Nightmare, had arrived.
"Interesting... very interesting. But also... boring."
Balak surveyed the field with massive greatsword propped slantwise, eyes mixing intrigue and ennui.
The power gap was obvious. Strategy or no, sheer force would crush them.
Yet his old rival Croit defied expectations.
Split West's fleet with a near-peer powerhouse, unleashed unfamiliar magic on the halves for heavy losses, and turned his own tactician Martel.
The result: this messy melee.
"Holding until I, in the rear, stepped forward... Impressive enough, Vidal Croit."
Yet Balak felt hollow too.
"Strategy has its limits against overwhelming might, after all."
True, they had an emperor-throned peer too. He sensed it—knew it.
But that was it. While they clashed, his pirates would devour the rest.
The tide wouldn't turn.
"Decent prep, but that's all...? No point watching longer."
The thrill of fearing tactics in his wild youth was gone.
"Empty."
His racing heart slowed again.
"No helping it."
Grip!
Balak seized his greatsword's hilt. No thrill in tactics? Fine—seek it in battle with the strong.
His subordinates' losses? Irrelevant. He sought only what awakened his senses.
Strategy, combat—whatever.
Whoosh!
Nightmare closed on Olivia main atop the waves in a flash.
The fleets neared visibly.
A ferocious beast-woman and an ancient rival, traces of youth lingering despite years.
"Croit, long time."
"Long time, pirate scum."
Ffft!
Balak chuckled unwittingly at the decades-old title.
"Should've snapped out sooner. Your strategies no longer stir my heart."
"No one worth waking me up."
"I see. Those wasted years seal your death today."
As Balak calmly foretold Delo's doom, Lampang blocked his path.
"Won't go your way. I'm here."
"Tch, wench. You or no, outcome's the same. Even if I spare you, that old man's head rolls today."
"Try it."
"I will."
Pop!
Balak's casual leap sent him airborne over the rail.
Shuuuuaack!
A bell-like swing of brutal force.
If Holy Empire's Kamil Duke wielded a razor-sharp famed blade, Balak's was a savage mace shattering all before it.
-KRAAANG!
The merciless mace met Saber Tiger's razor claws.
Kuuuuum!
Air warped around them.
Seawater churned madly, like a meteor strike.
"......"
Lampang's face hardened from clashing with Balak.
His power exceeded expectations.
'Full strength, I wouldn't lose...'
But she couldn't go all-out.
Behind her: war's brain Dwain and Delo. And in the captain's quarters, her priest Jerome still in meditation.
Their skill gap? A hair's breadth.
A split-second lapse could flip it.
"Good! Great! This is fun!"
Balak seemed thrilled by Lampang's prowess, excitement building.
"Block this!"
As his slashes continued, Lampang summoned Beast King's power to counter.
"Dragon Turtle shell...?!"
Or tried to.
If not for the arrow flying at Dwain and Delo's brows.
The turtle shell blocking her shifted to shield them.
Thwack!
The deadly arrow bounced harmlessly. But...
Slash!
"Kyaaak!"
Exposed unguarded, Lampang tumbled from Balak's aura slash.
"La-Lady Lampang!"
"Th-this...!"
"Hah, hah... Stay back, don't just stand there."
Staggering up before her.
On the black ship, crew cheered.
"Whoa, Your Majesty! We did it! Punish them, please!"
Barque Pirates' sailors. Not weak, but average—not battle-changers.
"...Tch. Pointless meddling."
Balak, just heating up, eyed them coldly.
Then turned to Delo.
"Vidal Croit, see? One grunt's arrow undid all your prep. Because you're weak."
"......"
Delo stayed silent. A word might break Lampang's focus.
"...Enough. Dull. Now vanish."
KWHOOOM!
Balak's ruthless greatsword swung, crushing the galleon with immense pressure.