Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Cannon Fire Over the Waves
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Basen Rak Orazen thought.
"It was the right call to target the ships."
The pirates were poised on deck, ready to leap aboard at any moment.
That made them perfect targets for the cannons.
One of the pirates shouted.
"Dodge, dodge!"
The second and third cannons fired in sequence.
Rounded stones sliced through the air.
They smashed the railings, barely losing any momentum.
When one struck a Deep One's shoulder, the creature's arm tore clean off as it was hurled over the railing.
The stone arced downward to the deck.
But it still had plenty of force left.
Rolling across the deck, it crushed a pirate's shin.
With a sickening crunch, the Deep One collapsed, and the stone tore through its leg before vanishing between the opposite railings.
Screams filled the air.
"Aaaagh!"
The pirates couldn't dodge the cannonballs.
They could only pray the muzzles weren't aimed their way.
As pandemonium erupted on the six lead ships, murmurs rose from the four trailing pirate vessels.
At that moment, a hulking Deep One—the apparent second-in-command—bellowed.
"Don't panic over their strange weapons! They can't fire them again right away. Close in now!"
Basen was impressed.
"Did he guess it by chance?"
With no other choice, Basen shouted to the gunners.
"Prepare to reload immediately!"
Through the gaps in the pirate sails, Basen saw the big Deep One grinning.
"No, not a guess. They have no choice but to board us. He just said whatever would calm the chaos and rally them."
It was crucial intel for Basen, commanding the battle: the enemy wasn't stupid.
They might look hideous, but they were people all the same.
Basen turned to his crew and shouted.
"Don't lose heart! Stay steady! Aren't we the ones winning?"
His words rallied the demoralized sailors and soldiers, who cheered back.
The four pirate ships squeezed past their crippled leaders and surged to the front.
Ships ground together, emitting whale-like groans of friction.
The hulking Deep One yelled.
"Get in close! On deck, we'll crush them!"
Basen wondered.
"What gives him such confidence?"
Basen raised his signal flag.
"Second rank, aim!"
The big Deep One muttered.
"...Second rank?"
At Basen's command, the first-rank gunners paused mid-reload and fell back, while the second rank dragged their cannons forward.
The first volley had used only half the guns.
"If reload time is our weakness, stagger the firing to cover it."
Basen dropped the flag.
"Fire!"
Fuses sparked in unison from the breeches.
During the brief delay as they burned, the Deep Ones panicked.
"...No!"
Boom!
Another storm of shot swept the pirate decks.
Timbers splintered, bodies shredded, and chunks of flesh and bone from half-dead pirates fluttered in the barrage.
Basen didn't bask in the moment.
"Tione."
"Y-yes?"
"Pull back a bit now. That should give us time to reload the second rank. And prepare other defenses."
"Got it. I'll signal the other ships too."
While the pirates reeled from the cannonade, the Pirate's Scourge and warships widened the gap again.
Basen thought.
"Our goal is to secure the cannons and powder safely. If they don't press the attack, no need to annihilate them."
His ships and troops were outnumbered by the pirates and their vessels.
Forcing a boarding action to capture them would be too risky.
"Of course, if they chase us, that's different..."
As if reading his mind, the big Deep One prodded his crew.
"Survivors, fix those broken sails! Lash the lines tight and pull! Everyone else below deck! Advance!"
Basen thought.
"Not mindless brutes after all."
The sturdiest targets on deck were the masts.
But hulls were built to weather rough seas and reefs.
Basen doubted even point-blank shots from their current cannons could reliably breach them.
"Can't be helped, then."
Basen ordered.
"Prepare the King's Cannons."
The King's Cannons were the largest aboard—heavy enough that even seasoned sailors needed six men to maneuver each, with only two per ship.
And their destructive power matched their size.
As the pirates charged again, the King's Cannons roared, punching through hulls with a crash before bursting out the far side.
Screams leaked from the ragged holes.
No need to look: the interiors were pulp.
Pirates spilled back onto the decks.
"Simple enough."
The cannons fired again.
By the time the second rank finished, pirates were abandoning four ships, leaping into the sea—one already sinking.
Basen remarked.
"Hm. Hasn't been long enough for water to flood those holes."
Tione tapped the King's Cannon barrel.
"Probably shattered the keel. Tough to aim deliberately, but the power's real. They'll run now, right?"
"No. I think they have one more trick."
"Trick?"
Basen shouted.
"All ships, watch for Deep Ones climbing the hulls! They can breathe underwater!"
He wasn't certain, but he stated it firmly.
Even non-Deep One pirates could scale hulls.
Better safe than sorry.
Non-gunner sailors and soldiers grabbed spears and bows, scanning the railings.
Basen nocked an arrow, loosed it at the warship beside him—toward the waterline.
A webbed hand pinned to the hull by the shaft.
"Graaak!"
A Deep One pirate.
As it clawed at the arrow, Basen's second shot pierced its temple.
"As expected."
Basen had planned for pirate survivors from the start.
Fish-like appearance suggested fish-like abilities.
But sufficient vigilance neutralized them.
A ship was like a seawall.
Without surprise, pointless.
"Some will lurk deep and escape, but that's unavoidable. Demoralized stragglers scatter like that on land too."
The Yabon Pirates, their night assault foiled, seemed out of options.
"Damn it! Retreat!"
Basen clicked his tongue.
If retreating, better right after the first volley, while all ten ships still floated.
Now only six viable, crews thinned by relentless fire.
Boarding now? Winnable.
"Pursue! Aim!"
The Pirate's Scourge and warships flanked the four rearmost pirates.
"...Fire!"
Boom!
Only two pirate ships escaped alive.
──┼──
"Excellent."
The Pirate's Scourge's cannon duel fascinated Seong-un.
It demonstrated naval firepower against a cannon-less foe.
Of course, he hadn't watched by luck.
Seong-un had lured the pirates to target the Scourge and three warships.
Easy manipulation now.
He'd flushed southern-island pirates faster than planned with White Spider Hilrob, then deployed Slatis at their target village.
Pirates followed steady winds like roads; hungry ones pouncing on four ships was natural.
But not mere spectacle.
"Needed a vaccine shot."
Yabon Pirates were huge.
Several southern bases; jumping into full war risked issues.
So Seong-un built confidence with small wins.
"Ravina was aboard anyway; low risk of heavy losses. I could've intervened. But Basen exceeded expectations— even gained a skill."
Basen's new skill: Command.
Charisma encompassing comprehension and obedience in war.
Leadership visibly surged too.
"Rakrak era needed strategy, but individual warrior prowess mattered. Firearms equalize combat; commanding subordinates becomes key. Great skill."
And Basen delivered as hoped.
After meeting Heukrin's navy at Maganen, he drilled generals and troops on cannon doctrine.
Then, on Kyle's secret orders to clear southern pirates, led the expedition south.
Southern Archipelago secured in one month.
──┼──
"But... we can't leave yet."
After reclaiming the Southern Archipelago, a grand feast erupted.
Scattered Deep One bands remained, but Astacidian forces could handle them alone.
Equal numbers—or even slight Deep One superiority—Aplacians wouldn't lose.
Yet Basen deemed departure premature, orders or not.
Tione snapped.
"Why?"
Ravina replied.
"The Southern Archipelago was their biggest outpost, but not main base."
Basen nodded.
Couldn't reach the southern continent they came from, but pirates held other islands as primaries.
"Word is, two nearby: Ormur Island."
Tione said.
"West of Northern Isle? Close to Dan Yeom; probably their base for raids off Dan Yeom Barbarian coasts."
Basen nodded.
"And Doltan Island."
Ravina added.
"Far south of Southern Isle. Astacidian locals just learned of it. Near southern continent—likely Yabon headquarters."
Basen said.
"Took the Archipelago intact, but splitting for two more? Tough. Hit one first."
Each option had pros and cons.
Then.
A black shadow pierced the festivities, approaching Basen from behind.
"Worry not. We've taken Ormur Island."
Basen looked up.
A tall Garuda stood there, left hand blackened like rot.