Chapter 305: Proxy
Whoosh—Bang!
A cannonball struck the Minotaur right in the face, smashing off the bull-shaped ram that was already showing clear rust, while Lahel at the ship’s bow was blasted back onto the deck by the explosion’s impact.
“Cough, cough cough!”
“Ugh…”
Rolling several times on the deck that was already burning hot, Lahel finally came to a stop after crashing into the main mast.
At this moment, he felt as if every bone in his body was shattered in pain, his internal organs seemingly displaced by the earlier explosion’s impact, and now even breathing was becoming difficult for him.
His plan had failed; the enemy had not accepted his surrender, nor did they intend to let this ship leave… These navy seemed determined to kill them all right here.
“Cough, cough cough! Are you okay!”
A familiar voice rang in his ear; it was that squad leader.
He was now holding an infant only slightly smaller than himself in size, limping toward Lahel.
Thick black smoke stung his eyes so much he could barely keep them open, tears uncontrollably filling his eye sockets, and his blurred vision made every step extremely difficult.
But the infant in his arms was well protected; a round bubble enveloped the infant’s big head, keeping the deadly thick smoke from harming this fragile little life.
“Cough cough! Ha~ Sorry… I, I couldn’t…”
Hearing the call, Lahel painfully opened his eyes and apologized.
“Enough, enough. You fish-man are still spouting nonsense even now… Cough cough!”
“You’re Brother Burufaruto’s friend; he stayed behind alone to cover your retreat… Cough! Cough cough!”
“Ha~ Your life concerns Boss’s resolve and, and the Beasts’ face.”
The squad leader finally reached Lahel’s side and safely handed him the infant in his arms.
“Ha~ Ha~ And before leaving, I promised Boss I’d protect you both; that’s my pledge as a subordinate.”
“So before I die, I absolutely won’t let you fall into their hands! Cough, cough cough cough!”
The fire on the ship was growing bigger, almost leaving nowhere to hide… The invading flames carrying deadly black smoke were devouring every life on the ship bit by bit.
“You’re fish-men; you can breathe in the sea too, so jump into the sea and escape while you can.”
“In a bit, I’ll cover you and create an opportunity… You just swim straight to the deep sea with the child.”
“Little brother, I… Come escape with us!”
Lahel had wanted to stay with him and go down together with the enemy, but the weight in his arms made him hold back his words.
“With the bubble, you can hide at the seabed with us too; we’ll wait for them to leave and then—”
“No use; the coral that makes the bubbles is gone, and…”
“Hey!”
The squad leader slammed his thighs hard with both hands, suddenly mustering strength to straighten his body in one breath, grinning boldly as he said:
“I’m the acting captain personally named by Brother Burufaruto; as a Beasts captain, I can’t flee the scene!”
With that, he charged straight through the roaring flames without any protection, stepping onto the creaking, shaky deck to reach the ship’s wheel.
Gripping the scorching-hot ship’s wheel with one hand, the other pressing a lever nearby, the squad leader ignored his already burned throat and bellowed at the top of his lungs:
“By order of the acting captain! Right now! Everyone abandon ship immediately!”
“Eh?!” *n
The squad leader’s voice was already extremely hoarse, but it was loud enough for everyone on the ship to hear clearly.
The crew members still trying to save the ship or searching for lifeboats amid the fire were all stunned upon hearing the order, seemingly caught off guard by this ‘acting captain’s’ decision.
But soon they dropped everything in their hands and jumped straight into the sea, abandoning ship.
This wasn’t cowardice; as elite crew handpicked by Burufaruto, these people had execution far beyond ordinary pirates when it came to the captain’s orders.
In short, they were a group that wouldn’t hesitate at crucial moments.
Plop!
Plop!
Plop!
……
Using the flames and thick smoke for cover, the Minotaur’s crew jumped into the sea one by one…
“…”
Confirming that even Lahel had leaped into the sea with the child in his arms, the squad leader showed a relaxed smile, then pushed the lever by the ship’s wheel.
Click!
“Minotaur, advance… four!”
Beep, beep, beep beep, beep beep beep—Boom!
With the lever pushed, a conical propulsion device suddenly extended from the ship’s stern below the sea surface, and as its internal turbofan spun, the Minotaur actually started moving despite its main sail being destroyed.
As if pushed from behind by a pair of invisible giant hands, the burning Minotaur kept accelerating! Accelerating! Accelerating! Then charged straight toward the warship where Mien was!
“Oh? Not fleeing, but ramming right into me instead.”
“Heh! Not a single propulsion device on a Beasts ship is installed for running away!”
“Arrogant navy! Come taste the Beasts’ fury head-on!”
“Hah!!!”
Watching the Minotaur speeding up, closing in like a maddened bull, and the unknown pirate on board grinning wildly with laughter, Mien’s expression remained unchanged.
His thumb pressed against the long sword’s guard and pushed forward gently; half an inch of snowy white gleam suddenly pierced the air, then Mien gripped the hilt and drew it.
Shing—
The slender blade like flowing water emerged inch by inch from the scabbard.
Unlike his previous quick draw slash so fast it was nearly imperceptible, this time Mien drew his sword very slowly, extremely slowly, as if wrestling with someone… He was building his momentum.
With every inch the blade emerged from the scabbard, Mien’s aura weakened by a fraction, while the momentum on the blade grew more terrifying by a fraction.
“The Beasts’ fury, huh… Sorry, but my fury far exceeds yours.”
Mien’s gaunt, skeletal face showed no expression, merely murmuring calmly in a low voice.
Zheng—Hum~~~
No one saw when the final inch of the blade left the scabbard; in a daze, the famous sword that had nearly been fully drawn returned entirely to its sheath, as if it had never been drawn at all.
The crowd could only belatedly catch the lingering hum in the air and the metallic clash of the guard striking the mouth of the scabbard.
“Secret Sword · Wrath”
Sizzle—!
As the words fell in his mind, a massive red slash gathered from thin air, then tore violently into the Minotaur’s bow like a chainsaw.
This was a move completely unlike Mien’s previous style.
Abandoning the clean, swift-as-thunder swordplay, replaced by pure madness, brutality, chaos, and… ferocity.
That red slash lacked the sharpness of ordinary slashes; instead, it was like an enraged wild beast, uncontrollably tearing and biting at everything around it, leaving devastation in its wake.
The bow was instantly shredded; the red beast opened its bloody maw, crawling step by step toward the sole survivor at the helm.
The Minotaur was torn apart inch by inch under its fangs, making the acting captain’s eyes nearly burst with rage; his hands gripping the ship’s wheel were bloodless from exertion.
But even so, he didn’t budge an inch; even if the next second turned him into a pile of minced meat, he would stand tall and perish with the ship.
This was his choice.
『Sorry, Brother Burufaruto.』
『Whether it was this ship or your friend, in the end I couldn’t protect either… You really picked a useless acting captain, huh~』
『Haha~』
The Minotaur’s acting captain opened his eyes, staring straight ahead, ready to face his death.
……
But…
“Secret Technique—Water Heart · Sea God!”
