Chapter 312: Pincer Attack
“Take care of yourself all the way.”
Holding the child, Lahel took a few steps back, then turned and leaped into the sea.
Splash~
A small splash erupted, slapping against the outer side of the ship’s railing, insignificant compared to the commotion stirred by the cannonballs crashing into the sea around them, attracting no attention.
The two, who had already lived most of their lives, showed little outward heartbreak at the moment of parting; instead, there was more of a subdued indifference deep in their hearts.
“I didn’t expect us to part ways again so soon. We hadn’t seen each other for decades, and I still have so much to say…”
Watching the ripples on the sea surface from his friend gradually fade until all traces vanished, Burufaruto finally sighed with some loneliness.
Back when they parted initially, everyone was still spirited and vigorous young men; now, reuniting, they were both weathered by the storms of life, with gray hair beginning to appear…
Decades of separation ended with merely less than half a day’s reunion… This great sea was always filled with regrets.
Boom!
Boom boom boom!
The whistling cannonballs didn’t give Burufaruto much time for sentiment; the absurdly massive giant ship opposite was already close at hand.
“Quick! You all hurry down and catch my strongest Fish-Man slave!”
On the giant ship’s deck, the Celestial Dragon was waving his arms wildly, directing the agents responsible for protection.
He didn’t care whether Burufaruto and the others were truly Navy or something else; right now, he only wanted to recapture Lahel and have him defeat the new Fish-Man slave his old rival Rozward had bought.
“Yes! Saint Natanya!”
Nearly a hundred well-trained black-clad agents responded loudly, then leaped down from the deck toward the warship below.
……
“Hey! So many World Government agents coming down—looks like there’s definitely a Celestial Dragon on that ship opposite!”
Burufaruto looked at the black-clad agents rushing toward them and grinned loudly:
“Brothers! We’re in luck today—we’ve run into a live Celestial Dragon!”
“Haha! If that’s the case, luck is pretty good!”
“I’ve never seen a live Celestial Dragon before~”
“Eh? So you’ve seen a dead one?”
“Heh~ Better off dead for that kind of thing~”
Clearly on the verge of desperation, their bodies already exhausted, the crew on the ship still bantered and laughed about the Celestial Dragon in coordination with each other.
……
“Insolent! How dare you insult the supremely noble Celestial Dragons!”
As expected, the moment Celestial Dragons were mentioned, the agents on the ship immediately lost their composure.
For them, brainwashed from childhood to believe Celestial Dragons were supreme beings, gods of the world, any words slandering them were unforgivable!
“Hand over that grouper Fish-Man! That’s the Celestial Dragon’s property—harboring or stealing it will result in immediate execution!”
The agents, scanning the ship and not seeing the target, seemed convinced he was hidden by the opposite side.
“Hey! What grouper Fish-Man? I haven’t heard of any~”
“And can’t you World Government dogs update your lines? Same few phrases over and over.”
“Do you think the Beasts Pirates would care about a mere Celestial Dragon’s threats?”
“Brother Burufaruto, go up and drag that Celestial Dragon down so the brothers can get a look!”
“…”
“Alright! I’ll make a trip today.”
With nothing left to hold back, Burufaruto let loose upon hearing this, ready to go all out with his brothers one last time… which was also currently the only way to break the situation.
As long as he captured that Celestial Dragon, the tide would turn instantly—whether these tricky agents in front or the Navy chasing relentlessly behind… everyone would have to let them go.
Whoosh—!
Bang~
With that in mind, Burufaruto stomped the ground, using ‘Shave’ to burst out of the black-clad agents’ encirclement, then ‘Moonwalk’ straight toward the Celestial Dragon atop the giant ship!
“Quick! Stop him!”
“We must not let him threaten Saint Natanya!”
“Why does a pirate know ‘Rokushiki’!”
Seeing Burufaruto’s sudden charge straight to the heart, the agents panicked; several senior agents skilled in Moonwalk immediately gave chase.
Ignoring the pursuers behind, Burufaruto vaulted through the air to above the luxury giant ship, quickly locking onto the bloated figure amid heavy protection.
『That’s a Celestial Dragon… The agents guarding him number… six.』
『Tch, some trouble—gotta take them down quick.』
With that thought, as Burufaruto prepared to act, a chilling sensation suddenly ran down his spine—he forcibly twisted his body mid-air.
Slash—!
The sound of claws tearing flesh rang out, followed by a spray of blood into the air…
The strike came without warning; the attacker made no sound until the instant of attack, delivering a fatal blow to Burufaruto’s vitals from dozens of meters up.
“It’s you!”
Burufaruto’s eyes widened; five deep, bone-visible gashes appeared on his chest, each as neat as if sliced by a blade.
But it had nothing to do with swords—the weapon leaving these wounds was claws—owl claws.
Silently flapping its wings, a pure white owl circled in the air a few times before landing on the deck in front of the Celestial Dragon.
“Saint Natanya, this subordinate arrived late—please forgive me.”
The white-clad agent, reverting to human form, knelt on one knee, head bowed deeply, sincerely apologizing for his failure.
At the same time, two warships that had jettisoned all supplies and were advancing at full speed appeared on the distant horizon.
At the bow of one, a Navy officer wrapped in bandages, gaunt to the extreme, dangled one arm while casting his piercing gaze toward them.
At his waist, two famous swords emanated chilling menace, trembling slightly with his breath, as if eager to be unsheathed.
……
Glub glub~
Beneath the sea surface, Lahel, holding the child, swam with all his might toward a certain direction.
The seawater was cold; icy water passing over the wounds covering his body occasionally sparked excruciating pain that made him grimace.
The sea was dark; fearing discovery, he dared not approach the surface too closely, enduring his fear of the darkness as he pressed onward.
Fortunately, his sense of direction was good; even without landmarks, he smoothly reached the destination—the waters where the Minotaur wreckage lay.
That’s right—this was his escape route.
Nearby, aside from Fish-Man Island ten thousand meters below, the closest islands were hundreds of sea miles away; swimming alone would take days.
Without resupply, the child in his arms couldn’t last that long, and without a pointer, he couldn’t even find those islands’ directions.
So he had to return to the Minotaur first, grab the supplies and pointer on board—ideally find a usable small boat too…
Light and shadow shifted; after an unknown time, Lahel finally spotted the shadow of a ship on the sea surface above.
The incomplete hull bottom and scattered wreckage fragments around it were unmistakably the Minotaur, abandoned in place!
Pfft—!
Breaking the surface, Lahel poked his head out, preparing to climb aboard at a suitable spot… but a voice suddenly rang out behind him:
“Roar~ Didn’t expect staying here would bring such an unexpected surprise~”
“You look familiar—must be a big fish~”
Hands in pockets, Alberich stood idly on a small boat directing his Navy subordinates to search the Minotaur wreckage when he spotted Lahel surfacing, half-surprised, half-delighted.
How many times now~ Ever since that near-annihilating Fenrir Sea Battle, he’d been wrapped in good fortune: boss died today, instant promotion tomorrow…
He hadn’t done a thing, yet nonstop promotions and raises were piling up, nearly overwhelming him—now this massive merit swam right to him.
That guy Mien worked himself to death, lost an arm, got nothing and a scolding, now miserably dragged off to slave for the Celestial Dragon.
While he, wanting to slack off, applied to stay and sort any lingering intel from this wreck—and ended up waiting for the rabbit.
“Sure enough, the goddess of luck has always been on my side~”
Pulling his hands from his pockets, Alberich grinned confidently at Lahel in the water:
“Come on up, Fish-Man brother.”
“Just cooperate nicely, and I guarantee no harm to you.”
“Don’t think about diving back into the sea to escape~ Or wanna bet if your dive is faster than my ‘Shave’?”
“Eh~ I don’t mind, but if the child gets hurt then, that’d be bad~ What do you say~”
“……”
