Chapter 61
“…Did you say… we’re ruined?”
“Yes, that’s right. We’re already finished. Isn’t that so? If not, then go ahead and say otherwise.”
“…Kuh…”
At Brigadier Napoleona’s words, Admiral Gardin’s face hardened coldly.
However, despite his visible distress,
He couldn’t refute a single word from the woman standing before him.
The pirates had finally turned their backs.
And not just in the sense of cutting ties—
They were now openly advancing in formation, armed with guns and blades.
And unlike someone who was still trapped in grandiose delusions,
Gardin wasn’t so incompetent that he couldn’t grasp what this meant.
Their forces were already at a disadvantage against the Pirate King.
Yet the Commander-in-Chief had failed to even manage his own subordinates properly,
And ended up turning the pirates—who made up nearly half of their power—into complete enemies.
Now, those pirates had redirected the tips of their spears, which should’ve been aimed at the Pirate King, toward them instead.
Just as Napoleona had said—this was a situation where they needed to unite their strength, but instead they had begun fighting amongst themselves.
This could only mean one thing: they were doomed.
With the current state of chaos,
Admiral Gardin asked Brigadier Napoleona a question.
“Th-then… what’s going to happen to us now?”
“We’re going to die.”
“Wha… what did you say?”
Napoleona bluntly stated the worst outcome.
Gardin, who had been trying to grasp at even a sliver of hope, was left speechless.
“We’ll either die to the pirates approaching us now, or to the Pirate King who will soon storm this place, or perhaps be executed by the enraged Duke Oaklean when we return in disgrace. Either way, there’s no path left for us to survive.”
“…”
Napoleona coldly hammered home the brutal truth.
But indeed, just as she said, there was no method of survival left in this situation.
Stay behind and die, run away and still die.
With no conditions left for victory on the battlefield, the future had already been foretold.
“Damn it… I should’ve quit this damn navy long ago…”
Cursing his own stupidity for not escaping after being crushed by the Pirate King in the past,
Gardin sank into a belated regret.
And just then—
As he was seriously considering that desertion might be the only option left,
“…So, Admiral Gardin,” Napoleona said.
“W-what is it?”
“If… if there were a way to survive this situation…Would you choose that path, Admiral?”
“! There is? Such a way exists? If there’s really something like that, of course I’d choose it! They say even a tumble in a dung heap is better than dying—there’s no way I want to die like this!”
Napoleona’s words rekindled the hope that had been completely snuffed out.
Without even hearing the details, Admiral Gardin eagerly grabbed hold of her words.
And watching his response,
A quiet smile began to bloom on Napoleona’s lips.
***
The privateer pirates marched toward the position of the Franz Kingdom’s army.
Numbering nearly 2,000 in total, they showed no fear even when facing the 3,000 soldiers of the Franz Kingdom.
It was true that the pirates had been overwhelmingly beaten in the previous battles.
This was due not only to the strong ground forces of the Franz Kingdom,
But more critically, because captains like Alice Wonder Land and Blue Queen had tried to avoid direct conflict as much as possible.
Though it was shameful and disgraceful,
Their cautious approach was necessary to avoid provoking the Franz Kingdom forces who were effectively carrying a bomb at the vanguard.
However, the recent incident in which Blue Queen was directly attacked had completely shattered their patience.
And now, abandoning all ideas of alliance or diplomacy,
Determined to settle things once and for all, regardless of who died and who survived,
The pirates arrived in front of the Franz Kingdom’s encampment, exuding murderous intent.
Upon seeing the enemy’s approach, Admiral Gardin immediately organized his troops into formation.
He drew his sword and shouted in a cold voice.
“You beastly pirate scum! How dare you betray our alliance like this! Can you still call yourselves human?”
“Silence. You were the ones who betrayed us first. You don’t honestly believe we’re unaware of what you’ve done, do you?”
“…Khmm…”
Alice Wonder Land responded in an icy tone.
Struck by the undeniable truth in her words,
Gardin faltered and could only shut his mouth.
Seeing him temporarily tongue-tied, Blue Queen spoke up in a voice seething with fury.
“You tested our patience for far too long! Time to settle this debt! With interest!”
And even before her words had fully left her mouth,
The pirates raised their guns toward the front lines.
Simultaneously, the soldiers of the Franz Kingdom also aimed their rifles at the pirates.
A tense standoff occurred in an instant.
In the frozen atmosphere, both sides hesitated to open fire, watching each other warily.
They had come this far,
But giving the order to shoot now would mean no turning back.
The Pirate King Subjugation Operation would completely fall apart.
No matter who won or lost, only a hollow, bloody victory would remain.
That idiot Commander-in-Chief Pierre had no idea about any of this.
Anyway, both factions and their commanders, bound by their final shred of patience, remained hesitant to make any sudden moves.
Suppressing their emotions in the heavy silence, their minds slowly began to regain composure.
They truly hated the situation… but still, to end everything here and now would be too great a loss.
After all, wasn’t this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to land a blow against the Pirate King?
Moreover, while the pirates could simply spit on it all and walk away, Napoleona and the other navy officers had no such freedom.
Unlike those free-spirited pirates, they were bound to the state,
And thus, if anything went wrong, they had to take responsibility for it.
So, as they gnawed on their lips and maintained their silence…
—Bang!
“!”
“Huh?”
A sharp gunshot rang out from somewhere.
No one could tell where it had come from.
But…
That sound—
In this already tense and fragile atmosphere—
Completely overturned the situation.
“F-fire! Fire at will!”
“Don’t let a single one escape! Volley fire!”
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
And just like that, the furious exchange of gunfire began.
No one cared anymore who had fired first.
The only thing that mattered now was ending the pirates—
Or the navy—standing before them.
And as both sides poured bullets for that sole purpose,
The area was instantly engulfed in thick chaos, blood, and the stench of gunpowder.
“Guaaaah!!!”
“Guh… gk!!”
Pirates screamed as they collapsed onto the ground.
At the same time, several navy soldiers who had launched attacks also fell.
“Everyone, reload! Aim! Fire again!”
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
At Alice Wonder Land’s command, the pirates unleashed a storm of bullets.
Having fought side by side in real battles more times than one could count,
Their shooting accuracy rivaled that of elite regular troops.
But the same was true for the Franz Kingdom Navy.
Though they were more like a parachute unit than a traditional force,
They were more than accustomed to fighting on land.
On top of that, they had the numerical advantage, and this was their base of operations— Practically their home turf.
So even with the pirates’ surprise attack, the battle continued intensely.
Meanwhile—
They arrived.
Cheshire Jabberwock and Dust watched her approach with expressions that said, “So it’s come to this.”
“…Feels like we’ve been seeing each other a lot lately. Honestly, I’m starting to grow attached.”
“You…”
The brigadier gave a cold smile.
In response, the two immediately began emanating Magic Energy and Aura.
Then—
“Ugh!”
“!”
Napoleona suddenly rushed toward them.
Though it made sense, given the battle happening around them,
There was something strange.
She wasn’t holding any weapon.
To be exact, she hadn’t even drawn her sword from its sheath,
Nor showed any sign of using Magic.
They found this odd—
And at that moment, as she approached near them,
She spoke in a calm voice.
“No need to be on edge. I didn’t come here to fight.”
“…?”
“What… do you mean by that?”
Her tone was unusually serene—too strange for the moment.
Then, in a voice low enough that only they could hear, Napoleona whispered,
“I’m about to leave this place through this path. Take care of yourselves.”
“W-what?”
An unexpected surrender—or rather, a declaration of desertion.
Leaving the two of them stunned, filled with deep confusion,
Napoleona vanished somewhere into the chaos.
—
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