Chapter 73
The red rapier pierced through the barricade.
Seeing it covered in blood, the navy soldiers’ faces turned pale.
The makeshift barricade made from chairs and desks was nothing more than a delay tactic in front of the sword, infused with condensed magic.
As they watched the barricade shatter in an instant, the soldiers could only grip their weapons with trembling hands.
And finally…
Bang!!!
The loud noise of the door and barricade breaking apart.
Before them stood the monstrous figures they had feared…
A young girl with blonde hair and red eyes, and a large white rat with red eyes.
“Ugh… Ughhhhh!”
“Thank goodness. There are still some survivors.”
The girl, smiling brightly despite being covered in blood, looked as though she had just enjoyed a pleasant game.
Her innocent appearance felt far more terrifying than any bloodthirsty monster.
As she slowly approached, the soldiers knelt and began pleading.
“Please… please spare us! Just… just spare our lives!”
“We… we were only following the Grand Admiral’s orders!”
“…We’ll never… never touch the young lady again! Please… please, just spare us… just once…”
The soldiers begged with all their might.
At that moment, the little girl smiled and spoke to them.
“Alright. I’ll spare you all specially.”
“!”
“Ah!”
The soldiers, nearly resigned to their fate, felt the light of hope shining down on them.
Then…
“But, there’s one thing I’d like you to do in return…”
“! Wh-what is it?”
“Please… tell us! We’ll do anything, just please spare our lives!”
The soldiers, realizing they had a chance at survival, shouted as loud as they could.
The girl, Ambasha, smiled warmly and spoke.
“It’s simple. Just turn the ship around and take us back to Crete Island.”
“W-What?”
“Turn… turn the ship… around?”
The soldiers were momentarily dumbfounded by her words.
Ambasha, still smiling, wiped her bloody rapier on her clothes.
“Why? You’re navy men, you should be able to handle that, right?”
“!! N-No, of course!”
“W-We can do it! Please leave it to us!”
“We… we’ll set sail right away!”
With those words, the soldiers rushed to the helm of the ship.
Watching them, Ambasha smiled brightly.
“Good. Now we can head back safely. Surely my father and Franklin are worried about me, right?”
She thought that since they believed she had been kidnapped, they must have been in turmoil.
Determined to return as quickly as possible, Ambasha leaned back in her chair, taking a short rest.
However…
Unfortunately, she was unaware of something.
The four survivors were once part of the army just before this mission.
“Shit… How the hell are we supposed to steer this ship?”
“I don’t know! Just try something!”
“Damn it! If I had known, I would have studied navigation more before transferring from the army!”
“Just do something! If we don’t, we’re all dead! If you don’t know, at least pretend to be confident!”
They were mere ‘navy’ in name, and they obviously didn’t know how to sail.
Nevertheless, they scrambled through the cabin, searching for navigation books, and began trying to figure out how to steer the ship.
After desperately struggling to survive, the moment they were able to steer the ship properly came a week later.
The ship veered off course, 500km away from Marenseu Port and 1000km from Crete Island, drifting towards Palma Island to the west.
***
“Alright! Let’s set sail!”
“Yes! Pirate King!”
According to my command, the sails were fully unfurled, and the ship headed toward the Franz Kingdom.
However, at this moment, the ship we were on wasn’t a pirate ship.
It was a ship captured from the Franz Kingdom during this battle.
While the Golden Cross was a small ship, just half the size of the flagship, it was not important.
Currently, under the cooperation of Napoleona and Arcroyal, we were disguised as the ‘Franz Kingdom Navy.’
The objective of this operation was not looting, but a ‘sudden strike’ after infiltrating the land, so we had to move as secretly as possible and keep our identities hidden.
To do that, we disbanded the pirate crew and entrusted the Golden Cross to Remine, Samir, and a few subordinates while waiting at Crete Island.
But this did not mean that our force was weak.
Including Franklin and the three officers, as well as strong fighters like Magellan and Elkana.
If we fought seriously, excluding me, we had enough power to wipe out tens of thousands of soldiers, so we had no problem facing enemies.
Of course, since the opponent was likely to be a transmigrant, we could not afford to relax, but even in the worst-case scenario, we could escape without much damage.
With enough preparations made, I steeled myself once again as we set out.
I’m determined to rescue Ambasha and make sure everyone returned safely…
***
“Phew…”
As she watched the departing Pirate King, Auriel let out a deep sigh.
If it were up to her, she would have wanted to go with them.
Although the time they spent together was short, Auriel had grown quite fond of Ambasha, having worked alongside her in the kitchen.
She wanted to lend a hand in rescuing her, but ultimately, due to the Pirate King’s will, Auriel remained behind.
It was an act of consideration, knowing she had endured a lot during the last mission, so this time she was asked to rest.
In truth, she had been using her aura and sensing magic every day, assisting Cheshire, and engaging in almost daily battles.
She was thoroughly exhausted.
‘Well… with my current condition, I’d just be a hindrance anyway… It’ll take at least a few days for my aura to recover…’
Acknowledging this, Auriel decided to head to the inn for some rest.
‘By the way… what happened to her? What about Cheshire…?’
Cheshire had vanished after the last battle.
Not just her, but the entire White Shark Pirate group had completely disappeared during the battle, so Cheshire’s whereabouts became a complete mystery.
Was she dead… or alive?
If she was alive, where could she be?
‘…Should I… try looking? Could she be hiding somewhere nearby…?’
A light curiosity began to bloom.
With some time on her hands, Auriel decided to use her aura and sensing magic, hoping Cheshire might be hiding nearby.
Although using magic would slow her recovery, she didn’t feel too burdened since she had plenty of time.
However…
“…Hm?”
At that moment, she began sensing a familiar presence through her aura.
‘…What is this? Why here? Could it be…?’
The presence she felt was much closer than expected.
A small yet distinct feeling of energy.
It wasn’t far from the harbor, and when she sensed it, Auriel felt more of a sense of caution than relief.
‘If Cheshire is here, it means the White Shark Pirates are nearby too… Could they be planning another ambush?’
Considering that about 70% of the main forces, including the Pirate King, had already left, it was highly plausible.
With a sense of danger mounting, Auriel hurried toward the person managing the situation here… toward Remine, the first officer.
***
“Is it true? A White Shark Pirate officer is nearby?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m sensing the presence right here.”
“Hm…”
Following Auriel’s guidance, Remine and several pirates began moving.
They cautiously walked along the mountain path near the harbor, staying alert to their surroundings.
Although they had formed a temporary alliance with Bennessa, the British Empire’s privateers were still enemies.
Having already decimated the Blue Shark Pirates, it would be good to deal with the White Shark Pirates while they had the chance.
If they could deal with the White Shark Pirates for good, that would be even better.
The fact that an officer from their group was nearby meant they might be able to track down their trail.
Carefully arriving at the designated location, they found…
However, what they saw next was only a sheer cliff.
“This is the area. The presence of Cheshire’s officer is coming from up ahead, but…”
“Hmm… We can’t see anything at the moment…”
Although they couldn’t see the officer, it was still an unusual location.
A high cliff, with sharp rocks below.
It was a dangerous spot, and the pirates cautiously surveyed the area.
“…Hm?”
Auriel peered over the cliff with a hopeful thought.
But suddenly, a voice filled with bewilderment escaped her lips.
“Auriel?”
“D… Don’t tell me…!”
“Wait! Be careful!”
Ignoring Remine’s warning, Auriel hurriedly started descending toward the cliff below.
Though her aura was protecting her, the terrain was so treacherous that her figure appeared precarious.
Auriel rushed down and finally stopped at a spot…
There, with a stiffened face, she spoke in a trembling voice.
“Cheshire…?”
Soon after, Remine arrived.
But at that moment, confusion appeared on her face, a different kind of bewilderment than Auriel’s.
“…This… this is…?”
—
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