The pirate in charge of the magic cannon waited for the pirate responsible for transporting the magic shells to finish loading.
Clank—
A magic shell, reaching up to the waist of an adult male, was attached to the apparatus connected to the magic cannon.
Grrrgg…
The magic shell, flowing through the magic engine, was loaded into the massive magic cannon.
“Fire at will!”
The pirates in charge of the magic cannon simultaneously pulled the iron string that served as the firing mechanism attached to the cannons.
Boom!!
With a purple circular wave, the magic cannon on the central deck roared to life.
Thick flames of magic erupted.
Three shells from the pirate ship, 800 meters away to the east.
And one shot each from two ships to the north.
Five magic shells flew through the air, scattering purple magical trails toward Amon’s flagship.
A thick shadow fell on the horizon.
Yuma stepped out onto the front deck.
Clearly aimed at him, one purple shell soared toward the ship.
– As I mentioned, I’ll deploy a 6-circle defensive magic, the Adamantine Ark.
Yuma slowly nodded.
The magic dwelling independently within the holy sword, Balmung.
The most exceptional magic he could wield was the Adamantine Ark.
When he asked if he could use attack magic, he was told the embedded spells were only defensive.
Just moments ago, when Yuma inquired if he could wield magic himself, he received a swift reply.
That was why it was a great holy sword.
When he asked why the holy sword was being played with by the Evil God, the simple answer was:
– Evil Gods don’t use magical energy. If it were the hand of a Demon God, it could have been repelled. Master.
It wasn’t incorrect, but it still sounded like a pretty lame excuse.
Yuma tightened his grip on Balmung while watching the incoming magic shell.
*
– Left Deck.
On the left deck, Cloney stood by the railing.
Cloney recalled Yuma’s words.
“So, the Ego Sword can cast defensive magic, right?”
– So, if it gets tough, you can take a break.
Cloney then asked if she could block the attack herself if she wanted to protect.
And Yuma supported her reckless ambition.
– It’d be good to try if you can. Even if you miss one shot, just think of it as having a reliable backup holding steady.
Yuma said this gently, as always.
Cloney didn’t want to betray that trust.
Ka-boom!
Three magic shells barreled toward the left side of the ship.
Cloney’s dark staff moved swiftly in her hands.
Whoosh—
In an instant, the magic formula was completed.
Cloney’s black hair fluttered in the sea breeze.
The 5-circle defensive magic [Iron Wall Fortress] was deployed.
Shshshhh—
A transparent iron wall enveloped them.
Her right hand, gripping the staff, trembled.
Golden magic radiated from the staff.
The golden magic flowed out like a mirage, continuously pouring forth.
This was to maintain the Iron Wall Fortress at its peak state.
It was an act for the sake of doing.
KWA-KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAK!!!
The three magic projectiles on the left didn’t reach Balmung’s Holy Ark at the back.
That’s because they couldn’t get past Cloney’s ironclad fortress.
Residue from the magic projectiles swirled thickly in front of the fortress.
“Hu…ah.”
Thud—
Cloney let out a sigh of relief as she sank to the ground. There was barely a speck of mana left in her Mana Heart.
In front of the Ahmonga vessel.
Duke Yuma unleashed two magic projectiles with overwhelming momentum.
The force resembled a colossal black hole that had just chewed up a small planet.
Two black holes.
Yuma was confident that the magic projectile aimed to smash the ship would be blocked by Balmung’s Holy Ark.
He may have said a lot of unnecessary things, but he had never spoken without evidence.
<Extreme Concentration>
Kugugugugu!!!
Right in front.
Yuma focused the energy of the magic projectile at the front, making it the parrying point.
He swung Balmung in that direction, tilting the blade.
Tsutsutsuts──!!
The magic projectile grazed against Balmung’s blade.
KA-AN!!!
The projectile burst upward, releasing the golden ripple of an impact, signifying that the ‘Parrying’ was successful.
Yuma now clearly recalled the one and only move to simultaneously shatter the three pirate ships on the sea.
<Absolute Counter─Disaster Split>
Originally, it was a skill that allowed him to use [Absolute Counter] against up to three enemies with the same power, including the target of the ‘Absolute Counter.’
He had to designate the two remaining pirate ships apart from the one on the northern right that was fixed by the [Absolute Counter].
He pinpointed the person standing in the middle of the deck of the pirate ship on the northern left.
Yuma had no trouble designating the living target. Even the pirate ship far in the eastern direction was clearly visible along with the barrel of the magic cannon.
He could aim for the person next to the magic cannon.
With the three target points set,
<Absolute Counter─Disaster Split> was cast.
The magic projectile that soared upward emanated a purple light. The sun.
WooOOOOOooo───!!!
It grew to a size reminiscent of the sun.
Ten times the magic projectile.
It was reborn due to the effects of [Absolute Counter].
Kwad-deuk!!! Jjeojeok!!
With the force to warp space, the black sun, flashing its purple beams, plummeted downward in three lines.
Three purple pillars raced across the horizon.
Chwaaaah───!!!
Cratered ground erupted as if it were a surface disturbed by ripples, with the magic projectile pillars causing the water’s surface to rise heatedly to the left and right.
KWA-KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAK!!!
The waves parted like two braids, turning into massive tides that split to the sides. A shocking shockwave.
Two pillars soared up like a living black dragon, engulfing the two pirate ships to the north.
KA-BOOM!!!
The purple magical pillars detonated all their magic bullets that were once their original form.
BOOM─KA-BOOOM!──!
Wooden debris from the pirate ships flew about among the flames.
The aim was at one target, but the end result was essentially total annihilation.
“ARGHHH!”
“SAVE ME!”
The smoke of death spread thickly.
Screams echoed from the pirate ship that was literally split in two. The whirlpool created by the fierce waters from the magic bullet pillar mercilessly sank the two pirate ships.
KA-BOOM!!!
The purple magic bullet aimed at the pirate ship 800 meters to the east broke through the waves and reached its target.
And it literally devoured that target.
KWA-HA-HA-HA-HAW—!
With a chain explosion of magical blasts, the pirate ship was flattened.
Pieces of the ship and the corpses of the pirates were thrown onto the ground heavily.
There was so much burning wreckage that it was visible from far away.
The Duskray Pirates.
Annihilation.
[Lv.135] Hectos
Currently, only the captain, Hectos, stood firmly on the ground.
Amid the ringing in his ears, Hectos swung his sword.
The battle against the woman in front of him had just begun.
However, with every clash of their swords, a ship burst apart.
Literally burst apart.
It was absurd. The pirate crew was suddenly annihilated.
It felt like being hit by a meteor falling from the sky while walking down the street.
The emotions Hectos felt were strange.
“What the hell are you, girl?”
And he himself was not in perfect condition either.
The girl with blue hair and pink eyes before him was continuing to grow stronger in the middle of the fight.
Clearly, the moment they first crossed swords, her skill was significantly lower than his.
But after being pushed back hard once, she reinforced herself during the fight.
A crazy talent.
There was no other way to explain it.
“Most of your crew is dead, you know.”
Bel said quietly.
“You’ll be dying soon too. I’m really curious about someone who’s about to die.”
Hectos, the captain with curly black hair, raised an eyebrow.
“Calmness at such a young age, huh?”
Hectos pulled up the golden aura blade on his sword.
Bel’s blue sword glimmered brightly.
‘One Sword Strike.’
Hectos’s first strike was undeniably stronger than his.
But he soon realized, after exchanging a few blows, that it was all about powerful sword strikes.
So he could break it.
‘Because Yuma taught me how.’
Ways to break swords that are only strong.
Far grander sword techniques than the one the captain of this pirate crew was using.
Now, this moment was the moment of proof.
The moment to prove that choosing himself was not wrong.
‘Now, it’s over.’
Because there was a deadly sword strike he unleashed at Hectos’s right knee.
Hectos gritted his teeth and threw himself forward.
The sword shimmered with a golden flow.
‘Become my companion in the afterlife, you arrogant fool.’
Hectos poured all his strength into the sword.
‘I haven’t shown something like this much range yet.’
Not having shown it before becomes a weapon in itself.
Because you expect the familiar to come close.
The golden sword energy, reminiscent of a full moon, was heavily drawn over the Resen Kingdom’s ship.
In an instant, Hectos saw it. Bell’s neck being sliced by the golden strike.
However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that it was an illusion created by perspective.
Whoosh—
Bell’s sword pierced Hectos’s heart.
Crushing all of the golden strikes. The technique that drove the sword into Hectos’s heart was the Certen style, Thunder Island.
It was a deadly thrust he’d honed endlessly since inheriting it from Duke Yuma.
“Ugh…!”
Thick blood spurted from Hectos’s mouth.
Bell pulled out her sword without changing her expression.
Hectos’s breath was cut off in an instant.
The massive body collapsed onto the deck.
Swish—
And then, she shook the blood off the floor.
She gazed at Duke Yuma, who was looking at her from Amon’s ship beyond.
‘You’ve shown results beyond limits.’
Bell’s level was still 128.
Killing a Sword Master at 135 with overwhelming technique and skill was quite an encouraging feat.
Duke Yuma, holding Balmung, spoke in a low voice.
“Among the left-side mana cannon shots, did any get blocked by the Golden Barrier?”
Balmung’s voice echoed in Yuma’s head.
– None. All three shots were blocked by Lady Cloney’s 5-circle defense magic fortress. Blocking three mana projectiles of this power with 5-circles is almost impossible; it’s truly impressive. As you said, Duke Yuma, indeed a genius.
Yuma slowly nodded.
Both Bell and Cloney had surpassed their limits in this battle.
‘Grow stronger.’
That way, it’ll make things easier for me.
Thinking that, Yuma patted Cloney’s shoulder as she approached.
“You did very well blocking that, Cloney.”
Cloney, despite the struggles, looked pleased and smiled brightly.
“Yes, Duke Yuma.”
‘I was praised by Duke Yuma.’
Cloney fell into the illusion that her fatigue was instantly lifted by his touch.
“I salute the War Gods!”
“I salute the War Gods!”
Yuma slightly furrowed his brow and turned to the source of the shout.
Bell glanced around, her head bobbing as she looked at the members of the Resen Kingdom who were flat on the ground before her.
Half of them were lying prostrate toward Yuma.
Half in reverence.
Half in fear.
Countless emotions enveloped the members of Resen.
If they hadn’t revealed that they were allies from the Astes Empire when they first appeared, they would have long been paralyzed with terror.
