The captain of the ship reached out.

Chapter 24 Heading Towards the Sea

In less than five minutes.

Almost the entire crew of the ship gathered on the deck of the Golden Sun.

Even Libit, who was wearing shackles, managed to sneak into the crowd.

"It's the [Blood Shark] with a bounty of 5000 gold dragon coins!"

The current captain, Bazel, looked at the pirate ship in the distance with a solemn expression and quickly gave the order.

"All personnel, prepare for battle!"

Upon hearing this name, some of the veteran sailors' expressions turned grim.

It was a pirate ship wanted by several city-states, and it was notorious in the waters near the city-state of Aran.

A bounty of 5000 gold dragon coins is itself a symbol of strength.

If it were an ordinary pirate ship, it might not have dared to attack the Golden Sun.

But if it were the Blood Shark, things would probably be much more difficult to resolve today.

After all, the opposing captain is a sixth-tier Mystic!

At this moment, many crew members remembered the old captain Ronan.

If he were still here...

Libitt silently observed the crew's expressions and quickly realized the danger of the situation.

From his perspective, he would be happy to see Bazel and the others killed by the pirates, but after that, he and his people would probably not escape the same fate.

In the best-case scenario, they would both suffer heavy losses, creating an opportunity for themselves to turn the tide.

However, it is precisely at times like these that one must not act rashly.

Libitt quietly entered the cabin, preparing to secretly observe how things would develop.

"Pirates are attacking! The Blood Shark?"

Deep inside the lower deck, Horn suddenly tensed up.

What if the Golden Sun is sunk by pirates? Wouldn't all his hard work be wasted?

There's a chance even this split body will be donated here!

"Bazaar, you'd better step up your game!"

……

……

The sea breeze howled, and waves rolled up one after another, scattering into snow-white foam.

On the sea, the two ships gradually drew closer together.

Until it reaches effective range.

Bazel suddenly swung the scimitar in his hand.

"fire!!!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cannons on the starboard side roared, and solid shells left their muzzles, crashing into the Blood Shark amidst the exploding smoke!

Almost at the same time.

Orange-red cannon flames also lit up the hull of the Blood Shark.

Columns of water rose instantly from the sea, and huge waves rolled endlessly.

Although this exchange of fire looked impressive, most of the shells failed to hit the enemy ship.

This is actually the norm in normal naval warfare.

In a world before fire control systems were invented, the accuracy of artillery was abysmal.

—There are indeed extraordinary individuals who have embarked on the secret path of the [Gunner], who can greatly improve the accuracy of artillery shells, but very few people can embark on this secret path, and it is often monopolized by truly powerful forces.

However, during the second round of shooting...

Boom-!

Horn, who was observing the situation from the bottom of the ship, suddenly felt a strong tremor.

Turning around, I saw several cracks appearing on the side of the cabin wall.

Horn instantly understood the situation.

A cannonball, by sheer coincidence, struck the lower deck below the waterline!

Horn was startled at first, but quickly calmed down.

This seems like... a good opportunity?

He quickly issued the order.

The family members immediately used their bodies to block the cracks, making sure that seawater wouldn't seep in, and the cracks were completely invisible from the surface.

Soon, a sailor went into the mushroom-shaped cabin to check and found no leaks. He immediately returned to the deck to report to the captain.

"There was no water seepage in the lower decks; the shells must have only damaged the exterior of the hull."

"Um."

Bazel nodded.

At this point, whether it leaks or not is not important. Given the mass of the Golden Sun, even if it is riddled with holes by these solid shells, it may not be able to sink it.

The key is the boarding action that follows.

Bazeir decided to launch a final volley to deplete the enemy's manpower.

"Artillery ready—!"

Little McFee loaded the shells into the cannon.

Because of his limited strength, the process was much slower than that of the other gunners.

no way.

Mike isn't a professional gunner.

There's just not enough manpower right now, so he was dragged to the artillery to make up the numbers.

So, it was only after the order to fire a volley had been given that Mike finally finished loading his weapon.

The last cannon fired its shell, clearly a beat too slow.

No one on the ship, including Mike himself, believed that this shot would have any effect.

Mike was still worried about whether he would be scolded by Hansen!

But soon.

boom!

The sailors saw a sudden burst of fire erupt from beneath the cabin of the Blood Shark not far away.

The hull burst first, followed by the deck above.

The massive explosion nearly blew the pirates off the deck.

"This is……"

Bazel paused, unsure.

"Did the bomb hit the ammunition depot below the waterline, causing a secondary explosion?"

The other crew members were also caught off guard.

There is no other reason.

The probability of this happening is about the same as being hit by a meteorite while walking down the street.

But there is a great deal of luck involved on the battlefield. Even a captain could be hit by a stray bullet and die on the spot.

Even though the secondary explosion on the Blood Shark was not large enough to sink the entire ship.

But the crew could clearly see that the pirate ship was slowing down.

The distance between the two ships began to increase again.

This means...

They no longer need to engage in boarding action?

Bazel made a decisive decision and shouted, "Maintain course, full speed ahead!"

The sails were billowing in the sea breeze.

The hill-like waves pushed the Golden Sun further and further away in the blink of an eye.

Once the Blood Shark disappeared from sight, the people on deck immediately erupted in cheers.

Even the elites aboard the Golden Sun were unwilling to fight a group of bloodthirsty and greedy pirates.

The main problem is that winning doesn't bring any benefits, while losing means certain death.

After the cheers subsided slightly, Bazel scanned the crowd and asked.

"Who fired the last shell?"

"Reporting, Captain..."

Little Mike timidly raised his hand: "It's me."

The other gunners also wanted to take credit, but Mike was too slow to make it look like they were the ones who fired the shot.

"Well done."

A rare smile appeared on Bazel's gloomy face.

"A generous reward awaits!"

"David, bring out the best wine today, let's all celebrate this victory!"

……

……

Humans and tentacles do not share the same joys and sorrows.

Just as the crew of the Golden Sun were having a victory celebration banquet.

Horn was working hard to fill in the cracks in the ship's cabin.

"This can't go on."

Looking at the several mushrooms that were beginning to wrinkle and turn pale, Horn muttered to himself.

Although the fleshy mushroom can absorb some seawater, it will dehydrate and become wrinkled if it soaks in seawater for too long.

"Mr. Horn, why hide these cracks?"

Alice asked curiously, "Is it to prevent the crew from finding me?"

"I'll hide perfectly well!"

"That was indeed a consideration, but it wasn't the most important reason."

The most important reason is...

Horn is preparing to... extend his tentacles into the sea!