Chapter 62

As the full-scale battle began, Napoleona and Garden chose to flee.

The two of them dashed straight to the port and boarded the ship they had prepared in advance.

There, awaiting them, were Garden’s direct subordinates.

The moment Garden and Napoleona arrived, they unfurled the sails and started to leave the port.

“Damn it! What in the world is this… Me, a general of the Kingdom of Frantz, fleeing like this…”

“If you’re dissatisfied, you’re welcome to head back right now.”

“N-No, it’s not that I’m particularly dissatisfied…”

Garden seemed to flinch at Napoleona’s remark.

It was obvious that returning now would be like walking back to death, so he no longer expressed any complaints.

“Is it… really true? Could it be that General Rafael actually…”

“Indeed, but let’s discuss the details after we get out of here. Getting caught by the Benessa folks would just be a hassle…?”

At that moment, a look of confusion appeared on Napoleona’s face as she suddenly realized something.

“…? General, weren’t the Benessa ships docked over there?”

“! Come to think of it…”

In the midst of their frantic escape, they belatedly discovered that the Benessa warships that had been crowding one side of the port had vanished.

Panic started to spread across their faces as they processed this fact.

“No way… What the hell is going on…?”

“I have a bad feeling about this. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

“Ah… understood. Let’s hurry! We must leave this place!”

Garden urged his subordinates even more at Napoleona’s words.

Just as their ship, gliding smoothly away from the port, began to leave Sharden Island…

“Huh?”

“…W-What is that?”

Suddenly, a Black Something appeared right in front of them.

Though the darkness made it hard to distinguish, it was far larger than the small warship they were on, blocking their path like a great wall.

As they began to feel questions and unease…

“J-Just a moment, could this be…?”

-POP!

“!!”

Suddenly, lights began to illuminate brightly.

At the same time, Napoleona and Garden’s faces froze.

“T-The… Pirate King?”

“Ah… no, how did they get here?”

They were thrown into confusion by the unexpected appearance of their enemies.

At that moment…

“Oh dear… this is quite troublesome. And here I thought the real battle hadn’t even started, yet here we are at a runaway.”

“!”

“W-Wait… you’re…”

A chilling voice echoed from right behind them.

As the two turned their heads, they began to see the figure of a man smile coldly at them, adorned with a golden beard…

*

Having captured the fleeing soldiers at the start, I wore a content smile as I heard the sounds of battle echoing even from this considerable distance.

“Honestly… I always feel this way, but our Pirate King truly is wicked.”

“Well, we are pirates after all. We’re not some crusaders; it’s only natural to use any means necessary to achieve our goals.”

I sharply stated the facts to Lemain, as always.

“Well, it’s true… the methods are dirty, but in the end, it’s working out well for us. Honestly, I was quite surprised. Who would have thought to exploit the bad blood between the Brittania and Frantz kingdoms in this way?”

“The infiltration squad led by Hyr Sasan and Auriel played significant roles. Thanks to them igniting fires at opportune moments, we’ve managed to make things blaze.”

The infiltration squad had been discreetly firing bullets from unseen spots, while Auriel had successfully guided the situation to escalate.

As a result, the small spark that began with a single bullet quickly flared into a massive blaze, driving the pirates and navy into a fierce confrontation.

Then, at the end, a decisive blow targeting the home of their captain.

Now, that blaze had become an unstoppable catastrophe, consuming them whole.

“Now we should start moving.”

“Got it.”

With that, I immediately turned to Lemain and looked behind.

There stood the subordinates who had completed their combat preparations.

Addressing them in a bold voice, I shouted.

“The long wait of patience has finally ended! Today! Here! Unleash your rage!”

“As the Pirate King commands!”

Following my order, the pirates bowed respectfully.

Now that all the captains from the subordinate crews were gathered on this ship, I began issuing orders straight away.

“Samir will be in charge of the combined fleet’s operations. Burn down all their ships docked at the port.”

“Understood, Pirate King.”

“Franklin and her troops will head to the frontline. After relaying the withdrawal order to the infiltration squad, bring Auriel back safely.”

“Consider it done.”

“Lemain and the others will focus on ship operations. It’s highly likely the enemy will try their last desperate ploy at the end, so don’t let your guard down until the very last moment.”

“Yes, Pirate King!”

“All captains will leave only as much personnel as necessary for ship operations. Wipe out all those foolish enough to challenge me and plunder to your heart’s content!”

“Understood! Great King of the Sea!”

All preparations were complete. The only thing left was to start the battle.

Thus, the thirty or so grand fleet gathered here began to draw closer to the exposed enemies for a surprise attack.

*

“Ah… no, what in the world is happening?”

“Where did all the generals go? General Garden! Colonel Napoleona! Where are you all?!”

The key commanders, who had suddenly fled amidst the chaos of the first engagement, left the navy of the Kingdom of Frantz engulfed in deep confusion.

The Commander-in-Chief, being utterly powerless, had effectively led their navy alongside those two.

With that commander now missing, they rapidly began to crumble.

“What… what’s going on? Everyone, snap out of it! Don’t just stand there, fight! Hurry and fight!”

Commander Pierre shouted desperately.

However, the soldiers had already dismissed his orders, letting them go in one ear and out the other.

“G-General! You need to get out of here! Our lines are breaking!”

“What do you mean!? We outnumber them by far! Even now, we have a numerical advantage, so why…?”

“Our command structure has collapsed with the two generals gone! If this continues, we may be at risk too! Please, you must flee!”

“C-Cursed… Ah, fine. Then…”

Seeing the situation unfold unfavorably even to himself, Commander Pierre became frightened and, without any more hesitation, quickly withdrew.

With that, even the rather useless Commander had vanished, leaving the navy of the Kingdom of Frantz with only one path left to choose.

“W-We surrender! We surrender!”

“W-We admit our defeat! We acknowledge our loss!”

Down went the weapons and the navy began to sit on the ground.

However…

“No mercy! Kill them all!”

“! W-What?! Didn’t we just say we surrender! But why…?”

“Shut it! Considering what you’ve done up until now, it’s enough to fuel my rage!”

“The enemies of Higma! I’ll slaughter these filthy naval scum!”

The pirates, already filled with rage, showed no mercy.

They unleashed slaughter with all the grudges they had taken so far.

Realizing they had no way out, the navy men also began to resist with all their might.

“Damn it! Now that it’s come to this, I’ll die together with you fiends!”

Fueled by pure hatred for each other, they fought in utter chaos.

With no more rules or order, they simply focused all their energy on killing the ‘enemies’ right in front of them.

And as she witnessed this scene…

After the sudden flight of Napoleona, Auriel took a step back and frowned as she observed the situation unfold.

“It went according to plan, but… it’s not exactly a pretty sight…”

Disguised as a pirate, Auriel had incited their rage based on the Pirate King’s scheme.

Now serving as the ‘eyes’ of the infiltration squad watching the situation from the sidelines, she was using her aura to detect presences—similar to the Circle of Magical Power, but with a slightly narrower range—to scout the locations where they were gathering.

She had been chosen for this mission because among the pirates who had no bounty and whose identities were unknown, she was the only one capable of utilizing a power similar to the Circle of Magical Power.

Moreover, even if she were to be discovered, she could easily slip away due to the renown of the other side, meaning it was highly unlikely she would encounter problems even in the midst of enemy territory.

However, at that moment, her heart grew quite uneasy as she watched the results unfold.

People only fueled by hatred for one another, killing each other.

It was a perfectly logical outcome, considering they would likely target her and her precious friends, but knowing it didn’t alleviate her discomfort stemming from human empathy.

“But… I must shake it off… I need to overcome these feelings and become a great pirate…”

As she steeled herself, she naturally halted the motion of making the sign of the cross.

Her gaze then shifted towards her friend…

Cheshire, who was still fighting amidst all this.

Right after the biggest threat, Colonel Napoleona, had vanished, she had recklessly charged into enemy territory, considering this her own battle.

Every time she saw her, Auriel couldn’t help but feel troubled.

“What should I do?… I want to save her at least, unlike the others…”

But the situation had already slipped from her hands.

Soon, her comrades… the Golden Beard Pirate Crew and its subordinate pirates would come pouring in and literally sweep everything away.

Had she stayed by her side, there might have been a chance, but there were no methods available in this scenario.

Moreover, Cheshire was one of the enemy’s higher-ups.

Particularly, given her outstanding loyalty towards her mother, the moment Auriel revealed her identity, she would undoubtedly feel sorrow, but there would be no hesitation in brandishing her axe.

“For now… I can only remember her presence. If an opportunity arises later…”

As she pondered this, familiar presences began to be sensed by Auriel, who had been continuously using her aura detection.

“It begins…”