Chapter 72

‘…G?’

The moment Commander Pierre laid eyes on that creature with snowy white fur, a thought crossed his mind.

Seeing a rat on a ship was a common occurrence, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

But then…

– Whoosh!

“?!”

At that moment, an icy, almost palpable intent to kill suddenly surged toward him.

As the white rat flew toward him, Commander Pierre felt a wave of confusion and instinctively activated his magical barrier.

However…

– Crackle!

“!?”

The magical barrier, which had been conjured by a Grade 7 Advanced Warrior, cracked dramatically under the attack of the white rat.

Seeing something that should have been nearly impossible to damage break so easily sent a chill down Commander Pierre’s spine.

“W-What is this? What on earth…?”

The fact that it could shatter a magical barrier meant that it had the potential to use magical power.

It was unclear how a mere rat could possess such a capability, considering it wasn’t even a demon race, but one thing was clear: this creature in front of him was no ordinary beast.

“Damn it!”

Feeling flustered, Pierre quickly drew his Red Rapier, gifted directly from Duke Ocleang. Gathering magical power into it, he began to strike toward the white beast with the speed of a flash.

Although he often appeared untrustworthy in other matters due to his parachute offspring status, his combat ability was somewhat reliable.

The near-invisible speed of his strike landed precisely where the beast had been.

But then…

– Wham!

“!? Wh… what?”

In an instant, the rat vanished before his eyes.

Feeling bewildered, Pierre quickly turned his gaze to follow the trajectory where it had disappeared.

At that moment…

– “Shaaah!!!”

“Gah!”

He barely caught sight of the creature as it darted back into view.

Commander Pierre thrust his attack toward it again.

However,

“!”

Once more, the creature dodged effortlessly.

And this time, it didn’t end there.

– Bam!!!!

“Ugh!”

The strike of that beast precisely found the opening created when Pierre extended his sword.

Blood began to spurt from the sharp teeth sunk into Pierre’s shoulder.

“T-This… this is absurd…”

As a swordsman who wielded a rapier, his advantage lay in swift and sharp swordsmanship, which shouldn’t be too difficult to evade.

Pierre, who was confident in his speed over sheer destructive force, was now being outpaced by something that was merely a rat.

“Damn it!!!!”

Filled with fury, he swung the rapier once more.

A flurry of strikes erupted like bright flashes, creating numerous holes in the cabin walls and floor.

Modern warfare might compare it to a machine-gun spray.

At first glance, it appeared as if he was blindly swinging his sword out of emotion.

Yet, even if he was feeling reckless, he was still a Grade 7 Advanced Warrior well-versed in combat.

Those countless attacks successfully cornered the troublesome little rat.

– “Shaaah…”

“Cough… it’s over now. You have nowhere left to run, dirty little rat!”

The rat was truly cornered.

With this realization, Commander Pierre swung the weighted rapier, fully concentrated.

But…

– Whoosh!

– Clang!!!!

“Eh?”

In an instant, the rat seemed to adopt a bizarre position before it flicked the rapier back with ease.

As a result, Commander Pierre lost his balance and staggered.

And then…

“! Ah… n-no…”

– Bam!!!!

Without hesitation, the rat capitalized on the opening.

In that moment, a chilling pain resonated, and sounds began to echo in Commander Pierre’s ears.

– Clang!

The sharp sound of the rapier hitting the ground.

However, at that moment, he couldn’t even feel the sensation of the rapier slipping from his hand.

Because he no longer had his right hand capable of feeling it…

“Ughhhhh!!!!”

With one hand completely ripped away, Commander Pierre collapsed to the floor.

Yet, at that moment, the greatest shock he felt was not physical.

“Ah… no… this… this can’t be happening… how… how could this happen to me… the naval commander of the Kingdom of Frantz! Such disgrace…”

This was utterly unimaginable.

It shouldn’t have happened.

He was Commander Pierre of the Kingdom of Frantz’s navy.

To be humiliated like this by a mere rat…

Such a ridiculous event couldn’t possibly be real.

At that moment…

– “Shaaah…”

“Uu… uuuuuaaaaa!”

The white rat, now appearing more like a white monster, began to emit a chilling cry while staring directly at him.

What had seemed insignificant now sounded like the wails of a devil from hell to Pierre.

Slowly, the little white demon began to slink closer.

As he felt a paralyzing fear grip him, Pierre threw away all remnants of his pride and dignity, shouting in desperation.

“P-Please! Save me! I-I-I was wrong. P-Please… I beg you, just spare my life…”

Whether the creature could understand his words was no longer a concern.

Driven purely by instinct…

He was like a mouse in front of a cat, pleading simply to survive.

However, tragically,

The white beast did not comprehend his pleas at all.

To it, he was simply a half-defeated prey lying on the ground.

Nothing more.

– “Shaaah!”

“Abesiiiii!!!”

*

“Phew… it’s over.”

Right after descending from the ceiling, Ambasha gazed at the corpse before her with a relieved expression.

She felt a profound sense of relief, seeing the creature that had just become Zebby’s delicious meal.

Throughout several ‘cross-verifications,’ she confirmed that this was the strongest person on the ship.

Commander Pierre.

Now the only potential threat on this ship had been solidly dealt with, leaving his corpse behind.

With the last variable removed, Ambasha felt nothing to fear anymore.

“With the strongest gone… I won’t need to worry about anyone watching us now, will I?”

She had already figured out that everyone here was a subordinate of Duke Ocleang.

And Duke Ocleang was both her father’s enemy and her adversary.

Wiping out all of his subordinates was only natural.

“Perfect timing; I’ve also acquired a great weapon.”

The narrow-bladed rapier that Commander Pierre had wielded.

The Red Rapier.

Unlike other weapons that were difficult to wield without using magical power, this one was light enough for Ambasha to easily hold and swing.

While she’d have to learn how to use it gradually, just having a weapon she could swing with condensed power dramatically increased her combat ability compared to fighting barehanded.

Having finished gathering gear, Ambasha looked at the white weasel, satisfied after its meal.

“Well then, shall we go, Zebby? We’re going to bring salvation to everyone on this ship.”

– “Kkuing~ Kkuing~”

The cute little creature nuzzled against her cheek while perched lightly on her shoulder.

As the small girl and her small beast left the cabin behind, they soon found…

“Eh?”

“What… what is it? How did you get here…”

Upon opening the door, they encountered the patrolling soldiers.

Gazing at them, Ambasha smiled sweetly and said, “Goodbye.”

“Huh? What do you mean… Gahhhhh!!!”

In an instant, Ambasha swung the rapier, beheading one of the soldiers.

“What… what’s going on?”

“This… this girl! What is she doing all of a sudden?!”

The surprised soldiers immediately drew their weapons after the ambush.

However…

– Bam!!!

“Eh?”

In a moment, one soldier’s face was completely obliterated.

Blood sprayed from his companion beside him, and the remaining soldier’s face froze in shock.

And before he could identify the cause…

“?! Th-This is…?”

A glimpse of something white suddenly entered his field of vision.

As his breath faded, only one last letter remained etched in his mind.

‘…G?’

*

“Damn! Damn! Damn!”

“What’s happening… what is this chaos!?”

Gathered in the largest room of the ship, the ‘navy’ soldiers were engulfed in extreme fear, locked in chaos.

A little girl and her accompanying white rat had begun to wipe out dozens of crew members.

Despite their seemingly frail appearances, those two had obliterated eight out of ten healthy sailors onboard in less than half a day.

Even though they witnessed it firsthand, they couldn’t comprehend the horror.

In this situation, they could only barricade the door and tremble, praying that the creature wouldn’t come for them.

“A-Any other ones… They must have been killed, right?”

“Y-Yeah… even Darius went down without a fight.”

“Ugh…”

Even the relatively strong Grade 4 Intermediate Warrior among them had become nothing more than a pathetic mess beneath the white rat’s teeth.

It was only natural that the others would be swept away like chaff.

Anxiously awaiting the inevitable death that could appear at any moment, the four sailors in the room could do nothing but hold their breath, hoping that it would not come here.

– Bam!!!

“Eeeek!!!”

Of course, it didn’t prove to be very effective…