Chapter 85

“Ah… No… Is the author insane?”

“Damn, they’re coming this way!”

A barrage of cannon fire, totaling fifteen cannons, was hurtling toward them.

No matter how one framed it as a rebellion, seeing the defense force casually firing cannons at innocent citizens made Napoleona’s face stiffen with horror.

“Ah… No. If this continues, other citizens will…!”

With her and Rafael’s abilities, they could have defended against or even dodged the bombardment.

However, blocking all fifteen cannonballs was absolutely impossible.

Still, Napoleona attempted to unfold a magical barrier, resolutely trying to defend however she could.

To protect even one more life.

To safeguard the citizens who had mustered courage for their sake.

But…

-Bam!

“Huh?”

-KABOOM!!!

Countless cannonballs that had been flying toward them suddenly exploded in mid-air.

A shimmering golden translucent barrier appeared.

As Napoleona gazed at the gigantic barrier, which nearly enveloped the front entirely, she momentarily wore a dazed expression.

And then…

“Your reaction is slow. Don’t stand there blankly.”

The voice addressing her belonged to none other than the Pirate King Ezra Drake.

In that instant, Napoleona felt a rush of clarity.

“Ah… Th-thank you.”

“Stop wasting time with pleasantries and get to fighting. I’ll protect the citizens.”

“Yes! Understood.”

With that, Napoleona began gathering magical power into her hands without hesitation.

With the Pirate King confidently backing her up, she felt a surge of stability and excitement, far beyond her initial resolve, as she commenced her attack.

Surrounded by a magic circle,

Her two hands glimmered with swirling dark magical energy.

As she slowly overlapped her hands up and down, a deep smile began to spread across her face.

Hoping that this man would take notice of her.

And then…

-KABOOM!!!

An explosion erupted from a corner of Bastion Prison.

The area where the cannons and soldiers had previously gathered was now a disastrous sight, as if crushed by a gigantic force.

The Pirate King’s perfect defense, immediately followed by Napoleona’s magic.

The defense forces gathered around the prison’s castle walls were thrown into confusion and chaos.

And then…

“Now’s the time! Advance! For the revolution! For the citizens!”

General Rafael shouted commandingly, seizing the opportunity sharply.

Simultaneously, his accompanying officers, subordinates, and the citizens trailing behind began to rush toward the fortress.

“Open fire!”

At Robes Fiora’s command, the infantry immediately opened fire.

Although the number of shots was limited due to the unexpected turn of events, the trained regular army’s attacks forced the soldiers on the battlements to hurriedly take cover.

“Damn! Don’t just stand there! Shoot! Keep shooting!”

“Sir! It’s no use!”

“No matter how much we bombard, we can’t damage that barrier!”

“Wha… What?”

The golden barrier had withstood fifteen cannonballs without a scratch and was now repelling their gunfire.

Even if a magical barrier was impressive, one couldn’t help but question if something like this was even possible.

This thought naturally led to a single phrase running through the minds of Gilbert and the others.

“Shit… This battle is a total mess…”

-KABOOM!!!

Once again, a thunderous explosion echoed, flattening the cannons and soldiers.

In a situation where their attacks were entirely absorbed while the enemy was running wild, Gilbert found it impossible to refrain from cursing.

At that moment.

“Sir! This is bad! The enemies… They’re breaking down the prison’s main gate!”

“What… What did you say? Already?!”

The walls, made of steel mixed with adamantium, should be enduring under normal circumstances.

However, the problem lay with the fact that General Rafael could smash through it.

Gilbert urgently issued orders to his subordinates.

“Damn… I can’t do this. At this point, we have to use it!”

“N… No?”

“B-But sir, that…”

The order that would even leave those who had fired cannons at the citizens in shock.

However,

-Clang!

“! S-sir…”

With a sword aimed at the neck of his subordinate, Gilbert spoke firmly.

“It’s an order. If you don’t want to die here, execute it immediately. It doesn’t matter if I die by my own hand or those lowly scum’s.”

“Ah… Understood…”

“I… I will obey your orders, sir…”

*

In the midst of the fierce combat between General Rafael’s forces and the citizens,

Despite the continuous enemy bombardments, their attacks were rendered ineffective by the magical barrier unfolded by the Pirate King.

In contrast, Napoleona’s magic and the infantry under Robes Fiora moved forward unhindered, literally crushing the enemies bit by bit.

-KABOOM!!!

As Napoleona once again interlaced her hands, an explosion erupted.

This time, there was even an instance of secondary explosions, with flames soaring at the site.

As she observed the attacks that continued to be rendered powerless,

A rich smile graced General Rafael’s face.

“Truly a Pirate King! It was worth it to bring him into this grand scheme!”

Honestly, when he saw the cost of the “One-time Use Card for the Pirate King” that Napoleona had presented, he was quite taken aback.

The initial costs she demanded—the ones to be borne by them—were manageable at least.

As expected, such was the natural course for a hiring employer.

However, the subsequent demand—for a success fee of 100,000 Talents—was enough to make even General Rafael think, “What the hell…?”

An amount greater than his entire fortune after living half his life as a high noble and the greatest warrior in the kingdom.

At this rate, one might as well call it a highway robbery, but the problem lay in the evaluation of success and whether that amount was truly unreasonable.

Though it was burdensome, if this endeavor succeeded…

If they could manage to seize power and successfully carry out a revolution, that amount could very well be within reach.

However, then came the last condition, which left Rafael contemplating whether to accept or refuse it.

Starting from this moment, the Pirate King and the Kingdom of Frantz would establish a peace treaty, granting free access to all ports owned by the Kingdom of Frantz for the Pirate King and his pirates.

This meant that if pirates were to start mischief somewhere and then dart back into the ports of the Kingdom of Frantz, foreign navies would be powerless to intervene.

Essentially, it entailed using the Kingdom of Frantz as a shield for piracy, posing a severe risk to Frantz’s diplomacy if mishandled.

Under normal circumstances…

Especially for a military leader holding military authority for a nation, refusing would be the right choice.

However…

Nevertheless, General Rafael decided to ultimately accept it.

It wasn’t because this man was insane with power, recklessly making a desperate gamble.

Instead, there were some calculations of his own embedded in this decision.

The name the Pirate King held had surpassed that of a mere crime lord.

He was a titanic figure who had conquered the Five Seas, known for his infamous reputation of exacting brutal revenge against anyone who dared to harm his companions.

The very reason he was present here was to retaliate against Duke Ocleang, who had dared to touch him and his subordinates, thus proving that his terrible reputation was not unfounded.

In other words, the fact that a Pirate King collaborated with the Kingdom of Frantz meant that their ships would at least be safe from pirate threats.

With the economy of the Kingdom of Frantz already destabilized due to a downturn in maritime trade, forming an alliance with the Pirate King could indeed be an opportunity for revival.

Moreover, the notion that pirates could dock peacefully in the ports of the Kingdom of Frantz implied that in the event anything were to happen in that area, the pirates would inevitably move to defend their own territory.

This would greatly aid in bolstering the already terrible navy of the Kingdom of Frantz, which had been completely incapacitated due to Duke Ocleang’s blunders.

“Well, we can always handle those foreign forces if they try to meddle. From that perspective, it may not be such bad news for us.”

After running through his calculations,

Though it was a tightrope walk between impossibility and possibility, General Rafael ultimately decided to accept it.

And now, General Rafael was thinking how wise this decision was.

He had actively involved countless citizens in the revolution, and now, the Pirate King was showing an almost invulnerable shield like defense against the enemy’s attacks.

Initially, he’d hired the Pirate King with the mindset of securing an expensively priced insurance policy for emergencies.

But now, witnessing him exceed all expectations, General Rafael felt a deep sense of pride in his choice.

“This will all be over once we break the main gate! Just a little more, everyone!”

As victory began to come into view amidst the Pirate King’s overwhelming support,

General Rafael encouraged his soldiers and charged toward the main gate.

Although it meant venturing out of the Pirate King’s barrier, he was after all an eleventh-grade grand warrior.

It wasn’t to the absurd extent of being invincible, but he could certainly defend his subordinates and mount a counter-attack with ease.

Upon arriving at the main gate, General Rafael swung his sword encased in a layer of magic.

Though the door was a sturdy adamantium alloy, it crumbled easily before the might of the eleventh-grade grand warrior, Rafael.

And finally…