“Big sister, what should we do now!”
The girl clutched her ears, watching the sea of flames outside in fear, anxiously asking Bai Ya, who was leaning against the wall to rest.
“Charge out.” Bai Ya merely lifted her eyelids. She was being asked what to do, but what other choice was there! Wasn’t it obvious!
“Eh—!” The girl let out a voice full of disbelief. She shook her head vigorously and said seriously, “Impossible! It’s been booming and exploding outside! If we go out, we’ll definitely die! We’ll be blown to pieces, not even a scrap left!”
Suddenly, as if she’d thought of something, the girl lowered her head, her face turning thoughtful as she muttered to herself, “But Bai Ya always says the right things. Since that’s the case, then I’ll just—”
Just as the girl gathered her courage, her trembling body ready to dash out of the tunnel, Bai Ya hurriedly stopped her.
“Are you an idiot? Rushing out is nothing but a dead end. Anyone with sense knows to wait until the flames die down before acting.” If she had the strength to lift her hand, Bai Ya truly wanted to flick the dejected girl in front of her on the forehead.
“But, but…” The girl was unwilling. Clearly, it was Bai Ya who told her to charge out!
“Tone down that airheadedness of yours, all right? Let’s just stay hidden here and wait for the situation to change. I’m sure the mastermind behind this will be making a grand appearance soon.”
Molly Xinjia, pirate leader, slave girl—Bai Ya silently recited these key pieces of information in her heart.
She really wanted to know what kind of girl she was, to have the courage to offend Amidarl. The mightiest nation of slavery wasn’t something just anyone would dare to challenge.
The transport ship had been caught off guard by the initial attack and suffered heavy losses, but now that they’d reacted, they had begun to counterattack.
Amidarl’s slave transport ship could be called a man-made island, with a hidden vantage point on board fitted with one hundred and eight magitech cannons and one giant main cannon. Thirty-seven of those magitech cannons had been destroyed in the initial rain of fire, losing nearly a third of its firepower. At this moment, the laborers and sailors aboard the transport ship moved into action, and under the first mate’s command, one intricate cannon barrel after another, flowing with magical fluid, gradually raised their aim.
“Do you see it!” the first mate barked at the lookout in the crow’s nest, allowing no delay.
The sailor canceled his farsight spell, enduring the backlash from prolonged use of observation magic. He reported the enemy’s position and number of ships to the first mate, along with the precise elevation needed for the magitech cannons.
“It’s pirates! Never-seen-before banners, not listed in the pirate information provided by Pirate King Yan Shao. Maybe they’re just a bunch of clueless greenhorns who picked a fight with us!”
The first mate ordered everyone to action—load the shells, infuse the cannons with magic. He was going to blow every last one of those arrogant beasts to pieces!
In the midst of these preparations, three more magitech cannons were destroyed by enemy fire, and the sailors and slave laborers manning them perished in the raging flames.
“Fire!” the first mate roared in fury! With these losses, he’d have no way to answer to his superiors after returning home! He might even be demoted to a commoner!
As the fuses sparked, sailors and laborers scrambled to safety, covering their ears tightly as they retreated to the side.
A string of deafening explosions erupted, the transport ship flashing violently with light, multicolored flames tracing beautiful arcs across the sky before crashing into the sea like meteors. Each carried terrifying destructive force, annihilating everything it touched.
After one round of bombardment, the fireballs struck over thirty pirate ships, blasting through three decks and hull reinforcements in a row, splitting ships in half like axes through wood. The damaged pirate ships quickly went up in flames, and the surviving pirates were forced to abandon ship. But the moment they jumped into the sea, a new wave of cannon fire rained down upon them. Amidarl would show no mercy to any clown daring to trample its dignity.
Before the ships had even closed the distance, the transport and pirate ships exchanged fire, cannonballs filling the air. Both sides suffered losses, but the pirates suffered more, their forces showing signs of being suppressed.
“Boss!” On a massive three-masted ship, a flower-bearded pirate watched with worry as magitech cannonballs destroyed ship after ship. At this rate, they’d lose everything!
“A little closer, and once we take this transport ship, Molly will become even stronger.”
Her ice-blue wavy hair was tied into two pigtails that draped over her chest. Her bright golden eyes brimmed with unshakable resolve. Upon her head was a black tricorn hat, sewn with a crooked skull, and an old cape hung from her shoulders. Brown bracers covered her hands, a sleeveless white shirt with no extra decorations on her body, and plain long pants tucked into tall boots below.
The girl’s name was Molly Xinjia. She was the pirate leader, the supreme commander of all the pirate ships.
It was also Molly who had given the order to attack Amidarl’s transport ship. Others thought this was an act of utter madness, but only she knew what success would mean.
Capturing two princes of Amidarl and three slave girls—especially the slave girl designated 004, [Sovereign of Life and Death] Samsara Tianqi—would grant her the power to control life and death. She could then further expand her power and become the ruler of her own sea!
No matter the cost, it was worth it! This time she led a fleet of two hundred and twenty-seven pirate ships large and small herself. With her personally on the front lines, she was certain they’d seize this transport ship!
Failure simply wasn’t an option.
“Hmph, you’ve all worked hard.”
When only fifty pirate ships remained, the three-masted ship where Molly stood was less than three hundred meters from the transport ship—close enough for Molly to act.
Molly broke into a run, planting a foot on the bow and launching herself into the air. Her actions caught the attention of the pirates, and the disheartened crew immediately burst into cheers!
“Boss! Boss! Boss!”
“Roar—!”
The pirates’ fanatical worship of Molly was such that they even forgot to light the fuses and fire. When they came to their senses, no one showed the slightest panic. To them, Molly was their god. The moment she took action meant victory was already decided, and it had always been so!
The sudden lull in pirate fire made the first mate, who was commanding the counterattack, suspicious. Did they finally realize the terror of Amidarl, and were now too afraid to fight?
It was too late. The first mate sneered inwardly. Even if they tied themselves up and surrendered now, these sea rats would never survive. Even death couldn’t atone for their crimes. They would suffer the cruelest of tortures! That was the price for offending Amidarl!
“Someone’s approaching! Coming from the pirates’ side! It’s a woman! She’s running on the sea! What kind of martial art is this?!” A sailor’s astonished voice came from the lookout.
“What?!” The first mate strode to the railing, gripping it tightly as he peered out to sea. He saw a petite figure, growing clearer by the moment. The sailor was right—it was a woman!
“A wretched pirate, is it? Hah, how ridiculous! Coming here alone to die? No, wait.” The first mate suddenly felt uneasy. Trusting his instincts, he immediately ordered every magitech cannon to target Molly, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on her every move.
It was no illusion. Molly’s speed kept increasing—not because she could run atop the sea, but because she wasn’t moving at all! He saw it clearly! The sea itself was pushing her forward!
“Fire! Fire!”
All the magitech cannons roared as one. Facing the rain of fire, Molly neither dodged nor flinched. The sea beneath her feet began to boil, rising upward!
“Devour them, O sea!”
As she gave her high command, Molly’s pupils narrowed and sharpened, radiating savage might. A gelatinous blue liquid spread across her shoulders, reshaping itself into two viscous hands. Each palm opened to reveal a crimson vertical pupil, veined with blood.
Riding the waves, Molly surged forward. The water rose higher and higher, soon overtaking the path of the cannonballs. The ocean’s shadow loomed over the transport ship.
“Molly is the invincible slave girl!!”
There was no chance of failure in this attack. Molly, too, was a slave girl, and her racial talent placed her above all upon the sea.
“On the ocean, Molly is unbeatable!!”
The cannonballs pierced the waves, all missing their mark. The wave crashed down, striking like a massive hammer. The overwhelming water pressure instantly killed every laborer and sailor on deck. The first mate barely had time to curse before his body was torn apart, the wave annihilating everything in its path.
When she landed, all Molly could see was devastation and desolation everywhere, as if a terrifying calamity had swept through.
The corners of Molly’s mouth curled upward. Any enemy that tried to stand in her way would only end up destroyed. Before reinforcements could arrive, she needed to seize this ship quickly.
With the artillery suppressed, the pirates swarmed onto the transport ship, drawing their weapons and starting their rampage of plunder and slaughter against any survivors!
“The flames are out.” Bai Ya covered her right eye and looked over the scorched deck. Just a moment ago it had been a sea of fire, and in the next, a wave of seawater had rushed in, washing away every trace of heat.
Thanks to the water, she was now soaked to the bone. Her wounds throbbed so much she wanted to curse. Seawater was salty! Salty!
She would never forgive the bastard who poured salt on her wounds.
The sea came and went quickly, as if some force was controlling it, granting it incredible power. The impact had been terrifying. Had the surge come from the opposite direction, straight at the tunnel where she hid, her injuries would have been much worse. In any case, it was best not to worry about such things now—the most important task at hand was survival.
But as for the nobles on the stage, there was no chance they survived—roasted by fire one moment, drowned the next. Anyone still alive now had to be something extraordinary.
Bai Ya glanced at the survivors. As expected, the people still standing weren’t ordinary.
The Shadow Spider and the Cursed Doll on stage had survived thanks to the Shadow Spider’s racial defensive talents. On the stage, Samsara Tianqi and the two princes behind her were also unscathed. There was even a man in a beret—who was he?