Bad news: the Marines had actually come to attack.
Good news: it was only Branch 153.
Krieg immediately relaxed.
It looked like the emergency backup plan he’d prepared wouldn’t be necessary after all.
“All ships, move out!”
His order spread through the fleet.
With the Dreadnaught Sabre at the center, more than thirty pirate ships advanced to meet over a dozen Marine warships.
At first glance, the Krieg Pirates appeared to hold the numerical advantage.
But numbers didn’t tell the whole story.
Most of Krieg’s fleet consisted of small and medium-sized pirate vessels.
Their cannons simply couldn’t compete with the heavier firepower carried by proper Marine warships.
Even Krieg frowned when he saw the opposing formation.
“Where did Branch 153 get that many warships?”
“Demon Man” Gin was already eager for battle.
“Who cares? Maybe they borrowed them.”
Krieg considered that and nodded.
It was entirely possible.
The Marines of the East Blue hadn’t united to launch a full-scale campaign against him, but after the humiliation spread by the newspapers, other branches could easily have lent ships to Branch 153.
Perhaps those Marine officers believed that a few extra warships would be enough for Branch 153 to wipe out the Krieg Pirates on their own.
Krieg’s eyes narrowed.
If that was what they thought, then this battle wasn’t merely a crisis.
It was an opportunity.
If he defeated Branch 153 here, his claim to being the Overlord of the East Blue would no longer be empty boasting.
The pirate crews that were still watching from the sidelines would come flocking to his banner.
His fleet would only grow larger.
The thought sent a surge of excitement through him.
Then the Marines fired.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The first volley thundered across the sea.
Most of the cannonballs missed, crashing into the water and throwing up towering columns of spray.
“Charge!”
Krieg raised his weapon.
“Get in close and slaughter those Marine bastards!”
He had no intention of trading cannon fire with the warships.
Instead, he ordered the smaller pirate vessels forward, forcing them to draw the Marines’ attention while the Dreadnaught Sabre advanced behind them.
Once they reached boarding distance, the advantage would shift.
The Marines clearly understood what the pirates were trying to do.
They answered with another barrage.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Cannonballs rained across the sea without pause.
It didn’t take long for the first ship to fall.
A pirate vessel painted bright red stood out among the rest of the fleet.
Unfortunately, that also made it an easy target.
More cannons turned toward it.
The helmsman desperately tried to weave between the incoming shells.
For a while, he succeeded.
Then—
Boom!
A cannonball smashed directly into the mast.
Wood exploded.
The mast cracked apart, and the ship’s speed dropped sharply.
That was all the Marines needed.
Boom!
Boom!
Several more shells struck the deck and hull.
Pirates were thrown into the air.
Flames erupted.
The ship listed heavily before finally rolling into the sea.
Thick black smoke poured upward as the wreck disappeared beneath the waves.
A handful of survivors managed to cling to broken planks. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
“Help!”
“Over here!”
“Don’t leave us!”
Their desperate cries carried across the water.
No one stopped.
Every nearby ship was too busy trying to avoid becoming the Marines’ next target.
And soon, more pirate vessels began sinking.
One after another.
The pressure became too much for some crews.
A ship near the rear suddenly turned away from the battle.
Then another followed.
Deserters.
Their reasoning was simple.
Why die for Krieg?
If things went badly, they could simply leave the Krieg Pirates and find another crew.
There was no reason to throw their lives away fighting Marines to the bitter end.
Several captains clearly felt the same.
But they had underestimated Krieg.
The Dreadnaught Sabre’s gun ports opened.
Not toward the Marine fleet.
Toward the fleeing pirates.
The deserters barely had time to realize what was happening.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The Dreadnaught Sabre unleashed a devastating volley at close range.
The fleeing ships were caught completely off guard.
Explosions ripped through their decks and hulls.
Within moments, several vessels had become burning wrecks.
Krieg stood against the backdrop of smoke and fire, a vicious grin spreading across his face.
“This is what happens to traitors!”
His voice carried over the battlefield.
The message was received.
Pirates who had been considering desertion immediately abandoned the idea.
There was no safe retreat anymore.
They could only grit their teeth and keep charging through the Marine bombardment.
Once the deserters had been dealt with, the Dreadnaught Sabre finally turned its guns toward the actual enemy.
Its cannons roared.
A Marine warship failed to evade in time.
Shell after shell slammed into it.
Its deck was torn apart.
The hull shattered.
Eventually, the entire vessel rolled onto its side and disappeared beneath the waves.
The battle descended into chaos.
Cannons thundered.
Ships burned.
Pirates screamed.
Marines shouted orders over the explosions.
And amid all of it, one comparatively small pirate ship slipped through the battlefield, using larger vessels around it as cover.
“Faster!”
Bane stood at the bow.
“Faster! Keep going!”
His expression was unusually excited.
The sheer scale of the naval battle was enough to get his blood pumping.
But that wasn’t the only reason.
The System had given him another quest.
[Quest: Overlord of the East Blue — Continued]
[Description: Your Big Brother, Krieg, intends to defeat the Marines of Branch 153 and cement his position as the Overlord of the East Blue.]
[Objective: Be the first to board an enemy warship and kill 100 Marines.]
[Reward: 5 Attribute Points]
[Reward: Trust Value +20]
[Reward: Random Weapon]
Bane stared at the rewards.
Five Attribute Points.
Twenty Trust Value.
How was he supposed to stay calm after seeing that?
His original plan had been much safer.
Stay near the rear.
Let the expendable crews in front absorb most of the Marine firepower.
Then join the battle once both sides had worn each other down.
But the first part of the objective ruined that plan.
[Be the first to board an enemy warship.]
That meant Bane couldn’t hide in the back anymore.
He needed to reach the Marines before anyone else.
So, completely against his usual instincts, he had ordered his ship forward.
The pirates aboard the nearby vessels were delighted.
If Bane wanted to rush ahead and draw the Marines’ attention, nobody was going to stop him.
Several ships even slowed slightly, happily allowing him to take the lead.
None of them were about to complain if someone else volunteered to take the first barrage.
Bane’s ship quickly pulled ahead of the rest.
It charged straight toward the Marine formation at full speed.
Naturally, the Marines noticed.
Several cannons shifted toward the approaching vessel.
The helmsman saw them move and instinctively prepared to turn.
Bane immediately shouted.
“Don’t dodge!”
The helmsman stared at him.
“What?!”
“Keep going straight! Full speed!”
The crew looked at him like he’d lost his mind.
There were too many cannons aimed at them.
Trying to evade was dangerous enough.
Charging straight into the barrage sounded suicidal.
The helmsman’s hands tightened around the wheel.
Then he glanced toward Bane.
Thirty million Berries.
That bounty carried weight.
Maybe Bane knew what he was doing.
Maybe.
The helmsman clenched his teeth.
“Full speed!”
The crew threw everything they had into the charge.
Then the Marine cannons fired.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
A wall of cannonballs tore through the air toward them.
Several pirates aboard Bane’s ship went pale.
There were too many.
At this distance, avoiding all of them seemed impossible.
But Bane saw something different.
The closer they were, the less time the cannonballs had to spread.
A concentrated barrage was dangerous.
It was also predictable.
Bane’s expression sharpened.
Observation Haki!
His awareness expanded.
Danger pressed against his senses from every direction.
Bane ignored the cannonballs that would land harmlessly in the sea.
He focused only on the ones that threatened him directly.
One.
Two.
Three.
The paths became clear.
He waited.
Just a little longer.
Then—
Bane bent his knees.
At the exact moment the barrage reached them, he launched himself high into the air.