The sky was as clear and bright as a washed sapphire, with a few leisurely white clouds drifting slowly by. A gentle breeze carried a hint of the sea's salty smell, and occasionally, the cries of seagulls could be heard.
Everything looked so tranquil and beautiful...
But—
"So bored..."
Lin Qi, having finished everything he could do, lay sprawled on the railing, looking like a dead fish.
At first, Lin Qi had actually been quite excited. After all, this was his first time sailing on the sea like this, so he felt somewhat expectant.
But after sailing for half a day, Lin Qi no longer thought so.
His field of view contained nothing but the ocean, and more ocean, the endless sea.
The space available for movement was limited, and what he stood on was not solid ground, but a deck that rocked and swayed with the sea's motion.
Although Lin Qi didn't get seasick, just sitting around like this made him feel restless and utterly uncomfortable.
The only place where this was probably better than Chaldea was that it was livelier with more people.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The cannons on the ship's side fired solid shots, striking hard against the pirate ships floating on the distant sea surface.
Oh, and there was this.
"Woo-hoo!"
"Did you see that? Took out that ghost ship in three shots! I'm giving myself a perfect score for this bombardment!"
Seeing the distant ship gradually sink into the sea, Bambi cheered, his nose practically pointing to the sky.
Seeing him show off like this, the brothers surrounding him gritted their teeth in frustration.
"Damn it! Luck, it must be pure luck! It took me a lot of effort to take out a ship with four shots!"
One of the pirates beat his chest and stamped his feet, his face full of unwillingness.
He was the best gunner on the ship, having made numerous calculations to successfully sink a ship with four shots.
Yet, before he could even warm the number one spot, this guy Bambi snatched it away. Who could he even complain to about this?
Without a doubt, this was a challenge to his reputation as the Golden Hind's number one gunner!
"I'm not convinced! The ship you hit must have been old and dilapidated, that's why you took it out so easily!"
"Hey, hey, hey, if you're bad, just practice more. Don't make excuses just because you lost!"
Bambi was not having it.
"Don't think that just one less shot means you can easily catch up. The gap of that one shot is a world of difference, it proves the disparity between your firing skill and mine. I'm telling you, you might as well just hand over the title of number one gunner to me now."
"Heh, this technique of sinking a ship in three shots is something you'll need a lifetime to learn!"
As Bambi spoke, he smugly took a puff of his cigarette and deliberately blew the smoke into this pirate's face.
Amidst the backdrop of the white smoke, the pirate's face reddened with every passing second.
In the blink of an eye, his face turned as red as a steamed hairy crab.
"Piss off! I just don't believe it! A guy like you, who might not hit a target once in three hundred years, can sink a ship in three shots? Why the hell can't I do it?!"
Shoving Bambi aside, he began to concentrate on searching for a suitable target.
"Heh heh, look at him, he's mad, he's mad!"
Bonny also knew that he had actually gotten lucky, but that didn't stop him from showing off and taunting the others.
...
Lin Qi propped up his head and watched them speechlessly.
He had to admit, these seniors were indeed seniors. When it came to the ability to entertain themselves, they were undoubtedly countless times better than Lin Qi. They could play with almost anything for a long time.
The ships they were bombarding were, of course, not real sailing ships.
They were merely pirate consciousnesses, materialized and wandering this sea area due to the existence of the Singularity.
As for why they had physical form and actively attacked people, that was beyond the scope of Lin Qi's knowledge.
Anyway, they just needed to remember that they were enemies who only knew how to plunder. There wasn't really any need to overthink it.
"Hey! Use fewer cannonballs! Cannonballs are precious!"
Drake, watching shot after shot being fired, couldn't hold back anymore and yelled at the men below.
"But Boss, aren't these cannonballs all conjured by you using that golden cup? If we run out, you can just make more, right?"
One of the pirates said carelessly.
"Fool! Using a handy thing like this to conjure some food is fine, but if we rely on it for everything, wouldn't that be too greedy?"
"Besides, I don't think this kind of pie-in-the-sky thing is any good. What did I tell you? Stay vigilant, vigilant!"
Drake looked at the pirate with the frustration of someone seeing their pupil fail to meet expectations.
"Heh heh, I was just joking. But being able to conjure anything so easily, it's hard not to become dependent on it, right?"
The pirate who had been called out by Drake grinned and indicated he understood.
It was true; the ability to conjure various things so freely was even somewhat tempting to Lin Qi, let alone the others.
Suddenly.
A mournful wail that would sadden any who heard it resounded across the entire deck.
"Fuck! What the hell kind of ship is that?! I've already thrown five or six shots at it, why the hell is it completely unscathed?!"
The Golden Hind's number one gunner, looking at his target which remained intact despite his attacks, completely broke down, falling to his knees in despair.
He had clearly been provoked by Bambi and lost his head, failing to notice anything amiss.
But a sharp-eyed pirate with a good memory recognized at a glance exactly who the pirate ship was, the one that had withstood five or six cannon shots almost completely unharmed.
He was so startled he became incoherent.
"No, no, look carefully! Isn't that pirate flag clearly the one we encountered last time?!"
"What 'that one'? Can you speak more clearly?"
The number one gunner was still wallowing in his sorrow. Hearing the unclear words, his face was full of impatience.
"Gah, it's that one, that one!"
The sharp-eyed pirate was so anxious he jumped up and down, but just couldn't figure out how to phrase it.
Lin Qi, on the other side of the ship, also sensed something was wrong and his expression became serious. He took a few quick strides and ran to the other side of the deck.
He carefully looked at the obviously much more luxurious pirate ship ahead.
This feeling... it's a Noble Phantasm!
That ship is a Noble Phantasm!
In this entire Singularity, only Blackbeard and Jason possess ship-type Noble Phantasms. Although Drake isn't a Servant, the current Golden Hind, enhanced by Runes and the Holy Grail, can barely be considered a Noble Phantasm itself.
Lin Qi narrowed his eyes, trying to use his vision to determine whose Noble Phantasm the opposing pirate ship was.
If it was Jason's, then they were in a bit of trouble; it would mean running into the boss right out the gate.
But if it was Blackbeard's ship, then there would be a bit more room for maneuver.
His vision focused. The opposing ship was also getting closer, so Lin Qi easily spotted a certain black-haired, black-bearded man with a somewhat sloppy appearance jumping up and down on the deck.
Clearly, it was Blackbeard, Edward Teach.
Lin Qi breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't relax much.
After all, on their side, the Golden Hind only had himself and Captain Drake who could be considered Servant-level combatants. If they really confronted Blackbeard head-on, they certainly wouldn't have much chance of winning.
"Boss! The flag flying on that ship is the same pirate flag as last time!"
A pirate who had reacted called out loudly to Drake.
"Ahh, I see it. It's the one that intercepted us after we snatched the Holy Grail from that seal, right?"
"How could I not recognize such a conspicuous pirate flag?"
Drake looked at the familiar pirate ship, her face also darkening.
She had fought them before and understood their strength even better than Lin Qi.
The worldview her crewmates mentioned earlier, about solid shots hitting a person but them being completely fine, was also something she had her worldview updated by encountering these guys.
"Boss Drake, the other side isn't someone we can take on head-on. Shouldn't we hurry up and escape?"
Fearing that the brothers might actually rush up to fight them head-on, Lin Qi hurriedly suggested to Drake.
"I know—Men! Turn the ship around, full speed, we're making a run for it!"
Drake wouldn't care about things like face either. After calling out to her crew, she also rushed off in a hurry to take the helm.
"Oh—!" ×N
The group of pirates no longer maintained their previous casual demeanor. Every single one of them sprang into action, swiftly and methodically controlling the Golden Hind's course.
With everyone working together, the Golden Hind cut through the undulating sea surface, sailing at full speed.
But unfortunately, the Golden Hind ultimately was not a Noble Phantasm. Compared to Blackbeard's ship, it was more than just a bit slower.
The distance between the two sides not only failed to increase, but instead grew closer and closer.
...