"Hmm, the battle looks a bit intense, doesn't it…?"
Blackbeard craned his neck to watch the fight on the other ship, constantly stroking the part of his beard that had been mostly burned off.
He offered commentary from time to time.
"Captain, if you keep blocking my way, I can't guarantee who my next bullet will hit, you know?"
Anne said with a smile, but anyone observant could see the veins bulging on her forehead.
It seemed Anne's tolerance for Blackbeard wasn't infinite either.
"Ahaha, Miss Anne, don't be so fierce~ I'll move aside, alright…"
Seeing Blackbeard squirm like a woman, even raising a delicate finger, Anne finally couldn't take it anymore.
"Bang!"
"Ugh! Don't be so angry! I'm moving, I'm moving!"
Blackbeard barely dodged the bullet Anne fired at his chest, scurrying away with a cold sweat and an awkward laugh.
But it seemed he failed to switch his voice back in time, as he said this in that same twisted, effeminate tone.
So the response he received was another of Anne's merciless bullets.
"Bang!"
Blackbeard dodged again, looking utterly disheveled, and hurriedly found a suitable spot to hide.
Seeing Blackbeard had settled down, Anne turned her aim back towards the Golden Hind and resumed her attack.
She fired several times in succession.
Yet she found every one of her attacks had been anticipated by Drake; not a single shot had hit its mark.
"Should I expect nothing less from that Francis? In terms of pure marksmanship, she seems about my equal…"
"—As I thought, I need to get closer."
Anne sighed helplessly.
When people think of firearms, they probably assume they're more effective at long range, but the truth is, guns need to be closer to be both fast and accurate.
This was especially true for the type of musket Anne wielded. At this range, it was difficult to pose a threat to Drake unless she used her Noble Phantasm.
"So, you know what to do now, right? Captain~"
Anne turned to look at Blackbeard, beaming a smile his way.
"Aye aye! I'll close the distance as fast as I can!"
The young Blackbeard lad snapped to attention once more.
But then Blackbeard caught himself.
Wait a minute, aren't I the captain of this ship?
Why am I the one taking orders here?
Blackbeard puffed out his chest, fully intending to give Anne a piece of his mind.
Just what have I done to make you disrespect me so…
"Hmm?"
Then, Blackbeard saw the cold light gleaming in Anne's eyes.
Blackbeard shrunk his head back into his shoulders.
Ugh, Miss Anne seems so gentle, so why does she feel even harder to approach than Miss Mary—
Forget it, better to find someone easier to boss around.
Blackbeard set his sights on Bloodaxe King Eric, who was standing there foolishly nearby.
"Eric! What are you still standing around for? Get over there and board that ship, and bring me back the Holy Grail!"
Blackbeard put on a fierce face and, for good measure, kicked Eric.
Eric, whose Madness Enhancement rank was also quite high, blinked dumbly.
It took him a couple of seconds to process the command.
"Holy Grail… retrieve!"
Eric raised his axe, covered in ominous blood-red patterns, and with a "splash", jumped into the water, starting to swim towards the Golden Hind.
"You idiot! At this distance, you should just jump across! You—"
Seeing Eric's utterly foolish display, Blackbeard was, for once, genuinely furious, barely stopping himself from calling Eric back to make him jump again properly.
As the Queen Anne's Revenge sped towards the Golden Hind at full speed, and Eric swam through the sea with all his might…
On the other side.
Hector, engaged in combat with Lin Qi, had already sensed how troublesome this seemingly unremarkable Master was.
To a great hero who was active in the Age of Gods, Lin Qi's footwork and combat skills could be described as downright pitiful.
But you know what?
He'd been fighting for this long and still hadn't managed to take Lin Qi down!
If Lin Qi knew what Hector was thinking, he'd say it was all thanks to Romulus's excellent teaching.
After all, during the Second Singularity, Lin Qi had been thoroughly beaten to a pulp by Romulus. Even fighting two-on-one, they were sent flying around like balls, completely unable to fight back.
And that was even with Romulus holding back.
That's when Lin Qi had an epiphany.
Since I'm no good at attacking, why even try? Wouldn't it be better to just focus on defense?
So, no matter what openings Hector revealed, even if Hector tripped and fell right in front of him, Lin Qi wouldn't take the initiative to attack.
Instead, he'd stare at Hector with even greater vigilance.
This left Hector, who wasn't above faking openings and losing face, feeling deeply frustrated.
"Hey there, young man, I'm going this far. Aren't you going to take the bait, even a little?"
Getting up from the ground, Hector had to admit he was impressed by Lin Qi; this guy simply refused to take the hook.
Lin Qi looked at Hector as if he were an idiot.
"Do I look stupid to you?"
Lin Qi retorted.
"Sigh…"
Hector sighed in resignation and closed in to fight Lin Qi once more.
After fighting Lin Qi for so long, Hector had pretty much figured out his abilities.
First, there was that most troublesome acceleration ability.
Hector wasn't sure about the limits of this acceleration, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but it always managed to let Lin Qi block him just in time.
At its fastest, even Hector had trouble reacting, occasionally breaking out in a cold sweat from the shock.
Next was that ability that could nullify any attack.
Although Lin Qi could only use it for very short bursts each time, it had genuinely allowed him to escape certain death from Hector's spear more than a few times.
It was also a very troublesome ability.
Furthermore, there was probably Lin Qi's reaction speed and observational skills.
His reaction speed, in particular, was the most startling aspect to Hector.
Lin Qi's combat skills were indeed poor, but his reaction speed made up for it somewhat.
No matter how Hector attacked, even if the attack was already halfway launched, Lin Qi would still use his acceleration and exceptional reaction speed and observation to block it.
And this was all without Lin Qi having predicted how Hector would attack beforehand.
Lin Qi's reaction speed reminded Hector of his old rival, Achilles—no, it was perhaps even a bit faster than Achilles's!
Of course, that guy's martial arts had been tempered through thousands of battles, something Lin Qi couldn't compare to.
So Hector was certain that if Lin Qi had enough time to hone his martial arts, and combined it with this reaction speed, he would definitely become a terrifying opponent.
Whether he himself could handle him so easily then would be another story.
And as for the last thing…
Hector's gaze shifted to the flag in Lin Qi's hand.
This was a Noble Phantasm, and a rare one that could be activated without even chanting its True Name.
Hector had seen it more than once: Lin Qi's flag would glow faintly, a light would envelop some ordinary pirate on the same ship, protecting them from Mary's attacks.
He even had the spare capacity to cast defenses on others on the ship!
As a warrior with pride, encountering a situation like this with Lin Qi, he should be angry.
Angry that Lin Qi wasn't focusing all his energy on their fight.
But Hector wasn't angry. Instead, he felt a bit unnerved.
"Hey, young man, are you sure you want to keep this up? You can't keep this pace for long, you know."
Seeing that Eric had already boarded the ship and was raising his axe to wreak havoc, Hector couldn't help but try to reason with him.
Lin Qi didn't speak. His flag glowed once more.
Applying a defense to a pirate who was about to be cleaved by Eric.
"This bare-chested guy has high destructive power, don't engage him head-on! Watch his attacks, just delay him!"
Drake, who had also noticed this scene, quickly commanded in a loud voice.
Lin Qi stared coldly at Hector, his eyes bloodshot, panting heavily.
As long as I can still move, I won't allow you to harm a single person on this ship—
Yes! This was it!
It was this desperate fervor that unnerved Hector the most!
And this gaze, like a starving wild beast seeing this "hunt" as a lifeline, ready to devour its prey—Hector even suspected that if given the chance, Lin Qi would pounce and tear a chunk of flesh from his neck.
Hector could tell that using his special abilities took a significant toll on Lin Qi.
But even when he was gasping for breath, his head splitting with pain, he would not hesitate to use his Noble Phantasm to protect the other pirate crew members.
Even if doing so gave Hector an opening, forcing him to use his abilities again.
"So why did they have to assign a slacker like me to fight this guy…"
Hector's face fell into a miserable expression.
To be honest, Hector hated fighting people like this the most.
Too desperate, too stubborn.
...
Drake, who glanced over from time to time, could also clearly see that Lin Qi was struggling.
She didn't need to think hard to know how much pressure Lin Qi was under. After all, even she had been protected by Lin Qi's Noble Phantasm, let alone the others.
One could easily imagine how hard Lin Qi was fighting.
The current situation was a precarious balance: Hector was tied down by Lin Qi, Eric and Mary were tied down by her and her crew.
But Blackbeard's warship was almost upon the Golden Hind. If they truly managed to board, the situation would likely become one-sided, right?
However—
"Phew, thankfully, everything is ready now…"
Drake looked up at the sky and finally let out a sigh of relief.
No sooner had she spoken.
Then, something fell from the sky.
A drop landed on Lin Qi's hand.
This is… rain?
Lin Qi stared dazedly at the raindrops falling from the sky, growing increasingly dense. Within seconds, the ship's deck was soaked.
Dark clouds had blotted out the sun without anyone noticing, shrouding the entire sea in gloom. A fierce wind swept through, and the once-calm sea surface instantly became tur—bu—lent, with waves churning and roiling.
Amidst this chaos, the approaching Queen Anne's Revenge was also forced to gradually pull away.
But it had been clear and sunny just moments ago, how could it change so suddenly?
Everyone's gaze involuntarily shifted towards a certain navigator.
"Since you all say this thing can work miracles, isn't it perfectly normal for me to whip up a storm?"
In her hand, Drake held the golden Holy Grail, a dashing smile on her face.
…