With a mighty crash, the main mast of the Spiral, nearly a meter thick, snapped in half. The top twenty-meter section slowly toppled toward the stern, tearing loose the ropes that secured its sails.
Before Regedor and his men could intervene, the heavy upper mast completely gave way, smashing down on the stern of the Spiral.
BOOM!
Another thunderous crash shook the Spiral. The seventy-meter long steamship pitched violently, its bow lifting as its stern sank.
Fortunately, the Spiral boasted impressive carrying capacity and balance, so the twenty-meter mast didn't completely capsize the ship.
It quickly righted itself, though the upper deck structures like the pilothouse and stern turret were ruined, sending wood splinters and debris flying everywhere.
"The main mast is down!"
"Quick, save them!"
"Oh, poor Tom is trapped underneath!"
"Ah—General Regedor's room is wrecked!"
"..."
Pirates ran frantically across the deck, screaming in panic. Though the Roberts Legion pirates were well-trained soldiers, they were still ordinary people, prone to fear and confusion.
"Heh heh heh… you little brat!" Regedor chuckled, not angered but rather admiring. He gazed at Cross in the sky, muttering to himself, "So you want to destroy the sails and slow down the Spiral, huh? You actually pulled it off!"
Steamships, with the added power of sails, were considerably faster than regular sailing warships.
However, without their sails and wind power, relying solely on their primitive steam boilers, their speed would drop to that of an average three-masted sailing warship. This would make it impossible for the Spiral to easily carry out its surveillance mission.
Meanwhile, the metal black dragon Cross rode arced gracefully through the air, swiftly ascending before diving down again.
"Enliven: Falling Star!"
The roughly twenty-meter-long, all-metal sculpture plunged downwards at supersonic speed, like a meteor falling from the sky. It resembled three massive black arrows hurtling towards the Spiral.
"Ahhh—!"
"Here it comes again!"
"General Regedor, help us!"
"..."
The Roberts Legion pirates cried out in terror.
"So, this time it's aiming for my ship!" Regedor said with a light chuckle. "But I can't let you have your way!"
As he spoke, his muscles tensed. The vambrace on his right arm spun at high speed, creating a buzzing, silver, conical whirlwind around his arm. He then stomped, shattering the oak deck beneath his feet, and launched himself upwards like a cannonball.
"Spiral Burst!"
With a thunderous roar, Regedor threw a full-force punch, slamming it into the metal black dragon's head.
BOOM!
The two figures, one large and one small, collided like Mars striking Earth, erupting in a deafening roar. Visible white ripples spread in a circular pattern, instantly stirring up a fierce storm that swept through the sky and sea with a mighty, howling gale.
CRACK—
The next second, a faint cracking sound echoed. A crack appeared on the metal black dragon's head and rapidly expanded. In moments, countless cracks spread quickly across most of the metal black dragon's body.
"Oh… damn it!" Cross groaned, immediately leaping from the metal black dragon.
Immediately after, the front half of the metal black dragon shattered with a powerful burst of force, turning into countless metal fragments that shot out in all directions.
At the same time, Regedor, still in mid-air, felt his body tremble. He was involuntarily sent flying backward, slamming onto the deck with a thud, causing a spiderweb of cracks to spread across the thick oak planks around him.
"General Regedor!"
"The dragon… it shattered?!"
"Oh no, the brat from the dragon's back jumped onto the ship!"
"..."
The pirates on the Spiral stared in shock, unable to stop their exclamations.
They hadn't expected the black dragon to be shattered by Regedor's punch!
It shattered like stone, with no blood, leading them to wonder if the legendary dragons weren't living creatures after all.
However, many pirates quickly recovered, gripping their weapons and surrounding Cross.
"Tch… He actually shattered such a massive metal black dragon sculpture with one punch… That guy's a real monster!" Cross crouched on the fallen main mast, his eyes sharply scanning the surrounding pirates as he muttered discontentedly to himself.
BANG!
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. A pirate, aiming his flintlock at Cross's head, couldn't help but pull the trigger.
A flash of fire erupted from the muzzle, and a lead bullet shot out, heading straight for Cross's head.
Cross showed no panic, countering with a casual flick of his blade. With a clink, the sharp blade of Kagehide flashed a cold light through the air, instantly slicing the lead bullet in half. The two powerless halves clattered to the deck.
"Hehe… you're looking for death!" Cross chuckled lightly, suddenly leaping into the air and crashing into the crowd of pirates on the deck like a cannonball.
SWISH—
In an instant, an incredibly sharp flash of light appeared, and several pirates were cut in half at the waist, blood gushing like fountains.
"Kill him!"
"Get him!"
"..."
But this gruesome sight didn't deter the others. The Roberts Legion pirates let out fierce roars, charging at Cross one after another, as if throwing themselves into the fray.
"Perfect!"
"One Sword Style: Shockwave!"
Cross's expression was cold as he wielded Kagehide, unhesitatingly striking at the nearest enemy. A fierce blade wind erupted, sending more than ten people flying.
Then, Cross moved with his blade, the blade moving with him, his steps unceasing, his blade never still. In an instant, a dazzling blade light swept through the crowd, creating a bloody storm.
As one of the 50 Skillful Grade Blade, Kagehide possessed an incredibly sharp blade. Combined with Cross's strength, it could easily cut through tough human bodies like a hot knife through butter, even cleaving through several people with a single strike.
"Navy brat, using my men as practice dummies?! You're too arrogant!" Regedor suddenly roared, charging over from the side, bringing with him a fierce gust of wind, smashing into Cross like a cannonball.
CLANG!
A sword hum echoed through the air. Then, a brilliant flash of blade light appeared, swiftly sweeping horizontally towards Regedor like lightning.
CLANG—
The sharp blade struck the silver vambrace, producing a piercing clang and sending out sparks. Three violent bursts of energy spread in all directions.
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]
There are 100+ advance chapters available for you to read!