Chapter 155
As the ship sliced through the fierce currents to begin its voyage, a man introduced himself.
“Kehehe, you greenhorns. I am the captain of this vessel and the fifth fleet commander of the pirate armada, Ivan.”
Ivan’s introduction left the candidates with a slightly bewildered expression, for they had no information about this man nad Ivan.
But Yan was different.
‘So this man is Ivan, one of the ten captains under the Pirate Empress.’
The fleet led by the Pirate Empress consisted of eleven key figures.
The most central figure was the Pirate Empress herself.
Beneath her were the captains of ten pirate ships.
They were formidable opponents, even by the empire’s standards.
Though their realm was of the fourth grade, it was said they could rival the superhumans at the threshold of the third grade when at sea.
‘Judging by the way he was eyeing ... he must have sensed my power, albeit faintly.’
Perhaps Ivan had released Karam not rely as a jest but because of .
Despite his brutish appearance, the man possessed a cunning mind.
“Now, how about you lot introduce yourselves, eh? If you spout nonsense like that fellow, I’ll toss you overboard as fish feed.”
After finishing his introduction, Ivan’s eyes glead mischievously as he scanned the candidates, who shivered under his gaze.
The first to step forward were the successors of Castro’s rank.
“Don...”
“...and... l.”
Their voices were as unpleasant as ever.
Ivan scowled and waved his hand dismissively at their introduction.
“Enough from you two. Your voices grate like nails on a chalkboard.”
Despite the insult, Don and l bowed their heads and returned to their places.
Ivan’s gaze then shifted to the elves.
“And you?”
Loen rose from her seat and bowed politely.
“We are Loen and Henry, disciples of the Light Sword, Erectus. We look forward to serving you.”
“The lady is quite to my liking, but this Henry fellow’s attitude is irkso.”
Henry glared at Ivan, clearly not fond of his tone.
Seeing this, Ivan bared his yellowed teeth in a cackling laugh.
“Hey, that’s quite the challenging glare. Shall we have a little tussle?”
At his words, Loen quickly interjected between them, bowing deeply.
“My apologies. He’s unwell at the mont and can’t see clearly. We would be grateful if you could show a little understanding, Captain.”
Loen recalled the title Yan had used earlier, trying to appease Ivan’s mood.
Whether her efforts succeeded or not, Ivan rely curled one corner of his mouth and turned away.
His gaze briefly swept over Karam and Darkin.
“Those two don’t seem to be much of anything.”
Finally, Yan and Ivan’s eyes t.
“Is it finally your turn?”
* * *
Yan couldn’t help but chuckle at Ivan’s fox-like ploy. This flimsy self-introduction was clearly aid at him.
‘It must seem odd to Ivan that I’m tied up with these candidates.’
So, he watched the other candidates introduce themselves, trying to make his own assessnt.
A smirk played on his lips.
After all, there was nothing to lose.
Yan spoke with a smile, “I am Yan, a disciple of Special Task Force Leader Damian Caballan. And this is Cruel, who has been with since the Dragon Soldier Project.”
Interest flickered in Ivan’s eyes.
“A disciple of the Task Force Leader... Ah, I recall a rising star making waves inland lately, bearing the sa na as yours.”
As Yan nodded, Ivan burst into laughter.
“Ha-ha-ha! To think I’d have the empire’s supernova aboard my ship!”
Supernova?
Yan tilted his head in confusion, prompting Ivan to ask, wide-eyed, “You don’t know the nickna given to you?”
“Nickna... ?”
Yan had never been known by any nickna, before or after his regression.
Just a position or soone’s disciple.
That was all.
But ‘Supernova’ as a nickna?
Ivan laughed heartily at Yan.
“Well, well. Even a sailor like knows the tale, and yet the man himself is unaware.”
He began to explain Yan’s nickna.
A supernova, a star born with imnse energy and light.
It was a fitting moniker for Yan, the most brilliant and powerful of the empire’s prospects.
Yan, feeling goosebumps at the cringe-worthy nickna, rubbed his arms.
“Ha-ha, let’s do well together, Supernova!”
“Could you... perhaps call by my na instead of the nickna?”
“Ha-ha-ha! To be shy of such a grand nickna, you’re still a man lacking in self-love!”
Yan forced a smile, turning away from Ivan’s enthusiastic gaze.
He knew the conversation would beco tireso if it continued.
Yan sat on the railing, recalling the ti before his regression.
The Pirate Empress had been a formidable force, known as the ruler of the Black Sea, but she had lost her life around this ti.
The reason was simple.
She had fallen into a trap set by the Sun Duke.
‘According to the information received by the Task Force at that ti, the Pirate Empress had walked into the trap of the Sun Duke alone.’
She was alone, but her opponent was the naval power boasted by the Sun Duke.
The outco was predictable, yet Yan couldn’t help but be impressed by the Empress’s display of might.
Alone, she had taken down dozens of warships, thousands of soldiers, and five superhumans before falling in battle.
With the death of the Pirate Empress, the pirate fleet she led turned into a rabble.
They too were decimated by the navy.
It was an anticlimactic end for the Pirate Empress, known as the empire’s strongest foe.
‘If the Pirate Empress had led her fleet instead of going alone, she would have easily crushed the trap.’
What Yan pondered now was...
‘The Empress’s might was undeniable, but why did she walk into the Sun Duke’s trap alone?’
It was hard to conclude definitively, but intuitively, Yan felt there was so connection between that incident and the current revolutionary army.
And if that was the case...
‘I think I understand why Electus suddenly changed his mind.’
Most of the puzzle pieces fit, but the last piece remained unsolved.
A simple question that anyone would wonder.
So, a question that didn’t make sense.
‘If it was the work of the revolutionary army, why did they lead the Pirate Empress into the Sun Duke’s trap instead of drawing her away from it?’
Then, what was the point of this test from the beginning?
Yan’s mind raced to derive the answer.
The information he had obtained as the Task Force Leader before his regression and what he had learned infiltrating the revolutionary army began to combine.
And just as the most likely hypothesis erged...
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud noise accompanied the deck tilting sideways.
Caught off guard, Yan and the candidates turned their heads towards Ivan.
“Ivan, what was that sound just now...”
But Ivan, seemingly unimpressed by the novelty, laughed as he looked in the direction of the attack.
“Ha-ha-ha! The diligent navy has arrived just in ti!”
Ivan quickly left the deck, climbing up the mast.
Then, pulling sothing akin to a telescope from around his chest, he extended it to his eye.
With a long grin, he shouted.
“It’s the Sun Duke’s navy! Everyone, stop lazing around and get ready!”
At Ivan’s roar, pirates who had been unseen since boarding began to appear one by one.
Each one was a formidable fighter, carrying not just swords but also claws and axes.
The last pirate to erge from the engine room looked up at the mast and shouted.
“Captain! What shall we do with them?”
“What do you an what? If you want to live, you’d better swing your sword like there’s no tomorrow! Isn’t that right, guests of the revolutionary army!”
The candidates’ faces fell at Ivan’s shout.
But sitting idly by and being saved was not sothing their pride would allow.
Clang!
Clang!
The candidates all drew their weapons, ready to fight back.
Henry and Loen unsheathed their rapiers.
Karam and Darkin donned gauntlets made of gold.
And Don and l gripped ordinary swords.
Karam licked his lips as he looked at the other candidates.
“It’d be nice if one or two of them died here.”
“The one who was trampled to death just a while ago is talking big.”
Cruel teased, and Karam glared at him nacingly.
But Cruel, unfazed, drew his beloved sword, BloodSeeker.
Then, his eyes widened as he looked around.
Yan, who had been with them until just a mont ago, was nowhere to be seen.
“Where did Yan suddenly go...”
Before he could finish his sentence.
Boom!
Another loud noise shook the deck violently.
Candidates unaccustod to seasickness clung to the railing, trying to regain their composure.
After another round of cannon fire, Ivan shouted as if he couldn’t be outdone.
“Bring out our cannons! These bastards aren’t just playing around, they’re firing cannons!”
At his command, pirates dragged ten huge black cannons towards the deck.
And behind them, relatively young pirates loaded the cannons with black cannonballs.
Click!
As soon as the loading sound ca from the cannon, Ivan raised the corner of his mouth and swung his cutlass.
“Ha-ha-ha! Fire! Let’s show these foolish navy dogs the taste of a pirate’s cannon!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a loud boom erupted from the cannons, and the sound of explosions ca from afar.
After exchanging several rounds of fire, the navy’s warship ca into view.
It was a warship of similar size to the pirate ship they were on.
On it, a knight who clearly looked like a superhuman gazed over with a serene expression.
Ivan, unwilling to be outdone, bared his teeth fiercely and roared.
“Hey, helmsman! The pleasantries are over, now ram those bastards! Let’s have a deck party!”
“Yes!”
With the helmsman’s spirited response, the pirate ship swiftly approached the warship.
Boom!
The decks collided, and the water surged high.
Ivan swung his cutlass forward and shouted.
“Kill them all! Let’s take a warship for ourselves this ti!”
“Yes!”
At the captain’s command, the crew threw nets and made a crude bridge to the warship.
Then they ran across it, swords drawn.
Amazingly, not a single person lost their balance and fell into the sea.
The pirates who boarded the warship imdiately swung their swords at the navy.
The candidates watched the sudden fight unfold in a daze.
Even Cruel, who had grown weary of fighting on land, had no idea how to fight in this situation.
And leaving them behind.
Ivan sang madly from atop the mast.
“When the flag with the black skull appears, hold your breath~ The pitch-black demons are coming~”
On the pirate ship, the candidates gazed blankly at the battlefield.
And on the warship, pirates and navy had already begun a fierce battle.
But Yan was nowhere to be seen.
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