Episode 210. Abyssal Holy War - Strait Breakthrough (5)
"Fire!"
The roar of 80 cannons firing in succession rang out, and the warship's hull trembled.
Beneath a sky full of headwinds and dark clouds conjured by Lindsay's celestial magic against the heavens.
On the gloomy sea, massive warships, hundreds upon hundreds of them, exchanged a dialogue of steel, spewing flas and flashes of light with their thousands of gunports aid.
"Flooding on the first deck stern!"
"Hurry up with the drainage!"
Each ti a cannonball scraped by, a new scar was carved into the hull—
"Aaaak!"
An equal number of screams and stains of blood colored the ship.
Admiral Lee, supporting himself with his sword on the deck, was watching the spectacle of nearly a hundred great warships exposing their flanks to one another and firing without cease.
The assessnt had been correct: judging by the battle fought by Admiral Lindsay's Blue Dragon Fleet and the enemy admiral's aggression, if they were shown a single line ahead formation as a gambit, they would charge straight for the most vulnerable center.
The enemies had attempted a single-point breakthrough into the weak center, but slowed by the headwind, they were now surrounded and taking a beating.
Whiz—
Admiral Lee watched a rocket launcher whiz by with its distinctive noise and strike an enemy warship and its sail, which soon caught fire. Then, he turned his gaze to see an allied warship on the other side, engulfed in purple flas, burning and slowly listing.
"Admiral! Allied losses are not insignificant!"
Hearing the captain's urgent words, Admiral Lee spoke resolutely.
"Maintain the offensive."
Though the sacrifice may be great, an opportunity to fight such an advantageous battle against Abyss Corporation will not co twice.
"A-Admiral!"
With an urgent shout, a cannonball grazed past, sending fragnts flying, but Admiral Lee did not even stir.
"Do not be shaken by such things. When you go to the battlefield, you must be prepared to risk your life."
Once the battle descends into a lee like this, flag signals lose their aning anyway...
"Beat the drums without rest, so that our allies do not fear."
"Yes, sir!"
All that was left was to show them their admiral was with them, to display his presence so they would not retreat.
Admiral Lee watched the enemy fleet being relentlessly battered by his and Lindsay's fleets, then turned his gaze to the east.
Most of the enemy's main fleet had been caught in the encirclent, but the new enemy warships, spewing white steam as they raced through and penetrated the center of the fleet in an instant, could not be stopped.
Admiral Lee narrowed his eyes as he watched the enemy warships that had charged forward, blocking the bombardnt with a demon's magic barrier, ramming his ships and initiating lee combat.
Now, it was a question of whether the allied forces of the center army would collapse and be broken through, opening a path for the enemies to escape the encirclent, or if they would hold firm and annihilate the enemy.
*
"Grrraaaah— Clang!"
I plunged my sword into the charging werewolf, but the sheer mass of the beast slamd into my body.
"Grk...!"
I skidded across the deck and barely stopped, then kicked the beast's body away to pull out my sword—
"Hyaaaah!"
Bang!
A gunshot rang out from behind , and another demon that had been charging collapsed, gushing blood from its head.
I imdiately drew my dagger and threw it as I spun around.
"Gak!"
A demon charging at Christine from behind was struck between the eyebrows by the dagger and slowly fell.
In that brief exchange, we shared a look of relief and a smile—
Christine shouted as she reloaded her pistol.
"Dureng! Are you alive?"
"I'm alive, Admiral!"
"Leave the fighting to the boatswain and move the command post to the lower deck! Non-combat personnel will only get in the way!"
"Understood!"
The mont she heard Dureng's reply, Christine started running towards the stairs, and I followed, covering her.
A wise decision. Indeed, I couldn't fight to my satisfaction if she were exposed to danger.
A glance away revealed a ship flying the flag of the Northern Allied Kingdom, engulfed in purple flas and slowly listing in the distance.
"Aaaaaah—!"
"Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"
From those thrashing about, engulfed in flas, to those abandoning the ship and leaping into the sea.
It's pandemonium.
Even the Libre, equipped with a Magitek engine and protected by a magic barrier, couldn't withstand the enemy warship's ram and suffered severe damage, let alone the other ships without magic barriers.
And in that mont.
I felt a chilling sensation and imdiately pushed Christine.
"Hah...!"
Embracing a bewildered Christine, who was suddenly lifted into the empty air, I threw myself down the stairs.
As my body, wrapped around her for protection, tumbled and hit the stairs, I ignored the pain and plunged my sword into the floor to stop our fall. The mont I did—
An unbelievable volley of gunfire and desperate screams erupted from the deck above, far too much for just one person.
"Aaaak!"
"Keoheok!"
"Uwaaaah—!"
If we had been a mont later, Christine and I would have been caught up in that!
"Gasp, A-Admiral?"
"Marquis Lafayette?"
Amidst the startled reactions of the sailors on the lower deck, I pulled out my sword and helped Christine to her feet.
"Pierre, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Christine. Please command from the lower deck. You must not co up."
For a brief mont, various emotions passed through her eyes.
But she quickly composed them, and what remained in her jet-black eyes was trust, suppressing her anxiety.
Christine took a deep breath and slowly replied.
"I understand."
Good.
I gave her a smile, then readjusted my grip on my sword, drew a dagger with my left hand, and imdiately leaped up the stairs.
*
The first thing I saw upon leaping outside was a blood sea and scattered corpses.
And in the middle of it all, a figure wearing an admiral's cloak and hat, diligently blowing on a smoking pistol—
...a one-horned demon with red hair.
I knew it intuitively the mont I saw him.
This one is a Great Demon, beyond Halphas.
Perhaps Paimon, or even higher—
The demon, whose eyes t mine, tilted its head slightly and spoke.
"Quite the moves. Who are you? I'm Barbatos, of the 'Wrath' Company."
Barbatos. I've heard that na.
CEO of Wrath Company, Admiral of the Abyss Corporation Navy!
"Pierre de Lafayette. Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Army of the Revolutionary Kingdom of Francia."
"Oh—"
Barbatos's eyes widened, and then he grinned and said.
"I demand you don't interfere."
The mont the demon's command was given, the demons that had surrounded Barbatos and moved to the other side.
And soon, gunshots, shouts, and screams began to erupt from below.
...There was more than one staircase leading to the Libre's lower deck.
There's no need to doubt Christine's command ability, but the opponents are demons, and our forces are sailors, not professional lee combat manpower.
How long can she hold out?
No, what does it matter how long she can hold out?
"Ahahaha, I rember now. You're the human Paimon was chasing? Impressive enough. Barbatos agrees with Paimon's assessnt, so let's have so fun—"
I just have to cut him down quickly!
I imdiately kicked off the floor and lunged.
The opponent's weapons are two pistols.
It's obvious they'll pierce any magic barrier, and it's impossible to parry bullets that are hard to even follow with my eyes.
But my skills are different from when I struggled against Halphas.
My abilities are incomparable, and the blessing of Divine Power surging through my body and weapon will surely reach that demon!
"Hahat— Whoa!"
Barbatos tried to aim the pistol in his right hand at but imdiately parried the flying dagger.
Next was the left hand.
Screee—
Bang!
With an unpleasant tallic noise, the pistol, knocked back by my swiftly lunging sword, fired into the empty air—and the demon's right arm, trying to aim its muzzle at again, was blocked by my left arm.
"Kahak, ahahaha!"
The demon, struck in the abdon by a knee carrying the full weight of my charge, actually burst out laughing.
I quickly followed up, right hand again, parried.
Left hand, deflected—
"Ugh!"
The mont I lunged again, Barbatos's head struck my forehead.
Feeling the world spin and a sense of dread at the sa ti, I imdiately rolled on the floor—rat-a-tat-tat—!
Gunshots followed by a hair's breadth.
I imdiately got up and hid behind the mast, and the sound of the demon's footsteps racing across the deck echoed.
An insane speed, recognizable by sound alone.
I don't have ti for a ga of tag anyway!
I imdiately moved away from the mast—
Amidst a succession of gunshots, I slid across the deck as if I were falling.
"Huhh!?"
Amid the sound of bullets whistling past my head, I twisted my body, drew my dagger, and threw it at the demon, who looked flustered for the first ti.
"What...!"
But the demon caught it with its teeth, spat it out with a "ptui," and aid its pistol again.
"Damn it...!"
The angle. Right hand, upper body, head!
As if the world was slowing down, I raised my sword to shield my body and lowered my stance diagonally. At that mont, the demon's muzzle flashed.
"Grk...!"
A few bullets blocked by the blade fell to the floor, but a sensation as hot as fire ran through my body.
I imdiately reached down with my left hand to draw the dagger at my waist, but my hand grasped at nothing, and I realized my index and middle fingers had been blown off.
"Kuh... Aah...!"
My shoulder, leg, and the fingers of my left hand. A delayed, agonizing pain ran through my body.
Still, I can fight.
I can feel the Divine Power in my chest, the blessing Eris poured all her strength into planting within , rushing to heal my body sohow.
"Ah, ho-hot!"
Barbatos threw away the twin pistols in his hands, drew the sword from his waist, and laughed with a mouth bleeding from blocking the dagger.
"Ahahaha, you're the best! Tough! Barbatos is satisfied, very satisfied! This is what it takes to make a fight worthwhile!"
"Is that so, you crazy demon bastard."
Even in this mont, screams, shouts, and gunshots are sounding ceaselessly from below.
With every instant I hesitate, the danger to Christine grows.
That thought whips to move, burning hotter than any pain, than any sense of crisis.
"Hahat!"
The demon leisurely aid its sword at as I charged—and the mont our swords clashed, I realized.
I have experienced over 20 years of war, across my previous and current life.
I have crossed the brink of death countless tis.
The countless divine protections and blessings given to by Eris have been absorbed by the Divine Power that caused my regression and now reside in my body.
And yet.
My desperate sword attack, staking my all, an attack with all my might.
...It doesn't reach.
It cannot reach.
Amidst the screaming of clashing tal.
The demon, with a face that looked like it was dying of joy, was leisurely parrying all of my attacks.
"Hah, hoo, hoo...!"
After exchanging dozens of blows and falling back to catch my ragged breath, Barbatos asked with a smile.
"You okay? Should we take a little break?"
"Haa, haa...."
I glared at Barbatos, trying desperately to catch my breath.
My continuously bleeding body was sohow being sustained by the Divine Power ceaselessly moving within it.
But this overwhelming difference.
I realize that his use of pistols wasn't because he lacked confidence in lee combat, but was rely a form of amusent for this demon.
Even though I'm no match for him in skill, he's just toying with for his own amusent.
"Ah, right!"
At that mont, Barbatos spoke as if he just realized sothing.
"My bad, I was being inconsiderate. If we keep this up, that pretty admiral will be dragged out in a ss, so shouldn't we fight now?"
This demonic son of a bitch...
But.
I've bought enough ti.
Barbatos probably didn't realize, since his back was turned.
But to .
"Brace for impact!"
"Eeeeh?"
Behind Barbatos's flagship, which had clashed with the Libre—
"Al-ardho!"
Kroxx's ship of the line, which had been racing at full speed, was clearly visible.
"Akbar!"
The mont the orcs roared at Kroxx's shout, and their ship of the line charged furiously to collide.
I kicked off the deck and lunged at the bewildered Barbatos.
I pulled my upper body back as far as possible, for a strike that would pierce that demon in one blow—Puk!
But the searing pain that pierced my body was faster.
"Keoheok..."
Blood gurgled and poured from my abdon, pierced by a sword.
As I felt my life draining away, Barbatos spoke with what seed like genuine regret.
"Gasp, s-sorry! Aack, what a waste, what a waste! To kill you this easily—"
However.
"No need to be sorry."
From the start, this demon never looked clumsy enough to be caught by a surprise attack.
"Eh?"
Even as blood poured ceaselessly from my pierced body, strength remained in my form surged by Divine Power—a strike that wrung out every last ounce of my strength dug straight into Barbatos's chest.
"Gak, what, a human—"
Before Barbatos could finish his words while vomiting blood.
"Uwaaaaaaah!"
A sword attack swung upwards with both hands split the demon in two—and then the impact of the ship of the line, which had charged at full speed, colliding, washed over .
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