Chapter 353 - 345: Luring the Enemy In Deep

Chapter 353: Chapter 345: Luring the Enemy In Deep

"But..." Mia’s face showed just the right amount of worry. "I’ve heard that Baron is very cunning..."

"So what?" Barbossa’s confidence was practically bursting. "Lillian, my little treasure, you just need to stay here and watch how I crush his fleet. Then I’ll hang that arrogant Baron’s head from my bow!"

Barbossa had witnessed Velin’s combat strength in the harbor, but this was the vast ocean. The rules of engagement were entirely different here.

He wouldn’t dare lead his fleet to attack a well-defended port. But now, the enemy was willingly sticking his neck out, and Barbossa was absolutely confident he could chop it off.

In his eyes, his flagship, the Sea Serpent, was strong enough to withstand a frontal assault from a Level 5 Magical Beast.

If the enemy truly possessed power beyond Level 5, he wouldn’t have been pinned down in his own harbor by a bunch of salty sea dogs, forced to fight a defensive battle.

It was this absolute confidence in his fleet’s power, combined with his craving for the wealth of the Grey Marsh Territory, that had made him completely abandon his usual caution.

He saw this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If he could crush Velin’s main force in one fell swoop, he could not only take the South Sea Islands, but even go on to plunder the Grey Marsh Territory itself.

A look of adoration flickered in Mia’s purple eyes.

"Whatever you say is what goes. I believe you are the one true king of this sea."

As she spoke, she cast a subtle mental magic, amplifying the greed and arrogance already in Barbossa’s heart.

The effect of this magic solidified his resolve.

"Send my orders!" he roared at the doorway. "All captains, assemble on the Sea Serpent immediately! Bloodsail Brotherhood, full assault! I want that brat to know who the true master of the Southern Islands is!"

A moment later, Peace Bay harbor erupted in a flurry of activity.

One after another, pirate ships of various designs, each flying a blood-red skull flag from its mast, sailed out of the bay like sharks that had smelled blood, converging into a massive torrent.

Barbossa stood at the bow of the Sea Serpent, the sea breeze whipping through his greasy hair, a greedy flame burning in his single eye.

He wanted more than just a victory.

He wanted everything Velin had—his land, his wealth, his technology, and those three Deep Sea Giant Beasts that even he coveted.

He didn’t know that behind him, in the shadows of the captain’s cabin, Mia was quietly putting a beast-bone die carved with a skull back in its place.

She licked her lips, as if she could already taste the sweetness of Moonlight Sugar.

A carefully orchestrated hunt had officially begun.

...

The salty sea wind whipped up white foam, slamming it hard against the hull of the "Sea Wolf Awesome."

"Damn it, these bastards are really sticking to us!" Sea Wolf spat, his thick arms gripping the helm tightly. He had wheedled this flagship out of Caroline, only to rename it the moment he got his hands on it, which had nearly made Caroline curse him out.

"Captain, to the starboard stern, the Blood Sails Fleet is catching up! They’re less than eighteen nautical miles away!" The lookout’s voice, sharp and thin against the wind, came down from the top of the mast.

Sea Wolf raised his spyglass.

At the edge of his vision, a dense mass of blood-red sails covered the sea’s horizon, like a pack of hunting wolves that had locked onto their prey.

The one in the lead, the Sea Serpent, had a massive hull like a moving fortress, occasionally firing off a blast of magic that crashed into the water nearby.

"What’s there to panic about!" Sea Wolf lowered his spyglass and roared at his slightly rattled crew on deck. "Hard to rudder, maintain course! Tell every ship to give it everything they’ve got, but make it look like we’re barely getting away! Don’t let them get too close, but don’t let them lose us either!"

His crew were all seasoned veterans, but facing the main fleet of the Bloodsail Brotherhood in full force was enough to make anyone’s knees go weak.

Their twenty-odd ships, though refitted with Magic Crystal Cannons, were still merchant vessels at their core—a world of difference from true warships.

"Cap’n, are we really leading them to the ’Whale Fall Sea’? That place is wide open, not even a reef to be found. What if..." The first mate sidled up to Sea Wolf, lowering his voice.

"Those are Lord Velin’s orders." Sea Wolf blew out a smoke ring, his expression complex. "That lord... His plans aren’t for us to figure out. We just need to do our part and lead these sons of bitches to the right place!"

He held an almost blind faith in the young Lord of Grey Marshes.

Draining the sea, raising giant beasts—these feats sounded like something out of a fairy tale, but they had all fucking happened.

And now, he had orchestrated this enormous gamble, using their entire armed merchant fleet as bait.

Sea Wolf could only hope that the lord’s backup plan was as reliable as he’d promised. Otherwise, this sea would become all of their watery graves today.

The chase unfolded across the vast expanse of the sea.

The Golden Sail Commerce Association’s fleet "fled in panic" at the front, while the Blood Sails Fleet gave chase relentlessly from behind. Barbossa stood on the bridge of the Sea Serpent, enjoying the thrill of the cat-and-mouse game.

"Boss, they’re heading straight for the ’Whale Fall Sea’!" a captain reported to him through a speaking tube. "That place is way too open, there’s nowhere to hide. What are they trying to do?"

"Idiot!" Barbossa’s single eye, filled with menace, swept over. "They’re scared witless, trying to shake us in open water with their speed! What a joke! Pass the order: all ships, full speed ahead! Even if we have to tear that stretch of sea apart, we will sink every last one of them today!"

His order was quickly relayed throughout the fleet by signal flags, and the pirates let out excited howls. The ships vied to accelerate, afraid they’d be left behind and miss out on the plump sheep to their comrades.

As far as Barbossa was concerned, this merchant fleet was already in the bag.

The enemy commander was clearly a complete moron, trying to play a game of chase with his fleet in open water. He didn’t realize this played right into Barbossa’s hands. In a place like this, his fleet could easily spread out, form an encirclement, and swallow them whole.

Behind him, a flash of calculation glinted in the depths of Mia’s seemingly adoring purple eyes.

The little succubus’s heart was also pounding.

She didn’t know what Velin’s complete plan was, but she knew she was standing in the eye of the storm. ’If anything goes wrong, I’ll be the first to die. I have to gamble... gamble that the man who always works miracles won’t disappoint me this time. After all, my Moonlight Sugar is still in his hands.’

Mia, carrying a glass of wine, walked gracefully to his side and offered it to him, her face lit with a captivating smile.

"My lord, you are a natural-born commander."

Barbossa took the glass, drained it in one gulp, and laughed triumphantly.

He laughed so hard, leaning back and forth, his chest heaving violently, that he choked. The wine glass flew from his hand, CLATTERED across the deck a few times, rolled over the ship’s rail, and fell into the sea.

Far below in the deep sea, the wine glass tumbled helplessly through the water, glinting with the last vestiges of light from the surface. Then, it was swallowed by the boundless darkness, sinking toward the sunless seabed.

However, just as it was about to be buried in the silt of the seafloor, a giant tentacle thicker than a ship’s mast emerged silently from the shadows. A few nimble tendrils at its tip, like human fingers, gently pinched it.

The tentacle slowly retracted, bringing the wine glass before a colossal eye larger than a carriage wheel.

The massive pupil contracted slightly, curiously examining the tiny trinket.

[One, stay focused.] A thought was transmitted through a mental link.

The giant tentacle paused for a moment, then reluctantly released its grasp.

The little wine glass resumed its journey, finally disappearing forever into the seabed muck. The beast’s attention returned to the prey on the water’s surface, which were about to enter the hunting grounds.

Inside the cavity of Leviathan One, it was as quiet as a cathedral.

There was no pirate clamor, no rocking of a ship, only the soft hum of the life support systems. Velin sat upright in the command seat, his eyes closed.

Within the hive matrix, red and blue dots of light representing the two fleets were closing in on each other at a visible rate.

Data on the surrounding topography, water depth, and currents refreshed in a constant stream of information. For him, the entire battlefield was one-way transparent.

[Report distance to target.]

[Five nautical miles to the target point. Estimated fifteen minutes until the enemy’s main fleet is fully inside the designated ambush zone.] The helmsman’s voice reported back.

Elvin stood on the other side, his hands clasped together nervously.

His face was filled with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety, like a student waiting for a professor to grade their thesis.

[My Lord, the "mimic torpedo" incubation pods are all activated and ready for launch. Their biological brains have locked onto the energy frequencies of the Bloodsail’s main warships.]

[Have them wait.] Velin’s fingers tapped lightly on the armrest. [Wait until the prey is fully inside the cage before shutting the door.]

Time ticked by, second by second.

On the light screen, the Sea Wolf Fleet was the first to enter the central area of the "Whale Fall Sea." Immediately after, Barbossa’s fleet plunged in headfirst, the massive armada fanning out across the open water with menacing momentum.

[Now!] Velin issued the command.

[Fire!]