Chapter 355 - 347: The Loli Assassin Goes on a Rampage

Chapter 355: Chapter 347: The Loli Assassin Goes on a Rampage

Burning planks and broken masts drifted on the surface of the sea. The fleet the Bloodsail Brotherhood had taken such pride in was now nothing more than floating garbage.

Sailors in the uniforms of the Golden Sail Commerce Association maneuvered small boats through the wreckage, using long, hooked poles to pull people from the water.

Be they pirate or one of their own, as long as they were still breathing, they were pulled aboard.

Sea Wolf slowly approached with his flagship. He waved his arms toward the Leviathan where Velin stood, his roar cutting through the din.

"Lord Baron! We won! These bastards are all finished!"

Velin stood atop the Leviathan’s broad head, the sea breeze stirring his black hair.

"Captain Sea Wolf," Velin began. "Rescue everyone in the water. Prioritize the craftsmen with valuable skills. We need the manpower."

"Understood!" Sea Wolf bellowed, then spun around and roared at his men. "You hear that?! Get a move on! I want them alive, especially the shipwrights! The Lord Baron needs them!"

Velin sank his consciousness into the water and issued a new command to the three great beasts.

’Clean up the seabed. Recover the intact alchemy cannons and the usable keels from the ships. These are all expensive spoils of war, the foundation for rebuilding the islands.’

With the annihilation of the Bloodsail Brotherhood’s main force, the dark cloud that had loomed over the Southern Islands was torn asunder.

「Meanwhile, in every corner of the islands.」

"The signal! It’s the signal for victory!"

A Namiya Scout came rushing down from a sea-facing cliff, waving a red flag in his hand.

Inside the cave, Gideon shot to his feet.

The dozen or so members of the Raging Waves Knight Order behind him all placed their hands on their sword hilts in unison.

"For the Grey Marsh Territory!" Gideon drew his longsword, pointing the blade toward the light filtering in from the cave’s entrance.

"For the glory of the Raging Waves Knight Order!" the Knights roared in unison.

At that very moment, beacons of rebellion were lit on several of the main islands.

The pirates’ prized fleet was the foundation of their rule. When that foundation was ripped out by the roots, the castle they had built on sand was bound to collapse.

On a watchtower on Turtle Island, a pirate captain was still shouting for his men to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements, only to be stabbed in the back and brought down by one of his own.

"Reinforcements? Boss Barbossa’s entire fleet is at the bottom of the sea! What the hell are we defending?!"

In a tavern on Wind Language Island, pirates who were just moments ago bragging about their exploits in battle were overwhelmed by a rush of islanders armed with harpoons and machetes.

Deprived of reinforcements and hope, the pirate strongholds collapsed and surrendered, one after another.

The rebels’ offensive was like a whirlwind, so swift that it even took their own side by surprise.

Inside a warehouse in Peace Bay, the last pocket of resistance held on.

"Stay back! Don’t you fucking move! Any closer and I’ll kill this little whelp!"

A one-armed pirate held a rusty iron hook to a boy’s throat, using him as a human shield. The boy’s face was already turning purple.

Inside the warehouse, besides him, were four other burly pirates.

News of the fleet’s annihilation had already reached them. They were like cornered animals, desperate and on high alert.

Two of them stood guard at the door and window, knives drawn. The other two paced between the stacks of cargo, their fierce eyes scanning every dark corner.

In a corner, a dozen or so kidnapped children huddled together.

"What should we do?" a resistance warrior outside the door asked, his forehead beaded with sweat. "If we storm the place, we’ll never be able to save the kids!"

Just as everyone was at a loss for what to do, Xiaolan pushed through the crowd and stepped forward.

"W-wait..." She pointed to a ventilation duct on the side of the warehouse, half-hidden by a wooden crate. "I... I can get in through there."

"You?" The warrior in charge sized her up, his face full of skepticism. "This isn’t a game, little girl. There are five ruthless desperados in there who’d kill you without a second thought!"

"Let her go," another warrior who knew Xiaolan said in a low voice. "She’s one of Master Kael’s students. Trust me, she’s far more capable than we think."

Finally, after a brief silence, the lead warrior gritted his teeth. "Alright! I’ll trust you this once! We’ll make a distraction out here to draw their attention. You have ten minutes. If you’re not out by then, we’re breaking down the door!"

Xiaolan nodded firmly, and her small figure quickly vanished into the shadows.

The ventilation duct reeked of rust and dead rats. It was so narrow she could barely turn around.

Her knees and elbows scraped painfully against the rough sheet metal. From below, the faint sounds of the pirates’ curses and the children’s stifled sobs drifted up to her.

Her heart was pounding like a war drum, each beat thrumming in her ears.

’No... I can’t be afraid... Lord Velin entrusted this mission to me... The children... they’re waiting...’

She took a deep breath, and her racing heart began to steady.

Like a gecko, she crept silently to the duct’s exit at the other end of the warehouse, peeking out from a gap between a stack of burlap sacks.

In the dim lamplight, the five pirates were clearly visible. They paced like anxious wolves, radiating an aura of danger. ’This is even trickier than I thought.’

Xiaolan’s eyes grew cold. The assassin’s instinct, rooted deep in her bloodline, suppressed her fear. Her breathing slowed and deepened, and she seemed to melt into the shadows.

She picked up a small stone, calculated the angle, and flicked it with her finger. The stone traced an arc through the air, striking an empty wine barrel in the far corner of the warehouse.

"CLANG!"

The crisp sound was jarring in the quiet warehouse.

"Who’s there?!" The nearest pirate spun around warily, knife in hand, and moved toward the source of the sound.

’Now!’

The moment he moved, Xiaolan slipped out like a phantom. Her feet landed on the dust-covered floor without stirring a single mote of dust.

Her target was another pirate, one who was watching the main door with his back to her.

Three meters, two, one...

’So that these innocent children can live... please, die.’

Xiaolan chanted in her mind.

Her left hand clamped over the pirate’s mouth as her right hand, gripping a dagger, stabbed up under his jaw. She drove the blade into his neck all the way to the hilt and gave it a vicious twist.

The pirate’s body went rigid, the ferocity in his eyes replaced by stark terror. Xiaolan braced his weight with her own body, gently lowering the heavy corpse into the shadows of a cargo stack.

The only sound throughout the entire process was a wet GURGLE.

Her gaze shifted to the two pirates huddled together, cursing under their breath. Distracted by their companion’s actions, their attention was fixed on the far corner of the warehouse.

’Another opportunity.’

Xiaolan exploded into motion like an arrow loosed from a bow, closing the distance behind the two men at an unbelievable speed.

This time, she struck with both hands at once, a dagger in each!

"SCHLICK! SCHLICK!"

One dagger plunged mercilessly into the space between a man’s shoulder blades, while the other sliced open the artery in his companion’s neck.

"Urk..." One of the pirates didn’t even manage a full grunt before his life faded. The other clutched at his spurting neck and staggered two steps, his eyes wide with disbelief, before collapsing heavily to his knees. The commotion finally alerted the remaining two men.

"Shit, there’s—" The first pirate who’d been lured away cursed as he turned, only to see his companion’s collapsing body and a small silhouette standing at the edge of the shadows.

Horror had just begun to dawn on his face, his mouth opening to shout, when a cold glint flashed through the air! Xiaolan had thrown her left-hand dagger. The weapon flew true, embedding itself in his throat.

Like a strangled duck, any sound he might have made was caught in his windpipe. His hands clawed uselessly at the dagger in his throat before he crashed to the floor.

Four down.

Finally, only the one-armed pirate holding the boy hostage remained.

He was clearly terrified by the slaughter that had unfolded in the blink of an eye. He spun around in a panic, the iron hook tightening on the boy’s throat.

"S-stay back! You’re a demon!" he roared, his voice a mixture of bravado and terror as he shuffled backward.

Reflected in Xiaolan’s pupils was the boy’s little face—purple from asphyxiation, streaked with tears, and contorted in fear.

She felt not a shred of hesitation.

’You hurt a child,’ she thought. ’Therefore, you absolutely must die.’

She suddenly dropped into a low dash, her figure vanishing for a split second!

While the terrified one-armed pirate was still trying to find her, she was already at his side.

No flashy moves, just a simple thrust. The dagger in her right hand drove up under his ribs, piercing his heart at an angle.

"ARGH—!" The one-armed pirate let out a scream of agony. His body convulsed, and the iron hook fell away, useless.

As Xiaolan withdrew her dagger, she reached out and caught the limp body of the boy as he fell.

The one-armed pirate slammed face-first onto the ground and went still.

The entire thing was over in a flash.

Xiaolan held the trembling boy, patting his back comfortingly. Then she walked to the warehouse door and unlatched the bolt.

"CREAK—"

The heavy door swung slowly inward.

Outside, the resistance warrior who had given her the time limit stood with his battle-ax raised high, muscles tense, ready to smash the door down at any moment.

The door suddenly opening on its own made him and his companions freeze in surprise.

What greeted their eyes was a floor littered with the haphazard corpses of pirates, and standing in their midst, the small girl, holding a child.

The warrior’s war cry died in his throat. He stood frozen to the spot, his expression shifting from rage to astonishment, and finally, to utter disbelief.

The children, still in shock, stared blankly for a moment before bursting into tears. They scrambled over each other to get to the doorway, rushing into the arms of their waiting parents.

Outside the warehouse, cries of relief and joy mingled. The parents, overjoyed at having their children back, hugged them tightly.

They soon pieced together the truth from the children’s fragmented accounts and crowded around Xiaolan, who was trying to slip away unnoticed into the back of the crowd.

Some tried to kiss her hand, others to embrace her. This inconspicuous girl who had always trailed silently behind the nobleman had, in that moment, become a hero in their eyes.

Startled by this sudden, fervent attention, Xiaolan kept backing away, her face beet-red. All she could do was stammer, "N-no, it wasn’t me... I didn’t do anything..."

Just as she was about to be swallowed by the crowd, a small hand gripped the hem of her tunic.

It was the boy who had been held hostage by the one-armed pirate. He wasn’t crying or speaking. He just stared at her, unblinking, with eyes that were clear yet bloodshot. His small hand clutched her clothes so tightly, as if he were holding the most precious treasure in the world and refused to ever let go.

「Peace Bay. Yesterday, the pirate capital; today, under a new flag.」

Velin had transferred to a merchant ship, which now sailed slowly into the harbor.

The docks were now packed with people: islanders who had survived the pirates’ reign and resistance fighters, weapons in hand.

They greeted their liberator with cheers and prostration.

Velin and Elias walked down the gangplank. Gideon stepped forward to meet them.

"My Lord, Peace Bay is completely under our control," Gideon reported, placing a hand over his heart in a salute.

Velin merely nodded, his eyes sweeping across the harbor to assess the damage and its potential for reconstruction. He then turned to face all the islanders.

There was no rousing speech, no false pleasantries.

"The Bloodsail Brotherhood is history. From this day forward, order will be restored to these islands."

"All villages and ports across the islands will be repaired according to a unified plan overseen by my Civil Servants. All islanders are exempt from all taxes for the coming year."

A murmur of surprised discussion rippled through the crowd.

"However," Velin continued, his tone shifting, "the laws of the Grey Marsh Territory will now be fully enforced here. Robbery, private duels, and bearing arms without permission will be treated as crimes. Everyone will be required to work in exchange for food and shelter."

The crowd fell silent. Some looked pleased, others, uncertain.

At this, Elias stepped forward and spoke loudly in the ancient tongue of the Namiya.

His words were filled with power, soothing the anxieties of his people and kindling their hopes for the future. One by one, the Namiya people knelt, offering their fealty to Velin.

They realized that an era of peace and order might truly be at hand.