Chapter 304: Seizing the Ship

When Mondo leaped onto the Dennis III and became entangled with Ronin, had there been a Gold Knight on the pirates' second ship, he would have undoubtedly attempted to board and support Mondo.

Yet, this was not the case; they merely kept their distance, trading barrages with Rhys and the others using mana cannons, only contemplating boarding when they saw the cannons were proving futile.

Furthermore, their method of boarding bore no resemblance to Mondo's thirty-meter leap, but instead involved letting their vessel slowly drift closer to the Dennis III.

Thus, Ronin deduced that there was no Gold Knight aboard this ship.

Thereupon, emboldened, he mimicked Mondo and leaped directly toward the enemy vessel.

Gliding through the air, this sight utterly startled the pirates evacuating the enemy ship, with only their two leaders reacting in time, shouting, "Quick, shoot him!"

In their panic, the archers notched arrows, drew their bows, and hurriedly aimed at Ronin.

But at that moment, Ronin had already descended upon the deck like a massive bird.

"Storm Blade."

With a sweep of his Flame Flow Sword, a dozen wind blades blanketed the area ahead, instantly and grievously wounding all the archers.

"Quick, attack together!"

The knights aboard drew their longswords and charged at Ronin with murderous intent.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The din of slaughter rang incessantly, yet Ronin remained entirely unperturbed.

"You were the one using the mana cannon just now, weren't you?"

He sneered, forcefully tearing through the crowd as he lunged toward the operator of the mana cannon.

The opponent was merely a Bronze Knight whose battle qi was nearly depleted after firing three rounds from the mana cannon; facing Ronin's onslaught, he raised his sword to parry, but his blade was cleaved in two, and a bloody gash tore from his head down to his chin, killing him on the spot.

Ronin faced the surrounding onslaught from all sides without the slightest panic.

Relying on his agile movements and swift swordplay, he not only flawlessly deflected or evaded these attacks but also took the lives of several attackers during his counters.

There were only two Bronze Knights on this ship, without even a Silver Knight; it appeared that Mondo, the Gold Knight, was solely responsible for the frontal assault of this assassination.

In reality, Ronin had guessed wrong.

Apart from Mondo, there was another Silver Knight, but just as he landed on the Dennis III, he had been blown into the sea by a shockwave and had not yet climbed back up.

On the other side, seeing Ronin so valiant, perhaps driven by an underlying sense of defiance, Rhys quickly made his way to the stern, followed suit, and leaped directly onto the other ship to begin his own slaughter.

Unfortunately, the knights here were mostly in the sea, and before Rhys could kill more than a few men, the remainder fell to their knees, prostrating themselves and begging for mercy.

"Go, have your men control the ship's speed and bring it close to the Dennis III!"

Rhys pressed his longsword against the captain's neck, forcing him to steer the vessel slowly toward the Dennis III, while Captain Macewan and the others remaining on board quickly transferred over.

"Knight Rhys, please reinforce the Earl as quickly as possible!"

Tom and David immediately voiced their plea.

Although they could see Ronin seemingly massacring everyone in his path, they couldn't help but feel a lingering anxiety in their hearts.

"Rest assured, we are heading over right now."

By the time the two pirate ships drew near and Rhys, Tom, David, and the others leaped aboard one after another, Ronin's battle had already concluded.

Aside from those slain at the beginning, the remaining men, seeing no way to defeat Ronin, threw down their weapons and prostrated themselves to beg for clemency.

Ronin paid them little mind, instead inspecting the vessel.

Since Ronin had not employed any high-powered battle techniques upon boarding, the ship had sustained very little damage and remained in excellent condition.

Seeing Rhys leap aboard, he couldn't help but smile and say, "Though the Dennis family lost a ship, we have captured two. Knight Rhys, the one you seized is yours, and this one is mine."

The words of concern Rhys had been preparing to ask about whether Ronin was injured were instantly choked back; he had never expected that the moment he arrived, the first words out of the other man's mouth would be about dividing the spoils.

Still, the destruction of the Dennis III was a severe loss, and being able to replace it with a ship of similar size went a long way toward making up for the deficit.

"Very well!"

Rhys glanced at the mana cannons on the deck: "Our survival in this battle is entirely credited to you. Aside from that ship which the Dennis family will accept, all remaining spoils of war belong to you."

Ronin secretly gave him a mental thumbs-up.

Although this fellow's stern expression was rather unpleasant, he was quite upright and would truly not take a single thing he shouldn't.

"Tom, David, along with the knights of the Dennis family, bind all these men and herd them onto one ship."

As he spoke, he patted the captain's cheek with the flat of his longsword: "What is your name?"

The captain answered tremulously, the dual stimulation of the bloody stench and the icy blade causing him to involuntarily wet his pants.

"M-My Lord, my name is Vik!"

The desperate desire to survive still drove him to utter words of supplication.

"My Lord, please do not kill me! I am familiar with these waters and possess years of seafaring experience. If you have need, Vik is willing to serve you!"

A captain with extensive seafaring experience was a rare talent, capable of thriving in any city with a harbor.

Although Ronin was somewhat tempted, he nevertheless sneered, "I have no desire to entrust my property to someone who wished to kill me."

A ship was costly to build; if entrusted to an untrustworthy person, the loss would be catastrophic should they sail away with it one day.

Then again, if the man truly surrendered his allegiance, Ronin might consider granting him a chance.

"My Lord, please believe in my loyalty! If only you spare my life, from this moment forth, I shall be your faithful servant!"

Loyalty?

The reliability of someone who tossed the word loyalty around so casually was highly questionable.

"Very well, Vik. Tell me your identities and the detailed circumstances of this matter right now."

Ronin sheathed his Flame Flow Sword and said in a low, threatening tone, "If you perform well, I might consider sparing your life."

"I will speak! I will speak!"

Vik grew frantic, terrified that Ronin might retract his words, "I will conceal nothing of what I know!"

Next, the captain revealed his identity and the details of the assassination plot.

As it turned out, these two ships belonged to the White Whale Pirate Group, which operated primarily in the Screaming Sea and the North Sea.

According to the supplementary account of Captain Macewan from the Dennis family, this pirate group was highly active, having plundered the merchant vessels of many noble families.

The Count of Screaming Island had attempted to eliminate them, but the cost was too steep, and the endeavors ultimately ended in failure.

Originally, the White Whale Pirate Group had no plans for any maritime operations in the near future, but just in the past two days, a Gold Knight named Mondo had arrived at their base.

It seemed that precisely because of Mondo's arrival, the Grand Chief of the pirate group assembled two ships of men and immediately set sail for the Screaming Sea, heading south to destroy the vessels of the Dennis family.

As for the assassination itself, as an ordinary member of the pirate group, Vik had not been privy to the relevant details, but during the voyage, he had overheard the knights mentioning that the target this time was Ronin, rather than Knight Rhys of the Dennis family.

Several figures flashed through Ronin's mind; those who held a grudge against him or wished him dead amounted to only a select few.

"My Lord, if you wish to know more, you might be able to learn it from our Deputy Chief, Caraway."

"Who is Caraway?"

Ronin scanned the surroundings, but not a single one of the captives kneeling on the ground responded.

"Vice-Chief Caraway is a Silver Knight," Vic explained. "According to the plan, he was to board the ship alongside Mundo. If he has not been taken prisoner, then your formidable might must have cast him into the sea."

A sudden chill struck Ronin's heart; he had not anticipated the presence of a Silver Knight.

"Knight Reece, take your men and fish those survivors out of the water. Keep a sharp eye out for that Silver Knight."

Reece nodded in acknowledgment; there were indeed a few living souls still drifting in the sea.

If they could secure the Vice-Chief of the White Whale Pirates, they would surely extract far more intelligence.

The blood-debt of this sudden ambush and assassination attempt would not be easily forgotten.