Boom!
The figurehead of the Siren on the ship's prow smashed through the fortress's walls in one fell swoop.
Ship number 7, the flagship and Bernardt Poker's command ship, the 'Flying Dutchman,' had finally reached the human walls.
"Fantastic!"
The pirates on the ship cheered in unison.
Of the twelve ships, only this one had reached its destination, but the pirates were neither frustrated nor afraid.
They were few in number, but at least one ship had penetrated the enemies' defenses.
Pirates are inherently a breed that seizes from others.
They board enemy ships, plunder goods, people, weapons, and ultimately, even the enemy's ships themselves, making them their own.
Now that they had reached the walls, all they needed to do was capture them.
And more importantly,
Rooar!
The flagship of the ghost fleet, the Flying Dutchman, housed a formidable ocean monster - the Kraken.
This first cephalopod creature, resembling a mix between an octopus and a squid, was thousands of times larger in size.
"Release the Kraken!"
"Show them the terror of the deep!"
"Let's go!"
As the pirates opened the doors to the deep storage where the Kraken was sealed, mysteriously fitting in such a small space, the overwhelmingly large tentacled monster burst out.
Crack! Crunch!
The monster erupted with such ferocity that it seemed it would shatter the ship's hull.
A few pirates were instantly torn apart by the movement, but the others didn't care.
"Prepare for hand-to-hand combat!"
"It's party time!"
"To the human world, we return!"
Armed with knives, pistols, and hooks, the pirates swarmed out of the ship.
The Kraken would first sweep the fortress walls, and then the remaining ghost pirates would exterminate any survivors -
A familiar tactic, yet as they disembarked and climbed the ruined walls.
"...?"
"Huh?"
"What's this?"
Bewildered groans escaped the pirates' lips.
Because, on top of the walls, there was not a single - not even one - human defender in sight.
The cannons, ballistae, and artifacts that had been firing just moments ago were also gone, vanished without a trace.
"What is this..."
"A ghastly trick, even for ghosts like us...?"
While they themselves were phantoms, such exclamations naturally slipped out.
And as the confused ghost pirates looked around, they soon discovered.
"...?!"
Just behind the walls they had struggled to reach and demolish.
Stood a taller and thicker 'real' wall.
***
I smirked.
Indeed.
The walls that the pirates had struggled to overcome and finally smashed through were... the magical walls I had summoned with [Imperial Edict].
This ultimate skill originally summoned a small circular fortress, but the shape of the fortress could be modified at will.
So, this time, I gathered all the walls of the magical fortress and stacked them as high as possible in a line.
In front of Crossroad's main fortress walls. As a kind of decoy wall.
I also reinforced it with spare steel plates and bricks, using the construction magic of defense towers.
Real soldiers, cannons, artifacts, and the like were all fought from atop these walls.
Naturally, the invaders would believe these to be the real walls and charge at them.
'From the beginning, I knew you would attempt a ramming tactic.'
The ghost pirate legion is a group of madmen fanatically fixated on ramming and hand-to-hand combat tactics, even unto death.
Therefore, to prevent any harm to our side even if these walls collapsed, I had set up my magical walls as bait.
Moreover, this magic barrier can be transformed and moved at my will.
Sssshhh!
Click, clack!
In the early stages of the defense battle, I had the soldiers fight on top of this decoy wall. The moment those ghost ships reached this magic barrier, just as they attempted their ramming tactics.
I manipulated the wall with my will, moving all the soldiers and equipment on the wall to the 'real' wall of Crossroad.
It was a clever trick made possible because the real wall and the decoy wall were very close to each other.
As a result, this decoy wall strategy worked splendidly - the ghost pirates bit the bait with all their might, while our soldiers and equipment safely moved to the real wall.
"If you're going to bite the bait with all your might."
I smirked and snapped my fingers.
"Now you should be hooked and pulled ashore, shouldn't you?"
Snap!
With the sound of my snapping fingers,
Rumble rumble...!
The magic wall collapsed all at once.
I deactivated [Imperial Edict], and the decoy wall set outside Crossroad's real wall crumbled away like sand.
Naturally.
"Aaargh-?!"
"Hold tight, are we falling...?!"
The pirates and Kraken on the decoy wall also fell helplessly down.
Boom, rumble rumble...!
Bang and crash!
The ghost ship, knocked to the ground, broke apart with a nasty sound.
The pirates and Kraken that spilled out with it also smashed into the ground and shattered.
Watching those tumbling down, I raised my hand.
"All troops! Prepare to fire!"
As soon as the soldiers returned to the real wall, they quickly realigned their cannons and artifacts.
The aligned soldiers reported ready to fire in turn. I nodded vigorously.
"Let the pirates know! There is only one thing we have for them!"
Swiftly!
I stretched my hand forward and shouted.
"Nothing but death!"
Boom! Baboom!
Crossroad's proud crossfire rained down once again on their heads.
Boom! Bang and crash...!
***
"We fell for it beautifully."
Bernardt Poker commented dryly.
Using a capsized pirate ship as cover, the surviving pirates were crouching down low, dodging the shells pouring down from above.
"Repaying what's owed, if you keep repeating it, eventually your luck runs out and you fail. Looks like this time is that time."
Their last gamble had failed.
Poker and his pirate crew had always managed to pull off a big score after suffering huge losses, but this time, they failed in their final attempt.
Shells exploded all around, igniting fires. Poker chuckled softly.
"I'm reminded of that day. In the midst of a stormy sea, when we faced the allied fleet that came to destroy us..."
"Are you speaking of our last battle, Captain Poker?"
"That battle was really tremendous, Captain!"
As his subordinates agreed, Poker looked at them with disbelief.
"Tremendous? What's so tremendous, you fools. We were horribly torn apart by the allied bastards from all sides. It was like a mackerel surrounded by a swarm of sharks."
"But... isn't it okay to romanticize our last battle just a bit?"
"Let's say we died fighting bravely!"
"We lost, but fought well!"
As if it was glorious.
The Poker pirate crew itself was a legion of ghosts that had been drowned and killed in the sea.
They were spirits wandering endlessly in search of unfortunate victims crossing the stormy night sea.
To exterminate these spirits, an allied force was formed, and Poker's pirate crew did not evade but collided with them.
The result was a complete annihilation.
Until the very end, running away dirty and ugly, the tattered ship, battered by the pursuers' gunfire, finally got caught on a reef and ran aground... Bernardt Poker and his pirate crew were at last submerged in the deep sea.
"I felt something similar when fighting those allied forces."
Several bottles of liquor rolled out from the fallen ship's storage.
Poker uncorked a bottle and threw one to each of his surviving subordinates.
"They knew our tactics, and we, who were beautifully sucked into the trap, were completely eradicated."
"..."
"Those humans, not fearing nor bowing to monsters like us, fought till the end and seized victory. Impressive, those human bastards... Hahah."
Poker clinked his bottle with his surviving subordinates. A pitiful clink echoed.
"Yeah, in the end, it's humans who should win."
After gulping down the liquor, Poker wiped his mouth and laughed bitterly.
"If monsters like us become the final victors, it would turn into a terrible world with nothing left to plunder, wouldn't it?"
"..."
"The world should belong to humans. We just wanted to live modestly, scraping a little from the corner..."
His subordinates silently emptied their bottles, listening to their captain's words.
They all sensed it.
This game was a loss.
A complete, irrevocable defeat.
That's when it happened.
Kwoooooo-!
A monstrous roar echoed. Everyone looked in shock towards the sound.
The Kraken.
This ancient sea monster, with its overwhelming stamina and mysterious regenerative power, was raising its body again.
Thud! Thud! Boom!
And it started moving its massive body towards the wall of the human realm.
The crossfire of Crossroad shifted towards the Kraken.
Even as it was torn to shreds by the barrage of shells, the Kraken stubbornly advanced, drawing all human eyes towards it.
"...Seems there's still some stake left in this game."
Poker, having finished his bottle, quietly placed it down and sprang to his feet.
"All hands, get aboard. ...We go once more."
His subordinates, with startled eyes, looked at their captain. Poker grinned, revealing his yellow, rotten teeth.
"The storm is still raging, and my ship can still move. Then shouldn't we charge?"
With similarly rotten grins, his subordinates poured the remaining liquor down their throats and stood up abruptly.
"How many of us pirates are still breathing?"
"Six, Captain!"
"Enough to maneuver the ship."
Poker extended his hand towards the capsized ship.
Then, the ghost ship let out a heavy, moaning sound and righted itself. Poker and his men agilely climbed aboard.
"Let's go! For the final ramming-!"
Flap!
The tattered sail, beyond recognition, caught the storm wind.
Holes riddled the hull, not a single part unscathed. Even the siren statue at the bow was broken in half.
But the ghost ship moved.
Kwoooooo...!
The Kraken, which had been drawing attention, collapsed with a miserable scream, crushed to pieces.
In that gap, the ghost ship caught the tailwind and accelerated, once again charging towards the wall of the human realm.
"The ghost ship is moving again!"
"Fire! Pour it all out! Stop them-!"
Cannons, ballistae, and artifacts, which had been intercepting the Kraken, now furiously fired towards the ghost ship.
Despite taking all the hits, the ship, now in unrecognizable pieces, still managed to leap towards the wall.
"Remember this well, humans! The name of the ship that will thrust its blade into your wall is!"
Amidst the flying rotten wood splinters, Bernardt Poker, holding the ship's wheel to the end, shouted out.
"The Flying Dutchman-!"
Just as the risen ghost ship's prow was about to finally reach the real wall of Crossroad.
Tututututu-!
A heavy mechanical sound resounded from the side,
Bang-!
Something struck the Flying Dutchman from the side.
The prow of the ghost ship, which was about to hit Crossroad's wall, was pushed aside by the impact.
"What..."
Amidst the scattered fragments of the pirate ship, Bernardt Poker turned his head to the side.
The thing that flew in from somewhere and pushed his ghost ship away was...
"Ah."
A flying warship from Crossroad. It was the Geronimo.
Beside the cockpit of the warship, a knight - Lucas, shaking his head slightly, came into Poker's view.
"That won't do."
Whoosh-!
Enormous flames burst from the thrusters mounted on the rear of Geronimo,
And in mid-air, the warship pushed the ghost ship aside with overwhelming force.
"...Haha."
A hollow laugh formed on Bernardt Poker's lips.
After all.
If the desperate gambles he threw always worked, he would never have become such a monstrous figure in the first place.
Creak- Crack!
Bang!
With a snapping sound, the Flying Dutchman exploded violently.