Heroes onboard the airship Geronimo pursued the two fleeing pirate ships.
They spared no effort, destroying the enemies at top speed and maximum output.
After forcefully boarding the first pirate ship and seizing control, they chased the other fleeing ship and rammed it head-on.
The two pirate ships stopped, impaled on each other, and became prey for our side.
After completing the pursuit and annihilation, they returned to Crossroad only to see the pirate flagship making a last-ditch effort to crash into the walls of Crossroad.
There was no time to hesitate. Lucas shouted.
"Ram it from the side!"
Elize, the pilot of Geronimo and a member of the Silver Winter Merchant Guild, faithfully executed the order.
Screeching!
Click!
Her hand pushed the engine's gear to the maximum and pressed the red ignition button, activating the rear thrusters' boosters.
Whoosh!
The airship, moving at top speed, crashed into the side of the pirate ship just as it was about to hit the walls of Crossroad.
Crack-crash-boom!
The already battered pirate ship was utterly destroyed in mid-air.
Its debris scattered in all directions.
Watching this, Lucas let out a sigh of relief.
"Well done, Elize."
"...It did feel good to hit them hard."
Elize narrowed her eyes, inspecting the airship's control panel.
"Seems we pushed it too hard."
"Huh?"
"Our output is decreasing. We're going to crash."
True to her words, the airship was rapidly losing altitude.
The heroes inside screamed as they plunged. Kuilan, who had a fear of heights, was in tears and foam at the mouth before passing out.
Struggling to regain control, Elize yelled.
"We're going for an emergency landing! Hold on tight!"
The Geronimo spun wildly as it plummeted to the ground.
Even amidst the chaos, Elize tried to soften the crash by steering towards a forest, aiming to land as gently as possible with the broad underside of the ship.
Rumble!
The shaking vessel landed in a cloud of dust in the southwest forest of Crossroad.
After the impact settled, Lucas, with his hair disheveled, surveyed the inside of the airship.
"Everyone seems... okay. That's good."
Despite the horrific scene of most heroes knocked unconscious, Lucas said this.
Considering the reckless stunt, it was a miracle no one died. A bit of unconsciousness, messy hair, and nausea were small prices to pay.
"We're okay, but... what about Crossroad?"
Elize, unbuckling her seatbelt, looked towards Crossroad.
"Maybe the battle has ended with that last move..."
"Even if there are enemies left, they'll be fine."
All the ghost ships had been destroyed.
Only one enemy remained...
And Lucas, having already heard about this enemy's specifications from Ash, showed a gentle smile.
"The people of Crossroad are strong."
***
Plip-plop...!
Debris from the ghost ships fell like rain from the sky, along with seawater.
These were the remnants of the Flying Dutchman, the last and flagship of the ghost ships.
'With this, all twelve ghost ships have been destroyed.'
I sighed in relief inwardly. Fortunately, really.
The ghost pirate legion would have been much stronger if fought head-on.
Had it not been for the seawater drainage tactic blocking their charging rams, the damage would have been substantial.
'It sounds like self-praise to say it myself, but blocking the seawater and stopping their advance made it easy to capture them.'
Their tactic of ramming with the bow followed by hand-to-hand combat was too powerful. Conversely, they had no alternative tactics to use once this was blocked.
Unable to advance and forced to a halt, the pirates fell into chaos and cannibalized each other, eventually leading to their pathetic annihilation.
'The fake walls set up as a safety measure were attacked and collapsed, but...'
Even so, it can be said that we defended admirably. I crossed my arms and nodded in satisfaction.
That's when it happened.
Thud!
Someone fell from the sky and landed on the ramparts. With a sense of inevitability, I glared in that direction.
"..."
The ghost pirate legion commander, ghost privateer captain Bernardt Poker.
This boss monster, dressed like a modern admiral, had set foot on our ramparts alone.
He was draped in his ship's torn sail, worn like a cape over his drenched coat.
On his back were a massive cannon and a greatsword.
No need for many words. I waved my hand.
"Prepare to face the legion commander."
The regular soldiers hurriedly fled below the ramparts, and only the hero characters remained, encircling the enemy commander.
"Hmph."
The pirate let out a short sigh and straightened up slowly.
"You might not believe it, but I'm usually quite mannered at the gambling table."
He slowly took out the cannon in his left hand and the greatsword in his right.
"If I lose, I leave quietly, brushing off my hands. I'm used to being penniless."
Beneath his hat, dripping with seawater, his turquoise eyes, flickering with flames, glared at us.
"But I'm sorry. Today, it seems... I need to cause some trouble."
"There's nothing to apologize for."
Pulling out my staff [Maestro], I raised a blade of magical power and replied.
"We're past the point of exchanging such polite words."
The ghost pirate laughed at my words.
Master of the storm, controller of tentacles, phantom of the deep sea, Mr. Wild Hunt...
The commander of the ghost fleet, the last monster left after losing all others.
Bernardt Poker roared loudly.
"Anyway, this world is just a big gambling table! Let's roll in it together, humans-!"
In the next moment, he shot straight towards me.
He must have sensed that I am the human commander.
His left hand aimed the monstrous cannon at my head, while his right hand, holding the greatsword, was poised to slash me in a single stroke if I entered its range.
But I didn't avoid his path.
There was no need to.
-Click.
Taking Lucas' place, who had gone on an assault operation aboard an airship, the hero character guarding my side-
Leader of the Leprosy Extermination Squad, Torkel, stood in front of me.
On his left arm was a giant rectangular shield, firmly held, and in his right hand, a large mace.
[Goddess Blessed Shield] and [Goddess Blessed Mace].
These were the equipments obtained from a loot box before the battle began. I had issued them to Torkel.
The equipment blessed by the goddess herself shone brilliantly in his hands.
Torkel, seemingly burdened, flinched every time the equipment emitted dazzling light.
"...No matter how I look at it, these don't seem like the right equipment for me, Your Highness."
"This isn't the time for that, Torkel! Look ahead! Here he comes!"
The commander of the Nightmare Legion was charging at us.
Torkel let out a low groan and then firmly gripped his equipment. I lightly swung my staff [Maestro] at his shoulder. Smack!
[Minor Buff Acquired!]
[Torkel (SR) receives a '10 percent increase in defense for 3 minutes' buff!]
It's been a while since I've given a disciplinary buff!
Torkel flinched as I hit him with the staff, but then his shoulders tensed up as he felt the effect of the buff.
"I'll block it...!"
"Go for it!"
Swoosh-!
Torkel charged forward. Poker, who was rushing towards us, fired his left-hand cannon.
Bang!
A cannonball, swirling with turquoise magical power, shot out from the cannon.
It hit Torkel's shield directly,
Boom!
and immediately, a dense explosion ensued.
A moment of silence, and then the next instant.
Whoosh!
Cutting through the smoke, Torkel advanced steadfastly with his dazzling shield leading the way.
Torkel's skill set is focused on increased defense and stamina regeneration, and his trait [Leprosy] also provides an advantage in tanking. In short, he's a super pure tanker.
The Goddess Blessed set given to him this time has additional effects against ghosts and undead monsters.
The [Goddess Blessed Shield] significantly reduces the damage inflicted by ghosts and undead monsters.
Plus, there's the defense buff I provided through [Maestro].
'Even against the commander of the Nightmare Legion, with this level of tanker performance and these items...'
He can definitely withstand the attack!
Bang! Brr-bang!
Poker kept firing cannonballs, but Torkel withstood them all and steadily advanced towards Poker.
Meanwhile, I called the heroes.
"Junior, Bodybag, Burnout!"
The three on standby immediately lined up behind me. I nodded.
"Along with me and Torkel, this makes an impromptu party of five."
These five are the core of this boss raid.
Even though the party leader is absent, heroes from Penal Squad, Holy Grail Seekers, and Dragonblood Knights are also on standby.
"Let's go!"
I swung [Maestro] to cast buffs on all the visible heroes and shouted.
"It's time to drive out the pirates!"
***
The ghost pirate legion is a legion that concentrated most of its power on the twelve ghost ships.
It's not much different from a regular army. Just like marines without a warship, tank soldiers without a tank, or air force without fighters become significantly weaker.
At the point when they tragically lost these ghost ships, the rest of the legion members were left with only a bit more strength than ordinary monsters or at a similar level.
This also applies to Bernardt Poker, the legion commander.
Poker aboard a ghost ship is a damn powerful commander, but once he disembarks, he's not as threatening.
Surrounded by dozens of our heroes, his attacks are meticulously marked and countered by Torkel.
Poker was gradually pushed into a defensive position, and after enduring a few focused attacks, he became tattered.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Burnout fired a volley from his dual crossbows.
He had used stationary special crossbows until now, but it seems he collaborated with the alchemy workshop and forge to create new equipment during my six months' absence.
It's more portable and versatile for various situations.
The bolts poured out, exploding and scattering flames in all directions.
Initially, Poker deflected them with his greatsword or blocked them with his sail-cloak, but soon he started to dodge, unable to bear them.
Then,
Flash-!
Boom!
Lightning.
"Argh?!"
For this pirate, always soaked in seawater, lightning is the worst kind of magic.
"Haah!"
Junior, pale from exertion, summoned another bolt of lightning.
Flash-
Boom!
The lightning, not far behind Jupiter's, struck Poker. He gritted his teeth and endured, but the damage was evident.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Flash! Flash-!
A barrage of explosive bolts followed by lightning strikes. Poker rolled around the narrow ramparts, narrowly evading the attacks.
...Even in this situation, his eyes were searching for an opportunity.
One move to turn this situation around.
But, having already lost all the ghost ships.
He had no more stakes left to play.
Snap!
Poker, rolling on the ground, suddenly stopped moving.
"?!"
It was Bodybag who had captured him.
Having received the artifact 'Magic Amplifier' that temporarily boosts magical power, he successfully immobilized the commander of the Nightmare Legion for a moment by exerting maximum psychokinetic power.
And that moment was enough.
Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
Flash! Flash-!
"Cough...!"
Burnout's explosive bolts and Junior's lightning swept over the body of the ghost pirate legion commander.
"Not yet! Not yet-!"
Even after taking such attacks, Poker still refused to give up.
Shaking off the psychokinetic power, he took another step back-
-Click.
There, aimed at him, was the muzzle of an automatic defense turret I had summoned in advance.
"Sure, this world is a big gambling table, but if all you know is all-in, it's hard to call you a good gambler."
I smiled wryly and pointed my index finger at him, mimicking the sound Bang- as if shooting.
"You're just a shit gambler, Poker."
"..."
"Checkmate."
The next moment, my turret unleashed a barrage of magical bullets, piercing Poker's body to shreds.