"So you really want to do this?" Matthias approached Rasmus who was standing at the shore and staring at all of the ships that he had bought, docked at the lagoon. "Pirates who have countless histories for hundreds of years, there's nothing that we fear, but this old bastard, he's something else," he stood beside Rasmus and watched as his crew dismantled the ships for an upgrade.
"You did me a favor, Matthias..." Rasmus paused to bring the stacks of woods using his wind magic to the pirates. "I'll weaken that admiral because our interests align."
Matthias raised his bottle of rum toward Rasmus and chugged the bottle, emptying it in a single breath. Once he emptied the bottle he threw it away and pulled a scroll from underneath his belt.
"This is a map, these are the routes that Gustav's fleet usually patrols every day. The other pirates have this map as well, that's why we have been safe from them," Matthias offered the scroll to Rasmus.
Rasmus took the scroll and immediately opened it to check the routes. The map had a lot of details, from the routes that Gustav's fleet used, the rough sea, the forbidden area where sea beasts lived, to the islands that were used as Gustav's fleet base.
"If you can get rid of a few of his fleet, I'll introduce you to One Eye," Matthias crossed his arms and stared at Rasmus with a serious expression.
"One Eye?" Rasmus raised his brows, putting the scroll in the pocket underneath his suit.
"A crazy bastard... just like you," Matthias chuckled as he rubbed his fat belly.
"I'm interested in crazy people," Rasmus smiled as he nodded.
"Birds of a feather flock together, huh?" Matthias looked at Rasmus as he laughed. "Anyway, you want to hide your identity, right? I have ordered my crew to make that ship over there look like a pirate ship. You don't have to worry about the consequence, we don't care if they hunt us down because they won't be able to find us anyway."
Rasmus nodded and waited for the ship to be ready because he had never roamed the sea on his own. In a world like Neva, he knew it would be more exciting, especially with sea beasts which were creatures that to be said gigantic and dangerous.
Videl came back from the forest with clothes in his hands, pirate clothes that Matthias had lent to both of them. He showed the clothes to Rasmus, one was a simple white long-sleeved shirt, and the other one was black. Rasmus took the black one and a bandana to hide his white hair. Rasmus also used some accessories like a belt with a dagger on it.
"Look at you," Matthias looked at Rasmus in a dirty and smelly pirate outfit, grinning and arms crossed. "Looking dirty and ugly, just like the rest of us. A bottle of rum in your hand, and you're a part of us now," he added with a lazy chuckle.
After waiting for a few hours, the ship was ready and had been touched up to look like a pirate ship. The sail was black with the classic bones and a skull painted on it. Matthias sent a few crew members to board the ship with Rasmus and Videl so it would look like a legitimate pirate group.
"Don't let my men die, you hear me, Count!" Matthias crossed his arms, looking up at Rasmus who was standing on the top deck.
"Do you want anything for souvenirs?" Rasmus looked down at Matthias, resting his elbows on the railing.
"A few heads would be great!" Matthias grinned.
Rasmus nodded as the sails were released, catching the wind as the ship began to sail.
The ship left the lagoon in the middle of the night. It was quiet and peaceful, especially with the stars and the moons that lit the sea. Rasmus was controlling the helm as he looked at the map with a compass in his other hand.
"How long to reach the Azure Abyss?" Rasmus looked at the pirate who controlled the main sail to follow the wind behind him.
"With the current wind and the tide on our side, it might take us two hours or less," the pirate man answered as he looked down at the sea and the wind that hit his face. "But there's a problem. Because of the high tide, the sea beast might roam around the Siren's Reach," he pointed out.
Rasmus looked down at the map and saw that the Azure Abyss was after Siren's Reach. The Siren's Reach was like a tunnel or a current for sea beasts to travel from the Bonewater Passage on the east side to the Devil's Maw on the west.
"So we have no choice but to take the risk..." Rasmus muttered.
"It's rare, but that doesn't mean we won't encounter them," the pirate man looked at Rasmus. He looked so relaxed even though they might encounter the sea beast. "Our ship is quite fast, and the sea beast might lose their interest to chase us," he added.
"That's good to hear," Rasmus nodded and put the scroll down. "We don't want to make a scene that might attract the fleet."
After a long and quiet journey, they reached Siren's Reach. All the crew observed the sea by standing at the top deck, behind the railings. They all looked a bit anxious because they might encounter a powerful sea beast. Thankfully, the wind was quite strong and the ship moved faster than they expected.
Once they left Siren's Reach, everyone was no longer on the edge and enjoyed the journey again.
"We are about to reach Azure Abyss, the most guarded area by Admiral Gustav's fleet. A dozen medium ships patrol that area every day, so once every two hours," one of the pirates informed Rasmus.
"It's one in the morning, and we will arrive at Azure Abyss in half an hour, so we will get to see the ship soon," Rasmus nodded as he put down the compass. "Time for some action, Videl," he looked at Videl who was enjoying the rum in his hand.
"You can handle this on your own. I don't think I'm needed here," Videl responded as he leaned back against the railing. "I'll deal with whoever that aboard this ship, I can assure you that," he smirked and raised his bottle at Rasmus.
They arrived at the Azure Abyss where the sea was a bit bluish and deeper compared to the rest of the part of the ocean which was why they named it that. They turned off their lanterns, shrouding them in darkness, but it wasn't enough because the stars and the moons were brighter than usual.
Rasmus looked at his wristwatch and it was ten minutes before two in the morning. Videl was on top of the castle, observing the sea with his eyes.
"It's coming," Videl informed. "From the northeast," he pointed out in the direction where the ship arrived.
Rasmus began to ascend and flew up high into the sky, gathering Mana and storing them in the ring. He waited patiently until the patrolling ship was in range because he wanted to take them by surprise.
The Marine soldiers on the patrolling ship were lazing around in the cabin since it was early in the morning. They had never encountered anything since they patrolled because the pirates had been hiding ever since Admiral Gustav hunted them down.
"I can't wait to get some sleep once we landed..." A Marine soldier yawned on top of the castle, his eyes half-lidded from boredom and sleepiness. "Hmm?" he raised his brows when he saw the silhouette of a ship in the distance. "A ship? It's a pirate ship!" his eyes were wide open and began to ring the bell rapidly, warning all the soldiers.
The soldier focused on ringing the bell when he suddenly saw flashes of lightning in the sky. He stopped for a moment to look up, but then he saw a man floating above their ship. He was shocked that he didn't notice him at all, and when he was about to ring the bell again, bolts of lightning struck the ship, tearing the deck apart and destroying all three masts.
Videl and all the crew watched how Rasmus destroyed the patrol ship. The loud crackling sound of the lighting and the ship was tearing their ears, the flashes lit the night sky as if a storm was brewing. The pirates were petrified and speechless after Rasmus sunk the ship in less than a minute. Videl saw the dead bodies floating in the water, nobody survived since their bodies were roasted by the lightning.
Rasmus landed on his ship and looked at the ring on his finger, "That's one down. We'll see how many ships we can take down today."
The pirates stared at him with their eyes wide open, couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.