Chapter 166: Breaking Out

Chapter 166: Breaking Out



In the blink of an eye, Rain had reached the bottom cabin of the Shipwreck, the very spot where he had thrust his glowing greatsword. Now, he could see the gleaming tip of the sword protruding through the thick hull, appearing on his right side.

However, upon reaching the bottom cabin, his primary objective, apart from retrieving his greatsword, was to execute his plan!

This particular level was also where the Shipwreck stored its gunpowder barrels.

Rain's gaze fell upon a small cabin directly ahead, where several large wooden barrels were stacked neatly on iron racks, seemingly elevated to prevent moisture, leaving a small gap underneath.

Rain first exerted himself to pull out the greatsword and switched his pig-headed hammer for the glowing greatsword.

At that moment, a large group of Bloodsail Pirates, led by a burly first mate with a broad face and a bearded chief mate, surrounded him from all sides.

Rain assessed his physical exhaustion, knowing that the previous burst of power had taken a toll on his stamina. With a silent incantation, he felt a surge of heat flowing from his heart to his limbs as his remaining attribute points increased from 3 to 2, and his spirit points from 23 to 24. Instantly, Rain's body was restored to peak condition!

When it came to endurance, Rain, with his ability to restore himself through attribute points, had never feared anyone!

The Bloodsail Pirates, facing Rain's calm demeanor as he held the greatsword, were momentarily intimidated by his imposing aura, hesitating to approach. This infuriated the pirate leaders who had not witnessed Rain's might before.

"Attack! Kill him!" the pirate leaders roared, leading the charge against Rain.

As the pirates shouted, they once again surrounded Rain.

Rain's body swelled, and his neck, in particular, seemed to bulge as if his chest contained a boiling pot of water, with his gaping mouth resembling a blaring steam whistle. A massive surge of heat erupted from within him!

"ROAR!!!"

A roar louder than all of them combined reverberated through the bottom cabin.

"Roaring Strike!"

The Bloodsail Pirates paled, realizing the dire situation, but it was too late to retreat.

This type of wide-area sonic attack was nearly impossible to counter, unless...

...one's retreat exceeded the speed of sound!

Additionally, the enclosed space of the ship's cabin amplified the sound waves, making them even more lethal.

The next moment, a thunderous boom exploded in the pirates' ears.

Dozens of Bloodsail Pirates' faces contorted under the sonic assault, their eyes rolling back, some even turning white, and their minds going blank.

"AAAAHHHH!!!" Screams filled the air.

After the deafening boom, the pirates' ears and minds rang for several seconds, leaving them disoriented.

Unlike before, Rain did not immediately follow up with a Whirlwind Slash but instead took the opportunity to cast the spell 'Blazing Radiance.'

Above Rain's left palm, an intensely bright flame ignited, illuminating the previously dim environment as if it were daylight.

The Bloodsail Pirates, already suffering from ruptured eardrums and throbbing headaches, now faced another challenge as the intense light nearly blinded them, leaving everything a blinding white.

Such a drastic shift from darkness to blinding light was unbearable.

"AAAAHHHH!!!"

The screams momentarily subsided, only to rise again a few seconds later.

After several seconds, when the pirates could barely see, they noticed the source of the intense light moving towards a cylindrical object in the cabin.

The first mate and the chief mate, who had recovered their vision first, were horrified to see Rain had ignited the fuse of a gunpowder barrel.

"Sizzle!"

The sound of the burning fuse was as ominous as a death warrant.

Judging by the length of the fuse, the barrel would likely explode in three seconds.

Retreat!

Quickly! Faster!

The first mate and the chief mate immediately abandoned caution and scrambled up to the next deck.

They were well aware that if those gunpowder barrels exploded, not only would they be blown sky-high, but the Shipwreck itself might be torn in half. The thought of such a scenario terrified them.

'Where did this madman come from? To kill us, he's willing to go down with the ship!' they cursed, panic-stricken, as they fled.

"Run for your lives!"

The ordinary pirates also realized that trying to extinguish the fuse while facing such a formidable opponent was impractical.

Their only option was to flee.

If they could reach the decks at either end of the ship, they might survive the explosion.

"BOOM!!!"

As the Bloodsail Pirates panicked, rushing towards the ladder leading to the upper deck like headless flies, Rain's body expanded again, and the two-meter-tall muscular beast reappeared. He swiftly switched weapons and hammered the thirty-centimeter-thick oak hull.

Rain leaped through the hole, propelling himself like a large bird towards a nearby small boat about ten meters away.

Previously, he had 'broken in,' and now he was 'breaking out!'

Two seconds later, as Rain hovered in mid-air, he caught a glimpse of a familiar, beautiful female face peering out of the captain's cabin at the stern of the Shipwreck.

This sight caused Reyn's pupils to constrict, his expression changing as a thought flashed through his mind, 'How is she there?' But before he could ponder the reason, he shouted, "Run! The ship's going to blow!"

As he shouted, Reyn vigorously waved his arms twice.

It turned out that Navy Lieutenant Marika, following the male Navy officer, had just entered the captain's quarters of the 'Shipwreck' through the hole Reyn had created.

As soon as they entered the captain's cabin, they were shocked to see the captain and diviner of the 'Shipwreck,' Mara Nasar, lying on the ground.

They stared in disbelief at the scene, unable to comprehend what kind of attack could cause such a state where the back of the head was hollowed out, but the front face remained intact.

A two-handed hammer?

One blow would have smashed the face to bits!

A two-handed sword?

Shouldn't that have resulted in decapitation or splitting the body in half?

Amid her shock, Marika picked up her quill and began recording, "Zhu joins the assessment team, killing the captain and diviner of the 'Shipwreck,' Mara Nasar..."

But before she could finish writing, they suddenly felt the ship shake violently again, as if another large hole had been punched through it.

So, without hesitation, they peered out and saw Reyn fleeing from the cabin, shouting, 'The ship's going to explode!'

The group's faces changed, and although they couldn't understand why the ship was about to explode, they didn't dare to linger any longer.

This new knight participating in the ennoblement examination had already shocked them too many times; he was probably telling the truth! It was time to run!

So, the group quickly scrambled out of the captain's quarters, leaping onto nearby small boats like giant birds on the water's surface.

One second.

Compared to the blood sail pirates trampling each other in the cramped ship cabins and wooden staircases, the Imperial Navy officers were fortunate. In the same amount of time, they had managed to run out over a dozen meters.

Faced with the threat of death, the pirates scrambled over each other. Finally, as the explosion arrived, most of the pirates barely managed to climb a few steps of the stairs.

"BOOM!!!"

The deafening explosion reverberated across Mortre Island.

Reyn and the others were hit by the shockwave from behind, staggering and almost falling. Then, a wave of water over ten meters high drenched them, turning them into soaking wet chickens.

If they were in such a sorry state, one could only imagine the plight of the blood sail pirates on the 'Shipwreck.'

The group turned back to look, and they saw the 'Shipwreck' in the distance, with its stern sinking slowly as it was moored at the pier on the coast. The shallow water meant that the two broken sections of the ship stood tall like giant reefs.

On the pier outside.

Admiral Silva had been about to say something.

Suddenly, a furious roar echoed, so tangible it resembled the growl of a giant bear.

This caused General Silva and the middle-aged noble, Theo, to pause their conversation and focus their attention back on the 'Shipwreck.'

They witnessed a large hole suddenly appearing in the middle of the ship's hull, and a familiar figure emerged, running out at an incredible speed. Judging by the pace, it seemed more like an escape for their life than a retreat.

"Huh? Are they being overwhelmed and fleeing?" This was the first thought that came to the minds of the two men upon seeing this scene.

But as they heard Reyn's shout, 'The ship's going to explode!' the two officials exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.

Just as they were stunned, a deafening blast reverberated across the pier.

The two officials raised their hands to block the intense shockwave, and even from over a hundred meters away, the powerful gust made their clothes flutter noisily.

"What on earth did that young man do?"

"Didn't he say he killed a pirate ship's first mate on his way here? That's already an excellent evaluation."

"How did he manage to blow up an entire ship of blood sail pirates?" they wondered.

However, both men had experienced many such scenes, and Admiral Silva quickly regained his composure. He turned to the middle-aged noble and said, "This kid not only disrupted my previous plans but also destroyed a three-masted warship we were about to capture!"

"Indeed, but if we examine his actions closely, there's no violation of the assessment regulations," the middle-aged noble, Theo, said with a helpless smile.

Who could have imagined that a new knight participating in the ennoblement examination would fight pirates with more ferocity than experienced Navy assault teams?

"What a troublemaker!"

"Additionally, we might have to get busy now!" Admiral Silva turned his attention back to the 'Bloodsail.'

Perhaps influenced by the 'Shipwreck' being blown into two, the activity on the 'Bloodsail' and other pirate ships noticeably increased.

Two figures, one in front of the other, rushed towards the pirate flagship, the 'Bloodsail.'

Including the 'Bloodsail,' the other pirate ships, the Imperial Navy elites, and the new knights participating in the ennoblement examination was overwhelming.

On the 'Hooked Blade,' the young knights, led by the earlier noble, fought against the blood sail pirates wielding curved blades on the deck.

As the 'Ruul' was boarded by a large number of people, it was only a matter of time before their presence was discovered, no matter how stealthily they had initially approached. Thus, after a period of covert attacks, the operation eventually escalated into an all-out battle.

The 'Shipwreck' erupted in a violent explosion, and the crowd witnessed the three-masted ship engulfed in flames and split into two. They couldn't help but marvel at the Imperial Navy's grand gesture, and their morale soared.

A similar scene was unfolding on the 'Hooked Blade'.

The 'Bloodsail', as the flagship of the Bloodsail Pirates, was naturally a formidable force, and its pirates were engaged in intense combat with the Imperial Navy's assault team. This was the reason why Admiral Silva had mentioned that he would be busy for a while.

At this moment, Reyn, the cause of all this commotion, stood calmly observing the scene ahead, seemingly admiring his own 'masterpiece'.

In reality, he was reviewing the system prompts:

[Your skill Heat Field has improved. Experience gained: +17]



[Your skill Bear Swordsmanship has improved. Experience gained: +54]



[Your skill Tokkar Hammer Technique has improved. Experience gained: +377]



[Your skill Blazing Radiance has improved. Experience gained: +19]



[You have engaged in battle. Knight (Extraordinary) experience gained: +81. Wizard Apprentice (Extraordinary) experience gained: +46]



At this moment, Colonel Marika, wearing her thick-soled leather boots, strode briskly over to Reyn, a hint of anger in her voice as she addressed him, "Knight Reyn, why didn't you inform us beforehand that you were going to cause such a ruckus?"

"Just now, we were almost..."

Reyn turned to glance at the wet and alluring Colonel.

She was dressed in a form-fitting Imperial Navy uniform, accentuating her curvaceous figure. Her beautiful eyes, however, glared at him with fury.

Reyn could somewhat understand her anger; after all, anyone would be furious if they had nearly died at the hands of their 'allies'.

Marika, known for her attention to her appearance, was not only drenched by the explosion of the 'Shipwreck' but was also dripping with salty seawater from her tangled hair.

This was unbearable for someone who valued cleanliness as much as she did. "You're right, I was negligent."

"But the instructions didn't mention that participating knights in the assessment needed to report their action plans in advance, did they?"

Reyn felt the need to clarify.

After all, if he hadn't reminded the 'allies' in time, there could have been casualties on their side, so he added, "You..."

Reyn's words caused Marika's ample chest to heave, but upon reflection, she couldn't find any fault in his statement.

Indeed, the assessment regulations didn't require participating knights to submit their action plans.

"Then how do you expect me to record and document your combat achievements?" Marika shifted her tone, pointing at the Bloodsail pirates still floating in the sea, some still alive, and many more corpses that had been swept away by the waves.

Reyn, thinking to himself, 'You're the statistician, you should figure it out,' responded, "Major Marika, just record the captain, first mate, and chief mate of the 'Shipwreck', and leave the rest."

"That's not acceptable! As the statistician, I must keep a clear record."

"In that case, I don't have any other suggestions."

Reyn had already thought of this battle plan when he first saw the design of the three-masted ship. Therefore, he had carefully studied all the relevant data, including the thickness of the ship's hull and deck.

Additionally, near the bonfire on the shore, he had also found and examined the materials used by the pirates to repair their ship's hull.

Only after confirming these conditions did Reyn decide to implement this battle plan.

His objective was simple: to kill as many Bloodsail pirates as possible to earn a high evaluation.

After all, an excellent evaluation was not Reyn's goal; he aimed to receive an invitation from the 'Swordbearers'.

The reason Reyn chose the 'Shipwreck' was that the Imperial Navy's main assault direction was also the 'Bloodsail'.

If even the low-level pirates were to be counted, it was evident that the 'Shipwreck', which could potentially be taken down in one fell swoop, was a more attractive target.

Furthermore, the 'Bloodsail' also had a powerful Grand Knight named Bloody Hand Will. Reyn felt that engaging him would be too risky, no matter how he approached the situation.

Although Reyn's overall combat strength, including his level 2 Wizard Apprentice abilities, surpassed that of a Master Knight, he was still unsure of the exact gap in strength.

He had never faced an opponent of the Grand Knight level before.

Lastly, there was one crucial unknown: the strength of the secret messenger from the Eagle Federation. The Imperial Navy's information and the Admiral didn't provide any details about this individual.

Uncertainty was the greatest source of risk.

However, by choosing the 'Shipwreck', most of these concerns were eliminated.

Looking back, Reyn felt his decision was indeed wise.

At this moment, Reyn suddenly remembered something.

He seemed to have forgotten to collect the spoils of war, especially those of Mara Nasar, the captain and diviner of the Shipwreck.

As a wizard apprentice, the other party might possess additional wizardry models or something of interest to him. As for the others' spoils, Reyn didn't particularly care.

Fortunately, although the Shipwreck had broken into two pieces, it had split in half.

Both ends, the stern and the bow, were currently standing at a forty-five-degree angle, not having sunk into the seawater.

Reyn immediately turned and asked, "Major Marika, do the spoils of war from the Ennoblement Examination belong to the individual or the Empire?"

"Huh?" Marika, who was still fuming, didn't expect Reyn to suddenly ask such a random question.

She thought for a moment and replied, "They belong to the individual. Of course, if it involves something related to the Empire's national security, it still needs to be handed over."

Reyn nodded, "Thank you, Major Marika. I think I'll go look for my spoils of war. Would you like to come along?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure!" Marika was taken aback but quickly nodded in agreement.

Indeed, 'diverting attention' seemed to be an effective method to stop a woman from nagging.

Reyn had often used this tactic on his mother, Emma.

Now it seemed like a 'universal skill'.

The captain's cabin of the Shipwreck.

Although it was Marika's second time seeing the diviner's corpse, she couldn't help but exclaim, "Knight Reyn, how did you..."

As she spoke, Marika pointed to the other party's hollowed-out skull.

"It's just a secret technique. By the way, I received an excellent evaluation for this examination, right?" Reyn didn't want to reveal his methods and used the 'attention diversion' tactic again.

"Of course, in my opinion, you deserve an even higher evaluation. It's just a pity that the highest evaluation in the Ennoblement Examination is excellent." Lieutenant Marika smiled slightly.

The stern deck of the Bloodsail.

Admiral Silva, his face ashen, gazed at a rapidly disappearing ripple a few hundred meters away. He knew that beneath the surface was a newly developed device from the Eagle Federation that could enable short-term underwater navigation.

It seemed that the ships he had stationed in the open sea would not be able to stop the enemy.

Unfortunately, this raid had not achieved complete success.

However, as he looked at the tall and imposing figure of the other party, who was now as soft as mud, Silva finally felt some relief.

At least, he should be able to extract some useful intelligence from the other party's mouth.

"Report to the General: We found a batch of new matchlock guns. Based on their quality and craftsmanship, they should be from the Eagle Federation." A messenger came to report.

Silva nodded but didn't say anything.

At this time, the battle on Mortre Island gradually came to an end.

The statistics were being compiled overtime.

Especially on the Shipwreck side, Lieutenant Marika had to ask her colleagues for help to salvage the floating corpses and barely alive Bloodsail pirates.

The male naval officer was commanding the assault team that was originally going to attack the Shipwreck.

Reyn was quite lucky. The first mate with a face full of thick flesh and the bearded chief mate were both salvaged.

The robust bodies of senior knights allowed them to survive after avoiding the center of the explosion.

However, severely injured, they couldn't escape the search of the Imperial Navy and were captured on the spot.

The current situation was that the 'Three Big Heads of the Shipwreck' were all found and listed under Reyn's kill list.

One hour later.

The newly knighted knights assembled again and boarded the returning Imperial Navy's large four-masted ship.

Unlike the ship they came on, this time it was a large four-masted ship of the Imperial Navy.

In the cabin, some people couldn't hide their joy, while others looked dejected.

"I killed six Bloodsail pirate leaders and received a good evaluation. I should be fine!"

"Alas! I'm afraid it's over for me. I chose the 'Small Fortress,' which was safer, but there were fewer pirates inside than on the ship, and there were so many of us!"

"It's not surprising that you got this result." A slightly older young man next to him said disdainfully.

Many people are like this, wanting to take the lead and desires without taking any risks.

"Have you heard? The red-haired girl, Evelyn, killed the chief mate of the Bloodsail and several other pirate leaders."

"That fierce? She must have directly secured an excellent evaluation! She'll be conferred the title of Baron, so enviable!"

"Yeah! Many knights serve for a lifetime and eventually receive the title of Baron." A boy next to him looked at the red-haired girl with envy.

However, what surprised him was that Evelyn's beautiful eyes occasionally glanced at the black-haired boy beside her.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end