Chapter 25 The Players' Strength
"The Arrow of the Captives"
Hancock kissed her fingertips, and a pink heart floated in front of her. She grabbed one end and pulled it back forcefully. Releasing it, the pink heart shattered into countless heart-shaped arrows, which flew towards the enemy pirate crew.
"Ah! My arm!"
"Help! I can't move!"
The pirates who were hit were petrified, and even the cannonballs from the enemy ships turned into grayish-white stones and fell helplessly from the sky after being hit.
"Lady Snake Princess is mighty!"
"Lady Snake Princess is too strong, let's teach them a lesson!"
The female warriors cheered at the sight, and Val glanced at Hancock, who was still standing proudly at the front, and made a suggestion.
"Let's join forces and defeat these pirates."
"I would never..." Hancock's rebuttal was cut short when she saw Violet's bright black eyes and realized that the other woman had seen through her forced composure.
Having just become the Empress of the Amazon Lily Kingdom, and leading the Kuja Pirates on her first expedition, she must achieve an absolutely overwhelming victory against the provocative pirate crews. Only by securing this victory can she completely wipe out the former Empress's influence and become the true, undisputed ruler.
Violet extended her hand to Hancock: "Let's make a deal. We'll work together to defeat these pirates, and then you'll be my friend, okay?"
Hancock looked at Wil's palm, then raised her chin again after a few seconds: "...Hmph, I hope you're not just some guy who talks big to fool me."
Violet quite naturally slid her hand down the side that missed its target and pulled out [Tentacle Spikes] from her pocket.
“Of course, integrity is the most important thing when you’re in this business.” Violet took a few steps back, then suddenly accelerated and rushed towards the edge of the deck. She stepped on the railing and jumped up, landing at the “connection” formed by the collision between the enemy pirate ship and the Kuja pirate ship.
"Even if God came today, he couldn't stop them!"
god?
Hancock was momentarily distracted, but the crisp sound of blades clashing brought her back to her senses.
Hancock raised her hand to her lips, and a small heart was flicked away with her index finger, flying like a bullet towards the person trying to stop Violet.
"ah!"
Screams and splashes came from her side, but Vale neither turned around nor slowed down, simply turning her back to Hancock.
“This guy…” A female warrior walked up to Hancock, “Lady Boa Hancock, is it really okay to leave him with her?”
Hancock touched the corner of her lips, where there was a curve she herself was unaware of.
What a nonsensical, self-absorbed person! But Hancock recalled the teasing yet fearless tone with which she spoke of "gods," which made her both envious and...longing.
Hancock: "Why not use a free laborer who is captivated by my charm?"
The female warrior nodded quickly: "You're right, Lady Snake Princess!"
Hancock turned around: "And don't let anyone underestimate the Amazon Lily Kingdom. Execute all the pirates who attack us."
"yes!"
On the other side, Violet, who had finally boarded the other ship, had her sights set on Basque Jote standing at the bow.
Is this the mini-boss of this "pirate attack incident"?
Vera looked up at the length of the other person's health bar, and it was exaggerated; it was several times longer than hers.
The light-colored scales that were originally only visible at the base of her ears now covered Violet's forearms, calves, and neck.
"You're an adult mermaid?" Basque Chote looked at the pale blue scales on Violet's arm with an excited and greedy expression. "That's wonderful."
It's obvious that Basque Jotte, who didn't have much knowledge of biology, mistook Vil for a mermaid whose tail turned into human legs after reaching adulthood.
He licked his lips: "Catch her, sell her at auction, and we'll make a fortune!"
The pirates, who also knew the price of mermaids at the auction, shouted excitedly.
puff!
Amidst the frenzied cheers, a sound of something being pierced suddenly rang out. The pirate at the forefront lowered his head in a daze and touched his chest blankly.
There's a hole there?
Bang!
His eyes widened, and his body fell straight backward to the ground, not knowing where the attack came from until the last second before he died.
Violet, who clearly saw the pink heart, waved excitedly to Hancock on the opposite pirate ship: "Thank you, Boa Hancock!"
Basque Chote: "It's that woman, you bastard!"
He gulped down a mouthful of wine, puffed out his cheeks, and forcefully spat it out. A perfectly round sphere of wine lifted him up and levitated him into the air.
"You troublesome woman, I'll kill you first."
He manipulated the alcohol bubbles to fly towards the Kuja Pirates, and just as he was about to leave the ship, a purplish-black tentacle with spikes at the tip hooked onto his ankle.
"ah!"
He screamed as the rapidly tightening tentacles pierced his flesh. Violet gripped the tentacles' spikes tightly with both hands, stepped on the mast, and pulled back with all her might!
“Give me…back here!” Violet pulled him back onto the ship. “I’m quite interested in the reward for this pirate attack.”
"So before I get defeated and drop my loot, could you please..."
"Don't disengage from the fight unnecessarily?"
Basque Jotte looked down and saw a pool of blood growing larger on the deck, which was damp with water vapor. A sharp pain in his calf cleared his drunken head a little, and his gaze toward Violet became even more ferocious.
Basque Chote: "If you want to die, then so be it!"
He took a big gulp of wine and spat it out at Vera again. A small orange-red flame appeared at the end of the wine column, spreading rapidly with the help of the extremely high alcohol concentration, swooping down like a fire tornado.
The scorching temperature baked away all the water vapor in the air.
boom!
The fire tornado struck the deck, causing the entire ship to shake violently. Some pirates who were standing on the edge of the deck, trying to break through the Amazon warriors' arrow attack, were thrown into the sea by the violent shaking.
A huge orange fireball covered half of the deck, and even Hancock, who was far away on another ship, felt the astonishing temperature.
Hancock stared intently at the burning flame until she saw a figure billowing white smoke burst out of it.
Violet: "It's so hot!"
She pulled an ice cube from her pocket and popped it into her mouth, crunching away. The cooling effect of the ice cube caused the orange-red distorted patterns that had appeared at the edge of Vera's vision due to the high temperature to slowly disappear.
"How are you?!"
A female warrior on another ship shouted with concern.
"I'm fine!" Violet replied, then couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "After all, it's common knowledge that fire magic can't kill people."
"Burp! You didn't turn into grilled fish, you... you've got some skill."
Basque Chote: "But how many times can you dodge with your few little ice cubes?"
He raised the wine jug again and took a big gulp.
Glug.
Basque Chote: "...Ah, I accidentally drank it, burp! It's so, so delicious."
Basque Chote: "Using fine wine to make grilled mermaids, hehe, it must be delicious."
Violet pointed to the pirate flag on the mast: "The wind is picking up."
Basque Chote: "...So what? My fireballs won't be blown away by a mere sea breeze!"
The female warrior on the other ship used her long sword to cut down the pirate in front of her, then looked at Vera's gesture of pointing to the sky with a puzzled expression.
What is she doing?
"It seems to be referring to a pirate flag?"
Why point to the pirate flag?
Hancock crossed her arms and looked in the direction Wilt was pointing. In the sea breeze, the black pirate flag was waving more and more frequently.
The female warrior, who had served as the navigator in the Kuja Pirates since the previous empress, suddenly realized: "In this season, once the wind picks up, cold and humid air masses in the sky will gather."
"And once this mass of air heats up, it will..."
Hancock: "It's raining."
Hancock: "She's a half-fish-woman."
Fishmen are far more powerful in water than on land. Heavy rain is an obstacle for Basque Jolt, who uses fire, but it is an absolute boost for Violet.
Hancock smirked. "That guy hasn't noticed yet."
Whether it was the alcohol clouding his judgment or not, Basque Jote didn't think that the wind, as Violet had mentioned, would have any impact on the course of the battle.
He used the same trick again, spitting a fireball several times larger than the one he had used before at Violet.
Violet grabbed the rope hanging from the mast, rushed to the edge of the ship, and used the rope to swing around the ship in a big circle.
The fireball was chasing her closely, less than a few meters behind. Violet put her legs together, kicked open the window of some unlucky pirate, and rolled on the ground amidst a pile of broken glass.
The scales on her body protected Violet's skin very well.
boom!
Another loud bang, and this time almost two-thirds of the ship was engulfed in flames.
"Oh no, Captain, we've been hit again!"
"Even if we win now, won't it be very difficult for us to sail to the next island?!"
"You idiot, all you have to do is steal their ship, right?"
"...That's right, Captain, keep it up!"
Basque Chote laughed loudly: "You bastard, you dare to be arrogant in front of me with such little skill?!"
Crackling, crackling...
The deck, coated with a thick layer of anti-corrosion wax, emitted plumes of black smoke after burning, which drifted into the sky.
The sea fog that had filled the surroundings was burned away by the flames, but the pirates' vision did not become clearer; on the contrary...
"Why does it feel like the sky suddenly darkened?"
"The clouds are so low!"
Rumble—
It was a dull thud several times louder than a fireball hitting the ship's hull, accompanied by thunder and a torrential downpour!
On the deck, fire and water mingled together.
Violet dragged her tentacled, spiked tentacles that had become excited upon contact with water, pinched its purple skin, and looked at Basque Joet.
In the heavy rain, the black-haired girl ran her fingers through her hair, gathering the stray hairs that fell in front of her head behind her head, revealing the light blue scales on her profile and neck.
[The Murloc's exclusive skill, "All-Weather Scales," is now available.]
[All-weather scales]
[Health is slowly restored while wet; when attacked, wetness is lost first. Murlocs are strongest in water!]
The flames behind them were gradually suppressed by the torrential rain, slowly subsiding from their initial arrogant and unrestrained growth.
Violet curled her lips into a smile, and the next second, she appeared in front of Basque Joet as if she had teleported, raising her tentacle spikes high and forcefully slamming them down on his arm!
"ah!"
He winced in pain and released the large wine barrel from his hands.
"This is the source of my arrogance."
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Author's Note: In my initial conception, the Valkyrie character was the strongest, but due to several game updates, the Valkyrie feels like a relic of the past...
...At least it's faster when training cattle [melted]
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