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Chapter 182: Naval Battle
🕑 Added 2025-01-13 03:22:00 +0000 UTCCrazy Horse Davis spoke in a deep and raspy voice, “That foolish Byron brat thinks he can control a great pirate with some so-called alchemical potion.”
“Once I capture him alive, I’ll subject him to the most brutal tortures. Let’s see if he can hold out and refuse to hand over the antidote.”
His subordinates burst into raucous laughter, making various mockeries about Charlot, with one even shouting, “Look at his delicate skin and tender flesh. We can give him to Chatham for some fun!”
Crazy Horse Davis let out a hoarse laugh and said, “He’s even more foolish than I imagined, thinking he could take Saint Michael Island.”
“When the Golden Rams fleet appears on the horizon, I hope he doesn’t wet his pants in fear.”
The group brazenly discussed how to lure Charlot and his six merchant ships into a trap.
Charlot, smiling as though an uninvolved "bystander," quickly pieced together the plans of Crazy Horse Davis and Chatham. They had conspired with the Golden Rams pirate fleet of Saint Michael Island, setting an ambush a quarter-day’s sail from the city of Cappadocia. Their plan was to encircle and attack Charlot’s ships, taking advantage of their superior firepower to offset their lack of Transcendents.
Charlot had to admit, the plan was excellent. In open waters, even as a Transcendent, he couldn’t cross hundreds of meters to attack their ships. Meanwhile, the ships’ cannons could easily bombard his merchant fleet.
Under typical circumstances, a Transcendent would either have to swim over and fight hand-to-hand or use extraordinary firearms to retaliate. The former approach would leave them vulnerable to concentrated rifle fire—Transcendents weren’t invincible, especially in the ocean where most couldn’t demonstrate superior agility and could only rely on battle energy to endure. The latter approach, using firearms, was even less viable, as no rifle could compete with naval artillery.
It was clear that Crazy Horse Davis and Chatham were adept in naval combat. Their plan was, in a word, “perfect.”
The only imperfection lay in the people executing it being too stupid. And their target? A transmigrator.
These pirates, relics of a medieval era, couldn’t begin to match the cunning of someone from Earth who had likely encountered more schemes in a single day online than they had in their entire lifetimes.
Charlot estimated the fleet was about to enter the “encirclement” and promptly gathered the Redback Bear warriors to storm the hold where Crazy Horse Davis was plotting.
For ease of control, Charlot had chosen to stay aboard the same ship as the former pirate.
Crazy Horse Davis, calculating the timing, was just about to leave the hold to “offer advice” to Charlot and guide him into the trap. In the vast expanse of the ocean, without proper guidance, the two groups could easily miss each other.
The two collided at the door to the hold. Charlot smiled warmly and asked, “Have you eaten?”
Crazy Horse Davis was baffled, utterly unable to comprehend the profound meaning of this Eastern greeting. He replied, “Not yet! But that’s irrelevant. We need to stay on course—I need to guide the fleet.”
Charlot drew the Silver Knight, aimed it at Davis’s forehead, and fired, blowing the scheming ex-pirate’s brains out.
Davis’s subordinates erupted in panic. One of them tried to resist, but Charlot sidestepped slightly as five or six Redback Bear warriors burst into the hold, pummeling the pirates into submission. Soon, they were dragged onto the deck like dead fish.
Charlot gazed at the distant sea and said, “I need to circle around and approach the fleet from the eastern side. Who here can guide me?”
One pirate, still harboring a sliver of defiance, claimed, “There’s no fleet behind us!”
Charlot spun and fired, blowing his head off. He repeated his question, and when no one answered, he shot another former pirate dead.
Such ruthless methods terrified the remaining pirates, who scrambled to speak up. “I know the routes! I can guide you! Davis colluding with Chatham has nothing to do with us. We’re willing to pledge allegiance…”
Charlot assigned each Redback Bear warrior to watch over a pirate, grinning as he gave the order, “If I say: ‘Kill,’ twist the head off the pirate you’re guarding. It doesn’t matter if you make a mistake; it’s someone else dying anyway.”
The terrified former pirates didn’t dare slack off and dutifully guided Charlot’s fleet.
Charlot stripped the dead pirates of their clothes and tossed the bodies into the sea. Though his expression remained indifferent and calm as he did so, inwardly, he felt deeply unsettled.
Reason told him that if he didn’t kill this way, he, his friends, and his followers would be the ones to die. But his emotions told him that continuing down this path would eventually turn him into a monster…
“Life really is full of hard choices,” he muttered.
Charlot handed Davis’s clothes to Cruse, instructing him to wear them and stand at the ship’s bow. He also ordered all the merchant ships to raise white flags.
Armed with the Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle, Charlot climbed up the mast. If the situation turned unfavorable, he planned to take out the enemy commander first.
Of course, even if the situation went well, he still intended to kill the enemy commander.
Soon, five pirate ships appeared on the horizon. Cruse, dressed as Davis, stood at the bow waving his arms and shouting incoherently.
Before departing, Charlot had held a secret meeting without Davis, so Cruse knew exactly what to do.
The five pirate ships fired two volleys of cannonballs. Seeing no retaliation from the merchant fleet, they lowered dinghies to investigate. After returning, the pirate ships approached Charlot’s fleet.
When the two groups closed to within dozens of meters, Charlot raised a fist and shouted jubilantly, “Success!”
Honestly, as a math teacher who wasn’t even an armchair strategist, Charlot had little confidence in his plan. While he had prepared contingencies for failure, the joy of this moment was unmatched.
Of the five pirate ships, four were converted merchant ships, while only one was a genuine warship. On the deck of the warship stood a burly, bearded pirate who, though slightly puzzled, remained confident as he commanded his crew to prepare for boarding.
Charlot pressed down on the gun barrel and fired at the pirate leader.
The pirate leader never expected to be sniped.
Ordinary rifle rounds wouldn’t have pierced his battle-energy shield.
Weapons like the Anti-Space Long-Range Rifle loaded with anti-magic armor-piercing rounds were the type of expensive equipment reserved for assassinating dukes. As a mere pirate leader, he’d likely never dreamed of experiencing such treatment in his lifetime.
With a loud gunshot, the pirate leader’s body was reduced to half its original size. Charlot’s shot had slightly missed, blowing off his lower body. The unsupported upper half fell onto the deck, smearing it with blood.
Charlot’s gunshot signaled the counterattack.
Anastasia was the first to lead her team aboard the pirate warship.
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