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Micchi Versus the New World - Chapter 117
🕑 Added 2022-09-30 01:20:43 +0000 UTCAlt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SME76mMsH7pHf1usDzUxNZVG4GgPXL_qQYx3G46ml_Y/edit?usp=sharing
Chapter 117
The ball of iron smashed through the enemy ship and out the other end. It struck them so hard that it rocked the boat. They scrambled all over the deck, panicking over what the hell to do. I grabbed empty space when reaching for another. There were no more in the pile.
"Get down deck and bring me more," I told flabbergasted crewmates.
Some pinched their fellows to snap them out of it, then raced below deck together.
"Captain, it looks like they're coming back!"
A powerful shield raised over the Amarinthian ship, and they sailed fearlessly up to us again like before. Over my shoulder off to Kaoru's side, the other was doing the same. All three were battered by spell and cannon fire. Like someone went and made swiss cheese out of them all.
The captain on the ship from my side was a dark elven man dressed in a long brown coat and black tricorn hat. His ears and fingers, like all the nobles back in Ash'tar, were decorated with more jewels than callouses. He walked up the stairs to the quarterdeck and beckoned to me with the cigar in his mouth, so I did the same up to my ship's helm.
"I am Admiral Demar of Kajar's defensive fleet. You must be Micchi. I've heard a lot about you. A high-ranking guild member of the Cynderace Branch, Champion of the Lannarkis Ring, and a fearsome slayer of demons. However, your titles mean nothing out at sea. All men drown the same. I have six more ships ready to leave Kajar's port. Surrender now, and we will spare your lives and the lives of your crewmen."
A beastling rushed up the steps, lugging a cannonball to hand to me. I picked it up and tossed the hefty projectile right into where Admiral Demar's face was. He didn't flinch, confident that the shield held up. And it did. The ball splashed into the Jewelled Lake and sunk to its depths.
"Strong shield. Wonder how long it's gonna last?" I asked, snatching the next ball from another crewmate.
"Ha! You caught us by surprise the first time, but it won't happen again. Our mages are the strongest across Dysentia! We're stocked with enough rations and mana potions to last half a year out at sea to stall your advance. Do you have enough rations and potions to do the same?" Demar bellowed with laughter.
As both ships pulled away, I chucked the cannonball only for it to bounce off the shield again.
"You better make sure you got your brown pants on when I get on that ship!" I growled.
Several crewmen grabbed ahold of my arms and shoulders to keep me from jumping off to chase after them.
"I imagine they plan to open fire again soon," Kaoru said, climbing the steps to the quarterdeck. "We didn't come prepared with enough mages to maintain a strong shield for ourselves. Do you have anything planned?"
"Does it look like I have a plan? If I can just get on top of their barrier, I can pop that shit like a balloon…" My eyes wandered to the beastling harpies on the ship.
"We'll be annihilated by volleys of magical blasts, Captain… You will survive, but we won't last long enough to get you there!" one of them said.
"There's got to be something…"
I leaped down onto the deck. Two sailors were fanning Yui, who was still nauseous being out at sea. Whenever the waves hit the hull and rocked the ship, her cheeks would bloat up.
"Anego… I don't feel so good," Yui complained.
"Things are gonna get a whole lot worse if we don't do something. I'm thinking it's time for the Micchi-Yui Lightning Special again," I said.
"Really? Really, really?" She recovered and latched onto me with cat-like claws digging into my jacket.
"Yes, really! Now let go, because I can't toss you if you're hanging on that tight!"
"Kamigoroshi can destroy the barrier. I'll time it with Yui's lightning." Kaoru nodded.
The crew backed away from us as I began to spin Yui in place. We wound up so fast, a couple of loose objects got picked up by the gale we created. Then—
I slammed my heel through the deck of the ship and launched Yui across the sea. Everyone watched in exasperation as she reached the peak of her flight, then transformed into a lightning bolt. At the same time, Kaoru supercharged Kamigoroshi and threw it so hard that she speared through the barrier and ship. Yui crashed through next from above, and a few sailors jumped ship before a massive discharge of electricity blew off the mast.
"You guys go fetch Yui in case that ship sinks. She's probably ticked off that it's swaying so bad like that," I said.
"Where are you going?" Kaoru shrugged her throwing arm and teleported the spear back into her hand.
"Gonna go pay the admiral a visit and keep my word."
"How do you plan on getting—"
I jumped ship before Kaoru finished her sentence. Making use of magic from my Elementalist class, I froze the water into a platform of ice to land on. The ship sailed past me and made headway towards the one we just fucked up.
Chaos erupted again with Admiral Demar's ship opening fire with spells across the seas. Thankfully, the mages on my ship were more than capable of withstanding the attacks from one rather than two.
While spells flew overhead, I used the cover of smoke to race toward the other ship, freezing the water to create a path to them. They finally saw me as I got closer. A cannonball just barely missed me. One shattered the ice behind my back and erupted with a geyser of water.
"Raised the barrier! Don't let her get near!" Demar barked frantic orders.
"Let's see you block this!" I got up to the hull and pummeled through the barrier with Sacchan, but an explosive spell sent me crashing into the sea.
When I resurfaced, the ship was turning to escape. I spat out a mouthful of water, climbed onto a platform of ice, and took a running start while creating a frozen ramp up level to the deck.
"You're so persistent! Give up, fool!" the admiral yelled from the edge.
"Get your brown pants ready before you shit yourself!" I shouted, leaping high above the ship deck.
They raised another barrier again, but Sacchan's incredible strength behind my even stronger swing smashed through it like nothing. I landed on the quarterdeck in front of Admiral Demar. He stumbled back, reaching for a blunderbuss next to the wheel.
"You've only come to your doom!" Demar cackled and pulled the trigger.
A harsh crack was followed by smoke gushing from the chamber. The pellets clattered off my chest and clattered across the ground at my feet. Demar's jaw dropped.
"Yo." I smirked, then took off his tricorn hat to put on myself. "I'm the captain now."
"I, uh… I invoke the rite of parley!" Demar declared.
"Parley this!" I punched Demar in the gut, bringing him to his knees.
"Oof… That's not… what parley… means—"
With one hard hit to the side of the head, I sent him flying across the deck of his ship. He crashed into a pile of ropes and crates. Sailors and mages, who were clutching onto their cutlasses and magic staffs, dropped their weapons and surrendered.
I turned the ship around to rendezvous with Kaoru and Yui. The one we bombarded didn't sink. Nothing short of a miracle after Yui exploded on it if someone asked me. We tied up the prisoners and divvied up sailors to man each ship.
"What happened to the captain?" Kaoru asked.
Instead of answering, I pointed to the bowsprit, a wooden beam extending out the very front of the ship where Demar was tied on.
"Help! Please, I surrender! Just let me down… I don't want to be on here!" the shipless admiral cried.
Kaoru chuckled. "Well done, Micchi. I'm beginning to understand what Anya sees in you."
"Yeah, yeah… Where's yui?" I asked.
"Resting below deck," she said.
A couple of crewmen led me to the sleeping quarters. Yui was lying in a hammock with a wet towel on her forehead.
"Sorry, Anego… Wish I could be more useful," Yui moped.
"You did good, so don't sweat it. Also, I got you something." I rested Demar's tricorn hat on her chest.
"R-Really?" She clutched it while tears streaked down her cheeks. "Anego, you're the best! But you're still a jerk for throwing the first one off to begin with!"
We sailed all three ships back to Ramatarj intact. Our forces, who were waiting for us at port, cheered and shoved beer into our hands as we hopped back onto solid land.
"You brought two whole ships back?" Kain pushed through the crowds and gaped.
"What? Were you hoping for more?" I grinned.
The crowds parted as Kawa barreled through with Loraine on her back. A couple of people got knocked into the water. The big wolf tackled me back an inch and licked my face. When Loraine dismounted, she threw her arms around me and sighed with relief.
"This war isn't over yet." Kaoru jumped down next to us with Yui clinging to her from behind. "We need to press on before Ashura and her army make their move."
"What's the matter, Frowny? We won today! Smile a little and be happy!" Yui pinched Kaoru's cheeks and forced her lips into a smile.
"Ain't like you to be so antsy. As much as I wanna show my fist up the sultan's ass, we need these ships up and sailing again before we can make another move," I tried to reason with her.
It wasn't like me to be the rational one either. But Yui wasn't in any condition to fight much longer. Kaoru and I could go alone, but Demar mentioned they had six ships. If we went there now, we would be swimming with the fishes before getting to Kajar.
Kaoru clicked her tongue. She let Yui down, then stormed past everyone into Ramatarj.
"No, the empress is right," Kain said, picking up a hammer and wooden plank. "I want these ships to withstand a cataclysmic typhoon and two more to sail by tomorrow! There's no rest for anyone until I pass out. Is that understood?"
Jinwan, Scoth, and Amarinthians alike roared with impassioned vigor and picked up a tool to continue working.
"Look at you." I socked Kain on the chest as he passed by me.
"I'm still unsure if having you rub off on me is a good thing. Anyway, you three at least should get some rest. Maybe check on the empress. She seems stressed, and I can't recall a time she ever has been," Kain said with worry.
As everyone split off to do their own thing, I went into town to look for Kaoru. Being the only one to wear that gaudy kimono, it didn't take long to find her. She was at the very top of the lighthouse just outside of Ramatarj, staring at the floating landmass that was the demon's homeland, Sathorayn.
"I'll always be the first to charge in. You know me. But even I know going now is a stupid idea. Sun's coming down, too. What's up with you?" I asked, barging in on her alone time.
"You wouldn't be so calm if that was flying over the ones you cherish, would you?" Kaoru fired back.
Well, right underneath was the empire of Jinwa. Which meant Emperor Yonnu and Second Prince Theo would be the first ones in danger if Chika and the demons ever attacked. Guess that would be bad for us and Kain, too, if his little brother was taken away.
"If you wanna leave, then leave. Better you're by their side. The rest of us can kick Sultan Yusef's shit in," I said.
Kaoru sighed heavily. "And if Ashura lays siege to Taiq'ae, I alone wouldn't be enough to defeat her."
"Which is why you want us to finish this war ASAP, huh? So we can help you keep your boys safe. Don't worry. If Chika lays a hand on Theo, I won't hold back fucking her up. Not that I planned on going easy on her anyway."
When Kaoru turned to face me, an earthquake rocked the entire lighthouse. Waves crashed against the harbor, knocking ships around and people off their feet. Both of us held the railings tightly to keep from falling off. In the distance, a tsunami was rolling towards the city. Everyone was scrambling to get away.
"A wave that large will sweep the city away!" Kaoru warned.
We jumped off the lighthouse and landed hard on the ground, then made a mad dash to the harbor as people pushed past us to escape.
"Kawa, Loraine!" I shouted.
"Is this an attack from Kajar?" Loraine asked in panic.
"Dunno, but you guys gotta get out of here. Where's Kain?"
They glanced back in the direction of the pier, where Kain was dragging dockhands off the boat and directing them away first.
"We lose these boats, then we lose our only chance of getting to Kajar!" Kaoru planted her feet firmly to the ground as if intending to make a stand here.
"You've got to be kidding me… All mages, on me! We're freezing this thing whole!" I shouted, causing a couple of spellcasters to skid to a stop.
"Y-You're insane! That's way too much water!" one cried.
I grabbed him by the robes. "That wasn't a fucking request. Fall in line behind me!"
A dozen mages followed us to the edge of the pier, including Loraine and Kawa. When Kain saw us, his face contorted in terror.
"What are you thinking? You must escape!" Kain yelled over the commotion.
"Escape? Who the fuck do you think I am?" I let my jacket drop and cracked my neck.
All of us who could channel ice magic to freeze the water put everything behind the spells. Even Kawa returned to beastling form to helped with magic of her own. The gigantic tsunami was so large that it cast an even bigger shadow over the city. It was beginning to slow, but everywhere we froze up would form cracks and spill with water.
If Ririko was here, she could have stopped this with no problem. But she wasn't here or an ally anyway.
Cold sweat broke out on my forehead. Both my legs and arms were losing strength. It took all our magic and then some to just freeze it to a stop, but the waters were breaking through again.
Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck started standing. Static ripped through the space around us. Behind me, Yui was charging up by flourishing her nunchucks and Kaoru summoned Kamigoroshi with black flames surrounding them.
"Get down!" Kaoru shouted.
Everyone dove to the ground. I grabbed Kain and the last person off the boat and shoved them down.
The wall of ice shattered just as Yui and Kaoru discharged their magic, blasting the tsunami into oblivion in a flash of light. Both of them collapsed, using one another's backs to support the other.
"Holy shit. You guys fucking did it," I muttered.
Rough waters flowed into the harbor, but not as intensely as before. The tsunami was gone. However, replacing it in the far distance where Kajar would be situated was a giant black obelisk. If we could see it from here, then it had to be at least a hundred meters tall.
"Micchi… is that what I think it is?" Loraine gasped.
"Yeah. Looks like we got a fight ahead of us," I said, brimming with excitement and anxiousness.
