Author's Note: I think I've taken the wrong approach for this story. A month from now, I will stop uplaoding advanced chapters on Patreon, and take a more personal approach to this story. I started writing it for myself, and published it because I felt like sharing it, but since it is not working so fine, while I will continue writing it, I'll do so completely at my own pace. The update schedule will presumably not change in the near future, but if I ever feel like not writing, I simply won't. If you've liked the story so far, you are welcome to keep reading. To reeiterate, I am NOT DROPPING this, just warning you in advance that I'll stop updating on Patreon. You can still go there to support me if you feel like it, I would appreciate it immensely, but you won't be getting any more advanced chapters. Thanks for reading this, I hope you like the chapter. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
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The assassins may have been forced to retreat, but the battle was far from over.
The deaths on Eden's side of the battlefield had been rapidly piling up because of the apparition of the Skull, and came from both sides as Jean du Plessis' buff had disappeared, and he had not cast another.
Moreover, Barbossa had visibly gotten the upper hand in their fight, with one of Plessis' arms having gone limp.
Barbossa's cheek was also bleeding, but while half his face had been covered in blood, it was only a flesh wound.
Biting his inner cheek, Eden briefly looked around for Jason's Machete, but the battle was far too chaotic for him to find it. Moreover, while the necrotic miasma might not debuff him, it did cloud his vision as well.
Since he could not find his weapon, Eden picked up the two swords the assassins had dropped to the ground, putting them in his Inventory.
Despite the miasma, the area around Eden was considerably sparser in men because of the Dark Pool, which everyone avoided like the plague, allowing Eden to better see the situation as a whole.
It was not good.
Although the fight was still going strong, the arrival of the Spanish troops and Morgan's forces had thrown a wrench into the battle's equilibrium, and while no faction teamed up, the deaths were rapidly piling up.
It was also impossible for either the pirates or the French forces to flee as the Spanish and Morgan's ships surrounded them, physically blocking their boats.
With the current situation, one thing was for sure: whether the Rogue Pirates came or not, the pirates were going to be wiped out.
Eden was in quite a difficult position himself as he was surrounded by walls of fighters, and there were still the two assassins lurking in the shadows, probably along with a few other Players waiting for their opportunity.
Not seeing any good way to change the situation, Eden opened both of the slain Players' caches in the hope he would get something useful.
[You have received 102 Dream Points.]
[You have received 247 Dream Points.]
Eden clicked his tongue at the pair of misers, who had contributed even less than Kure. He supposed it made sense they would use all their Points to buy supplies and the like, but Eden was surprised they had not kept anything for a heal at the end of the mission.
Not that it would have helped, but still.
Their items were better, thankfully. They had dropped three Minor Health Potions and one scroll, along with the two swords he had picked up manually.
Without any time to inspect them, Eden retrieved the Skull into his Inventory, its purpose met already.
Although it improved his MP regeneration, even with it in his hand, his regeneration was too slow when passive. Even by the end of the battle, Eden doubted he would have recovered enough to launch a single spell.
He had only taken it out to apply a massive debuff to everyone around him, which had already been accomplished. Moreover, even though he had retrieved the Skull, the miasma would remain behind for a few minutes before dissipating.
Eden took out one of the short swords instead and felt himself becoming ever so slightly nimbler as he did.
Having decided on the proper course of action, Eden weaved his way into the crowd, his body lowered to merge into the crowd, while having Guardian cleave his way through the crowd a few meters to the side.
But as Eden struggled to make his way through the crowd of fighters, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure near Barbossa and Plessis. It was Drakon, and he was much closer.
He looked roughed up, being covered in blood, cuts, and scratches, but he still held firm as he joined the fight, assisting Barbossa against Plessis.
But even though Plessis was being hard pressed by the two pirates, he held up remarkably well, skillfully parrying their blows and even returning some of his own. Moreover, while Barbossa and Drakon were getting tired from their battles, Plessis was gaining in intensity instead.
That is, until a demonic claw crawled beside him and scratched at his heel.
Jean du Plessis faltered for only a moment, but a moment was all Barbossa needed to pierce his sword through Plessis' chest.
Drakon immediately followed with a swipe of his own, cleanly chopping the French officer's head off.
Despite the dark miasma, everyone on the ship heard the victorious roars coming from Drakon.
The tide of the battle on this ship rapidly shifted as the French high-level fighter had been killed. Guardian was already a force to reckon with, enough to change the battle's course, and as Barbossa and Drakon joined in, the French sailors on this frigate only lasted for a couple of minutes before retreating to other ships.
The pirates clamored in their victory, but the battle was still ongoing on the other ships. And they knew that if they did not move, others would come at them, so they once again boarded one of the merchant ships.
After all, not only did the frigate still have the necrotic miasma on it, but their goal was still the ivory on the French ships.
As they boarded the merchant ship, though, Eden noticed that pirates and navy sailors alike kept their distance from him.
If Eden had wanted to hide his magical gifts before, it seemed that many were aware of them now. And even if they did not know he could cast spells, they knew he was at the origin of the necrotic miasma.
Still, even with the bodies piling up, far too many people were fighting, and some had no choice but to be in his proximity.
The status quo only remained for a short time, however, as Morgan's voice once again thundered over the battlefield, the fury in his voice fiercer than before, "Ozymandias!"
Eden looked in his direction and saw Morgan just a ship over. He was also on one of the merchant ships, and the soldiers there, be they pirates, French, or Spanish, were being slaughtered by Morgan's men.
There was a noticeable difference between the two, and Eden quickly understood where it came from as he saw some of them drinking potions.
Morgan himself was a force to be reckoned with. He was dressed in a black armor that seemed to be crafted from shadows, and he wielded a rapier with precision and speed, eliminating most of his foes with a single strike.
While Eden looked over, several fighters nearby saw an opportunity and suddenly rushed at Eden, one of them even yelling, "Your bounty is mine, Ozymandias!"
There were six of them this time, but they were uncoordinated, unlike the four before. Moreover, they were hardly any stronger than the average pirate.
The battle had been going on for a while now, and although Eden was starting to get tired, his Physique was at 10, while these Players only had average stats.
Moreover, they were underestimating Guardian.
Seeing six people suddenly rush at its master, Guardian let its current opponent's sword smack against its armor plate as it closed the distance between itself and Eden with a single step, and cut two of the players in twain.
Eden ignored the notifications of the two Players' deaths as he confronted the other four. Using both his Agility and his danger sense, Eden easily swerved past their attacks, but did not attack.
Instead, he forced his way through them and retreated in the direction of the ship's cabin, where he had last seen Barbossa and Drakon. He guessed that they were raiding the ship's cargo, that is, the ivory.
However, as he looked back toward Morgan's forces, whom he was running from, he was surprised to find that they had been stopped, and by the Spanish no less.
The entire Spanish forces had gathered to attack Morgan's forces, and were somehow gaining the upper hand. Eden guessed that had to do with the occasional bursts of light coming from that battlefield, and while Eden was very curious as to who was facing Morgan, he was happy things went his way for once.
The respite was short-lived, however, as Eden suddenly heard a wave of cannon fire.
Hundreds of cannons were shot, all aimed at the cluster of ships and disregarding sides as they reaped lives from every side.
Eden had to jump down himself to dodge one of the cannonballs.
Rising from the ground, he looked around, alerted, and spotted the attacker.
It was a large ship, larger than any present. It was a Galleon, and a large one at that. A Man O' War. It had more than a hundred cannons on each side, arranged in three levels, and they were shooting at everyone, aiming to deal the most damage possible to all parties.
The fighting around Eden immediately stopped as everyone ducked for cover, but the cannon fire did not stop.
The Rogue Pirates had arrived with a bang.
The cannon fire went on for a couple of minutes before finally stopping. Half the ships had been sunk, and most of the remaining forces had been killed or jumped into the sea.
Eden did not know if things had been messed up by Players' influence, but he was not staying any longer. He had no idea where Barbossa was, and he valued his own life far more than Barbossa's.
But as Eden was about to flee, Morgan's flagship unexpectedly returned fire on the Galleon. And even though only a couple of cannonballs were fired, the moment they impacted the Rogue Man O' War, they exploded with the power of modern bombs as they dug large chunks into the ship.
Eden stilled, hesitating. A part of him wanted to stay behind, to reap the rewards of the final confrontation.
But as he waited, he suddenly saw Drakon and Barbossa come out from within the ship, with two full bags slung over their shoulders.
The two looked at the surroundings, stunned, before Barbossa whistled, "I think it's time for a getaway. Ozymandias, still alive?"
Eden rested his blade against his shoulder, asking, "And how do you propose we leave?"
Barbossa looked at the Man O' War, whose men were now boarding the ships, and laughed, "We fight our throw, that's how!"
Raising his cutlass, Barbossa
hollered, "Gather to me, ye cowardly scabs!"
Barbossa's charisma was strong enough to force a few pirates out of their fear as they rallied to them, and quickly, a small group formed.
By now, everyone was trying to regain their ships, be it the French, the Spanish, or Morgan's men, so the Rogues split their forces, each blocking a group.
They also all wore concealing clothes, as the Players had back on Munro Island, and the group sent to stop the pirates outnumbered them two or three to one.
But as the pirates rushed the Rogues, the front row of the Rogues suddenly lowered themselves, revealing a row of gunmen behind them, their guns trained on the rushing pirates.
Eden, who was at the front, instantly ordered Guardian to use his skill Iron Fortress, and hid behind him as his body gained a steely glow.
The entire front line of the pirates stumbled to the ground, injured at best, except for Guardian, who continued rushing, ignoring the bullets shot its way.
The hastily put together defense line was instantly broken by Guardian as he carved a path through them with his Hellsteel Greatsword.
The Rogues thrown into disarray, the pirates managed to engage them and push forward.
However, Guardian, who had been commanded by Eden to open a path, was stopped mid-way through by a man.
His status was full of question marks, just like the rest of the Rogues, but it still missed a Talent, meaning this was an NPC.
He wielded a long, thin sword, barely any thicker than a rapier would be, yet he was the one who had managed to stop Guardian.
He was not stronger than him, of course, but he moved with an unnatural grace as he displayed outstanding swordsmanship, forcing Guardian to stop by aiming at a vital spot.
Although Eden had ordered Guardian to open a path, he had still left some survival instinct in it, and so it had stopped.
The Rogue swordsman followed up with several attacks, forcing Guardian to retreat, so Eden changed his command to attack him.
Guardian instantly switched from the defensive to the offensive, but the Rogue Swordsman evaded his attacks like a ghost.
Eden tried to go support Guardian, but he was forced to stop as he narrowly dodged a dagger going for his throat.
Not wasting any time, Eden punched his attacker's face with his blade in hand, forcing them to reel back as he followed with a slash.
But his slash was blocked. Eden could feel their Strength was below his own, but it was high enough to stop his strike.
Eden could have followed up with more attacks, but his goal was not to attack them, so he kicked them in the chest instead, forcing them back, and reached Guardian.
The moment he did, Eden found the tip of a blade aiming for his throat, the Rogue swordsman keenly aware of his presence.
He deflected the blade while Guardian went for a low strike, swiping at his legs. But before the blade could build up force, the swordsman kicked its tip, stopping it from ever reaching him as he safely retreated.
"Ozymandias! You won't escape from me!"
Eden looked to the side in shock and saw Morgan, his black armor covered in blood, rushing over, alone. The man had somehow managed to carve his way out of the group sent to stop him, but instead of escaping, he had come for Eden.
Narrowing his eyes, Eden looked back at the swordsman and ordered loudly, "We charge through them!"
Eden did not care if anyone listened to his command, for Guardian did.
No longer caring about injuring, Guardian swept his sword at the Rogue swordsman with brutish strength, foregoing any technique as he brute-forced his way through the crowd.
At the same time, Morgan, who had lost his sword at some point, started tearing his way through the crowd, killing pirates and Rogues alike to reach Eden.
The leading Rogue swordsman tried to use Guardian's reckless attack to finish it, but Eden jumped in between, parrying his strike.
The swordsman followed with a rapid second strike, which Eden could hardly dodge. Hence, he did not even try, merely tilting his body to the side, allowing the sword to pierce through his left shoulder.
This allowed him to close in on the swordsman, an opportunity which he used to slam into him shoulder first.
The swordsman, whom he expected to merely be nimble, tanked the blow remarkably well, holding his ground. Still, his sword was impaled into Eden's shoulder, and he was at a weird angle that stopped him from fully retrieving it.
He tried to step back, but Eden followed, this time swinging his shortsword down.
As his blade was about to hit its mark, though, Eden heard an annoyed tsk, and the swordsman's speed suddenly improved drastically, pulling his sword out in an instant and parrying away Eden's strike.
The swordsman was about to follow up with another strike when Drakon suddenly rushed past Eden, swinging what had once been Jean du Plessis' sword.
Behind the swordsman, Guardian had nearly managed to open a path to the ships, which prompted all the pirates to follow after him. Moreover, Morgan had to first go through the Rogues to reach Eden, so their numbers had drastically lowered.
Seeing this, the Rogue swordsman retreated, not showing any remorse at leaving his men behind.
It was not so easy for Eden to leave, however.
Barbossa was already halfway to the remaining ship and was fighting with unprecedented fury as he had been forced to drop his bag full of ivory.
On the other hand, Eden was on his last legs, and Guardian had also left his side. Considering most of the group were Players, Eden, with his bounty, was the next best target for them.
Of course, only the ones blinded by their greed tried to stop him as Morgan was closing in on him, and slaughtering anyone in his way.
Still, there were enough fools to surround him.
So, although Guardian had not yet reached the ships, he ordered him to come back. After all, what good would it do Eden if he were dead?
The pirates were probably unhappy that their battering ram suddenly turned the other way around, but Guardian ignored everything around him as he returned to Eden.
Morgan reached him first.
The Lord of Munro Island did not speak a word this time as he reached out with a clawed hand, aimed for Eden's chest. He was going for the kill, meaning he could also break the magical contract.
Morgan was even faster than the swordsman, but Eden saw him coming, so he held out his short sword in front of him, forcing Morgan to stop his attack if he did not want to impale himself on Eden's sword.
Yet, Morgan took the most unlikely option, not altering his course as he slammed his chest into the tip of Eden's sword, pitting the short sword against his chest armor.
The armor won out.
Although it looked very thin, so much so that one would think it was made of a shadow, it looked undamaged, as it was the tip of Eden's sword that shattered instead.
Seeing this, Eden knew it was far too late to dodge, so he lowered his head instead, retracting his neck as he saw the claws slash into his face at an excruciatingly slow speed.
He felt as four blade-like claws dug into the right side of his face, mangling his skin, eye, and skull.