Chapter 30 Hands of Fire
"Fire ahead of that ship, a warning shot!" Sean commanded his men, his expression calm as he watched the approaching vessel.
Upon receiving their captain's order, the sailors nearby immediately sprang into action, pushing the magic stone cannon mounted on the bow out through the gunport, loading the magic stone, aiming, and then firing.
Boom!
The deafening sound made many people on the ship involuntarily flinch. Even those who were mentally prepared were startled by the cannon fire.
"Strange, that coward Angus, instead of stopping his ship when he can't escape, just keeps going even after seeing ours... Does he think that speed can outrun our pursuit?"
Standing next to Sean was his first mate, Gino, who had been by his side since he first started recruiting men.
Years had passed, and the sailors he had initially recruited had either perished in this tranquil sea or had accumulated enough wealth to leave and strike out on their own—only to be dealt with by him later.
Only Gino remained by his side, becoming his most trusted first mate, the executive officer of the Flame Monarch.
Sean 'Hand of Flame' was one of the most famous adventurers on the Sea of Tranquility, and also the most notorious pirate in this region.
If he set his sights on someone, the best-case scenario was losing all their possessions and barely keeping their life.
Ruthless and insatiable were synonymous with Sean, and the reason he could do these things with impunity was his sturdy ship and that magic stone cannon, which, although incredibly consuming, was equally powerful.
"It is a bit strange. Maybe that coward made a big score and isn't willing to give it up?"
Looking at the ship in the distance, it was a vessel he was very familiar with, one that had a bit of notoriety on the Sea of Tranquility.
Coward Angus was Sean's moniker for him. Adventurers on the Sea of Tranquility more often called him 'Vicious Dog Angus,' a scoundrel who specialized in robbing novices and the weak. When facing stronger opponents, he would assume a cautious and respectful demeanor, and the one he feared most was Sean 'Hand of Flame.'
Angus was also one of the few adventurers who had repeatedly managed to survive encounters with Sean, because every time he met Sean at sea, he would very proactively hand over his earnings. He would even occasionally contact Sean on his own initiative to offer gifts.
When Sean saw Angus's ship, he noticed it was clearly loaded with a large amount of supplies, causing it to sit very low in the water and move surprisingly slowly. It was also towing a smaller sailboat behind it, and judging by that ship's waterline, it was also carrying a lot of things. This clearly indicated that they had just completed a 'big score.'
But this coward showed no reaction after seeing his ship. This completely different behavior made him a little puzzled—Did Angus find something special that he didn't want me to see? So he's trying to just run away?
"Fire! If they still don't stop, aim at the small ship behind them and fire!"
The more Sean thought about it, the more he felt this must be the case. And what concerned him most was that whatever could make Angus act so out of character might be the most magical magic stones on this vast sea.
"Maybe it's a top-quality combat magic stone, otherwise there's no way he would do such a thing." If it was truly as he suspected, then he absolutely couldn't let this guy Angus escape...
A second large, reddish-orange fireball flew towards the two connected ships, but this one was much closer than the previous shot, which was clearly aimed a little further away.
The booming explosion made everyone's heads spin, and the scattering spray of water splashed far and wide, drenching Ethan and Arthur from head to toe as they stood on the deck.
"Bah!"
Spitting out the seawater from his mouth, the salty taste made his already bad mood even worse.
"Sure enough, we've run into a bunch of pirates again."
He didn't recognize the ship opposite, nor did he know that one of the most infamous villains on the Sea of Tranquility was aboard. The other party immediately opened fire directly in their path, warning them to stop their ship immediately, and then fired a shot that landed near their ship. Perhaps the next shot would directly hit the ship they were standing on.
He didn't know that Sean on the opposite side couldn't bear to sink his ship; that previous shot was still just a warning.
"Can't we fight back? Are we just going to take this passively?"
Arthur was already fully equipped, but they were very far apart right now, unable to even clearly see the people on the opposite ship. At this distance, even if they wanted to fight back, they couldn't.
"How can we fight back? We don't have cannons."
Ethan had previously speculated that this world had similar technology, and he hadn't expected to see it in person so quickly. Those two shots just now were clearly not the cannons he was familiar with, regardless of their power and range. Those energy projectiles with magical fluctuations, like compressed fireballs, must be technology developed based on magic stones.
"Then what should we do?"
Ethan didn't know what to do either. If the other party kept bombarding them with cannons from a distance, it seemed he had no other way to deal with it except to use the large-scale defense of the magic shield from his magic book.
"Or abandon all the ore, then set full sail and escape?"
There was too much stuff on the ship right now, severely limiting its speed, and it was also towing a ship full of ore, which prevented the caravel's inherent speed and agility advantages from being utilized.
"It's too late!"
A sailboat doesn't accelerate that easily, and the current wind direction wasn't favorable to them. Even if he were to perform a miracle now and throw all the ore overboard in a very short time, there wouldn't be enough time to pick up speed and escape the enemy's range.
Judging by the range and accuracy of the previous two cannon shots, they might be blown to pieces before he even finished throwing away the ore.
His brain was working at almost maximum speed, and Ethan made a decision in an instant.
"Lower the sails, stop the ship!"
"What?"
Arthur was very surprised to hear Ethan's words, but he immediately took action and quickly understood Ethan's intention.
"Will that work?"
"The first shot was a warning for us to stop the ship. Although the second shot was much closer, it should still be a warning. If we stop the ship, they won't continue firing."
Ethan wasn't 100% sure, but rather than passively enduring cannon fire from a distance, it was better to simply stop the ship and lure the enemy closer. In close combat, at least he would have a chance to fight back.
Indeed, as Ethan's ship slowed down and eventually stopped, the opposite side stopped firing.
He didn't know that Sean on the opposite ship was momentarily stunned when he saw him stop.
"Why did he stop again?"
Gino wasn't very sure either and speculated, "Maybe that coward was sleeping just now? And didn't see us?"
"That's possible."
Logically, in a situation that demonstrated his deterrence, he should have been happier, but Sean just couldn't be happy. He had been full of anticipation that the coward had taken a risk because he had found something good. Now, it seemed it was just a beautiful dream he had made.
Unhappy, wanting to vent, Sean was already thinking in his mind about how to deal with this guy Angus.
"Kill him..." He shook his head inwardly. "Forget it, considering how sensible he is, I'll spare his life, but I'll take his ship. Anyway, he got a 'new ship'."
With a decision made, his mood seemed to improve quite a bit. Sean waved his hand and instructed the person beside him, "Full speed ahead, get close! That ship is our final target for this voyage. After this, we'll return to Stat Island!"
"Oh!"
The sailors knew that after this job, they could enjoy themselves in peace for a while, so they were all excited and full of energy. Coupled with the fact that many of them also recognized the target as Coward Angus, no one thought this job was dangerous.
"That coward will definitely grovel at the captain's feet again and obediently offer up everything."
"Hahaha, maybe he'll even kiss the captain's shoes."
"You guys, if I scare that coward with a knife, will he kiss my shoes too?"
"Maybe so, let's do it together then!"
"Hahaha, count me in for something this fun."
"..."
Sean heard the sailors' discussions, and he had no interest in stopping what his crew wanted to do. He even had a mindset of watching a play.
"This will be quite a show."
Yes, he was going to see a great show. On the ship in the distance, Ethan and Arthur saw that the other side hadn't fired, so they knew their intention had been achieved, but figuring out how to counterattack next was a headache.
Young, hot-blooded, and conveniently in his rebellious phase, the young King Arthur stood resolutely in the most conspicuous spot on the deck, leaning on his drawn two-handed sword, quietly waiting for the battle to come.
Originally, Ethan's plan was for the two of them to hide, and then while the other party was approaching, they would sneak onto their ship, making it impossible for the enemy to rely on their cannons to threaten him and his ship before engaging in combat.
It just so happened that his first companion was a knight who advocated for frontal decisive battles!
Actually, he also liked frontal duels, openly defeating opponents. He liked giant ships and cannons clashing head-on, but the premise was that he had to have them.
"Forget it, anyway, by the time the other party gets close, they won't be able to adjust the bow cannon to the side in a short time." He could gradually see some details of the ship opposite. There were no gunports on the side of that ship, and he didn't see any more cannons on the deck.
Even if the other party could move the bow cannon out to use, with preparation time, Ethan could defend with a magic shield—and he also didn't believe those guys would dare to use a magic stone cannon at such a close distance. That would not only injure their own people but might even damage their own ship.
"Actually, you don't have to stand here with me. There's nothing wrong with following your plan. I don't insist that you adhere to the knight's code like I do."
"No, it's just that it's too late to hide now."