Ch.115The Path to the Miriam Continent (4)

“Wahahahaha! Royal straight flush!”

“Aaaaargh!!! No way! This is cheating!”

“How can you get a royal straight flush three times in a row?!”

It’s been nearly two weeks since our voyage began.

On the deck, Simon, who had just gotten a royal straight flush for the third consecutive time, was sweeping up the entire pot, while the two elves with alcohol-flushed skin were shedding tears of blood as they lost all their snacks and drinks they had wagered.

I don’t understand what’s so fun about playing with those cards, but anyway, seeing them shouting like that reminds me of my days on the streets.

Illegal gambling dens flourished on the streets, and they were one of the quickest paths to ruin for salary men who entered wearing neat suits only to become alcoholics and destroy their lives.

Whether it was card games or whatever else, the ability to determine winners and losers meant it could be manipulated. Everyone knew that dealers, casino owners, and gangsters connected to gambling dens would skillfully rig the games so no one else could profit.

Yet despite knowing this, people never stopped gambling.

I’ve even seen a disabled person with no arms spitting cards from their mouth—gambling is truly terrifying.

Of course, one of them is a sage and the other two are elves, so they should be able to control themselves.

“Phew. It’s fortunate the weather is good.”

Thankfully, we haven’t encountered any major storms since leaving the Faerûn continent.

There were times when the waves got rough, but at least not to the extent where sailors had to rush around with wooden planks, nails, and hammers after hearing the bell ringing urgently.

Since it’s winter, the wind is cold, but the temperature is bearable if you wear a coat. There’s no fog either, making it the perfect time to enjoy the scenery.

As if to prove this, many passengers had gathered on the deck to take in the view, and some approached me for drinks.

Though I’m the youngest, I’ve been knighted, so no one shows disrespect to me unless they’re drunk.

“The weather is lovely today as well, Lord Victor.”

“Indeed. I hope it stays this way. We’ve come halfway, so the rest of the journey should go smoothly too.”

After saying that, I handed him a bottle of sparkling wine, and the man who had spoken to me bowed slightly before disappearing into the distance.

My wife was still caught up in the afterglow of last night, playing a hand game with Maria, while Simon and the elf sisters were having fun(?) playing cards.

“Five royal straight flushes in a row!”

“This is cheaaaaating!!!”

Hmm.

Maybe not so much fun as desperate playing.

But seriously, what kind of luck does it take to get five royal straight flushes in a row?

At this rate, we might even run into pirates.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

Just as I was thinking that, the bell attached to the main mast suddenly began to ring loudly.

“Pirates!!!!”

Ah, shit.

I quickly looked over at Simon and the elf sisters who were cleaning up their game.

Getting five royal straight flushes in a row and now pirates show up!

*

“Lord Victor! Pirates are coming!”

Click! Click!

One of the sailors shouted while loading 12-gauge buckshot into a tubular magazine of a shotgun.

I summoned my greatsword, and Lucia picked up her bow.

Simon went down to cast protective spells on the powder magazine, and Casia went to wake up my wife.

Ding-ding-ding-ding!

“Aieeeee!!! Pirates?!?! Why pirates?!?!”

“Please take shelter immediately! Your lives are in danger!”

The passengers fell into panic upon seeing the pirates approaching head-on with their flag proudly waving.

The sailors fired warning shots into the air to control the passengers, and realizing that the sailors’ gun barrels were closer than the pirates, the passengers quickly returned to their cabins.

“Lord Victor!”

When I turned around, I saw the captain with a terrified expression.

Naturally, he was anxious.

“Don’t worry. Our Iron Walker party will fight the enemies!”

“Ah…!”

I could feel the color returning to the captain’s face.

He received a shotgun from a sailor, checked if the chamber was loaded with shells, and remained on deck with me.

“Helmsman! Can we evade them?!”

“No, sir! They’re too fast!”

The helmsman was maneuvering the wheel this way and that in evasive action, but the whaling vessel with two masts was far too slow compared to the nimble pirate ship.

With passengers and cargo on board, it was only natural that we couldn’t match the maneuverability of pirates who routinely jettisoned provisions for the sake of plunder.

However, this natural disadvantage was now threatening our lives.

“How many can fight?”

I grabbed the helmsman and asked.

“Including the captain, about 40 men, sir!”

“What’s the enemy’s size?”

“It’s a big ship! A clipper! At least 100 men!”

At the mention of 100 men, I ran my hand over my plate armor, which was like a second skin to me.

The enemies were sailors too, and eight out of ten would likely be armed with shotguns, while the rest would have sniper rifles or submachine guns.

They wouldn’t have explosives like grenades since destroying the hull would be problematic for them too… but still, carelessness could cost lives.

Since it would take at least an anti-materiel rifle to penetrate a knight’s plate armor, I was the only armed force capable of withstanding enemy fire.

BOOM! BOOM!

At that moment, the 203mm naval guns below deck began to spit fire.

The shells from the powerful guns, strong enough to shake the not-so-small hull of the Mary Ross, flew toward the clipper, but they were intercepted by lightning bolts from the deck of the enemy ship.

“They have a mage! The bastards have a mage!”

“Damn it!”

“It’s an active defense spell! To intercept 203mm main guns, even at the lowest estimate, they must be at my level!”

Simon, who had returned at some point, exclaimed in shock.

To think someone with that level of skill would be engaged in piracy!

“How do we break it?”

“We need to break their concentration! While casting that spell, they can’t even open their eyes!”

Upon hearing Simon’s words, Deck Master Edward began stomping his feet to signal the gunners below.

“You heard the wizard?! Keep firing! That bastard might be a mage, but he’s not a dragon!”

As Edward shouted, the sound of the artillery master below deck bellowing orders while opening the breech to load shells could be heard.

The enemy ship’s figurehead was already visible and the distance between us had closed. When we fired our main guns again, 8 out of 12 shells were intercepted, 2 missed, and the remaining 2 pierced through the hull above the waterline.

A tremendous impact struck the pirate ship’s hull, and through the hole large enough for five or six people to enter, bodies could be seen packed inside.

“Raking fire! At least thirty of them must be dead!”

Edward rejoiced as if ready to jump, but unfortunately, those thirty dead didn’t slow down the ship.

The pirate vessel approached even more fiercely, and I raised my sword, lowering my helmet’s visor to block the bullets that were beginning to fly.

“Then we must prepare to face the remaining 70! We’ll reduce their boarding party as much as possible, while you protect where the passengers are gathered!”

“Yes, sir!”

Despite suffering from the raking fire, the pirates’ clipper approached the Mary Ross at high speed.

The gunnery team exerted all their strength for one more volley, but the active defense magic prevented any significant damage, and the clipper’s ram struck the starboard side of the Mary Ross head-on.

CRASH!

With that, the hull shook violently, and as the ramp door beneath the figurehead opened, pirates began to board the ship using the ram as a foothold, screaming wildly.

“Hull breach! Hull breach!”

“The enemy is boarding!!!”

“Everyone arm yourselves! All hands to battle stations!”

The loud voices of sailors came through the damaged voice tubes.

The artillery master and senior crew members began engaging the pirates in fierce combat, and in the distance, the screams of women could be heard.

“Master!”

“Raisha!”

My wife had also arrived with her spear, and with this, our Iron Walker party was fully prepared.

Pirates poured in through the ramp door, and formidable opponents meant to face adventurers like us descended onto the deck where we stood.

THUD!

Ten warriors clad in heavy reinforced exoskeletons stepped onto the deck with sinister smiles, and I raised my sword to face them.

“Ha!”

They laughed as they powered up their beam swords.

The plasma blades, stabilized by magnetic fields, made a sizzling sound as they pointed at me.

“Adventurer! We’ve been waiting for this day!”

With those final words, a dialogue not of flesh but of steel began.