"H-how could you… How could you—!!"
Blackbeard's voice seemed to squeeze out from between his teeth, his entire face distorted with jealousy.
The Holy Grail was right before his eyes, and his beloved Euryale was right before his eyes. When two happy things come together, shouldn't they bring me even more happiness?
So then, why has it come to this…
"—It's this expression I wanted to see, this expression of jealousy towards me… Kehahaha!"
Drake slung an arm over Euryale's shoulder, laughing maniacally.
"See? Even if I get this close to her, it's completely fine, because she's my crewmember now, after all."
Drake applied a little force, pulling Euryale into her embrace.
After saying this, she completely ignored Euryale's speechless expression tinged with a bit of disgust, and nuzzled her face against Euryale's cheek.
"Not like some disgusting old man who can't even get a hand on our Euryale-chan~!"
The expression on her face was extremely taunting, even identical to the one Blackbeard had used to mock her before.
"You old hag!"
This time, it was Blackbeard's turn to redden with rage.
With a "Riiip!", he tore the handkerchief he was biting in his mouth to shreds, glaring furiously at Drake, who was still looking back at him with a mocking gaze.
"Full speed ahead—! I absolutely won't let you escape this time!!"
Blackbeard pointed a finger at Drake.
"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?"
"This time, I came back specifically to fulfill the promise I made when I ran away last time!"
To fulfill the promise of tearing off Blackbeard's head and hanging it from the bow of the Golden Hind.
Drake raised her middle finger at Blackbeard, not yielding an inch.
"You know, it's not like we can't talk this out. If you're willing to hand over the lovely Euryale to me, I could reluctantly let you all go one more time!"
It was as if Blackbeard had learned face-changing; his expression instantly turned lecherous.
"Of course, it would be even better if the lovely Euryale-chan would let me lick her armpits and inner thighs, mhm mhm, preferably while looking at me with the same eyes you'd use for a cockroach, and then mercilessly trampling me with your bare feet! I wouldn't mind at all!"
Blackbeard slurped his drool, looking at Euryale with a lecherous gaze, his two-meter-plus large frame wriggling about.
Clearly, he had entered his fantasy time.
Euryale, the victim of this visual violation, felt a chill rush from her tailbone straight to her brain.
The hairs all over her body stood up and fell back down like a wave, and she finally couldn't help but shiver.
Disgusting!
The same disgusting feeling, no matter how many times she saw him! Disgusting!
Euryale's face darkened. Without another word, she drew her golden, shining bow, and the arrow condensed from mana shot straight towards Blackbeard's head.
"Whoosh—!"
The mana arrow crossed the distance between them in an instant, but it did not hit the person Euryale wanted to eliminate directly.
They saw Blackbeard dodge Euryale's arrow with a sidestep, then say in a annoyingly smug tone:
"Aww~, you missed!"
Euryale, furious, wanted to shoot another arrow, but Drake, seeing this, hurriedly stopped her, offering plenty of soothing words.
"Don't waste your anger on this kind of scumbag. Once we pry his skull open, he won't be able to disgust anyone anymore!"
In Drake's view, for unrecyclable trash like Blackbeard, the more Euryale paid attention to him, the more excited he would become. The cold shoulder was the best approach.
Sure enough, seeing Euryale being held back, Blackbeard became anxious instead.
"Dammit, you old hag, stop blocking my lovey-dovey time with Euryale-chan!!"
Blackbeard shouted and made a fuss.
Drake paid him no mind, even though she really wanted to have a proper shouting match with Blackbeard.
But wasn't it more satisfying to beat Blackbeard to the ground, then point at his nose and insult him harshly, and if he talks back, give him a sharp slap, rather than just trading insults?
"Likewise, full speed ahead for me! This is the great decisive battle next, everyone, give it one hundred and twenty percent!"
A chorus of pirates responded fearlessly.
Some, feeling it wasn't enough, even suggested:
"Boss! Should we just ram them?"
Drake raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
Was that too aggressive?
—Of course not!
Looking at her excited crew, Drake grinned, then waved her hand grandly.
"Fuck it! Ram them straight on! A decisive battle deserves a suitably explosive opening!"
When two meet on a narrow path, the brave wins. In a fight, you should be fearless!
Neither side had any intention of retreating, sailing at full speed towards each other for a collision.
A few seconds later, their ships collided.
A tremendous screeching sound, accompanied by a deafening crash, reverberated across the sea. The hulls shook violently, and items on the decks scattered everywhere.
After the initial impact, the ships did not recoil backwards from the collision. Instead, their sides pressed tightly against each other, sliding and grinding past one another in the direction each had come from.
Strangely, even though they had collided at full speed, both ships had only sustained minimal damage. Neither was broken beyond repair like a normal ship would be.
Blackbeard's ship was large to begin with, and it was a Noble Phantasm of considerable strength.
Drake's ship was also enhanced by the Holy Grail and Runes, and Lin Qi had protected it with his own Noble Phantasm just before the collision.
The collision was like one turtle shell meeting another; neither could do much to the other.
Everyone had braced for the impact before the collision, so they quickly stabilized their footing.
Even before their respective warships had fully steadied, they simultaneously threw grappling hooks onto the other's vessel.
"Swish swish swish!"
The barbed hooks lodged themselves reciprocally into both ships. The tangled and crisscrossing ropes between the two vessels were enough to make anyone with OCD roll on the floor holding their head.
"Captain~, remember our main target is the Holy Grail, okay? If you keep staring only at a certain goddess, I'll get angry, you know?"
Before the battle began, the highly professional Anne threatened the already wide-eyed and transfixed Blackbeard with a smile.
"Yes! I'll remember!"
Blackbeard shivered, instantly snapping to attention and saluting once again.
On the other side, Drake was also giving her final pre-battle mobilization.
"Remember, our primary goal is to focus fire and take down one of the enemy Servants first! As long as we reduce their numbers, the rest of the battle will be easier!"
The number of Servants on Blackbeard's side was still higher than Lin Qi's. If they didn't balance the combat power quickly, they would be forced into a very passive position.
However, because they had relatively sufficient intelligence, Lin Qi and the others had already prepared a plan beforehand.
Barring any accidents, and if the plan went smoothly, their chances of defeating Blackbeard were not low.
The battle was imminent.
"You've got to be kidding me. Do you really have to fixate on this old man?"
Seeing the young Master blocking his path before he could even move, Hector felt a headache coming on.
"Sorry, but no matter what, you're in the most dangerous category in my book."
Lin Qi said expressionlessly.
If he didn't keep a personal eye on him, Lin Qi really wouldn't feel at ease.
"Asterios, while protecting Euryale, don't forget about this guy. If he appears anywhere near Euryale, don't hesitate, just smash him!"
To be absolutely safe, Lin Qi raised his voice and reminded Asterios as well.
"Mmm. He come, I hit!"
Asterios stared at Hector for a good while, as if trying to carve his face into his memory.
Hector, being stared at like that, was sweating bullets.
Is this necessary? Is this really necessary?!
Where is this inexplicable malice even coming from?!
On the other side.
"Captain Francis, it seems your opponents are me and Mary this time."
"But you have to be careful this time. At this range, my bullets won't be as easy to dodge as before!"
Anne and Mary stood together, looking at Drake with smiles on their faces.
"Oh? If we're talking marksmanship, I don't think I'll lose to anyone. Besides, shouldn't the ones being careful be you two? It's not impossible for both of you to die by my hand if you let your guard down for a moment."
Drake spun the flintlock in her hand, responding with a provocative smile of her own.
As for the contest between the two Berserkers, it was much simpler.
Asterios: "Wruuuaaah!!!"
Eric: "Hraaah!!!"
Asterios: "Oraaa!!!"
Eric: "Uraaah!!!"
Clearly, they were competing to see who could be louder.
As Lin Qi ignited the Runes engraved upon the Golden Hind for the second time, causing the light of reinforcement to envelop every ally on their side...
It was as if a signal had been given.
The battle officially began!
…