From the moment Eric was the first to withdraw from the battlefield, it could already be said that Blackbeard's side was facing a certain defeat.
Following the initial battle plan, Anne and Mary also inevitably withdrew from the field amidst a concentrated volley of attacks.
Now, only Blackbeard and Hector remained on their side.
Though the dawn of victory was right before his eyes, Lin Qi felt not a shred of joy in his heart.
Because it was too quiet—
Hector had been far too "quiet" during their fight.
Although the intensity of the combat wasn't much different from before.
But would an old schemer like Hector really be this well-behaved and do nothing?
Even if Achilles believed such a thing, Lin Qi would not.
For Lin Qi to believe that Hector was an honest man, the sun would have to rise from the west.
The unease in his heart grew heavier bit by bit. Lin Qi tried to read something from the face of the older man in front of him.
But all he could see was utter calmness.
As if he was completely unconcerned with the current state of the battle.
Lin Qi's mind began to race. While blocking Hector's attacks, he struggled to think.
If I were in Hector's position, what would I do?
Lin Qi attempted to put himself in the other's shoes to see through Hector's thoughts.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind one after another, like watching a complex, ever-changing kaleidoscope—colorful, but he couldn't seem to grasp the crucial point.
Then, as if struck by a flash of inspiration.
In the corner of his vision, Lin Qi saw Blackbeard, amidst the flames and smoke, cursing and shouting.
Finally, Lin Qi understood.
"Hurry! Keep an eye on Blackbeard! Don't let Hector get near him!"
A change finally appeared on Hector's calm face—it was the smile of someone who had succeeded.
"My, my, young man, I have to admit you're really quite troublesome. To think you saw through my little scheme too."
"—But it's a pity, you realized it far too late!"
A cold light flashed in Hector's eyes as the spear in his hand radiated a bright glow.
His Noble Phantasm, [Ultimate Unbroken Spear: Durindana], was indeed a throwing-type Noble Phantasm, but that didn't mean it had no other uses besides being thrown, right?
After all, it was the original form of the peerless sword Durandal. Even without chanting the Noble Phantasm's true name, it could unleash considerable power.
In an instant, Hector transformed his spear into a sword, then swung it down heavily towards Lin Qi.
The dazzling light enveloping the sword's body erupted, as if he had unleashed a wave of sword energy.
Having never seen this move before, Lin Qi, despite reacting in time and blocking it, lost his chance to stop Hector.
Moreover, Lin Qi had focused more on protecting Euryale and hadn't paid excessive attention to Blackbeard's position.
The moment his strike achieved its purpose, Hector immediately sprinted towards Blackbeard.
Though Drake and the others weren't entirely clear on what was happening, they reacted and all took action, wanting to block Hector's path.
Drake's bullets, Euryale's magical arrows, and Asterios's axe strikes all swarmed towards Hector like a hornet's nest.
But then, the light around the long sword in Hector's hand flared up brilliantly. With a single sweep, he knocked aside all of Drake's and Euryale's attacks.
Then, relying on his agile movements, he easily dodged Asterios's strike, almost as if he had encountered no hindrance at all, and closed in on Blackbeard's position.
The power of a great hero from the Age of Gods was displayed to the fullest.
Don't think that just because Lin Qi managed to hold off Hector, Hector's strength was weak.
That Lin Qi could entangle with Hector for so long was only by using every trick in the book. To say he 'held him off' was accurate, but he had almost no chance to counter-attack, merely relying on his excellent defensive capabilities to block his attacks.
Even so, Lin Qi lacked the ability to wage a prolonged war of attrition against him, and could only pin his hopes on the other battlefields freeing up hands to gang up on Hector with him.
Otherwise, being stabbed to death by Hector's spear was only a matter of time.
"Captain! Look at the situation, it's come to this. Shouldn't we make a run for it now?"
As he approached Blackbeard, Hector also put on an expression of seriousness mixed with concern.
He was the very picture of a sycophant, and his tone was full of apparent concern for Blackbeard.
Blackbeard, who had been burning with rage, finally calmed down upon hearing this.
Things had developed so quickly that he only now, belatedly, realized that two of his key subordinates had already withdrawn, breaking out in a cold sweat.
This… this isn't right, is it? Shouldn't I have the advantage? How did the roles of attacker and defender reverse so suddenly?
Although Blackbeard was a little flustered, sharing the same pirate profession as Drake, he was naturally an old hand at running away and felt not the slightest bit of rejection towards the idea.
Avoid their sharp edge and bide your time for now!
"Well said! We run!"
Without another word, Blackbeard began controlling his ship to make its escape.
He raised his pistol, aiming at the tangled ropes connecting the two ships.
Just as he was about to showcase his marksmanship, Hector, however, crossed the boundary between the two ships and, with a swing of his long sword, severed all the ropes between them.
"Well done! In that case, I'll leave the task of covering our retreat to you!"
Blackbeard praised Hector's clean and efficient work, then mercilessly assigned him this arduous task.
He himself turned and ran to the other side of the ship, where it would be safer.
"As you command, my Captain."
Hector said the words, but he showed not the slightest intention of turning back to hold off Drake and the others.
Instead, he continued to press towards Blackbeard.
"You stupid, goddamn sperm whale, turn the hell around and look behind you!"
Stabilizing his body, which had nearly fallen off the ship, Lin Qi had just drawn closer when he witnessed this scene. Even though he rarely swore, he couldn't help but shout out in furious cursing.
—Who needs a little brat like you to teach me this?
Blackbeard, who was also putting on an act, had a sharp, cold light flash in his eyes, hidden as he was with his back to Hector. His finger was already resting on the flintlock's trigger.
Timing it with Hector's footsteps, Blackbeard spun around violently, simultaneously giving a perfect demonstration of a true American draw-and-shoot.
"Boom!"
This shot is guaranteed to hit!
Hearing the familiar gunshot, Blackbeard was ninety percent sure of his performance with this shot; he couldn't think of any way it could miss.
The reality was indeed as Blackbeard expected; his bullet struck Hector's body.
But before Blackbeard could feel pleased, he was shocked to discover that even though the bullet had hit, Hector's body didn't slow down at all. As if completely unfazed, he continued charging straight towards him.
"Shhhk!"
Blood trickled from the corner of Hector's mouth and from his wound, yet he still thrust the long sword in his hand into the chest of Blackbeard, who had no time to dodge.
"Apologies, but at a time like this, I really have no mind to keep fooling around with you."
Hector gazed coldly at Blackbeard, whose expression was a mix of shock and burgeoning fury.
…