OPTC Chapter 327: You're Letting the Wolf Into the House
Zhang Da Ye swung a streetlamp like a club, smashing a cannonball midair with a loud bang and saving the shoreline buildings from destruction. Using the lamp post as a staff, he leaned on it and continued to watch the ongoing naval battle.
Pirates, braving the storm of artillery fire, sailed their battered ship toward the navy's warship. While returning fire, they occasionally fired a few stray cannonballs toward the shore to distract the marines.
The navy ships, in turn, advanced while bombarding the pirates with heavy fire.
Under the overwhelming difference in firepower, the pirate ship was already in ruins. Over thirty pirates were wounded or thrown into the sea, two cannons destroyed. They were lucky their ammunition hadn't exploded altogether.
Finally, as a cannonball struck the mast and left it teetering, the warship drew close enough for the most daring pirates to throw grappling hooks onto it.
The disciplined marines were ready. One row of them raised rifles and fired in unison—bang, bang, bang—then crouched down to reload while the second row took over, continuing the volley.
Before engaging in close combat, the marines maximized their advantage in training and fire discipline.
After several rounds of gunfire, another thirty pirates were shot down. Some could still grit their teeth and stand, others were instantly incapacitated.
When the three ships finally collided and swords were drawn, the pirates' earlier numbers advantage had vanished. They fought now with nothing but brute force and desperation.
The clash of metal rang out—clang, clang, clang—as pirates in ragged clothes fell one after another, and marines in white uniforms collapsed beside them.
Among the fighters, a marine with short yellow hair stood out. Even with a deep gash across his chest, he gritted his teeth and drove his regulation sword through his opponent's body before charging at another pirate.
A fearless, relentless captain could raise morale like nothing else. The marines shouted Captain Monka's name and threw themselves into the fray with renewed courage.
The battle raged for nearly an hour before ending in a decisive navy victory.
To Zhang Da Ye and his crew, the fight looked like weaklings pecking at each other. Even the strongest among them couldn't withstand a single bench swing from him. But for these front-line marines, this was their daily brush with death.
Whether to protect their homeland, earn merit, or fight for justice—whatever their reasons, once they picked up their weapons to face pirates, they became warriors. Heroes.
Two warships towed the tattered pirate vessel ashore, its flag torn down. Marines rushed about, carrying the wounded toward the base, too busy to even deal with the captured pirates.
Though victorious, almost everyone was injured—more than twenty seriously. The base commander of Branch 153 and Captain Monka himself were among them. Around ten others, pale and trembling, lay on stretchers whispering their final words while comrades held their hands and wept.
Seeing this, Wendy tugged on Zhang Da Ye's sleeve, her voice anxious. "Da Ye brother…"
He understood immediately. "Come on, let's go help them."
"Okay!" Wendy started running but stumbled on a pebble—if not for Zhang Da Ye's steady grip, she would've fallen flat.
The others followed close behind, drawing the marines' attention. One young officer stepped forward, saluted with his bandaged arm, and spoke quickly.
"I'm Lieutenant Hebody from Branch 153. Thank you for intercepting that cannonball earlier, but we're quite busy now, so we can't properly—"
"We can save their lives," Zhang Da Ye interrupted bluntly.
Hebody froze. "You're a doctor? But it's no use—their injuries are too severe—"
There was no time to waste. Zhang Da Ye didn't bother explaining. He grabbed Wendy and, moving so fast the marines barely saw him, appeared beside a dying soldier.
"Wendy, quick! Just keep him alive. We've got a lot to save—don't use too much magic."
"Got it!" Wendy nodded and raised her glowing hands. Blue-green light shone from her palms.
The dying soldier and the two carrying him froze, mesmerized by the light.
Before they could speak, the soldier's color began returning—pale cheeks flushing with warmth, bleeding stopped, internal injuries mending before their eyes.
Before they could react further, Wendy was already moving to the next stretcher.
The first soldier sat up suddenly, wide-eyed. "I feel like I could take on ten pirates right now!"
Zhang Da Ye immediately shoved him back down, pulling out bandages and disinfectant from his storage. "That's an illusion. You're still seriously injured—just not dying anymore. Stay put! And you two, stop staring—start wrapping his wounds!"
"Yes, sir!" The two marines almost saluted in panic, nearly dropping the stretcher.
By the time Zhang Da Ye caught up with Wendy again, the revived soldier had started groaning. "Ow! It hurts again! I need bandages!"
His two friends frantically dressed his wounds while teasing, "Can't believe you actually made it back, huh? Don't worry, we'll pass along your last words."
"Tell Lily… I've always admired her… hahaha…"
They mimicked his tone perfectly, making his face turn bright red. "When I get better, I'm beating you two idiots!"
"Hahaha…" They laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks, punching his shoulder gently. "Damn it, you're really alive… thank goodness."
"Stop hitting me! My shoulder's broken, idiots!"
They bickered and laughed, relief flooding through the group. But as Zhang Da Ye said, they were still gravely injured—if they didn't get proper treatment soon, things could still go bad.
Wendy was already treating the next patient. Her magic light not only healed but dulled pain temporarily, so every soldier she saved suddenly sat up like a startled corpse. Zhang Da Ye had to keep pushing them back down and giving quick instructions before leaving supplies behind.
While Wendy worked, Zhang Da Ye imitated her gestures, trying to summon healing magic himself. His hands stayed dark—no green light. Still, he didn't give up. Practice makes perfect, and he had time.
Lieutenant Hebody, meanwhile, was stunned. One second Zhang and Wendy were in front of him, the next they were across the yard reviving marines. His scolding died on his tongue as he saw dying soldiers suddenly sit up, very much alive.
"What's going on? Is this… a Devil Fruit ability?" he asked, turning to Artoria for answers. She looked the most like a leader among them.
Artoria thought for a moment. Wendy's power had already been seen by outsiders before—no point hiding it. "It's healing magic. You can think of it as similar to a Devil Fruit ability."
Hebody nodded uncertainly. "Magic…? Right, a Devil Fruit—it's easier that way. Incredible, though. Such power, from such a small child…"
Carla fluttered her wings proudly. "Don't underestimate her! Wendy is amazing—she's known as the Sky Priestess where we come from!"
"Priestess? That's incredible…" Hebody's voice was filled with awe. Watching his comrades awaken one by one, he could only mutter in disbelief and gratitude.
He quickly ran to the infirmary to confirm their condition with the medics.
Wendy wiped the sweat from her forehead and focused on the last wounded soldier. The two marines beside him looked at her expectantly, having witnessed the miracles.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Zhang Da Ye asked, concern in his voice. Wendy's healing magic, classified as Lost Magic in Fairy Tail, was powerful but extremely draining. Even partial use on this many people would take a toll.
"I'll be fine," Wendy said with quiet determination. "I've been training a lot lately!"
Warm blue-green light spread over the last soldier, and moments later, he too sat upright.
This time, Zhang Da Ye didn't push him down. Instead, he caught Wendy as she wobbled and slipped a piece of chocolate into her mouth. "Good job."
"So good!" Wendy's eyes lit up as she munched happily. She wasn't completely drained, just exhausted.
Zhang Da Ye knew Wendy loved sweets and couldn't stand anything sour—she'd even run from people eating dried plums. Chocolate was the perfect energy boost and comfort.
The others hurried over. Carla crossed her arms, sighing. "Overdid it again, didn't she?"
But she couldn't really scold her. When people needed help, Wendy simply couldn't stand by.
"I'm fine!" Wendy said brightly, jumping on the spot to prove her point.
Perona came over too, frowning at Zhang Da Ye. "Good thing she's fine! Next time, don't bully the kid, you heartless boss!"
"It was my idea!" Wendy protested quickly. "And Da Ye gave me lots of chocolate! Let's share!"
Artoria and Tom immediately joined her on the ground for their chocolate share session.
Perona squinted at the wrapper. "Why does this look so familiar?"
Zhang Da Ye grinned. "Because it's from your snack stash."
Perona exploded. "You thief! Heartless boss!"
After some teasing and mock arguments, Zhang Da Ye finally promised to buy her another box later.
Meanwhile, the marines who had carried the injured out earlier now returned, lined up neatly under Fullbody's lead. They saluted, bowed deeply, and shouted in unison, "Thank you so much, Miss Wendy!"
"N-no, please don't—" Wendy flustered, waving her hands and half-hiding behind Zhang Da Ye, a complete contrast to her calm focus during healing.
Still bent at ninety degrees, Fullbody said, "You saved the lives of eleven fine marines. On their behalf and their families', we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!"
Wendy looked helplessly at Zhang Da Ye. He stepped forward for her. "You don't need to thank us. We just happened to be here—and happened to have the ability. Those men are brave marines who shouldn't have to die like this. I hope they recover quickly. The town still needs them."
As he finished, even he was a little stunned at how official he'd sounded. The marines, however, were moved to tears, feeling their efforts truly recognized.
"I'll make sure they know what you said!" Fullbody replied earnestly. "Since we still need to handle the aftermath, could I invite you all to our base later? The facilities are simple, but we'd like to hold a small banquet to thank you properly!"
You're letting the wolf into your house, Zhang thought silently. But how could he refuse such sincerity? Glancing at the sky—it wasn't even noon yet—he smiled. "Sure. We'll walk around town first and come by later."
Pleased with the answer, Fullbody hurried off to supervise the captured pirates. Many were severely wounded, but neither side mentioned it. In the navy, "capture alive if possible" was the rule—but accidents happened, and no one would question a pirate dying from battle wounds.
Fullbody certainly wouldn't ask Wendy to heal them. Not harming them further was generous enough. Frankly, their condition made perfect practice material for the medics.
As for Zhang Da Ye—he didn't even look back. He took Wendy's hand and walked away. She was tired, and those pirates had just been firing cannons at them a few minutes ago. Let them deal with their own fate.
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