Chapter 25: Demon Spider (Part 1)
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" Screams echoed through the forest.
Eric , who had never before used a live target as a punching bag, exhaled deeply.
"Finally released all that stress. That felt great. You two want to try it?"
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked: "Beating Up a King" – Achievement Points +2]
Akame and Chiron both shook their heads, signaling no interest.
"I-I'll… I'll never f-forgive you!"
Wapol, bruised and swollen all over, stammered with a mouth full of welts, swearing revenge.
"Yeah, yeah, when we meet again someday. Heh heh~" Eric wasn't at all worried about being hated by a disposable NPC-level villain. He hadn't killed Wapol because it would draw too much attention from Marine HQ. The heat for killing a member-nation king was far greater than for just beating one up. If they crossed paths again, he certainly wouldn't spare him a second time.
"You better leave quickly! Someone may have already alerted the Marines—they could be on their way!"
Of course Dalton, ever the good guy, would say that. But come on, man, you're helping the enemy here!
"Yep, we're leaving right now!"
With the mission accomplished, it was time for a strategic retreat.
...
On the way back, they gave the rabbits another solid beating.
"Our next stop is Jaya Island," Eric declared after returning to the ship. He wasn't worried about the Log Pose being fully charged—Captain Jack's compass was simply that overpowered.
"The Marines are coming!" Chiron, with his clairvoyant eyes, reported before Eric could even climb to the Karasu's nest.
"That fast?! Are there any bases nearby?" Eric was shocked. Most Navy ships were wind-powered battleships and could barely manage nine knots. Plus, the ships drawn in the series were all chubby—length-to-width ratios of 2:1, maybe 3:1 tops. They hadn't invented paddle steamers yet, and even then, those were only for Calm Belt crossings.
Maybe the Marines had just been passing by when they got a distress signal and turned around.
Their single-mast sailboat had no cannons, and even if it did, there was no point trading shots with a warship. Time to run.
Luckily, they were still far away, and the Marine ship's triple-barreled cannon couldn't reach. Otherwise, they'd be target practice.
"Chiron, can you shoot the crossbeam off their sail?" Eric asked while busy pulling the anchor. After all, a certain red-cloaked archer once hit a giant two meters tall from the city center. Surely Sagittarius Chiron could do better.
"Yes," Chiron replied calmly while adjusting the sails.
"…Then in future, feel free to act on your own judgment, Master Chiron. I still lack real-world experience. Please teach me when to act and how to make decisions."
"Of course, Captain."
[Ding… Chiron's favorability increased. Bond Level has risen from 3 (Trusted Friend) to 4 (Sworn Companion). Bond Points +3]
'Master Chiron, just how much do you love mentoring your students?'
He had been so hard to bond with at first, but now it felt like the affection gauge was filling faster and faster.
Perhaps trust was a two-way street—only a captain who could trust his crew would earn their loyalty in return.
"Thanks to you, Captain, I've reached new heights. Firing!"
With Chiron's words, his arrow soared through the air like the perfect stroke of an artist.
Eric glanced at his panel:
[Archery: 7 Stars]
[Overall Combat Power: 6.5 Stars]
(All attributes now unlocked due to bond level increase)
Finally, full potential unlocked.
"No, Master Chiron—we're still on the road to the top!"
BOOM!
The Marine ship's commander, only a colonel, didn't have time to react. The main yard snapped clean in half and collapsed onto the deck, plunging the ship into chaos.
"Nice shot! Let's get out of here!"
With their biggest sail down, the warship couldn't hope to catch a nimble little boat. Escape was only a matter of time.
"G-10 Base! G-10 Base! We've been attacked... The attackers? They weren't flying a pirate flag. No confirmed identities! But we got a distress call from King Wapol! Three attackers beat the king and killed some of his guards. Based on intel, we believe it's Darren Eric 's crew—the same group who hit East Blue's Branch 16! We were hit by an arrow outside cannon range that broke our crossbeam!"
The communication officer rushed to alert the nearest base, relaying their coordinates and requesting reinforcements.
"Drum Island waters! They're heading east!"
"Orders from HQ: Stay on their tail and keep sending real-time updates. Vice Admiral Onigumo will lead the pursuit!"
With someone capable of such long-range sniping, one warship wouldn't be enough. Not all Navy officers were fools.
"Why are they still following us so stubbornly?" Eric grumbled. The Navy ship couldn't catch them, but its persistent tailing was wasting his time—he needed to summon a new companion!
"They're likely transmitting our location to other ships. Reinforcements could be coming," Chiron deduced, as always.
"Break their other masts!" Eric ordered. They might be small, but they couldn't afford a cannon barrage—one round would shred their boat.
"Understood."
Chiron loosed two arrows. The damaged warship lost even more sail power and was soon outpaced and out of sight.
"Captain, I have some bad news," Chiron said, activating his clairvoyance again.
"Let me guess—Navy reinforcements?" Eric sighed. He'd already been mentally prepared.
"Correct. Three warships ahead. The lead ship seems formidable," Chiron reported calmly, which somehow reassured Eric .
'If he's calm, it probably isn't too dangerous,' Eric thought, relaxing slightly.
"Take out their masts too—don't let them get close!" he ordered. One lucky barrage, and their boat would be done for.
"Roger."
Chiron fired a dozen Haki-infused arrows. But unlike before, not all the masts broke. The side ships lost their sails—but the center one blocked every shot.
"That move again?" Chiron whispered, switching tactics. He aimed upward this time, launching dozens of arrows into the sky. They vanished, then plummeted toward the warships.
Onigumo's hair twisted into six arms, each hand gripping a sword. Using his eight-sword style, he deflected every arrow above. But one arrow—disguised and aimed at the rear mast—slipped through.
CRACK!
Too far away to block, Onigumo silently watched the mast collapse. He had lost this exchange.
The last ship had reported them as a small three-man crew, with a top bounty of just 25 million. But this display of long-range precision archery alone was worthy of a hundred-million-plus bounty. If they couldn't close the distance, all they could do was get pummeled—something Onigumo hated.
With one mast down and falling behind, Onigumo decided to use Moonwalk to close the gap.
While he did that, Chiron shot down the rest of the central ship's masts and fired multiple arrows at Onigumo—but all were deflected by his eight swords.
THUMP
Onigumo landed on Eric 's boat, visibly winded. After dashing across the sea using Moonwalk and deflecting all those arrows, he had burned a lot of stamina.
"Onigumo!" Eric gasped in shock. The man had made quite a name for himself during the Paramount War.
(END CHAPTER)
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