Chapter 225
The appearance of the Pirate Empress brought a smile to Theo’s face.
“Pirate Empress!”
“Pirate Empress? Add ‘Lady’ to that, you brat. Who do you think you are?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. But how did you get here, Lady Pirate Empress? Did Yan call you?”
“Yes, he did. He threatened me so much that I had no choice but to come.”
The Pirate Empress chuckled, recalling the message she received from Yan a while ago.
If Lady Pirate Empress doesn’t come, Roman will be in danger.
She initially thought Yan was using her, but changed her mind after reading the rest.
He refuses to leave because he wants to become stronger. I would appreciate your help with this.
“Hahaha! He’s just like his father!”
“What?”
Theo tilted his head in confusion, and the Pirate Empress waved her hand dismissively.
“Never mind, just talking to myself. Anyway…”
Her gaze shifted to Merriott, who was descending in a bubble of water.
“It’s amusing to see that arrogant guy in such a state.”
Pop!
The bubble burst as soon as it touched the ground, and Merriott’s body sank to the floor. Though he seemed almost lifeless, both Theo and the Pirate Empress didn’t pay much attention. The flow of mana indicated he was still alive.
The Pirate Empress drew her scimitar and looked up. The golden sky fortress loomed above with immense grandeur. Instead of feeling fear or unease, she was intrigued.
“A floating fortress in the sky? I’d love to make it my new ship.”
At that moment, the cannon that had incapacitated Merriott began gathering mana again. Theo’s eyes widened as he shouted.
“Lady Pirate Empress! We need to stop it before it fully charges!”
Despite Theo’s urgent cry, the Pirate Empress watched the fortress’s attack with curiosity.
“We’ll all die if we don’t do something!”
“Die? We need to see it in action to prepare for it.”
“It’s not an attack we can just observe!”
As Theo and the Pirate Empress bickered…
Whoooom!
A blue mana orb appeared in the cannon, ready to fire. Theo gritted his teeth and prepared to unleash Ice Age, knowing that if it fired again, there would be significant casualties, strengthening Aquinas.
But…
Swish!
The Pirate Empress grabbed Theo’s shoulder and pulled him back, causing him to stumble. She grinned.
“Do you think I can’t handle a mana orb like that?”
Her reaction was starkly different from Merriott’s desperate defense.
Time passed…
Boom!
The fortress’s cannon fired a massive beam. The Pirate Empress moved, pulling her scimitar back and swinging it at the incoming beam with a smirk.
Slash!
Her crescent-shaped sword energy sliced the beam in half. Theo’s jaw dropped.
“This is insane!”
A third-rank superhuman like Merriott had risked his life to block that beam, and she cut it in one strike. Though her sword energy dissipated before reaching the fortress, the fact that she blocked it without harm showed her power was on a different level.
At that moment, Theo noticed a change in her expression.
“What the…?”
Her face twisted in disgust.
“These bastards.”
A tremendous aura erupted from the Pirate Empress. Theo was taken aback by her sudden change in demeanor.
“What’s wrong?”
She bared her fangs and glared at the fortress.
“That wasn’t made of mana.”
Not mana? Then what was it?
She gripped her scimitar tightly and continued.
“It was made from human souls. I heard their screams as it was torn apart.”
“What? Human souls? Is that even possible?”
“I don’t know, but I’m sure.”
From the second rank, superhumans are called demigods. People might think it’s a grand title given by the empire to show their authority, but it’s not just a name. A second-rank knight can understand and manipulate the essence of mana, nature, the universe, and themselves, using abilities beyond martial arts or skills, hence the title demigod.
The Pirate Empress, on par with the Duke, had fully grasped the essence of mana, recognizing that what she cut wasn’t mana but something crafted from human souls. This realization fueled her rage.
“These madmen.”
Theo agreed with her now cold demeanor.
“But what do we do? We can’t just keep blocking it. Our attacks don’t work either.”
The Pirate Empress blinked.
“You didn’t know?”
“Know what?”
She pointed at the fortress.
“Yan is up there, trying to bring it down.”
Theo’s eyes widened.
“What??”
The Pirate Empress chuckled at his reaction and gripped her scimitar again.
“So, we just need to minimize the damage until it falls.”
Thus…
Pew! Pew!
Slash!
The Pirate Empress began her defense against the fortress’s bombardment.
* * *
Yan watched as Merriott and Theo defended against the sky fortress’s attacks, then turned on his heel. His destination was directly beneath the fortress.
“Nothing can damage it from the outside.”
He had already tried numerous spells and sword strikes against the fortress, but they all dissipated. If external attacks were futile, there was only one option left.
‘Infiltrate it from the inside and bring it down.’
With the plan set, it was time to act. Yan pulled a dagger and a wire from his spatial pocket. He tightly secured the wire to the dagger’s hilt and glared at the fortress floating high above, almost obscured by clouds. But for Yan, a superhuman, this height was not a problem.
The real issue was…
‘I know nothing about the inside of that fortress.’
Yan shook his head. Thinking about it here wouldn’t reveal anything. He had to see it with his own eyes, and there was no faster or more reliable way than that.
With his mind made up, Yan gripped the wire and began to spin it. The dagger at the end of the wire started to draw a circle.
Whirrr!
Infused with mana, the dagger shot upwards. It soared high into the sky and embedded itself in the base of the fortress.
Yan took a deep breath and began to climb the wire.
* * *
Aquinas sat in the cockpit of the sky fortress, grinding his teeth in frustration at the unsatisfactory power output. If he had a fully charged White Flame Jade as the power source, there was no way someone like Merriott could have blocked the fortress’s Star Cannon. And even the Pirate Empress, strong as she was, wouldn’t have been able to slice through the Star Beam so easily.
“Damn it, I need to fill the White Flame Jade quickly.”
It wasn’t too late. The gem’s ability to absorb other souls was still functioning. But the problem was the ones blocking him. The Star Cannon, which could harvest many souls, was being blocked by the Pirate Empress. And whenever he aimed the Star Beam at the fleeing Imperial and Revolutionary forces, Theo would stubbornly intercept it, preventing any satisfactory results.
Everything was going awry. Facing second and third-rank superhumans with less than half the power of the original sky fortress was proving to be a headache.
At that moment, something caught his eye on one of the screens displaying various parts of the fortress.
“…Huh, does this guy have no fear?”
Aquinas chuckled at the sight of Yan in the video. Yan was climbing up to the fortress, relying on a thin wire. Did he really think Aquinas wouldn’t notice?
Then, an idea flashed through Aquinas’s mind, and a sly smile crept onto his face.
“Yes, a third-rank superhuman would make an excellent power source.”
The soul of a superhuman was hundreds, even thousands of times more efficient than that of an ordinary human. Aquinas placed his hand on the orb controlling the fortress and closed his eyes.
* * *
Yan’s body was precariously buffeted by the fierce winds, as if he might be blown away at any moment. It was only natural, given that he was relying on a single wire attached to a dagger. Yet, despite the strong gusts, Yan steadily climbed the wire, inch by inch.
‘Something’s off.’
Yan felt an inexplicable sense of unease. The sky fortress was a pinnacle of technology far beyond current human capabilities. Naturally, it should have defenses against intruders from below.
‘It’s too quiet.’
It was as if the fortress was exposing its weakness. Then, a thought crossed Yan’s mind.
‘…Is Aquinas deliberately not responding?’
If Aquinas was using him for some purpose, it would explain the current situation. There was no need to knock him down if he had a plan in mind.
Even so, Yan couldn’t abandon his ascent. Time was running out. Coming up with another plan would take too long, and it was overconfident to believe the Pirate Empress and Theo could hold out indefinitely.
“I have to go up.”
Finally reaching the outer wall of the fortress, Yan skillfully climbed and entered the interior. The sight that greeted him made him chuckle.
“This is a real city?”
Though deserted, it was as beautiful as the Imperial capital, Avalan. White roads stretched in all directions, lined with buildings that looked like houses. There were canals, and statues of winged celestial beings adorned the streets.
As Yan marveled and walked towards a plaza, something pierced his senses and approached.
Whoosh!
Yan drew Ascalon and turned towards the presence. A dagger grazed his cheek as he moved. He had reacted quickly enough to avoid a fatal blow, but…
Slice!
He couldn’t prevent his cheek from being cut. Yan wiped the trickling blood and scanned his surroundings.