[T.L: punisher87]
The shells fired from the warships of the Bellado were surrounded by mana.
It was a combat-enhancing magic that increased range and firepower. To enhance hundreds of cannons, at least a hundred 6-star level mages were required.
Moreover, the fact that there were so many 6-star mages meant that they would require numerous high-ranking mages to command them.
Originally, there was no need for troops to come to this small abandoned island. While Runcandel dispatched ten mid- and high-level guardian knights, Vermont sent a force large enough to wage a war.
This meant that in terms of information about Zipfel and Kinzelo, Vermont was ahead of Runcandel. Or it meant that they were paying more attention to it.
Black dots hanging in the sky were falling at a rapid speed. The shells had flown to the harbor in an instant.
"Everyone, get down!"
"Oh no!"
The pirates screamed in panic, their faces filled with despair, while the guardian knights of Runcandel narrowed their brows in annoyance.
Boom! Clang! Whoosh!
Shells began to fall onto the harbor and beach. Explosions sent water spouts shooting up, pirate ships shattered, and fragments flew around as the stones and sands that made up the harbor burst apart.
Unlike the pirates who just flattened themselves or ran around in panic, the guardian knights skillfully dodged or cut through the shells and fragments that flew near them.
"Argh, how annoying."
"We must report to the clan that these Bellado bastards have gone crazy."
Boom...! Boom, boom!
Before the pirates could regain their composure, the next barrage followed immediately.
But this was advantageous for Jin. The chaos made it easier for him to slip away from the guardian knights' line of sight, and since the docked ships were destined to be destroyed anyway, it didn't matter.
However, unfortunately, the appearance of the Bellado warships was an unfortunate event for Jin as well.
It was because another magic was unfolding after the shell-enhancing magic.
The dark night sky was unexpectedly turning red.
It wasn't because the shells were spewing fire. It was the result of the mages aboard the Bellado warships unfolding a barrier.
‘Giant linked barrier spell...!? Did Vermont's Special Task Force prepare that!?’
Giant linked barrier spell was exactly what it sounded like—a magic where multiple mages combined their mana to create a barrier.
Usually, this type of magic is used to protect castles or cities from enemy attacks.
There are also cases where it is deployed to prevent the enemy from escaping, just like now.
‘A Red Giant Linked Barrier. This is not the Special Task Force's doing; it's a type of spell used by the Imperial Guard's mages. So the Imperial Guard was on standby as well!’
The Red Giant Linked Barrier was one of the magics symbolizing the mages of Vermont's Imperial Guard. The core of this independently devised magic was "aerial control."
It was a barrier deployed to annihilate and prevent the escape of dragons or flying creatures that terrorized the palace. Within the Red Giant Linked Barrier, winged creatures larger than sparrows couldn't fly recklessly.
Once a flying object was detected, the barrier immediately emitted thousands of red beams. Developed for the safety of the "Emperor," it possessed tremendous power.
The moment Jin's plan to escape on Murakan went up in smoke was when the barrier enveloped the entire island.
‘Even if Murakan can withstand the barrier, the safety of the passengers becomes an issue. I need to revise my plan.’
He had to escape on a boat.
However, shells were relentlessly raining down, destroying the harbor and pirate ships, and the island was surrounded by the Bellado fleet.
‘But still, it's better to find a boat and engage in a chase with the Bellado fleet than to fly through the barrier. It's too risky.’
First, he had to get on a boat and leave the barrier. Although the fleet would pursue him, once outside the barrier, they could escape again on Murakan.
Now, it is more important to find Murakan than his companions. Since the Red Giant Linked Barrier was developed about a hundred years ago, he could only assume that Murakan was unaware of its danger.
In case Murakan became frustrated searching for the comrades and started flying, he had to inform him as soon as possible.
"Murakan!"
"Kid?"
Turning back and searching the nearby area, Jin was fortunate to come across Murakan quickly. And while Jin explained the Red Giant Linked Barrier, Syris appeared from somewhere.
"Jin! You have a rough idea of the situation, right? The eastern side is completely destroyed, including the harbor and the ships. The island is too small to shake off those mosquitoes."
She was in a state where she had been able to assess the situation just like Jin while evading the Special Task Force.
"Lady Syris, do you happen to know which escape point the rest of our companions moved to?"
"They moved to the escape points on the western side. Those two are from Vermont, so they understand the significance of that barrier. If we can't find a boat, there's no hope."
"Damn human bastards! When did they develop such magic? Everything is being demolished by their shelling, but how are we supposed to find a boat? Kid’s lover, didn't you bring snow toad, Mort?"
"If I could have brought Mort, would I be suffering like this? Black Dragon. Also advertise it to everyone that Hidden Palace is behind this incident.”
"It's better for the three of us to stick together. Let’s hope that there's at least one boat left in the nearest harbor after we find Alisa and Sir Kashmir."
The deafening sounds continued to come from afar. Murakan transformed back into a cat and nestled in Syris' arms.
"Huh, not only the Special Task Force but even the Imperial Guard. I didn't expect things to get this complicated. My mother asked me to help you as if I were going on a shopping trip."
"I was surprised when I first found out that Lady Syris was participating in the operation."
"I'm more surprised that you singlehandedly flipped the second floor upside down. You've become a monster, Jin Runcandel."
"The Guardian knights are searching for you with their eyes ablaze, Lady Syris. Let's move inconspicuously."
Alisa and Kashmir headed west to evade the Special Task Force. Thanks to Syris, the group quickly found the escape points without getting lost.
"Sir Kashmir."
Kashmir, Alisa, and Cuicantelle were found at 7th Escape Point.
It was a warehouse belonging to the pirates residing on the island. After the compass theft, they planned that everyone would take refuge there and then blend in with the supplies to board the pirate ships for escape.
"I thought I'd wait for three minutes in case you came. My intuition didn't fail me. It's been a while, Young Master."
"Lady Syris, you managed to safely evade my ex-colleagues."
"Murakan seems fine, so it seems he didn't fly within the barrier. I was worried about what would happen if he flew and got torn to pieces while searching for us."
"Are those human bastards' barriers that amazing? Can't we just fly through it?"
"The mages of the Imperial Guard are on par with the White Night. Dozens of those guys have gathered here. It's not enough with just the two of us."
They skipped formalities and decided to search for a boat.
However, as they emerged from the escape point and surveyed the western harbor, it was completely destroyed by bombardment. There wasn't a single intact boat, and the area was littered with the corpses of pirates who had been killed by the Guardian knights.
Now, the only option left was the southern harbor.
But reaching the southern harbor would take too long. Despite the small size of the island, they would have to run for at least 30 minutes, no matter how fast they were.
The sound of cannons grew closer. As everyone gathered, the fleet of the Bellado had already narrowed its encirclement and almost surrounded the island.
"The probability of finding a boat in the south is low. It's probably better for us to swim and escape the barrier from now on," Jin said, swallowing a sigh.
"What if we get hit by a cannonball?"
When Syris asked, Jin shrugged his shoulders.
"Well... We're all pretty powerful, so..."
"Uh, um. Yeah. That's true. There doesn't seem to be any other option anyway."
"While we can somehow withstand getting hit by cannonballs, the real problem is the possibility of being directly detected by the fleet. At that point, the troops aboard will start their direct attack."
"If we swim and the mages of the Imperial Guard aim their magic at us..."
No matter how strong Jin and his comrades were, they couldn't fight properly underwater.
The moment they exposed themselves to the Special Task Force or the mages of the fleet, there was a high chance of being suppressed without even being able to retaliate.
Due to the barrier, the two dragons couldn't fly, they couldn't fight properly while swimming, and there was nowhere to hide on this small island to escape their watchful eyes.
"Ha."
Although Jin spoke calmly about swimming to escape, it weighed heavily on his heart that swimming was more a matter of luck than skill.
‘Who would have known that the Imperial Guard would unleash the Red Giant Linked Barrier? Damn it.’
His companions shared the same sentiment as Jin.
If luck was on their side, they would all escape the barrier unharmed, but they needed to be prepared for the possibility that some of them might not make it back to Tikan.
"...Let's go!"
They exited the escape point.
What they saw was a chaotic island, a sky tinged with the Red Barrier, and shells filling the sky.
Pirates were still running amok, as were nobles and beggars. Limited to the island, it resembled the scenery of the world collapsing.
"The harbor is under heavy bombardment. It would be best to search for a cliff... Huh?"
"Why? What's wrong?"
When Jin stopped speaking, his companions’ gaze focused on him.
‘That guy, the pirate who instigated everyone to jump onto the ship at the northern harbor earlier…’
Jin saw a pirate. He suddenly remembered how this pirate instigated others to flee while running in the opposite direction.
Unlike at the northern harbor, he had a calm expression on his face.
Another pirate, who had been running recklessly, stopped next to him. Amidst the chaos, only those two pirates came to a halt.
"Lady Syris, Alisa, can you read their lips by any chance?"
"All of a sudden?"
"Can you do it?"
"I can."
Without asking for further reasons, Syris and Alisa read their lips.
"When the captain spent so much money on that thing, I thought it was a waste. But thanks to it, we're saved."
"Yeah, our captain sometimes seems to have insight. He must have known that a day like this would come."
"The other idiots all perished. Foolish idiots. They just jumped onto the ship without any thought. I never expected that. Why would they just jump at a word when Runcandel Guardian knights were there? They're crazy."
"Those fools survived until now with their stupid heads. My side was the same. It's only us who survive. Hehe, the legend of the Great Pirate Crew will grow once again. In a situation where the island is surrounded, we managed to escape the naval fleet of Vermont!"
"Heh, I don't think there are any more who can catch up. Let's get going."
That’s all Syris and Alisa could read. The two pirates finished their conversation and were moving away to somewhere.
Having heard their conversation through Syris and Alisa, Jin's companions looked at each other for a moment.
"Their conversation doesn't seem ordinary, does it?"
"They seem to have prepared something in anticipation of this situation. It won't hurt to follow them and find out."
Unknowingly, Jin found himself smiling.
‘I wasn't happy about relying on luck rather than skill, but with things turning out like this, the sentiment seems different again.’
Jin didn't know what the pirates had prepared.
Somehow, it gave him the feeling that whatever the pirates had planned would excellently overcome this situation.
Amazing