Hand of Flame

"Fire in front of that ship. Give them a warning!" Sean commanded his men, calmly watching the ship draw closer and closer.

After receiving their boss's orders, the sailors nearby sprang into action. They pushed the Magic Stone Cannon mounted at the bow out through the gunport, loaded it with a magic stone, then aimed and fired.

Boom!

The deafening blast made many people aboard flinch involuntarily. Even those who had prepared themselves mentally were still startled by the cannon fire.

"Strange. That coward Angus can't escape, yet he didn't stop his ship when he saw ours... Does he think he can outrun us at that speed?"

Standing beside Sean was his subordinate, Gino, who had remained at his side ever since Sean began gathering his crew.

Several years had passed. The sailors he had recruited back then had either been buried in this tranquil sea or saved up enough capital to leave and strike out on their own—only to be killed by him afterward.

Only Gino remained by his side, becoming his most trusted subordinate and the First Mate of the Lord of Flame—the ship's first officer.

Sean of the Hand of Flame was one of the most famous adventurers on the Sea of Tranquility, as well as one of the most notorious bandits in these waters.

Once he set his sights on someone, the best possible outcome was losing everything they had gained while barely managing to keep their life.

Ruthless and insatiably greedy—those were Sean's trademarks. What allowed him to act so brazenly was his sturdy ship and the Magic Stone Cannon, which consumed an astonishing amount but was just as formidable.

"It is a little strange. Maybe that coward just made a huge score and isn't willing to hand it over?"

As he watched the distant ship, Sean recognized it immediately. It was somewhat well-known on the Sea of Tranquility.

Coward Angus was Sean's name for him. Other adventurers on the Sea of Tranquility more often called him Angus the Mad Dog, a piece of trash who specialized in robbing newcomers and the weak. Before the strong, however, he became timid, cautious, and utterly respectful. Of all people, the one he feared most was Sean of the Hand of Flame.

Angus was also one of the few adventurers who had repeatedly managed to keep his life after running into Sean. Every time he encountered Sean at sea, he would eagerly hand over his haul. Sometimes, he would even contact Sean on his own initiative and send him gifts.

When Sean spotted Angus's ship, he noticed that it was clearly loaded with a great deal of Supplies. Its deep draft had slowed it to a crawl. It was also towing a smaller sailboat behind it, and judging from that ship's draft, it too was carrying quite a lot. It was obvious that they had just pulled off a "big score."

Yet that coward showed no reaction at all after seeing his ship. The complete difference from his usual behavior left Sean puzzled—Had Angus found something special that he didn't want me to see? So he's trying to run away?

"Fire again. If they still don't stop, aim at the smaller ship behind them!"

The more Sean thought about it, the more convinced he became. What concerned him most was that whatever could make Angus act so out of character might be one of the most miraculous magic stones in these waters.

"Maybe it's a top-quality Combat Magic Stone. Otherwise, there's no way he would do something like this." If things were truly as he suspected, then he absolutely could not let Angus get away...

A second enormous orange-red fireball flew toward the two connected ships. Compared to the previous shot, which had clearly been aimed farther away, this one landed much closer.

The booming explosion left their heads ringing, and the spray scattered far and wide. Yinsen and Arthur, standing on the deck, were drenched from head to toe.

"Pah!"

Yinsen spat out the seawater in his mouth. The salty, bitter taste made his already foul mood even worse.

"So we've run into another bunch of bandits."

He did not recognize the ship across from them, much less know that its occupants included one of the Sea of Tranquility's most infamous villains. The other side had opened fire immediately, shooting into their path to warn them to stop at once. Then the next shot had struck the sea nearby. Perhaps the next one would blast straight into the ship beneath his feet.

He had no idea that Sean was reluctant to sink his ship. The previous shot had still only been a warning.

"Can't we fight back? Are we just going to sit here and take it?"

Arthur had long since equipped himself, but the two sides were still far apart. They could not even see the people on the other ship clearly. At this distance, there was no way to strike back even if they wanted to.

"How are we supposed to fight back? We don't have a cannon."

Yinsen had previously guessed that this world possessed similar technology, but he had not expected to see a Physical Object so soon. Those two shots clearly were not the artillery he knew. Setting aside their power and range, those Energy Bullets carried magical fluctuations and resembled compressed fireball spells. They had to be technology developed from magic stones.

"Then what should we do?"

Yinsen did not know what to do either. If the other side kept bombarding them with cannon fire, it seemed he had no way to respond except to use the Magic Shield from the Spellbook for large-scale defense.

"Or should we throw away all the ore, raise full sail, and flee?"

There was too much cargo aboard now, severely limiting the ship's speed. They were even towing a boat full of ore behind them, leaving the Caravel Sailboat unable to make use of its own speed and maneuverability advantages.

"It's too late!"

A sailboat could not accelerate that easily, and the current wind direction was unfavorable as well. Even if he displayed divine might and threw all the ore overboard in a very short time, there would not be enough time to build up speed and escape the enemy's firing range.

Judging by the range and accuracy of the previous two shots, they might be blasted to pieces before they had even finished throwing away the ore.

His mind raced at nearly its limit, and Yinsen made a decision in an instant.

"Reef the sails. Stop the ship!"

"What?"

Arthur was shocked by Yinsen's words, but he acted immediately and quickly understood Yinsen's intention.

"Will that work?"

"The first shot was a warning for us to stop. Although the second landed much closer, it should still have been a warning. If we stop, they won't keep firing."

Yinsen could not be completely certain, but rather than passively endure bombardment from afar, it was better to stop and draw the enemy closer. If it turned into close combat, at least he would have a chance to fight back.

Sure enough, as Yinsen's ship slowed down and finally came to a halt, the other side did not fire again.

What he did not know was that Sean aboard the other ship was stunned for a moment when he saw them stop.

"Why did they stop again?"

Gino was not certain either and could only speculate. "Maybe that coward was asleep just now? Maybe he didn't see us?"

"That's possible."

By all rights, having displayed such intimidating strength should have made him happier, but Sean simply could not feel pleased. He had originally hoped that coward had taken such a risk because he had found something valuable. Now, it seemed that might have been nothing more than a beautiful dream of his own making.

Unhappy and wanting to vent, Sean began considering how he ought to deal with Angus.

"Kill him..." He shook his head inwardly. "Forget it. Since he knows his place, I'll spare his life. But I'll be taking his ship. Besides, he's got himself a 'New Ship' anyway."

Having made his decision, Sean seemed to feel much better. He waved a hand and ordered the men beside him, "Full Speed Ahead, pull alongside! That ship is our final target for this voyage. Afterward, we'll head back to Stat Island!"

"Oh~!"

The sailors knew that once this job was done, they could relax and enjoy themselves for a while, so every one of them was thrilled and full of energy. Quite a few had also recognized the target as cowardly Angus, so no one thought this job would be dangerous.

"That coward will definitely crawl at the Captain's feet again and obediently offer up everything he has."

"Hahaha, maybe he'll even kiss the Captain's shoes."

"Say, if I scare that coward with my knife, do you think he'll kiss my shoes too?"

"Maybe he will! We can all do it together when the time comes!"

"Hahaha, something this interesting has to include me!"

"..."

Sean heard every word of the sailors' discussion. He had no interest whatsoever in stopping them from doing what they wanted. If anything, he was looking forward to watching the show.

"This should be pretty entertaining."

Yes, he was about to witness a grand spectacle. On the distant ship, Yinsen and King Arthur saw that the other side had not opened fire and knew their intentions had succeeded. However, figuring out how to strike back next was rather troublesome.

Young, hot-blooded, and at precisely that chuunibyou age, King Arthur stood firmly in the most conspicuous spot on the deck. Leaning on his already drawn Greatsword, he quietly awaited the coming battle.

Yinsen's original plan had been for the two of them to hide, then sneak directly onto the enemy ship once it approached. After preventing the other side from using its cannons to threaten them and their vessel, they could fight them.

Unfortunately, his first companion was a knight who revered head-on duels!

In truth, he liked direct confrontations too—defeating opponents openly and fairly. He liked huge warships trading cannon fire head-on as well, but that was only if he had such things himself.

"Forget it. Once they pull alongside, they won't be able to reposition their bow cannon to the side in a short time." He could already make out some details of the opposing ship. There were no gunports along its sides, and he could not see any additional cannons on its deck.

Even if they could move out their bow cannon to use it, Yinsen, having had time to prepare, could defend with Magic Shield—and he did not believe those people would dare fire a Magic Stone Cannon from such close range. It would not only injure their own men, but might even damage their own ship.

"Actually, you don't have to stand here with me. There's nothing wrong with following your plan. I'm not demanding that you uphold knightly principles as I do."

"No, it's already too late to hide now."