Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cannon fire continued to thunder across the sea. Pillars of water, flames, and debris became the scene's main theme. Although The Black Emperor fought back, even with its power enhanced by the Decree, it still could not threaten the Pritz, whose main armor belt was 457 millimeters thick.
The Ironclad pursued The Black Emperor through its barrage. Though Nast did everything he could to intercept the shells with the abilities he could still use, he was only one man and could not block so many attacks.
Fireballs kept blooming across The Black Emperor, one after another, forming a dazzling field of light. The Black Emperor had never been as fragile and helpless as it was now.
Its sides had been shattered, one of its main masts had snapped, and its cannons had fallen into the sea. Countless pirates aboard the ship had also been killed or wounded.
Under Second Mate Bird Mustain's desperate control, The Black Emperor sailed along the edge of the island, attempting to repeat Wavebreaker's earlier tactic. It used the natural island to block the Ironclad's line of sight while escaping the Decree's effective range.
However, the two Demigods aboard the Ironclad repeatedly maintained the Decree. At the same time, the Ironclad's cannon fire directly bombarded the island, pulverizing the trees and sending rocks flying. Flocks of seabirds nesting on the island took fright and soared into the sky, flying elsewhere like a cloud of darkness.
The island was rapidly flattened under the Pritz's bombardment. The fierce barrage seemed to be announcing The Black Emperor's Apocalypse.
At that moment, aboard the distant Explorer, Sifa was standing on the bow deck when he suddenly noticed the sky darkening rapidly. Great banks of dark clouds were gathering above the sea. Moments later, a raindrop the size