Pirates: Invincible from the Start

The guards nearby had seen it all before and watched calmly. Only when the steward wriggled backward like a maggot did a flicker of scorn cross their eyes.

The man usually threw his weight around in front of them. Yet before His Highness, he was no different from the rest of them: just another dog.

"What are you standing around for? Load a cannonball!"

The boy lowered his telescope and glared at a guard, impatience flashing across his face.

"Oh... yes, yes! I'm loading it now!"

The guard shuddered at the boy's shout. Panic replaced his calm expression, and he hurriedly snatched a cannonball from the basket beside him and shoved it into the cannon.

Then he picked up a torch, lit it with a lighter, and handed it to the boy.

"Your Highness, the cannon is loaded and aimed. It's ready to fire."

This was hardly the first time the guard had played the boy's cannon game. He knew the routine well.

The boy took the torch. Far out at sea, the small sailing ship was now visible without a telescope, and a smile returned to his face.

Eyes wide with excitement, he raised the torch and lit the cannon's fuse without hesitation.

Boom!

Smoke billowed and fire flashed as a black cannonball shot from the barrel toward the distant sailing ship.

"Huh?"

High in Freedom's lookout, A-Luo suddenly sensed something. A red gleam flashed through his eyes.

He lowered his telescope, turned toward the left front, and narrowed his eyes.

Were they looking to get themselves killed?

They had spotted the warship and luxury cruise ship long ago. Neither was a Pirate Ship, and their courses would take them past each other without meeting, so they had paid them no mind.

Watching the cannonball fall from the sky,