And Wangchuan.
Was walking toward the center of the melee, step by step.
His pace was unhurried, his hands in his pockets, like a tourist strolling through a night market.
"Hm?!"
The nearest group of Marine soldiers had just repelled a pirate charge and were panting as they adjusted their formation.
Out of the corner of his eye, their leader spotted a young figure in a black coat approaching leisurely from the side.
He immediately shouted.
"Who goes there?!"
"He's not one of ours! He's a pirate! Stop him!"
Five or six Marine soldiers turned at once, raising their standard-issue swords and slashing at Wangchuan.
Their blades gleamed coldly through the smoke, their coordinated strikes sealing off every escape route, above, below, left, and right.
Wangchuan did not even stop walking. An invisible force spread from his palm, fanning out ahead of him.
The five or six soldiers were lifted simultaneously, their feet leaving the ground. As though an invisible hand had gently brushed them aside, they were flung to either side.
They landed on the ice several meters away and rolled a few times, their weapons flying from their hands. Though they suffered no serious injuries, they could not get up for the moment.
"Don't work so hard."
"This is just a game for the higher-ups."
Wangchuan's steps never faltered because of that little interruption.
The roar of cannon fire came from the distance.
Several cannonballs tore through the smoke toward his position.
The batteries on the walls had noticed him and adjusted their firing angles, hoping to suppress this unidentified figure with concentrated fire.
The cannonballs fell, trailing black smoke.
Wangchuan did not even raise his head.
About three meters from his body, the cannonballs all veered off their original trajectories, as though they had struck an invisible