Chapter 41 - Battleship Tactics! The Firepower of the New Cannons!

Flying swiftly, the wind collided with the barrier formed by Noah and made a screeching noise. They were approaching the sea at a dizzying speed, leaving a trail of dust on the ground below and the trees shaking as they were caught by the strong wind.

"They're getting closer." Noah was keeping an eye on the Black Artemis approaching the meeting point quickly, while being chased by three Marine ships, 'We must get rid of these ships quickly…'

Despite Ryu not knowing exactly where Lost Island was, having given a hint in the early dawn that it was somewhere else, Noah knew very well where it was.

And it was exactly here. Warship Island was just the upper part of Lost Island that had sunk into the sea and would return after a while.

That's why they needed to eliminate these ships now, otherwise when Commodore Nelson Royale arrived with the rest of the fleet it would be completely unbearable. That fat buffoon was possibly being warned now about the situation here by the Lieutenant Captain, and would be here shortly.

With all that in mind, he looked at the little girl beside him before placing his hand on her head.

"Apis, get ready. We're going down now." Despite all the wind around, he made sure she understood what he meant. But this made a worried look appear on her face.

"And what are you guys going to do?" Apis held onto his arm, worrying about Ryu's and his safety. She was not a stupid child and knew that he was about to do something risky.

"Nothing much." Noah lightly tapped on Ryu's back with a smile, "We're just going to take down some ships."

°°°

On the Black Artemis.

Nami and Nojiko were quickly sailing towards the meeting point, doing as much as possible to stay out of the Marines' cannon fire line.

Roooaar!

And it was at that moment that a roar caught their attention, forcing them to look at the island. Their expressions slowly went from impressed to a little shocked.

Coming at high speed, Ryu was getting closer and closer to the location. And with one more flap of wings, he sped up and stabilized in the air when he finally reached the sea. The winds made the water below divide into two and the sea waves became irregular.

A few dozen meters later, he flapped his wings again and changed his direction to the ship, flying low enough for the water waves below to rise to his height. His speed was now slower, but still fast enough for them to notice his approach.

"What are they doing..." Nami was at the helm of the ship when her eyes widened upon seeing a certain individual on top of the dragon. Seeing his movement, she immediately raised her hand, "Noah!"

Nojiko also looked at that and immediately half of her Spiritual Energy reserves were gone when the two built a wall of several layers of wind.

And without further ado, as soon as Noah's position reached the bow of the ship, he jumped while holding Apis in his arms, his body continuing at the same speed until he hit the wind wall and slowed down.

Step! Swoosh!

But contrary to what they expected, Nami and Nojiko watched with shocked eyes as Noah simply stepped on the ship and quickly ran to where they were. And in an instant, he got to them and left Apis there and again jumped from the stern of the boat back on Ryu's back, everything so fluid that it was scary.

"Fire!"

His voice was all that remained in their ears. His figure was already far away with Ryu when they simply snapped out of it and started to operate the ship again.

"What..." While Apis was still somewhat dazed from Noah's rather risky maneuver, her hair completely messed up and her hat askew.

Nami just smiled at the still-confused Apis and turned the helm completely, steering the ship towards the open sea. Nojiko also quickly disappeared into the ship and was already in the cannon room, reloading all of them.

On the Marine ships.

The captains were watching in fear as the enormous dragon rapidly approached them. Besides not even being able to keep up with the pirate ship's speed, now they would have to face a dragon? What kind of day is this?!

But quickly pulling themselves together, they immediately signaled their sailors to shoot.

"Ship to starboard! Fire!”

At their command, the various ships turned their starboard side towards the dragon and Black Artemis, and their cannons were already fully loaded. And a second later, several cannons fired rapidly at them.

Noah, above Ryu, had a smile on his face as he felt being lifted when Ryu simply flapped his wings and flew higher, dodging all the cannonballs. And at the same time, he heard the shots of several cannons behind him, sounding very different from conventional gunpowder cannons.

BANG! BOOM!

And with extraordinary precision, several cannonbullets suddenly hit the gunpowder compartment of one of the Marine ships, causing the place to explode and the ship to start sinking.

'Those engineers really know how to make a good cannon...' Seeing the effects of the new cannons of the Black Artemis, Noah just lightly tapped on the right side of Ryu and he felt the change of direction, quickly approaching one of the other ships.

Using the same strategy as the girls, he simply jumped from Ryu by building several air cushions on his way. But he didn't want to be so gentle when landing on someone else's ship.

Bang!

Landing on the ship, cracks spread in the wood below him. A little more force and he would have fallen into the compartment below. But ignoring this, he just unsheathed his sword as he looked at the different marines looking at him in fear.

"Hello..." With a cordial smile on his face, he bowed to them briefly before disappearing from the place.

His sword vibrated as it cut the air and suddenly the non-lethal part of the blade hit one of the marines' neck.

Gentle Swordsmanship!

Moonlight Blade!

"Attack him-"

“He’s right here!”

“Fire! No, not there!”

“Captain, help us!”

His figure became blurred as he moved quickly among the various soldiers, his sword hitting the points that led them all to unconsciousness or just giving up. It was just about hurting enough to not get up anymore and problem solved.

In a few moments, even the captain had surrendered voluntarily, receiving a blow to the neck just to be safe. And when Noah was about to call Ryu, he became a little startled with a sudden explosion on the ship next door.

BOOOM!

"Holy..." Looking at the ship that had just exploded and the various sailors throwing themselves into the water, he turned his gaze to the Black Artemis and its smoking cannons, "Nojiko has good aim, that's for sure..."

Thanks to the firing mechanism, only one person was needed to operate the several cannons and trigger the mechanism, aiming in the right place. And after programming the shots in sync, the cannons would fire where you had previously pointed. Since they were fixed on the wood, there was no risk of them simply losing aim or being off target after the shot.

Deciding to leave the sailors as they were now, not worrying if they would come back later to shoot at his back, he called Ryu, who quickly came and they returned to the Black Artemis together.

Taking great care, Ryu slowed down and his large, heavy body stepped in the middle of the ship as he quickly hid his wings and let himself drop in place, spreading his weight evenly throughout the ship. This only generated a few waves below with the extra weight, but nothing that was outside the standards, that could sink the ship.

"Ryujin, Noah!" Apis immediately came running to them when she saw them arrive, just waiting for Ryu's time to settle down before coming to him and hugging his snout, "Are you okay? ... tired is normal after everything you've done, Grandpa Ryu! That was amazing!"

"I told you he's strong." Nami approached with a smile on her face, holding onto Noah's arm. The smile on her face showed how shocked and happy she was with their feats.

"You and Ryu are a great combination, that's very clear." Nojiko came out of the ship while cleaning her hands and smiled at the two. She may not be able to talk to Ryu like Noah, but she knew the two thought almost the same now.

"Yes! Yes! You flew in the sky and then baam, you knocked down everyone on the ship and swoosh, you did those maneuvers and-" Apis kept talking about the things they had done and exaggerated a bit in some parts too.

Noah and Ryu, the targets of this conversation, just looked at each other quickly before casting that knowing look and smiled. That was the real connection between men!

°°°

At the mobile base of the 8th Marine Branch Base. In the usual dark room.

Commodore Nelson Royale was sitting in his chair, his state somewhat restless. His grim expression and threatening eyes showed how annoyed he was right now. There was a row of soldiers beside him who personally served his interests.

"Why is it taking so long?!" He spoke with a deep voice, his eyes fixed on the direction ahead, waiting for something.

And with some sounds of footsteps, a soldier came carrying a tray along with a pole, soon arriving at his side and extending the pole. On the tray were two juicy, steaming pieces of meat, ready to be eaten.

"Commodore, sir! Your meal is here!" The marine spoke with a trembling voice and a body full of cold sweat.

After a moment of silence, only the sound of a slap could be heard.

Slap! Bang!

With the utmost arrogance, Nelson casually slapped his own soldier, causing him to fall to the ground and drop the two pieces of meat.

"This is not what I want!" He didn't even look at what he did, immediately demanding the answers he wanted.

And soon someone came to give it to him.

A marine ran into the room and quickly stood in front of him, standing at salute position. With a clipboard in his hand, he was the soldier in charge of providing the reports to him.

"Commodore Nelson Royale!"

"Finally!" Recognizing the man, Nelson immediately wanted to know what had happened. He opened a fan he was carrying and asked casually, "It's news from Eric, I presume?"

“No, sir! It's a message from the Lieutenant Captain who is on a mission on Warship Island!” The man stepped out of the salute as he began reading the report, “The Millennial Dragon has been located on Warship Island, being hidden from our sights by the girl Apis all this time. It was also discovered that a pirate group led by Noah D. Avery is helping the girl keep the Dragon alive, attacking the Marine and sinking ships to ensure this. The mercenary Eric, The Whirlwind, was killed during the attack. Requesting reinforcements from the main base to capture the criminals.”

With every word the soldier spoke, Nelson became more irritated and confused. His hand crumpled the fan more and more as his fury increased. Pirates? Eric dead? Ships sunk? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED THERE??

"Who is this Noah D. Avery?!" Nelson immediately requested, and soon the soldier brought the bounty paper for him to see. Seeing the reward, his eyes widened in shock, especially with the pirate's deeds, "This pirate... He must also be planning to steal my Dragonite!!"

With confidence in what he was saying, he was sure that this pirate was trying to take what was his. What was his by right!

"He's just a pirate!" Nelson's expression went manic for a moment, completely ignoring the size of the danger, and commanded his sailors, "Our main forces are now going to Warship Island!"

"All ships! Raise anchor!"