LaughYeAmer

Chapter 92: Belly of Death

The vanguard pirate ships allowed the biovore corvette to pass them by. Despite being in the heart of Oleander’s fleet, surrounded by massive frigates crewed by the Pirate Lord's strongest corsairs, none of Eri’s crew was in the slightest bit concerned about them.

After all, compared to the behemoth of decay awaiting them, everything else felt inconsequential. 

The reports already informed the expedition that the Despoiled Canticle would be massive — a kilometr...

Chapter 91: The Stormhead

It was no small thing for a lone ship to sail towards a Pirate Lord’s fleet head-on.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of war-scarred naval crafts filled the water around the dreadnought capital ship. Each was a heavily armed vessel crewed by bloodthirsty Chosens and chained slaves, ready for battle at the first sound of cannon fire. Black sails and crude flags choked the horizon, and as one came closer to the hostile fleet, other horrors could be borne witness to.

The armadas of the Pir...

Chapter 90: The Calm

“You turned his head into a magical artefact?!” Amber gagged.

“Well, originally, I wanted to turn it into a chamberpot, but then I figured I don’t want that bastard’s face staring in the direction of my ass anymore,” Deyara said, holding up the shrivelled (but still animated) head of Maelric Halsworn. 

Amber looked at her with undisguised horror and disgust.

The woman rolled her eyes. “Relax, I was joking. Besides, this is probably more tasteful as a bedsi...

Chapter 89: Desperate Plans

Days passed once more. The Biovore corvette made great speed across the waves. With its sails bolstered by magic from Andrealphus and its front tugged powerfully along by the enormous form of Marchosias, the living ship cut across the waters like a knife as it made its way to the inner seas, where the heart of the Slaver Isles awaited.

Even as they moved faster than Eri’s most optimistic predictions, the youth could not help but worry frantically. They might already be too late. Even ...

Chapter 88: Unreasonable

“You are not being reasonable.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

The arguments at the beach did not last long. A few tried to convince Eri otherwise, but his mind was set on his folly. Another attempt was made to persuade the imperial commander to assist him, but this time, Amber adamantly refused.

“Even suicide missions have limits. I have five hundred men here. I can’t throw them all away to save a single life, especially one with zero tactical importance,” Amber had s...

Chapter 87: Cold Rationale

A total of thirty-seven survivors were pulled from the frigate, with barely half of them capable of walking.

For a massive ship to hold so few living souls, it was a true miracle they ever managed to make it to shore. Frigates required crews of hundreds to function, doubly so for one so damaged. Marchosias’s aid in tugging the vessel was likely the only thing that kept it afloat, while the priest barely held the dying ship together with impromptu repairs long enough for it to reach sa...

Chapter 86: Death of Faith

The chaos in the fort slowly subsided. Though most were still trapped in a state of awe and tenseness — not helped at all by the giant humanoid-avian demon perched on the highest tower of the fort — the men obeyed their leader’s orders and set aside their weapons.

Apparently, the men were used to unconventional orders from Commander Amber, even for those demon-scarred veterans of the 24th Crusade. Her unorthodox tactics had saved them countless times before. One could saw they wer...

Chapter 85: Bad Omen

“Ship! Ship spotted! It’s heading our way!”

The alert by one of the watchtowers sent the base into action. It was the early hours of the morning. The sun had barely risen.

Yet if one stood on the western walls and squinted into the horizon, they could make out the shape of a vessel slowly but steadily heading towards them.

“Is it Drake?” Eri asked. 

“Nah, that’s not her,” Amber grunted, peering into a monoscope. “Too small. More importantly, the ...

Chapter 84: No Time At All

The expedition set out once more with three more ships to their fleet, obtained from the pirates. Guns and munition were plenty. However, without enough men to crew those ships, the vessels were more dead weight than anything.

“Keep an eye out. We're vulnerable towing those ships, so if Drake’s going to attack us, now’s her best shot,” Amber had warned confidently. “The moment something strange comes up, cut the tow lines and prepare for battle.”

The expedition was ten...

Chapter 83: The Newer New Plan

As commanded by Officer Amber, the pirate-infested outpost was clear before sundown.

Imperial forces retook the fort and began the arduous process of clean-up. They did not plan to stay for long, but the bodies of fallen comrades deserved a proper funeral. Their corpses were retrieved as respectfully as possible, no matter their tortured conditions, and then burned under alchemical fire until not even bones remained.

The pirate corpses were tossed into the sea. Supplies from the s...

Chapter 82: Doom Has Come

The West was not always a pirate-infested pit.

True, the situation in those seas was never truly ideal. Lawlessness ran rampant even before the Great Collapse, a hundred years before, and most manner of debauchery had still been enjoyed — even legally permitted in some cases.

Yet it was not utter anarchy. Empire-sanctioned governors were in place, the Imperial Administration maintained a considerable presence (though of somewhat questionable loyalty), and the Church curbed the w...

Chapter 81: Happy Sailing Adventures

It took four days of sailing from the logistics outpost before they stumbled into their first stranded imperial ship.

A badly damaged corvette on the brink of sinking, riddled with cannonfire. It still flew the imperial flag, however, and the men on board wore imperial uniforms. 

“Fifteen men, twelve wounded. I know this ship. It belongs to one of the larger patrol fleets from another outpost. It’s way off its usual route,” Kain reported.

“Treat the men, then qu...

Chapter 80: Non-Romantic Advice

“So, this is Cedric. He is part of the crew now. Everyone, say hi to each other.”

Eri’s words within the corvette’s war room were met with silence. Everyone stared at the ragged-looking man who had reluctantly pulled himself out of Eri’s shadow when the youth had commanded it.

Most bore expressions of confusion or curiosity. Dulcina’s gaze was one of disbelief and shock. Peythra had her head in her hands, while Deyara was chuckling to herself.

Seconds passed. Ced...

Chapter 79: Better Left Alone

“Nice arm. How the hell did you get that from Rann’s corpse?”

Eri sat down in Officer Amber's personal quarters, politely denying the cup of hard alcohol she offered.

“Took some difficulty. The magic within was… stubborn,” Eri said vaguely as he flexed his new left arm.

The light in the room fractured slightly across its surface, forming tiny, gleaming shards that hurt his eyes to look at if he focused. Beneath the crystalline surface, veins of faint blue pulsed ...

Chapter 78: Deals With The Devil

Eri could not believe his eyes. This should not be possible.

Not another holder of the name, not an inheritor. This demon before him was one he knew personally — the Marquis Andrealphus during the age of his rule.

Somehow, it had survived to the present day.

Eri pushed past his shock. He studied the Marquis carefully.

The demon noble Andrealphus was as falsely arrogant as ever. A peacock mirrored, the avian monster was not above the occasional demeaning comment or sn...

Chapter 77: Late Night Autopsy

It was the late hours of the evening. Most aboard the corvette were asleep.

Within a room hidden away in a dark corner of the ship, reeking of blood and brine, Eri studied a corpse.

He was not alone. Kalisa stood beside him, looking hungrily at the pressure-crushed body of Admiral Rann.

“It is not often I get to perform an autopsy on a Jewelled Core. Maelric was an initially interesting specimen to dissect, but overall ended up a disappointment,” Kalisa said. “There wa...

Chapter 76: Readying A Bigger Boat

The imperial fortress Eri’s expedition had purposefully sailed to and then subsequently rescued was officially designated by the Kaldreach Coalition as the Outer Logistical Fort. 

As the name implied, the logistical outpost was built upon an island which lay within the outer perimeters of the oceanic West. In a sense, it sat at the ‘mouth’ of the Slaver Isles — not yet within the hotly contested territories of Pirate Lords, but close enough that pirate ships would sometimes...

Chapter 75: Uncomfortable Discussions

Eri stared at the imperial commanding officer sitting before him with no small amount of concern.

“You look terrible,” he commented.

“I’m not the one missing an arm,” the woman grunted. She looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Her attire was a mess. The scent of booze and sweet smoke clung to her.

The lieutenant at her side looked pained at her utter unprofessionalism. Dulcina’s face remained neutral, but Eri knew her well enough to sense her disapproval.

Chapter 74: A Little Downtime

“Well, aren’t you guys a sorry lot.”

Commanding Officer Amber studied the wounded knights before her. Surrounding them was a large pile of dead corsairs, though the knights looked to be on their last legs.

“Please don’t tell me you’re with the pirates,” a female Gold-Core knight groaned. “We already had our fill of Jewelled Ranks for today.”

Amber raised an eyebrow. “I see you met Admiral Rann, then. Where’s the bastard? I need to put his head on a spik...

Chapter 73: The Final Step

The pirate lord was likely expecting Eri to run away. When the youth instead charged towards him, there was a microsecond of surprise when the distance between them was closed too quickly.

The first punch came wide as a result. Eri slipped under it, turning with the blow. As Rann’s arm hit empty air, his balance faltered. In that instant, Eri stepped in close, his hands catching the pirate’s outstretched wrist with one hand before redirecting it with the other. The man’s momentum ...

Chapter 72: Time To Dance

“You… You were the one who did all this, weren’t you?” the pirate admiral growled. “That Ruby-Core was weak. A pushover like him couldn’t be the one to make this mess. Who the fuck are you?”

Eri didn’t reply. Instead, he carefully studied the man. His Observation Skill searched even for the most minute weakness in his armour.

There was none. Save for the slits in his face — so tiny that not even his smallest daggers could slip into — the man was impenetrable. M...

Chapter 71: You Know The Music

Rune-etched bullets hissed through the air, shredding the wooden deck or ricocheting off plate armour. One musket round caught a Gold-Core knight square in the throat, but the wound barely slowed her as she shrugged off the impact with a blood-guttural roar. Two pirates fell over dead as Eri’s accurate artillery fire blasted holes in their torsos.

The two groups closed the gap. Musket and blunderbuss fire became intermittent as pistols and hand grenades took over. Explosions threw men...

Chapter 70: Back In Stride

When one thinks of a ship’s interior, they most likely envision tight corridors and narrow spaces.

This was usually true, for most seafaring crafts had to be constructed with a careful balance of size, buoyancy, and weight in mind. Space efficiency, born of structural necessity, was thus a matter of common sense.

However, as was most often the case when magic and Chosens were involved, common sense becomes secondary to the need for impractical posturing.  

The fr...

Chapter 69: Bad Boarding Actions

The Biovore corvette’s collision with the pirate frigate, Last Dawn, was not a gentle affair.

A point-blank shot from a heavy arcane cannon, followed by a vicious ram at full speed against the rear, would be enough to destroy any lesser warship. The Last Dawn, however, was a mighty frigate. Nearly a hundred metres in length, with five massive decks, and armoured by both steel plates and protective enchantments, the vessel could remain intact and buoyant even after su...

Chapter 68: Good Boarding Actions

Captain Lauren was not comfortable with the situation unfolding before him.

To be fair, there were plenty of things to be uncomfortable about. He and nine other knights — the combined force from House Elathion and House Drevaine — were crammed into a claustrophobic space where the walls were flesh and the air reeked of caustic bile. 

It was most unnatural. The warmth and humidity of it had them all sweating, not helped at all by the fact that they were all geared in full ...

Chapter 67: Horrors From Beyond

“Pirate ships ahead! They are in combat!”

Julie shouted to the crew from the crow’s nest. The people on deck scrambled to get a better look. The distance was still far, and so only the likes of long-ranged Chosens like Julie and Alvine could see the battle clearly.

“The pirates are engaging with an island fortress,” Alvine said as she squinted her eyes. “Judging by the stronghold’s flags, I’m pretty sure we have reached the Imperial Army’s logistics outpost we’...

Chapter 66: Fear Not The Hero

The journey was smooth sailing, more so than anyone had expected.

The mutated corvette ship — known now by the crew as a Biovore vessel — practically glided across the turbulent seas. Its vast tentacles, while unsettling to look upon, provided incredible stability and speed. If one were to stay inside their cabins, they might even mistake themselves for being on land when the ship passed calmer waters.

Still, pleasant as the cruise was, most remained uneasy.

“I swear I...

Chapter 65: The Ship Is People

A single glance at the port was enough for everyone to understand that there was little left salvageable within the shipyard.

Anything valuable was a burning ruin. Precious machinery, ship schematics, stockpiles of building materials… All gone.

Eri’s little expedition was now gathered at the last intact pier of the port. Beside the dock was the captured corvette pirate ship — certainly not the mightiest of war vessels, but at least one of moderate strength and size.  2025-10-20 11:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 64: Clean-up

“Wait, please! I’ll do anything you want, just spare my— Hrrk!”

The pirate’s last words were cut short as Dulcina’s rapier pierced through his eye and into his skull.

“That’s the last one,” Alvine said as she lifted her spear from the mangled corpse of another pirate. Her expression was uneasy. “Killing humans never gets easier.”

“These scums are barely human. They are parasites who feed off the suffering of others,” Dulcina said. “Death is the le...

Chapter 63: Recklessness

“Those footworks… I recognise them. I know what you are, little knight.”

Lauren ignored his opponent’s taunts as he slashed forth with his gladius. Mana empowered the strike, turning the steel into a swift flicker of death. 

The blade failed to find purchase. Lauren’s opponent laughed as his sword missed their neck and cut across their rusted breastplate instead.

Fat, tall, and plated in oil-stained armour, the large pirate admiral was nonetheless unnaturally ...