By Zephyria =======
A foul memory resurfaced. Red Eagle gripped the hem of Wolf’s robe tightly. White Deer’s gaze lingered on the back of Red Eagle’s hand.
‘You are not my son.’
It felt as if everything in the world had frozen. As if by prior agreement, Wolf and Red Eagle gripped each other’s hands firmly. With those words, ‘You are not my son,’ fragments of the past clicked together seamlessly in the two boys’ minds. Ah, so that’s why Mother… that’s why the nanny…
White Deer’s closed lips slowly curled upward. A smile as cold as a blade slicing through raw meat formed.
‘My son had no such mole on the back of his hand. His entire body was as white as freshly squeezed milk.’
White Deer tilted his head back. A sharp laugh swept through the winter wind.
‘How audacious! To swap your own brat for my son!’
‘Skin that fake now! Alive! I shall make a cloak of him and wear it every day!’
Red Eagle let go of Wolf’s hand and collapsed. Warriors approached, axes in hand. Wolf hurriedly stepped in front of Red Eagle. He felt as if his entire body were engulfed in flames. He snatched an axe from the lead warrior’s hand, swung it, and screamed.
‘Don’t come any closer! If you lay a single finger on the Prince, I’ll kill you all!’
I can’t lose the Prince too. I’ve already lost that child.
But who was that child?
I don’t know…
Wolf opened his eyes. His vision wavered like ocean waves. It felt as if he had dreamed while briefly asleep. What was it? He felt as though he had been searching for someone in the darkness.
Even as he retraced it, he couldn’t quite recall. The dream was like a coat with misaligned seams. It looked fine at a glance, but once worn, one sleeve was too short.
“Damn it.”
It was the moment Wolf covered his face with both hands. Thump—. With a heavy sound, the cabin shook violently. Red Eagle snapped his eyes open and launched himself from his perch.
“Pirate ship! It’s a pirate ship!”
“It’s an orca,” Wolf retorted, but immediately another thump echoed. It wasn’t an orca. Something far more massive slammed into the side of the warship. The sound of the ship’s timber twisting and creaking erupted loudly.
Wolf stood up quickly. Red Eagle circled the cabin triumphantly.
“See! I told you it was a pirate ship!”
Then came the sound of something stabbing and scratching. Pirates were throwing grappling hooks onto this deck. Those bastards always ram the ship first and then jump over for a melee brawl. From food and gold to the crew, everything was merely merchandise to be traded for money to a pirate.
Footsteps thundered on the deck. Shouts erupted. It seemed the pirates were crossing over using the ropes attached to the iron hooks. Silver dust poured from the trembling cabin ceiling. The oil lamp hanging from the ceiling chain spun, casting crazed, flickering shadows everywhere. The clashing of metal, screams, and laughter. Another thump.
Due to the successive impacts, the hull finally tilted severely. The helmet tucked under the bed rolled out. Wolf, sliding along the floor, barely managed to brace himself against the wall with one hand.
〔Crisis detected… Multiple lethal threats.〕
〔Combat interface activating…〕
〔Boot sequence complete.〕
A translucent window appeared before Wolf’s eyes. It was a wide rectangular shape. At the top was a compass. 〚ENE〛 Wind Direction :: 〚Starboard $rightarrow$ Port〛 Wind Speed :: 〚Gale (Force 8)〛
Bottom Left— Biological Stability :: 〚Normal〛$updownarrow$ Combat Output :: 〚98 calden〛$updownarrow$ Outer Shell Defense Rate :: 〚85 calden〛
Bottom Right— Warning :: 〚Excessive spray $rightarrow$ Vision correction and outline enhancement active〛
In the spatial coordinates below, there were dozens of red dots. 〚Threat Entities: 38〛
“These aren’t ordinary pirates! Danger! Danger!”
“Agreed. They’re professionals.”
Wolf picked up the helmet that had rolled across the floor and put it on. It was a helmet in name only; in reality, it was the hide of a wild bison’s head from northern Stohl. It was thick enough that it would take several axe blows to even scratch it, and when worn, it draped down to his shoulders.
“Prince, I’m going to go clean the deck for a bit!”
Looking like a freak with a beast’s head, Wolf burst out of the room. He slammed the door shut before Red Eagle could follow.
“Wolf! Wolfuuu!”
“Just go back to sleep.”
He tossed those words back and sprinted down the hallway. Flea spoke.
〔According to the regulations of the 〔self-protection right〕, you are granted one option to refuse this combat assistance…〕
“I’m not refusing!”
〔Entering combat stance.〕
As soon as the words ended, a targeting reticle snapped into the center of the window. A notification appeared in the upper left below it.
Priority Response :: 〚Deter Intruders〛$updownarrow$〚Recommended Target: Sever two grappling hooks on the starboard hull〛
〚Threat Scale :: ■■■■■ (5/5)〛
〔Proceeding with entity combat power enhancement…〕
〔Complete. Initiating blade manifestation…〕
This time, his right hand felt as if it were splitting open. Something surged from inside his palm, extending rapidly and transforming into a greatsword. Wolf gripped the greatsword lightly. The hatch was right in front of him.
The moment he stepped onto the deck, a welcoming greeting flew his way. Two crossbow bolts thudded into his helmet. Wolf pulled the bolts out and looked around. It was chaos. Pirates and warriors were engaged in a dogfight. Most wore beast heads and rags, making it impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
〚Threat Identified :: Starboard Close Range〛
Someone charged from the right. The combat interface was particularly useful in such a brawl. It lightly tinted only the enemies in blue.
The opponent’s weapon was an axe. Wolf had the advantage in reach. He charged straight forward and thrust his arm out. A white line was drawn in the air first, following the greatsword backed by destructive strength. Soon after, the heavy resistance of muscle, blood, and organs traveled up the blade to his shoulder. After the penetration came the sound. Bang—!
Blood exploded violently from the back of the torso pierced by the greatsword. Fragments of viscera burst out and scattered in all directions. The violently spurting blood soon split into several streams and trickled down.
The opponent dropped to one knee. Another one.
〚Threat Identified :: Port Mid-Range〛
〚Caution :: Slippery Hazard Zone〛
“Get the text out of my face. It’s just in the way.”
〔It is the regulation.〕
Thump, thump, thump, the sound of footsteps charging across the deck. This one also had a greatsword.
“Die—!”
By a hair’s breadth, Wolf’s greatsword was faster. The opponent collapsed, grey organs spilling out from a split belly. A foul smell of entrails wafted over. The corpse slid across the floor drenched in alcohol and blood.
There was no time to breathe. The targeting reticle spun to the left.
Two grappling hooks were embedded deep into one side of the deck. Another pirate was crossing over via the rope stretched tight toward the pirate ship.
〚Axe Throw〛
The hull shook violently. Accordingly, the combat interface’s targeting reticle fluctuated up, down, left, and right. Wolf picked up an axe lying on the floor and threw it, aiming about a palm’s width above the reticle. A notification appeared. 〚Correction :: +12〛
The axe, tearing through the ropes in succession, slammed deep into the distant deck. The pirate climbing the rope fell with a scream—splash.
〚Priority Response :: Deter Intruders $rightarrow$ Completed〛
〚Recommended Target :: Sever two grappling hooks on the starboard hull $rightarrow$ Completed〛
〚Threat Scale :: ■□□□□ (1/5)〛
From here on, it was just a matter of diligently killing pirates. Wolf ended the lives of seven more in succession. By the time he dealt with the eighth pirate, the blade was slippery, drenched in blood, fat, and bits of organs. The red dots swarming the spatial coordinates had decreased significantly. 〚Threat Entities: 6〛
Good. Almost done… wait.
Two burly figures charged from both directions. One had dual axes. The other had a spear.
〚Starboard $rightarrow$ Combat Output 41 calden〛
〚Stern $rightarrow$ Combat Output 42 calden〛
Anyone with a combat output over 40 calden is a first-class warrior. Could these be the pirate captain and the vice-captain? But why are they both charging at me at once?
“Ugh. How annoying.”
The one with the dual axes charged first. He was a man who knew how to use his height. Standing tall, he raised his axes high and let out a battle cry.
“Yaaaaah—!”
A dark shadow engulfed Wolf. It was a momentum that would make most men wet themselves, but the moment he clashed with the greatsword, the dual axes flew away like wooden spoons. The opponent flailed his arms and landed hard on his backside.
〚Starboard Parry Successful $rightarrow$ Immediate Critical Hit Possible〛
“Stop blocking my view!”
〔Regulation.〕
A gust of wind whistled past Wolf’s flank. In that split second, the other man had closed in and thrust his spear. Because Wolf twisted his body slightly to dodge, the attacker’s posture collapsed. The upper body, gripping the spear with both hands, lurched forward violently, and he missed a step. Notification. 〚Threat Identified :: Stern Long Range〛 You’re late again, you bastard.
Wolf was already delivering a powerful kick to the opponent’s backside.
74 – Hell Execution Order