The black-sailed pirate ship approached the metal chains that were hanging from the tall pillars and hovered about ten meters above the water surface.
They were raven black in color and were made of a rather different type of metal called ashenium. It was a material that was known for its strength and resistance to corrosion.
It was unknown how long the chains had been there, but as far as history went, they had always been there.
No one had been able to break them.
It was as if they were protected by ancient magic of some sort since ashenium had never been classified as one of the strongest metals, but still, no one had been able to break them.
As the black-sailed ship neared the cross, the crew onboard watched as the raven black chains suddenly glowed, changing from raven black to bright yellow.
“We are about to crash!” Ambrose shouted, but he saw that everyone wore calm and collected expressions.
“This is why this place is Pirate Battleground.” Damian smiled.
“The chains are enchanted with some kind of spell so that only pirates can enter the battleground.
“Inquisitors and the navy had tried to fool the chains by masking themselves as pirates, but they have failed. It was as if the chain had a mind of its own.”
After he finished speaking, the ship went through the chains as if they were made of water. The crew watched in silence as soon as they crossed the line between the outside and Pirate Battleground.
“Unbelievable…” Ambrose thought out loud as he watched the chains remain rooted in their same positions, but the yellow color changed back to raven black.
“Even I don’t know what the chains are enhancted with.” Loki walked next to him with his arms folded. “It’s very old magic and very high-ranked.”
“Henri, go to the crow’s nest.” Apollo commanded, pointing towards the top of the mast.
Henri nodded and quickly made his way up the ladder.
Apollo then took something out of his vest—it was a small, wooden handheld curved stick. However, he then shook it, and it suddenly enlarged, revealing itself to be a magical bow.
“We cannot stay unguarded in here.” Apollo said to Ambrose. “We’ll need to keep our eyes peeled for any potential threats.”
Ambrose nodded with understanding and joined Damian in watching the nearby fog-shrouded islands to see if there were any pirate ships.
Leon steered the helm calmly, but then he felt a water drop hit his neck.
‘Rain?’ He turned to the sky, which was rather cloudy and dark, but it was only dark from one place.
His eyes slowly widened as he saw an enormous object fall through the cloud layer, falling straight at them.
“Shit, enemy attack!” He shouted loudly and turned the helm sharply to the right.
Everyone gathered on the deck looked up to the sky and exclaimed in shock as the enormous object—almost like a meteor—fell towards them.
If it hit their ship, they would all die!
“Move… move!” Leon screamed as he frantically tried to steer the ship away. With his muscles bulging and almost exploding, the large shadow that cast an eerie darkness above the deck slowly left.
At last, the enormous object crashed into the sea, right beside the ship, sending a massive wave with a height of thirty meters towards the Black Heart!
“Shit!” Leon’s eyes shrunk as he realized he wouldn’t be able to dodge this one. This wave could capsize the ship easily!
At that moment, a white-haired figure appeared in front of the enormous wave.
“Whoo…” Zero breathed coldly and moved his fist beside his waist before casually throwing it forward with a straight punch.
The invisible force from the fist collided with the wave, making it stop momentarily.
“Zero Impact.”
As he landed on the railing, the wave in front of him exploded into a breathtaking display of spray and foam.
The water spilled on the deck, leaving it wet and slippery while taking away all the dirt and grime.
“Zero!” Damian grinned.
They had done a few fighting sessions before to keep their skills up, and Damian was also an unarmed combatant, but he was never able to defeat Zero with hand-to-hand combat.
He was able to put up a much better fight when using his Vampire Light, but still, Zero’s skills managed to nullify most of his attacks.
In his opinion, Zero had the strongest defense among the Black Heart Pirates!
It was even more shocking because Jake had an almost indestructible body because of his Starborn constitution, yet the title of best defense belonged to Zero!
Apollo pulled the bowstring of his bow, and a magical arrow appeared from the thin air, perfectly placed between his fingers.
He pointed the bow and arrow at the enormous object that fell, and after seeing what it was, his eyes turned serious.
It was an enormous ship with tattered sails and a broken mast. There was a large crowd gathered on the deck, scurrying about as they were trying to fix the holes in the hull and repair the damages.
“Did this ship fall from the sky?” Loki asked with a frown as he watched the ship sail beside them.
The ship was much larger than theirs, with hundreds of cannons lining its sides, all aimed straight at them!
Slam—the captain’s cabin’s door swung open, and angry-looking Mars came to see what the hell was happening.
As he saw the enormous ship, his eyes turned cold, and he shouted.
“Crew, prepare for the battle!
“Apollo, get the cannons ready!”
“W-we can’t outshoot them!” Apollo shouted as they only had thirty or so cannons, while the enemy ship appeared to have thrice as many.
“That was an order!” Mars screamed and stomped down the stairs with his veins protruding from his forehead.
After arriving at the deck, he looked to the ship, towards the tallest mast in the middle, to see the pirate flag that was flapping against the wind.
It was a skull and crossbones with a red eye patch and a menacing grin.
“The Red-Eyed Bonney…” Mars scoffed as he remembered the pirate flag.
Hearing the name, Damian’s expression turned severe.
‘The Red-Eyed Bonney is one of the commanders of the Sea King and one of the A-ranked pirate captains of the Pirate Battleground.
‘Angering her could be very dangerous.’
On the deck of the Red Eye pirate ship, a woman with long red hair and a fierce expression stood, her one eye glowing with an intense rage that could strike fear into anyone who crossed her path.
Her left eye was covered by a red eye patch that was rumored to hide a disfigured eye that she had acquired in a battle long ago.
She was still quite beautiful with slender and curvaceous body with tight curves and a confident stride that demanded attention.
Her brown vest, only closed by three buttons, threatened to pop out at any moment because of her ample bosom that almost overflowed the fabric.
She stepped on the railing and looked at the black-sailed ship with a mysterious twinkle in her right eye.
“Captain, what shall we do?” Her left-hand man asked from behind her. “We have suffered a great deal of damage because we used the Sky Fall.”
“…” The Red-Eyed Bonney looked down and caught a sight of the fiery gaze of a broad-shouldered man that was filled with anger and greed.
“I don’t think we can leave without a fight.” She said with an alluring voice. “We have encountered a troublesome person.”