Chapter 160: Naval Battle at Sea, The Twelve Labors!!!
Chapter 160: Naval Battle at Sea, The Twelve Labors!!!
"Medea, Medea!"
On the massive sailing ship, a blond-haired man called out loudly.
"Master Jason, is something the matter?"
A petite girl with purple hair stepped out.
"I'm bored. Heracles isn't here, Hector and Blackbeard already left too… it should be fine, right?"
"Of course it's fine. Isn't Master Jason the one who knows Heracles's strength better than anyone?"
"That's true. As long as we send him out, even that pink-haired woman who always runs away will be taken care of easily!"
The blond-haired man cast a disdainful look toward the distant island.
"But after not stopping by for so long, some fools dare to rise up against me now—claiming to be knights of Britannia and following some so-called Popess I've never even heard of… absolutely ridiculous."
"To build a great nation, that's an inevitable trial, Master Jason."
Medea Lily gently comforted him.
"Of course I know that! Compared to a woman who hides away in a workshop all day like you, dealing with this kind of thing is seriously troublesome. You just need to focus on supporting and protecting me!!!"
Jason turned away irritably and shouted at the small purple-haired girl.
"Stop spacing out, go call that captain guy over for me—the one summoned with the Holy Grail a while back!"
"…Yes, understood."
Medea Lily lowered her head and softly replied, then withdrew into the ship's interior.
Soon after, a silver-haired man clad in shining white armor stepped out from the cabin.
He wore glasses, and across his armor, shield, and the sword at his waist were engraved crosses.
"You called for me, Lord Jason."
His every movement radiated seriousness and righteousness.
"Oh, isn't this the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar—Jacques de Molay! How is it? Getting used to life on the Argo?"
Jason immediately changed to a friendly expression.
"Thank you for your warm hospitality, Lord Jason. To travel aboard the Argo, which once carried countless legendary heroes—it is truly a great honor."
Jacques de Molay gave a slight nod and saluted Jason to show his respect.
"Ahaha, the Argo really is a treasure I take great pride in. But for even the Grandmaster of the Knights Templar—those guardians of pilgrims to the Holy Land—to join us… there must be a reason, right?"
In response to Jason's question, Jacques de Molay raised his left hand and replied in a firm, resolute voice.
"Our wish—is the revival of the Knights Templar! So that the path to the Holy Land may once again be opened!!"
"Exactly!!!"
Aboard the Argo, which he was immensely proud of, Jason stepped closer to Jacques de Molay and continued speaking enthusiastically.
"If I can establish a nation of my own here, then of course the Knights Templar will be my first choice to defend it. In that case, both your wish and mine will come true!!"
Jason looked directly at the Grandmaster standing before him, speaking in a voice full of righteousness.
Hearing that his wish could be realized, Jacques de Molay immediately responded.
"Thank you for your trust, Lord Jason! As Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, I swear this oath—we, the Knights Templar, shall stand with the Argo!!!"
"Umu, that's right!!!"
Jason nodded in satisfaction.
"Perfect timing too—there's a bunch of arrogant pests on that island up ahead. Could I trouble you to go deal with them?"
"Leave it to me."
Jacques de Molay placed a hand on his chest and replied with unwavering resolve.
"I shall show you firsthand—the strength of we, the Knights Templar!!!"
…
At the coast of Pirate Island.
Ethan and Mash sprinted at full speed and finally arrived at the area near the shore.
Along the way, defeated pirates lay strewn across the ground.
"All of you boy, get these bastards out of here—now!!!"
Drake raised her two flintlock pistols and fired a shot into the sky to rally her men.
"Daring to barge into our territory, huh?! You morons, eat my bullets!!"
"You just tried to steal my rum, didn't you? It was you, wasn't it!? Wasn't it, huh!!?"
"Yahaha! Round them all up, shove them in a barrel, and let 'em taste the sea firsthand!!"
Drake's subordinates were locked in fierce combat against the invading pirates. Both sides had drawn their guns and opened fire, turning the beach into a blazing battlefield of gunpowder and flames.
"Senpai, watch out!!"
Mash raised her shield and blocked for Ethan, continuously deflecting bullets flying in from unclear directions.
"Ah, Senpai! I've spotted Jeanne Alter-san!!!"
Ethan followed the direction of Mash's pointing finger—he saw Jeanne Alter, clad in black armor, standing in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by a group of pirates.
"Boss, I've never heard of any of Drake's subordinates being this strong."
"Hey girl, we're pirates from Edward Blackbeard's crew—you think we haven't done every dirty deed under the sun? You sure you wanna mess with us?"
A one-eyed pirate stepped forward, trying to "talk some sense" into Jeanne Alter.
But when he saw that Jeanne Alter didn't even glance at him, the pirate grew irritated.
"Hmph, quit acting all scared! Everyone, draw your weapons! One shot each—no way she can survive it!!!"
"That's right, boss is right! There's so many of us, what's to fear from one brat?!"
"BOOM————————!!!"
Suddenly, a black flame shot straight at the one-eyed pirate just as he was about to fire his gun.
It only grazed him slightly, but he immediately dropped his weapon, screaming, "I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!!" and dove into the ocean to escape.
"——————?!"
Seeing Jeanne Alter attack from a distance with fire, the surrounding pirates panicked, threw down their weapons, and scattered in a frenzy.
"Hmph, what a bunch of trash—this is a complete waste of time."
Jeanne Alter scoffed in disgust, casting her gaze around.
"Jeanne Alter-san!!"
Mash and Ethan quickly ran up to her.
"Are you alright?"
"Just a bunch of garbage. I thought someone stronger might show up."
As Ethan approached, Jeanne Alter instinctively looked around him.
It was as if she were searching for someone—but when she saw that Draco was nowhere to be found, a faint smirk appeared on her face.
"Oh? Where's that Beast? Not with you???"
"You mean Draco?"
Ethan sighed.
"She said petty skirmishes like this aren't her thing. No idea where she ran off to now."
"Hmph, I knew it!!"
Jeanne Alter planted the Evil Dragon flag into the sand.
"That whole 'Desire, Depravity' crap she spouts—always talking in riddles like a true Beast—she's definitely hiding something. You still have time to cut ties with her, you know."
Ethan looked clearly exasperated.
Anyone else saying that might be fine, but Jeanne Alter—you're an Avenger. And Draco's currently using a Saint Graph Alter Ego.
To Chaldea, the two of you… really aren't that different.
Why must one EX Class go so hard on another EX Class…
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOM——————————!!!"
Suddenly, a massive explosion rang out from a distant three-masted ship.
From afar, two towering figures could be seen locked in fierce combat.
"We've detected an enemy Servant! And two more saint graphs nearby, both with extremely strong magical energy signatures!!"
Doctor Romani's voice came through the communicator ring.
"We're analyzing the field data now—wait, what…?!"
Romani's voice suddenly froze in shock.
"These two saint graphs… they're nearly identical in magical wavelength?! Both of them… are the great hero Heracles?!"
"But wait—one is an Archer, and the other a Berserker? Why are they fighting each other? What in the world is going on…"
Hearing the doctor's confusion, Ethan immediately reported in.
"Doctor, the Heracles in Archer class is on our side."
"What?! That Heracles is one of ours?! That saint graph with demi-divine readings?!"
Romani was stunned, practically unable to believe it.
"This is unreal… In a place completely cut off from Chaldea, you still managed to summon a demi-god class Servant???"
"Uh, well… I'm not entirely sure how that happened myself…"
Ethan scratched his head, looking helpless.
"…I see. Must be that strange summoning ability of yours again, huh? Maybe we really do need to update Chaldea's summoning system."
Given the situation, Romani decided not to press the issue further.
"BOOM————————!!!"
The pirate ship shook violently, the surrounding waves crashing high into the sky.
Ethan and the others looked off into the distance.
...
...
Under the silver moonlight, two towering figures clashed in fierce combat.
"GRRAAAAAHHHHHHHH————————!!!"
The Berserker roared in rage and instantly lunged toward Heracles, closing the distance in a flash.
The massive axe in his hands was raised high, and in a single heartbeat, an enormous surge of magical energy gathered on its blade.
Archer Heracles—dragged into the range of a Noble Phantasm—immediately understood what the enemy intended. A second later, the axe-sword, heavy as the heavens, came crashing down at a speed the naked eye couldn't follow!!!
"Nine Lives"
Simply wielding the proper weapon was enough to unleash this skill, a technique belonging to a specific set of combat abilities.
It was a Noble Phantasm that re-enacted the feats of Heracles's Twelve Labors—specifically, his battle against the nine-headed Hydra.
When wielded with an axe-sword, this technique delivered at least nine supersonic strikes.
Depending on the strength of the opponent, the number of attacks could climb into the hundreds!
"VMMMMMMMMMMMM————————!!!"
The weapon was swung so fast that even those watching from the shore could only hear a deafening, high-pitched resonance like an enormous soundwave!
"——————?!"
Ethan clutched his ears and grit his teeth, eyes fixed on the translucent livestream feed before him.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM——————————!!!"
The final swing of the axe-sword crashed down, causing the deck of the ship to explode at the point of impact.
The pirates in the cabins had long since fled the ship, terrified of being caught in the aftermath of the devastating clash.
As the smoke slowly cleared, a lone figure still stood tall amidst the shattered remains of the deck.
"So this is the full extent of your skill? I see now… You've forsaken reason to gain such power—lost to madness."
Wrapped around Heracles's large arm—somehow, at some point—was a long strip of cloth.
It was with that cloth-wrapped arm that he blocked Berserker's Noble Phantasm?!
Just a piece of cloth, and yet it concealed such terrifying power.
Heracles gripped his massive bow tighter, swinging it like a close-combat weapon straight at his opponent!
"KLANG————————!!!"
In the very next instant, Berserker raised his axe-sword to block, and the two weapons collided with a thunderous crash.
"Huff… huff…!!"
Berserker was fully enraged now, his blood-red eyes brimming with murderous fury, glaring at the enemy before him. His breathing was ragged, magical energy building rapidly for the next attack.
"AYA AYA AYA!!!"
Blackbeard—having just regained his senses after the shockwave—quickly straightened his pirate attire.
That tremor had nearly thrown him straight into the sea.
"That bastard Jason!! How dare he hand me such a dangerous freak! He called him the 'most valiant subordinate'? Bullshit! That's a damn monster! We can't even keep the ship together!!"
Most of the deck was destroyed, the mast had collapsed, and all the pirates hiding below deck had already leapt into the sea to flee.
Now, only Blackbeard and the two monstrous fighters remained aboard.
He dropped to his stomach and squinted toward the distant Pirate Island. It looked like the pirate forces he'd sent to raid the place had completely disbanded.
"Damn it! Where the hell did that old hag find such terrifying allies?!"
Before he could finish swearing, the ship shook violently again!
"KLANG, KLANG, KLANG————————!!!"
A string of loud crashes echoed across the decaying pirate ship.
Berserker with his axe-sword and Heracles with his giant bow were locked in a brutal exchange.
"Hmph, no matter how powerful her lackeys are, there's no way anyone can beat the monster Jason sent if they go one-on-one!!!"
Blackbeard clung to the railing, grinning smugly.
"She may have the upper hand for now, but in the end she'll be wiped out by that beast! And once she's gone, those pirate crews on the island will have no choice but to join Edward's Pirate Crew!!"
He suddenly burst into laughter.
"Then I'll be the one sailing her Golden Hind, leading the new pirate recruits—and Medea-chan will surely reward me handsomely. Hehehe… My sweet Medea-chan… if I could, I'd have her tiny little hands—ehehehe~"
"BANG————————!!!"
Another strong impact nearly sent Blackbeard flying.
"That damn Berserker still hasn't finished him off?!"
In Blackbeard's stunned gaze of disbelief, Heracles was now overpowering Berserker with just his enormous bow.
That monstrous Berserker… was losing in close combat?!
"You're angry. You've lost your reason, and now you can no longer use that Noble Phantasm of yours."