Chapter 20

This is the 25th day of wandering in the sea area around Season Island. The morale of the recruits on the training ship is at an all-time low, as they have not found any trace of the "Hunting Sword" pirates, and even the Marine's intelligence has yielded no news. If it weren't for the great victory in Chunyuy City at the very start, I'm afraid the morale of these recruits would be even worse.

Even though it feels powerless, this is a common affair for Marine missions. The sea is vast; finding a pirate group—possible, but difficult to say if it's easy.

Faced with this situation, Zephyr can only encourage and calm them. Although he also worries, his many years of service in the Marines have accustomed him to this process, but the recruits in the training camp are different. Veterans like Karl are rare.

Others are in a state of dejection and don't know how to occupy themselves, but Karl is very happy. Not encountering Weevile but instead enjoying fishing—this is simply the sea life he's long dreamed of. It would be even better if there were a beautiful woman nearby.

Over twenty days of accumulation, Karl has successfully improved his physical condition from C to C+ and has mastered the corresponding skills of the Six Styles of the Marines .

In short, he knows everything that Lucci knows, and he also knows what Lucci doesn't know. He is even not much inferior to Zephyr. The only difference is in strength, that's all.

"Hmm... Brother Karl, how can you be so happy every day? Our internship tasks are practically impossible!" Ain looked at Karl, sitting on the railing and fishing serenely, and complained helplessly, not knowing how to express her frustration.

They originally wanted to use the internship tasks to showcase their skills, not scrub the deck and maintain the ship every day, but Karl was an exception.

No, it seems he has always been like this.

"Haha, Ain, you haven't been with the Marines for long, so you don't understand. This situation is the norm in the Marines!" Karl waved his hand dismissively, as if to say, "Guys, don't worry, it's routine."

"Apart from special missions, the most important thing in capturing pirates is reconnaissance. Without reconnaissance, you can only rely on luck."

Ain pouted and sat next to Karl, looking at the blue sea.

"Oh! I really envy your attitude!"

"Hehe, just get used to it, just get used to it! Wait, there's a fish!"

Karl swiftly grabbed the fishing rod, and a half-meter long sea fish flopped onto the deck, thrashing about, while Ain's eyes lit up.

He rushed to catch the fish and handed it to Karl, but during the process, the fish kept shrinking, and by the time it was in Karl's hand, it had turned into a small fish.

Looking at Karl's frozen expression with his handsome features, Ain burst out laughing, clearly enjoying pulling a prank on Karl.

"At 12 o'clock, 10 nautical miles ahead, there's something! It's a pirate ship!"

A loud shout came from the lookout deck, and all the recruits were initially stunned, then shocked. Finally!

Ain's face turned serious, and she quickly said to Karl:

"Brother Karl, stop fishing, the pirates are coming"

Far out at sea, a pirate ship was swiftly sailing, and chaos reigned on board.

"Damn it, these marine guys keep chasing us! Everyone, pass on my order, full speed ahead; ignore those damn marine guys!"

The speakeing was Captain Zaker of the pirate group "Hunting Sword," with a bounty of 24.5 million berries. He initially worked as a bounty hunter but later turned to piracy and became known for his masterful swordsmanship.

"Captain, this is bad, those marine guys are pursuing us! Our ship isn't as fast as theirs!"

Zaker's brow furrowed in frustration, but he made up his mind, raising the saber that hung at his waist high into the air, and shouted:

"Since the Marines are chasing us, there's no point in running; we are the 'Hunting Sword' pirates! Everyone, fire!"

"Yeah, yeah! Kill the marines!"

On the training ship, Zephyr slowly lowered his telescope, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"Surrender? Hmph! Overestimating their own strength."

"Karl!"

"Yes!"

Zefa turned to look at Karl in his white uniform and said seriously:

"You will continue to lead this battle." Don't let me down.

"Yes, Mr. Zephyr !"

Karl's face grew serious, and he noticed that the eyes of the recruits were full of anticipation... and desire. Karl sighed helplessly. I guess this is what it means to be a babysitter!

"May the Holy Light be with you!"

The recruits involuntarily closed their eyes, feeling the energy and vibrant life force that surged through their bodies, and shouted in unison:

"Marines will prevail!"

"All right, full speed ahead, artillerymen immediately adjust the artillery direction and await my command!"

"Yes!"

The training ship increased its power and accelerated towards the pirates. In the distance from the training ship, a few erratic bombs splashed water as they fell.

"Pirates are pirates! How can they hit the guns if they're so eager to shoot from such a distance!"

Karl looked out at the sea through the telescope. The chaotic scene on the pirate ship made them laugh, and they calmly waited for the pirate ship to enter their attack zone.

"Artillerymen, prepare... fire!"

Boom, boom, boom!

The guns fired simultaneously, and the black shells flew towards the pirate ship with a wail, like a death prayer. Although a few shells fell into the sea, the majority exploded on the pirate ship.

Several holes appeared on the pirate ship, and fragments of its hull scattered across the sea.

"Zhao! What are you all doing? You fired so many shells and didn't hit a single one. The Marines fired just one volley and hit our ship so hard!"

"Useless, utterly useless!"

Zakel was furious at the damaged ship, and he cursed at his henchmen, spitting with rage.

"Zakel, why don't we move the ship and fight the Marine Patrol with real swords and guns? If things go wrong, we might have a glimmer of hope left."

The speaker had a cold-blooded face and seemed to be the only smart one in the pirate group.

His words were quite convincing. Thanks to his persuasion, Zakel quickly calmed down.

"You're right. We can't just sit and wait for death. Let's give it a try. I want to see if the Marines can stop my Karasmu!"

The second captain, Lake, looked at the black long sword in Zaker's hand, envy in his eyes.

He was also a swordsman, and what swordsman doesn't want a good sword?

The sword Zakel held was the famous "Karasmu," a swift and sharp blade among the "Fifty great grade blades." Thanks to its sharpness, Zakel had gained notoriety.

"Guys, bring the ship to me!"

Captain Zakel gave the order, and the hull creaked as it moved toward the training ship.

"Oh! These pirates want to engage in boarding combat with us! Are you crazy? Listen to my command, fire the cannons!"

Why engage in boarding combat when you can easily defeat the enemy with cannons? In any case, Karl doesn't want to fight.

On land, hand-to-hand combat isn't possible, and doing the same at sea seems a bit odd.

Wouldn't it be great to wait until their ship explodes and the pirates are floundering in the sea before taking action?

Boom, boom, the cannon fired again

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