"You bastards… trying to extort me?!"
Cross spat in disgust, gently setting down the 32-pound cannon he had been carrying in his arms. The heavy metal clunked against the ground with a dull thud.
"Bastard!"
At that moment, Mad Blade Hart let out a furious roar. Without warning, he drew the katana at his waist and lunged forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, slashing down at Cross.
The blade tore through the air with a flash, accompanied by a fierce gust of wind.
"A swordsman, huh…? Perfect." Cross grinned, baring his teeth. Rather than retreating, he stepped in, drawing his own katana and meeting the strike head-on.
Clang—!
Steel clashed against steel, sparks flew, and a sharp metallic screech rang out. The impact stirred up a powerful burst of wind that rippled outward from the clash.
"Damn brat! We were going to let you off easy if you just handed over the money, but now, you're all dying here!" Hart snarled viciously, gripping his blade with both hands as he wrestled with Cross in a deadly test of strength.
Cross's gaze was calm, almost indifferent, as it swept over Hart's face. Gripping his blade firmly, he gave a sudden push forward, and with raw power, sent Hart stumbling back several steps.
"No way?!"
"One-Sword Style: Shockwave!"
Hart's eyes went wide in disbelief. He barely managed to steady himself before Cross gave a low shout, sweeping his blade sideways. A bladelike shockwave, sharp enough to be seen with the naked eye, exploded outward.
Boom!
Hart hurriedly raised his sword to block, but the force of the wind was too overwhelming. He was hurled through the air, crashing into a warehouse wall ten meters away.
The thick brick wall caved inward, spiderweb-like cracks spreading from the impact point.
"Die!"
Just then, a wiry man with a rat-like face suddenly sprang from among the pirates behind Cross. With a flick of both hands, he unleashed a barrage of throwing knives aimed straight at Cross's back.
"Behind you!"
General Humil shouted a warning.
But in that very instant, Cross spun around with lightning speed. His blade flashed several times—clang-clang-clang!—deflecting four or five flying knives in quick succession.
"No way! I was behind him, he couldn't possibly have seen me!" the rat-faced man cried out, stunned.
"Count Cross! That guy's the navigator of the Mad Bear Pirates, a 12-million bounty holder known as the Ambusher, Rocco!" General Humil shouted.
"Shut your damn mouth!"
Furious, Rocco hurled another throwing knife, this time at Humil.
Cross moved to intercept, but before he could reach him, Humil swiftly drew a flintlock pistol from his waist. With a sharp bang, he shot the flying blade out of the air.
"Nice shot!"
Cross whistled, clearly impressed.
"Don't underestimate me!" Humil snapped back. "I'm a general of the Tobias Kingdom, damn it!"
"Men! Break through and send the signal! Call reinforcements to wipe these pirates out!"
With that command, General Humil led a dozen royal guards charging out of the warehouse.
Damn it, like we don't have backup too!
Before arriving, they'd brought nearly the entire contingent from the kingdom's warship, over two hundred soldiers from the Royal Army and the Royal Guard, armed with muskets, swords, spears, and more. While they lacked armor, they were hidden in the trees by the coast just a short distance away.
The twenty-some pirates inside the warehouse were caught off guard as the guardsmen broke through their lines.
Bang—!
Whooosh—!
Raising his pistol to the sky, General Humil fired a flare. A red light streaked upward, letting out a sharp whistling sound before exploding with a pop, like a firework.
Moments later, dozens of heads emerged from the foliage near the coastline. Royal soldiers surged forth, weapons in hand, charging with fearless determination.
"The signal's been sent... go, go, go!"
"General Humil needs backup, move faster!"
"Kill every last one of them!"
On the open ground in front of the red-brick warehouse, dozens, soon hundreds, of pirates had surrounded Humil's group. But the sudden appearance of over two hundred royal soldiers from the rear threw them into chaos.
Musket balls, throwing axes, javelins, an initial volley of ranged attacks felled over a dozen pirates on the spot.
But the pirates of the Mad Bear crew were hardened veterans of sea battles, fierce, ruthless, and vastly more experienced than the average kingdom soldier.
Even with superior numbers and the advantage of a surprise attack, the Royal Army and Royal Guard found themselves in a fierce and evenly matched struggle against nearly a hundred battle-hardened pirates.
Over three hundred combatants clashed in a massive melee. Gunfire and the ring of blades filled the air as cries of war and screams of pain echoed through the battlefield. Blood quickly soaked the sandstone courtyard before the warehouse.
To any outsider, the scene could've passed for a full-on war. Sword and musket, spear and axe, it was chaos befitting the West Blue's Mafia more than the North Blue's usual underworld fare.
Meanwhile, deep within a grove of palm trees, Mad Bear Onik pushed himself off the broken trunk of a palm, groaning as he rose.
"You little shit... I'll tear you limb from limb!"
Without even wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he roared and charged forward, barreling straight through a gaping hole in the warehouse wall.
Cross dodged a few more of Rocco's throwing knives before surging forward, his blade flashing once, then burying itself deep into the assassin's chest. With a single stroke, he nailed the 12 million-Berry pirate to the floor.
But before he could even catch his breath, a gust of foul wind washed over him. He looked up to see Onik charging straight at him, massive arms wide open for a crushing embrace.
"Die, Bear Hug Slam!!"
The sheer force of it was like a runaway tank. Despite leaving himself wide open, Onik's raw momentum made Cross instinctively leap aside to avoid the charge.
If he hadn't taken Rocco down in time, he'd have been caught in that deadly grapple, and no swordsman survived a direct slam like that.
"Now die, Mad Slash!!"
Out of nowhere, Mad Blade Hart reappeared, his long blade sweeping out in a storm of steel. Countless arcs of light engulfed Cross.
But he didn't flinch.
At the critical moment, Cross sheathed his sword.
Left hand gripping the scabbard. Right hand resting on the hilt. He dropped into an iaido stance.
"Iaido: Morozan!!"
Shing—!
The katana flashed like lightning. In a single stroke, the storm of slashes was torn apart.
When Hart blinked, Cross was behind him, silent and composed.
Then Hart felt it: a searing, bone-deep gash had split his chest wide open.
Blood erupted in a violent spray.
"AAAAARGHH—!"
With a scream of agony, Hart collapsed, his blade slipping from his fingers.
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/JuanPiece [remove the parenthesis ( )]