Captain – Chapter 173 – The End of the Constantine

“Thud!”

Arnold staggered back a few steps before falling flat on the deck. Fresh blood poured from the bullet hole in his forehead, staining his eyes that refused to close even in death.

Everything happened so suddenly.

This elegant, fox-like, and vicious character had been smiling with restraint one moment, and the next, he’d become a cold corpse.

In the eyes of the Constantine’s crew, their First Mate seemed to possess a mysterious power that allowed him to evade death. He had even managed to escape from the Blood-Eyed Butcher with his mediocre physical abilities and below-average combat skills.

But now, that power seemed to have been shattered by a single bullet.

Faced with such an abrupt turn of events and powerful shock, the Constantine’s crew fell into a momentary daze.

Only Solomon, the tyrant who had terrorized the ocean for decades, immediately came to his senses. Without hesitation, he turned and scrambled up the spiral staircase before the next shot could ring out, bursting into the captain’s quarters.

After ensuring he was out of the sniper’s line of sight, the Black Emperor finally had time to turn around and roar at the increasingly chaotic deck: “Adjust the sails! Increase turning speed! Move quickly!”

When the gunshot rang out and Arnold fell backwards, Solomon knew he’d fallen into a trap. He realized that the Mermaid’s seemingly sluggish cannon fire earlier had been deliberate, designed to lure them in!

Though he wasn’t clear about the Mermaid’s current situation, there was no doubt it had become an enemy of the Constantine!

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In such a critical moment, the Black Emperor’s first order was to accelerate the turn.

If they could make the turn before enemy fire penetrated their defenses, dragging the Mermaid and the Orca into a positional battle, they would still have a good chance of victory, relying on the Constantine’s powerful firepower on the port side and bow.

Admittedly, the Black Emperor’s reaction was incredibly fast, and his decision-making was extremely decisive and sharp. If the sailors had executed quickly, this brilliant coordination and performance would have caused the Mermaid to lose its absolute initiative in the storm, pushing the battle in a more difficult direction.

The problem was that upon learning the Mermaid had become an enemy, this cold-blooded tyrant who viewed human lives as worthless and cared nothing for his subordinates’ safety, had first reacted by avoiding gunfire and hiding in the captain’s quarters, rather than immediately rousing the crew from their shock.

And this extremely brief moment caused him to completely lose control of the situation.

By the time the sailors reacted and rushed toward the sails that hung like dark curtains, the deafening cannon fire had already approached, completely drowning out the Black Emperor’s roars.

At the bow on both sides of the massive ship, the Mermaid and the Orca formed a pincer position, pouring cannon fire onto the Constantine’s bow. The black and red hardened hull cracked under the dense explosions, gradually developing small holes.

“Bang!”

A gun flashed, and the helmsman at the Constantine’s bridge fell. The helm spun like an out-of-control beast, the huge ship’s turning speed suddenly slowing until it completely stalled.

Setting aside the used musket, Victor picked up another loaded firearm and slowly aimed at the open captain’s quarters of the Constantine, ensuring he could kill Solomon with one shot if he peeked out.

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Arnold is dead, now it’s your turn.

The marksman thought silently. Neither the sweat from holding his gun for so long nor the cold rain streaming down his cheeks could make him close his eyes even slightly.

Since following Captain Ilias, the Black Emperor and his deputy had been deadly enemies of the Mermaid. Now that Arnold was dead, there was no reason for that cruel tyrant to remain alive.

Violent tremors rose from the ship’s body and quickly reached the captain’s quarters.

Solomon held onto the doorframe, watching the gradually stalling Constantine, seeing the gun squad retreating amid explosions and gunfire, and sailors crying with their heads in their hands. He felt a wave of dizziness rush to his head, his breathing becoming difficult from the smell of gunpowder and blood.

Finally, the Constantine’s bow hull was pierced. Cannonballs howled as they entered the deep holes, destroying dozens of cannons and demolishing the walls of the armory, ultimately detonating the massive amount of black powder stored within.

Flames wrapped in black smoke billowed upward. All crew members at the bow were instantly swallowed by the explosion and fire, not even having time to scream.

Caine watched this scene with a calm expression, patiently waiting for the chain of explosions to subside and for the raging fire to be weakened by the downpour.

After what seemed like an eternity, the flames were extinguished by the storm. Nearly half of the Constantine’s deck had been burned to charcoal, with countless blackened bodies lying everywhere.

“Prepare to board.”

Only now did the young man calmly give the order.

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At Ben’s call, the Mermaid slowly turned, then sailed toward the bow of the giant ship. Seeing this, the Orca also adjusted its heading and approached.

After the catastrophic explosion, the once rain-like gunfire from the Constantine drastically diminished to just a few sporadic shots.

Watching the two huge ships gradually approaching the bow, the surviving Fighting Squad members drew their curved swords, their hands trembling uncontrollably.

As for the numerous sailors, upon seeing the captain’s quarters door tightly closed, most slumped dejectedly in corners, silently praying that the enemy would accept their surrender. Only a small number, with despair on their faces, took up weapons, determined to defend the ship to the death.

The Orca was already half destroyed, and most of its crew was injured, so they wouldn’t pose much threat. As for the Mermaid, how many crew members could possibly remain after the decisive battle between Roy’s and Richi’s forces?

Thinking of this, the Constantine crew members who planned to fight to the end suddenly felt a surge of ferocity, and their trembling bodies gradually calmed. They panted heavily as they rushed toward the bow, intending to cut the grappling hooks attached to the railings and intercept enemies who hadn’t yet boarded the deck.

However, their calm was quickly shattered, because there were far more people boarding than they had imagined, especially the pirates leaping onto the deck from the Mermaid—strong, uninjured, and ferocious sea bandits.

They even recognized several familiar faces, all notorious thugs from the Southern Islands, a gang of brutes who treated killing as sport and had no regard for life!

The boarding battle erupted instantly. In the clash of swords, the Constantine’s crew members retreated step by step.

Checking the elegant gun in his hand, looking at this short pistol engraved with the goddess’s image that symbolized extremely high status even in the Auran Empire, Caine couldn’t help recalling his conversation with the Captain when they parted.

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At that time, the girl sat on the edge of the bed, called to him as he was about to leave, and handed him the pistol.

“Here, take it.”

Seeing his First Mate’s confused expression, the Captain grinned and explained: “I specifically saved this bullet, didn’t use it on that little bastard, nor on any other traitors. It was prepared especially for Solomon.”

“Since I can’t participate in the coming battle, then as you said, First Mate, I leave it to you. Use this bullet, use your most comfortable sidearm, and send that tyrant straight to hell.”

The girl’s voice seemed to still echo in his ears. After forcibly pushing away the mood-breaking “but I’m just lending it to you” from his mind, the First Mate took a deep breath, returned the pistol to its holster, then nimbly climbed onto the railing and grabbed a swinging rope that had fallen back.

Just as he was about to cross the sea to directly confront the terrifying tyrant, a cold voice came from behind, stopping him.

“Wait.”

Caine turned around to see the expressionless sniper.

Victor looked him up and down, then shook his head slightly, as if saying “she never lacks people like you around her,” before turning toward the wooden door, leaving only emotionless words that sounded like an order.

“That guy is in the captain’s quarters.”