Captain – Chapter 330 – The Final Second

“Only pirates can deal with pirates.”

Few people had heard this phrase, but it had indeed appeared in the river of history, and from the mouth of Lady Annisdora herself.

This happened hundreds of years ago.

At that time, she had been deceived by the Pirate King, losing control of the magic box, and instead being influenced by it. She was just one step away from falling into the arrangements of those great people, resulting in a complete loss of divine power and total sealing.

But fortunately, there was that informant.

After hearing what that person said and learning the pirates’ intentions, she deeply understood these people’s utterly despicable nature, and then came to that realization—only pirates can deal with pirates, because one knows oneself best.

Therefore, in the war between Lady Annisdora and Captain Edward spanning countless years, with waves powerful enough to shake the world, many people played extremely important roles. Their common point was that they were all pirates.

In the first decisive battle between the Auran Empire and the Southern Islands, the one commanding all imperial fleets was First Mate Isaac Hedler, once truly the second-in-command among pirates.

In the epic battle to seal the devil, those standing opposite Edward, those great captains, were all highly renowned pirates with the most ruthless methods.

Over countless years, those sailing the seas for the Lady, searching for clues about the lighthouse or Satin Island, were likewise pirates, all brilliantly exceptional people of their time.

Now, she chose Richi as her chess piece to counter Roy and directly face the devil, naturally because of that realization, that phrase.

In fact, Richi didn’t know any of this; this phrase was purely his own idea.

Perhaps in the eyes of the world, those who typically deal with pirates are navies, but this is actually only what ordinary people think. Even the high officials of the Empire and Federation didn’t have such confidence.

It wasn’t because the navy wasn’t powerful enough, but simply because they couldn’t mobilize all their forces.

Because the Southern Islands stood there, with the Great Captain sitting lazily and indifferently in the highest chair, watching over this sea.

Like the joint ruler of the entire ocean.

Since Edward defeated the Auran Empire, the world had entered a stage—the golden age of pirates. From ancient times to the present, though the Southern Islands seemed never to speak out or care about worldly affairs, they had always been invisible controllers.

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Auran, as the strongest nation, naturally disliked this situation, so emperors throughout history had harbored ambitions. But in the end, they all met the same fate as Stephen III, destroyed by the pirates.

Generation after generation, all lost.

Blood may surge but also cools. So during times of recuperation, even when the navy wanted to deal with pirates, they often came one warship at a time. This might be a devastating disaster for the weak, but for major pirates, it was merely a joke.

The legend of the Golden-Eyed Devil was the best proof.

After consecutively sinking seventeen warships, the Auran Navy finally couldn’t bear it any longer and deployed the limit that the Southern Islands could tolerate—the First Fleet led by the Tyrant.

But their luck was bad; they encountered the devil and suffered total annihilation.

So throughout known history, the navy had never been the natural enemy of pirates, but merely somewhat troublesome opponents. The true counter to pirates was still pirates themselves.

Watching Richi’s somewhat pale profile with its unique radiance, Vivian fell into a long silence because of his conditions and analyses. But what surprised her most was his final phrase.

At this moment, she no longer objected.

Because she knew he was right; this was also the Lady’s intention.

Many things she had done over these hundreds of years were concrete manifestations of this phrase, whether seeking those captains or encountering that wooden coffin.

More importantly, she herself was not a pirate.

No matter how others viewed her, no matter how many times those secret legends listed the Death Silence among the most terrifying pirate ships, she was not a pirate. This was her unshakable belief and the reason the Lady chose her.

“Very well, I agree.”

The girl’s voice remained indifferent, but no longer so cold.

As if having anticipated this outcome, Richi wasn’t surprised. He felt the authority returning to his hands more deeply than before, and sighed with emotion.

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Finally, I have a ship, even if temporarily.

But… at least I can engage with you on the sea, Captain.

Thinking to himself, a certain longing arose in the young man’s heart, his pupils seemingly burning with a sea of blood-fire in the lightning’s reflection.

Just like that rainy night when they looked at each other on the Mermaid.

“Brace yourselves.”

With a hoarse voice of warning, Richi’s hand suddenly exerted force, turning the helm with a creaking sound, as if it might break apart at any moment.

While having that conversation with Vivian, the Death Silence had already pursued the Mermaid into the whirlpool, now having slid down to two-thirds of the abyss wall’s height. Even so, there should have been no need to turn the helm.

Because the Death Silence carried the Lady’s divine blessing, it could ignore storms and not fear huge waves. Even in a whirlpool, it should sail as if on a calm lake, unaffected.

If so, there would be no need to adjust direction with the helm.

But Richi’s actions indicated that everything had already changed.

Seeing this, Vivian first froze, then suddenly turned her head to look at the sea in front of the Death Silence, seeing the path of light constantly trembling, already showing signs of collapse.

Those glowing fish, seemingly real but actually manifestations of the Lady’s will, were transcendent beings unaffected by storms. The reason they were now in chaos, approaching collapse, was naturally due to another great will’s influence.

It was the devil’s doing.

If they lost divine blessing in such a terrible storm, even though the Death Silence possessed extraordinary durability and special abilities beyond ordinary warships, it would ultimately be completely destroyed, shattered into countless pieces, either struck into ashes by lightning or sinking to the bottom of the sea.

At that point, even a Death-Fearer would likely die.

This was the true danger lurking here that Richi had sensed earlier.

Going further would truly be hell.

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Thinking of this, Vivian couldn’t help but look at the young man. Although she said nothing, her meaning was unmistakable.

She knew her judgment had been wrong and wanted him to change his mind—to submerge.

As long as they kept going down, they would eventually reach a place beyond the whirlpool’s influence. Even if the devil had eyes and hands reaching to the heavens, he couldn’t stir the deep sea thousands of meters below.

“The Lady’s miracle can hold a little longer. I might find an opportunity for one strike.”

Vivian knew those glowing fish could barely maintain themselves, but the time they could persist—what Richi called “a little longer”—was only a few tens of seconds.

A few tens of seconds in a battle between warships, in this storm, was hardly different from an instant. What could you possibly do?

The girl thought silently but didn’t try to persuade him.

She just quietly watched the young man, his ink-black hair dancing wildly in the wind, his blood-red cloak fluttering like a flag, and those blood-red eyes that would not be obscured for a moment by wind, rain, or spray. She thought, truly worthy of the Lady’s choice, truly remarkable.

Truly remarkable.

She repeated silently.

“Open the bow gun ports, adjust upward to the maximum.”

The young man watched the increasingly near ship silhouette rising and falling with the waves, his gaze becoming more serious. His commands were accurate and concise as he silently calculated in his heart, judging the pattern of wave changes, the approximate time of the next change, and the limit of how long the miracle could last.

Except for the final countdown, which could be considered precise, everything else relied on his years of accumulated seafaring experience. In such a situation, there was simply no time for calculations, and even vague estimates were difficult.

So he unhesitatingly ordered the cannons to be elevated to their maximum to achieve a relatively long range.

With a grating sound, the wooden spikes at the Death Silence’s bow gradually separated like fangs, revealing gun ports like the mouth of a giant monster. Behind them emerged two bronze cannons, raised to their limit, with strange shapes and specifications completely different from those arranged on the broadside.

Sixty.

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The internal count reached within sixty. If the half-minute minimum needed for submersion was subtracted, only the final thirty seconds remained.

But the young man still just watched, not speaking.

That meant he hadn’t found that moment.

Forty.

Vivian was also counting silently. In these seemingly brief twenty seconds that felt particularly long to her, Richi still didn’t say a word. Even his expression and posture showed no change, and the rapidly rotating helm had completely stopped at some unknown point.

Thirty-five.

Only the last five seconds remained. In such a short time, it was too late to do many things, but there was still time to say something, so the girl said five words: “Time is almost up.”

This sentence took another second.

Thirty-four.

With water splashing, the Mermaid rose from its low point, approaching the peak of its height, while the Death Silence was just the opposite.

Thirty-three.

Unlike in many stories where the outcome is determined only in the final second, as the third-to-last second began to elapse, the young man issued his command without warning.

“Fire.”

Though that’s what he said, the result seemed no different.

Because when that command fell, instantly triggering the water ghosts’ instincts, igniting the cannons, until the fuses burned out, the bronze cannons roared, and the cannonballs with their strange ghostly light howled forth, it was already at thirty-one seconds…

The final second.