Captain – Chapter 54 – Fire Begins It, Fire Ends It

Another heavy blow.

Rex stepped back a few paces, rubbing his wrist that had been numbed by the impact. Looking at the still energetic young woman who intimidated like a fierce tiger, he cursed under his breath, “Monster.”

Though he didn’t know why this legendary pirate had become a woman, after several exchanges of blades, the one-eyed captain had confirmed one fact: Roy had weakened, far from being as formidable as before. In the past, without subordinates to distract her, he wouldn’t have been able to hold out against her for this long.

But the problem was, a weakened monster was still a monster.

If the past Golden-Eyed Devil had strength and reflexes three times that of normal people, now she had merely dropped to about twice the standard, still overwhelming him in every aspect.

If this continued, it was uncertain when she would find an opening.

Rex gritted his teeth, tearing off the half-sleeve that had been cut open, looking for a chance to shake off Roy and enter the residence.

It had been more than ten minutes since his men had entered the residence, and the sounds of fighting and clashing weapons from inside were becoming lighter and less frequent. It seemed his combat team had taken control of the situation. If he could get back among his subordinates, even if Roy was at full strength, she couldn’t do anything to him.

“Hey, you’re not thinking of running away, are you?”

Seeing the one-eyed captain’s gaze becoming somewhat unfocused, Roy’s face broke into a malicious smile, using the tactic pirates found hardest to accept—provocation.

“You…”

Hearing the young woman’s taunt, blue veins bulged at the corners of Rex’s eyes as he stepped heavily forward.

“Come on, this captain hasn’t had enough fun yet. How could I let you go so easily?”

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Seeing this, Roy smiled with satisfaction. Her figure moved, already stepping through the puddles to close in, her curved sword cutting through the air with a piercing sound as it slashed toward the one-eyed captain.

Rex raised his sword to block, but this time he didn’t defend as before. With a flash of silver light, the silver sword in his hand was directly flicked away by the young woman, falling far away to the side of the street.

Having succeeded in one strike, Roy’s brows frowned instead. Even though the one-eyed captain’s stamina was beginning to fade, it was impossible that he would be disarmed by her without any resistance. This sly old fox surely had a purpose in every step.

Sure enough, using the abandoned sword to distract Roy’s attention, Rex moved much closer to the residence, while reaching for the short pistol at his waist, pointing it directly at Roy’s brow.

“Well, dear Captain Roy, it seems the situation has reversed.”

Roy clicked her tongue, using her curved sword to shield half her face, leaving only one eye to gaze at the one-eyed captain. “Hey, a captain pulling out a gun in a fight? Have you no shame?”

“Shame? What’s that?”

Rex acted as if he had heard a joke he’d never heard before, exaggeratedly asking: “Aren’t you the most shameless one on the sea? Since when did you start caring about gentlemanly conduct?”

Roy’s mouth curved into a sneer: “Then let’s see if that broken gun of yours can hit me. If you miss, the consequences will be severe.”

Rex slowly stepped toward the residence, while the hand holding the trigger gradually applied more force. “Then I won’t disappoint your concern. Farewell, Roy.”

“Click.”

Roy’s gaze penetrated the heavy rain curtain, accurately capturing the moment when the trigger was pulled all the way. In the instant before the gunpowder ignited, she slightly tilted her body, completing the almost impossible bullet evasion with the smallest movement.

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Of course, all this was just a simulation in her mind. The real outcome was…

The short pistol didn’t fire at all.

Roy stared blankly at the one-eyed captain who dropped the pistol and pointed at her, laughing loudly. She couldn’t utter a single word.

“Fool, not everyone has a good thing like a flintlock. This is a matchlock.”

Rex kicked his beloved gun to Roy’s feet, then ran toward the residence, shouting loudly: “Follow me if you dare!”

“Shameless fellow.”

Roy ground her teeth, kicking away the burnt stick soaked by rainwater, and pursued with her curved sword in hand.

Due to the previous psychological warfare, Rex was only about a dozen short steps away from the residence. He ran with all his might, hearing the sound of wind getting closer and closer behind him, his face as gloomy as if it could drip water.

Without a doubt, his previous actions had deeply offended Roy. If he entered the residence only to find few of his men left, just as the young woman had said, the consequences would indeed be severe.

But before he could enter the residence, a muffled rumbling sound reached his ears, growing louder and closer, as if something was surging up from deep underground.

Explosives, countless explosives!

The one-eyed captain’s pupils contracted slightly, and without thinking, he turned back, diving and rolling on the ground in an extremely embarrassing manner. The very next moment after he successfully distanced himself from the residence, that rumbling sound soared to the clouds, and countless fragments of wood and glass were carried by flames, bursting out from the roof, windows, and several wooden doors!

Roy had long stopped her pursuit. She stared blankly at the residence enveloped in thick black smoke, watching the flames rising up, which even the heavy rain couldn’t extinguish, as if truly seeing the hellfire Caine had described.

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In such a violent explosion, whether it was Duke Darren, the Black Raven Society assassins, or Rex’s elite subordinates, none had any reason to survive. Perhaps this was what the old duke meant by the period at the end of that blood feud.

The hatred that began with fire also ended with fire.

Thinking of Duke Darren’s gentle countenance, Roy felt a slight sense of loss in her heart, though that loss quickly disappeared because she was not the only living person at the scene.

“Still thinking of running?”

Placing her curved sword on the neck of the one-eyed captain who was struggling to get up, Roy narrowed her eyes dangerously, her voice as terrifying as a ghost that had existed for countless years.

Rex’s black beard twitched a few times: “Where else can I run? Kill me if you want, don’t drag it out.”

Roy revealed a lazy smile, wanting to humiliate him further to avenge being tricked, but her attention was drawn to another sound beyond the intense rain.

It was the sound of countless footsteps, coming from all directions. It seemed the explosion had alarmed the seven hundred naval soldiers stationed outside the town. In a short while, the area outside the residence would be tightly surrounded.

“Damn it, those fellows clearly agreed not to intervene until I had resolved everything. What are they trying to do, double-cross me?”

The one-eyed captain pushed aside the curved sword at his neck, as naturally as if he were shooing away a mouse, then walked a few steps toward the street, looking at the imperial soldiers gradually appearing.

“Naive. Making deals with the Auran military, did you expect them to keep their word?”

Roy no longer cared if he escaped her control. She walked to his side, following his gaze: “Double-cross? They’re as clean as can be.”

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“What do you know…” Rex glanced at the curved sword in the young woman’s hand and swallowed the latter half of his curse: “Talk about bad luck. I thought I was just killing a few people, who knew someone like you would pop up. As if that wasn’t enough, who could have imagined that so many explosives were buried under this house, burying more than half of my combat team!”

Hearing the one-eyed captain’s complaints, Roy laughed with schadenfreude: “You deserve it. Did you think it would be so easy to wade into the murky waters between the Black Raven Society and the Empire?”

“Forget about all that, we need to leave quickly. I remember your crew seems to have abandoned you. Want to join my ship?”

Due to the empire’s intervention, their positions instantly aligned. Pirates also had many customs of recruiting enemies as crew members, so Rex switched topics without any awkwardness, as if there had never been a deadly duel between them.

“Yeah right, join your ship to be your thug? Dream on.” Roy chided him, then said: “If you’re going to leave, hurry up. Once we’re surrounded, there’ll be no way out.”

“It’s fine if you want to be captain too,” Rex said with a laugh, then asked: “What, are you planning to stay and fight these guys? One against seven hundred—if you succeed, I’ll help spread the word.”

“I’m not crazy.”

Roy glared at this old rival and pushed him: “I have my reasons for staying. When you’re back at sea, don’t go around spreading rumors, or I’ll tear out your tongue.”

“I know, I know. Consider that I owe you one.”

Rex responded perfunctorily, then looked around and quickly ducked into a secluded alley in the dim light.

Only Roy remained in front of the burning residence. She adjusted her breathing, quietly waiting for the navy’s arrival.

She wanted to see with her own eyes whether the old duke’s judgment had been wrong.