Captain – Chapter 574 – Dead End

The Taranhof, barely repaired and with limited power, though it narrowly avoided the surges and approached within several hundred meters of the Nightmare King, could no longer find gaps to dodge the overwhelming cannonballs and lead bullets.

But astonishingly, after enduring the first round of bombardment, this old ship not only failed to be blasted to pieces and sink to the bottom as Vivian had predicted, but even sustained minimal damage to its hull, continuing to charge relentlessly toward the enemy.

The reason for this scene was those fearless water ghosts leaping up.

When they sensed the Taranhof entering the enemy’s range and saw those black cannon muzzles about to bloom with fire, countless water ghosts climbed up from the deck, gun ports on both sides of the cabins, and even from the dangerous sea below, gathering at the forward hull.

They leaped up to meet the whistling cannonballs, then were smashed to pieces one by one.

But this seemingly foolish, suicidal act blocked most of the incoming firepower, reducing the impact force of those cannonballs to the minimum.

In just this one round, over half the crew aboard the Taranhof was lost.

Lead bullets approached like raindrops, but due to the storm and excessive distance, they fell dejectedly in front of the old ship’s wheelhouse, only stirring up some wood chips.

“Five hundred meters.”

Hearing the girl’s count behind him, Richi tightened his grip on the helm, and after a moment of silence, said hoarsely: “Still not close enough. We need to withstand at least one more round.”

“We can’t withstand it.”

Looking at the pirates on the Nightmare King reloading their muskets, Vivian tensed her entire body, seemingly ready to pounce forward and tackle the youth at any moment.

At the same time, she said coldly: “This is the limit. The sea below is now their territory. The water ghosts can’t regroup to do what they did before. We won’t have enough people, and you’d better get down from there right now!”

The girl’s voice suddenly rose at the end because she saw fire bloom again on the Nightmare King.

Those deadly lead bullets were coming again, and this time they could cover the entire wheelhouse.

“No.”

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But just as Vivian could no longer restrain herself and took a step forward, planning to pull him down and tell him this was the limit of what they could do—that now was the time to abandon ship—she suddenly heard his whisper.

In a moment of slight shock, the rain of bullets arrived.

“Thud, thud, thud…”

Having lost her status as a Death-Fearer, facing such an assault, even the Blood Craver with her extremely powerful physique had no choice but to grit her teeth and crouch low after a brief hesitation.

Using the ship’s rail and panels to temporarily avoid the attack.

Raising her eyes amid the wind, rain, and wood chips falling faster than a sudden downpour, she saw the youth in the “storm,” saw his blood-red robe pierced with dozens of holes, some even showing blood flow, and finally couldn’t help but roar angrily amid the cannon fire.

“Are you insane?”

Instinctively turning his face aside to avoid an incoming lead bullet, Richi’s face suddenly burst with a spray of blood, but even so, he only raised an eyebrow.

His expression remained as calm as before, as if he hadn’t just brushed shoulders with death.

Finally, the cannon fire and gunshots gradually ceased.

Under Richi’s uncompromising will, the water ghosts returned to the deck or cabins to preserve themselves, so the Taranhof bore this round of bombardment entirely.

But whether it should be called fortunate or not, though the old ship was on the verge of breaking apart, it was still moving forward.

The youth also still stood there, as upright as before.

“How else could I hook that big fish without going mad?”

Looking at that increasingly close sinister figure, Richi said almost gently, responding to the girl’s question while seeming to comfort her, even with a smile at the corners of his lips.

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“I’ll settle accounts with you after this is over.”

Hearing his somewhat rapid breathing due to injury, Vivian gritted her teeth and muttered, then quickly stood up, looking at the Nightmare King and reporting expressionlessly.

“Three hundred meters left. Combined with this broken ship’s final stretch, it’s enough.”

“Provided you haven’t misjudged.”

Looking at the Nightmare King raising its sails, planning to pull away after the final round of bombardment, the youth squinted and tacitly accepted the Blood Craver’s judgment.

Having come this far, even someone as mad as him could no longer see hope for advancing further.

They had to abandon ship.

When the next round of gunfire arrived, they would need to make good use of the Taranhof’s “swan song” to close the distance one last time, then plunge into that treacherous sea.

With that curved blade watching, this act was no different from suicide.

This was the unanimous judgment of him and Caine before the battle began, and even of the Deep Sea Captain and his first mate—an unchangeable fate.

If… there were no variables.

On the Nightmare King’s deck, figures swarmed behind the cabin gun ports, muskets and heavy cannons adjusting their angles, about to let out fierce roars and end this farce.

Seeing this, the youth secured the helm, took one last look at the man at the enemy ship’s side rail whose gaze never left him, then smiled and waved at him.

Your luck is really quite good.

Watching that youth and girl walk down from the wheelhouse together, their destination unknown, Talin squinted and thought indifferently. By his calculation, there was no way they could survive the targeting of several hundred people, but reality always went against expectations.

But if this was all there was, it was still far from enough.

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In the Deep Sea Captain’s view, as long as that broken ship couldn’t get close enough for immediate boarding, whether it sank a nautical mile away or within a hundred meters made no difference.

Because that youth, that monster who was the Lady’s confidant, and those foolish water ghosts would have no hope of swimming alive to the Nightmare King’s vicinity.

Oh, even if that Lady suddenly displayed divine might and suppressed the curved blade in his hand, they still wouldn’t have a chance, because warships weren’t stationary islands.

They were the most mobile war weapons on the seas of this era.

They could swim for a lifetime and never catch up.

Thinking of this, Talin’s grim expression finally brightened slightly. With a cruel smile, he silently counted down to the next round of bombardment.

When that number reached zero, the cannon fire thundered right on time.

The Taranhof, already covered in “patches,” finally reached its end, shattering under this round of gunfire. Even the ship’s keel was broken in two by surges rushing up from below, sinking toward the seabed with piercing wails.

Vaguely, countless black shadows could be seen falling successively from that listing warship.

At the tilted stern that hadn’t completely collapsed yet, Richi and Vivian stood shoulder to shoulder, looking at the lightless sea surface, showing no intention of jumping for a long time.

Not from fear, but because there were some things they wanted to say, afraid there might not be another chance.

“Though I’ve confirmed this with you, and it’s too late to regret now, I still want to ask—don’t you really feel bad about those family heirloom letters?”

Hearing Richi’s question, Vivian glared at him and sneered back: “Even if I said I would feel bad, would that stop you from going mad this time?”

“Of course.”

Hearing this, watching his determined expression, the girl who had waited long for the follow-up “no” that never came couldn’t help but be stunned. The sharp look she’d put on from dissatisfaction gradually faded. After a moment of silence, she said: “Then of course I won’t feel bad either.”

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“Those memories of nothing but darkness and pain—I’d rather they sink with this ship.”

“Never to appear before my eyes again.”

Getting his answer, Richi smiled with satisfaction. Combined with that clean, lean face, he looked like a little seal that had eaten its fill of fish and soaked up enough sun.

Then he opened his arms to the girl, his intention obvious.

Seeing this, Vivian raised an eyebrow, but finally stepped forward and lightly embraced him, asking: “What if we can’t come back up after going down?”

“Then we won’t come up. Dying together would be quite tragic and beautiful.”

Hearing the youth’s frivolous laughter, the Blood Craver clicked her tongue while loosening her hands and saying: “You’re really taking this well. Alright, get ready to jump.”

But what puzzled her was that Richi showed no intention of letting go, still tightly encircling her waist. Their matching blood-colored eyes met at close range.

“Uh, I might not have explained clearly.”

Seeing the confusion in Vivian’s blood-colored pupils and her increasingly raised eyebrows, the youth blinked, showing a rare embarrassed expression.

“I didn’t mean to hug you on purpose. It’s just that I’m injured and might not be able to swim there.”

“You know, my stamina has always been…”

Hearing halfway through and understanding his meaning, the Blood Craver showed some annoyance due to a certain misjudgment. After cursing “bastard,” she leaped down with him.

“SPLASH!”

Their figures quickly disappeared below the sea surface, stirring up only an inconspicuous splash.