Chapter 291: Pirate Cove (1)
The amount of time I could remain on the boat searching for shots to take was nowhere near as long as I could have hoped, but honestly... after so long of just plinking away at them from such a distance...
I won’t lie, I was yearning to get into the thick of it myself, and after being relentlessly fucked for so long already... I wanted to do some moving myself, even if I wasn’t going to be fucking any of these pirates.
Instead I was going to be killing them~!
Stowing my bow for now - I wasn’t that accustomed to fighting with it slung across my body - I gathered my hand to hand combat gear and leapt onto the dock, jogging through the carnage that was close by and heading deeper into the cove.
All around me the sound of the pirates fighting against the soldiers echoed around, the clanging of steel, the various shouts and screams, the crashing of the waves against the rocks... all of it swirled together into this glorious and overwhelming cacophony of battle.
It was quite addicting to hear, yet at the same time it was obviously terrifying to be in the midst of, but that was what made the adrenaline flood my veins and fill me with an almost indescribable amount of anticipation.
I was actually yearning for a fight, to feel the rush in my blood as I locked blades with someone that wanted to end my life, to overcome the odds and emerge victorious in a battle that could lead to me being dead for a second time.
So when I was listening to my heart pounding in my chest and the thudding of my boots against the salt stained docks, I was aware that I was taking an unnecessary risk... but it was one that made me feel so alive.
I had to travel far into the docks to find myself a fight, the soldiers around me doing a damn good job against the pirates since we had caught them almost unaware, leaving them with partial gear and in various states of exhaustion.
The first that I found was a lithe woman loading up a single handed crossbow, wrenching the string back and cursing as she missed the hook the first time before managing to get it where she needed it so that she could drop in the bolt.
A thin rapier was on her belt, and the moment she heard me rushing towards her she cursed again and fired as soon as she could, missing me by a foot and barely managing to jump backwards as I closed the gap between us.
That blade was long and swift, giving her the advantage in reach since I was a bit smaller than her and my blade was about the same size, so I slowed myself and watched as she tossed the crossbow down and slid that arm behind her back.
"Y-You bitch! We were’t doin’ nothin’ out here! We were gonna relocate!"
Her sapphire eyes were filled with indignation as she cursed at me again, her voice cracking with anger and desperation as she lunged forwards and tried to plunge the thin blade into my chest; the sharp whistle as it sliced through the air would have preluded a nasty wound if I hadn’t shifted to the side, reading that attack easily.
The desperation in her grew at that, yet her attack sailing past me opened her up to a swift and brutal slash across the ribs, tearing her leather cuirass apart and drawing a cry of agony from her as she stumbled past me.
Following through, I slammed the pommel of my sword against her shoulder as I put her on the ground, before I stomped my boot atop her hand so that I could then kick her rapier away, disarming her and watching as she blinked in surprise.
I rested my blade against her throat and asked if she yielded, finding myself quite impressed with how fast this was only to click my tongue as she tried to sweep me off of my feet; in response I stabbed her shoulder and pinned her to the deck, looking around to ensure we were ’alone’.
"You... I don’t want to kill, but if you leave me no choice-"
Having the fights up close meant that I could see the fear and life in their eyes as I prepared to kill them, making it harder for me even though I had just plucked the lives of a half dozen pirates short; I was certain they were cursing me for my hypocrisy, yet... I didn’t care.
"W-Wait..! Please, yeah, don’t kill me! I’m sorry! J-Just don’t-!"
I looked around again and nodded when I saw no one else here, deciding to make this as easy as possible; my boot slammed into her temple as I knocked her out, and after ensuring she was ’healthy’ I hoisted her up and began to drag her away, taking her back to the boat.
A few other soldiers were doing the same, disarming their opponents and taking them captive or accepting their surrenders whenever they could, but more often than not most of the pirates decided to fight to the death, forcing everyone’s hands.
One such soldier grinned at me as she said "Good work~! It don’t matter really if we kill ’em or not, but it’s always nice to see that someone has some mercy in their soul~! Plus they might got some bounties on ’em!", her thick accent making me chuckle as we dragged our pirates back together.
Thick rope bound their wrists, arms, legs and ankles together, allowing us to confidently claim they were subdued and incapable of doing anything else so that we could get back in there, though... well...
"Oh and hey, you’re that one chick that the Hyenakin’s tryna woo, right?"
As we worked she asked me that, and after I rolled my eyes and nodded she smirked and asked if we were properly together... so when I said no she took her chance and grabbed my ass, winking at me and asking if I wanted to go find a quiet spot in a few minutes to relieve some stress.
How she could think about sex after being in a fight not even a minute ago was astounding, and although I felt my loins heat up at the idea I politely declined... and she just grinned, gave my rear another smack, and then sauntered off like nothing had happened.
This world was truly always going to surprise me, that much I was certain of...