The sky was as clear and bright as a washed sapphire. A few leisurely white clouds drifted slowly, and the gentle breeze brushed past, carrying a faint scent of the sea. Occasionally, the calls of seabirds could be heard.
Everything looked so peaceful and beautiful...
But—
"So boring..."
Takumi, who had finished everything he could do, lay on the railing like a dead fish.
At first, Takumi was actually quite excited. After all, it was his first time sailing on the sea like this, so he had some expectations.
But after sailing for half a day, Takumi didn't think so anymore.
In his field of vision, besides the sea, there was only the sea, the boundless sea.
The space for activity was limited, and what he stepped on wasn't solid ground but a deck swaying with the sea surface.
Although Takumi didn't get seasick, just sitting there idly made his heart itch and his whole body uncomfortable.
Compared to here, perhaps the good thing about Chaldea was that there were many people and it was lively.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The cannons on the side of the ship fired solid cannonballs, fiercely hitting a pirate ship floating in the distance.
Oh, there was also this.
"Woohoo!"
"Did you see that? Took out that ghost ship in just three shots! I'm giving myself full marks for this shelling!"
Seeing the ship in the distance gradually sinking into the sea, Bombay cheered, his nose pointing up to the sky.
Seeing his show-off appearance, the brothers surrounding him gnashed their teeth.
"Damn it! Luck, absolutely luck! It took me a lot of effort to take out a ship with four cannonballs!"
One of the pirates beat his chest and stamped his feet, his face full of unwillingness.
He was the best gunner on the ship. It took him quite a few calculations to successfully take out a ship with four cannonballs.
As a result, before he could even warm the seat of number one, it was snatched away by this brat Bombay. Who could he complain to?
Undoubtedly, this was a challenge to his honor as the Golden Wild Hunt's number one gunner!
"I don't accept it! The ship you hit just now must have been old and in disrepair, which is why you settled it easily!"
"Hey hey hey, practice more if you're bad. Don't make excuses when you lose!"
Bombay was unhappy.
"Don't think you can easily catch up just because it's one less cannonball. The difference of this one cannonball is worlds apart, proving the difference in level between your gunnery skills and mine. If you ask me, you might as well hurry up and give up the position of number one gunner to me."
"Hehe, just this technique of taking out a ship in three shots is enough for you to learn for a lifetime!"
While speaking, Bombay triumphantly took a puff of his cigarette, deliberately blowing smoke into this pirate's face.
Set off by the white smoke, this pirate's face turned redder by the second.
In the blink of an eye, his face was as red as a steamed hairy crab.
"Get lost! I don't believe it. If a guy like you, who might not hit once in three hundred years, can take out a ship in three shots, why the hell can't I?!"
Pushing Bombay away, he began to concentrate on finding a suitable target.
"Ehehe, he's anxious, he's anxious!"
Bombay also knew he was actually lucky, but that didn't stop him from showing off and mocking others.
...
Takumi propped up his head, looking at them speechlessly.
He had to admit, seniors were indeed seniors. In terms of self-entertainment ability, they were indeed infinitely higher than Takumi; they could play with almost anything for a long time.
The ships they shelled were, of course, not real ships sailing on the sea.
They were just pirate consciousnesses wandering in this sea area, materialized due to the existence of the Singularity.
As for why they had physical bodies and actively attacked people, this was outside Takumi's scope of knowledge.
Anyway, just remember they are enemies who only know how to rob, so there's no need to think too much.
"Hey! Use fewer cannonballs! Cannonballs are precious!"
Drake, seeing cannonballs being fired one by one, finally couldn't hold it back and roared at the people below.
"But Boss, didn't you conjure all these cannonballs using that golden cup? At worst, conjure more when we run out."
A pirate said nonchalantly.
"Idiot! Such a useful thing is enough for conjuring some food. Wouldn't it be too insatiable to rely on it for everything?"
"Besides, I don't think such a pie-in-the-sky thing is anything good. What did I tell you? Be vigilant, vigilant!"
Drake looked at that pirate with an expression of wishing iron could turn into steel.
"Hehe, just joking. Besides, being able to conjure various things casually, it's hard not to rely on it, right?"
The pirate singled out by Drake grinned and indicated he understood.
Indeed, being able to conjure various things casually, even Takumi was a bit tempted, let alone others.
Suddenly.
A wail that saddened those who heard it resounded across the entire deck.
"F*ck! What the hell is that ghost ship? I threw five or six cannonballs at it, why is it perfectly fine?"
The Golden Hind's number one gunner looked at the target he attacked remaining intact, collapsing instantly, kneeling on the ground in despair.
He was obviously provoked by Bombay and got carried away, failing to notice something was wrong.
But a sharp-eyed pirate with a good memory recognized at a glance who exactly the pirate ship ahead, which took five or six cannonballs almost unscathed, was.
Startled into incoherence.
"No, that's not right. Look clearly, okay! That Jolly Roger is clearly the one we encountered last time, right?!"
"What that one? Can you speak clearly?"
The number one gunner was still grieving alone, looking impatient upon hearing the unclear words next to him.
"Aiy, it's that one, that one!"
The sharp-eyed pirate jumped up and down anxiously, just not knowing how to organize his words.
Takumi, on the other side of the ship, also sensed something was wrong upon seeing this. His face became serious, and running two steps in three, he ran to the other side of the deck.
Looking carefully at the pirate ship ahead, which was obviously much more magnificent.
This feeling... it's a Noble Phantasm!
That ship is a Noble Phantasm!
In the entire Singularity, only Blackbeard and Jason had ship-type Noble Phantasms. Although Drake wasn't a Heroic Spirit, the current Golden Hind, with the enhancement of Runes and the Holy Grail, could barely count as a Noble Phantasm.
Takumi narrowed his eyes, trying to distinguish whose Noble Phantasm the opposing pirate ship was based on his eyesight.
If it were Jason's, then they were a bit screwed, basically bumping into the boss right out the door.
But if it were Blackbeard's ship, there would be a bit more room for maneuvering.
As his vision focused and the opposing ship approached, Takumi easily saw a certain black-haired, black-bearded male with a somewhat scruffy appearance jumping up and down on the deck.
Clearly, it was Blackbeard, Edward Teach.
Takumi breathed a sigh of relief but didn't relax much.
After all, on their side's Golden Wild Hunt, only he and Captain Drake counted as Servant-level combat power. If they really clashed with Blackbeard, there would definitely be no chance of winning.
"Boss! That ship is flying the same Jolly Roger as last time!"
A pirate who reacted shouted loudly to Drake.
"Yeah, yeah, I saw it. It's the one that came out to intercept us after we snatched the Holy Grail from that seal-like guy, right?"
"How could I not recognize such a conspicuous Jolly Roger?"
Drake looked at that familiar pirate ship, and her face also looked bad.
She had fought the opponent before and knew the opponent's strength even better than Takumi.
What the little brothers said earlier about solid cannonballs hitting people but leaving them unscathed was also a worldview refresh she experienced on the opponent.
"Boss Drake, the opponent isn't someone we can beat head-on. Should we hurry up and run?"
Afraid the brothers would really run up to fight hard, Takumi hurriedly suggested to Drake.
"I know—Lads! Quickly turn around, speed up, prepare to run!"
Drake didn't care about face or anything. After greeting the little brothers, she also ran hurriedly to steer the rudder.
"Oh——"
The group of pirates was no longer as unreliable as before. Everyone moved, controlling the sailing of the Golden Hind quickly and methodically.
With everyone's joint efforts, the Golden Wild Hunt broke through the undulating sea surface, sailing at full speed on it.
But unfortunately, the Golden Wild Hunt wasn't a Noble Phantasm after all. Compared to Blackbeard's ship, it was more than a little slower.
The distance between the two sides not only didn't widen but instead got closer and closer.