Chapter 372 - 168: Maid? Guard
BANG!
Just then, the door to a nearby workshop was violently thrown open.
Hm?
Wei’en turned to look and couldn’t help but stare for a moment.
"Shawa, what is this?"
"Sorry, Wei’en. I messed up."
Miss Zombie’s long hair was spitting sparks, which she was patting out with her hands, but half of it had already been burned away.
Her body was covered in patches of soot, and she looked like one of the destitute Vasquez People from the Aus District. The tattered remnants of her dress barely covered her chest.
"I can see that..."
Wei’en’s gaze went past Miss Zombie to the workshop behind her. He could faintly see the orange-red glow of flames, and thick smoke was billowing out of the open door.
"Need any help?"
Shawa’s body grew even stiffer. She turned to the side and nodded slightly. The firelight cast a reddish hue on her deathly pale face. Her mouth hung slightly open as she stammered again, "Sorry, Wei’en..."
Wei’en took his Secret Investigation Department uniform out of his Space Ring, walked over, and draped it over her shoulders. He smiled. "Accidents are bound to happen when you’re practicing..."
BANG!
Before he could finish, they both saw Zero burst out, his two mechanical arms flailing wildly as he slapped at the flames on his body.
"Something’s happened! Something’s happened, Father!"
Zero looked up and saw the two of them standing in the doorway. He then glanced at Miss Zombie’s workshop next door, and his movements faltered. "Sister Shawa, you... had an accident too?"
"..." Wei’en shot him a glare. "Shut up!"
"Oh."
Shawa looked at the firelight behind Zero, a stiff smile forming on her lips. ’Now Wei’en probably won’t blame just me, will he?’
Wei’en looked at the two of them. ’It seems it’s still a bit too soon to let them learn how to make Mechanical Puppets on their own...’
He walked into the workshop with a sigh of resignation, salvaging what materials he could. He used his last few gold pounds to get new tools and set everything up for them again.
"Alright, I’m going to have to teach you two properly..."
...
...
Meanwhile, outside the theater, deafening roars echoed around the Ronan.
Cannonballs flew over the steamship, heading for a three-masted ship that was speeding away just ahead. The resulting waves crashed against the Ronan, infuriating Clelia, who was training her Guards below deck.
"Ronan, what’s going on?"
"First Officer, look." Ronan gave a bitter smile and pointed through the cockpit window at the three ships outside—one fleeing, two in pursuit. "They just appeared out of nowhere..."
"You call yourself a pirate, yet you’re letting them push you around like this?"
"Well..."
Clelia shot him a glare, turned, and left the cabin. She stood steadily on the constantly swaying deck, her eyes coldly scanning the two three-masted ships that were gradually closing in.
"First Officer Clelia, do you think we should notify the Captain about this?"
Ronan had no choice but to follow her out. Though he was a pirate, he had sailed the Cordo Sea for years and knew full well that you couldn’t just attack any ship you came across.
Take the two fast-approaching three-masted ships, for example. Each of them had five gun batteries—not small, movable cannons like the ones on the Ronan, but large batteries fixed to the deck.
The cost of those batteries alone exceeded the entire construction cost of the Ronan.
Moreover, the crews on both ships wore identical sailor uniforms made of black canvas, each man carrying a finely crafted firearm. Their lead Extraordinaries were even clad in armor engraved with exquisite patterns, and any one of them was more powerful than a department chief.
From the crests on their chests, it was easy to see they were of noble birth—or more accurately, they were the household guards of noble families. Their strength was far beyond what a typical merchant ship could handle.
"Notify him?" Clelia shook her head. "If he shows up, these people will probably all die. I’d better go take a look myself. Perhaps..."
’Perhaps I can find some powerful female Extraordinaries to expand my Queen’s Guard.’
"Then," Ronan said, gritting his teeth, "I’ll have the men prepare for battle."
"Mm, no need to be so hasty. Wait until they’ve worn each other down, then we’ll move in." Clelia’s eyes narrowed. She wasn’t Wei’en; she had no interest in simply overwhelming these Extraordinaries with brute force.
"Alright!"
Ronan nodded and immediately began to rally the pirates for battle.
In his heart, however, he still wished the powerful Red-haired Captain was there. But since the man hadn’t appeared, Ronan didn’t have the courage to knock on his bedroom door and could only follow the First Officer’s orders.
The two three-masted ships, busy with their pursuit, merely glanced at the Ronan before continuing the chase.
However, a young man standing at the bow of one of the ships noticed Clelia watching them. His eyes lit up, and he gestured to a Guard beside him.
The Guard in the exquisite armor ran to the ship’s rail and shouted toward the Ronan, "To the beautiful lady over there, we hope you’ll wait a moment! Our lord wishes to have dinner with you."
Clelia glanced at him, a seductive smile playing on her lips. "Of course~ I happen to be hungry myself~"
"Excellent! Hurry up and catch the one in front! Capture her!" The young man in purple noble attire, ecstatic at her reply, waved his arms as if he’d been shot full of adrenaline.
Before long, the two ships overtook the Ronan and launched a fierce assault on the three-masted ship at the very front.
The thunderous roar of cannon fire echoed across the sea as cannonballs the size of human heads periodically crashed into the water around the fleeing vessel, kicking up massive waves.