Black Sail
Chapter 48: XLVIII. Big Job

Chapter 48: XLVIII. Big Job

"Knighthood and peerage! Returning home in glory!"

Liszt understood Claude’s concerns and repeated it loudly, now that the Heavenly Punisher himself had also arrived, he knew his words were no lie.

Just as the Constitutional Soldier was about to thrust his sword through Claude’s chest—

Crack!

The sword, like lightning out of darkness, swept through like a fierce wind, bisecting the soldier at the waist.

Blood splattered onto Claude’s hands, he stared at the warm, prison-red liquid on his left hand and knew he could never turn back.

He had accepted the Oath of Loyalty.

Claude understood that from now on, he was a pirate.

The two remaining Constitutional Soldiers in front of him were petrified; Claude, whose swordsmanship had already reached a masterful level at the age of fifteen, was not to be underestimated now.

With two cunning and agile strokes, and a sword intent unparalleled, he decapitated each with one stroke, their heads rolling uncontrollably down the forested slope.

Caroso finally relaxed—it was like this should be.

Liszt was wielding the Frost Rhododendron Blood-crying.

The reason he had been able to "Glory for the Country" in North America was, of course, that he needed an American tough-guy physique coupled with exotic, three-dimensional features to have wild international exchanges with local college girls and bikini-clad women on the beaches.

His years of experience in naval combat were not for nothing.

His warhammer first hit a Constitutional Soldier’s arm and then cracked open his head, caving in the skull and instantly killing him.

Swan caught up with the leading Constitutional Captain.

But this captain was extremely cunning, hiding a small flintlock gun, and as he was about to fire at close range, accuracy was not necessary.

The thunder roared.

Caroso gripped a spear completely composed of stray lightning and hurled it forcefully at the Constitutional Captain.

It was as fast as lightning, rather it was lightning itself.

The spear went straight through his chest, blasting a large hole, through the smoking, charred circular cavity, the scenery behind him could be seen clearly—he was dead on the spot.

"Awesome, brother."

Liszt was enamored by such a fierce person—he might as well recruit him aboard his ship.

At this point, the dozen or so members of the Firearms Team had been dealt with.

Each of the four had some blood stains on them, except Caroso who remained untouched by a single drop of blood.

"Now, which direction do we head?"

Liszt urgently asked Caroso, as the moment Londen City’s reinforcements arrived, their group wouldn’t even be able to fly away, much less rescue anyone; this desolate ghost place would be where they met their end.

"We’re less than a mile away.

Caroso glanced at his compass and quickly continued leading the way.

Three minutes later.

The group arrived at a large clearing mid-mountain, surrounded by the ruins of Wind Breath Mine Town, full of broken walls, rusted frames, and a mine shaft tunnel excavated into the mountain.

Liszt thought it an understatement to describe their current situation as "terribly unlucky," as not only had his group reached their destination, but the pursuers had also completely cornered Goria and her companions.

Over fifty well-trained armed Constitutional Soldiers and an officer-looking person coldly watched them, showing no panic of an ambush, but rather quite composed.

"Goria and one other are just ahead inside the mine; Goria might be dead, but not the other—they only capture the living."

Caroso added calmly, "That’s an Officer of the Constitutional Army, a formidable one. I’ll carve out a path for you; go quickly and return just as fast."

Liszt felt deeply shaken. This wasn’t some jungle where they had the advantage of terrain—on open ground, it wouldn’t matter if you were the Heavenly Punisher or a Skywalker with a lightsaber; could anyone truly stand against dozens of Constitutional Soldiers and an Officer alone? What kind of courage and tragic devotion was this?

"Claude, you stay behind, I, along with the Dark Elf and the Tiger-man will make our way into the mine shaft."

Liszt made the call.

"Caroso... do you understand what you are doing? Whether or not you have defected from the Holy Spirit Church, it cannot be uninvolved in this matter, surely someone is behind it, and now your Church Leader might be undergoing questioning by the Judicial Department, I dare not think of their methods."

The Officer’s tone was mocking, meant to kill the spirit.

Caroso’s mental fortitude, of course, was not shaken by these words.

"Is that so, Holy Spirit Church, there’s no shortage of... Martyrs." Caroso added, "I’ve entrusted my fate to the gods above, proceeding according to plan!"

Caroso wasted no more words and charged forward, with Claude closely following.

Liszt was somewhat astonished; even madmen from the Church Court could be truly courageous?

The three joined the breakthrough, with lightning flashing and sword blades whirling madly, leaving corpses strewn in moments.

Now was not the time for hesitation.

Liszt and the other two charged for the mine shaft, with Shadi and Swan moving even faster ahead.

"Where are you going?"

The weapon of the Constitutional Officer was a long spear, jabbed toward Liszt. The spear tip glinted coldly, promising to pierce right through the lungs if it hit.

"Your opponent is me."

Caroso deflected the spear with a sideways sword strike.

Entering the mine shaft, the three advanced swiftly and directly.

Liszt felt a sense of foreboding, an extremely ominous premonition. The torch holders lining the tunnel walls were all lit, a deed impossible to attribute to Goria and the others—it was clear someone else had been here.

Seventy meters into the tunnel, Shadi and Swan cut down several Constitutional Soldiers like slicing through melons and reached a spacious mine chamber of over a thousand square meters.

The chamber was well-lit, its floor strewn with abandoned, rusty mine carts, tracks, and some heavy mining equipment left behind when the site was deserted, along with a few broken boxes.

Upon seeing the scene before him, Liszt felt his heart... almost stop.

He indeed saw the other two individuals of the trio.

Goria was just as the adventurer’s guild newspapers had depicted, her facial features perfectly matching the printed illustrations, earning the nickname ’Moon Wheel’ for her pale aqua waterfall of hair and her exquisite visage—her eyes, a piercing ice-blue, like a stream of clear water from a snow-capped mountain, the tall and elegant curve of her body beneath the leather armor as if sculpted, truly a stunning figure.

Unfortunately, she was severely injured, sitting slumped in a corner, her chest rising and falling slowly.

Beside her stood a slender figure, entirely wrapped in a black robe and wearing a mask, seemingly protecting Goria.

What almost made Liszt’s heart stop, however, was.

In the center of the mine chamber.

There stood a man who looked every bit the ruthless type.

Undoubtedly.

He was the leader of the pursuers this time.

Liszt’s eyelid twitched, all the worst situations finding him.

"Ho? Reinforcements have arrived."

His voice was hoarse, carrying the authority of a superior, his armor as black as obsidian made him appear incredibly stout, and underneath the neatly cropped steel needle-like hair was a face of terror—a scar running from the corner of his mouth to behind his ear. His neck and one side of his face were covered in strange blood-red runes which seemed to be the result of some evil magic, and in his hand, he held a broadsword one and a half meters long, exuding an overwhelming presence.

"I am Edmond, a Major General of the Aran Constitutional Guard. Judging by your attire and the scent of the sea on you, you must be pirates from the East Shore. How odd, this Dark Elf, her skin is even whiter than that of a High Elf—is she of mixed blood or something?"

Edmond’s words were disrespectful.

Shadi was instantly enraged.

Liszt internally felt something was wrong, wanting to stop Shadi—Goria herself had been injured in a fight, and she was a Heroic Level adventurer, but it was already too late; at this point, no one could stop him.

"Fuck your mother... I’m going to chop you up and then slaughter your whole family."

Agile as a dragon, Shadi stirred up a whirlwind with his step, his silver hair turning to a streak of white light amidst the flickering torchlight in the mine chamber. Infusing the mysterious Qi from the Far East into his sword blade as he wielded the Willow Leaf Blade.

"Just some pirate tricks."

Edmond drew his sword fiercely, and the mine chamber itself seemed to tremble.

With a clang, sparks flew like a waterfall.

Under the tyrannical power of the slash, the Willow Leaf Blade snapped in two.

Edmond kicked out, and Shadi, with arms crossed protecting his chest, was still sent flying four or five meters.

Murderous intent surged.

Edmond, surprised by the silent approach, stabbed backward with his sword—Swan had already landed on the broadsword, bringing his twin blades down toward the unprotected areas of Edmond’s head.

"These are just lowly thief’s tricks."

Edmond caught one of the blades with his armored hand, ignoring another aiming for his neck.

It looked like Swan was about to succeed, the blade nearing Edmond’s throat, but the blood-red runes on his skin flowed, and the blade’s tip could not advance another inch.

"How is this possible?"

Deeply aware he was outmatched, Swan quickly retreated, flipping onto a chain hanging above in the mine chamber, then landed on the ground, distancing himself from Edmond.

"Heh... Just a ragtag bunch."

Edmond wiped the dust off his sword, unimpressed. They had some skill, but that was the extent of it. Whether it was the magic rune construction of his armor, the destructive and defensive capabilities of Life Alchemy, or his own combat skills and martial arts—this group wouldn’t be a match for him if they trained for three more lifetimes.

Liszt knew ordinary methods were no longer viable. Even a Major General, a significant and formidable figure, Shadi and Swan naturally would not be his match.

"These two gentlemen were just going easy on you. Don’t think that being an Aran General gives you the right to talk nonsense. Even if you are a dragon upon arriving at the East Shore, you still have to curl up."

Liszt’s palm dripped a few drops of fresh blood, and slowly, the tip of a sword began to emerge through his flesh, blood spraying forth with it.

The flames in the mine chamber flared wildly, flickering erratically.

The powerful Curse Artifact, the Junlin Sword, broke through skin and shell, ready to be unleashed.

The big job he was commissioned to carry out had been found.

Once the Black Sail sinks its teeth into flesh, there’s no reasoning to spit it back out.