@Agatha's Group
"What?" The brown-haired captain looked visibly puzzled as the raven-haired ex-soldier voiced her disagreement to her plans. The Nightingale's eyes narrowed in displeasure even as she let Shinobu finished her little monologue. Of course, they didn't join in throwing their lives away, the Lughanta was a mercenary company, not a suicide squad. While she appreciated the in-depth insight especially with her military experience, Agatha didn't appreciate the way Shinobu just glazed over her authority as if she meant nothing.
"..." A silent tense confirmation was all Shinobu would get from the captain before the flier enacted her plans. She blew a hole on the ceiling then took Yumi, Charlotte, and John with her.
"Kazanari..." The Venesian growled in her head,
"We're going to talk about this later." she turned towards the corridor where Sorina was already hunkering down with her crimson tower shield.
"It is difficult, but I have my faith in you all." Agatha responded to Sorina as her quarterstaff shone green. She unleashed a magical wind current in front of the Blood Devil to help disrupt the pirates' accuracy while accelerating the shots fired by Taka, Helen, and the others. Speaking about Helen, wasn't the Lilim supposed to be with Laura's group? Oh... where was she now? Following Shinobu? That damned Witch couldn't make up her mind and people said they were smart. Guessed 'arcanely gifted' didn't necessarily mean 'intelligent'.
"Alright, everyone!" She addressed the remaining team members sans Shinobu's ambush group,
"Give them hell!" Thus, the intense shootout began. Her crew against the red-scaled dragon youkai and her veteran pirates. Shots were exchanged, armors were grazed, and limbs were disabled. After a short while, it was clear that the Lughantans were winning.
"Keep at i-?! What the fuck?!" Until the small horned girl had enough and decided to blindly charge at them in a berserker's fury.
"Fuuuuck!" She really didn't expect this, sure the Dragon looked reckless, but this was
suicidal. Of course, this was exactly what Sorina wanted all along, a 'worthy opponent' so to speak.
"Keep firing at the pirates, careful not to hit her!" Was all Agatha could say as joining their brutal brawl would be tantamount to suicide.
@RedArmyShogun
Smacking away the offending white owl as if it was nothing but a pest, Ruu went straight towards Agatha's party, specifically the Blood Devil at the front.
"HAAAARRGH!!" The dragon roared in her bestial fury as she clashed her zweihander with the Blood Devil's spear, staring into the Infernal's crimson eyes with her own, both glowing, both were hungry to turn their opponent into bloody viscera. In a way, a certain amount of respect grew in the youkai's heart for this equally brave individual...
"What?!" Only for it to be snuffed out immediately when the arrogant infernal bitch dared to mention about her chest! Well, she wasn't one to talk. There were
nothing behind that armor!
The seemingly petty insult managed to anger the dragon further as her whole form shone a chilling bluish aura, a contrast from her red scales. One would expect she was a flame dragon from her colors really, but it should be common knowledge that one should never judge a book by its cover... or a dragon by her scales in this case.
"DEMON! DIEEEEEE!!!" Ruu roared, her voice echoing violently in the corridors as she
charged forward, crashing herself onto Sorina, then taking the Infernal along. She didn't care about these moronic pirates anymore, all she needed to do now was
kill this purple-haired bitch.
Still with Sorina locked in a clash in front of her, the youkai battered through the Lughanta crew as they were forced to dodge the two, passing Herman, Taka, Agatha, and everyone else. The pair of Devil and Dragon rose diagonally upwards, breaking through the ceiling, going through wooden decks as if they were minor nuisances. A short moment later, they emerged through the Midas' top deck and still, Ruu kept going until they were a good distance above the giant battleship. It was at this moment that Ruu decided to kick Sorina away, breaking them apart.
With the reigning night sky, the full moon above, and the chaotic battle below. The Dragon Youkai flapped her spread wings, hovering in the air as she faced the winged Devil. Her hands gripped her oversized sword as she dashed towards Sorina, engaging the Infernal in an aerial melee duel.
<----->
@Agatha's Group @Shinobu's Group
"By Lilith..." The blonde witch couldn't believe her eyes as green irises stared at the multiple holes in the ceiling. One was courtesy of Shinobu and the other by Sorina and the dragon pirate. The Lilim was just recovering from the shock before her slightly-pointed ears heard the thumping of footsteps,
multiple footsteps, approaching their location... from two directions of the T-shaped intersection.
"Everyone, enemy approaching!!" She warned the Agatha and the rest of the crew as her cards flew from her pockets towards each side then enlarging, shaping into three barricades.
Just as she did so, groups of pirates emerged from the doors, they immediately opened fire at them, joining with the now leaderless veteran pirates.
"This isn't good!" Not taking any chances, Marumei immediately activated all
six of her grimoires, multiplying the endurance of her barricade. They could hold out, but not forever.
"Those ambushers better not take their sweet time!!" The Lilim shouted. If Shinobu and co could descend upon those veterans and take them out from behind, they could barge into the bridge and hunker there. Preferably before any of these pirates shattered her barricades,
thank you very much!
@Laura's Group
Served the white-haired bitch right! From her armor alone, Yellow Beard knew she was one of those 'goody-two-shoes' knights. Fools, the lot of them, whether they were serving the Imperium, Fraulia, or Venesia, they were nothing more than delusional idiots. However, the large captain could admire her courageous deed of taking the blow for her squad
and surviving his hand cannon. Respect, he'd give her an honorable death. As the rest scattered to dodge, he charged up another shot, aiming it at Laura, he didn't taunt her this time, a serious look on his bearded face as he pressed the trigge-...
"Urgh?!!" Only for the large gun to be shot off his arm. Not only that, the bullet pierced through the hand cannon and grazed his arm, leaving a big gash. He was lucky there. It was clearly meant to take out his head. That coward! Who did it?! He couldn't see any sniper! It couldn't be... someone from outside the Golden Midas? But the shields were still intact!
"Nnngrh!!" Grunting in pain, Yellow Beard was forced to ditch his broken hand-cannon and paused for a moment, looking at his right arm, it wouldn't do him much good now. However, he still had his cutlass and would use it to crush those who oppose him. Among the assailants, he spotted no less than five notable individuals surrounding him. A swordsman wielding two blades, a monkey-like infernal floating on a golden cloud, the previous golden-white dragon youkai, a knight wielding an oversized hammer, and a dark-haired red-eyed swordswoman. Excellent! The more the merrier!
"COME GET SOME!!" The Captain challenged.
With surprising speed considering his size, Yellow Beard faced Drayton head on, making a powerful overhead swing even with one hand paralyzed. He smashed down, causing wood and debris to erupt but the twin swordsman narrowly evaded, circling his large frame.
"Ungh!!" The blonde pirate captain felt the blades struck his armor on the left.
"Arrrr!!" He swiveled to counter with an elbow jab, but Drayton managed to wound his hip before taking the hit.
"Hmmgrh!!" He bled from his wounds, but it wouldn't stop him!
Then the dragon youkai came, moving fluidly like the river she embodied. The controlled swiftness of Mithral Current Kenjutsu clashing against the savage brutality of a pirate's cutlass once more. Knowing the difference in strength, the dragon youkai opted for feinting maneuvers this time around, dodging Yellow Beard's attacks before she quickly countered with iai strikes.
"Arrrgh!!" The pirate captain were struck here and there, chipping down his armor as Saki's katana struck true.
Blades weren't the only weapons he must face as Wukong charged at him as well. Riding on her cloud-like hoverboard, the mischievous infernal struck Yellow Beard with the Ruyi Jingu Bang, the deceptively powerful strikes from someone of her frame managed to stun the hulking man.
This allowed for Adale, the hammer-wielding female knight, to close in on Yellow Beard.
"Hmm?!" The pirate recovered just a tad too late to react as Alris slammed full force on his armored chest.
"Gaaaaah!!" A clean direct hit that'd instantly kill any ordinary man, but Yellow Beard was no ordinary man. However, even so, the powerful strike destroyed his chest plate as it clattered to the ground, useless, Adale likely broke some of his ribs as well. The fact he was still alive and standing was a definite proof of the infamous pirate's power.
"Haaarrr....!!" He coughed blood, but the man seemed to power through it as he unleashed a horizontal electric sword wave at Adale, forcing her to block with Alris to stave off some of the shock.
"Captain Yellow Beard!!" "Protect the Cap'n!!" Noticing their leader's plight, groups of pirates flocked towards the party, charging with their cutlasses and aiming with their muskets. A moment later, a volley of elemental fury could rain down upon the five who dared to hurt the captain. Was the mission a failure after all?
"Fire!!" A resolute voice entered the fray followed shortly with an accurate blast of blue flames raining down upon the pirates, disrupting their formation. He had arrived.
@Laura's Group
Riding atop of a customized airboat, around a third of the Lughanta's size, sitting on the open throne-like bridge. was Captain Camus of the Draconus. The eye-patched captain finally decided to personally join the battle as his vessel unleashed elemental death upon the pirates, targeting large flocks and avoiding friendly fire at the same time. This was one of Camus' trademark tactics upon facing battleships that could rival the Draconus. With this giant - for its class - airboat, he could phase through the Midas' shields and unleash rune cannon fire from the inside.
This was followed by the Draconus mercs jumping down from the airboats, clashing with the pirates near Yellowbeard, keeping them busy from assisting the captain, resulting in Yellow Beard's backup being mostly muted. The battle was obviously turning in the mercenary's favor. However, the pirate wouldn't go down without a fight! If he must fall today, he shall fall in battle!
<----->
@LowDefinition
Success! Well, partially at least. The widower shot meant for Yellow Beard slightly went off its mark due to all the chaos, but still managed to destroy his hand cannon and disable his right arm. It'd leave him open for further assaults, better than nothing. The ex-military sniper could rejoice for a bit as well as Aster managed to drive most of the pirates off her. It seemed the Lughantan crew was also pushing back the pirate boarders overall, but... the glow coming from the Midas' rune cannon didn't look good. All of her instincts warned her of imminent danger.
True enough, the Midas' orb-shaped rune cannon fired a powerful lightning blast at the Lughanta, striking at the crimson airship's shield with enough power to almost shatter it. It barely held on, but a second shot would definitely crumble it. However, this was the least of Silva's worries as the force of the overcharged rune cannon managed to tilt the cruiser and blasting those on the top deck with enough shockwave to send people flying, mercenaries, pirates, and herself. The silver-haired woman was sent tumbling on the deck together with her strapped rifle, helpless like a ragdoll.
"Silva!!" Aster noticed too late that the sniper was gone from her position. He gritted his teeth, recovered, and sprinted as fast as he could towards the older woman.
"Kuh!!" He dove towards the ground a mere second after Silva fell off the Lughanta's port side, his hand grabbing hers, holding tight.
"D-... don't let go!" His heart beat fast as clouds drifted below them, a plunge of this height would mean certain death. To make matters worse, both of them didn't wear parachutes as they weren't part of the boarding party. Aster had his grappling hook... but what good it could be?
Looks like he would find out soon as the Midas' rune cannon was ready to fire another shot. This would definitely take out the Lughanta's shield and severely damage its hull. The blue-eyed man prepared for the worst as lightning struck it... but not even a second later, it ceased. The Midas itself seemed to power down, the orb losing its glow, revealing the mechanisms inside. The whole battleship ceased moving. That was good and all, but... the duo had a new problem now, the cannon shot, brief as it might be, managed to tilt the cruiser just a little bit more to send both Aster
and Silva off the edge.
Gravity embraced the pair as they began falling straight towards the sea below.
"Tch!!" Without any choice, he held Silva close with one arm while his other hand grabbed the grappling hook pistol then quickly took aim at one of the swarming pirate airboats. Praying to the Divine One that his aim wouldn't fail him, his plea was answered as the tip latched onto the airboat, anchoring there as the two was taken on a chaotic joyride along with the vessel. Looking down at the golden-eyed woman, the blue-eyed man couldn't help but blush just a little as he could feel her... chest against him, but no time for such thoughts! They must detach at the right moment to land back on the Lughanta... or the Midas, whichever came first. In the meantime, perhaps Silva could take out targets as they traveled, beats doing nothing.
<----->
@Ehb
Using his... unorthodox 'tactics', the redhead managed to take over the engine room and intimidated the engineers to disable the Midas' weaponry. Unbeknownst to him, he just saved the Lughanta from utter destruction. Now, the young man was free to take his next course of actions, would he rejoin Laura and co in their hunt for Yellow Beard or would he switch and help Agatha take over the bridge instead? Certainly, he wouldn't sit around in the engine room... a room smelled of shit and piss, literally.
