@Weisenhart
Shinobu's explosive bullets might have cleared the dozens of pirates clamoring behind them, however, there was no guarantee that they would be the last of these scums.
"Guys... hah..." The blonde witch forced a smile through her exhaustion,
"I used up all my grimoires, if this barrier fails, we'll be exposed." It seemed Marumei's concern was first answered by none other than the smith. After a small banter between Herman and one arrogant brutish pirate, the tanned man reacted with something so out of character, it managed to turn heads toward him, including Agatha's.
"Errr... Herman?" The brunette captain quirked an eyebrow, she was rather worried that the shock of battle had snapped the smith. By The Divine One, should she just have left Herman out of combat duty after all? He kept snickering even as the pirate raised his oversized cutlass!
"...!? Watch out!" Agatha was just about to push Herman out of the way with a gale but all she managed was halfway pointing with her quarterstaff before an
explosion erupted from the elite pirates' location.
"Guh... cough!" Agatha held her mouth with her arm, coughing as smoke and debris filled the corridor. Even through her clouded vision, she could see the telltale glow of a Magitek device being powered then a familiar voice followed.
"Herman?" What transpired next blew her out of her mind, the usually happy-go-lucky smith revealed his hidden fangs, turning into a fierce agile warrior as he skated around the pirates, throwing them into disarray. In the end, Herman achieved his sweet revenge by blasting the previous pirate point black with his magitek tonfa, turning him into burnt pieces and ashes.
"Fuck..." The captain blinked her eyes, was that... was that
really Herman?! Sure she predicted he had warrior potential in him, that was why she picked him in the first place just like Seven, but by the Divine... she didn't know he, even if just briefly, could match Sorina in ferocity.
@Beowulf
With the elite pirates surrounded and in disarray, it was the prime time to strike. The white-haired Owl Youkai might have preferred ranged combat but sometimes certain situations demanded otherwise. The armored pirate who kept deflecting and dodging his shots was quite a worthy foe and thus deserved to be honored, specifically in the form of three custom magitek musket rounds and its hidden blade. Locked and loaded, the Youkai marched dauntlessly just like the bird of prey he embodied.
The first shot was expected to glance off the damned brute's shield, a little psychological tactic as pirates were often full of themselves.
"Harr harr! Wha' do ye expect, birdman?" His gambit worked as his opponent went on the offensive, most likely underestimating Taka's rifle as a mere peashooter. He couldn't be further from the truth as the musketeer made a clean hit on his hip.
"Arrrgh?!" From that point on, the battle was virtually decided. The combination of surprise, pain, and awkward positioning made his attacks ineffective and left him open for counters. Slammed, slashed, stabbed, and finally finished off with a headshot.
@ShiroKiyoshi
The Guardian of Swiss didn't miss out on a slice of the action either as he engaged the rather talkative pirate, humoring the bandit by mimicking him. They said imitation was the highest form of flattery but obviously the pirate was too stupid to appreciate that. The two dueled, blade against blade, witty remarks against witty remarks, dancing violently between the cramped space of the corridor. They were mostly equal up until John used his rather unassuming accessory. A versatile magitek device disguised as a mere amulet, the sudden small explosion caught the pirate off guard, allowing John to finish the 'banters' with one final execution.
@☆Luna☆ @Mahou-Shoujo
Thanks to the dynamic partnership of the halfbreed and Lilim duo, the rest of Shinobu's group could safely focus on their main task which was supporting Agatha. The two well-equipped pirates were stronger than the rabbles from earlier, likely possessing the same experience as the ones blocking the bridge. They struggled, brushing with death more than a single occasion during the two versus two close quarter combat. However, they emerged victorious in the end. Spent and tired, they deserved their rest.
@Agatha's Group
"This is it! Chaaaaarge!!" With the way towards the bridge free of any pirates, Agatha led the assault into the bridge as she barged the door open with a wind-powered slam of her quarterstaff. The group would come face-to-face with the crew assigned to bridge duty, they weren't frontline fighters, heck, some of them were more qualified to be engineers than warriors. It should be obvious what transpired next...
With the bridge secure, Agatha could take a deep breath as she surveyed the room. Exhaling, the Lughanta captain went over to the control panels of the Golden Midas, quite well-made... for pirate standards of course. She assessed the status of the ship, surprised that the weapon and shield systems were already down. Who was responsible for this? One of Laura's Group perhaps? The brunette pondered as she fiddled with the buttons, activating the voice transmitters all across the Golden Midas.
"Attention, Crew of the Golden Midas!" Her voice boomed true, confident and prideful,
"This is Captain Agatha Nightingale of the Lughanta speaking!" Through this revelation alone, even the dumbest of pirates would know what already happened. Whatever the case, they would have the luxury of hearing the tomboyish voice of Miss Nightingale rubbing it in.
"We have taken over the bridge! Your weapons and shield are down! You have lost, pirates! Surrender now and we may show mercy!!" As she did, some of the Lughanta boarders got the message and took the initiative to begin replacing Yellow Beard's flag with the Lughanta's. Victory was assured.
<----->
@Laura's Group
His airships taken over, his airboats falling from the skies, and his forces were crumbling all around him. Yet, despite all these, the proud pirate captain of the Golden Midas stood, refusing to even so much as kneel to the Doge's hounds. If he must go down, he would take as many curs as possible with him! Charging what Erchius remained in his great cutlass, Yellowbeard was prepared to face his end
in battle!
@R-9 Pilot
Though already pushed back by the Draconus mercs, there were a few pirates who managed to spot the radiant winged figure hovering above them, Saki the Dragon Youkai whereas their own dragon was nowhere to be seen. The foolhardy pirates took aim at her with their muskets, hoping to at least bring down another of these sellswords. However, they soon found themselves chilled down to the very bone as Saki unleashed her debilitating frost at them. Their teeth clattered, muscles shuddered, their aim faltered as they slipped on the forming ice, positively incapacitating them.
As for Yellow Beard himself was just done charging his magitek cutlass when the frost white dragon unleashed a huge energy wave raging towards him.
"Hmmm?! Harrr!" Acting on instinct, the pirate captain countered Saki's wave with his own, the two waves of water and lightning crashed but due to the nature of the elements, Yellowbeard's won out, the weakened wave crashing into Saki's form. She might have lost the clash but Yellow Beard used the last of his erchius with that strike... and it left him wide open for further assaults.
@EmperorsChosen
"Hmrrrrgh!!!!" The pirate captain felt massive pain throbbed from his back as the twin swordsman embedded both of his swords there.
"Hrrraaah!!" Through sheer force of willpower and herculean endurance, Yellow Beard suppressed his flinch, quickly recovering to deliver a bone-crushing head slam to the pest clinging on his back. Drayton was thrown back with a massive headache, his vision blurry, his consciousness threatening to slip, but Tempest
and Steelrune were now firmly lodged on the giant's back. They definitely hurt Yellow Beard as the pirate coughed more blood, his knees buckling but still, he stood...
@Crow
...only to be attacked by the pesky monkey floating on a cloud!
"Yaaarrrgh!!" The behemoth of a pirate roared in excruciating pain as Wukong's flattened staff pierced through his shoulder then expanding
inside, tearing muscle and flesh. In a display of agony-fueled fury, the dying pirate
grabbed Wukong's tail when she decided to slap him with his trembling right arm, his cutlass dropped for the moment.
"Arrrrgh!!" Sparing no restraint, Yellow Beard used the monkey's tail against herself as he slammed Wukong down onto the floor, then heave her up before faceplanting her to the deck again. Up, down, up, down, he rewarded Wukong's insolence with brutality before he threw her away, her body crashing into a group of mercenaries.
@Lstorm
"Ha... harrr..." Coughing and heaving, the old pirate picked up his cutlass, feeling his fingers failing him now. He raised his head just in time to see Adale charging at him, hammer raised high.
"Hrrrmm..." Yellow Beard closed his eyes for a brief moment then opened them in one last burning defiance against imminent defeat as he swung his cutlass, clashing the two oversized weapons together! The sheer shockwave of the impact was enough to send those in close proximity reeling. The two held their ground for a moment... until little by little, Yellow Beard was pushed back, his grip on the cutlass faltering, resulting in Alris slamming straight on his unarmored torso.
"Guh...!"
@Laura's Group
"Hmmmrrrgh..." Yellow Beard stumbled back a few steps, breaths weak, eyes half-closed, body marred with wounds and blood. He looked all around him... at the Golden Midas, the mercenaries, and finally, his crew. Ah... it looked like this old sky dog's journey was over,
"To the sky... I go." With a final deep exhausted grunt, the pirate captain fell on his back at last, staring at the open night sky. Along with a final exhale, his tired eyes closed for the last time...
<----->
@LowDefinition @RedArmyShogun @Click This
Together with Silva, Aster detached from the airboat as it circled above the Lughanta. The two landed on the deck. The blue-haired man kept an eye on the remaining pirates until Shinobu talked to him through the communication device,
"Yes, she is, over." then she gave a rather unorthodox order. Wait... didn't this mean Silva will be risking Sorina's life with the shot? Was it worth it? This was a difficult decision and urgent enough that there was no time to ask Agatha about it, he'd have to make this decision as second-in-command. The Blood Devil seemed to be fine with it judging from what he could see up above. With a heavy sigh, he gave a nod to Silva,
"Do it."
The shot was taken, resulting in the enemy youkai losing her arm while Sorina was pierced through her right shoulder. The Blood Devil lost her strength and fell through the night sky. He narrowed his eyes in concern and was about to command one of the fliers himself when he spotted another chiropteran-winged individual made a beeline towards the fallen Devil.
"Good work, Charlotte, bring her here." Once the Nosferatu arrived with her half-dead escort.
"I'll treat her." Aster took Sorina from the vampire's arms and immediately went into the airship, heading towards the Lughanta's sick bay.
With the Yellow Midas taken over and the death of Yellow Beard, the battle was already won anyway, the crew could take care of any remaining boarders on the Lughanta on their own.
<----->
@Ehb
If the reason Seven stayed in the engine room was to wind down, he would be sorely disappointed as a small dragon youkai fell through the ceiling. Her missing arm would be painfully obvious to the kitchenhand, now what should he do about this turn of events? But of course, the man decided to 'fuck it' and just slipped away into the shadows as if he was a Rothmer. Where to? No one could guess but himself.
<----->
@Everyone
Shouts of victory erupted from the mercenaries as the sight of the Lughanta's flag waved high on the Golden Midas and the news of Yellow Beard's death spread from ship to ship.
"Victory is ours. Round up the stragglers, men." Captain Camus announced from his airboat as his crew immediately went about the order.
"Captain Nightingale, this is Camus." He spoke through the transmitter,
"Good work, you and your men deserve rest, we'll take care of things from here. Go inform the Doge of our success... after you find 'it' of course."
"Roger that, Captain Camus." Agatha heaved a huge sigh of relief. It was finally over, they had won, another job well-done. The Doge shall be pleased to hear this as she delivered the Midas' flag
and Yellow Beard's head. However, she supposed her crew could stay for the moment, poke around the Midas, take any valuables they might need. After all, what the Doge truly wanted from the treasure airship weren't florin, gems, or erchius crystals. A letter, an important one, was stashed among the treasures in a lockbox. This was a personal task from the Doge to the mercenary captains.
"Aster, Shinobu, Laura, tell the crew that they are free to loot the Midas and other pirate ships of any valuables, just don't be too greedy, we have to give something back to Doge as well. Over." Of course, this also applied to her own group. Giving them a salute, the captain began her search. Now then, the most likely places were either the Midas' vault or Yellow Beard's cabin. Since Yellow Beard was rather smart for a pirate. Right, captain's cabin it is.