Pirate: It’s not a phantom beast, it’s a phantom god!

Chapter 304 Artillery Fire
The Bull was surrounded.

Without any warning, almost the instant it broke through the sea, it was suddenly surrounded by three warships, forming a three-sided encirclement.

Before the people on the ship could even take a breath of fresh air, dozens of naval guns, each hundreds of millimeters long, were pressed against their heads... The dark muzzles of the guns seemed even darker than the gloomy seabed.

"Guwu~"
Everyone froze on the spot, involuntarily swallowing hard...

Tap~ Tap~ Tap~
On the lead naval warship, Mien walked step by step to the bow.

His left hand rested on the hilt of his rapier, and he tilted his head slightly back, looking down at the bullring not far away.

He remembered the ship.

This was one of the two main warships of the Beasts Pirates, and it was the vehicle of a certain high-ranking officer.

However, compared to its former grandeur, it now looks much more dilapidated, and even after numerous repairs, it can no longer conceal the decay and decline of this old warship.
Now it is like an old bull, dragging its body covered with hidden ailments and its horns scarred, facing the attack of three tigers.

Mien had only seen this ship once before, during that naval battle.

At that time, the ship floated high in the sky, surrounded by a large number of warships, looking down at the navy below, which had been swept into pieces, with an air of superiority, like a spectator in a VIP seat.

In fact, even after several years, Mien still remembers every detail of that battle clearly. The events of that day have played out countless times in his dreams, like a movie...

"Blue~"

Taking out a Den Den Mushi from his pocket, Mien dialed a number while watching the actions of the Beasts.

"Hello, it's me, Mien."

"The operation went smoothly; I have successfully intercepted them."

"very good."

A familiar voice came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi; it was the white-clad agent.

There was no sound of fighting coming from the other side, so it seemed that the battle had already ended.

Is anyone on the ship?

"exist."

Mien shifted his gaze to a certain golden-haired fishman.

"Bring him back, and kill the rest of them."

"understood."

"Blue~"

The phone bug was hung up.

The two communicated very efficiently, without any unnecessary words... and just as they said in the Den Den Mushi, the operation was a great success.

As top-tier agents, CP0 agents in white suits are not just rigidly following orders; aside from their superior weaponry compared to other intelligence organizations, their tactical planning abilities are equally outstanding.

After all, they serve some of the most demanding people in the world.

Therefore, as early as when they first engaged in battle with Bourfat and his men, they had already guessed that the latter wanted to stall for time so that they could leave by boat.

So he decisively ordered Mien and the others who hadn't arrived yet to change their route and wait outside the island on the already coated warships.

Mien and his crew were also incredibly lucky; they caught a glimpse of the flash emanating from the Bullship shortly after leaving Fishman Island.

Thanks to the mistake made by the ship's doctor, Mien and his crew were able to locate the Bull in the dark depths of the sea, which allowed them to surround it as soon as it surfaced.

"Open fire."

Without giving the other side any more time to react, Mien decisively ordered his troops to open fire after putting away the Den Den Mushi.

"Eh?!"

"Sir, weren't we supposed to capture one of the murlocs alive?"

The adjutant, who had received the order, asked in confusion.

"Fire."

"Sink them."

Mien repeated himself, but offered no explanation whatsoever, as if he wasn't the one who had so readily agreed to capture La Hire alive on the Den Den Mushi.

After the military reform proposed by Sengoku was completed, the navy was greatly strengthened in terms of equipment and military spending, and its overall strength was greatly improved, but it almost lost its voice in front of the World Government.

Having lost the ability to independently produce military equipment and with its military budget tightly controlled, the Navy, whose independent action rating had plummeted from B to E, could no longer say 'no' to the World Government, which was its Master.

Therefore, even if the other side makes an outrageous request like sending two vice admirals to help the Celestial Dragons hunt down a runaway slave, the Navy's high command can only grit their teeth and accept it.

However, some people completely disagree, such as a certain naval hero and Mien in front of us.

As a lieutenant general, he neither had to consider those messy political factors from the decision-making level, nor did he want to be promoted or given further titles; he could even be stripped of his rank without a second thought.

As someone trapped in the past, his only goal from beginning to end has been to exact revenge on all the beasts.

Seeing that his superior officer was resolute, the adjutant said nothing more and immediately organized the gunners to aim and fire.

boom!
boom! boom!
As the warship beneath Mien's feet began to fire shells at the Bull, the other two warships also joined in the barrage.

The people on the Bull were caught off guard and were almost immediately thrown into chaos by the explosion. After all, at such close range, it would not be easy for the navy to deliberately miss.

Bang! ! !
"what!"

"Help!"

"Get down quickly!"

A cannonball slammed into the deck, and the shockwave blew several pirates into the sea.

"Captain, what do we do?!" "We can't just sit here and take the hits; we have to fight back!"

"But the enemy's artillery fire was too intense; we had no chance to fight back!"

"When did the navy's cannons start firing so fast?!"

boom! ! !
A shell struck the mainmast precisely, instantly igniting the canvas on it.

"Quickly, put out the fire!"

boom! ! boom! !
Without giving the beasts a chance to breathe, several pirates were just about to get up and put out the fire when they were blown away by the whistling cannonballs.

One of the unlucky ones was hit directly in the chest and was blasted into pieces before he could even scream.

"..."

Flames began to spread across the deck, and the thick smoke made it difficult for everyone on board to see the trajectory of the shells. All they could do was lie on the ground, hoping that the next shell wouldn't hit them.

This battle-hardened old ship was helplessly and futilely swaying under the barrage of shells coming from all directions...

It wasn't that the crew members of the Beasts lacked combat skills; it was simply that Mien's sneak attack was so unexpected that it gave them no time to react.

Moreover, the cannons on the naval warships have also been significantly upgraded. Based on the Beast breech-loading cannon, the military laboratories under the World Government have carried out a second round of improvements, greatly increasing its accuracy, power, and rate of fire.

With the added triple crossfire suppression from the triangular formation, the Bull, a warship nearing the end of its service life, had virtually no chance to retaliate.

Pfft!

The cabin was blown up, and flying pieces of wood pierced the squad leader's back, causing the skilled pirate to let out a muffled groan.

La Hire, lying beside him, was in an even worse state. The blond fishman's back was a bloody mess, with blood splattered several meters away...

But he remained silent, still tightly protecting the baby beneath him who was crying loudly in fear of the explosion.

"Good child, don't cry, don't cry~"

"Look here, Daddy!"

The fish-man father's attempts to comfort the baby were completely drowned out by the roar of the cannons, but the grimaces he made despite his pain successfully stopped the baby's crying.

The baby stretched out his hands, seemingly trying to touch his father's comical face, but his hands were too short to reach anything.

Despite this, he laughed happily and no longer cried out of fear at the roar of gunfire.

"Eee~~Eeeee~"

"Ah~ah~"

Hearing the child's babbling laughter, the fishman father laughed along, but his laughter was silent.

He looked at his child, and kept looking until the child's smile was completely etched into his mind, and then he closed his eyes.

"..."

Swish!
"What are you doing?! Get down right now!"

Seeing Lahail suddenly stand up, the squad leader next to him was startled and quickly stood up as well, trying to tackle him.

However, the two were too different in size. His pounce only made Lahail stagger but did not knock him down. Instead, he himself fell to the ground.

"Thank you, brother of the beasts."

Seeing that the squad leader was trying to get up again, Lahail grabbed him and said:
"You've done enough for me, leave the rest to me."

“Their target is me. If I surrender myself, it should be enough for you to leave safely.”

Without waiting for the squad leader to make any further moves, he braved the gunfire and walked straight to the bow of the ship.

"Please take good care of my child."

"please."

After recounting this final sentence, Lahail shouted loudly towards the opposing warship:
"I am the slave of the Celestial Dragon you are looking for!"

"Now I'm willing to surrender, give up resistance, and go back with you!!"

"However, spare the rest of the crew and let them leave!!!"

"The Celestial Dragons' order should have been to keep me alive!!!"

"Let them go, and I'll go with you immediately! Otherwise, I'll kill myself right here!!!"

To drown out the sound of the cannons, Lahail shouted these words with almost all his might, making it nearly impossible for him to stand up again, as he was already extremely weak.

His words were successfully relayed to the navy.

"Lieutenant General, we..."

The adjutant stepped forward again, looking at Mien with difficulty. He had clearly heard the CP0 officer in white emphasize the goal of survival in the Den Den Mushi.

To put it bluntly, even if it's just a fish-man slave, even if he'd most likely be shot dead after being taken back, it still belongs to the Celestial Dragons, and the Navy has no right to dispose of it.

However, Mien remained unmoved and coldly said:

"Ignore him, continue shelling."

"Can……"

"..."

"...Yes, sir."

　No, it's not a flare-up. It's just that I've been staying up too late lately, which has weakened my immune system and caused my hives to flare up again. I was so scared that I quickly regulated my sleep schedule last night and started going to bed early and waking up early.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)