Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

"They have the advantage of terrain; if we charge down there, we'll just be throwing our lives away."

Nozer calmly analyzed the current situation.

"What should we do then? We can't just sit here and wait for them to recover and retaliate, can we?"

Just when they were in a dilemma, Andrew suddenly came over and took out two fist-sized iron pipes from the alchemy material bag.

The two ends of the iron pipe were sealed tightly with molten metal, and the inside was filled with gunpowder, lead pellets, and iron nails.

There's no need to force it.

Andrew weighed the iron pipe in his hand and quickly explained in a low voice, "This is a blasting tube I made myself. It contains finely ground gunpowder, has no fuse, and is very airtight. If you throw it in and ignite it, it will explode instantly before they can react."

Lucas's eyes lit up instantly. He snatched an iron pipe and examined it closely, tapping the pipe's surface with his fingertips, producing a dull thud. "There's something good here? You should have told me sooner! Let me have it!"

"You don't know any magic, you'd just be a piece of scrap metal if you threw it in."

Andrew glanced at him and handed the metal tube back to Nozer. "Your magic accuracy is the highest. Here you go."

Noze took the iron pipe; it felt heavy in his hand, the cold pipe walls pressed against his palm.

A more efficient killing weapon—that was the first thought that flashed through his mind.

However, Norze didn't think much of it, after all, this was a life-or-death war.

He made a ready gesture to Andrew, then looked at Lucas, "Luke, after the explosion, you lead the charge, I'll follow behind you, and Andrew will bring up the rear."

"no problem!"

Lucas nodded.

Noze pressed himself against the wall on the other side of the stairs, completely concealing his body behind the wall. The magic threads at his fingertips were already poised to be unleashed, firmly wrapped around the two explosive tubes in his hands.

He held his breath and listened carefully to the sounds coming from down the stairs.

Just as the pirates below were reloading their muskets and their attention was momentarily distracted, Nozer suddenly leaned forward, exerted force in his arm, and threw out the two explosive tubes in his hand one after the other.

The iron pipes drew two short arcs in the air. Just as the first one passed the corner and was about to fall into the pirate horde, Noze's [Burning Spell] was instantly triggered, precisely igniting the gunpowder inside the pipe.

"boom--!!"

A deafening explosion rang out in the narrow stairwell.

The confined space amplified the power of the explosion several times over. Orange-red flames erupted from the stairwell, and scalding air currents carrying fragments of iron, wood chips, and pieces of flesh and blood rushed towards them, causing Noze and Lucas to involuntarily take two steps back.

Almost simultaneously with the first explosion, the second explosive tube detonated, followed by a deafening roar. The entire ship's corridor trembled violently, wood chips rained down from above, and several cracks appeared in the walls.

The pirates' curses in the stairwell ceased abruptly at the moment of the explosion, leaving only the crackling sound of the walls splitting open and the splattering of human fragments and blood falling to the ground.

"Rush!"

Noze, braving the lingering shockwave, let out a loud roar.

Lucas had been waiting impatiently for a long time. Before Nozer's roar had even faded, he leaped into the still-smoking cabin.

Norze and Andrew followed closely behind, the three of them rushing down the stairs, which were covered in blood, flesh and splinters of wood.

In those few steps, Norze experienced the extreme discomfort of going from light to darkness.

The deck was bathed in blinding sunlight, so bright it reflected off the metal blades, and even amidst the smoke of battle, there was still ample light.

But as soon as I rushed into the stairwell, I was suddenly plunged into complete darkness. Only the embers left from the explosion flickered in the darkness, and all I could see were dense spots of light, making it impossible to see anything at all.

Noze abruptly closed his eyes and then quickly opened them again, but all he could see was a blurry darkness, as if someone had covered his eyes with a black cloth. Only a little light coming in from the stairwell allowed him to barely see the steps beneath his feet.

The roar of the explosion echoed repeatedly in his ears, making it impossible for him to accurately discern the surrounding sounds.

Just then, a sound of wind breaking through the darkness came from the darkness, heading straight for his chest.

It was a wounded but not quite dead pirate hiding behind the wreckage around the corner, slashing at him with his scimitar.

Noze didn't even have time to see the opponent's movements. He relied entirely on instinct to lean against the wall and use magic to intercept the opponent's blade, barely managing to dodge the fatal blow.

The scimitar grazed his chest and struck the wall, splattering wood chips all over him. Seeing that his attack had missed, the pirate tried to strike again, but Norze had already reversed his grip on the scimitar and thrust it forward fiercely.

The blade pierced through flesh in an instant, and the pirate let out a short scream before his body went limp.

It was only then that Norzee's eyes began to adjust to the darkness, allowing him to see the pirate he had stabbed and his blood-stained face.

He shook the blood off his knife, blinked hard again, and the light spots in his eyes finally faded, allowing him to see the situation inside the cabin clearly.

The place was already a scene of devastation. The seven or eight pirates who were guarding the area had been blown to pieces, their limbs and torsos scattered everywhere. The walls and steps were covered with charred flesh and blood, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of gunpowder and the strong stench of blood.

The two survivors were also shaken by the shockwave, bleeding from all seven orifices and unable to move. Lucas stepped forward and swiftly ended their lives with two stabs.

"Let's go! Clear it out!"

Lucas kicked aside the corpse blocking his way, brandished his scimitar, and charged into the ship's corridor. "Don't let them come to their senses."

"Yes, we need to act quickly and not give them a chance to regroup."

Noze lowered his voice and gestured to the two of them.

The three advanced quickly, with Lucas leading the way to clear out the enemies in front, Nozer in the middle to check the cargo hatches on both sides, and Andrew bringing up the rear to guard against attacks from behind.

Just as they reached the door of the first cargo hold, the tightly closed door was suddenly slammed open from the inside, and two pirates wielding curved swords roared and pounced out, trying to catch them off guard under the cover of darkness.

Unfortunately, just as they rushed out of the hatch, Lucas charged back at them.

The narrow passageway made it impossible to unleash wide-range slashes, so he simply gave up and thrust his scimitar forward with deadly force, precisely piercing the first pirate's throat.

The pirate's scream was choked in his throat, and blood gushed out from the blade, splattering all over the hatch.

The second pirate was startled and turned to run, but Noze had already leaned out from the side, his scimitar piercing through the gap in the hatch and sinking into his side. With a twist of the blade, he shattered his kidney.

The pirate let out a muffled groan, his body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees.

After confirming that the area was clean, the three men did not stop and continued to move forward to clean the next cabin.