CHAPTER 71

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CHAPTER 71

The child was attacking a barrel. Kreegan and the crew were curious and approached the child for information. When they were close enough, they realized the child was a girl. The girl saw them approach and directed her spear toward them.

"Who... Who are you?"

Kreegan, with a friendly voice, said,

"Sorry, we didn't want to frighten you. We got shipwrecked and managed to reach this island."

The girl studied the crew carefully and noticed that none of them had weapons because the weapons were in Kreegan's item box. she said in a bit of a panic,

"We shouldn't stand here. Come with me. If the Ganzack Pirates saw you, they would take you like they took my father."

The girl was around 10-12 years old. She had red hair and green eyes, and her name was Medaka. She took them to her house, and there they learned from Skid the pirates took all the able-bodied men in the village to work in the pirate base. Skid was Medaka's grandfather. After finishing what he wanted to tell, he lit his pipe and sighed wearily.

"Medaka lost her mother when she was so little; all she has is her father and me. Before the pirates came, he was her world."

Medaka gripped her spear tightly and angrily said,

"I hate pirates! I am going to save my father and this village from them."

Kreegan said,

"Your hate and anger have no power, girl."

"I... I will beat them."

"No, you won't because you are weak. Weak doesn't have the privilege to like or dislike things. They can only live through things if they can. If you want that privilege, you need to have power. I accept you have heart, but any fool can have courage."

"What do you know, you are the weak ones! You couldn't even sail and lost your ship!"

Lex laughed heartily and said,

"Hahaha! She got you there."

Skid said,

"Medaka, they are not shipwreck survivors."

"What do you mean, Grandpa?"

"Look at their clothes. They are not wet or has any salt stain from the seawater. They have landed on the island and are too calm even after learning there are pirates on this island."

Eagle said,

"You are really observant for an old guy."

"I didn't live all these years for nothing. I have at least decent ability to discern character."

Kuina curiously asked,

"Then, why are we here? Can you guess?"

"I would like to say Marines, but you are too much of a motley bunch. So, I will go with bounty hunters."

Kuina and Eagle started clapping like this was a show,

"Bravo!"

"Bravo!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Kreegan annoyedly said,

"Stop being clowns. As you guessed, we are pirate hunters and were trying to gather info before attacking."

"Where is the rest of your crew."

"You are looking at it."

Skid was dumbfounded,

"Are you guys crazy? Do you have any idea how many men they have? They even have a monster under their control."

"I don't think it will be a problem for us. All I want to know is how many of them have guns and do they really have a Plesiosaur."

"As far as we can see, not many of them have guns, but they still have many, and yes, they have a sea monster."

Kreegan turned to the rest of them and said,

"I will pull all the fire to myself, and Eagle, you will focus on the guns. You two will come behind me and clean the rest of it. If the crab-man is not that powerful, I will leave him to you the second Plesiosaur appears."

Medaka put on her helmet and said,

"I will fight and save my father too."

The child was brave and had potential. She was a white level 1, but most pirates are yellow level 1. So, she would be in danger.

"No, you won't. I don't have time to protect you."

"I don't want to."

"What did I tell you? Weak doesn't have a choice. You don't have a choice when I tell you no. Suppose you want to have a say in any matter, train hard, and grow into a strong adult. Then you can have a choice. Skid, do you have any rope?"

"I do. Why do you need it."

Kreegan smiled at Medaka creepily, and she trembled anxiously.

"Why... Why are you looking at me like that, you weirdo!"

Kreegan fastened Medaka firmly to the house's column and said to Skid,

"Don't release her until the battle sounds stop. Sorry kid, this is too dangerous for you; as grownups, it is our job to protect you until you grow. Then you can choose how you want to live your life. Let's go."

…

Under the cloak of darkness, Kreegan and his team infiltrated the pirate stronghold silently and swiftly, eliminating pirates one by one. Kreegan's team moved like a well-oiled machine, coordinating their movements with silent gestures and a shared understanding. Even Eagle was using a dagger. Kreegan's team managed to neutralize a significant portion of the pirate forces—20%, but they got discovered, and with it, all hell broke loose.

"Intruders! Arggh!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Eagle started shooting everyone with a gun, but he usually aimed for arms and legs. Kreegan shook his head; his soft heart was going to cost him at some point. Kreegan pulled both of his swords and charged into the most crowded place.

"Empowered magic, shield."

This gave him +15 AC for 5 minutes; a soft blue hue surrounded his body. With this buff, Kreegan had 50 AC. It felt like even a rifle couldn't hurt him. He let a man shoot him, and the bullet bounced off him with sparks. It didn't even hurt to be hit by a bullet; it was more like getting punched by children.

"Jolt, Tatsumaki!"

The whirlwind created by his attack reaped through their ranks, and because of the jolt spell inside the attack, even the ones touched by the wind got stunned for one or two seconds. At that moment, Imprisoned village folk started taking up shovels and pickaxes. They then attacked the stunned pirates.

Kreegan choice of the spell was focused on the Plesiosaur. He had chosen Shield, Expeditious Retreat, Vanish, Ray of Enfeeblement, and Flame Burst. For the level 2 spells Cat's Grace, Animal Aspect, and Scorching Ray.

The crew managed to push the pirates all the way to the shore, and suddenly, the sea parted, and a giant monster appeared. On top of that beast was Ganzack. Crab-man laughed maniacally and said,

"This is as far as you go! Now, you will pay for your arrogance. How dare you stand in the way of Pirate General Ganzack!"

The second Ganzack started monologuing, Kreegan started to charge his powers. Because they were weaker than he thought, the beast was a gray level 6, and Ganzack was a white level 4.

"Animal Aspect Gorilla."

Kreegan's arms swelled and got longer,

"Empowered magic Expeditious Retreat, Cat's Grace, Empowered magic Flame Burst."

The boosted Expeditious Retreat had given him 70% speed. He used Flame Burst behind the beast's head. The explosion was at least two times bigger than usual. The explosion pushed the beast's head closer to the ground and disoriented it. At the same time, the force of the explosion threw Ganzack from the beast's head to the ground. Kreegan signaled Kuina and Lex to take care of him. Kreegan continued his attack before the beast could collect itself.

"Perfect strike, Arcane Weapon Flame, Arcane Weapon Flame, Prescient Attack, Scorching Ray, Hyakuhachi Pound Ho (108 Pound Phoenix)"

The spiraling compressed air combined with the Scorching Ray and Arcane Weapon Flame turned into a bird-shaped flame. Then charged toward the beast's neck. The flames fed from each other, and the bird grew bigger as it traveled. Scorching Ray and Arcane Weapon Flame boosted each other and created a stronger flame attack. The Flame bird charged through the beast without stopping. Kreegan charged toward the beast's body, but it was on the water. So, he cast Water Walk to reach its body.

After the flames cleared, the sight shocked everyone who witnessed it. The beast no longer had a head. All it had was a cauterized stump at the end of its neck. The long neck of the beast went limp and started to fall. Even Kreegan was shocked by the power of this strike and started running back so he wouldn't be crushed under the collapsing beast.