When Alka and Siegert stepped out of the captain's cabin,
a number of sailors had already gathered on the deck.
Seeing the captain arrive, they quickly opened up a path.
"What happened?"
As soon as Hawls asked, a well-dressed middle-aged man, also clad in leather, walked over with a stern expression.
He gave off a natural air of authority—it was the ship's first mate.
"Captain, we've spotted pirates."
He spoke as he pointed out towards the sea.
The group immediately looked in that direction, and saw a sailing ship slowly approaching.
Due to the light sea mist and the distance, visibility was poor.
Hawls instantly pulled a monocular from his pocket, extended it, and squinted to peer intently.
"It's pirates—must be the gang that's been prowling these waters lately. What rotten luck."
He then turned his head and shouted at the sailors behind him, "Why are you all standing around? Expecting them to spare us?"
Hearing the captain's shout, everyone sprang into action.
Alka couldn't help but grip the short blade at his waist.
Siegert glanced at Alka's reaction and patted him: "No need to panic—don't you see these sailors are pretty calm?"
"Running into pirates at sea is nothing unusual. The ocean's full of dangers. Ready to see some blood?"
As he spoke he drew his own sailor's saber, holding it in his hand.
"Stick close to me. Don't worry."
Alka nodded, a bit tense, then glanced at the ring on his thumb.
He also drew the sailor's saber at his waist.
He looked at the pirate ship speeding toward them.
The other ship was clearly smaller than the one beneath their feet—also a two-masted vessel, but slimmer and shorter.
Right now it seemed to have the wind at its back; at this rate, it would rush up any moment now.
Then, one after another, crossbow carts were rolled out, lined up along the ship's broadside and facing the enemy's approach.
"Is this still the age of sail before gunpowder?"
Only now did Alka realize something he'd missed—there were no cannons, not even a cannon deck, on this ship.
Ship-mounted cannons were the most effective weapons in sail-era naval combat—
and their most iconic.
Without cannons, battles could only come down to ramming and boarding fights.
Just as Alka pondered this, Captain Hawls raised his long saber and shouted, "Where's my darling? Haul it up here!"
As soon as he finished, several sailors struggled to push a heavy object up from the hold and onto the deck.
Cannon?
This thing looked almost identical to the cannons Alka had seen in old reference books.
Except its exterior had turned blackish-grey instead of pure black, though it was clearly still made of metal.
Yet compared to a cannon, it looked much more refined.
The barrel was a three-meter-long cylinder, mounted on a base that allowed it to swivel side to side and tilt up and down, with four wheels attached.
From the mounting alone, you could tell the barrel wasn't as heavy as you'd expect.
Or maybe the technology was a step ahead.
Either way, it was a cannon.
Siegert instantly recognized it, couldn't help cheering.
"Uncle Hawls, you really went all-out—when'd you get your hands on one?"
Hawls looked a bit smug, showing off his treasure: "Had it for quite a while, just doesn't see much use. That's why you never noticed."
He then turned to a gaunt man and said, "Tashi, you're in charge. Hit them hard, make it count!"
Tashi rubbed his hands together and gestured, "No problem!"
"Leave it to me, Captain. I'll make those pirates wish they'd never come here, hehehe!"
Then he took a palm-sized cylinder with gilded edges from the captain—looked expensive enough.
With several men helping, the cannon was pushed up to the ship's rail.
A sailor carrying a barrel set it down hard beside the cannon.
Tashi directed the men to stuff fist-sized objects one by one into the barrel—they must be the ammunition.
No powder or anything extra, just the ammo stuffed straight in.
And all fist-sized smaller rounds—so many of them. Shotgun rounds?
Siegert dragged Alka back a good four or five meters from the cannon.
"This is gonna be good—doesn't look too dangerous now."
"What is that thing?"
"A Vibrating Stone Cannon—really expensive, packs a hell of a punch."
"Know what it's made out of?"
"No idea, hardly anyone does."
Looked like Siegert didn't know much either.
"Ready!"
Tashi called out, and four sailors braced the Vibrating Stone Cannon.
Alka glanced into the distance—the enemy pirate ship was still about 600 meters away.
That far—could they really hit accurately?
"Fire!"
With a furious roar, Tashi took the cylinder the captain gave him and smashed it onto a palm-sized platform at the cannon's rear.
At the impact, Alka distinctly felt the whole ship tremble ever so slightly.
But the sound wasn't like an ordinary cannon's deafening boom.
It was a very heavy, muffled noise.
He watched as several fist-sized projectiles sliced through the air, letting out sharp shrieks—
and slammed into the enemy ship, some hitting the deck directly.
Bullseye!
"Hit! Quick, quick—reload!"
About every 30 seconds it could fire again.
Every shot hit dead on.
Alka realized it wasn't Tashi's skill, but the cannon's incredible accuracy. At 500 meters, the shots flew almost perfectly straight.
The effective range had to be even greater.
This was clearly no ordinary cannon.
As the ships closed, the crossbow carts fired bolts in quick succession too—
but after each salvo, they didn't bother to reload.
After four or five shots from the cannon, the pirate ship was battered but still sailed right up alongside them.
But they were never trying to sink the enemy ship in the first place.
This kind of shotgun round was meant to kill pirates, not wreck hulls.
"They're boarding! Weapons out! Let's give these rats a lesson they won't forget!"
Tofu roared, drawing the sailor's saber at his waist.
One after another, grappling lines with hooks flew over, catching on the rails and the rigging.
Siegert stayed glued by Alka's side.
Many sailors were already hacking at the flying hooks with their long sabers.
Just then, arrows zipped over and struck down two sailors with deadly accuracy.
As the brawl intensified,
more and more pirates boarded their vessel.
The pirates' numbers were far greater than expected.
Two pirates spotted Alka and Siegert, brandishing sailor's long sabers as they charged.
Siegert rushed in—kicking one pirate to the deck, blocking another's blow with his saber—
slashing and twisting his short knife, he knocked aside the enemy's blade and hacked into the pirate's shoulder.
He swept his right leg, tripping the foe, and brutally chopped down on the man's neck.
Blood spurted out in a gush.
Siegert, a veteran, simply turned his head aside—
made sure the blood didn't blind him, just splattered on his neck and cheek.
He rolled backward, dodging another pirate's swing as the man struggled up from where Siegert had kicked him.
Seeing blood fly and blades clash, Alka's heartbeat soared, his breath coming faster and harsher.
His ears rang with screams and furious shouts.
A cold sensation shot to his mind, warning him to stay calm.
Suddenly he spotted something—and shouted, "Watch out!"
His body moved on its own.