Chapter 195
Episode 62: The Compass Seizure Operation (7)

The cannonballs fired from the warships of the Bellado Principality were imbued with magic.

These were battle-enhancing spells that increased both range and explosive power. To reinforce hundreds of cannons like that, you’d need at least a hundred six-star mages.

And having that many six-star mages meant there were also numerous high-ranking mages commanding them.

Under normal circumstances, such a force would never have come to this small, abandoned island. While Runkandel had sent only ten mid- to high-level guardian knights, Bimant had deployed a full-scale military force.

This clearly showed that Bimant had superior intelligence on Ziphl and Kinzello—or at least was paying far more attention.

Black dots hung in the sky, rapidly descending. The cannonballs were flying toward the harbor in an instant.

“D-Down! Everyone duck!”

“Ahhh!”

The pirates screamed in panic, faces pale with terror, while the Runkandel guardian knights frowned in displeasure.

Boom! Bang! Crackle!

Explosions erupted as cannonballs began raining down on the harbor and beach. Water columns shot up from the blasts, pirate ships shattered, splinters flew, and the stones and sand that made up the harbor scattered in all directions.

Unlike the pirates, who either flattened themselves or ran around screaming wildly, the guardian knights skillfully sliced or dodged the incoming cannonballs and debris near them.

“Tch, this is annoying.”

“Let’s report back to headquarters. I’m pretty sure those Bellado bastards have gone mad.”

Boom…! Boom, boom!

Before the pirates could even recover, the next barrage followed immediately.

For Jin, this chaos was advantageous. The confusion made it easier to slip past the guardian knights’ watchful eyes, and even if all the docked ships were destroyed, they were planning to escape on Murakan anyway.

But unfortunately, the arrival of Bellado’s fleet was bad luck for Jin.

Because another magic was now being cast, on top of the cannonball enhancement spells.

Suddenly, the dark night sky began to glow red.

It wasn’t the cannonballs themselves that were on fire. Rather, it was the result of a magical barrier being erected by the mages aboard Bellado’s ships.

“A Great Linked Barrier…!? Bimant’s special forces prepared even this!?”

The Great Linked Barrier was exactly what it sounded like—a magic formed by multiple mages combining their power to create a protective barrier.

Usually, it was used to defend castles or cities from enemy attacks.

But sometimes, it was deployed to prevent the enemy’s escape—just like now.

“The Red Linked Barrier. This isn’t just the special forces; it’s a linked magic used by the royal guard’s mages. So the royal guard was on standby too!”

The Red Linked Barrier was one of the signature magics of Bimant’s royal guard mages. Independently developed by them, its core purpose was “airspace control.”

When dragons or flying monsters attacked the imperial palace, this barrier was deployed to annihilate them and prevent escape. Within the Red Linked Barrier, no winged creature larger than a sparrow could fly freely.

If a flying object was detected, the barrier immediately unleashed thousands of red beams. Since it was developed to protect the “Emperor,” its destructive power was terrifying.

Jin’s plan to escape on Murakan was instantly shattered. The barrier enveloped the entire island.

“Even if Murakan can withstand the barrier, the safety of those on board is another matter. We need to revise the plan.”

They had to escape by ship.

But cannonballs kept raining down relentlessly, smashing the harbor and pirate ships, while the island was completely surrounded by Bellado’s fleet.

“Still, it’s better to somehow find a ship and engage in a chase with Bellado’s fleet. Flying through the barrier is far too dangerous.”

First, they had to get a ship and get outside the barrier. The fleet would pursue, but once outside, they could switch back to Murakan and escape.

Finding the others was less important now than returning to Murakan. Since the Red Linked Barrier was developed about a hundred years ago, Murakan wouldn’t yet understand its dangers.

If Murakan got frustrated searching for the others and took off flying, they had to warn him quickly.

“Murakan!”

“Kiddo?”

Jin retraced his steps and searched nearby, thankfully finding him quickly. As Jin explained the Red Linked Barrier, Syris appeared from somewhere.

“Jin! You have a rough idea of the situation, right? The east side—the harbor and all the ships—are completely destroyed. The island’s small, so shaking off the flies is limited.”

She had escaped the special forces and assessed the situation just like Jin.

“Syris, do you know which escape points the others moved toward?”

“They headed to the western escape points. Since those two are from Bimant, they understand what that barrier means. Without a ship, there’s no way out.”

“Damn those bastards. When did they develop that magic? Everything’s getting blown to bits, and how are we supposed to find a ship? Kiddo, didn’t you bring your eyelid frog?”

“If I could’ve brought Mort, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Black Dragon. You should just advertise it as a Bimant special operation.”

“Better if the three of us stick together. Alisa, let’s find Lord Kashimir and hope there’s at least one ship left at the nearest harbor.”

The distant thunder of explosions continued. Murakan transformed back into a cat and nestled in Syris’s arms.

“Phew, not only the special forces but the royal guard too. I didn’t expect things to get this complicated. Mother told me to help as if I were just going out for a stroll.”

“I was surprised when I first learned Syris was involved in the operation.”

“I’m more surprised you turned the second floor upside down all by yourself. You’ve become a monster, Jin Runkandel.”

“The guardian knights are on high alert, searching for Syris. Let’s move carefully so we don’t get noticed.”

Alisa and Kashimir had moved west to evade the special forces. Thanks to Syris, the group quickly found the escape points without getting lost.

“Lord Kashimir.”

They found Kashimir, Alisa, and Quikantel at escape point number seven.

It was a warehouse used by the resident pirates on the island. Originally, after seizing the compass, the plan was for the others to hide there, then sneak onto a pirate ship among the supplies and escape.

“I thought they might come looking, so I waited three minutes. My instincts were right. Long time no see, Your Highness.”

“Syris also managed to shake off my juniors safely.”

“Murakan’s fine, so it seems he didn’t fly inside the barrier. I was worried he’d get torn apart if he flew looking for us.”

“Those bastards’ barrier is that strong? Can’t you just fly through it?”

“The royal guard’s mages are on par with Baekya. Dozens of them combined to make this. The two of us alone aren’t enough.”

They kept greetings brief and set out to find a ship.

But the western harbor was completely destroyed by bombardment. Not a single ship remained intact, and the bodies of pirates killed by guardian knights lay everywhere.

Only the southern harbor was left.

But it was too far to reach. Though the island was small, it would take at least thirty minutes at full speed.

The booming of cannons grew louder. While the others gathered, Bellado’s fleet tightened its encirclement, almost surrounding the island.

“The chances of finding a ship in the south harbor are low. It might be better to swim out of the barrier now.”

Jin sighed.

“What if you get hit by a cannonball?”

Syris asked, and Jin shrugged.

“Well… we’re all pretty tough.”

“Uh, yeah. That’s true. Seems like there’s no other choice.”

“Getting hit by cannonballs is something we can endure, but the real problem is being spotted by the fleet. Then the troops on board will attack directly.”

“You mean, while we’re swimming, Baekya-level mages will aim and fire spells at us.”

No matter how strong Jin and his companions were, they couldn’t fight properly underwater.

If they were exposed to the fleet’s special forces or mages, they’d likely be subdued before they could even retaliate.

The two dragons couldn’t fly because of the barrier, they couldn’t fight properly while swimming, and there was nowhere on this small island to hide from their watchful eyes.

Sigh.

Though Jin spoke calmly about swimming out, the thought of escaping by swimming was nerve-wracking—it was a matter of luck, not skill.

“Who would’ve thought the royal guard would deploy the Red Linked Barrier? Damn it.”

The others felt the same.

If luck was on their side, they’d all get out safely, but they had to be prepared. Some might not make it back to Tikan.

“…Let’s go!”

They left the escape point.

What lay before them was a ruined island, a sky stained red by the barrier, and cannonballs streaking across that sky.

Pirates still screamed and ran in all directions, nobles and beggars alike. On this island, it looked like the world was ending.

“The harbor is under heavy fire, so we should look for cliffs… huh?”

“Why?”

Jin stopped speaking, and the others’ gazes focused on him.

‘That guy—the pirate who was shouting for everyone to run to the ship at the north harbor earlier?’

A pirate came into Jin’s view. Unlike before, when he was frantically urging others to flee by ship, now he wore a calm expression.

Another pirate, who had been running wildly, stopped beside him. Amid the chaos, only these two had halted.

The tension in the air thickened.

“Siris, Alisa, can you read the lips of those two pirates over there?”

“Just like that?”

“Can you do it?”

“It’s possible.”

Without asking why, Siris and Alisa focused on the pirates’ mouths.

“When the captain poured so much money into making that thing, I thought it was a waste, but thanks to it, we’re still alive.”

“Yeah, sometimes I think our captain has some kind of insight. He must have known a day like this would come.”

“The others all screwed up, those idiots. When we told them to jump ship, they actually just jumped—no hesitation. I never thought they’d really do it. The Runcandel knights were holding the line, and they just ran at the word of a command? Crazy.”

“Those fools have somehow survived with those dumb heads. Same on my side. Only we’ll make it through. Haha, the legend of the Great Pirate Fleet grows again. Surrounded on the island, yet we shook off Bimant’s regular navy!”

“Ha, looks like no one else is coming. Let’s move out.”

That was the end of the conversation Siris and Alisa caught. The two pirates finished talking and started walking off somewhere.

The comrades who heard the exchange through Siris and Alisa exchanged glances for a moment.

“What they’re saying… it doesn’t sound ordinary, does it?”

“Looks like they’ve prepared something just in case. There’s no harm in following them.”

Jin couldn’t help but smile.

‘I didn’t like relying on luck instead of skill, but now this changes everything.’

Whatever the pirates had planned, Jin had a feeling it was exactly what they needed to turn the situation around.