Roseus lifted his blade high as he dashed towards the approaching captain. He knew that he could have simply blasted the pirates with Rai’zac’s lightning, dealing with them in an instant, but he wanted to save the three remaining blasts that he had.

Besides, the Greycloud Longsword was strong enough on its own, and once his pact with Rai’zac was gone, the weapon would break.

As the opposing captain noticed Roseus raising his longsword, the man stabbed his green spectral sword into the earth. From it, a wall of nature grew in front of him, creating a barricade.

It seems that he’s a defensive fighter... Oh well.

Roseus swung his sword down with force, and with the full intention of creating lightning.

As it crashed into the wall of nature, the sound of thunder roared through the mountains. The wall was immediately blasted away, and the impact sent the opposing captain tumbling down a few flights of stairs.

To either side of Roseus, he could hear the sounds of battle. He knew he had to be quick, otherwise he would be leaving his men in an unfavourable position.

He wasted no time drawing his revolver with his left hand and firing.

Having previously used his jacket as cover, the man no longer had a sufficient means to protect himself. However, since he was firing with his non-dominant hand, Roseus’s aim was faulty, and he only managed to catch the man in the right shoulder.

The limb twisted grotesquely, causing the arm beneath it to shrink slightly. The man let out a deafening scream as he was faced with insurmountable pain.

Roseus wanted to fire again to finish him off, but he knew it wasn’t wise. Ammo was scarce, and he was getting closer to the Monochrome .38 Special in the chamber.

Instead, he dashed in again, this time slashing his blade down diagonally.

The opposing captain’s eyes went wide as he lifted his spectral blade. The swords met with a roaring force that sent the man’s green weapon flying off into the distance and landing in a tree.

At this point, the pirate knew that he was far out of his depth. After all, he was nothing but a new pirate who had only recently sailed into the Second Ocean in hopes of earning money and treasure.

The Redflower crew had seemed like a good target to reap and claim bounties from. Never had he thought that he would be the one being reaped, especially when his men outnumbered theirs.

The opposing captain raised his good arm futilely in an attempt to block the incoming strike. He had a skill that hardened his bones and hoped that it might be able to fend off the attack, eventually allowing him to run away.

To his great misfortune, he was wrong.

The golden-black longsword crashed into his elbow joint, producing the sound of thunder as it blew half of the arm clean off. It didn’t stop there and continued travelling until it cleaved into the man’s collarbone, producing more lightning. Then, it passed the rest of the way through.

Roseus watched as everything above the man’s shoulders separated from his body, landing on the floor in a squirting mess of blood.

[You have defeated: Rookie Human]

[Common Soul Absorbed]

[The Ocean Beckons You...]

Roseus had no chance to revel in his victory, as he still had other opponents to worry about.

However, by the time he turned around, he saw that the battle had already ended. The final scene was Petyr trying to pierce a man with his blade but missing, though his shadow performed its own thrust afterwards to finish the man off. This was his skill, Shadow Thrust.

As for the other pirates, it seemed that they had been defeated by Blodwen. The man’s two daggers were dripping with blood, and so were the teeth of the shark carcass that was draped over his back like a cape.

Roseus wondered whether he had somehow used the shark to fight, even on land.

Further back, Silius and Zaliah stood there unharmed. They didn’t need to get involved and had simply watched as the men were slain.

Whilst everyone was sheathing their weapons, Zaliah walked over to where the captain’s head had fallen and kneeled down beside it, examining its features.

"I know this man. His name was in the newspapers. His name was Danny Leaf of the Farmer Crew. His bounty was 3000 Halos, which he mostly earned from mass-producing illegal narcotic substances."

Roseus’s interest was suddenly piqued.

"3000 Halos..."

Without hesitation, he lifted the head and looked at Zaliah’s sack.

Realising what the man was hinting at, she immediately shook her head aggressively.

"Nuh-uh. I have important items in here that can’t be tainted by blood!"

Then Blodwen grunted and held out his hand, which was already covered in blood from battle.

Roseus tossed the man the head and watched as Blodwen shoved it into the mouth of the shark carcass, pierced atop one of the creature’s fangs.

Afterwards, he patted the head of his shark as though he had just fed it a good meal.

"Well then, should we get going?" he said.

Petyr looked around at the other pirates’ corpses.

"Aren’t we going to take the rest of their heads? They probably have bounties too."

But Roseus shook his head.

"No, there’s no point. There are too many—"

Captain Roseus’s words were cut off as a familiar voice sounded in his head. It was only then that he realised he was still holding the Greycloud Longsword.

Rai’zac was speaking to him, but it didn’t bring him any pain due to their pact and the previous blessing that Lavender had bestowed upon him.

[It feels good to be home, but I still wish to push my territory deeper.]

It feels good to be home...

Roseus considered the words immediately and found himself left in a state of shock.

Highstorm Island is home to Rai’zac, the Jealous Storm God? So he is the one producing these storms?