I Will Conquer The Seas and Gods

As Lieutenant Nimitz splashed into the water, his first instinct was to struggle. However, he swiftly realised that there was no point.

It wasn’t as though his body was drowning; it was as though something from the bottom of the ocean was pulling him down, giving him no other choice.

It’s those stones! That golden effect seems to increase their weight. His job the entire time was to make sure they were lodged into my body before waiting for the perfect moment to sink me. No it wasn’t a perfect moment. He did it purely for effect. He could have sunk me whenever he wanted!

As he finished this thought, Nimitz had already sunk deep into the Translucent Sea. When he looked up, he couldn’t even see his ship in the distance above.

Due to being a Salt-Blood, he could hold his breath for much longer than the average human. Under certain circumstances, he wouldn’t run out of air for another ten minutes.

However, the deeper he sank, the darker the seas became. And once the seas darkened, he began to hear a terrifying noise coming from the depths.

It was as though an incomprehensible creature existed down there, one that he would soon meet if he continued falling.

Not wishing to meet this fate, Lieutenant Nimitz opened his mouth and allowed the water to rush into his system.

Drowning seemed like a much better fate.

...

Back on the ships...

After losing their Lieutenant, the navy sailors all clenched their weapons tighter.

Rather than losing morale, they only became enraged. They wanted to charge and continue the battle, even if it would lead to their deaths.

Captain Lionheart, who now held a new bunch of stones in his hand, gave the order to continue the battle.

This only lasted another minute before the HMS Gravelroad Navy Ship was overtaken by pirates belonging to both the Templars and Redflowers.

Only ten navy sailors remained as they surrendered, kneeling on the rainy deck with their dead allies surrounding them. Pirates circled these sailors, whilst others were already transferring provisions and treasures back to their ships.

Amongst those who had surrendered was a woman with short, wet silver hair that clung to her head, a white blazer coat with two golden stars on the breast pocket, and black pants leading down to heavy boots.

As Captain Lionheart questioned each of the sailors, asking which god they believed in, Dawn made her way over to the woman. Dawn’s blade was slick with blood, as she had slain many foes in the battle.

She looked down at the woman, who wasn’t looking up at her.

"You look like the captain that sunk into the water. Was he your brother?" she asked.

The silver-haired woman finally looked up and saw the one-eyed pirate who was covered in blood looking down at her.

The pirate looked like death.

"No... He was my father," the Executive Officer answered with a thickly accented voice.

"You don’t seem too upset by his death?" Dawn questioned.

"He was not a good father to me. He was just my Lieutenant. A harsh Lieutenant."

Dawn noticed that as the woman spoke, there seemed to be a deep sadness in her eyes.

As someone who had been hurt before, Dawn knew that look.

She thought for a few moments before speaking again.

"What’s your name?"

The Executive Officer seemed surprised by the question.

"Stanislava," she answered.

Dawn nodded her head as she turned to Captain Lionheart.

"This one’s a believer. We are taking her back to our ship. We’ve been looking to raise our numbers."

Captain Lionheart seemed to have no complaints, as the woman had supposedly professed to being a believer. Stanislava, however, looked at Dawn with wide silver eyes, wondering why she was being saved.

At first, she wondered if she was going to become sexual property for the other pirates, but as she looked at this one-eyed woman, she noticed something.

The woman flashed her the warmest smile she had ever seen whilst out at sea.

...

The Redflower Pirates returned to the deck of their ship with their blades bloody and their gun barrels hot.

There, they found Roseus sitting on the railing, shirtless, with a black symbol drawn onto his back. This seemed to be some sort of ceremony created by Zaliah to help him temporarily restore his energy.

It worked, as the man felt ready to join the battle again.

As the Redflowers returned to him with a new woman in their grasp, he looked at her with a serious glance.

Stanislava slightly cowered beneath the man’s gaze as she was brought before him. She watched as he silently put his clothes back on, giving him the air of a great captain.

This is Roseus... Stanislava thought to herself, recognising the man’s red hair. The cause of the Mother’s Sea, and son of that Redeye.

"Who are you?" Roseus suddenly asked in a cold voice.

Stanislava was drawn from her thoughts.

"I am Stanislava... Executive Officer of Lieutenant Nimitz."

"And also his daughter," Dawn added from the sidelines.

Kruger, who was currently loading new rounds into his gun, suddenly looked up.

"Nimitz? I knew him from my time in the Navy. A sick man he was. Treated those beneath him like pieces of a board," he said.

"Which is why I decided to bring her here," Dawn explained. "Our crew needs to grow, Rose. Call it an instinct, but I feel she might be useful to us."

Roseus scrutinised the woman with silver features for a few moments very carefully. After a while, he came to a decision.

"Leave her below deck and keep an eye on her, or chain her to the railing. After this battle is finished, we’ll question her properly and see where her head is at."

"Aye, Captain," Dawn responded, grabbing hold of the woman and bringing her below deck as asked.

Once down there, Stanislava looked at Dawn, who was surprisingly going to leave the woman unchained.

"So I am not going to be assaulted, or made to be a prostitute?" she asked.

Dawn furrowed her brows.

"What? No. Do you think we’re animals? Captain Rose would never do that, and if he did, I’d tear him a new one."

Afterwards, the sounds of horns blaring came from above as the ship lurched into motion. They were likely heading towards their new destination, which was to provide aid to Bonnflammé and Onoes, who were currently fighting against Commander Chestnut.

They wanted to put an end to this battle now. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Wait here," Dawn said before shutting the door leading below deck. "This will be over soon."