487 Dumb, Stupid, Clever (1/2)

How dare that guy! They were supposed to be fighting, not fleeing! The pirates *clearly* had a numbers advantage.

Yet, some of his prey were running in the opposite direction...

Sea god's socks, they were ALL running away!

Hai was no stranger to enemies running for their lives. It just... usually... took a bit longer.

He hadn't even revealed his final form!!

”COWARDS!!!” Hai shouted, shaking his fist menacingly.

He drew his other pistols, expending his ammunition for a measly three additional kills.

Stupid pirates...

Casually walking forward, he inspected Pale's most recent kill... and discovered the reason for the pirates' sudden withdrawal.

”Wasn't this guy... their boss?”

The Pirate Captain didn't even get to deliver a super-dramatic speech or show off his domineering skills.

He just... died.

The boy's damned spear caved the guy's chestplate in and blew a bloody hole through his back big enough to put a hand through.

Hai wasn't even sure if HE could survive the attack Pale used. And if he did survive, he was sure he'd be bedridden for... a few suns? Half-a-week, at least?

What a weird kid... with his weird skills...

...The kid used a skill, right? Hai hadn't heard him activate it, but... the battlefield *was* pretty noisy.

Sea god's shitebox... Lang Hai thought that HE was a monster. Pale was... definitely right up there with him and Rico.

”Should we go after them, Cap'n?” Pale smiled politely, flinging the blood off of his weapon.

”Nah, don't bother,” Hai groaned listlessly. ”Let's just clean up, here.”

”Aye aye, Cap'n!” Pale beamed. He immediately got to work, casually sticking the pointy end of his spear into the throats and hearts of the fallen.

Cold, calm efficiency. It was off-putting coming from a boy so young. That was definitely a habit he got from Sol Invictus' leader, that green-haired nerd, Tycon.

The eastern side consisted of just him and the kid...and they were positioned there just to dissuade the Marauding Squid pirates from recklessly attacking their flank.

Between the two of them, they wiped out over two hundred men and women... and the enemy even had over a dozen Iron-Ranks.

The boss was at least that.

...Whatever.

He and Pale did well enough-- good enough for government work. Sergeant Jacque and Rico spearheaded the frontal assault and Lieutenant Eleven of Seven led the western wing. Those guys could finish off the rest...

Still... a hundred each? Those numbers didn't make any sense for such a short amount of time, even for him.

Worse... he could have just sent the kid by himself, and he was pretty sure the pirates would've routed, all the same.

”Good to hear... --but stop saying it like that.”

”It's a pirate term, Sir! Rico taught it to me.”

Rico... of course she did. Over the past few moons, Pale had become her second favorite person.