System in Assassin's Creed

Chapter 91: Chapter 90: If I die today, I die fighting!

[Current Balance: 374,970,232 scudi, 93 baiocchi]

---Previously---

Oldgate’s eyes widened slightly, and he shot a surprised look at Alaric. ”You speak their language too?”

’I sense some hostility from them... they’re not just admiring the ship,’ Alaric thought, his senses picking up the subtle tension and readiness from the Xebec crews.

”I speak lots of languages,” he replied noncommittally to Oldgate but kept his eyes fixed on the Ottoman captain. ”Now, I’ll humor this and be your translator. How do you want to reply?”

Oldgate stared hard at the Ottoman captain for another moment, his eyes narrowing. ”Nah,” he finally said with his voice being low and hard. ”Don’t need a translator for this. I know a pirate when I see one, no matter the flag.”

Without another word, Oldgate whipped out his heavy pistol from his belt, aimed, and fired.

*BANG!*

---Now---

The shot echoed flatly in the damp, foggy air.

”You have bad aim, whitebeard,” Alaric mused dryly, watching the ball strike the Ottoman captain high on the shoulder, making him stagger back with a cry of pain and surprise.

”Ne!?” (What!?)

”KAHRETSIN!” (Damn it!)

”FIRE!” Oldgate roared as all pretense were gone.

Instantly, the hidden cannons along the galleon’s port side erupted with thunderous noise. Heavy cannonballs slammed into the side of the lead Xebec at close range, splintering wood and sending up plumes of smoke and seawater.

Chaos erupted on both ships. ”Hooks! Throw the hooks! Board her immediately!” one of Oldgate’s officers yelled. ”Shoot the ones at the yardarms!”

Grappling hooks sailed through the air, biting into the Xebec’s railing as the pirate that were untangling the ropes for the sails were shot dead.

Oldgate’s sailors, letting out fierce yells, immediately began swarming across the gap, dropping onto the smaller ship’s deck.

Reuben’s eyes lit up with battle fever as a grin spread across his face. He drew the Sword of Damokles and his dagger immediately.

”Let’s go!” he yelled, sprinting towards the railing. He vaulted cleanly over it, landing feet-first directly onto the head of a surprised Ottoman pirate below, knocking the man out cold instantly.

”Kill them all!” Oldgate bellowed from the galleon’s deck, adding quickly, ”Except the captain! I want him alive!”

Just as the first Xebec was fully engaged, the second one skillfully maneuvered alongside it, effectively creating a larger, combined deck space and allowing reinforcements to pour onto the besieged ship, attempting to outnumber Oldgate’s boarders.

”GURARARARA!” Oldgate laughed, seeing the enemy reinforcements. ”More fun for everyone!”

Without hesitation, the giant captain took a running leap himself, crashing down onto the Xebec’s deck like a cannonball, sending several pirates flying.

Flavia, her hidden blades extended, followed suit with an agile leap towards a pirate near Reuben with an air assassination, lodging her hidden blade on the pirate’s neck.

The fight turned into a vicious melee on the crowded decks of the two Xebecs. Reuben, free from the sword’s volatile influence but still wielding its power, finally enjoyed the fight as his sword and dagger became a blur when he cut down opponents with lethal efficiency.

Flavia moved like a shadow, her hidden blades and daggers finding gaps in armor and defenses, her throwing knives striking distant targets with deadly accuracy.

She occasionally glanced towards Reuben, a look of amazement crossing her face as she witnessed his raw power and speed firsthand.

”GURARARARARA!”

Oldgate was a force of nature, roaring with laughter as he used his sheer size and strength, grabbing pirates and throwing them bodily into their comrades or overboard, his pistol barking occasionally.

*BANG!*

Suddenly, Oldgate cried out, stumbling back. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked down at his chest, where a dark stain was rapidly spreading.

A lucky pistol shot from the second Xebec had found its mark.

”Captain!” Reuben saw it happen as his eyes widened in alarm.

Forgetting everything else, he surged towards Oldgate, the Sword of Damokles flashing left and right, clearing a path through the enemy with brutal, focused strength.

Flavia, wondering at Reuben’s sudden urgency, spotted Oldgate clutching his chest and gasped, immediately fighting her way towards them as well.

Oldgate, however, just grinned fiercely through the pain, blood dripping from his lips.

”GURARARARA!” he roared defiantly. ”If I die today, I die fighting!”

He lunged back into the fray, swinging his cutlass wildly, but his movements were noticeably slower... sluggish.

There were too many enemies pressing in. Reuben gritted his teeth, desperately trying to reach the captain, cutting down pirate after pirate. He saw another pirate on the second Xebec raise a pistol, taking careful aim directly at Oldgate’s head. ”Damn it all!”

*BANG!*

”...”

”...”

Time seemed to warp. Reuben and Flavia watched in horror as the lead ball flew across the gap, straight towards the oblivious Oldgate’s temple...

And stopped.

It hung suspended in mid-air, less than an inch from Oldgate’s wide, shocked eye. The captain stared at the frozen bullet, then slowly looked towards the galleon’s railing.

”Heh... you can’t die yet, whitebeard.”

Alaric smirked as he lazily stood on the railing of La Providencia, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan blazing red.

With an effortless leap, far smoother and more controlled than Oldgate’s or Reuben’s, he landed silently on the deck of the first Xebec.

As his feet touched the wood, an invisible pressure radiated outwards, pushing pirates off balance, momentarily stunning everyone within a few yards.

’Yeah... we have Alaric, of course...’ Reuben sighed in relief, immediately taking advantage of the momentary chaos to cut down the pirates nearest him.

Flavia did the same, her hidden blades flashing as she eliminated stunned opponents.

Alaric calmly walked through the stunned pirates towards Oldgate, ignoring the fighting resuming around him. He placed a hand flat on the captain’s bleeding chest as faint green glow enveloped his hand for a second.

Oldgate gasped as the pain vanished, looking down in disbelief to see a bullet immediately dislodging itself from his chest while the wound closed, the bleeding stopping completely.

”This...” Oldgate muttered, staring at his healed chest, then back at Alaric. ”I... I don’t know anymore...”

*BANG!*

Another pistol shot rang out, the bullet streaking towards Alaric’s back. He didn’t even turn. The bullet stopped abruptly in mid-air, inches from his coat, held fast by an unseen force.

Alaric slowly turned around, his red eyes fixing on the shooter, the wounded pirate captain from the first Xebec, clutching his bleeding shoulder but managing to fire a pistol with his other hand.

Alaric began walking calmly towards him. ”You need him alive, right Captain?” he asked Oldgate without looking back.

”Aye!” Oldgate confirmed, shaking his head to clear it. ”Don’t kill him! I recognize his face from a bounty poster back in Rome!”

Alaric nodded, stopping directly in front of the terrified pirate captain, who was now fumbling to reload his pistol, his hands shaking violently. ”Do you know how much I paid for my clothes?”

”And you just want to shoot at it?”

”P-Please...” the captain stammered, dropping the pistol as he met Alaric’s gaze. ”Mercy...”

”Hm? You know English after all,” Alaric chuckled softly. He balled his right hand into a fist. ”Should’ve led with that.”

Then, with blinding speed, he punched the pirate captain squarely on the jaw. There was a sickening crunch.

”Eat shit, motherfucker.” Alaric mumbled as the pirate captain’s eyes rolled upwards, knocked out.

’Am I cursing too much?’

’Nah... it’s normal in this time ’round...’

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