As Nikolai has expected, the ship sailed in their direction soon after. It seems the pirates have chosen them as their next target. Nikolai looked from over the railings as he started planning. He sensed Yuxi stand up as he did.

“What are you doing?” Nikolai frowned as he prepared his gun.

‘Let me help.’ The archer gestured. But Nikolai simply shook his head, making Yuxi pouted, and went toward the crates.

“Don’t move.” Nikolai aimed his gun at her, and Yuxi sighed exasperatedly.

‘I don’t know what happened before to make you so cynical,’ She gestured. ‘But don’t let that cynicism kill you. You can make use of my help.’

Her words struck a chord in Nikolai’s heart. He knew that he was too edgy, too cynical, and too untrusting. However, he knew that such qualities were the survival skills of the coming era.

“Fine.” Nikolai smiled as he came up with his next plan. “You two will be the bait.” He pointed at Sergio and Yuxi. The two blinked their eyes before their faces crumbled.

“Bossman! What happened to your earlier promise of protecting me?” Sergio’s face was about to cry.

“I would never go back on that promise,” Nikolai said with reassurance. “Our best chance is through this plan.”

“I can’t even fight!” Sergio’s face looked defeated as he rushed toward the railing. “Let’s land, boss! We’ll run on foot!”

“Just trust me, Sergio.” Nikolai walked over to him and pulled him away from the railing. “We’ll have a grand loot if this goes well.”

“And a grand death if it goes wrong.” Sergio rebuked with tears in his eyes. Nikolai raised his hand and slapped him.

“Calm down,” Nikolai said with a frown. “Don’t let fear take hold of you. It has a little friend called death, and that fear will invite him right away.” Sergio seemed to calm down a bit. Nikolai nodded at him and turned to Yuxi. “Make sure to look pitiful.”

***

Yuxi looked at the pirate ship throwing its shadow over their tiny vessel. The ship was a giant in comparison with large beige sails and a fortified hull. She could see large windows with cannons protruding out of them.

‘How does he plan on taking this ship down?’ She wondered if he was simply trying to run away. He didn’t look like the type, but he indeed showed worse qualities. ‘He’s not a coward, though.’

Yuxi had seen it before when he fought against enemies and friends alike to capture the last monolith. Then, he stood against every student who hated him in the academy and fought against the Mackay family.

She knew he wasn’t a coward, but the odds were against them.

“Surrender your goods, and we’ll spare your lives!”

A voice came from the pirate ship as several pirates appeared on the railings. The one speaking was a man who wore a sleeveless vest with his side face covered in sideburns.

“We, the Pirates of Shi, are merciful to the obedient wealthy!” A girl with a crossbow aimed her weapon at the two.

“We, we surrender!” Sergio hurried to raise his hands. “We’re an adventurous couple on a honeymoon, so please don’t harm us!”

The pirates glanced at their simple ship and seemed to buy it. After all, Alias was relatively small for a merchant ship. Nonetheless, the pirates weren’t disappointed.

“A honeymoon, eh?” The sleeveless man held his chin with a grin. “You must be loaded then,” He said and jumped and landed on Alias’s deck. “Search the ship, boys! Make sure to search every nook and cranny!”

“Aye, captain!”

Five of the eight people jumped and landed on the ship. First of all, they tied up Sergio and Yuxi to the mast of Alias. Then, they started searching them up

“Where is your money, couple?” The sleeveless pirate crouched beside Sergio, but he was too terrified to answer.

He turned to Yuxi, but she was silent as well. She stared at him with blank eyes that scared him a bit. As he sensed that something was off, Alias began to move.

“This ship is rising!” The crossbow woman screamed, but it was too late. Alias rose higher in the air as if it wanted to break through the skies. “Wait, why is it turning?”

Before any of the present people could grab into something, the ship rotated 180 degrees in the air and flew upside down. Sergio and Yuxi were the only ones tied to the mast, but the rest either fell or grabbed the railings.

“Someone is driving this ship!” One of the five pirates screamed. “Aron!” He shouted as he tried to grab onto one of his friends, but the pirate screamed as he fell to his demise.

“It’s still rising higher!” The sleeveless man frowned as he started climbing the railing and heading toward the hatchway.

Yuxi looked at them with her head upside down, trying to grab into the railings as the wind struck their bodies. She and Sergio were the only two who had it easy because they were tied up.

‘What kind of planning is this?’

That guy planned to lure the pirates into the ship using their weak appearance and Sergio’s panicked but genuine attitude. He knew that the pirates would tie them up and search for their belonging.

‘Such foresight and belief.’ Yuxi looked at the sleeveless man, who ignored them completely, climb toward the hatchway. When he couldn’t find a place to grab, he punched the wooden floor to create a hole.

He reached the hatchway as the ship began to stabilize. Now, not even Yuxi knew the rest of the plan. The pirate opened the hatchway and climbed into the core room.

Boom!

At that time, the pirate’s ship, which was beneath them, had an explosion on its dock. The smoke blinded everyone’s vision as the pirate’s ship began to sink toward the ground.

“Captain! Our ship is sinking!” The crossbow woman screamed in horror to the core room. However, no answer arrived. “Captain?!”

Yuxi watched as the pirates panicked. They had to choose between checking on their captain or returning to their sinking ship.

‘How…’ Yuxi looked at the mayhem ensue. ‘How did he pull this off?’