Chapter 26: Pursuers

Nadiesse’s shout quickly spread through the cabin.
Many people didn’t react, and only a few managed to move quickly in a short time.

I was one of them.

Without a second thought, I pulled Little Nia into my arms, shielded her with my body, and dove under the chair, not caring that I bumped into the table and chairs.

Just as my limbs touched the wooden floor, at almost the same moment, the sharp whistle of an airflow became clear in my ears.
Then came the sound of splintering wood and a booming explosion.
A thick, menacing arrow shot into the cabin, flying past my scalp.

“Enemy attack! Prepare for battle!”

Following Nadiesse’s command, the originally warm and lively cabin was instantly filled with a heart-pounding, serious atmosphere.
Tables and chairs were overturned, and wine spilled on the floor, but no one cared.

“Peters!!!”

A roar mixed with sorrow came from beside me.
My heart sank, and I turned to look.

I saw the rabbit-eared young man, Peters, who had been laughing and talking just a second ago, now had an arrow pierced through his chest, pinning him to the wall.
The young man’s body twitched a few times, and he coughed up blood.
His trembling arm reached for the arrow as if to pull it out, but his eyes were losing focus at a visible rate, gradually dimming.

In just two breaths, Peters’ eyes were completely lifeless.
His arm hung limply, and his whole body went still, like a pile of rotten meat, a piece of kitchen waste.
Only the blood continued to gush from his body, staining the corpse and dripping onto the floor.

“Damn it! Damn it! This lord is going to eat them! Damn Church of Mancius!”
The gnome leader cursed, while the burly bear-man beside him had his chest heaving violently.
He seemed to have grown a size larger, unable to utter a single word.

“Everyone, grab your weapons and get on deck!
Logistics team, prepare to weigh anchor, get the oars ready, we’re leaving immediately!”

Nadiesse was still giving orders.
I saw her glance at Peters’ body, but she just gritted her teeth, her body tense, and walked up to the deck without looking back.

“Sister… what happened? What… what is this,” Little Nia in my arms couldn’t stop trembling, her voice tinged with tears.

“Let’s go, sister will take you back to the room.
It’ll be okay, it’ll be okay…”

I picked up Little Nia and was about to move, but my gaze caught a glimpse of the situation outside through the hole in the cabin.

Dozens, or perhaps hundreds of people, all armed with guns and swords, were advancing towards us, holding oil lamps.
In the flickering light, a small mountain was surrounded by the crowd.
He was still in the posture of drawing a bow, his armor glinting coldly.

It’s that lump of iron from Norn City…

How did the church’s people suddenly appear?
This formation was clearly well-prepared.
I hadn’t seen any inquisitors during my time in the city.
Where did they come from?

It’s useless to think about this now.
The priority is to get Little Nia back to the room first, and also Elvira.

I ran back to the room with the little person in my arms.
Elvira was standing outside the door, looking around.
She came up to me when she saw me.
We exchanged a glance, and without speaking, we understood each other’s meaning.

I put Little Nia down and sent her back into the room, then added a few more words of instruction, unable to feel at ease.

“Be a good girl, Little Nia.
No matter what happens later, don’t come out.
Wait quietly for sister to come back, and don’t make a sound, okay?”

“Mm-hmm!” the little girl nodded like a pecking chicken, and hugged me reluctantly.
“Conia will wait for sister to come back.”

“Mm, good~ such a good girl.”

After speaking, I closed the door tightly and turned to Elvira, “It’s the Church of Mancius, the inquisitors from Norn City.
They’re most likely here for you and me.
Nadiesse and the others are on the deck.
We should hurry over too.”

Without much ado, Elvira and I went straight to the stairs and headed for the deck.
The faint sound of shouting came, and from the sound of it, Nadiesse was confronting some man.

I wanted to get on the deck to find out the current situation, but I was blocked by a pair of deep green hands.

Is it that gnome leader? Why is he stopping me?

He didn’t give any explanation, just made a shushing gesture and shook his head desperately.
But he was clearly more anxious than we were.
The muscles on the gnome leader’s face were so tense that his face even showed signs of distorting.

I was stunned on the stairs, not knowing what to do.
But the next moment, the clear sound of an argument reached my ears.

The one speaking was a man.
His slick tone showed that he didn’t take the people on this ship seriously at all.

“Miss Fox, from our brief conversation, I can tell that you are an individual who understands the situation.
So, please hand over the witch and the dragon.”

“You killed my man,” Nadiesse replied coldly.

“Oh! That’s really terrible. My apologies, my apologies. Mistakes happen.
I’ve only just taken office, and my predecessor’s actions were certainly more thorough.
We were only aiming for that witch.
Your crew member was just collateral damage!”

“Mancius has unilaterally violated the treaty signed with the Freistadt Federation.
You need to give an explanation for this, sir.”

“No, no, no, it is you who needs to give me, and the Holy Nation, an explanation.
Helping a wanted criminal of the Holy Nation escape?
You see, there’s really no need for us to have a conflict.
Hand over those two, and we’ll retreat.
As for that poor little bug that died, I can compensate you with a few dozen Holy Grace.
How about that?”

The man’s voice rose at the end of every sentence.
It was more like mockery than a conversation.

Nadiesse was still arguing with him word by word, but I couldn’t listen anymore.
I turned to look at Elvira with a cold face.

“Two Grand Inquisitors, the lump of iron and a scumbag.
Can we win?”

“Do you have a plan?”

“Nadiesse is buying time, but these priests will definitely not solve the problem peacefully.
Since they’re here for you and me, we’ll go out later to attract their attention so that the fleet can leave smoothly.”

“I’ll listen to you.”

While Elvira and I were discussing our plan, the argument outside seemed to have reached a conclusion.

“What a pity, Miss Fox.
Since you’re so stubborn, then don’t blame me…”

“Wait a minute,” Nadiesse interrupted him.
“I can give you a satisfactory reply.”

I curiously peeked my head out, only revealing my two eyes.
Through the gaps in the crowd, I saw the man standing on the port platform.

His skin was frighteningly pale, and his narrow eyes revealed a sinister look.
His greasy hair was slicked back.
He wore a gray trench coat, and a row of test tubes filled with various colored liquids was tucked at his waist.

“Oh? I’m all ears,” the man replied casually, picking his ear.

“Then please listen carefully… my answer is:
Since your purpose is clear, and it was a mistake regarding my crew member, then… go to hell!”

Nadiesse raised her hand and threw several throwing knives with a speed that was hard to discern with the naked eye.
They whistled through the air, their cold glint appearing and disappearing in the night as they shot straight towards the man.

The man drew the long sword at his waist and easily blocked all the throwing knives.
The sound of metal clashing rang out, and sparks flew, but the man didn’t move an inch.

But it wasn’t over.
At some point, the people in the cabin had already set up four black cannons.
The ready-to-fire inky-black killing machines broke through the wooden cabin doors.
Ignition, and four muffled booms sounded almost at the same time.

Cannonballs tore into the crowd, ripping open bloody gashes.
Flesh and blood flew, and severed limbs fell to the ground.
The church’s formation was in a brief state of chaos, but it quickly recovered, and some inquisitors were already charging forward.

The gnome leader who had stopped us earlier also rushed out with a sword, along with the other other-races.

“Elvira, let’s go!”

Her black wings flapped, striking straight for the heavens.