Gunpowder Plate Armor and the Magic Revolution

The door to the second cabin was ajar, and it was pitch black inside, without a sound.

Just as Lucas was about to kick the door, Nozer grabbed him and gave Andrew a wink.

Andrew understood, and a wind blade shot out from his fingertip, accurately severing the iron chain lock behind the door. He then turned sideways and kicked open the hatch.

The moment the door opened, a flash of light came out of the dark cargo hold, and a lead bullet grazed the door frame as it flew past.

Three pirates were hiding behind wooden barrels in the cargo hold, holding matchlock guns. One was loading a gun, while the other two were aiming at the door.

If Lucas had recklessly kicked down the door like he did before, he would most likely have become a sitting duck for the pirates inside.

In the dim light inside, Norze could see that the narrow cargo hold was filled with barrels as tall as a person, filled with pickled fish and ale, leaving only a narrow gap for one person to pass through, making it impossible to rush in.

"What should we do? This is not easy."

Lucas was clearly at a loss.

Nozer quickly peered out to survey the terrain and soon came up with a plan.

He said to Lucas and Andrew behind him, "Let's capture them alive if we can; it might be useful."

"What? How do you capture them alive?"

Lucas had absolutely no idea what Nozer was talking about.

You'll find out in a moment.

Andrew nodded, understanding Norze's plan without needing to say more. A surge of air flowed from his fingertips, and three wind blades shot out in succession, accurately striking the wooden barrel in front of them.

The wooden barrel was instantly cleaved open by the wind blades, and the ale inside gushed out, spilling all over the ground and soaking the three pirates.

The three pirates were startled by the sudden turn of events and jumped out from behind the barrel with screams, trying to hide deeper into the cargo hold.

But the moment they moved, Norze's [Burning] spell was instantly triggered, and the spilled ale on the ground burst into flames. The orange-red flames instantly illuminated the entire cargo hold, making the three pirates' figures clearly visible.

The firelight blinded the three pirates instantly; they had never experienced anything like it before. They screamed and ran around in circles like headless flies.

Lucas seized the opportunity, leaped in, and under the cover of the flames, swiftly felled two pirates with two swift strokes of his knife.

The remaining one turned to run, but Noze wrapped a magical thread around his ankle and pulled him down to the ground. Andrew stepped forward and pressed the tip of his knife against his throat.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

The pirate was terrified. He dropped his knife, raised his hands above his head, and trembled like a leaf. "Don't kill me..."

The officers who rushed in immediately grabbed ropes and tied him up tightly.

The three men, including Norze, continued to advance, clearing out each cargo hold one by one.

In the narrow terrain, they could only rely on their cooperation and explosive tubes to gradually eliminate the pirates hiding in the shadows.

Soon, the resistance in the upper cabins was basically eliminated.

The surviving pirates were either hacked to death or threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender. Those who surrendered voluntarily were tied up in a string by the officers and taken to the deck.

Noze had just breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall to rest when he heard a loud crash beside him.

A hatch, whose lock had been damaged by the shockwave of the explosion, was suddenly pushed open from the inside.

Noze tensed up instantly, his scimitar instinctively held horizontally in front of him, and he charged towards the door with his feet, about to cleave it down.

"No! Don't kill me!!"

The man inside the door let out a terrified scream and scrambled out, collapsing to his knees with a thud, raising his hands above his head, not daring to lift his head even slightly.

Nozer's scimitar stopped above his head, the blade less than an inch from his scalp.

In the dim light, he carefully examined the man in front of him.

The man looked to be around forty years old. He was dressed in rags, his linen clothes were worn out and covered in whip marks and bruises.

His cheekbones were high, his eyes were sunken, his complexion was sallow, his lips were chapped and peeling, his hair was messy and stuck to his forehead, and he was so thin that he was just skin and bones. He looked like he had been imprisoned for a long time and was starving.

His mental state was extremely poor; his eyes were unfocused, his whole body was trembling uncontrollably, and his face was full of terror and the collapse of surviving a disaster, which did not seem like an act at all.

"Tell me honestly, who are you?"

Noze's scimitar remained unsheathed; the slightest movement from his opponent would be enough to kill him instantly.

The man looked up, tears welling up instantly. His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, thick with accent and trembling with sobs as he said, "I...I'm Colin Wood, and I'm...I'm the captain of this 'White Gull.' Two weeks ago, my ship was hijacked by these pirates, all the crew members were killed, and I'm being held captive here."

As he spoke, he lifted his tattered clothes, revealing crisscrossing scars on his body, new wounds piled on top of old ones, a shocking sight.

"These beasts... they beat me every day and don't give me food. If you hadn't broken in, I would have died in this godforsaken place sooner or later... sir, please, don't kill me! I'm innocent! I'm sworn enemies with these pirates!"

"I know the ship's layout, I know their hiding place! I can even help you steer the ship! I can join you in killing all these pirates!"

As he spoke, he kowtowed repeatedly to Norze, his forehead striking the cold wooden board, quickly leaving red marks.

Lucas walked over, looked Colin up and down, and whispered to Nozer, "Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem like a pirate. He's really been locked up for quite a while... Besides, looking like this, unarmed and so thin that he could be blown away by the wind, he can't possibly do anything."

Andrew nodded, the wind blades at his fingertips slowly dissipating. "He has no weapons, no magical fluctuations, and his injuries are all old, so it doesn't seem like he's faking it."

Nozer stared at Colin for a few seconds, seeing that the fear and hatred in his eyes seemed genuine, and then looked at the iron chains on his ankles and the wounds on his body, before finally slowly sheathing the scimitar in his hand.

Get up.

Nozer's tone softened a bit. "Since you're a poor soul kidnapped by pirates, we won't hurt you. You said you're familiar with this ship, so come with us. After we've cleaned the cabins, I'll take you to see Rear Admiral Bill King. If you dare to try anything funny, this knife of mine won't be blind."

Colin burst into tears of joy, scrambling to his feet and bowing repeatedly to Nozer. "Thank you, sir! Thank you, officer! Don't worry! I'll risk my life to wipe out all these pirates! I know every corner of this ship!"

As he spoke, he bent down and picked up a rusty dagger that had fallen to the ground, gripped it tightly in his hand, and joined the three others in cleaning up the remaining cabin.

With Colin's help as a living map, all the possible hiding places of the enemy were pointed out in advance, and Norze could use Andrew's explosives and magic to strike first, making the subsequent cleanup process very smooth.

The four men quickly exceeded their mission objectives and returned to the deck to report back to Bilkin.