Chapter 33: Briss Kingdom
"What? Can't even enjoy little pranks every now and then?" Questioned Freyja, who was embedded into the side of the enemy pirate ship, with a smirk as she wiped the blood leaking from her mouth while eyeing the hovering Diddy.
"Hehe, of course, I can; didn't you enjoy my prank?" Replied Diddy with a smirk while hovering in the air by continuously using Geppo to keep him afloat as he folded his arms.
"Tch, you call beating up your Vice-Captain a prank? What a crazy Captain." Remarked Freyja with a frown as she exited the ship, using her wings to keep her from drowning in the ocean below.
"In my eyes, it's a prank; you're still alive after all." Said Diddy with a grin as he kicked toward Freyja, launching a large rankyaku that threatened to slice her in half.
I may have attacked her, but I was obviously holding back, so just before it connected with Freyja, she evaded the large blade of wind, causing it to hit the big ship behind her as it sliced right through it like butter before continuing far off in the distance, eventually dissipating. With the boat now perfectly cut in half, everything that was inside it, such as gold, weapons, alcohol, and other miscellaneous things, came spilling out as it began sinking into the ocean; however, neither of us paid it any attention, our sole focus being on the person in front of each other.
"So, do you intend to continue this little prank, as you call it, or will you stop?" Asked Freyja while warily eyeing Diddy, ready to retaliate if he were to attack again.
"Heh, I'll stop for now; having fought you countless times, it's no longer as fun as it used to be; knowing everything about your opponent has its downsides, I suppose." Replied Diddy with a feral grin as he shook his head and retracted his killing intent before approaching the ship.
Landing on the ship, which still had the corpse of one of the enemy pirates on it, I headed back toward my hammock, and while I was doing that, Freyja had also landed on the ship before she went to the captain's seat to steer the ship, looking perfectly fine as if I hadn't just injured her a few moments ago.
"Bastard, making me waste some of my reserve vitality." Muttered Freyja under her breath as she sat down and began manning the helm.
After defeating the Gruff pirates and ending our little scuffle, we were now back on track, heading toward the next island, which is, in fact, a country, and not just any country; it's one of the one hundred and seventy kingdoms affiliated with the world government, Briss Kingdom. Just thinking about arriving at Briss Kingdom and creating mass destruction and chaos causes my heart to beat in excitement, and I can hardly contain myself; if I knew exactly where it was, I'd have long since used geppo to get there quicker.
"Hehe; I can't wait to arrive at Briss Kingdom; you think after destroying that Kingdom, they'll finally start taking us seriously, Freyja?" Asked Diddy calmly with a grin while looking at the sky as he rested in the hammock.
"I have no doubt they'll take us seriously; Briss Kingdom is one of the many countries affiliated with the WG, and destroying the kingdom will be nearly the same as declaring war against them since you'll be challenging their authority. Only a psycho would do something crazy, like declaring war against the entire world; unfortunately for me, I'm stuck with a crazy Captain." Replied Freyja with a frown as she glanced at Diddy, who merely chuckled in response, and although she would never admit it, a small part of her was excited.
"No, you've got it wrong, Freyja; I would be declaring war against the WG, not the pirates, revolutionists, or anyone else who doesn't side with the WG. If I truly wish to declare war against the entire world, I need to be seen as a common enemy from every faction, and such a thing will be very difficult to achieve; however, If I so desire to be seen as the enemy of the world, I've got plenty of time, and I suppose a good way to start would be declaring war against the WG." Remarked Diddy with a feral grin as he unleashed his killing intent at full blast, which created slight ripples in the ocean.
"So, you're telling me, not only do you intend to declare against the WG, but you also intend to fight against every other faction in existence!?" Exclaimed Freyja in surprise as she eyed Diddy, his words causing even her to be taken aback.
"Haha, no, I currently don't have any interest in doing so, but it's not off the table; who knows, maybe in the future, I'll change my mind, but right now, let's focus on one faction at a time." Said Diddy with a grin as he retracted his killing intent, causing the water to return to normal.
"Besides, If I'm not wrong, Sebas 'Grandfather' Visage has his base of operations in Briss Kingdom, so that means I'll more than likely bump into him; for some reason, I find him very interesting." Added Diddy with a smirk while looking up at the sky, admiring its beauty.
"That's the second time I've heard you mention this Seba's Visage. Do you intend to have him join your little pirate crew or something?" Asked Freyja as she steered the ship until it was back on course for the Briss Kingdom.
"Don't know; if he is strong, then why not? Why ask such a question; worried I'll replace you with him?" Replied Diddy as he glanced at Freyja, who merely huffed before ignoring him.
"Anyways, I'm going to take a nap." Muttered Diddy lightly as he closed his eyes, and not even a few seconds later, he was already fast asleep.
"Haa, what a crazy man I need to kill." Remarked Freyja with a shake of her head.
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It's the middle of the night, and currently, we are docked in an old abandoned dock east of Briss Kingdom, a few hours past the estimated arrival time, but considering we had taken a detour around nearly the whole island, such a thing is expected. Now why have we taken a detour around the entire island instead of launching a raid on Briss Kingdom? Mainly because when we arrived, it was already night, and I wanted it to be daytime so that everyone knew who was attacking; also because I spotted a whole bunch of marine ships patrolling the west coast, which is the area where we originally intended to dock at, and I didn't want my first ship to get destroyed from hundreds of cannon fire, at least not so soon.
"Surprised you opted to avoid a fight. Is my Captain finally learning?" Mocked Freyja with a happy smile, though she was forced to evade an attack from Diddy, who had swung his staff at her.
"What an annoying Vice-Captain; it seems like you haven't changed in the last seven years at all." Said Diddy with a frown as he holstered his staff while Freyja smirked though she stayed quiet.
"Fighting in the dark isn't the most optimal; who will recognize me in the cover of darkness? So until it's morning, we won't be launching a raid; besides, I can use this chance to locate Sebas while you can go do whatever." Added Diddy as he shifted his focus toward the city in the distance, surprisingly still lively despite it being night.
"Aye, aye, Captain." Replied Freyja while seductively licking her lips as she sprouted wings from her back and took to the sky, not needing to worry about being discovered under cover of night.
Watching Freyja fly off toward the city, which for reference, is one of five cities of the Briss kingdom, the capital; although I intend to destroy the Briss kingdom, to do that, I can't just decimate the capital city and leave, if I do that, the kingdom will still exist. I could destroy the cities, but that'll take a while, though I suppose Freyja and I could split up into different cities; however, that'll still take a long time, possibly an entire day.
I don't know the exact population of Briss kingdom, but even taking into account that it's one of the smaller kingdoms, its population will be at least over one million, and killing one-million people isn't exactly something one can do quickly, not to mention people will flee and tracking them down will be a pain.
'Hmm, well, I won't be able to kill everyone; it's simply too time-consuming; besides, most, if not all, of the civilians, will run away, and it's not fun killing people with no will to fight.' Mused Diddy as he walked through the small forest while approaching the capital city.
"Whatever, this is too much thinking for a simple raid, I'll just do what I want, and once I feel satisfied, we'll leave." Muttered Diddy with a shake of his head while exiting the small forest and nearing the city's walls.
Approaching the city's walls, which for the record, weren't that tall, only about three meters, I jumped over them, officially arriving inside the city, though from the disgusting stench, old rickety houses, and malnourished people, it seemed like I landed inside the slums.
'Only downside to having such acute senses; terrible smells are enhanced to very high degrees.' Mused Diddy with a frown as he reluctantly held his breath while quickly running through the area, passing by numerous peasants who merely felt a strong gust of wind.
Once I finally exited the slums, I sighed in relief and started casually walking down the street among the numerous people, though because of the poor lighting, most people didn't notice I wasn't a human, which made it easier to blend in amongst everyone.
'Now then, where will be the best place to find Sebas Visage?'