Everna Saga: The Ebony Dawn (Book Five of Fireheart Legacy)

By Andry Chang

The time of payback and reckoning has come.

It takes a great Holy War to end
the tempest of chaos in Terra Everna.

It is time to reclaim the cities and
lands under the grip of the Dark Forces.

Heroes reunite, nations
in the continent of Aurelia stand united.

Continuing the assault into the Land of the Ebony Dawn

to crush the Heir of Vordac, the root of chaos.

Break forth, Paladins! Herald the true dawn anew.

"An epic tale, packed with gripping battle scenes."

Bonmedo Tambunan, author of the "Xar and Vichattan" series

"Colossal, epic, and stirring the imagination."

F. A. Purawan, author of "Garuda Five: Messenger of the Demon"

Everna Saga: Fireheart Legacy is an epic fantasy serial set in the complete, detailed Earth parallel world of Terra Everna and part of the Everna Saga brand created by Andry Chang.

It’s highly recommended for young adults and adult readers who love:
- Novels are written in a unique, cinematic way.
- Lively and likable characters, strong protagonists.
- The parallel world setting is like the Medieval Era on Earth.
- Detailed and immersive world-building and history.
- Earth-based religion blended with fantasy world philosophy.
- A pinch of mild romance here and there.
- Inspirational moral values and heartwarming moments.
- Fictional cultures and geography parallel to Earth.
- Recognizable, easy-to-imagine Earth-like details.
- Some characters will show up in other Everna Saga stories.
- Detailed actions with wuxia martial art style fights.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andry Chang
• Release date: Mar 25, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215049457

Andry Chang

Andry Chang is a pilgrim in authorship since 2005. Aside from his everyday life as an entrepreneur, a husband and a father of one, he always makes time to write, draw or developing games. He continues to hone his skills and never gives up, resulting in his published multimedia works.Some of his commercially published writings, either singulars or collaborations are:FireHeart – Legend of the Paladins (2008), Vandaria Saga – Kristalisasi (2012), Qi Xi – Bunga Rampai Asmara (2012), Love Around You (2013), Magical Stories (2013), LEINA – Legenda Imaji Nusantara (2015), Everna Saga – Hikayat Tiga Zaman (2015), Everna Saga – Utara dan Selatan (2015), Everna Saga – Barat dan Timur (2016) (Indonesian Language Works) and Everna Saga - Morf and the Pirates of Flamenca (2016) (English Language Works)

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Andry Chang

Everna Saga: The Ebony Dawn

Book Five of Fireheart Legacy

Copyright © 2024 by Andry Chang

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

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Contents

The Age of Turbulence

Rise of the Heir

Part One THE HIEROPHANT’S RUSE

1.1. Dusk in Hail’varan

1.2. Desert Rose on Rolling Waves

1.3. Clash of the Sages

1.4. The Mausoleum of Mysteries

1.5. The Devil’s End

Part Two CHARIOTS OF FATE

2.1. To Free Freidle

2.2. Reaper of the War

2.3. Merida Marination

2.4. Dilemma in Dalamar

Part Three THE TOWERS OF TWILIGHT

3.1. Breaking into the Darkness

3.2. Stalwart in the Tempest

3.3. The Juggernaut

3.4. Fruits of Envy

3.5. Webs of Gluttony

3.6. The Knight of Sloth

3.7. The Sisters of Lust

Part Four THE JUDGMENT OF DESTINY

4.1. The Wrathful Grudge

4.2. The Wings of Greed

4.3. The Brothers Separated by Pride

4.4. Seven Levels of Hell

4.5. He is Truly Reborn

4.6. The Destroyer of Worlds

Epilogue NEW DAWN, NEW WORLD

5.1. The Great Restorer

5.2. And the Story Continues

GLOSSARY

The Age of Turbulence

Vordac, the Dark Overlord

The Arcane Age was one of the darkest ages throughout the history of Terra Everna.

Throughout this era, there had been many times the Dark Forces led by the Dark Overlord, Vordac, and the Demon Lord, Arachus wreaked havoc. The Aurelia Continent was made the starting point and was ravaged by a series of Dark Aggression.

As the Determinant of Destiny had outlined, every time darkness rose, the Forces of Light also rose to restore the balance of the world. As a result, the Forces of Light and the Paladins defeated the Dark Forces many times. Vordac was imprisoned in the Deathblade. He once tried to rise again by possessing his host’s body, but again he was defeated.

Two generations of the Paladins had passed. After a very long wait, Vordac and the Dark Forces attempted to rise once again. They had to take advantage of this golden opportunity by putting all their might into one last gambit.

Will the next generation of Paladins rise again?

Will Terra Everna survive the greatest tempest of darkness in history?

Come forth, Paladins! Fulfill your destiny.

Rise of the Heir

In the Black Palace of Kraal’thragon, the headquarters of the Dark Forces, tension filled the air that was already reeked of evil. All the dark creatures present there just stood with faces that were paler than their original, average pale faces.

Xylen the Succubus Queen walked back and forth in the hall, anxiety evident on her face. The black hooded and robed lich stood nearby, wearing a new mask.

A moment later, the entire hall seemed to be shaken by an earthquake. Dust, even pieces of rolling stone fell from the walls, pillars, and statues in the hall.

Everyone present, whether they had wings or not, didn’t dare to do anything other than try to balance themselves to stay standing upright.

The shaking continued for about a minute, then gradually subsided. Everyone in the hall hurried back to their original standing positions.

A moment later, the main door to the hall opened with a loud bang. In the doorway stood a human-like figure wearing a tattered black robe and a hood that covered his face. His appearance was similar to that of the lich. The difference was that his posture was slightly bent, and his white hair hung down from the hood. He looked more like a beggar.

A demon with two horns shouted, Hey, intruder! How dare you come in! There’s an important meeting going on in this hall! Get out before I…! Before he could continue speaking, his head was separated from his body, and fell to the floor, his facial expression unchanged.

After that show of strength, the hooded human spoke in a low, hoarse voice, Anyone else?

Nobody moved. Xylen, who had just recognized the hooded man, bowed, knelt, and greeted, Long live the Dark Overlord. We all rejoice in your resurrection. Forgive us who do not recognize you, my lord.

Seeing Xylen’s attitude, the entire audience including the lich also knelt and bowed. Vordac just walked slowly past them towards the Throne of Bones, the most exalted place in this realm of the dark world.

Vordac sat with one leg raised, leaning casually on a throne made from the bones of the heroes they had defeated since ancient times. He then spoke, Aah… It’s been years since I last sat here. Well, because I’m in the mood, I decided to forgive those of you who failed to recognize me. But, if you act without thinking like that trash, He pointed at the headless demon on the floor, I won’t be so generous next time.

After a moment of silence, Vordac’s Heir spoke again, Well, I want to celebrate my revival. Before that, I need to know where my regent, Arachus is. Why isn’t he here to welcome me?

Xylen reported, Lord Arachus was fighting with Archangel Yvariel. The last time we saw him, they flew away from the battlefield and were still fighting. We haven’t seen Lord Arachus since.

The Seraphim Archangel himself? That’s interesting. I was just about to fight my mortal enemy to test my newly recovered strength. But that power-crazed Arachus won’t give me the honor of eradicating the biggest obstacle in my path! But that’s okay, thanks to him my task is easier. If Yvariel is eliminated, I will have a large reserve of energy to remove other obstacles.

Suddenly Vordac’s hoarse voice turned smooth and tended to be melodious. Don’t forget, there are the Paladins of Light too, especially the Heir of Vadis. They can be tougher than Yvariel!

You’re right, said Vordac. His voice became rough again as if he was talking to himself. Fate was not on my side before. But this time, with the power at hand, even fate must bend to my will! Our victory is certain, and absolute power over all of Everna will be in our hands!

Vordac’s overflowing self-confidence prompted everyone present to cheer, Vordac! Vordac! Vordac!

Vordac lazily raised his hand, his skin was very pale like a corpse, and the cheers died down instantly.

The soft-spoken heir spoke, Well, what news is there from the front lines?

Xylen, the Supreme Commander of the Dark Forces replacing Arachus who was absent, reported, As my lord can see, almost all the Dark Generals are back here, and the entire army is back on standby on the front lines. The Black Prince is on guard in Freidle, while…

Just get to the point, Dark Queen. Are we winning this war campaign?

W-we have conquered Castoria, Merida, Bresconnor, and Borgia. However… the Forces of Light stopped our movement in Hail’varan Plains. So, we were forced to retreat. Now, we are gathering an even larger army to launch a second wave…

Before Xylen could finish speaking, the Heir’s hands grabbed her neck and lifted her body from the floor. In a rage, Vordac tortured the succubus, overwhelming her with an aura of darkness.

Vordac then shouted in a hoarse voice, So you’re saying that we’ve lost the war, so we have to deploy reserve troops and leave our territory undefended? All your words are rubbish! You and all your useless underlings have ruined our entire war campaign! Then you’d rather vacate our territory and leave it to those annoying mortal angels to save your face! Well, you won’t recognize your face after I mess it up!

Choking and moaning in pain, Xylen suddenly cried out, Aah! Please, my lord… Please, not my face. I would rather die than become ugly. Please! Didn’t my lord tell me to leave the battlefield for a much more important mission? Please!

Vordac’s pressure did not subside, but it was his voice that turned softer. Oh, I remember now. I did send Xylen to kidnap the Empress. Answer, have you brought her here?

Y-yes, m-master… That woman was very stubborn… Always fighting… So I locked her up in a dungeon…

Very good, the Heir replied as he loosened her grip and lowered the demoness gently on the floor. But you’d better tell the truth, otherwise I will eliminate you without hesitation.

Yes, my lord, yes… Oh, thank you, my lord, your generosity is truly noble. Xylen was currying favor, a common thing she did to those who turned out to be stronger than her.

The Dark One then sat back on the Throne of Bones very relaxed, this time propping his chin. He waved one hand. Everyone present understood the signal and left the hall in an orderly manner.

Archdemoness Xylen, the last figure to emerge from the hall, limped. When she reached the doorway, she glanced out of the corner of her eye at the Dark Overlord and continued walking.

The door to the throne hall closed by itself, leaving the Heir in darkness, contemplating in solitude.

Part One THE HIEROPHANT’S RUSE

Talbot du Bois, the Hierophant

1.1. Dusk in Hail’varan

Every victory for the Forces of Light was gained at a very high price.

The great battle at Hail’varan Plains was among the bloodiest in history, on the Aurelia Continent and even on Terra Everna. The proof was that the battle only truly ended when none of the defeated parties were seen on the battlefield alive.

On the side of the Forces of Light, more than half of the Borgian troops fleeing from Freidle had fallen. Grad lost one-third of its ground forces and more than two-thirds of its gyrocopter reinforcements to Freidle. Thyrine lost less than a fifth of the reinforcements. Meanwhile, only around three hundred soldiers from the combined forces of Arcadia, Lore, and Escudia were killed.

The Dragon Rider Squad, which had fought as valiantly as in the past lost thirty-nine of its members, including the leader, Dagmar Langstrom. However, it was their extraordinary heroism in Hail’varan that marked a return to the glory of the Mallevarte Warriors in the not-too-distant future.

Hazmat, the Ancient Green Dragon was suffering from injuries and would not be able to fight during his recovery period. At least he got a sliver of satisfaction by defeating his arch-enemy, Omegron.

Witnessing all the destruction and all the victims who fell, once again Emperor Sage alias Cristophe Deveraux felt broken-hearted. Moreover, seeing all his brothers-in-arms feeling the same sympathy, Sage realized that all his sacrifices had not been in vain.

The distraught changed slightly to relief when Sage saw that many more lives had been saved in this place, ready to protect and save even more lives from the threat of the return of the Dark Ages.

Sage then saw Ney, an elf sorceress from Thyrine. Ney cried in sorrow over a male elf’s lifeless body. Sage felt like he had met the fallen elf somewhere, but he couldn’t remember exactly when, where, and who the elf was.

The answer to the questions in Sage’s mind came as Robert Chandler spoke, Your Majesty the Emperor, the elf Ney is crying for Galvanir Deneuviel, Prince of Thyrine and also Ney’s husband. Ney is pregnant with Galvanir’s baby now.

By Vadis! Sage’s jaw dropped. It was Galvanir who led the entire group of warriors and heroes at Enia’s Sanctum, wasn’t it? He and Ney came with reinforcements and Galvanir’s fate ended here. Do you know how Galvanir died, Sir Robert?

A Dark General, a black-masked lich paralyzed Galvanir with magic, then allowed its minions to finish him off.

Sage nodded. Then he bowed respectfully towards the hero couple from Thyrine for a long time before finally walking away. He knew that the words of comfort he gave were the same as an insult to the grieving elf.

Accompanied by Robert, Sage then met Ivor Bigstumble. Sage was a bit flabbergasted, not expecting to meet his late mentor’s son so soon.

Moreover, Ivor saluted and greeted, Your Majesty the Emperor, leader of the Forces of Light. Didn’t you say you wanted to convey something to me after this battle is over?

Clearing his throat to relieve the tightness in his heart, Sage then said, This is about your father, Ivor…

Hearing the word father, Ivor forgot his manners and interjected, Ah, that’s right, Your Majesty. Where is my father? I haven’t seen him once until now.

But Sage’s face turned pale. His lips couldn’t speak, and he tried to choose words that wouldn’t offend Ivor.

In contrast, Robert was braver and ready to reveal the truth. He took a deep breath, then with all the courage he had he said, Ivor, be strong. I am the one who should tell you this because I was the one who knew the news first. Your father, Rollo Bigstumble, has fallen in the Lumien Forest in Lore, and we, the Arcadians and Loreans have buried him in Vaudevale Hills not far from there.

When Ivor heard it, it felt as if his world had collapsed. As Sage had feared from the start, the young stout dwarf’s entire body trembled and he cried out frantically, No! Oh, Father, my dear Father! But Father has left me, gone to the afterlife. Tell me, tell me…! How-did-my-father-die?

Robert answered slowly, Your father healed an Arcadian soldier, but the soldier stabbed him in the back. That was because the red soldier wanted to defect to Lore, thinking that by bringing an Arcadian officer’s head, the Loreans would accept him. The traitor came to me, not expecting me to sentence him to death instead.

Ivor looked down and gritted his teeth. He then impudently pointed right at Sage and shouted, If it weren’t for your blind revenge, my father would not have died in vain! You don’t deserve to be the Emperor of Arcadia! Just go back to being a monster hunter! It suits you better!

The Arcadian soldiers and knights moved immediately to arrest Ivor, who had been very impudent towards their lord. The dwarves of Grad also moved to protect their supreme commander. But Sage immediately came forward to relieve the tension.

With great humility and shame, Sage bowed before Ivor. You’re right, Ivor, I don’t deserve to be Emperor or anything. But tell me, was it wrong for me to avenge my brother who was also killed in vain? If Robert didn’t avenge you, won’t you avenge the actions of the traitorous soldier yourself? I admit, I am as guilty as the traitor for involving Paolo in my revenge. But if you were me, if your father, mother, or older sister were killed, wouldn’t you take revenge? Are you really that holy?

There may be a handful of people who could answer yes, but Ivor was not included in the group of pure-hearted people. He was still an ordinary dwarf, equal to humans who have the same outward emotions plus young blood.

So, Ivor fell to his knees until he curled up on the ground. Even though it wasn’t in words, it was a clear answer for Sage, Robert, and the other Paladins of Light who were standing near these three people. Even the proudest people, including Adler, didn’t say anything, either because they realized they weren’t perfect or simply didn’t care.

All the sorrows of the war up to now were complete. Nobody knew what other sorrows would arise after this.

At least a war between fellow Paladins did not erupt. The Paladins, knights, officers, and soldiers returned to their respective duties, preparing to leave for the nearest base, namely Myrcalia, to close ranks and form an alliance.

Sage then wanted to talk to Carolyn and Iris, the two heroines who made the greatest contribution to this battle. However, the two magical girls seemed busy consoling Ney, so Sage was forced to abandon his intention.

Back in the temporary tent reserved for the main leaders, Sage received a letter. The letter, which was rolled up and tied in a hurry, was sent via a bewitched owl that flew very fast. When he read it, cold sweat poured down Sage’s face.

Erydos Crydias, who was in charge of taking notes as a scribe in the tent, saw Sage and commented, What happened, Your Majesty? Is someone important for you in danger?

Still shocked, Sage answered, Not just one person, but our entire fleet is in danger. The problem is, we are too far away to help them.

Sage read the message lying on the table once again with Erydos. The writing on the letter was messy and the paper was crumpled. There was no seal on it.

To Emperor Sage of Arcadia.

Help! Our fleet is overwhelmed. There are too many enemy ships. Even with the help of ships from Escudia, Valanis, and Parthenia, we can’t defeat the enemy forces! We are now in the waters east of Quelnir Island. Ships laden with pirates, monsters and undead have sunk many of our ships. Therefore, help us before we all perish.

Signed, Geraint du Villiers, Admiral of the Arcadian Fleet.

After reading the letter, Erydos said, "Stay here, Your Majesty. I will go with the Aurora Airship, the dragon riders, and the griffin riders to help them. Just hope we are not too late."

Sage just nodded, then froze in place. He frowned, a sign he was thinking hard.

1.2. Desert Rose on Rolling Waves

The crescent moon was still accompanied by a scattering of stars in the sky.

Almost simultaneously with the outbreak of the Great Battle of Hail’varan, there was also a surge of fighting in the Tirnamare Sea, precisely to the east not far from Quelnir Island.

Geraint de Villiers, Admiral of the Arcadian Fleet, was a man in his fifties with a long, curved mustache that seemed to penetrate his gaunt face. He had just sent an owl flying with a letter requesting reinforcements. He knew it was too late, but he was desperate.

The admiral was not lying. More than a thousand ships of the Dark Forces continued to advance, about to break through the posse of the Forces of Light’s fleet, which was only about a third of the number of their opponents.

The Forces of Light shot giant arrows from the ballistae. Giant catapults fired alchemical bombs. Many enemy ships were sunk and destroyed, but they did not return fire and instead continued to advance. The ships from Parthenia, Valanis, Arcadia, and Escudia continued to sink enemy ships, much more than they accomplished in normal battles. For a moment, a glimmer of light appeared for the Forces of Light, like the sun suddenly greeting the day on the eastern horizon.

However, the light suddenly seemed to be covered by black mist. More and more enemies arrived, breaking through the wreckage of their own friends’ ships which were still floating on the surface of the sea. The ships, large and small, were full of monsters, creatures of darkness, and barbarian pirates from Eastern and Northern Aurelia who were extremely brutal and cruel.

The ships of the Dark Forces then crashed their prows into the posse right at one point, then climbed on the enemy ships like a swarm of grasshoppers climbing wheat stalks in a field. Many Forces of Light soldiers died as a result of this enemy’s barbarity.

Admiral Geraint was aghast. So this is what the gates of hell look like…

An officer rebuked in a panicked tone, Admiral, the enemy is about to break through the posse and is deliberately targeting the flagship, our ship! What should we do? Seeing no response from the admiral, he shouted louder, Please, Admiral!

Geraint still didn’t answer. He was still frowning, thinking hard, and observing the movements of the enemy ships that were gathered tightly together.

Suddenly his eyes seemed to sparkle. Geraint shouted, "Signal all ships, execute Kraken Jaw Formation immediately!" Using sophisticated methods, namely through signal flags and mirror reflections, the coded order was spread throughout the fleet without the enemy being able to guess.

The Kraken Jaw Formation was a simple tactic but was very suitable for use on enemy barbarian fleets which could only attack fiercely without strategy.

Instead of facing the enemy head-on, the Forces of Light’s fleet sailed away from the enemy ships, spreading out in all directions like blooming flowers. The enemy caught up and attacked only a handful of hapless ships.

The escaped ships continued to spread out, luring more enemies into their formation with the Arcadian flagship as bait. The ships maneuvered quickly to the desired position and fired occasionally to keep the enemy at bay. More enemy ships got into formation and crowded in the center, as if unaware that they were about to be surrounded.

For this formation to be perfect, the Forces of Light ships had to block the enemy’s entry route like the kraken, a giant squid monster that clenched its giant jaws and swallowed its prey whole.

The problem was, that the enemy fleet was too large and the number of Forces of Light ships was insufficient to surround it. If this continued, the enemy would escape and break through this simple battle formation.

Even though they were the target of endless projectiles, the core of the Dark Forces’ fleet surged forward. The largest barbarian pirate ship even bulldozed the formation and continued to target the Forces of Light flagship, La Fontaine.

Seeing this behavior, all the faces of the crew and officers of La Fontaine turned pale instantly. The first officer shouted in panic, Admiral, the enemy is targeting our ship! It’s over!

But Geraint snapped, Lieutenant, we were just about to fight to the death, but you weakened the morale of our troops! If you talk like that again, I’ll cut off your head on the spot!

M-my goodness, Admiral. I-I’m just panicking. What should we do?

The admiral sighed. Ah, if only we had more ships. Unfortunately, the Northern Fleet was fighting Lore which should be our ally in this war. The only thing we can do now is fight as hard as we can while continuing to move as far as possible, and hope for more reinforcements to come.

It was not clear whether it was an order or not, but the helmsman seemed to have read the leader’s intentions and quickly turned course to move away from the battle formation.

Soon, shouts resounded, The enemy is approaching!

While running, the flagship managed to knock out at least four enemy ships with powerful shots. Worst of all, two other enemy ships succeeded in circling their target and headed towards the La Fontaine, Geraint’s ship.

Mercilessly, the enemy warships shot on and destroyed nearby ships while continuing to move away. The bad thing was, that the enemy’s first ship was just a decoy. The second ship, a barbarian pirate ship that was not too big, managed to sneak up and position itself next to the La Fontaine.

Wasting no time, the barbarian pirates, most of whom were of heavy build, swung from their ships. As their feet hit the deck of the enemy ship, their arms swung their weapons as ferociously as the barbaric war cries that blared. The deck of the flagship was flooded with blood, mostly from Arcadian soldiers.

The Arcadian admiral himself fought tooth and nail. At least five barbarians lay stung by his sword, proving that he was still tough and still worthy of the position of admiral.

However, all that toughness became meaningless when more sounds of explosions and shattered wood echoed in the air. Reflexively, Geraint turned towards the starboard side near the stern of the ship and looked into the distance.

It turned out that more than a hundred sailing ships were arriving at high speed from the east. At first glance, they appeared to be reinforcement ships from the countries of East Aurelia, Meshallah, and Abed Bal-Hani. However, all the flags on the ships had the same image, namely a white skull and crossbones on a black background.

Geraint exclaimed, P… pirates! His grip on his sword relaxed instantly.

However, something strange appeared. Instead of attacking the combined fleet of Arcadia and the Forces of Light, the pirate ships instead attacked the ships of the Dark Forces and barbarian pirates.

Before Geraint’s astonishment had finished, he saw a ship moving close to the La Fontaine flagship, the characteristics of which he recognized. It was Le Partizane, the Arcadian ship that was stolen from the port in Vochaux and had changed its name to Dewblossom. This fact caused upheaval in the mind of the man who had been captain of Le Partizane long before he was appointed admiral.

A desire arose to reclaim the ship from the thief’s hands. But now Geraint himself was being pressed by another enemy and the thief seemed to be helping the party who was the victim of his theft.

The middle-aged man’s balding forehead had never been so bright.

* * *

On the other hand, the captain of the Dewblossom Ship was none other than Sheena Mekh’ta, the Meshallan corsair or pirate who was known to be very powerful.

Of course, Sheena didn’t care at all whether the flagship she was helping was from Arcadia or not. All the attention of the girl with long greenish-black hair that looked like seaweed was now focused on a ship that was larger than the other ships in her fleet, except perhaps the Arcadian flagship, La Fontaine. A Jolly Roger flag, the same as on the Dewblossom flew on the mast of the Dark Forces’ large ship, which turned out to be the Ziggurat, the flagship of barbarian pirates, similar to Sheena’s. But Sheena looked at it with blazing eyes and an expression of anger and disgust.

Especially when the Ziggurat slammed its bow, which tipped like a giant threaded spearhead, into the hull of the Arcadian flagship.

The people on the target ship experienced shocks that were stronger than an earthquake. Some of them were even thrown into the sea, regardless of friend or foe. The next onslaught came in the form of burly, mighty barbarian pirates, boarding the Arcadian flagship by leaping high instead of swinging with hawsers.

After quite a close encounter with the barbarian pirate mothership, Sheena, her two officers, Baxter and Ellephar, and many of her crew swung on ropes from the Dewblossom and landed smoothly on the deck of the target ship, the Ziggurat.

Taking advantage of the surprise of the barbarians who did not expect to be attacked by fellow pirates, Sheena killed several enemies at once like she was making satay or shish-kebab. She plunged her scimitar sword into the body of an orc and beheaded a barbarian who attacked her. The girl somersaulted while splitting another barbarian’s head in half straight down the middle, then landed smoothly and perfectly like a dancer.

It didn’t take long for Sheena to stand up to face a barbarian pirate with a purple beard, very burly, and about twice Sheena’s height. The long purple hair in many braids, plus the very large horned helmet worn by the giant added a menacing impression to his overall appearance.

Sheena recognized the giant and snapped, "Don’t think you can cross over to that Arcadian ship, Ziggurat’s captain, Bahl Grimmstrom!"

Bahl looked back at Sheena with a mocking smile. Sheena Mekh’ta! The rumors were true, you were the one who made many pirates fight their kindred! he bellowed. But it’s good that you show up here. I will crush all your tender bones and my position as pirate king will remain strong!

Do you think I going to take the position of ‘king’ from you, pea brain? Oh, I know, maybe my presence makes you feel threatened.

Shut your mouth! A little girl like you is nothing more than a mosquito that just makes me itch! But answer me, why are you deliberately obstructing us who act like normal pirates?

Sheena raised a finger. Only one answer. It’s because you and your allies, the Dark Forces are endangering our jobs!

Heh, what do you mean? This is our chance to plunder to our heart’s content and become rich like kings!

Think carefully, Bahl! We feed ourselves from the prosperous. If the Dark Forces achieve their goal, we will be demoted from ‘looters’ to ‘scavengers’, picking up just the remains of their destruction! There will be no more ships full of treasure to hijack!

Bahl stroked his purple beard, his forehead furrowed amidst his thick eyebrows. Hmm, that makes sense, little girl. But the Sylvanian Lord has made me a Dark General and promised Merida and Castoria to be our territory. At least we, the pirates will have our kingdom, not a handful of land like Flamenca or the small islands around Fjorn and Bjordan. You want that too, right, Sheena?

To be honest, yes, but…

Well, then join us and finish off those sea barnacles! I insist!

Sheena interrupted again, That’s quite tempting, but I haven’t finished talking. I like the results, but I don’t like the way you do it! Now I know what you mean by insisting. You want to be king of the world and you will eradicate all the pirates. After that, you will also crush the Dark Forces in the future under the pretext of ‘repairing the world’!

Hey, watch your mouth, little girl!

No need. After all, the great elders of the pirates have sent us to sentence you to death, Bahl! Then Sheena deliberately turned to Bahl’s men who were standing in place. Listen, all of you! After I punish your leader, you can surrender or die!

Presumptuous of you, influencing my followers! Bahl snapped the loudest. His face now looked bright red like a boiled crab. I am the true pirate king! Therefore, I sentence you to death, Sheena Mekh’ta!

Without warning, Bahl swung his mace which was almost as big and thick as a building pillar. This powerful but rather slow attack missed the agile Sheena and instead crushed the floor of the ship’s deck.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the corsair leaned forward, thrusting and slashing her sword many times with beautiful dancing movements. That was Sheena’s signature move, Sandstorm Skirmish. The sword struck the fatal points of this barbarian giant’s body from angles that were almost impossible for the enemy to predict. It took agility