The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

Blackbeard was slowly coming to terms with serving someone who could easily command such powerful monsters. Morrigan, the Vampire Queen, was directing the Ninth Legion from the height of his ship. To him, she was now the general commander of the Arcadian forces in the region, and Queen Anne's Revenge was her flagship. The Ninth Legion, aptly named Adiutrix, meaning "the Rescuers," held the line against various beast-type monsters, but it wasn't a walk in the park. Their losses were heavy but not devastating. All the Fenrirs, Grand Wolves, and Legion's Cavalry had retreated to heal, receiving treatment from the Lamias and Nagas led by Aurora. Edward's ship was protected by incredible shields generated by a magic boulder guarded by two Praetorians. The impressive setup had been provided by the joint efforts of Morrigan, Aurora, and a huge Ratkin, who wasn't technically a Ratkin but rather a fully evolved Scavenger Rat named Jasper. He was under the deck, tinkering with Queen Anne's cannons, and whatever he was doing tripled their effective range. This boosted the morale of Blackbeard's crew, who began to believe they could survive the battle.

According to Morrigan, Arani the Storm Eagle, Crawline the Deathweaving Spider, and Gawain the Noble Wyvern were ‘having fun.’ He could barely hold back his nervous laughter when she said those words to Blackbeard. The chaos in the enemy lines was far from his definition of fun, but he wouldn't judge anyone. The Spiders of Avalon were wreaking havoc across the battlefield, leaving enemies dead or crippled; their scythe-like front appendages were the last things the enemy saw before death. Their silk threads, sharp and durable as steel, created deadly traps, barely visible to the enemy. The Storm Eagles rained lightning bolts from the stormy sky toward the enemy while fighting airborne duels against enemy flying monsters. However, the most terrifying sight was the Wyvern. It was huge, like a Dragon, and it used its fire breath like in fairytales, making it unstoppable. No enemy dared to challenge it to a duel, and no one could escape his wrath.

Despite the valiant defence of the Ninth Legion, the enemy was systematically pushing the defenders back. It was a miracle that the flanks of Legion's formation were still holding. Blackbeard was impressed by the iron will that drove the soldiers, but the massive beasts that composed the bulk of the enemy army were formidable. The fight lasted at least three hours, and while his crew was starting to have fun because their guns were actually able to hit what they had been aiming for, Edward started getting anxious. In his opinion, the battle had lasted far too long, and the monsters, the enemy monsters, were still vicious.

"We are getting nowhere..." The Quartermaster took a sip from his rum bottle. "I mean, it's better than getting killed."

"What should we do, in your opinion?" Edward took his bottle and was about to drink it when he stopped, holding the liquor in the air. "Tell me, Jim, how much alcohol do we have left?"

"No!" The Orc tried to wrestle his bottle back, having a bad feeling where this was going. "I won't let you do anything stupid with my rum!"

"Just tell me..."

"Fifty barrels..." the Quartermaster admitted begrudgingly.

"Hmmm... Not much, but we can do something funny." Blackbeard snickered. "ALL RIGHT, LADS! BRING ALL THE RUM ON THE DECK!"

"Ed?! This is rum!" Jim gasped in shock. However, seeing that the captain started smiling even wider, he decided to appeal to his newfound faith. "The Goddess won't forgive you!"

"Nonsense, Jim!" Captain Teach laughed.

While the Quartermaster tried to argue with the Captain, the crew took the barrels from the cargo hold. That made Morrigan, who was slightly bored, a little curious, convincing her to circle the arguing duo.

"What are you planning, Captain?" she asked when they lowered their voices, but it seemed the Orc wouldn't surrender.

"Ahhh... Lady Morrigan!" the large Human bared his teeth in a dangerous smile. "How about we burn them?"

"Hmmm..." She took a deep breath, and a red, dangerous light flared in her eyes. "You want to burn them using strong alcohol? Hahahaha! I like it!"

"You see, Jim?"

"You both will burn in hell for wasting such a fine beverage!" the Quartermaster lamented and covered his face in his hands.

"Hahahaha! Don't worry. If you survive this, I'm sure we can replace your rum." The Vampire laughed. "But before we do anything irreversible, I want Aurora and Jasper to look at what you have. I'm pretty sure they can make it kick better..."

It took them another half an hour to mix something in with the rum. The entire process was closely observed by the heartbroken Quartermaster, but eventually, even he became curious. The crew discussed the entire operation, and the Captain wasn't even sure when Morrigan started to mingle with his crew, arguing about the expected effectiveness of the improvised bomb. The ease of her joking with his people and the tone of her jokes seemed friendly, but Edward couldn't sense a single drop of kindness. While he wasn't sure if the rest of his crew noticed, he knew that the moment they chose to betray King Theon, she would forget all shared moments and ruthlessly hunt them down. Before he knew it, the mixtures were ready, and he shouted orders. The ship gained altitude, and the first barrel was lit and hurled into the horde of enemies as it flew over their ranks. It exploded after hitting the ground, but the effects were disappointing at best.

"I sort of expected that..." Jasper shrugged, already tinkering with the next barrel.

The explosion below could be compared to the intermediate Fireball spells, but it wasn't effective enough. However, it spread its burning contents across the nearby monsters. The long, dark fur of bear-like beasts quickly caught the fire, making them roar and roll on the ground.

"All right... Off you go." Jasper pointed at the barrel he just finished tinkering with. It now had additional iron clamps and three wooden fins at the bottom.

Jasper and Morrigan stood near Edward, observing the barrel’s descent. After a moment of falling fairly straight, it started tumbling, causing Jasper to click his tongue angrily. Edward looked in amusement at the giant rat who took a note on his clipboard held by his tail. The monsters, seeing the falling barrel, quickly moved away before it hit the ground. However, this time, it splashed its contents before the ignition occurred, setting a slightly larger area ablaze.

"That one was much better." Jim mused to himself. "However, if he wants to make it fall straight, he must make the barrel top round or sharp."

"Oh? Interesting theory." Jasper looked at the Orc, who blushed with darker shades of green.

"I... I mean..." The Quartermaster stuttered, but the giant Rat waved his hand with a smile.

The enemy tried to shoot at the frigate, but they were too occupied with fending off the Storm Eagles' attacks. The occasional flame spell harmlessly splashed on the shields provided by the magic boulder near the central mast. Jasper tinkered again with the barrel and, after taking a relatively thin and flat sheet of metal, shaped it into a cone. After adding another set of fins, the bomb was pushed overboard. Everyone not occupied with firing the cannons observed the fall of the barrel, which crashed straight into the ground below, only wobbling slightly. It smashed like the last time, and the ensuing fire killed many monsters.

"It looks like you were right, Quartermaster Jim." Morrigan grinned.

"Indeed!" Edward patted his friend on the back. "How did you know that?"

"Well... We’ve thrown a lot of things overboard."

"Hahahaha!" Morrigan laughed, with laughter so contagious that even Blackbeard caught himself chuckling a bit.

This time, the free crew members helped Jasper modify and drop the remaining barrels. The fire runes were set to ignite the mixture after a set time. While this was effective, everyone observing the bombing just felt they could be much more destructive. Now that they were pressed from above, the enemies couldn't move forward, making it easier for the Legion to deal with the horde pushing them. The ship was again in the centre of the enemy's attention, and its shields were hit many times, which made the Pirates nervous.

"Lady Morrigan, how much more can this shield take before failing?" someone asked.

"Don't worry about it. We lost only one-fourth of it, but the shield is replenishing itself."

Another barrel was thrown towards the ground, and the pirates and Jasper observed it as the Captain heard their cry of disappointment. However, before he or Morrigan could ask what had happened, a monstrous explosion bobbed the frigate in the air, almost shattering its shield. The sudden silence and then unified run of the other pirates and Jasper towards the barrels wasn’t something anticipated in this situation.

"Status?!" Edward had to yell over the commotion and excited voices of his people.

"We're good, Boss!" the helmsman yelled back.

"The shield is at ten percent. I advise gaining altitude," one of the Praetorians reported with a stoic voice.

"Climb!" Blackbeard commanded and turned his head towards the crowd near barrels. "What the fuck just happened!?"

"Enemy spell hit the barrel, but instead of obliterating it, the barrel shattered it and created a raincloud of rum-bomb mixture that ignited in mid-air," Jasper quickly yelled.

"Guys!..." He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Morrigan's resigned facial expression.

"It's pointless now. They are similar to Jasper..."

"But..."

"You think you can stop them now? I know that I can't..."

"If you say so..." He sighed resignedly and followed her towards the aft of the ship. "Lady Morrigan... If I may ask a question."

"Ask as long as I can answer it..." She shrugged and sat on a crude, plank bench.

"Who are you really?" He stood nearby, almost at attention, similar to the Arcadian soldiers he watched near Admiral Sparrow.

"Hahaha, stop it, Blackbeard!" She laughed at his attempts, but surprisingly, he felt better instead of being offended. "I don't want to make a soldier out of you, so don't force yourself with all those formalities."

"Thanks..." He leaned over the railing, observing another bomb falling and exploding over a metre radius at least. He slowly shook his head and wondered if he could bargain to buy some bombs like that for later.

"Answering your question, though..." She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before momentarily hesitating. Eventually, she slowly nodded and looked at him. "I lost most of my memories when the Righteous Dungeon summoned me and created our spawner. I'm the faithful servant of the Dungeon, Captain Teach, and as long as you would faithfully serve Arcadia, you can call me your friend."

He simply nodded, unsure what words to use in a situation like this. She smiled cutely, and he understood she saw through his feelings.

"I was once a Princess of the nation of Vampires," she continued. "However, all the records we found provided no clue about my former country's location. I don't even know how long ago I originally died, which makes it even harder to find anything. King Theon promised to look for the clues and uncover the truth, but I guess I must wait a bit longer… So who am I, Edward Teach? I am the shield of Arcadia. I'm the sword of Avalon. I am the servant of the King."

Her eyes shone with a strange red hue as she gazed at him directly. It wasn't a hostile gaze or even an uncomfortable gaze. She simply observed him with curiosity in her eyes. As she stood up and walked towards the Helmsman, he heard her voice like a whisper, though it hit like a hammer.

"This is the question you must also ask yourself, Captain Edward Teach... Who are you really?"

•••

The Ninth Legion's Legate observed the pirate frigate sailing over the enemy lines. After the first explosion, he realised that he had a chance to regroup his slightly battered forces. Using the distraction provided by their air support and now the pirates, he issued a series of orders that would allow them to change the line formation into acies triplex. The distinct chequered formation lacking a firm battleline would be far better in a prolonged battle. The enemy forces were roughly similar in numbers to theirs, having a slight numerical advantage. However, in battles like this, it was experience and discipline that mattered more. The Rescuers Legion was composed of ten thousand various soldiers and was aided by two thousand Eagles, three thousand Wolves, and two thousand Spiders. They also had the help of the Scions, which the enemies lacked among their ranks. The enemy horde was nearly twenty thousand strong, but its numbers quickly dwindled. They lacked coordination, healers, and anti-air capabilities that made all the difference. The Salamanders and Goblin Archers were no match for the Eagles and the frigate.

"Blood Tide..." The Legate raised his hand as he directed his attention to an enemy group that advanced towards his retreating Hastati. Blood scattered on the ground and swelled like a sea wave, forming a crimson wall that stopped the advancing enemies. The Legate clenched his fist and directed all his anger at the insolent pests. "Crushing Wave!" he shouted without compassion in his voice.

The wave of blood rushed forward like a tsunami, crushing the weaker monsters underneath it and pushing away and damaging the stronger ones. He nodded with satisfaction when the regrouping was finished. So far, he had lost almost two thousand soldiers, which was significant, but his losses were acceptable compared to nearly eight thousand lost by the enemy. The most significant losses were among the Wolves and Eagles, which had already lost half of their initial numbers, and the Spiders, which had lost close to nine hundred. He would have liked to order his mages to attack the enemy, but they all had to focus on shielding the Legion's maniples. Maintaining the shields and weak buffs was already draining for his Magic division, so straining them even further would be disastrous. However, the occasional Vampiric spell hitting the enemy was a good reminder for the beasts to keep their distance.

"They are mindless creatures... Without a clear purpose..." he mused to himself in thoughtful hesitation. "Wouldn't we end the same without the teachings of our Master?"