Queen's Blade Rebellion Illustrated Stories: Showdown, chapter 8

In this chapter, can the Rebel Army infiltrate Liliana's ship?
Enjoy!

Showdown, chapter 8: Great Pirate

She appeared just like she promised.

The huge phantom ship flew calmly, as if it owned the place, through the sky over the Queen’s capital, where the scars of the war remained. Operating it was the magnificent Great Pirate Captain Liliana, once a victim of a monster from the Northern Seas, now brought back to life due to the magical power of the Marshland Witch.

Opening the gunport just then, she was trying to start the bombardment of the Queen’s Castle, but one beautiful fighter stood in its way.

The figure of a beautiful fighter in a loincloth that had hurried to join them from Hinomoto, the Samurai of the War God Izumi.

What kind of match these two would have, they won’t know that unless they fight.

“Yeah! It worked just fine!”

As she observed how the phantom ship descended to the same level as the Queen’s Castle, Yuit firmly clutched her fist.

“But I wonder, why miss Izumi? If I remember correctly, it was miss Sigui who was supposed to fight miss Liliana…”

“I guess she had her reasons. Apart from that, Sister Al, let’s start doing our job.”

Accompanying Aldra, who was puzzled with the question, Annelotte approached the bottom of the phantom ship to carry out their operation. Ymir and Eilin followed suit. Though Ymir’s first plan intended for them to use the flying device she had developed, they realized it couldn’t house many people, flying silently would be a problem, and it would be impossible to jump from one vehicle to the other, so now they were proceeding with a new plan by Yuit.

Considering the original aesthetic sense of the pirate queen, they’d use Captain Liliana’s pride to challenge her to a one-on-one fight, and when the phantom ship came close to the castle, they’d take the chance to board it, that was the plan.

“The phantom ship always goes back to the Marshland Witch… if we board it…”

Making a huge noise, something like a plank was laid between the phantom ship and the terrace.

“According to the 4^th Pirate Aesthetics, “Always accept a challenge”, Captain Liliana herself will accept you as her opponent.”

 Liliana raised her voice on the side of the laid plank close to the phantom ship.

“T, thanks.”

Izumi stood by the edge of the terrace, her knees shaking.

“Oh my, are you scared? As the 9^th Pirate Aesthetics says, “Fear is the first step towards defeat.” If you already fear me...”

“Y, yours truly is trembling with excitement!”

Shouting especially loudly, Izumi started swinging her huge nodachi with a buzz.

“If I win, you’ll have to take me to the Witch in that ship!”

“What about if you lose?”

“Haven’t even thought of it, since I can’t lose.”

“Such confidence, that’s nice. I’m glad I accepted you as my opponent.”

Liliana smiled as she pulled out her rapier gallantly.

“So, shall we start?”

“I’ll show you the sanctity of the War God Fencing Style! Urarararaah!”

Liliana nimbly dodged Izumi’s shouting charge, and knocked her in the back with her rapier’s grip.

“Uwawawawa!”

The thin plank laid across bent, and though Izumi almost fell clumsily into the gap between the castle and the phantom ship, she kept her posture somehow.

“Screaming suddenly, has the quality of Hinomoto’s warriors dropped?”

Standing on the shaking plank laid across with her body perfectly still, Liliana sneered at Izumi. This foothold was overwhelmingly disadvantageous for Izumi.

“If it comes to this, to hell with the foothold, I’m going up.”

Izumi declared so, and using the vibration of the plank laid across as a spring, jumped up in the air.

“Quite a good judgment… but… too naïve.”

Liliana judged from Izumi’s actions that she intended to release a powerful blow by adding the speed of the fall as she dropped from the sky, and instead of daring to avoid it, she responded with a mortal blow.

“Shark’s Bite! Taste my sword for sure!”

The speed of Liliana’s sword was way faster.

The chilly feeling of the rapier came down on Izumi’s skin. Properly speaking, those struck by a special move of that degree would have their body split apart, it was probably instinct rather that skill that let her protect herself by a paper-thin difference.

“This is the coup de grace.”

A magnificent roundhouse kick from Liliana to the abdomen of Izumi, who had avoided the Shark Bite at the cost of her clothes, settled it.

“The 16^th Pirate Aesthetics is: “Courage and recklessness aren’t the same.” Miss Izumi’s challenge was a reckless act… but…”

Pitter-patter, fragments of rotten tree from the towering mast behind Izumi were falling, after she kicked her towards the phantom ship.

“I’m done playing. We have a good weather, there’s still some time to fly under the sun.”

The ribbon that decorated Liliana’s captain hat gently dropped. The blow Izumi had released when they crossed swords had certainly reached Liliana.

“That was a close call, people from Gainos. A little earlier, and my head would have been taken.”

With a smile on her face, Liliana bowed towards the castle, and returned the plank to the phantom ship.

“Let’s end it for today. I’ll take miss Izumi as spoils of war. Farewell.”

“Big bro and the rest, did they succeed?”

“Ah~, they’re probably fine.”

Tarnyang muttered as Yuit looked up at the phantom ship anxiously. In truth, they wanted to hide in the phantom ship with their sisters, but the nature of the operation was said to be very confidential, and the number of participants had to be narrowed down, and they had been left to take care of things there.

“Just, did Izumi come from Hinomoto? She sure bought us some time.”

“Yes, I think her ability is the real deal.”

“Are you kidding me!”

Along with an angry roar,  Sigui rushed out from inside the castle.

“It was originally my duty to fight Liliana! That brat!”

As she ran through the terrace dashing with all her power, Sigui threw her God’s Chained Blade at the phantom ship that was flying up now.

“Ooh, she had that!”

Tarnyang raised her voice in admiration at the sight of Sigui, who resourcefully boarded on it though the God’s Chained Blade stuck to the phantom ship’s bottom.

“W… with this, to hell with the strategy.”

Crestfallen, Yuit let out a large sigh as she dropped her shoulders.

While she was enjoying the duel with Izumi, she had been careless enough for someone to have crawled into the phantom ship.

The phantom ship crew only carried out what they were ordered. There was a huge difference with her former subordinates, that used to be like family to her.

“But even if I complain, there’s no other way. The 34^th Pirate Aesthetics is “Admire the opponent’s courage”, that courage to board here, I rather like it.”

The Great Pirate Captain Liliana pulled out her rapier, glaring at Annelotte’s group, who had smuggled into the phantom ship.

“Be that as it may, I must follow the 17th Pirate Aesthetics: “Don’t allow stowaways”, and deal with you strictly.”

“D, deal with us strictly, you say?”

Ymir asked, as she gazed at Liliana from behind Annelotte.

“The rule is to remove any stowaways.”

Liliana tucked the scabbard away with one rotation of the rapier, and glared at the beautiful fighters. If the main force of the Rebel Army were brought down in one go there, it would be a glorious achievement. It would be enough to make up for the attack on Gainos that resulted in failure.

“If, if we fall from here!”

“If, if we fall from this height, us girls who aren’t young anymore will die.”

Ymir and Eilin raised their voices with a storm-like vigor in objection to Liliana.

“Y, you aren’t young?”

Liliana looked slightly doubtful at the couple’s words.

“Even if I look like this, we from the Dwarven Tribe live long lives, I’d be a grandmother in the human world.”

Hearing Ymir’s protest, Liliana put her hat over her eyes, lost in thought. Loyalty to the Witch, or the promise to her grandmother… The answer was decided naturally… but…

“I got it. You aren’t stowaways, I’ll welcome you as guests. Because I made a promise with Grandmother, I must be kind to the elderly.”

Annelotte was relieved when she heard Liliana saying that. If it had come to a battle on the phantom ship, she’d have been in quite a disadvantage, as she couldn’t use horse riding there.

“Wonderful! The Great Pirate Captain Liliana is a righteous person, as we had heard.”

“N, naturally.”

Liliana was embarrassed when she was thanked honestly, and turning her back on Ymir and the others, gave the sign to the phantom ship crew to leave the steering to them.

“Is it okay? We are the Marshland Witch’s enemies.”

“My orders from the Witch were just to attack the Queen’s Castle. What to do with the enemies that enter my ship, is my freedom as the ship’s captain.”

“Thanks, Captain Liliana.”

“There’s no reason to thank me. In the first place, the witch is wrong to make a ghost work during daytime.”

Hmph, with a snort, Liliana disappeared into her cabin.

 -To be continued-

Guess it wasn't a surprise that Izumi lost, but she did put up a good fight.

What was a surprise, though, is that Ymir used her age (around 70 years) to get Liliana to let them aboard. If that was also a part of the plan, is Liliana's respect for the elderly that well-known...?

Next chapter: they arrive to the marshland, but...?