CHAPTER 851: 851: DIVINE GAME-CARD SWAP100

Five map pieces were enough to sketch a rough outline, but still not enough to reveal the treasure’s exact location.

Half the ships on the sea had already been sunk. Only seven cue-ball ships remained, three even-numbered and four odd-numbered.

Out of the ten map fragments scattered among the survivors, Rita’s squad held half. They had the most pieces of anyone.

Every free-moving ship on the sea was trying to close in on them.

They welcomed it. Three of those ships carried fragments, and even if others came empty-handed, they still needed kills. Another twenty-one apprentices, and they would reach three hundred, enough to earn three full resurrections.

\[Motor]: The full map probably needs twelve pieces. We’re still seven short. The treasure won’t show until it’s complete.

\[Maple Syrup]: How long will our fuel fish keep us moving?

\[Motor]: Counting what we took from Ships 4 and 5, about three minutes.

Even as they spoke, the white cloud cue had already lined up against their ship.

\[Thunder God’s Blessing] had been used back when Ship 5 was shot their way. Each strike had a two-minute gap before the next round, plus however long the striker wasted lining up their shot. Barely six minutes had passed since Maple Syrup unleashed it, and she was still clutching the thunder chain linked to the violet spear.

All five of them stared in silence at the looming cue.

Rita and Fat Goose kept their grip on the chain, ready to pull together with Maple Syrup the moment the strike hit, using the tether to keep their ship from being pocketed.

But the hazy silhouette behind the waterfall shifted its stance.

The thunder spear, Ship No. 7, and the cloud figure now formed a perfect right angle, with Ship No. 7 at the corner.

When the cue lowered, the geometry was clear as day. The white shaft and the violet chain made a sharp L.

The five of them muttered in unison, dazed. "We’re screwed."

No feints, no theatrics. The cue came down in a brutal, pinpoint strike.

Fat Goose’s defensive skills absorbed the damage, but not the force.

The boat spun out across the surface, orbiting the thunder spear in dizzying circles.

There weren’t many ships in their path, and the few collisions only slowed them a little.

No one dared release the thunder chain. As Maple Syrup warned in team chat, the skill would fail if they strayed too far from the spear. Better to spin endlessly than rebound straight into the hole.

The only problem... was the nausea.

The flame at the tip of Fat Goose’s tail whipped wildly in the wind. He groaned, "I think I’m gonna hurl."

Maple Syrup shouted back through the gusts, "If it lands on my face, you’re dead!"

Rita pulled her eyes from the cloud figure, fixing Fat Goose with a solemn look. "I can vouch. She’s not joking."

Motor added sharply, "My new metal plating cost two thousand gold per milliliter. You puke, you pay."

Mistblade said nothing, too busy shoving her tail under the console.

...

"Nice shot!" "Beautiful!" "Yeah, yeah, yeah!" "Deceitful Bloom, Deceitful Bloom, Deceitful Bloom!"

Deceitful Bloom tossed the cue to Captain, the next striker.

He raised a finger toward the demons and gods and declared, "Anyone who dares say I’m BS-Rita’s umbrella again, let them watch that shot I just made."

The cheering died instantly. Hands that had been waving froze mid-air.

Deceitful Bloom: "???"

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Grim Jester glanced at him several times, hesitating.

Deceitful Bloom: "...Spit it out."

Grim Jester suddenly lit up. "So Deceitful Bloom’s just a pure bystander!"

Ashveil: "So Deceitful Bloom’s just a pure bystander."

Puppetlord: "So Deceitful Bloom’s just a pure bystander."

Stonefang: "Bystander."

Ironclaw: "Bystander."

Blazing Ember: "Bystander."

Deceitful Bloom: "... Whose side are you even on?"

Captain: "Grim Jester’s been a BS-Rita fan for eighty years. If he says it, I believe it."

Drummer: "Grim Jester’s been a BS-Rita fan for eighty years. I believe it too."

Barista: "Count me in."

Cartoonist: "I believe it."

Grim Jester: "..."

Spring Deity: "I believe it too. But for the record, I was here first."

Blazing Ember: "But you’ve never been killed by BS-Rita!"

Spring Deity fell silent, thoughtful.

Blazing Ember: "See? See! Deceitful Bloom, Grim Jester, he’s got nothing to say!!"

Deceitful Bloom & Grim Jester: "..."

...

As they swung past their second loop around the spear, Rita leaned close to Maple Syrup’s ear. "That red ship to the north. They’ve got a map piece."

She knew Maple Syrup had a skill to hook targets closer.

Maple Syrup followed her gaze, then said, "Hold onto me."

The thunder chain bound them all, but it was long. If she let go of the mast, she could fall into the sea even if the others stayed put.

This time, Rita didn’t need to cling to the chain. She let go, gripping the mast with one hand, looping the chain around them both a few times, then wrapped Maple Syrup’s waist tight. The price was a faceful of wings.

As the ship swung past twelve o’clock, Maple Syrup released her hold on the mast and stretched her fingers wide. A streak of violet lightning shot toward the red vessel. Just as the two ships scraped past each other, the bolt snagged its mast.

The red ship was dragged into their orbit, tugged closer with every spin.

Rita hugged Maple Syrup tight. When the hook landed, she nearly got yanked overboard with her, saved only by Fat Goose throwing a strength-doubling buff her way.

"Good job, Fat Goose!" she sputtered, then sneezed several times in a row. "Sorry, sorry, I’m trying to hold it in..."

Maple Syrup felt the grime coating her wings.

Fat Goose: "Gross!!"

Mistblade: "Don’t sneeze this way!"

Motor: "...My new metal skin..."

Rita: "Achoo—!"

Maple Syrup cracked. "Can’t you hold it in?!"

The ship spun like a yo-yo being reeled in, circling the violet spear again and again until finally screeching to a stop at its side.

The instant the momentum died, the five apprentices straightened, their nausea gone, faces cold and determined.

Without a word, they launched themselves like arrows at the red ship, thunder chains crackling between them.

From the red ship came a cry. "What the hell, how do you switch faces that fast?!"