Captain of the Pirates: My Fleet's Limitless Upgrading-Chapter 38: Escape, Hot Air Balloon Crash

Elyse actually managed to make the Composite Bow.

He grabbed Cynthia and ran to the basket, shouting loudly, "Cynthia is in my hands. If you want to risk making the princess angry, go ahead and shoot."

Sure enough, the archers below didn’t move.

The hot air balloon kept rising, carried by the wind, slowly heading toward the West Coast.

Leo let out a breath. As long as they got away from the soldiers, and reached the sea, they’d be safe.

"Don’t just stand there. If this guy gets away, we’ll all be in trouble. Don’t attack Cynthia, Sir. Aim for the big ball. It’s made of canvas. It can’t stop arrows!"

Suddenly, someone below shouted angrily. The soldiers realized what was happening and turned their arrows toward the big hot air balloon.

No good!

Leo felt bad. He looked at Biggy and Secondy and ordered, "Quick, pull the fan as hard as you can!"

He controlled the balloon, trying to rise as high as possible.

Swoosh...

Below, the bowstrings vibrated. Arrows shot up in the air.

Luckily, the balloon was high enough to stay out of the Composite Bow’s range.

Even so, Biggy and Secondy didn’t relax. They took turns pulling the fan and adding charcoal.

The flames rose, forming a strong column of fire, giving enough lift.

"Quick, bring out the improved Ballista!" Another voice shouted below.

Elyse really had some skills. She got the blueprint of the Composite Bow from Leo and kept making simple versions. Even the Ballista now had a pulley system.

A huge Ballista was pushed forward, and a few soldiers quickly assembled it.

"Game over!"

Leo felt hopeless. The balloon was already over 200 meters high. At that distance, even the improved Ballista could hit it. And the hot air balloon only relied on the wind - it moved very slowly. It was a fixed target.

"Keep going up!" Leo urged Biggy and Secondy. His heart was tight.

He had no more power. He could only hope the arrows wouldn’t hit.

But he was doomed to be disappointed.

Swoosh!

A loud sound filled the air. An arrow as thick as an arm, over three meters long, cut through the air. It flew straight toward the balloon.

Rip!

The canvas balloon couldn’t stop it. It was pierced easily.

Whoosh...

Hot air rushed out. The balloon shook violently, making the girls pale with fear.

This was over a hundred meters up. Falling from there would be certain death.

The balloon only shook a few times, but didn’t fall.

"Huh?" Leo’s eyes lit up. He felt a little relief.

The arrow was too strong. It pierced the canvas but didn’t tear it apart.

Even so, the balloon became very unstable.

Biggy and Secondy were also getting nervous, not knowing what to do.

Leo saw the soldiers below pushing the Ballista to wind it again. He shouted, "Don’t just stand there! Keep pulling the fan!"

Biggy and Secondy finally woke up and pulled the fan as hard as they could, keeping the fire in the hot air balloon.

The huge balloon wobbled and soon disappeared into the night. The soldiers below lost sight of it.

"Go after it," the commander growled, chasing the direction where the balloon had gone. He also ordered one of his men to inform the princess.

High above, the wind howled.

The balloon shook violently. Even worse, the crack in the canvas was slowly getting bigger.

"Biggy, Secondy, turn down the fire. Just keep it from falling," Leo quickly told them.

It was night, and they were hundreds of meters high. It was hard for the people below to see them.

The balloon kept shaking, but it stayed stable. It slowly floated toward the West Coast.

Leo could already see big ships below. His plan was to steal one of the large ships that had already left the port.

If they could get a big ship and sail into the fog, they’d be safe.

...

"What? Leo flew away? That’s ridiculous!" Elyse heard the report and felt completely shocked.

The soldier was silent, kneeling on the ground, quickly saying, "It’s true, Princess. That guy used some kind of magic. He made a big ball and flew away with them toward the sea."

"Idiot!" Elyse was furious. "Didn’t I tell you to watch him closely? Where’s Cynthia?"

"Cynthia Sir was taken by them," the soldier swallowed hard, looking scared.

"Idiot!" Elyse slammed the table. "Go after them. No matter what, don’t let them escape. And don’t hurt Cynthia."

"Yes!" The soldier hurried away.

"Bring me my men. I’m leaving the palace with you," Elyse hesitated for a moment, then left the palace with her people to chase the balloon.

...

At this moment, the hot air balloon had reached the port.

The cracks in the canvas were getting bigger and bigger. It could no longer go up and started to slowly fall.

But it wasn’t safe here. Leo had already noticed the lights below. The soldiers had found them.

"Keep increasing the fire!" He urged Biggy and Secondy.

They were now over the sea, but it wasn’t completely safe yet.

The port was full of ships, but there were no big ships leaving at night.

Instead, the warships from Kano Kingdom had moved out.

It was too close to the shore. Leo didn’t dare to land. He had no choice but to keep controlling the balloon and drift toward the open sea.

"Really, it can fly!"

On the shore, Elyse stood under the protection of her soldiers, watching the flickering fire in the sky. She could barely see a big dark shape floating slowly in the air.

This shocked her. Her eyes shone with excitement.

If she got this thing, she’d have a secret weapon from the sky. She’d be unstoppable.

And with gunpowder, even without smoothbore cannons, she could attack enemies from above...

Elyse thought about this, and her heart got even more excited. She ordered, "Send all warships to sea and chase them down. Make sure to catch them!"

"Yes!" The soldier moved quickly.

Warships in the port lit up with fire. People shouted. Waves splashed everywhere as they chased the fire in the sky.

"Mr. Leo, the soldiers are chasing us. There are no big ships nearby," Marina said, looking around nervously.

Leo had no choice but to control the hot air balloon and fly into the fog, trying to escape the soldiers.

[Bip, the hot air balloon is about to crash]

Bad luck. The message appeared.

Leo finally noticed that the crack from the arrows had gotten bigger. Hot air was escaping, and the balloon was shaking violently.

Everyone turned pale.

Anna grabbed the railing, scared, and said, "I hope I’m not the first elf to die from falling."

"Maybe you’re not. Maybe you’re the second," Ava said.

Lilia glared at her and said, "You little girl, now isn’t the time for jokes. When we get out of this, I’ll teach you a lesson."

Ava smiled nervously and moved closer to Leo.

Marina tried to comfort them, "We’re on the sea. Falling won’t kill us."

They all nodded in agreement.

But Lilia looked upset.

The others might be fine, but she hadn’t learned how to swim yet.

Even the two dwarves had learned.

[Bip, the hot air balloon will crash in ten minutes]

The message appeared again. The balloon shook even harder.

"Get ready for a crash landing. Try not to get covered by the canvas," Leo said, looking at the growing tears.

Everyone was nervous. They held the mast of the basket tightly to stay steady.

Leo hesitated for a moment, then untied the ropes around Cynthia and said, "The balloon is about to crash. We’re all on our own now."

Cynthia didn’t appreciate it. Suddenly, she jumped up and pinned him down.

"Hey, don’t turn on me like this!" Lilia was angry and pulled out her sword.

"Hmph. If you hadn’t caught me in the first place, I wouldn’t be in this mess. I’m going to catch all of you, no matter what." Cynthia spoke coldly, showing no gratitude at all.

At this moment, the hot air balloon shook even harder. Everyone struggled to stay standing.

Leo quickly said, "Even if you want to catch me, you have to survive first. And we can’t run away here. Let go of me for now."

Cynthia paused. She thought he was right. She pushed him away and stood on the other side of the basket, trying to stay steady.

Huh...

At this moment, a strong wind blew past their ears, and the balloon dropped faster.

But they were already deep in the fog, and the soldiers chasing them had lost sight of them.

Cynthia wanted to warn them, but as she opened her mouth, a gust of wind blew in, forcing her to shut it. She just tried to stay steady.

Leo kept watching the huge canvas that floated up and down. He was worried.

If they got covered by the canvas and fell into the water, they might not survive.

"Lilia, give me the sword!" He hesitated a little, took the sword from Lilia, and cut through the ropes that connected the basket to the balloon.

Everyone was shocked by his move.

The balloon separated from the basket and floated up. The basket with the group fell fast.

But the distance to the sea wasn’t too high - just a few tens of meters.

Boom!

The basket hit the water with a loud crash. The strong impact broke the basket apart.

The group felt a huge impact and almost fainted, falling into the water and sinking uncontrollably.

Leo held his breath and swam quickly.

At that moment, a figure rushed over. It was Marina.

She was a Fishman. She wasn’t affected at all. She moved fast and grabbed Leo, swimming toward the surface.

Leo quickly stopped her and pointed to two figures sinking fast in the distance - Barnett and Solomon.

The two dwarves had just learned to swim, and they weren’t good at it.

Marina nodded in understanding, made sure Leo was okay, and quickly swam toward them.

Lilia!

At this moment, Leo saw another figure sinking uncontrollably toward the water.

It was Lilia. She couldn’t swim, and the impact had knocked her out.

Leo didn’t hesitate. He swam toward her, picked her up, and struggled to swim toward the surface.

At this moment, Lilia looked pale, like she had no breath left.

Leo was worried. He hesitated for a moment, pinched her nose, and blew into her mouth.