Chapter 98: THIRD POV.

He gently pulled her out of the cage, being careful not to scratch her soft skin against the jagged edges of the broken iron bars.

’ I didn’t come all this way to watch you die you hear?! Just hang on!’ He wrapped his strong arm securely around her waist, keeping her close to his chest, and swam towards the young man who was floating a few feet away.

On reaching him, he grabbed the guy by the collar of his shirt. The black-haired youth was so weak from blood loss that he could barely keep his eyes open, but he didn’t resist this time.

He was smart enough to see that the new existence meant no harm and only intended to help them survive. He let his body go loose, trusting his life and the life of the little girl to this strange being. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

With Jacob’s incredible speed, he reached the First Hornet in a matter of seconds. His powerful tail kicked through the water with unmatched force, driving them upward through the dark layers of the sea like a shooting star.

The surface grew brighter and brighter until they finally broke through the waves, shooting out of the water like a torpedo, high into the air.

Before landing on the wooden deck of the smaller ship, he morphed back into his human form in a quick flash of light.

His long tail split back into two legs just in time. He landed with a heavy thud, squatting as he landed on deck to absorb the impact of the high jump, his boots gripping the wet wood.

He then dropped the little girl gently on her back, making sure her head was supported, and let go of the guy, who collapsed onto the deck next to her, coughing up a mixture of salt water and blood.

"Do you know how to administer first aid!" Jacob said in a hurry, his voice urgent as he wiped the water from his face.

While the young man didn’t know what such a term meant, since "first aid" was a phrase from Jacob’s modern knowledge, he easily understood the mysterious figure wanted him to quickly attend to the little girl.

He could see that she wasn’t breathing, and that was something he no doubt wanted nothing more than to do.

"Leave it to me," the young man choked out, crawling over to the silver-haired girl on his hands and knees despite the deep, bleeding wound on his side. He immediately began pressing on her chest, trying to force the water out of her lungs.

"Alright, I’ll be back shortly," Jacob said, his expression stern.

’I still need to check if there are any others left alive down there,’ Jacob said to himself. He couldn’t just sit around while the ship’s wreckage was still sinking. There might be more people trapped in boxes or holding onto air pockets.

He turned around and rushed to jump back into the water. Mid-dive, as his body hung in the air above the splashing waves, his lips couldn’t help but curl upwards into a sharp smile.

That was because he saw that the once-jolly three pirate ships were now in complete chaos. The sound of their laughing and drinking had been replaced by screams of terror and panic.

With his sharp gaze, he easily made out Priscilla moving through and fro from ship to ship, devastating the pirates like a literal hurricane.

She was leaping across the gaps between the vessels with ease, her long coat fluttering behind her. None of them could do anything about it.

Even when they ganged up on her, ten or twenty at a time with swords and guns raised.

she easily knocked them flying across the decks. Some were falling unconscious from her heavy punches, and some were suffering serious injuries like broken limbs and shattered ribs.

She was treating the feared raiders like a bunch of annoying insects, completely destroying their little celebration.

Jacob plopped back into the water with a loud splash, the cold sea welcoming him back as he shifted once more into his merfolk form.

*****

Some time later, Jacob returned back on deck with a chubby, middle-aged man who looked like a drowned dog in his arms.

The man was completely soaked, his expensive but torn clothes dripping wet, and his hair, which was blonde, was plastered flat against his forehead.

He was unconscious but still breathing, bubbles occasionally coming out of his nose as he groaned in pain.

Jacob placed the man down carefully on the dry part of the deck, exhaling a long breath as he wiped the salt from his eyes. He had searched every corner of the wreckage, and this was the last living person he could find.

"Rudwig!"

The little girl from earlier came running over, her small bare feet slapping against the wood.

She had a deeply pained look on her face seeing the chubby man in such a terrible state.

She threw herself down beside him, grabbing his large, wet hand and pressing it against her cheek. Clearly, he meant a lot to her, likely a trusted butler, a guardian, or a close family member who had protected her during the attack.

Jacob couldn’t help feeling a bit better seeing the young girl up on her feet again. The young man had clearly succeeded in saving her from drowning, and though she was still shivering from the cold and the shock, her breathing was steady and her blue eyes were clear and lively.

She was accompanied by the young man, who had tied a rough piece of cloth around his bleeding waist, and a few women in maid attires, about three of them in total.

Though their clothing looked more distraught than naught, with rips and mud stains all over their long skirts, they were mostly unhurt.

They were all the people Jacob had managed to save during his short exploration.

They were huddled together near the mast, looking at Jacob with a mixture of intense respect and fear.

AN: Looks like the first hornet is getting a bit crowded. Hopefully this doesn’t mean Jacobs troubles will grow along with it.