Chapter 18: Testing the Cannons and the Wine Crisis
The ship breached the danger zone, and suddenly, one of the massive iron spires on the coast ignited with a humming blue glow. A colossal mana-cannon fired directly at the vessel. "BOMB!" Aki shrieked, diving headfirst behind a barrel of wine he had recently liberated from the Elves.
The blue beam whistled past the ship, boiling the seawater in its wake. Volt, sitting calmly on a high-backed chair, glanced over at Aki. "Aki, that barrel you're hiding behind only fits one of your legs. The rest of you is completely visible."
Aki poked his head out, looking indignant. "My Lord, this is a strategic move! If the enemy only sees my leg, they'll think I'm just a stray limb and won't bother attacking!"
Sai drew his sword with a weary sigh. "Aki, stop being an idiot. Volt, please let me silence that tower before Aki's wine barrel explodes and we all drown in cheap alcohol."
Volt raised a hand. "No, let Aki handle it. Aki, if you don't dismantle that tower, you aren't allowed to touch a single coin from the next treasury."
At the mention of "treasury," Aki's eyes turned into literal gold coins. "What?! No! This is an outrage!" He sprinted to the edge of the deck. "Hey, you stupid humans! Who gave you permission to scare my wine?!"
Aki launched himself like a projectile toward the tower. The human guards, expecting a terrifying demonic legion, only saw a small boy (in appearance) wielding two daggers and screaming at the top of his lungs. One guard blinked, "Is this a joke? Did the Demon King send his toddler to play?"
But before he could finish, Aki was already inside the control room. Instead of smashing the mana-cannon, he started swapping the magical circuits. "Let's see what happens if I plug the 'Sound' crystal into the 'Blast' socket..."
Suddenly, instead of firing a beam, the cannon began playing loud, festive music and emitted a magical pulse that turned every guard in the tower into a literal chicken.
On the ship, Volt let out a rare, faint chuckle. "System, record this: Aki has once again succeeded in murdering the laws of logic."