A contingency plan is a provision for a possible event or circumstance.
An event that you know could happen, but don't know when or how.
Contingencies are also only to be used when all other options run out, and not something that could be regularly repeated.
That's exactly what Light had in mind.
He saw the revolving spotlight expand its orbit and get closer and closer to the pitch-black ship.
The viridescent circle of light was over a hundred meters wide.
It was impossible to escape its chase with just paddling alone, and the winds weren't in their favour, so sailing wasn't a great option.
So he was left with a last resort. A contingency plan he wouldn't use unless absolutely necessary.
Gritting his teeth, he readied himself for the next step he had to take… and decided to load the two cannons.
His two cannons could move a bit up and down, and a bit to the sides, but they couldn't turn or be repositioned—they were drilled into the deck itself. If that hadn't been done, they would've been flung off the ship when they were circling the whirlpool.
And he had opted for the two smaller cannons instead of a single big one, so he had to do the chore of loading them twice. And so he did.
Scarn had taught him a few ways to load a cannon, and he had to choose the best one.
The first was manually throwing in the gunpowder alongside the cannonballs deep within the cannon barrel, using a tool to properly adjust the powder and the ball to fit deep within the barrel and then connecting it with a fuse through the vent hole which is at the butt of the barrel.
Light didn't like this method because it was too complicated and took too much time. The only reason it was used by anyone was because the fuse would take a while to ignite the gunpowder, giving the artillerymen time to create distance between themself and the cannon, making it the safest method.
But Light didn't have the luxury of time, so he obviously didn't choose this method.
The second method was similar to the first. In it, gunpowder is manually placed, then punched in with a tool to properly fit the barrel, and the cannonball is added. But the difference in this method from the previous one is that instead of using a fuse, the vent hole itself is filled with gunpowder to cause a chain reaction that reaches the depth of the barrel.
This method was faster, but Light didn't choose this either because it exposed the gunpowder outside of the barrel, meaning it was possible for it to get soaked in water. This wouldn't be a problem on a big ship where there's a considerable separation from the ocean surface in height. But on a small ship, such as theirs, the vent holes could get waterlogged.
So finally, Light chose the best method Scarn knew and went with it while creating his plan.
Removing the approaching spotlight of death and all other distractions from his mind, he got to work.
First, he bent down and pushed the two cannons with all his might to angle them towards the pirate ship's general direction.
Then he stepped back and dropped his hand inside a box beside him. He picked out two cloth pouches from it and walked forward to throw them deep into the two giant cannons' barrels.
Then he picked up two cannonballs from the same box and dropped them into the same two cannons' barrels.
Afterwards, he took out a special tool that was hidden between the two cannons.
It was a stick with a long, needle-like pin attached to its end at a quarter turn.
He picked it up and stepped back some more, then brought the needle stick to the top of the right cannon's butt, right above the vent hole.
After that, he promptly brought the needle down. The needle went through the vent hole and pierced the cloth pouch that lay within the barrel.
Light rotated the back end of the stick, which caused a mechanical reaction to occur and transfer to the long needle pin at the other end.
The reaction caused the needle to sparkle like a lighter.
The sparks were thrown down through the vent hole and beyond the puncture in the cloth pouch created by the needle.
That pouch was filled with gunpowder.
As soon as the spark travelled through the hole poked by the needle and ignited the gunpowder within…
Boom!
A blast resounded on the deck of the ship, propelling the cannonball forward out of the cannon's barrel.
The fuming metal ball careened through the air, following the shockwave created by the explosion.
It was targeted at the infamous pirate ship, Mother of Blood, and Light had somehow gained great precision in his new life.
So he did not miss.
The cannonball struck the once-great ship and tore through its burning carcass.
Even after crashing through burning wood, the ball refused to slow down and kissed one of the pirate's skulls.
It was a mind-blowing experience for him!
His blood and brain matter splattered all over, mottling the faces of his comrades who stood beside him in red.
But no one turned their heads to look at the falling body of their dead crewmate.
Because they were too focused on looking forward—at the pitch black enemy ship that… that… jumped back?
"What the…" The pirates spoke out in unison.
Something beyond perceived logic had happened on the aqua battlefield.
…
As the right cannon had fired, Light used the left cannon as cover and held onto it. He did this to avoid getting slammed by the shockwave and to protect himself from embers.
But there was another reason.
Usually, cannons were attached with wheels so that each time they were fired, the recoil would just make them roll back instead of transferring all that recoil force into the ship itself.
But Light intentionally opted not to do that. Instead of using wheels on his cannons, he drilled them right into the deck so that all their explosive force would be transferred directly to the ship.
Which would lead to the ship being knocked back at astonishing speed and… sail backwards.
He used the explosive power to kill two birds with one cannonball.
The cannonball itself hit the pirates while the recoil from the explosion within the barrel transferred onto the pitch black ship through the drilled screws—propelling it backwards at great speeds.
This was usually not possible with big ships, because the cannon simply didn't have enough power to make any meaningful effect on a giant ship's movement. But a small ship like the one the duo of marines had used? Yes, it would be affected by the recoil of a cannon.
And with the ability to sail the ship in reverse, escape didn't just become possible—it became the likely scenario.
Because ships didn't usually have a reverse gear.
And it was not possible for the burning Mother of Blood to turn around and follow the reversing pitch-black ship.
Even in its prime, the ship was too big to simply turn around efficiently. But now, almost a third of its rear had turned into a burning carcass of its previous state, making even the small possibility of turning around negligible.
So as long as Light kept firing the cannonballs and steered away from the Mother of Blood… escape was inevitable.
But there was a catch.
This move was not a part of the ideal plan, but rather a contingency.
Because it had dire cons to back up its pros.
Even if the ship was able to escape, the escape wouldn't be worth much if its passengers were dead…
Light gritted his teeth, knowing full well the consequence of using his hidden card.
The explosive power of the cannon did benefit them by knocking the small pitch-black ship back dozens of meters in mere moments, allowing the duo of marines to escape the green spotlight's range.
But at the same time, the pirate crew who stood on the edge of the burning Mother of Blood with their guns loaded also benefited from this.
Because the loud bang and blinding flash from the cannon's explosion revealed the pitch-black ship's once-hidden location…
The pirates had just lost a member of their crew to the cannonball.
The headless, bleeding corpse fell forward and dissolved into the black sea. But no one paid attention to it.
Because the eyes of every pirate were red with murderous fury…
…Looking exactly at the pitch-black ship with their guns in hand.
…