Elemental Cats

Unlike most of the other things the cats had done during their short trip around the city, their attack on the Blue Lounge pirates actually had justification. The cats had coincidentally encountered the pirates while looking for Toz. At first, they didn't plan on doing anything toward them since they wanted to find Toz and convince him to stay longer in Pirate Haven.

However, that was before they overheard the pirates' plan to sneak attack the Bunglehoppers' base while one of their strongest fighters was away. The Blue Lounge pirates weren't aiming to kill any of the Bunglehoppers. They just wanted to get a feel for the captain's actual strength and possibly destroy some things in the process. With Hayar temporarily away, they were confident in being able to escape and relay the information back to the council that controlled the Blue Lounge League.

The pirates' plan wasn't bad per se. It was just horrendously executed. They were too slow, they were unfortunate enough to run into the cats, and they overestimated their capabilities. Even if the Blue Lounge pirates arrived before Hayar returned with Toz and Stitches, they still wouldn't have been able to escape from Wulf, Frank, and Vaner. Though even that would be information about how strong the Bunglehoppers were, so maybe that was part of the council's calculations.

Toz had intentionally asked the cats so that Wulf could hear why the Blue Lounge pirates were coming toward them. He hoped that it would alleviate some of the bad feelings that might have arisen when he stopped the pirates from interfering with the cats teaching Vaner a lesson.

Toz saw Wulf's eyes grow chilly as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. Wulf and Hayar exchanged a look.

"The timing seems like something Retsy would pull."

"I always tell you we can't trust sneaky bastards like them."

Wulf looked thoughtfully at Hayar. He knew her personality better than anyone else. He had also interacted with Retsy a fair bit.

"You should thank Retsy if you ask me."

Wulf and Hayar looked at Toz with confused expressions. Retsy had sent them a group of annoying flies, and although they hadn't had to deal with them, it was still bothersome. And Toz wanted them to thank Retsy?

"It might seem like Retsy gave the Blue Lounge pirates some information because they were petty about how Hayar acted. But remove that from the equation, and you get an unprovoked attack from the Blue Lounge League of Pirates."

Since the two pirates still seemed confused about what Toz was getting at, he had to explain it even more clearly.

"I'm talking about revenge. You are obviously not afraid of the Blue Lounge, but they are wary of your strength, which means they don't think they can take you on without significant loss. This moment right now is a perfect opportunity to make the Blue Lounge Pirates back off."

The faces of Wulf and Hayar brightened as if someone had turned on a light inside their heads. Wulf responded as he realized what Toz was saying.

"If we act quick enough, they won't have time to figure out their subordinates are dead already."

"Exactly."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's go spill some of the Blue bastards' red blood!"

Hayar got alarmingly fired up since she realized they were about to engage in a bloody fight with people constantly being annoying.

Wulf looked at Toz.

"Are you going to join us?"

"Of course. The cats landed the first blow. It's only natural I help them strike the last one as well."

Although Toz didn't say it, beating up one of the big three pirate crews would also be a great start for his future coronation as Pirate King. The ensuing battle for power would open up a gap in the city's power structure, allowing Toz to climb to the top of the city and reign as Pirate King.

Since they had to move fast before information regarding the Blue Lounge pirates' defeat spread to the Blue Lounge League of Pirates, they didn't have time to come up with any plans or anything. However, Toz was pretty sure that sticking to a plan would only limit what he and the cats were capable of doing, especially if the plan would have required precise coordination with the Bunglehoppers.

Toz's thoughts were confirmed when the cats got too excited to calmly listen to what they were going to do as soon as they heard they were attacking one of the big three.

The Bunglehoppers were already prepared for battle thanks to Frank's warning about intruders, so they were ready to go to the Blue Lounge League of Pirates' headquarters.

As the biggest pirate crew within Pirate Haven, the Blue Lounge had several bases spread out all over the city. But if Toz and the Bunglehoppers wanted to really deal some damage to their crew, they would have to target their main base of operations, where the council and its members were.

After confirming everyone's participation and readiness, they headed to the Blue Lounge, one of the three living complexes in the upper tier of the city.

Since Toz and the cats were new to the city, the Bunglehoppers led the way, despite being slower.

Lucy couldn't contain his excitement and ran ahead a couple of times, but he took a wrong turn each time and had to follow the Bunglehoppers' lead. Thankfully, they didn't have to run far since the Bunglehoppers' base was on the border to the upper tier.

Soon enough, they arrived in front of the Blue Lounge.

It was obvious, even from a distance, that the Blue Lounge base was far more luxurious and extravagant than the Bunglehoppers' base. Toz couldn't tell if it was because it was located on the city's upper tier or if it was due to the different natures of the two pirate crews.

The Blue Lounge needed to be large to accommodate all the pirates in the crew, but the Blue Lounge League also had bases in other places of the city where the pirates lived.

Toz was beginning to think he had underestimated the size of the biggest of the big three pirate crews when he stood in front of the array of enough houses to make a village.