Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 85 (Part 2)
The pirates weren’t concerned about the approaching Capleton, focusing entirely on their original target, the merchant ship.
With the strength of five ships, the pirates had enough power to easily plunder two or three merchant ships. Perhaps that’s why they viewed the arrival of a new ship as just another opportunity.
“Block them!”
“Haa!”
“Take them out from the left!”
The Capleton drew closer to the merchant ship in the midst of the battle. As they neared, the sounds of the fight began to drift across the sea breeze.
Thud! Creak!
The Capleton finally collided with one of the pirate ships surrounding the merchant vessel. There was a slight tremor, but the ship continued pushing forward without stopping.
Boom!
With another impact, they finally reached the merchant ship, where the battle was raging.
“Set the bridge!”
“Get the bridge over! Quickly! Quickly!”
Though the sailors moved swiftly, the three 5th-tier knights—Darren, Jefferson, and Sylvia—were even faster.
Before the bridge was fully secured, they had already leaped over the railing and onto the enemy ship.
From that point on, it was a massacre. For the pirates, facing 5th-tier knights was akin to a natural disaster.
Each swing of Jefferson’s sword claimed a life. No matter how many attacked, they couldn’t break through Darren’s defenses. Sylvia darted around the outskirts, swiftly cutting down any pirate in her path.
“They’re amazing.”
“Have you seen them fight often, Captain?”
“No. This is actually my first time meeting them on this voyage. They’re honored guests of the Hedges Trading guild. They rarely leave the guild unless it’s something important.”
The battle was quickly reaching its conclusion. The pirates were no match for the 5th-tier knights and crumbled under their onslaught.
Sensing defeat, one of the pirate ships began to discreetly pull back, abandoning their comrades.
Once one ship moved, the others followed suit, retracting their bridges and distancing themselves.
That’s when Jefferson, the lightest on his feet, leaped across the deck. He nimbly soared over the sea and landed on one of the fleeing pirate ships.
Sylvia quickly followed, her movements on the deck light and swift.
With the two of them gone, only Darren remained on the original battlefield. Facing him were about twenty pirates, but they didn’t stand a chance. Darren cut them down effortlessly.
“They’re not taking any prisoners, are they?”
“No. The Kingdom of Tebia, where we’re headed, doesn’t offer any bounties for pirates. There’s no reward for capturing them, so they’re just dead weight.”
“Is that so? Is there a particular reason for that?”
“Apparently, the Kingdom of Tebia was founded by an old pirate king several centuries ago. There are rumors that they still have ties with the pirates, though they deny it.”
Rodin’s thoughts of settling in the Kingdom of Tebia vanished. Pirates and bandits were the same in his mind. He didn’t want to raise his siblings in a place like that.
“Should I lend a hand?”
“How would you help?”
“I could help Darren get to the other ships.”
By now, the battle aboard the merchant ship had ended. The sailors were stripping the dead pirates of their weapons and tossing their bodies into the sea.
“That would be appreciated.”
“Alright then.”
Rodin cast the Fly spell on Darren. His body slowly lifted off the ground.
Though the movement wasn’t very smooth, as it was a continuous spell performed by a 5th-circle magician, it was enough to transport Darren to the other ship.
Once there, Darren resumed the slaughter. In the meantime, the one pirate ship that had escaped was now far off in the distance.
‘Should I finish them off?’
Rodin quickly dismissed the thought.
This wasn’t his fight, and there was no point in getting more involved than necessary.
“Prepare the ballista!”
“Yes, sir.”
Rodin didn’t need to do anything. Captain Krondel’s Capleton was equipped with two ship ballistae, one at the front and one at the rear.
The ballistae were aimed at the fleeing pirate ship. The massive bolts were already loaded and ready.
“Fire!”
Thwack! Crash!
Two bolts shot simultaneously, piercing the side of the pirate ship with a loud crash. The hull was torn open, and the ship began to list heavily.
As one side dipped into the water, the opposite side rose into the air, causing the ship to halt its movement.
“Prepare to fire again!”
“Ready!”
“Fire!”
Thwack! Crash!
With just two shots, the ballistae had turned two pirate ships into wrecks. The ships, relying on oars, no longer had the capacity to move.
One ship was now so tilted forward that water was pouring in. It was damaged beyond repair and would never return to normal.
The other had keeled over, leaving its right oars suspended in the air. The pirates could only row with the left oars, causing the ship to spin in place.
“They’re strong.”
“There are a lot of pirates between the two continents. To safely navigate these waters, ship ballistae are essential.”
“That merchant ship didn’t seem to have any.”
“It’s greed. Ships often neglect their weapons to carry more cargo, but that’s what gets them plundered by pirates.”
Rodin had seen ship ballistae before on his travels. Even without the bolts, each one was heavy enough to weigh as much as five or six people.
And there were two of them aboard the Capleton.
When you added the weight of the bolts, it was comparable to carrying at least twenty passengers. The Capleton had sacrificed that much cargo space for weaponry.
“By the way, what’s the best way to reach Richmond Marquisate?”
“You can either disembark at Harson and travel by land, or you can take a ship from Harson to the Maines port in the Kingdom of Lennox and then continue by land. Personally, I recommend traveling by land.”
Harson was the port city of the Kingdom of Tebia, the Capleton’s destination. It would take about twenty days to reach there, and it was the closest port on the central continent to the western continent.
“By land, huh… I’ll have to get a carriage.”
“Harson is quite a bustling place. It’s not as big as Maines, but it’s one of the top five port cities in the central continent. You’ll have no trouble finding horses or a carriage.”
“What about Richmond Marquisate?”
“It’s inland… There are some small lakes and rivers, but compared to a port city, it’s nothing. Still, it’s a thriving commercial city where many land routes cross. You’ll find everything you need.”
Even if it wasn’t as bustling as a port city, as long as it had what he needed, Rodin had no complaints.
Moreover, being inland meant less interaction with people from the western continent. That alone was a satisfying prospect.