The Master of Language - T.M.L Chapter 20 (Part 2):

As we stood on the deck at the bow of the ship, the sound of waves rolled in from the pitch-black distance.

Soon after, sounds of preparation for departure could be heard from various places.

The sound of footsteps on the deck. The sound of raising the anchor. The sound of checking ropes. The sound of sharpening swords.

The pirates were doing all of this without a single light.

Count Furst spoke in a low voice.

“Ran. Can you perhaps see? With a mage’s eyes?”

I shook my head.

“I’m still an apprentice, so my senses are the same as before.”

“Hmm. I see.”

Is he worried?

Well, I guess he would be worried, being alone in enemy territory.

He was still fiddling with his necklace.

“Is that necklace precious to you?”

Count Furst suddenly startled and looked down at me.

This is a first.

Such an intense reaction from the Count.

He quickly took his hand off the necklace and then looked down at his hand.

“……”

Seeing him say nothing, he’s clearly flustered. As if he made a big mistake.

Strangely, I felt a bit better. The Count is human too.

“I can just pretend I didn’t notice, right?”

The Count said nothing.

I put my hand in my pocket. And took out the remaining water herb. As I put it in my mouth to chew, the Count looked around cautiously.

Then, judging that no one was around, he opened his mouth.

“It’s a treasure.”

Is he going to tell me?

I asked back.

“A treasure?”

Count Furst nodded and muttered,

“It contains powerful magic. It will provide a way out.”

Judging by him saying it will provide a way out, it must be a defensive treasure.

“Ah. Is that why you came out personally?”

“Yes.”

The Count had said he didn’t need to win this battle.

Anyone could easily understand that if the pirates and Franche soldiers clash and both suffer damage, it would be a great benefit to the New Continent Company.

The problem is that the pirates know this too. That’s why the Count threw himself in to gain their trust.

But if there’s a treasure with powerful magic?

The Count’s plan is simple.

He’ll pit them against each other and then slip away.

“Then what about me and Oshalo?”

“This is a family heirloom passed down through generations. Although Oshalo is quite large, it should be able to handle the three of us sufficiently.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s why I have a request. You must always stay by my side. When you’re away from me, I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And one more thing.”

“Yes.”

“The reason I told you all of this is because I want you to understand exactly that we don’t need to win this battle. In other words, you just need to prevent one side from losing overwhelmingly.”

“I understand what you mean. With my current level, I can’t do things like sink ships anyway.”

“Right. I see you understand.”

Count Furst took a deep breath of the cold night air and exhaled.

Time passed.

When the scouting boat returned, the ships set sail. Our ship took the lead, with the others following in a V formation behind us.

Soon, the lights illuminating the Franche kingdom’s ship began to appear in the distance. There seemed to be about thirty torches.

Indeed, being a national-level army, their resources alone made such numbers possible.

At that moment, the captain approached and said,

“The fight will start soon. Please go inside, Count. The bow is dangerous.”

Count Furst shook his head.

“No. I can take care of myself, don’t worry. Start your work. I’ll retreat when necessary.”

At those words, the captain licked his lips once and said,

“As you wish.”

The captain raised his hand high. Suddenly, the ship accelerated, and I almost lost my balance.

A pirate ship this agile?

It’s beyond my understanding as someone who was once a galley slave.

“He was an officer of the now-extinct Netherite in the past. He became a pirate after losing his country to France twenty years ago.”

Count Furst answered my curiosity as if he had read my thoughts.

Well, no matter how much money you offer, what pirate would engage in battle against the army of the Franche kingdom?

“Is it revenge?”

“That’s the biggest part of it.”

He must have really racked his brains to mobilize pirates and make them clash with the Franche kingdom’s army.

But then, from one of the Franche kingdom’s ships, something like finely glowing red powder appeared and started rising into the sky.

I could clearly feel the energy of magic.

Count Furst must have seen it too, as he said to me,

“Ran. You get ready too.”

“Ah, yes.”

Alright.

I held my staff in my right hand. And summoned my magic book.

When I tapped the magic book with my staff, transparent pages flipped rapidly.

Then the page with water magic was opened.

I closed my eyes and focused on the magic book. The spells written there began to appear in my mind.

The effect of eating the water herbs is definitely there, as I can feel the energy of water much better.

That’s when it happened.

Pop pop pop-!

The red powder that had risen into the sky burst out in all directions, emitting an incredibly bright light. It was bright enough to temporarily push back the darkness of the night, comparable to the sun for that moment.

The light lasted for about 5 seconds before disappearing.

Wow. So fire magic can be used like that too. It feels like I’m stepping out of the box of common sense.

Looking at it, the principle seems quite simple. Why didn’t I think of it before?

“Damn it! We’ve been spotted from afar! Full speed ahead! If you don’t want to get hit by cannons, move it!”

As the captain shouted loudly, the ship’s speed increased even more.

The distant lights grew, illuminating the sea. Surprisingly, there was only one Franche warship. Dozens of black silhouettes moved busily on its deck.

Is close combat the only answer?

As I narrowed my eyes, I could see red lights rising into the sky again.

Are they trying to gauge the distance between us with the same magic as before to illuminate the surroundings?

And then they’ll fire the cannons.

I started reading the necessary parts of the water magic spells written in the magic book.

The minimum spell needed to counter the light-emitting fire magic.

That’s it.

Just as the red light was about to gather and emit light again, I extended my staff forward.

Then, the energy of water gathered in that part of the sky, forming humid air.

Pop.

The fire magic emitted light for a moment. But literally just for a moment. And the intensity of that light was incomparably weaker than before.

“Well done, Ran.”

Count Furst muttered that and looked at the captain. Relief appeared on the captain’s face as he looked back at the Count.

You should have trusted me from the start.

But just because I blocked the fire magic doesn’t mean I can block the cannons too.

Bang-!

Bang bang-!

Intense flashes of light and noise spread out from countless gun ports in succession.

“Are they firing randomly? Unless they have an inexhaustible supply of cannonballs.”

The captain raised his hand.

The ship suddenly began to slow down.

Dangun

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