Chapter 241
Chapter 241: Pirates (Part 2)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Friends? Daniel did not quite understand how a mage could be friends with warriors.
“Daniel, go and do your work, Saleen still has important matters to tend to.” Seeing that Daniel was distracted, Lex thus reminded him that he still had unfinished work to do. Daniel nodded in despondence. He could only command his contract creature to use its long horns to lift the turtle shell up so that he could slowly construct the alchemy magic array.
This method of production was extremely crude. If one really wanted to build a magic ship, they would require a huge factory, a huge dock, and hundreds of mages and disciples. Furthermore, a sorcerer would be needed to lead the operations of the core array.
Just as Lex was fretting over how to combine the magic streaks on the turtle shell with her own alchemical machine, a sound from a metal whistle sounded in the far distance.
“Someone has just arrived on this island. Daniel, go and take a look.” Lex immediately stopped her work and crawled out the turtle shell. Then, she cast a Flying spell and flew into midair. She landed on top of the magic tower and concealed her stature. Casting magic from such a high angle was the best position a mage could have.
Daniel held onto the pikoosi’s horn for support, then he stood on top of its head and began walking towards the shore.
On the shore of the ghost fog island, a wooden ship about forty meters in length had dropped its anchor, and several smaller boats had been deployed by that ship. Fearsome-looking men sat on these small boats. They were clad in leather armor and wielded sharp blades. They shouted at one another, but did so using Myers language.
“One-eyed, row faster! Didn’t you eat?! What sort of island is this? We have been navigating this route for several years already but have never discovered it. All of you better be alert. This island might have some treasure.”
This shouting man wielded a large blade which had a hollow body, so its weight was significantly reduced. He had a curved, thick, and yellow mustache. The larger boat behind him had lowered its sails, but the flag with a skeleton on it had not been removed. In the seas surrounding the Myers Mainland, such a flag was representative of their identities – pirates.
There were many types of pirates. Pirates like these who would bravely put their flags out did not necessarily kill everyone. After robbing a cargo ship, they would sometimes ask for a ransom before returning the ship to its owner. The scariest pirates were the ones who pretended to be merchant shippers. At sea, such pirates would leave no survivors. After looting all of the goods, they would sink the ship. The crew would be trapped in the cabin underneath, so no one could escape.
This pirate ship was forty meters long. At the bow, there was a giant crossbow, while at the stern, there was stone artillery. Most merchant ships would not try to escape when they met such a pirate ship.
The three small boats carried over twenty pirates. All of them looked menacing as they approached the shore.
Before they could dock the boats by the shore, giant footsteps could be heard coming from the depths of the island. A three-headed monster charged towards the shore, stunning those pirates.
“Release the arrows! Quickly, release the arrows!” The yellow mustache pirate was the first one to react, but there was no way the people on the larger boat could hear his cries.
Daniel stood on the pikoosi’s head. He scanned the surroundings using his eyes and noticed the three boats trying to turn around and escape. The green death flames behind him began expanding, and a tinge of them seeped into the pikoosi’s head.
The pikoosi’s two heads to the side suddenly opened their mouths and said, “All of you stop, right there!”
This thunderous voice spread outwards, causing the pirates on the three boats to flee even faster. They rowed wildly since they were afraid of being devoured by that speaking monster.
Pirates were also afraid of death. Since there were no mages on the boat, those people would not have the courage to face a three-headed monster.
Daniel was stunned for a moment. Then, he raised his head and noticed that the sailors on the larger ship had reacted as they had begun raising the sails, trying to flee.
Daniel bent down and patted the pikoosi’s head. On the pikoosi’s right head, a grey light was emitted between its horns. The area between the horns vibrated endlessly as a magic rune with a diameter of over one meter was formed.
The pirate ship had stopped hundreds of meters away and had not docked at the shore because it was afraid of rocks. Since Daniel could not attack that far away with his magic, he needed to borrow the power of his death creature.
The pikoosi lowered its head and gave out a low roar. The magic symbols formed between its horns rotated furiously, and then a colossal grey magic bomb was released.
This grey magic bomb glided over the surface of the ocean and managed to hit the main mast of the pirate ship.
The main mast, with a width of about two people, suddenly broke from the middle. At the area where the mast had broken, there was a layer of grey dust, as though the mast had decayed after being on the ship for thousands of years.
The pirates on the smaller boats were at a loss for what to do. They could not get close to the shore and they could not flee either. That three-headed beast could attack from hundreds of meters away. It was truly petrifying.
Those pirates had seen magic beasts before. However, most sea magic beasts preferred to use melee attacks, and rarely released magic. A single magic bomb from that three-headed beast had destroyed the boat’s mast, causing the pirates to be in utter panic, and they were about to jump into the sea to escape.
“All of you, stay where you are. Otherwise, I will be attacking the hull next.” Daniel controlled the pikoosi, and his voice was like thunder as it spread across the ocean.
Lex heard Daniel’s voice from the magic tower. She shook her head and descended. At a window on the sixth story, Lex stopped for a moment as she noticed that Saleen was not there.
“Nailisi, where is Saleen?” Lex called out.
Nailisi popped her head out from the window, and told Lex, “He said he was going to capture the pirates.”
Pirates? Lex was suspicious. Saleen had not shown any signs that he had left the magic tower, so how did he know that those people were pirates? Furthermore, Lex herself had been in the tower all along, so how had Saleen gotten out?
Saleen’s body was enveloped by dense mist, as though he were engulfed by a dark cloud. The airstream formed by the water elements was far more stable than the Flying spell. Saleen rushed towards the sea, since that sound of the metal whistle was a signal that pirates were lowering their sails. If there were pirates, then there had to be boats. If they had not been so desperate, Saleen would not have wanted to travel in an alchemical boat made from a turtle shell.
The alchemical boat would surely be very unrefined, and it was bound to have many errors. If Saleen was trapped inside, he would also drown even if he possessed very powerful abilities. No matter how old a pirate ship was, its ability to resist the winds and waves would still be fairly good. As long as Saleen could seize this pirate ship, then Lex could stop production of the alchemical boat for now.
Saleen was only afraid that his actions had been too slow. The death magic from the pikoosi was no joke. If it made an accurate hit, then the pirate ship would sink.
“Stop!” Saleen flew to the shore and bellowed at Daniel. Saleen’s voice was projected for a great distance, and the pirates really stopped in their tracks. They saw a massive dark cloud flying towards them, and a deafening roar came from that dark cloud.
Grand mage…
“Who is the captain?!” Saleen’s voice spread across the surface of the ocean. Even the sound of crashing waves could not overwhelm his words.
“That’s me.” At the bow of the pirate ship, a stout pirate whose face was filled with scars stood out. He was clad in magic leather armor and did not wield any weapons, but Saleen could see a short blade hidden behind him.
“Excellent.” Saleen raised his hand, and a ray of white light shot out from the dark cloud, accurately hitting the pirate’s chest. An ice arrow had penetrated the pirate’s heart. Before this pirate could even continue his sentence, he had already been killed by Saleen.
This pirate leader had not expected Saleen to kill him. Thus, he had not put up any resistance against Saleen’s sneak attack at all.
“So who is the captain now?” Saleen dispersed the dark cloud slowly, revealing his face to the pirates. Saleen was only flying dozens of meters in the air so he was completely within the range of the pirates’ bows, but none of the pirates dared to touch their bows and arrows.
After all, their captain had been an intermediate grade swordmaster, and yet he had been killed in a single blow by that mage.
“Answer me!” Saleen dispersed his cloud once more, and his long hair swayed in that swirling mist. His face was engulfed by the sunlight, giving off a radiant golden glow.
Saleen levitated around the ship’s bow and observed the pirates on the ship. A small and skinny pirate suddenly thought of an idea. He knelt on the deck and looked up to Saleen and said, “You, you are the captain!”
There were more than a hundred pirates on the ship. When they heard what their friend had said, they simply looked at one another. The other pirates also wanted to suck up to Saleen, but they did not know whether Saleen would be satisfied with just being the captain of the pirate ship. Perhaps that mage would view this flattery as an insult. If that was the case, then there would be trouble.
Following the dispersal of the mist, Saleen also spread his perception. He carefully surveyed the situation on the pirate ship. After making sure that the pirates did not have a mage with them, Saleen then began slowly, “Does anyone have any objections to me being the captain?”
Those pirates then understood what Saleen meant. This mage simply wanted their ship. The pirates began cursing and swearing at Saleen in their hearts. They had a wide comprehension of the different professions and knew that flying mages were definitely at least grade-6. If this mage wanted money, he could simply produce a few scrolls. He did not have to hijack this ship.
After taking everything into account, this ship will only be worth around ten thousand gold coins. Is this mage crazy?
“Very good. Since I am the captain, then obey my commands and dock this ship at the shore.” After saying his piece, Saleen then used the airstream created by the mist to fly back to the shore and landed next to Daniel. The pikoosi became a little annoyed, but it did not dare to harm Saleen.
Saleen secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He was still not too familiar with the mist yet, and his magic chords could not sustain long periods of flight. However, in order to terrorize those pirates, Saleen had forced himself to levitate for a while. Had he flown for just a little longer, his flaws would have been exposed. These pirates were all trained in martial arts, and they were at least beginner swordsmen. Saleen was not afraid of battling those pirates, but if all of them had died, there would be no one to steer the ship anymore.
The over one hundred pirates on the ship had been horrified by Saleen, and they did not dare to flee anymore. Saleen was a grand mage. How would a pirate swim faster than a mage could fly?
The people on the boats were the first to dock. Saleen instructed them to stand in front of the pikoosi and line up in an orderly manner. These pirates were not trained. They might have been able to fight, but the way they assembled themselves was utterly messy. Furthermore, the three heads of the pikoosi were still grinding their teeth while staring at them, causing their legs to tremble in fear. Those pirates who were able to stand firmly could already be considered the better ones.
“I need a chief officer, and that would be you. What’s your name?” Saleen pointed to the first person, a pirate with a yellow mustache, who had come up onto the shore. This pirate was still shaken, but when he heard Saleen’s words, he became more at ease. Saleen was not planning on killing them. It was simply good that pirates could simply follow whoever they needed to.
No one had ever heard of a mage being the captain of a band of pirates. Perhaps, these pirates could still make a fortune by following this young mage.