Dawn of Battle
“Young master! We’ve received word that those Barbarians at Pirates’ Cove are acting strangely!” It was very unlikely for such a large-scale shift in manpower to be hidden from other organisations. William got a report quite quickly.
“The Barbarians? Get me a map of the sea!” William put down the copper telescope. The feeling of possessing so much power left him in a marvellous mood.
Under him was a huge three-masted ship that was over 300m long, able to displace 500 metric tons of water when sailing. The terrifying battleship, its deck and hull coated in magic armour, was a symbol of invincibility and tyranny in the outer seas.
A flag with a sinister black skull on it flapped around in the wind, the mark of the Black Skeletons. This was one of the three great pirate crews of the outer seas of Dambrath, with over 300 elites and ten large battleships. Their flagship had been remodelled with magic!
At this moment, a young pirate walked over, opening up an intricate map next to William.
“You’ve worked hard, Captain Crowe!” William nodded politely.
Captain Crowe had translucent fair skin and a tall forehead, the bridge of his nose long and straight as a snowy mountain. His eyes were long and narrow, as were his proportionate eyebrows, and he had a delicate yet seductive aura.
However, William did not dare underestimate him. Crowe was a high-ranked Professional exceeding rank 15, his outer appearance only the effect of his bloodline.
Indeed, this was someone with a bloodline. His powers stemmed not only from his Profession, but also his innate constitution. The power he inherited from his bloodline allowed him to possess greater vitality than the average human, and the bloodline itself would awaken spell-like abilities as he grew.
However, bloodlines had limitations as well. He could only cast from a limited pool of spells, and there was a limit to the number of uses.
However, even the simplest rank 0 spell was useful for high-ranked warriors. On top of that, his bloodline allowed him to cast spells so quickly that defending against them was pointless.
It caused many to describe bloodline holders as lucky people who possessed gifts from their ancestors. Crowe himself had a high grade of bloodline ,but he was also a knight that was over rank 15. Still, the influence of his ancestor’s bloodline naturally lent to a savagery and violence that was in his very genes. He was like a devil king in the outer seas.
However, the Black Skeletons were subservient to Marquis Louis, and Crowe had a great attitude towards William. It could have to do with the high-ranking wizard by his side.
While similarly ranked as Professionals, a wizard far exceeded knights and bloodline holders in power. Perhaps, given time to prepare, a high-ranked wizard could contend against several enemies of their rank.
As a nobility of the seas, William knew these basic things well. After using a vernier caliper and making marks, he stowed the map away. “They set off from Pirates’ Cove just yesterday. Based on the distance, it’ll take them at least two days to reach the battlefield. We should be able to exterminate the Scarlet Tigers in that time…”
“When the time comes, please leave the Scarlet Witch to me!” Crowe bowed elegantly, seeming like a refined noble. It was impossible to connect him to piracy on the seas.
“No problem!” William frowned, but quickly smoothed out his expression. He stood on deck, watching the over 30 battleships behind him, “Send down the command that we are to increase our speed, we should strive to annihilate the Scarlet Tigers within a day!”
The flag bearer immediately got up to the observation deck and sent down the order. The vessels sped up, creating a spectacular sight. Most of the ships belonged to the Black Skeletons, and only a few were marked with the symbol of the Tigershark Pirates.
However, William would not underestimate them because of that, There were many white lines next to the fleet, the dorsal fins of many tigersharks. They looked like innumerable fish scales that emitted a dark luster in the sunlight.
This was a group of tamed tigersharks, the main force of the Tigershark Pirates! A formation of them spelled disaster in the deep seas, easily able to flip ships over and rip the flesh off their enemies from the waters.
“Keke… seems like Citamo’s little darlings are already impatient, or am I wrong?” Crowe coquettishly greeted a sharkman behind him.
“I want to rip off every bone of the body of that Leylin, inch by inch. I’ll then let my children share every drop of flesh and blood on his body…” Citamo was a hybrid between a shark and a human. His outer skin was like the solid cartilage of a shark, and his smile revealed a row of sawtooth-like teeth. The corners of his lips extended all the way to his ears.
Such a huge mouth could easily swallow a full-grown man.
William gulped, “It’s rumoured that the Tigershark Pirates and Merfolk Pirates have connections. After the Merfolk Pirates were annihilated, Citamo even tried to cause trouble for the Scarlet Tigers, but the opponent fled…”
“The captain of the Merfolk Pirates was a bastard of yours, no? Don’t worry, the enemy won’t be able to run!” Crowe’s eyes had a bloody glint in them as he ruthlessly revealed the secret.
“Crowe! Once the battle’s over, I’ll wring your head off!” Citamo widened his mouth, revealing a terrifying tongue with sharp barbed tips on them, “I’ve long since wanted to taste a bloodline holder…”
“Enough!” An aged voice sounded just as William furrowed his brows and was about to stop the fight. Boruj slowly strolled to the deck, leaning on a slender magic staff.
While he looked like a shrivelled old man who already had a foot in the coffin, and there was only a little bit of light in his eyes, Crowe and Citamo both did not dare underestimate him. This was a high-ranked wizard, a spellcaster who possessed immense strength! No matter where he went, he would be greeted with reverence.
“Master Boruj, you’re just in time!” With Boruj’s arrival, William was more confident.
“I hope you can use Sending to inform the naval commander that he doesn’t need to come over here. He’ll just have to carry on stalling that trash at Pirates’ Cove for a while…” William’s eyes now held rays of wisdom, “Though they definitely won’t be able to make it to the battle, I still feel uneasy…”
Sending was only a communication spell that high-ranked wizards used. The distance it allowed and its convenience far surpassed old methods. Of course, Leylin was still unable to use this as he was still too low-ranked.
“Don’t worry,” Boruj looked hard at the two pirate captains and headed back to the hold of the ship.
“I still have some thoughts on the upcoming massacre, I invite the two of you to discuss this together…” As if not seeing the dark look in their eyes, William put on his sincerest smile and called for Crowe and Citamo.
……
As they were planning for the battle, Leylin’s various channels gave him an unceasing stream of intel.
“Mm. William’s main force is two large pirate groups. He’s protected by the high-ranked wizard, Boruj, and they’ve already reached the Strait of Storms?” Leylin looked at the gigantic map on the wall and stuck a few flags on it.
“Yes. Marquis Louis’ slaving fleet has already shifted towards the Hygar Islands, blocking the path that the Barbarians are sure to pass by. It’ll take a long time for victory to be decided between them…”
Only Isabel and Ronald were beside Leylin, even Karen had been sent out. Evidently, this was a military meet for those of high rank..
“Good. As we expected, they sent out their last resort…” Leylin clapped his hands, “Is that stuff prepared yet?”
“We’ve already made contact with the people there. They delivered all the goods right away once we paid them their gold. We’re currently storing it here…” Ronald’s voice trembled slightly as he said this. While he had talent as a commander, he was still shocked by Leylin’s risky actions.
“Act based on the plan. Remember to keep it a secret! Let’s go out and see the leader of the other pirates…” Leylin clapped his hands and decided the fate of many people, and then walked out as if it was nothing at all.
“With a wave of his hand, he can take the lives of tens of thousands at one go and even show no remorse. Is this the way the truly powerful behave?” Ronald muttered to himself as he followed Leylin.
Lights illuminated the hall atop the Scarlet Tiger. Numerous pirate leaders stood at the two sides of the long table, with the elites and trusted aides behind them.
“Boss!” Boss!” After having brought Isabel and Ronald inside, Leylin occupied the host’s seat as he took a quick look around. The Scarlet Tigers had grown to over 500 men strong in the past year, even if they didn’t have many elites. Many familiar and unfamiliar faces appeared in front of him.
“I’ve gathered you here today because we are going to deal with the Black Skeletons and Tigershark Pirates!” Leylin’s voice was low as he announced his objective.
The moment the words came out, there was a slight commotion below. One-eyed Dragon, Hawk, and the rest that Leylin was more familiar with merely whispered, while the rest of the pirates grew noisy.