Chapter 183: The Burning Morbihan Port

The five-kilometer journey took only a moment. After the pirate ship used its oars and the side wind to reach a speed of ten knots, the distance between the two sides closed to a range visible to the naked eye in less than two small hourglasses. The fog created by the mages was their best cover. This one-way concealment spell effectively reduced the chances of the Port Guard discovering the pirates, but it had no effect on the pirates themselves.

Who knew how the pirates had contacted this group of mages? Of course, this might be another proxy war.

“Come on, eat this rich feast, the fat quails of Morbihan Port!” “Redhead” Ichabod muttered in his heart while staring sharply at the three-masted giant ship not far away.

“The captain is about four cables away!” The crow on the crow’s nest began to chatter again. A distance of four cables should be outside the enemy’s range.

“Captain?” Lein’s eyes looked a bit blank. He avoided the gaze of the others on the ship and turned his head to whisper. “Shouldn’t we slow down a bit? We don’t need to sell our lives for those bastards! We can just pretend to fight. The job of leading the charge should be…”

‘Cowardly kid!’ Ichabod judged him with disdain. Most smart guys were like this; they dared not gamble their lives. Of course, this was also the main reason Ichabod chose him as the first mate. No one would worry about a coward rebelling.

“Charge!” A passionate tone rang out. Ichabod raised his whip and pointed at the big ship. “The real elites are with Lord Cliff, who has the ‘Ocean Black Hole’. The tough guys in the City Guard are surely being handled by the big shots, haha!”

The liaison officer’s face began to turn sour, but the sailors’ fighting did not depend on her. Ichabod felt he did not need to care about the thoughts of a mere messenger. The critical moment had arrived. As a pirate captain, he must stir up the greed and courage of this band of robbers under him!

“…And what we are facing is just a group of hermit crabs playing with mud by the harbor!” Ichabod stomped on the deck, letting the dull sound emphasize his words. “These cowardly multi-legged turtles always hide under the Gray Castle. To be honest, I really couldn’t do anything about them in the past!”

“But now!” The emphasis rose like the tide, accompanied by gestures like crashing waves, constantly pushing up the sea level of the sailors’ confidence. “We now have enough hammers to pry open the shells. In a little while, this shell-less hermit crab will be in front of us, waiting to be swallowed alive!”

Ichabod clenched his fist and slammed it against the mast, shouting: “Pirates, have you sharpened your swords?”

“Of course, my great axe is already starving!” Laureta Yard shouted in a deep voice, patting the mast with the flat of her axe. “Is the big guy below hungry too?”

This last sentence immediately caused a roar of laughter from the pirates on the deck. It seemed they really liked such remarks.

“Lok-tar, ogar!” A group of more than a dozen burly Halflings, who were a head taller than most pirates, roared in unison beside him. The translated meaning was: “For victory or death!”

Alright! Although it sounded very imposing, Ichabod’s forehead began to twitch. He couldn’t help but roar in his heart, ‘We are here to rob! What victory or glory is there? Of course, we should just grab the loot and run. Although on the sea, “Redhead” Ichabod of course fears no one, and I have the ability to deal with “Ocean Black Hole” Cliff, but on land, I have no hope of competing with the Knight Kingdom of Nohan, known as the “Strongest on the Western Continent!”‘

These sailors were the capital for Ichabod to make a living on the sea. If the losses this time were too great, there would not be time to replenish them, and Ichabod’s group would be swallowed by other pirates. As for Ichabod’s fate, he would probably have to race sharks in swimming. After all, not everyone would accept an ambitious subordinate.

“Yes, they are just a big fish placed on an anvil waiting for us to slaughter!” Ichabod casually drew his blade, lightly sniffed the cold iron scent, and pointed at the target, shouting. “Slaughter them, cut them into fish fillets! Tonight, we will become the new masters of Morbihan Port!”

“I promise here…” The voice was ethereal like floating clouds in the sky, yet the pressure was like a god’s warning. “I promise that in Morbihan Port, everything you steal belongs to you, whether it is money or…”

“Women!” After a pause, a heavy hammer smashed through the sailors’ fanatical cheers.

“Ballista!” A startled cry suddenly came, and a ball of fire suddenly pierced through the fog, flashing amidst the crashing waves.

‘Have we already reached the range of the torsion ballista?’ Ichabod widened his gray-brown pupils and carefully calculated the distance.

“Tch, indeed just a group of hermit crabs!” I spat on the ground and mocked loudly. “Sailors, I was wrong. It turns out these guys are not even as good as hermit crabs. They are damn ‘soft-legged crabs’, ‘soft-legged crabs’ that fire from outside the range!”

“Hahaha!” A mocking laugh rose. Low-class bastards liked this kind of tune.

Because the fog limited the light, the guards of Morbihan Port could not truly see the position of the attacking fleet. In addition, the diffusion of the fog itself caused the enemy to make a very obvious misjudgment.

Just as the pirates on each ship were laughing at what they thought were the poor performances of the defenders, the second wave of attacks from the port fortress arrived. Immediately, a pirate ship on the outermost side of the fleet was engulfed in flames. The power of the Enchanted Arrow known as the Red Dragon’s Breath was indeed not to be underestimated!

“Damn it! It looks like Bayard’s ship was hit. I hope they don’t have any major problems.” Ichabod had a bad feeling.

“Shall we return fire, Captain?” The sailors pointed to the ballista at the bow of their own ship, their faces filled with the desire to retaliate.

“No, no need! Our ballista does not have such a long range!” Ichabod shook his head to stop them. At such a long distance, the ballista on his ship was clearly not yet within range.

“Check the knots again, secure the sails!” Ichabod calmly gave the order, then snapped his fingers and looked down at the Lady Liaison Officer. “You can start, Mr. Sorcerer?”

“It is a Sorcerer, not a Mage.” Someone hidden under the hood spoke in a stiff voice, but explained seriously.

“Anyway, the difference is not big!” Ichabod muttered, shrugged, and pointed at the approaching “hermit crab”. “Time waits for no one. Start quickly!”

“As you wish, Captain Ichabod, please be careful.” He bowed politely and pulled the hood covering his face at the same time.

A new magic Scroll was taken out. On the carefully tanned lamb skin, complex and exquisite magic characters were written with dragon blood ink. The gender-unknown Sorcerer carefully leaned against the stern, maintaining balance on the tossing ship deck, began to read carefully, turning the key sealed in the Arcane Scroll, and exciting the wonderful miracle power from the invisible magical network.

The wind shaped by magic energy suddenly blew up, appearing from the position where the caster stood, right in front of him! Wind, invisible wind, violent wind, it was a violent air current, it was a roaring display of power, blasting loudly against the sails ahead.

“Everyone hold on tight!” Ichabod pulled his throat, laughing in the back-biting angry wind. “Next, is an exciting voyage!”

At the same time, the pirate ship that was first targeted by the Red Dragon’s Breath completely stopped its movement. Even the caster on board was powerless to do anything about it. Seeing this, Ichabod could not help but feel a sense of sorrow for the death of the hare and the grief of the fox. Although Bayard’s ship had not yet capsized and sunk, it could no longer withstand the great winds and waves at sea. After this battle, how many sailors on board could survive was an unknown number.

Before he could make many remarks, a mast on another pirate ship snapped, and its speed was obviously unable to keep up with the formation. But soon, double the fierce wind acted at the same time, like an invisible giant hand waving, instantly boosting the ship’s speed by nearly three levels, reaching close to the limit of thirteen knots. Finally, it made contact with the dock before the fortress’s third round of shooting.

“Ballistamen, aim and fire for me!” Ichabod pressed his body down, adapting to the sudden impact, grabbed the rope, and shouted down. “Assault team! Prepare for boarding land combat!”

Finally, the ballista on Ichabod’s ship roared its own roar at this moment. Then came the gourd-like scene we just saw. With one strike, five port guards were completely incapacitated. If the guards had not set fire to block them, Ichabod would have ordered the assault team to kill onto the dock long ago.

And inside the fortress, the officer who had given orders before shouted: “Up with the Burning Glue bombs!”

Combining large throwing instruments with Alchemy Items was exactly the mainstream of the current long-range naval warfare mode. In many cases, humans did not have the Elf’s talent for archery, so through complex craft instruments and expensive Alchemy Items, they improved the hard kill power at the same distance.

The so-called Burning Glue bombs were glass containers filled with Burning Glue extracted by Alchemy craft. Once the container shattered, the Burning Glue liquid exposed to the air would burn fiercely for several breaths.

Burning Glue liquid could not be extinguished with water; only by burying it with sand or other means to cut off the air could the burning be hindered. This was exactly its sharpest point, after all, it was impossible to guard every part of the ship—the masts, the sails, the sides, everywhere were vulnerabilities that could be ignited.

At such a close distance, there was no need to use arrows with tail feathers to keep the trajectory stable. It was more suitable for projecting Stone Shot or other special ammunition.

Burning Glue bombs fired from the sea defense fortress fell partially on the white lines splashed up at the stern, flashing with jumping flames, as if dancing and jumping in the sea breeze under the moonlight. However, a considerable part of them fell directly into the fleet. If they hit the deck, the sandbags prepared in advance were cut open by sharp blades, and the pouring sand quickly controlled the fire. But if they hit the sails, that would be a big trouble.

“Quickly climb up to the foremast! Take down that damn main sail. We can’t let it keep burning like this.” Ichabod waved the long knife in his hand, driving the sailors one by one up the rope ladder. If it continued to burn, it might ignite other sails, which would be a big trouble for Ichabod.

Unfortunately, the attacking fleet that suffered the attack did not use the same or similar ammunition to retaliate against the fortress on land. Because there were no military supplies like Burning Glue bombs on the pirate ships now. This thing was too expensive, costing twenty-five Gold Coins for one.

Rather than calling it a war, it was better to call it burning money, and only those territories with full pockets could afford to burn it. Actually, if bought in bulk, given the commercial environment of Bolerum Territory, everyone could bargain the price down to 22 Gold Coins per piece. But if the pirates wanted it, even at double the black market price, they might not be able to get it.

Of course, even if they had money, the pirates would not buy this thing anyway. Pirates wanted goods and treasure. Using this thing could only burn ships, making their own business a loss. The navy wanted destruction. No matter how expensive the projectile was, as long as it was cheaper than the enemy’s warship, it was a bargain. As for why the mastermind behind the scenes did not equip his agents with enough supplies this time, only they themselves knew if he didn’t want to give it or if the pirates didn’t want it.

Of course, the pirates would not just sit and wait for death. It was seen that more than a dozen lifeboats dropped from the pirate ships with a plop-plop sound. They were full of rough pirates shouting “Hoo-hoo” wildly. They all waved axes, torches, and knives in their hands and rushed toward the rich Morbihan Port. The dense fog was stirred up by them. The pirates looked like devils rushing out of the fog, starting to trample this rich land crazily.

Since the dock was temporarily impassable, they would land on the beach nearby! But why didn’t they see anyone going to the fortress to deal with those who were constantly firing the ammunition?

At this time, the pirates brought out their traditional virtues of enjoying good times themselves and making others suffer. For a moment, no one bothered to mention the two sea defense fortresses, which were not much larger than the beacon towers.

The casters on the ship wearing hoods could not stand it anymore. Of course, the most important thing was that this situation seriously threatened their safety. If these pirate ships were all trapped here, the casters had no ability to cross the vast sea. As for landing and mixing into the crowd, the risk was also quite high. If even one person accidentally exposed themselves, the ensuing wanted posters would make it impossible for them to move a step within the Duchy of Nohan. In short, they, who cherished their lives, dared not take this risk.

With that, valuable magic Scrolls were torn open again. Yellow-green fog suddenly appeared about 200 feet away from the fortress. The subsequent casting produced strong winds, blowing the fog into the sea defense fortress. Not long after, all the guards inside the fortress smelled a disgusting stench. Then a considerable part of them began to bend over and vomit. Although they did not lose all combat power, they were temporarily unable to launch any decent attacks.

Just when the pirates thought they could relax, a black shadow went straight through the sea of fire on the dock. He jumped like a cannonball and slammed onto the deck of one of the pirate ships.

Then came an unnamable whisper, followed by a fear from the bottom of their hearts that made the pirates shudder.

Swinging his double wrists like flowing clouds and water, the two heavy greatswords seemed to lose their weight. They moved lightly along the elbows, wrists, and fingertips, flying through heavy obstacles like a butterfly in flowers, flashing past the aggressor’s throat, and harvesting lives on the sea.

It looked like the most orthodox Knight swordsmanship, but through the user’s extraordinary swordsmanship skills, it displayed a beautiful art of slaughter before everyone!

The original charge, which seemed like a bulldozer, achieved entering the space where there was nothing with nothing—those jungles formed by blades and halberds, leaving no dust, only fear.

Faster! Higher! Stronger! The Baptiste Knight, like a fierce tiger emerging from a ravine, was swift and full of cleverness. He turned and sneered between the blade tips, moving freely amidst the rain of spears and arrows.

Wrists, ankles, waists… every tiny movement of the opponent slightly changed the linkage of every muscle of the Knight, predicting and making the most appropriate actions. This warrior who had fought hundreds of battles without defeat killed any hope of resistance from the opponent from the very beginning.

Under the jumping firelight, it could be vaguely seen that although the pirates on the ship resisted very tenaciously, they were suffering heavy casualties due to the sudden attack and were indeed retreating step by step.

Just at this moment, another White Knight calmly rode his giant horse over and jumped onto another ship with great ease. Looking at him, he even showed a bit of a leisurely feeling, as if coming on board was just to watch the scenery. But for some reason, as soon as everyone saw this figure, a low moan rose in their hearts for no reason.

Several ships close by also had sailors boarding to support, and the constantly drawn bows kept making “Hum! Hum! Hum!” sounds. Unfortunately, before this absolute power, everything seemed futile. At this time, those captains must have regretted why they sent people for the landing operation so quickly, instead of leaving more people on the ships.

As for those pirates planning to land, what awaited them was an elite unit armed to the teeth. The front line consisted of two swordsmen holding heavy wooden shields. They adopted a standard defensive combat posture, attracting the enemy’s attention while also protecting their comrades’ attacks.

Hidden behind them were two heavily armed swordsmen holding sharp blades. These fierce killing machines were particularly suitable for acting as assault troops, and greatswords were their standard equipment.

On both sides of the swordsmen were spear handlers holding long weapons like spears and halberds. They were mainly responsible for pressing the opponent’s advance route, protecting the swordsmen, and supporting the assault troops’ charge.

Following them were several ranged firepower operators. Their bows mainly played the role of covering, harassing, and weakening the enemy.

Facing such combinations, what kind of performance would those pirates, who looked more like a mob on the surface, have?