Chapter 23: The Rise of Counterattack!
2015-01-23
Author: Floating Tower
(Recovering energy, additional update at the end of the month, requesting recommendation votes.)
——————————————
Soren returned to the cabin.
He had no interest in wasting too much time on these pirates, as they were merely part of the plan. The true core strength for Soren could not be these seasoned pirates. Just as excellent soldiers could not become old soldiers, these guys had long since become accustomed to adapting to circumstances and were unreliable at critical moments. Soren frowned as he picked up a cloth to wipe the blood and brain matter off his boots, then turned to glance at Adele, who was his assistant in managing these pirates.
If this little matter couldn’t be handled properly, they would probably have to change personnel in the future!
A row of data floated before his eyes:
“Betrayer Naval Battle [Folklore]: In mid-November of the 1675 New Moon Era, the Betrayer Merchant Association plundered a large amount of gold from the indigenous people, attracting various forces to compete for it. You assisted the Ocean Church in seizing important sacrifices, encountering legendary creatures such as the Son of Dagon, the Deep Sea Hydra, and the Lord of Storms in this battle. The legend of the ghost ship began to spread among a small number of survivors along the coast, and rumors of the Throat Cutter seemed to have been linked to you. [Legend Degree +3]”
Legend degree only appeared now?
Was it because the survivors of that legendary naval battle took so long to spread the news, or because the Son of Dagon and the Deep Sea Hydra continued to fight until now?
Soren felt both possibilities could be true.
But since the rumors had emerged, that naval battle should have ended.
It seemed the Ocean Temple had indeed reaped quite a few benefits, but it was unclear whether they had killed the Son of Dagon. Soren felt this possibility was low because the difficulty of killing such a giant ocean creature was too high. There were some things completely beyond his ability, and he had no interest in meddling too much. His main focus now was dealing with those pirates. Renowned pirates basically accumulated quite a bit of wealth and usually owned warships. There was a saying that having sufficient capital to eliminate a group of pirates was enough for ocean trade.
This saying had circulated in taverns for a long time!
The first wealth Soren amassed was naturally to be obtained from these pirates, relying on mountains to eat mountains and relying on the sea to eat the sea, and basically all renowned pirates had a large ship capable of ocean navigation.
Snake Island was an island surrounded by snakes. It was originally a desolate little island, but it gradually developed after being occupied by pirates. The pirates established a stronghold here, serving as their base and transfer station, and they also intervened in smuggling trade. Many masters had come and gone here, and the current pirate leader was the Narwhal, a fierce and powerful guy. He had hundreds of men under him, owned a warship, and several fast boats. He was the plump sheep nearby.
Eliminate him!
Then Soren would have the capital to form a fleet and the financial resources for trade.
Two pirate ships gradually advanced towards Snake Island, and since they did not raise their flags, they looked similar to merchant ships.
Soren rested in the cabin.
After about half a day’s time, he suddenly felt the ship shake. Then he heard loud shouts from outside.
“Pirates! Enemies!”
“Prepare for battle! … You bunch of trash! … Hurry up and prepare for battle! …”
Soren suddenly opened his eyes and swiftly appeared on deck, where Adele was already standing at the bow, alongside a newly promoted young half-elf. The one shouting angrily was this young man, and he seemed to have quickly adapted to his new identity. The pirates on the deck looked a bit flustered. These guys were subpar sailors; the real hands had long since been recruited by others. The guy Soren initially killed was also around second-tier strength.
“It’s the Narwhal!!!”
A middle-aged pirate, missing an ear and looking quite old, shouted in fear, “It’s the Narwhal’s warship! He knows we’re coming for him. So he came to deal with us first!”
Soren frowned upon hearing this.
He glanced at Adele beside him, noticing her shocked expression, and coldly said, “Shut up! They just happened to come to rob us!”
This was the Narwhal’s territory.
His pirate ships mainly operated nearby, robbing passing fleets and sometimes collecting tolls, suggesting they just happened upon each other.
“They actually delivered themselves to our door!”
Soren narrowed his eyes slightly, lightly leaping onto the mast, and then looked towards the approaching pirate ship in the distance, which bore a horned emblem. There was only one warship among them; the others were fast boats that could only navigate in shallow waters. They had a considerable number of crew members, with dozens on the warship and another forty or fifty on the others, armed with grappling hooks and ropes, all prepared for boarding fights. The pirates shouted excitedly, as if they had already regarded Soren as a fat sheep.
“Whale! … Whale! …”
Someone shouted, and then others went quiet for a moment, and soon they heard the sound of weapons being thrown away, accompanied by a tearful voice saying, “It’s the Narwhal! … He’s come in person! … We surrender! … Maybe he will spare us! … Otherwise, everyone will be nailed to the ground! …”
Bang!
Soren frowned at the stunned guy, raised his hand and lightly pointed, casting an Arcane Missile.
A corpse fell to the ground.
Underneath, there was a massive shadow that seemed to be nearly twenty meters long. It was a kind of whale that Soren couldn’t identify, appearing somewhat like an orca but far more ferocious, yet it was not an ocean monster. What appeared was a gigantic marine creature, likely grown to this size due to certain reasons.
——“Flight Spell!”
Soren immediately cast a spell, looked at Adele beside him, and said in a deep voice, “Make them shut up and prepare for battle!”
These guys were definitely unreliable.
But at the very least, they couldn’t let the enemy seize the warship directly. This bunch of trash had to resist a little to buy enough time for Soren.
Adele nodded slightly, scolded, “Pick up your weapons!”
“You bunch of trash! … Prepare for battle! … Cowards! … Hurry up and take your weapons! Otherwise, I’ll cut off your heads! …”
This woman also had a fiery temperament.
Although Soren managed to subdue her, she appeared hot-tempered in the eyes of others.
Because she was also an Amazon woman.
Soren’s figure rose into the air, and he cast an invisibility spell on himself; he couldn’t use the Greater Invisibility Spell yet because the real battle hadn’t started. His figure flew up and gradually approached the huge shadow beneath the water. As the distance closed, Soren’s expression became more serious. When he could clearly see the giant whale, a strange light suddenly appeared in his eyes.
——“Dominate Marine Creatures!”
In an instant, he felt a dizziness.
Soren sensed a will of resistance, but this will meant nothing; he controlled the consciousness of the creature before him.
Domination succeeded!
A cruel smile appeared at the corners of Soren’s mouth. His figure became visible due to the activation of his spell-like ability, and in a floating state, he struck awe and fear into many pirates. From afar, there were gasps of “Wizard… Wizard.” However, what scared them even more was what happened next. The enormous shadow in the water began to ascend, surfacing directly. Soren dropped from the air and stood on the whale’s head.
“How is this possible!?”
A large group of pirates opened their eyes wide, nearly dumbfounded.
On the deck of the warship, a rugged-looking pirate also wore an expression of disbelief, muttering, “How is this possible! How can he control my pet!?”
Soren glanced at the enemies in the distance.
Then he lightly snapped his fingers, and the massive whale began to turn, heading towards the Narwhal’s fast boats.
“I love this feeling!”
A smile appeared on Soren’s face, his untrimmed hair whipping in the wind as the enormous whale started to accelerate, directly crashing towards the fast boats measuring ten meters in length. The colossal whale approached like a shadow, instantly flipping over the nearest fast boat, followed by splashes of water as some pirates perished immediately.
“Run! Jump overboard!”
Someone shouted, and the fastest pirates jumped into the water.
Unfortunately, this was just the beginning of the nightmare!
Soren’s figure vanished again, and he took flight. The massive orca crushed its way through, then dove into the depths of the sea, flipping over a large number of fast boats before opening its gaping maw to swallow one after another unfortunate souls who had jumped into the sea.
This was the ocean!
Trying to kill an orca in the sea with their strength was just a dream.
“Charge!”
“Kill them all! Eliminate the Narwhal!…”
Excited howls erupted from the distant warship. This bunch of trash was certainly not suited for direct combat, but if given the chance to beat the drowning dogs, they would do so with great fervor. After Soren dominated the orca, he directly turned the tide; even an idiot could see that this wizard had unfathomable strength.
“Prepare for battle!”
Adele raised her long knife, her fiery red hair blowing in the wind, looking splendid yet full of grace, and she shouted, “All spoils of war belong to you! Anyone who dares to step back will be killed by me!”
Another round of howls erupted.
It seemed she also knew what would ignite the fighting spirit of these seasoned pirates.
………………(To be continued ~^~)
