This Lich Requests More Remuneration
Chapter 418 - 390: Encountering Pirates

Chapter 418: Chapter 390: Encountering Pirates

The Laine people had little experience in sailing.

Their land being surrounded by enemies on all sides allowed only a tiny bit of their border to connect to the ocean.

As a result, the standard of Laine’s seafaring was poor; at best, they could only manage some river transport ships within the country.

The massive ship they were on for this voyage had been hastily constructed with a lot of fantastical elements thrown in.

Just a few days out at sea, the Laine people on board found themselves severely seasick.

The shape of the ship’s hull was problematic; it would rock for a long time with even minor waves. It seemed that they hadn’t prepared enough ballast, causing the ship to sway violently.

However, the ship was crewed by elite warriors, so they weren’t actually vomiting from seasickness, but after two or three days, everyone looked pale, and no one had rested well at night.

Then there was the issue of direction; the most experienced sailor from Laine was no better than an apprentice at sea, and it was not enough to rely solely on a compass to position themselves in the vast ocean. They easily found their ship off course, and when they tried to turn the rudder, they found it too small, having to make a wide detour to change direction... In short, there were all sorts of troubles and problems, which left all the Laine people weak and irritable.

Luckily, the Light Priests were best at boosting morale and dispelling negative states, so the Laine people could still maintain a certain level of combat readiness.

But if this delay continued, they would lose half their fighting power before even encountering the Lich.

Cyril Rolan stood at the prow, gazing at the boundless sea.

At first, he found it quite fascinating; the vast majesty of the ocean indeed broadened one’s horizon.

But after a few days, the unchanging scenery became tedious.

The sea without any landmarks and the unseen other shores slowly led to despondency and despair.

Cyril Rolan was a Paladin, with a will as steadfast as steel, so he could still endure. But he knew they couldn’t go on like this; no matter how tenacious the Laine people’s fighting spirit was, it couldn’t withstand this silent corrosion.

They needed to do something to inject some excitement.

Perhaps, they could hunt sea monsters, a good way to boost everyone’s morale and add some thrill to the monotonous sea voyage.

Success was irrelevant; the point was to lift the oppressive atmosphere.

Just as Cyril Rolan was considering how to involve everyone in the hunt, the lookout atop the mast shouted, "General Rolan! There seems to be a ship ahead, about four kilometers away."

Cyril Rolan was immediately intrigued; encountering another ship, whether friend or foe, was decidedly better than the vast emptiness of the ocean.

He immediately ordered to approach the other ship.

The other party seemed to have the same idea, and soon Cyril Rolan could see the other warship—or rather, pirate ship—on the horizon.

The ship flew a Skull Flag and was armed with over a dozen Magic Conduction Cannons.

The seamen aboard each had one eye or limped but were brandishing their swords with fanatic excitement.

They mistook the Laine’s warship for a merchant vessel and were gearing up to plunder it.

Cyril Rolan exclaimed in surprise, "Don’t they recognize the Laine flag? Have pirates always been this daring?"

This was a ship of the Laine Empire, and those pirates were truly audacious.

It wasn’t that they were blind; the Laine ship was just too bulky and odd in shape, resembling a peculiar merchant vessel; a real warship wouldn’t look like this, and it would be difficult to escape in it.

As for the Laine flag... Who cares about which kingdom it belonged to? At sea, unless you can fly, the might of a land army is useless out here.

The pirate ship was much faster than the Laine warship and quickly entered firing range.

The Laine people’s ship also had Magic Conduction Cannons, which were even more powerful and had a longer range. However, accuracy was a problem at sea; after three consecutive shots from the bow, they hadn’t even grazed the pirate ship.

The pirates immediately realized their opponents were novices and became even more excited. They circled the Laine warship and then bombarded it with their side-mounted Magic Conduction Cannons.

Cannonballs flew toward the Laine warship, with the pirates’ hit rate being several fold higher than the Laine people, with at least three cannonballs hitting the ship’s hull.

However, the pirates’ cannon calibers were simply too small to be effective, and many of them were outdated products prone to malfunctioning after three or four continuous shots.

In response to the pirate cannon fire, the Laine people had a simple solution.

A supersized Magic Shield rose, blocking all the incoming cannonballs.

Seeing this, the pirates immediately realized they had bitten off more than they could chew; such a costly magical defense was not something an ordinary merchant ship could afford.

And if they had such a magical defense system on board, there had to be powerful warriors on the ship.

The pirates weren’t foolish; knowing this was not a ship to be easily taken, they immediately planned to turn tail and flee. They had the advantage in speed, and a getaway would be uncatchable for the pursuer.

In theory, that was true, but the Laine people had been sailing for so many days that they were almost driven mad with boredom. Now that they had encountered pirates, how could they let them go?

The spellcasters on the Laine ship began to chant loudly, gathering enormous Mana which turned into fierce winds blowing across the sea’s surface, accelerating their warship vigorously.

This gigantic warship aggressively cleaved through the sea, chasing after the pirate ship.

These pirates were caught off guard by the sudden burst of speed, as their ships lacked this capability.

Just as it seemed they would be caught, the Laine warship suddenly slowed down. It turned out that the recent storm had been too fierce, tearing their sails.

The people on board this ship were formidable individuals, but the ship itself was hardly up to par, entirely unsuited for sailing on the sea.

The pirates burst into raucous laughter, quite a few standing at the stern urinating off the side, fiercely mocking the Laine people.

Cyril Rolan stood at the prow of his own ship, equally furious, never having imagined that the sails could tear.

Without magic acceleration, the Laine warship really couldn’t catch up to the pirates.

Could they really let them get away?

Cyril Rolan turned his head and glanced at the Laine warriors on the deck, their faces showing a longing for battle.

Navigating the vast sea was truly boring, the cabins so cramped there wasn’t even enough room to stretch, and now to pass up a chance to stretch their legs?

Cyril Rolan felt helpless; there was no avoiding this battle, and he was truly pained for his soldiers.

Then Cyril Rolan raised his right hand high and announced loudly, "Prepare to board!"

After saying this, Cyril Rolan grabbed a rope and flew into the air, chasing after the pirate ship.

Aside from Cyril Rolan, two other Paladins did the same.

They grabbed the ropes on the ship and chased after the pirate ship.

Although the pirate ship seemed fast, these sail-driven vessels had a speed of only about twenty or thirty kilometers per hour, while a Flight Spell could reach forty kilometers per hour.

Naturally, flying over the sea was faster than running on it, and soon the three Paladins had caught up to the pirate ship.

Cyril Rolan was the first to land on the enemy’s deck, securing the rope firmly around their mast.

The rope stretched taut, causing the pirate ship to rock violently.

In terms of weight, this pirate ship was far inferior to the Laine warship.

The pirates surged forward, trying to kill Cyril Rolan and cut the rope.

But Cyril Rolan simply didn’t care. His longsword was still sheathed, as he sent the pirates flying with both kicks and punches, not allowing a single one to get close.

The second and third Legendary Holy Warriors arrived, binding both the bow and the stern of the pirate ship, completely severing the pirates’ chance to flee.

Actually, any one of the three Holy Warriors could have killed all the pirates on their own, but they patiently defended, ensuring the ropes weren’t cut, ignoring everything else.

The crew aboard the Laine warship began to tighten the ropes, pulling the two ships closer and closer until there were only a few meters between them, and then those anxious Laine warriors swiftly jumped onto the pirate ship.

And then, there were no ’ands then.’

The pirates had no power to resist. The most formidable among them was but a mediocre Evil Sorcerer, whose Mana Burst had barely begun to form before Cyril Rolan burst his head open with a sheath strike.

Over thirty pirates died on the spot, while the remaining forty or fifty were captured alive; even the pirate ship was seized by the Laine people.

Cyril Rolan, looking at his soldiers now smiling again, felt that his efforts had not been in vain.

If they encountered more pirates like this along the way, that would be quite pleasant.

Perhaps by the time they went to battle the Lich, they would become a fleet.

While the Laine people celebrated, they failed to notice several small metal warplanes sweeping across the sky.

These metal warplanes were equipped with Memory Crystals and zoom lenses, able to record everything below clearly even from the high skies.

After the battle ended, these warplanes immediately departed, returning to the mothership hundreds of kilometers away.

Inside the cabin, Hasting soon received the Memory Crystals and after confirming there were no errors, they turned their attention to the red-haired girl sitting to the side.

With waist-length red hair and clad in blue-silver heavy armor, with a hammer at her waist constantly sparking, she was an oppressively beautiful girl—Princess Airel of the Fury Tide Kingdom.

"Your Royal Highness the Princess, please review this," said Hasting, his mechanical arm holding the Memory Crystals steadily, handing them to the stern-faced Airel.

Airel examined the content closely, smiling coldly, "A bunch of landlubbers playing at sea battles like it’s playtime. They dare to laugh before witnessing Talos’s wrath. When they see that towering wave, will they not wet themselves in fear?"

Seeing that Airel was pleased, Hasting courteously said, "Then Your Royal Highness should understand the quality of our product. Now, regarding the order we discussed earlier."

Airel stared at Hasting, maintaining her cool expression, and stated calmly, "Your prices are too high. Even for a monopoly, that’s rather excessive. Born of this sea, we originally do not need these airships. Good though your products may be, we can take or leave this business."