Battle
“This isn’t a monster subjugation, so perhaps you should refrain from overly brutal attacks.”
“But with healing magic, we can treat most injuries…”
“You’ll scare off the marines,” Meyer cautioned me.
Since Meyer stopped me, I decided to create a defensive barrier around myself and my personal guards to simply watch the battle. Atre and White Dragon stayed inside the barrier with me. Ripka was joining Brother Gerald in the fight. I wondered if Ripka could hold back with her fire magic.
The battle began. Wind Cutters, Waterballs, and Iceballs flew from the pirate ship, striking our defensive barrier.
“Doesn’t seem like they pack much of a punch.”
“They aren’t professional soldiers. But I’ve heard there are many former adventurers among them, so there could be some strong ones. Don’t let your guard down.”
While both sides exchanged magic attacks, the pirate ship approached and docked alongside ours, and pirates began leaping onto our deck.
From here on, the battle shifted mainly to sword fighting. But this was the real challenge—if they couldn’t dock, we couldn’t seize their ship, and if they escaped, it would all be for nothing.
With about forty people fighting fiercely on deck, the ship rocked considerably. Still, Miss Diana and the marines disguised as merchant sailors handled the pirates with ease. Brother Gerald, of course, fought impressively too.
“Miss Diana really is strong. No wonder Bernard brags about her.”
“There are female knights in our unit too, but Miss Diana could rank among the top.”
“Boss! These guys are Southcourt Navy! We should retreat!” shouted one of the pirates towards their ship, and the pirates started scrambling to retreat.
Looks like they’d caught on.
A mage stood at the bow of the pirate ship, trying to steer them away.
“Atre, can you disrupt the mage at the bow?”
“Leave it to me, Hardt.”
Atre used wind magic to blow the mage off balance, knocking him onto the deck. Then, without hesitation, he dropped Icballs on his shoulders and legs.
“I think he broke some bones. I could hear the cracking sounds from here—he won’t be moving,” Meyer commented.
Seeing the pirates frantically returning to their ship, I quickly chanted, “Deck of the pirate ship, turn to ice!” Spraying water across their deck, I froze it, causing the pirates to slip and tumble over and over, with some even falling into the sea.
Then I created a dome-shaped barrier over the pirate ship’s deck, gradually shrinking it to gather all the pirates in one spot.
“Meyer, do you have any Sleep Grass?”
“I do… wait, are you planning to…?”
“Exactly. If we’re taking their ship back to port, it’s best to put the pirates to sleep.”
“Ripka, I need your help,” I called out, and he flew over, perching on Atre’s back.
“Drop these into the gap I’ll open at the top of the barrier. But be careful—you’ll get sleepy if you breathe it in.”
Ripka took the Sleep Grass in his beak, flew up, and dropped it through the hole I opened. I quickly sealed it back up.
That should take care of most of them. Now, we just needed to clear out the pirates still inside the ship.
“Hardt, what do you think you’re doing?” Brother Gerald stormed over angrily.
“I just trapped them inside the barrier and put them to sleep with Sleep Grass. But there should still be stragglers inside. The deck’s frozen, so be careful when going in.”
“Why don’t you just melt it with your hot spring blessing?”
“Brother Gerald, I can’t summon hot springs, but I can manage warm water.” I cast a spell, warming the deck, melting the ice into flowing water.
That should do it.
I glanced around and noticed everyone was staring at me like I was some strange creature, making me tilt my head.
“I was being sarcastic, but you really did it… Lord Bernard, mop up the leftovers.”
“Right, since you lot helped so much, we’ll show you what Southcourt’s navy can do. Move out!”
“““““Ohhh!!”””””
The marines stormed the pirate ship and quickly secured it. I stayed back, keeping watch over the captured pirates inside my barrier.
With all enemies subdued, we returned to port without going to the volcanic island. I asked about the pirate ship and was told marines would man and sail it back.
“Well, well, not only is our future son-in-law good-looking, but he’s also a skilled mage and knight. Southcourt is in safe hands,” Bernard said, slapping Brother Gerald on the back.
“No, that’s not… finalized…”
“What, you don’t like our Missy? She’s a beauty, been sailing since she was little, and she’s the next heir. What’s there to complain about?”
“Bernard, enough! You’re making Young Master Gerald uncomfortable. I’m very sorry, Young Master Gerald,” Miss Diana protested, her face bright red.
“No, Lord Bernard’s just worried about Miss Diana because he cares for you, like a parent,” Brother Gerald said kindly, probably trying to avoid hurting her feelings.
But now Miss Diana would just fall for Brother Gerald even more.
If even the navy liked Brother Gerald, Grandmother’s prediction about him being roped into Southcourt might come true.
It’s a great opportunity for Brother Gerald… but I’d be sad if he left Westland.
What do you think about this chapter?
