Chapter 89: Small Gains

“Charge!” bellowed the sailors aboard the Sea Windmill. Nearly a hundred of the toughest and bravest sailors stood in a neat formation behind Lin Qi. Lucky Joe Arjang approached Lin Qi as well, carrying a tower shield and a scimitar. He positioned himself firmly at Lin Qi’s side.

Other sailors took up positions on the different decks. From above, they aimed their bows and readied their heavy crossbows.

The six catapults kept hurling red-hot iron balls at the relentlessly pursuing Dragon Boats. The heavy iron balls struck the Dragon Boats, causing significant damage. More than a dozen Odin Holy Guards were hit and killed or injured by the balls. Fires had even broken out on parts of the Dragon Boats.

But religious fanatics were religious fanatics. These Odin Holy Guards ignored the fires on their ship. They just kept their eyes locked on Lin Qi and his men. They closed in, getting closer, and even closer. The Odin Holy Guards on the lead deck grabbed their weapons, readying themselves to board and fight.

When the large Dragon Boat drew within twenty meters, the Stone Titan standing on its bow let out an eerie laugh. With a roar of thunder-like, deep, strange chanting, he raised both hands high into the air. A swirling storm over a meter wide rapidly spun between his hands. In the space of one breath, a boulder roughly one meter cube suddenly appeared above his head.

The boulder was blurry at first. As the Stone Titan’s chant continued, it became solid, gradually lowering towards his hands.

Just as the boulder was about to fully form, Lucky Joe Arjang cried out, “Whaling Harpoon! Give him a real taste!”

A muffled blast echoed. The Magic-powered Harpoon hidden inside the hold was brought to the stern. Several portholes on the Sea Windmill’s stern swung open. A fiery streak shot out from one and struck the Stone Titan twenty meters away. The powerful harpoon sank deep into the Stone Titan’s chest, piercing out through his back. Yet, no blood showed.

The harpoon penetrated deep into the large Dragon Boat’s cabin. Then came a tremendous boom. Splinters of wood flew everywhere. More than a dozen rowers screamed as they were blasted overboard, their blood glistening in the sunlight. The Stone Titan roared in agony. He dropped his hands, clutching at the gaping hole in his chest. He stumbled backward several steps, crashing into the group of Odin Holy Guards preparing to board. Their orderly formation dissolved into chaos.

To make things worse, the boulder he had formed using magic power went out of control. At the moment it should have solidified, he lost control. The meter-cubed boulder flashed intensely. A ring of grey shockwave blasted outwards. More than twenty Odin Holy Guards near the prow were thrown overboard, landing messily in the sea.

Several Odin Holy Guards wearing heavy armor struggled briefly on the sea’s surface before being dragged under by the weight of their heavy armor. A moment later, they seemed to shed the gear underwater and awkwardly surfaced. But a few unlucky ones surfaced right in the path of the three Dragon Boats following. They had just raised their heads when the speeding Dragon Boats crashed into them, shattering their skulls.

Lin Qi hugged his stomach and burst out laughing. The sailors on the deck laughed heartily too. Lucky Joe Arjang sighed lightly and shook his head. “What a shame. At least five skulls gone. That’s two thousand five hundred gold coins vanished, lads!”

The sailors’ morale soared even higher. Everyone raised their weapons high, shrieking in challenge at the enemies so near.

Suddenly, Lucky Joe Arjang yelled, “Give that big ship three shots! Whaling Harpoon triple shot! Blow through her bottom hold!”

Three thunderous booms sounded. Three fiery trails shot forth.

This time, the Whaling Harpoon lost its edge. A Temple Warlock on the large Dragon Boat’s deck raised his bone staff, chanting a deep spell. A wispy green mist bloomed into existence at the Dragon Boat’s bow. The three harpoons struck the mist and exploded harmlessly, causing no damage to the ship.

The Temple Warlock sneered. He waved his bone staff. A fierce wind howled around the Sea Windmill’s stern. A small dark cloud materialized directly above it. The cloud was only two meters square, but thin streaks of lightning, like human hairs, flickered wildly within it. The tiny bolts struck each other, spewing sparks everywhere.

Enzo suddenly shouted loudly, “Lightning spell! Close the portholes! Pull the Whaling Harpoon back into the hull!”

Fortunately, Enzo’s warning came in time. The sailors inside the hold moved fast. They slammed the thick portholes shut and pushed the metal Whaling Harpoon launcher back into other chambers.

They had barely cleared the stern chamber when the dark cloud instantly flashed. Three bolts of lightning, each as thick as a little finger, came screaming down with harsh cracks of thunder. They shattered a stern porthole and tore apart the surrounding deck planking for a meter around.

The Sea Windmill’s decking was made of thick, centuries-old timber, clad with steel plates. A hunk this big being blasted away showed just how potent those Temple Warlock spells were. Luckily, Enzo ordered those sailors to move the harpoons promptly. Had the lightning triggered the magic array on the harpoon and caused it to explode, it might have blown the entire stern off the Sea Windmill.

The warlock who had cast the lightning spell started muttering curses angrily. Clearly, his powerful spell failing to deal the expected damage infuriated him. Huffing and puffing through several curses, he hefted his bone staff to try another spell.

Just as he prepared it, Long Cheng let out a wild laugh. His steel spear was already hurtling through the air. In a streak of cold light, it flashed towards the warlock’s chest. A powerfully built man standing next to the warlock, apparently his guard, roared in fury. He lifted a massive iron shield to block the warlock.

There was a heavy thump. The steel shield shattered. The spear, surrounded by a ghostly purple glow, punched through the warlock’s forehead. With his body impaled, it flew more than ten meters before plunging into the icy sea. A dull splash followed. All the Odin Holy Guards on the four Dragon Boats stared at Long Cheng as if they’d seen a ghost.

For a moment, the man with the steel shield, tasked with the warlock’s protection, just stood frozen. Suddenly, intricate crimson patterns, like blood, emerged across his dark skin. He raised the lance he held and released a shrill, mournful howl towards the sky. The brawny man, originally about Lin Qi’s build, suddenly grew half as tall again. His clothes and armor burst open from his expanding muscles. Now naked, his entire body was covered in bizarre crimson markings. A ring of blazing blood-red light, resembling fire, shimmered fiercely around him. Surrounding this blaze was a faint purple nimbus!

“Damn it, Odin Temple’s Berserker! Those barbarians,” Lin Qi stammered frantically. “They burn their life force! It boosts their power by up to three tiers!”

“Long Cheng!” Lin Qi yelled, waving desperately towards his companion. “This guy’s yours! It’s all on you! Finish him! Back in Dun Er Ke, I’ll introduce you to Angel! She’s Dun Er Ke’s top beauty! Long legs, ample chest, broad hips, easy to bear children! You’ll love her!”

With an enraged bellow, the Berserked Odin Holy Guard leaped. Clearing the twenty-meter gap, he landed squarely on the stern deck of the Sea Windmill.