Chapter 358: Chapter 342: Venus Flytrap and Boarding
When activating the "World Barrier."
It requires the aid of a "nut" processed by sorcery and blessed through a specific ritual. For most wizards of the "Life Tree School," the favorite choice is usually acorns of various oak trees.
At this moment, the magic spiritual light rapidly expanded.
Using the "nut" as a medium and the ritual blessing from the extraordinary source, the power of the sorcery transforms into a pale green barrier shaped like an acorn shell, firmly guarding over the "Storm Horn."
In the next moment.
Boom——!
The "Flame Winged Hand Dragon," rushing in at high speed, crashed into the acorn shell-shaped [World Barrier], shattering into a massive fireball, scattering in all directions.
The dazzling flames momentarily silenced the entire battlefield.
However.
Pa!
The acorn in Aiven’s hand and the sorcery barrier shattered simultaneously, leaving only a hot wind sweeping across the deck, with no further lethality.
Yet the [Flame Beast] created by sacrificing a flawless ruby remains far more resilient than a regenerable acorn.
The fiery lights scattered across the sky slowly gathered, reforming into a considerably smaller winged dragon.
However, now its form not only is reduced by a third, but the image is already somewhat blurred, no longer having the precise and majestic appearance from when it first emerged.
"Roar!"
"Indeed, it’s a tough opponent!"
Seeing the regrouped Flame Winged Hand Dragon circling in the sky, ready to dive again, Aiven calmly spread his hands toward the side of the sea:
acti——
The incantation, filled with vigorous vitality, echoed over the sea.
Among bubbling sounds like boiling water, a transparent water column resembling both a snake and a worm spun fiercely as it surged out of the sea.
Splish splash...
With one end connected to the seawater and the other reaching high above the surface, the water-body resounded with the turbulent noise of the rushing water, whipping its body toward the winged dragon in the sky like a whip.
Though formed by ordinary seawater temporarily imbued with [Activated Spiritual Light] by Aiven, which, if used against humans, could only drench them or drown them over several minutes, it holds ordinary lethality.
But against a fire element summon, this water column, formed by a three-meter-radius water ball with a total volume of 113 cubic meters, is fatal!
Bloop bloop...
Roar! Roar!
However, the lightning-fast sorcery duel wasn’t over.
Immediately following was the thunder of cannon fire.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!....
Having finally pinpointed the enemy, the "Stendeburg" was eager to restore its honor!
Amid thundering roars.
The 7 forty-pound and 10 twenty-four-pound cannons within the firing range unleashed their firepower simultaneously!
The five nine-pound cannons on the deck, which had suffered a previous shelling, also refused to be outdone. Under the command of their respective cannon commanders, they vented all their pent-up frustrations since the battle began.
Aiven was temporarily powerless to attend to the nearby "Endeavor," but at that moment, his abilities were enough to protect the "Storm Horn" under heavy concentrated fire!
He scattered a handful of seeds shaped like grape seeds.
flo——
[Official Witchcraft: Activated Plants!]
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!...
Under the blow of the spiritual wind, behind the bulwarks, a "Wizard Flytrap" rapidly grew every two meters with explosive speed.
Their appearance was now completely different from when Angie conducted her experiments!
The slender roots clung to the crevices of the deck, forming a dense network.
The stems, swaying like living beings, were thicker than an adult’s thigh, while the thick leaves fringed like eyelashes opened and closed slightly, with viscous transparent sap drawing long threads like a hungry ghost’s drool.
These plants resembled large alien carnivorous creatures more than plants.
Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!...
Faced with the incoming hot cannonballs, they moved with lightning speed, catching the shells with precision whether they headed toward the deck or the sides.
The thick leaves were soft and tough, strengthened by densely packed bristles for cushioning and the strong adhesion of the sap.
Bang——!
Even if the stems were momentarily taut, the cannonballs’ immense kinetic force was completely neutralized.
Even some of the powerful forty-pound cannonballs, relying on their formidable strength, managed to break free from the traps, yet they had lost all lethal force due to the previous buffering.
Seeing the combat effectiveness of these "Wizard Flytraps," Aiven couldn’t help but clap his hands, as this ability to transform plants was beyond his initial expectations.
Indeed, witchcraft is the primary productive force!
He had already decided to reward his chief disciple well later.
"By the way, it seems I still owe her a ’Magic Pocket.’ With Angie’s rate of progress, it won’t be long before she catches up, will it?"
Gulp——
The sailors, who narrowly escaped disaster, couldn’t help but swallow seeing the giant flytraps constantly swaying beyond the bulwarks, thinking that these things could easily devour a cannonball, so eating them wouldn’t be much trouble, would it?
"Don’t just stand there! Continue turning, circle to the blind spot and give them a hard pounding on their rear!
Rest assured, they have enemy recognition abilities, so you don’t need to worry about friendly fire.
Just be sure not to run too fast when passing by them."
"Yes... Yes, sir! Captain!"
Utilizing its agility relative to the Level 3 Battleship, "Storm Horn" and the less severely damaged "Endeavor" decided to launch another assault from the stern, the weakest spot of the "Stendeburg’s" firepower!
Moreover.
The "Ocean Treasure: Misty Silver Lamp," although single-purposed, has the advantage of consuming almost none of the holder’s energy, allowing its use for as long as desired.
After briefly clearing a one-kilometer-radius patch of clear sky, the surrounding fog began rolling back to regenerate. Before long, this sea area would become their domain again.
If you have the skill, let the already faded winged dragon try another "Ring of Fire Resistance" again!
This round of cannon fire might be the "Stendeburg’s" last chance.
As for the last Level 5 frigate, it was fast enough, but if it dared to chase them alone, not only would it fail to serve any deterrent role, it would simply become prey for the two battleships.
Actually, from the moment the initial two warships withdrew from the battle with severe damage, the role of a single frigate was greatly diminished, unable to effectively restrain the enemy.
The commander of the Hilus ship, seeing the two warships accelerating away, was furious.
How could such a fleeting opportunity be allowed to slip away?
If the mist closed up again, the turning point that just revealed itself in the battlefield would evaporate immediately!
"Don’t think about escaping again! Chase them down, board them! Let them see the might of the Hilus Marine Corps!"
Colonel Stanley, the captain, issued the order while quickly taking out a white horn from a mysterious creature from his waist pouch.
With all his might, this powerful Senior Knight blew into it.
Fwoo—
A deep hum echoed across the sea.
Soon after, the two battleships disengaging from the battle felt something amiss, as the fully-sailed battleships inexplicably began slowing down.
"What’s going on?"
Noticing the apparent speed difference, the officers on the ship immediately sensed the abnormality.
"It’s the ocean current, a reverse current has emerged beneath our ship!"
During sailing, smooth sailing conditions naturally yield the highest speeds.
However, when the wind direction and water flow are at odds, the forces will cancel each other out, drastically reducing speed, and even reversal is possible.
"Captain Robbins, sail independently away from the fleet! We’ll act separately and see if they can control both ships simultaneously!"
Upon hearing the odd horn sound, Aiven keenly linked the two together.
In hindsight, it made a lot of sense.
Pirates like "White Shark Sku" and "Basem" possess Ocean Treasures, so it’s not surprising for Level 3 battleships, a core strength of a naval overlord’s forces, to also have one.
"Adjust two compass points to the left!"
"Adjust two compass points to the right!"
Following Aiven’s orders, the two warships each made a course correction, steering toward the sides of the current.
However, after several engagements, Colonel Stanley, a seasoned Battleship Captain, clearly recognized which ship was the main force.
Identifying the "Storm Horn"!
No matter how many times it altered course, the reverse current firmly followed beneath the "Storm Horn," impeding its progress.
Splish splash...
At this point, the "Stendeburg" and the remaining frigate beside it had turned their bows to follow in pursuit.
With disappointing results in the artillery exchange, they had decided to deploy their specialty, the boarding maneuver, to eliminate the main force ship of the two enemy vessels!
However.
The once invariably effective ocean current in countless battles now failed to meet expectations.
The dim magic spiritual light enveloped the entire ship, under favorable wind conditions, the "Ship’s Figurehead: Seasonal Wind Goddess" could increase the "Storm Horn" speed by up to 30%.
Though delayed by the reverse current, the speed wasn’t reduced to an unbearable degree.
The most crucial point was that even at the current rate of approaching one another, the "Stendeburg" would certainly fail to catch up before the mist closed in again!
The highest commander, Fleet Commander Colonel Reynolds Ban, also realized this, maintaining an expressionless demeanor:
"Dean Edmund!"
The Holy Professional standing beside them gave a slight nod.
"The evil powers of the wizard shall ultimately be purified!"
Then, silently pouring an entire bottle of golden holy oil into the fire basin at their feet, despite weakened by consecutive divine arts, he still summoned the Holy Name of the Eternal Flame with the remaining power:
"Eternal Flame!...
May the fire protect the world, and cleanse impurities;
May the fire expose evil, and render sinners to ashes;
....."
[Divine Art: Flame Light Arrow!]
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yellow-orange dotted streaks burst forth from the fire bowl.
With a speed comparable to Alchemy Firearm bullets, they traversed the gradually narrowed gap within two hundred meters between the two warships, striking toward the "Storm Horn"’s sails.
Simultaneously, the flame-winged dragon that had been circling in the sky dove down, coordinating its efforts, sacrificing almost at the cost of mutual destruction with the twisting water column, finally intruding the warship’s close airspace.
Within the suddenly risen white mist.
The loyal "wizard flytrap," encountering its nemesis, swiftly transformed into torches, ending its brief existence.
Roar!
The sails could no longer escape the fate of being ignited.
Amidst the blazing flames, the "Storm Horn" completely lost speed, even if Aiven tried to summon more seawater to extinguish it, it was too late.
As the time remaining was no longer enough to swap sails.
No escape, it’s the time to brandish swords!
Aiven drew his longsword high over his head to commence his pre-battle rally:
"All crew, prepare to board, for the Kingdom!"
"Roar!!"
"For the Kingdom!"
Momentarily.
Far taller than the "Storm Horn," like a fortress on the sea, the "Stendeburg" heavily collided from the temporarily immobilized "Storm Horn" side.
Boom!
With the massive jolt of the ship.
"Charge—!"