He wanted to say that this was not his true strength, that he could still fight, but the sense of mortal danger around his neck constantly reminded him that he had already lost, and his life was in this man's hands. Any further aggressive action would be beyond even his divine powers to save him.
"The priest of the Storm God Set needs no mercy. I lost," the priest resignedly lowered his guard. No one knew what he was feeling when he admitted defeat.
Li Xi let out a long sigh. Fighting with people like this was too troublesome. If the force wasn't controlled properly, they'd be like a sticky plaster. Fortunately, this priest was straightforward enough to admit defeat when he did.
"I need to rush back to save people, so I won't be accompanying you for a chat, honored priest."
Li Xi gave a wry smile, sheathed his Lightning Cutter, and his body quickly landed on the water's surface. Li Xi had relied on the rapid movement of his Lightning Cutter technique combined with the strong wind to fly. As for guiding the lightning pillar to change direction, that was just a small trick. In the original work, Sasuke even used his Chidori to guide the natural lightning from the sky to form Kirin to attack his brother Itachi, so it wasn't strange that Li Xi could use the same method.
It was a relief that the priest admitted defeat and didn't cause trouble. Fights between experts like them were like this: one was a decisive victory based on absolute speed. No matter how many trump cards you had, if you didn't use them before losing, they were as good as nonexistent. How many famous experts had died at the hands of common thugs? Did that mean the thugs' martial arts were superior?
The second type was a chaotic brawl that lasted for three days and three nights, with neither side able to defeat the other, leaving only the question of who could outlast whom. That was rather tedious.
Fortunately, Li Xi hadn't encountered such an opponent so far. Either he quickly defeated his opponents, or he was chased around by them.
When Li Xi returned to the Pearl, he saw Flin and the others using the explosive talismans he had given them to bombard the pirate ships. One pirate ship was already showing only its sail at the water's surface; the rest of the ship had been blown to pieces, sinking into the water with only churning white foam. The fragments of wood floating on the sea were a testament to the ship's tragic end.
Li Xi understood. The light and airy explosive talismans couldn't be used for long-range attacks. But with Zuo Lin's Floating Spell controlling them, even people could be levitated, let alone pieces of paper. With the almost instantaneous casting of the Floating Spell, the explosive talismans had transformed from grenades into mortar shells.
Li Xi had given Flin about fifteen hundred explosive talismans. If Graybeard hadn't taken these small pieces of paper lightly, he would have suffered greatly.
Things unfolded exactly as Li Xi had predicted. When the Pearl was surrounded by Graybeard's four pirate ships, Flin didn't know the power of the explosive talismans. It was entirely because he trusted Li Xi that he tossed out five hundred of them.
Only those who manage a household truly know the cost of firewood and rice. If Li Xi had witnessed this scene, his heart would have ached terribly. The explosive talismans, carried by the Floating Spell, landed on the pirate ship Ghoul. At the time, the ship's captain, Krister, didn't take these things seriously. This was not his fault. Anyone unfamiliar with explosive talismans would react the same way the first time they saw them. It wasn't about anything else; it was like ancient people not understanding modern cars; they were not part of the same system.
As the explosive talismans adhered, ignited, and began to explode, the Ghoul finally paid the price for its short-sightedness and simultaneously set an example for the other three ships.
Five hundred explosive talismans were attached to one side of the ship. After the explosion, one entire side of the Ghoul's hull was blown away, exposing the interior directly to the sunlight. The busy sailors and the slaves struggling at the oars were stunned. Since when could the interior of the ship be seen by the sun?
This instantly caused a massive inflow of seawater, or rather, a direct deluge. The damage control team directly abandoned repairs. In their words, repairing the Ghoul, which had already lost half its structure, would be less effective than stealing another ship.
Except for some pirates on the deck who had a chance to escape, the pirates in the other cabins were directly pressed to the seabed by the immense water pressure, disappearing in a series of bubbles with the ship without even uttering a cry for help.
The power of these explosive talismans left the crew of the Pearl gaping in disbelief. Zuo Lin even found it hard to believe that the power of a single talisman could equal a small fireball spell. Although he could cast dozens of small fireballs with a flick of his wrist, they were nowhere as convenient as Li Xi's explosive talismans.
Because Flin had been unaware of the explosive talismans' power earlier, when half of the Ghoul was blown away, many talismans were stuck together, resulting in a serious waste of firepower. If controlled properly, one hundred talismans would have been enough to sink the Ghoul, let alone five hundred.
The Ghoul sank without firing a single arrow. The Pearl rejoiced at this sight. Flin, holding the remaining thousand explosive talismans, began to survey the other three ships with impunity. With such powerful weapons, why fear pirates? Sudan Novel Network
However, unlike the Pearl, Graybeard's heart bled as he watched the Ghoul sink. The reason he had dominated the nearby seas for so many years was precisely these four swift ships. Without even getting close enough for boarding combat, he had already lost a quarter of his fighting force. He almost fainted from heartache.
Yet, from that brief exchange, Graybeard had also seen the limitations of the explosive talismans: they required Zuo Lin's magical assistance, their flight speed was extremely slow, and they could be easily intercepted.
Therefore, Graybeard adjusted his tactics. The three swift ships, relying on their high-speed maneuverability, began to provocatively circle the Pearl, much like a lion pride hunting a herd of wildebeest on the savanna. They probed and harassed, constantly testing, and would strike decisively when the opportunity arose.
Graybeard's plan was not without merit. Every time his pirate ships approached the Pearl, Flin would use explosive talismans to attack. Over time, Flin's supply of explosive talismans dwindled rapidly.
As for Zuo Lin, who was of the level of a magus, he was being targeted by three longbow hunters armed with anti-magic arrows. As soon as he attempted to chant and cast powerful spells, he would be met with an anti-magic arrow attack. These arrows, which ignored magical defenses, were almost the nemesis of all mages. Meanwhile, Norhan and the others had to control the ship and protect Flin, leaving them short-handed. Compared to Zuo Lin, Flin's safety was undoubtedly more important.
So, by the time Li Xi returned, the Pearl was at a disadvantage. In less than three sandglasses, they would be boarded by over a thousand pirates and captured alive.
Of course, with Li Xi's return, the situation was bound to change.
"Water Style: Raging Waves!"
A ninjutsu that could create waves tens of meters high on land now, in the ocean, generated fifty-meter waves. The pirates bent their necks to the extreme, desperately dropping their spears and short blades. Such was the might of heaven; man was always so insignificant before nature.
So much so that Li Xi didn't even need to activate the ninjutsu to form a wave attack. He simply used
"Water Style: Thousand-Man Shark!"
Controlling the sharks to devour all the pirates except Graybeard, he successfully captured three pirate ships.
Li Xi didn't tear the pirates apart. Instead, he let the seawater suffocate them into unconsciousness. Then, he had the three bear goblins, who had nowhere else to go and were mixed amongst the crew, tie each pirate to the ship's railings. They were professionals at torture.
...
Two days later, at the port of Pashkovo, the exhausted tax collector Albert was drinking wine brought by a previous ship under a canopy. It had to be said that this high-class wine, affordable only at noble banquets, was indeed mellow. Even Albert couldn't quite pinpoint why it was so mellow.
Albert surveyed the natural, ice-free harbor before him. This was the only port for maritime transport heading north, one of the empire's significant sources of wealth. But it was also his source of wealth.
No one knew better than he the daily throughput here, nor how much his position as tax collector was worth. He wouldn't trade his position for that of a national minister.
Just as Albert was mentally calculating how much bribe money he had accumulated in his spatial ring that day, four medium-sized ships slowly appeared on the sea.
From his advantageous observation point, Albert habitually raised his magical telescope. He possessed a skill unknown to others: with just one glance at a ship and its waterline, he could estimate its cargo, its value, and how much bribe money he could receive.
But upon clearly seeing the ships rapidly approaching, Albert sprang to his feet. His chest heaved like a galloping horse, and his face was as pale as if he'd applied the white powder exclusively used by noble ladies.
What did he see? A burly man with a full beard was tied to the highest point of the mast. Apart from his face, which still identified him as Graybeard, who had terrorized the nearby seas for over a decade, the flesh and blood of the rest of his body had almost been pecked away by seabirds. Such severe injuries would have killed anyone else, but Graybeard was clearly being treated by a priest, which was slowing the progression of his wounds.
If it were just Graybeard, Albert wouldn't have been so terrified. But lining the sides of the ship were people dressed as pirates. Under the magical telescope, these individuals appeared as still as the dead. Their numbers were so great that they were packed one on top of another, nearly submerging the medium-sized ship to its waterline.
Behind them followed three infamous, swift pirate ships, known for their ability to catch any prey they targeted.
Needless to say, Graybeard's pirate fleet, which had plagued the nearby seas for years, had been wiped out in one fell swoop. Albert was inclined to curse why such crucial information hadn't been passed to him. The next moment, he grew uneasy, because his position as tax collector at a vital imperial port meant his hands were far from clean.
Collecting bribes from passing ships was trivial; many higher-ups were even content with it, as the money wasn't solely for Albert's personal gain. Everyone from top to bottom needed a cut. In essence, he was an employee, a representative of the higher powers, although no one knew precisely how much he profited.
What he truly feared was his private dealings with Graybeard being exposed. To earn extra income and support the dozen or so impoverished noble ladies he kept on the side, he sometimes leaked information about unimportant merchant ships to Graybeard, for which he received a considerable sum.
Now that Graybeard was captured, Albert didn't know if Graybeard had implicated him.
But regardless of whether Graybeard had confessed or not, he had to prepare for the worst. Gritting his teeth, he shouted to those nearby, "Go and mobilize the city defense forces. Say that unidentified enemies are invading."
Just as the attendant by his side was about to leave, Albert stopped him, a thoughtful expression flashing in his eyes. "Go and find out if anything significant has happened in Pabbite these past few days."
Albert, having reached his current status, was undoubtedly an intelligent man. The city defense forces, who were accustomed to extorting and bullying, might not be a match for the enemy. Moreover, most ships heading north departed from Pabbite. Those who could annihilate Graybeard in one go without any prior news must be no ordinary individuals. Such people would stand out anywhere, like gold in sand. Therefore, by inquiring about recent events in Pabbite, he was sure to find something.