"Ambush!"
The ring of swords being drawn filled the room, while weapons cutting through the air in such a cramped wooden house made one's scalp prickle. Everyone in the room except Lydia Murray assumed the other side had set an ambush outside.
Everyone moved at once.
Amid the chaos came Captain Kidd's furious roar. "Field! You actually dared bring the Count's lackeys here!"
Facing the pirates surging toward them, Gaden Hank was the fiercest man on Field's side and charged to the front first. Gaden was not a mage. He drew his shortsword and planted himself in front of Lydia, putting up a solid defense in the cramped space.
Lydia closed her eyes, then opened them again. One of the pirates suddenly stiffened, his expression freezing as he stood rooted to the spot. Gaden did not hesitate. His shortsword slashed straight toward the pirate's chest. Unfortunately, there were too many pirates. Another pirate yanked the frozen man aside, and Gaden's slash left only a wound across his right shoulder.
Leo blocked the green olive spat by the alluring female pirate with his round shield. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught what had happened on Lydia's side and recognized it as the attack method of a Soul Mage.
No. A Fallen Soul Mage. An attack method of the Disciples of Desire.
Lydia Murray was beautiful, but she was nowhere near as harmless as she looked.
Two short blades dropped from the sleeves of Field the bard. At the same time, the bindings around his legs suddenly came loose.
Those bindings were actually two leather cords!
Leo finally saw another combat style of a Form Mage. The D-Grade Form spell Black Sinew Leather Cord could actually be controlled with the feet, freeing both hands to wield other weapons.
Field met the pirate leader Kidd head-on. Faint afterimages surrounded Kidd's fists, distortions created as light refracted through the air. The pirate captain was clearly a mage as well.
At the same time, the alluring pirate Jeanne Belleville blew a strange whistle. Its pitch was extremely high and carried with remarkable penetration. She was obviously using it to signal someone.
Kidd's side already had six people, while Field's side had only three. Leo and Brad, meanwhile, formed a third party with the fewest people of all. If the pirates' reinforcements arrived, there would be no possibility of victory.
Leo did not know whether Field's group was good or evil, but right now it was obvious that the strongest group, Kidd's pirates, had to be brought down first. The second- and third-strongest sides were natural allies. Ganging up on the strongest first was simply the most sensible strategy.
Leo stared fixedly at the bald pirate. Kidd was short and stocky, with triangular eyes. Leo could not make out his expression, only a trace of black gleaming through the narrow slits.
Capture the leader first!
Leo swung his mace, smashed through the wooden wall, and charged straight at Captain Kidd behind his shield. Only three steps separated them. Leo could even see the oily shine on Kidd's bald head glimmering in the candlelight.
Miraculously, the candle was still burning, though the wind stirred up by blades, fists, and feet sent its flame swaying wildly. Leo braced his shield with his left forearm and crossed the distance to Kidd in two steps. Then he noticed the contempt in Kidd's eyes.
Leo did not understand. Was his mace not intimidating enough? Captain Kidd swung his fist and drove a straight punch into Leo's shield. A fist of flesh and blood against an iron shield. Why was he so confident?
The next instant, Leo understood why. His mace was never going to land on Captain Kidd's gleaming bald head. Leo saw Kidd's fist drive straight forward, yet there seemed to be afterimages around it. A violent vibration nearly tore the shield from Leo's hand.
Wave Shock Fist!
A Wave Mage concentrated mana into his fist. The instant the fist struck an object, the Wave mana transformed into an overwhelmingly violent vibration with tremendous knockback force. The vibration traveled in the same direction as Kidd's punch, an exceptionally powerful longitudinal wave.
Against that vibration, even Leo's densified shield was useless. The vibration became a tremendous burst of energy and sent Leo flying backward even faster than he had charged in. His body smashed through the wooden wall and vanished outside.
The fighting inside the house was fierce. Brad had barely taken his first step when a dark shadow whooshed across his vision.
Leo had been sent flying!
Brad looked again at the room full of pirates glaring at him as though they wanted to tear him apart, then turned and ran without looking back. In a situation like this, obviously the first thing to do was rescue Leo, Brad thought.
After flying backward through the air for some distance, Leo slammed heavily into the ground. Fortunately, the sand here was soft and gave him some cushioning. His shield arm, left shoulder, left side of his chest, and the entire left half of his head all felt as though they had come apart.
His throat felt horribly blocked, and he could barely draw breath. Seeing Leo looking as if he were suffocating, Brad hurriedly pounded him on the back.
Leo vomited, and at last he could speak. "Wave Mage! That bald pirate is a Wave Mage!"
Fortunately, what Leo spat out was not blood, only the dinner he had eaten at Old Hank's that evening. At least that proved his internal organs had not ruptured.
Brad's heart jumped. He looked toward the wooden house with some fear.
Were mages really this common now? Even pirates had mages?
"Wave Mage?" Brad asked. "Aren't mages supposed to be officers under the Count?"
Leo could not help coughing several times. His voice trembled slightly. "Obviously, a pirate leader isn't an officer of the Count of Blackport. Anyone connected to the night Blackport City burned is dangerous."
Brad asked anxiously, "Leo, are you badly hurt? Should we run first?"
Leo moved his left arm, then cautiously rolled his shoulder, causing his chest to shift slightly. "I'm all right. I need to rest for a while. My worst injury is that my internal organs have been displaced. It's still within an acceptable range."
By now, the wooden house had descended into a complete melee, with Kidd's pirates and Field's group fighting each other. The sudden appearance of a Wave Mage had completely thrown Leo off his rhythm.
Wave Mages were rarely seen on the Narnia Peninsula. They were more common farther east, in the Havendi Republic. Wave Mages were mages capable of producing vibrations, and they were also known as Combat Pugilists.
Wave Mages happened to counter Cipher Mages, leaving Leo unsure what to do for the moment. For a Cipher Mage like Leo, the strongest thing he could rely on was armor and protective equipment reinforced by Cipher spells. Even bullets from a matchlock would fail against such protection.
But against a Wave Mage, that defensive power was greatly reduced. A Wave Mage's vibrations could pass through a shield and directly injure the person holding it.
Seeing that Leo had no intention of fleeing, Brad swallowed, gathered his courage, and said, "Leo! Don't be afraid! I'm a Form Mage. I counter Wave Mages!"
Among the five schools of magic, the four aside from Soul Spell had relatively clear relationships of mutual support and countering. Wave Magic countered Cipher spells, while Form Magic countered Wave Magic.
Because Form Mages specialized in flexible weapons such as chain whips, vibrations had difficulty traveling through those soft weapons. Form Mages therefore genuinely did counter Wave Mages. Wave Mages also had extremely short attack ranges, while Form Mages possessed powerful binding abilities, allowing them to restrain Wave Mages who relied heavily on fists and feet.
Leo gave Brad a somewhat sympathetic look, unsure what to say.
"Theoretically, you're right. But an E-Grade Form Mage probably can't counter a D-Grade Wave Mage."
The instant Brad heard that the opponent was a D-Grade Mage, he wilted. "Are D-Grade Mages as common as bread now?"
Leo coughed twice more. "I can't move violently right now. I need to rest for a while. Brad, you're up next.
"Don't charge in. Use the Brown Snake Rope spell to keep the pirates occupied for a while and buy some time for Lydia's side."
"Lydia? Senior Lydia Murray?"
Brad looked back in confusion. The woman wearing the purple mask really did look very much like Lydia Murray.
The finger-thick hemp ropes wrapped around Brad's arms loosened and unfurled. He breathed out a puff of hot air and said, "I understand, Leo. I'll stall them. From here on, it's my show!"
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