B6 Chapter 33: Boarding Maneuver

Heya. Llama here. Serious talk. I've lost a good amount of subs lately. I don't blame yah. I haven't been posting as I should be. Well, just here to reconfirm something. I'll be posting a TGW chapter a day till we reach back to where we are supposed to be. This I promise. Things are finally settling down just a little, so I can finally announce the big news.

New, exciting, terrifying for me news. But news! And why I've been mia somewhat.

I'll make a real post separate from this and explaining a bit more there, but for now:

I am officially an author! Book One of FHC (Fairytale Hunter Cain) is officially out on amazon in kindle, and audible format. It was a little bit of a surprise tbh, but it's out and now all my anxiety is being hyperfocused on that. Wooooooo......

Anyway, along with getting a tgw chap up and running till we are back at where we need to be. I'll also be posting more fhc chaps again until we reach the end.

Anyway more on that in the seperate post, here's the next chapter before I crash and pass out. ~~~~LLama.


***

In an instant, Ellena was by our side. She remained silent as her first mate continued issuing orders. Previously empty spaces retracted, revealing holes for which one of the crew would reach into. 

What they pulled out looked like thin, mechanical crossbows wrapped in a silver chain. Not all were the same; the crossbows near the front had thicker bases and longer bodies. Even stranger was when a group of crewmates sprouted from the lower decks carrying a box in their arms. 

Once they neared the crossbows, they slammed the boxes down and flipped them open, revealing metal rods with glass bulbs at the end.

“Alchemic fire?” Khrem asked.

“Some.” Ellena pointed at the front of the ship where the larger ballistae were equipped with torpedo-shaped tubes. “Piercer Bolts. Shredder rounds and mana loaders.”

“You’re not worried about the approaching ship?” Sereza asked.

By now, they were nearing enough that if Ellena called for it, they could have fired upon the approaching vessel. 

Ellena shook her head. “I am, but they are not the  immediate concern.”

I raised a brow, but I settled in to watch. For added measure, I placed myself in front of Teldrin–keeping him within tail-grabbing distance.

“Hold steady!” the first mate shouted.

All guns were aimed and trailed the ship’s path. One man started to squeeze the trigger, but a chain from below slapped his hand away before yanking him down.

The grey-skinned oni glanced back toward her captain and nodded. Returning to face the oncoming ship, she pointed at the startled man and growled.

“Iyura, replace Stodges! Do not fire unless ordered! I repeat, do not fire unless you are damn well told to. Any who disobey is getting dragged behind the ship with a few missing digits! Got it?”

The ship arrived quickly, and I flashed a signal to my team. They spread out, mana readying in case we needed to defend ourselves.

Ellena never took her eyes off the ship until the moment its figurehead breached through a wave. Whatever illusions that empowered the ship retracted, revealing the vessel in its full glory. 

Silver.

From the wood to the color of the sails, silver adorned every inch. The only blot of color amidst the metallic sheen was the crew's attire, their shirts made of white with gold edges.

The much larger vessel sailed to the side, approaching like a charging bull. When it steered sideways, a secondary barrier of light caught the sunlight, refracting what looked like triangular panels of nearly invisible mana. 

The first mate raised her hand, but the opposing ship sailed past. I sensed before I saw it, and grabbed onto Teldrin’s waist.

The secondary barrier flashed, and in that instance, a pulse of mana erupted from the bottom of the ship.

It wasn’t often you could describe such a large object as having teleported, but in the same blink, the ship was now fifty meters away.

In its place, a whirling mass of mana sank into the waters below. The ship hadn’t actually teleported. Runes on in the wood discharged, displacing the water and using it to glide across at incredible speed.

The whiplash sent a torrent of air and seawater spraying against us. A few of the crew who were waiting by the sails unleashed their skills, creating zones of wind to fight against the sudden spray.

Not all were spared as one elven woman was hammered into the deck.

“What the hells was that?” Sereza yelled as she anchored her tail onto Zog, who remained unmoved.

“Expensive enchantments trademarked to the Silver Hand,” Ellena explained. She straightened her coat, her eyes honing in on where I felt mana gathering. “Incredibly wasteful enchantments. They are only used in desperate situations.”

“Then why did they approach us and then use it? That makes no sense.”

She’s not looking at the ship anymore. So?

The mana below started to gather and the clanking of chains started to rattle in the background.

I pulled Teldrin in and braced as ocean water rose in a titanic wave. Breaching the foam, a jagged maw half the size of the ship’s sail released a wailing that distorted the air.

Dark-pink, rubbery flesh followed as a titan of a half-shark, half-squid beast whipped around. A clawed pseudo-tentacle slashed toward the side.

“Fire!”

A barrage of bolts impacted the side of the monster’s head, pushing it back. Two bolts exploded in blue flame pockets while two of the heavier rods rose further into the air. The metal of the rods superheated as enchantments surged, and the metal shattered, reshaping into a salvo of arm-length needles. 

Those with ranged skills launched their attacks, following the oni’s orders. I had to hand it to her; she was a good commander. 

It wasn’t enough; the sea beast had half a dozen more limbs underneath the surface and pulled them upward in fury. 

Ellena raised her hand and chains sprouted from the ship mimicking the beast. Where tentacle rushed forward, chains met the impact and hooked into flesh.

Angered by the failure to swat away its prey, blue mana clouds started to form above its maw. 

“Fenox! Yules,” the oni shouted.

In response, two muscular beastkins rushed forward and handed over beach-ball-sized spheres. The first mate hefted one and activated a skill, conjuring a surge of neon green rings around her limbs. 

She backed up once, then twice, and launched it into the air. When the clouds started to condense into bubbling panels of water, the spheres met the jets and exploded. More flames rocked the boat, forcing the creature back as it released a pain-filled wail.

Ellena raised her hand and extracted something from the explosion, drawing geysers of blood as silver spikes bore into the creature’s hide.

While the sea beast made for nightmare fuel fit for stupid Hollywood movies, Ellena and her crew were no chumps. 

I glanced over toward Zog and found him bouncing on his feet. He met my gaze and grunted.

“Feeling left out?” I asked.

“Of course,” he replied.

I turned to Sereza and found her waiting expectantly. “What’s the plan?”

“What makes you think I have one?”

“Just get on with it,” she said as she rolled her eyes.

I gestured to Ellena. “You have this handled?”

“It is a juvenile Crakakeren. We should fell this beast without much trouble,” Ellena said.

“Good. If Teldrin gets a scratch, heads will roll.” I turned to Teldrin and patted his shoulder. “Sorry, kid. You’ll have to enjoy the show for now.”

To my surprise, Teldrin wasn’t disappointed. He looked on with excitement in his eyes. “I understand. Are you attacking the monster?”

“Nope!” I chuckled. Turning to Khrem, I held out my hands. “Flight oil, please.”

“Aaah. That’s your plan.”

Khrem pulled out three vials filled with transparent green oil. I tossed one to Sereza and Zog before uncapping my vial and dowsing myself. The oil spilled across my clothes and skin, settling over me like a thin veil. 

Almost immediately, the whiplash from the battle next to us began to push against my body. 

“Working already,” I said.

“Are we sure this won’t set him on fire? Oil doesn’t usually mix well with flames,” Sereza said, jerking her thumb at Zog.

I shrugged. “If it does, that’s just more fuel for him to use.”

“He is correct,” Zog confirmed.

“Lunatics as my teammates.”

“What are your plans?” Ellena asked.

She shifted her arm, and twin chains slammed into the creature’s head, binding its maw and disrupting whatever attack it was about to unleash. The fight was far from over, but I wouldn’t have bet on the beast winning.

“Saying hello to our friends over yonder,” I said.

Her eyes flicked my way. “They have two barriers. Standard procedure for all Silver Hand Vessels.”

“Perfect. Zog? Want to destroy the first?”

“With pleasure!” he laughed.

“That settles it! Ready, guys?”

“Ready.”

“Ready.”

“Khrem?” I asked.

He held up a hand. “I have the boy. Please proceed and collect data. Take these as well.”

I was given two glass orbs filled with swirling, red mist. I pocketed them and nodded. 

We approached the side of the ship, drawing the eyes of the first mate. She snarled, but Ellena ignored her questioning glare as we reached the railing.

“Alright, Zog, if you don’t mind throwing us,” I said.

Zog grabbed me in one arm and tucked Sereza in the other. With a boisterous laugh, he crouched and launched into the air. 

I weaved mana into Storm King’s Tempest, and Sturmrorex appeared, circling us. A mini tornado formed as we continued to rise. 

“Now!” I shouted.

Zog used his skill and conjured jets of flames under his limbs. I was launched first, then Sereza. Sturmrorex roared, and we sailed through the air in a current of wind. 

I began to weave mana into another skill as orange and crimson filled the background. 

Zog zipped like a missile, over-taking us with Sturmrorex wrapped around his arm. My familiar discharged a bolt of lightning that smashed into a barrier, lighting it up for all to see. 

“This is crazy!” Sereza yelled.

“I know!” I laughed.

When the first bolt dissipated, I opened my mouth and activated Roar of the Spirit Lord.

Sturmrorex’s scales became plasma as his horn lengthened into curved bars of glowing light. When he released a second bolt, it seared the beam into my vision as purple jetted through the air.

Zog arrived a second later with two ghostly fists charged. All four limbs smashed into the hardened mana. It held for a blink before shattering.

Sturmrorex opened his jaw, and a gale pushed them back, holding them aloft.

The oil was working as intended and I leaned forward, summoning my second familiar. 

Magnus appeared, and I tossed him forward. Those behind the barrier were starting to rally, but slowly.

A grin stretched across my face as Magnus’s claws met the second barrier.

Those whose confidence had held firm only a moment ago gasped in fear as Magnus’s body shone with prismatic light. The barrier stretched like cloth being pulled into a whirlpool as he devoured it all. 

He landed on the ship’s deck with gentle steps. I landed next in a roll, summoning my spear as Sereza slowed her momentum by activating and deactivating her movement skill.

I stood up and Zog joined me as Sturmrorex rose into the air. 

“We’ve been boarded. Atta–”

The order was cut off as Zog flashed forward, smashing the heel of his foot into the man’s lower jaw.

Chaos broke loose and attacks started to fly, but Magnus created a safe zone around us. He used the very mana that once protected them as he slowly padded forward, his crystalline fur raised.

“I didn’t think that’d work,” Sereza coughed.

“But it did,” I said.

“It shouldn’t have. That was crazy.”

I shook my head. Mana weaved into another skill, and blood spilled outward only to reverse and sink into my chest. Crimson grew over my limbs and clothes, adding padded hide and longer limbs.  

Show time!