Chapter 28: The Harbour Attack (2)

Back at Red Beard Hel's side, as it was already dark, the pirates who had landed lit torches, which were immediately spotted by the soldiers guarding the construction site of the Mage Tower, who hurriedly sent someone to Port Salzo for help.

But at that point, it didn't matter to the pirates whether or not they were exposed. They had more than 700 men on their side, and even if the soldiers from the port came to reinforce them immediately, it would be useless because the difference in numbers was too great. Besides, Salzo Port had also been attacked. It was not certain that they could come to help.

Of course, anyone who has climbed a mountain knows that this small hill is not high, because no one has ever walked on the sea side, but there is no road, so it is covered with trees, vines and weeds. It would take the pirates more than an hour to climb it, even if they walked and cut branches and leaves to clear a path.

In fact, the battle in the harbour ended half an hour ago, and the security officer is now rushing here with the soldiers. Although they were farther away than the pirates, they were not slow because they had a road with transport materials and were familiar with the road. More importantly, the two sides were separated by a small hill, so the pirates could not see the torchlight of the soldiers coming to help, and were completely unaware of it.

That's not all. The soldiers guarding the Mage Tower construction site immediately lit the beacon for help, which was then passed on from the beacon towers placed at high points throughout Baron Stewart's territory. Within half an hour, Christine in the castle knew that Porto Salvo had been attacked.

The beacon system for sending messages had long been in use on the continent, but basically nobody used it any more because every important pass and every town and city in every country had a wizard's tower. It was much more convenient to use the transmission array. And in the villages and towns, the most that happened was that thieves sneaked in or wild animals attacked, so there was no need to light beacons for help.

However, Christine did build a few temporary ones to ensure the safety of the Mage Tower construction site. This is also a simple thing to do. It involves building a small hut on a hill or other high ground and stationing five militia there. Supplies will be delivered every five days, and personnel will be rotated. The job is to stand guard day and night, and if you see someone lighting a fire in front of you, light one yourself. As there are extra coins to be earned, everyone vies for the job.

These beacon towers built by other nobles are useless.

Even if the message was received in time for the soldiers to gather and go to the rescue overnight, they would not arrive until noon the next day, as was the case with this pirate attack. But Christine was actually a fifth-level mage who had mastered the third-level spell 'Flight' and an improved version of it called 'Transoceanic Flight'.

The latter had a lower flight altitude, a slower flight speed, but a longer flight duration. Walking on the ground and flying in the sky were two very different things. It took a soldier two or three hours to cross a mountain, but the mage could fly over it in five minutes.

Christine didn't want to reveal her hidden power so easily, so she knocked on Master Adalet Morningstar's door and asked for his help.

The pirates were scheduled to attack at around 8pm, before Master Adalet Morningstar went to bed. Upon hearing Christine's request, he agreed without hesitation.

The attacking pirates were no match for a 15th level wizard, but Master Adalet Morningstar was still cautious and cast the protective spells 'Wizard's Armour', 'Shield', 'Protective Arrows' and 'Stone Skin' on himself. Christine, on the other hand, used a scroll to cast 'Wizard's Armour' and 'Arrows of Protection' on herself as well.

Master Adalet Morningstar cast a level 5 'Group Flight' spell to make them both fly in the air, then grabbed Christine's arm and cast a level 5 'Teleportation' spell, instantly appearing over the construction site of the Wizards' Tower.

The torches in the hands of the pirates climbing to the top of the small hill were very conspicuous in the dark night. Master Adret Morningstar slowly cast a level 5 Dead Cloud spell while holding the incantation. A cloud of highly poisonous fog 150 metres in diameter appeared above the pirates and began to drift down the slope.

After the highly toxic fog had dissipated, less than 200 of the original 700 pirates remained.

At this point, Christine cast a level 0 spell called 'Phantom Sound' on herself and shouted, 'I am Baron Stewart, and the person beside me is Master Adret Morningstar. I now command you to surrender immediately or all of you will be killed!

The pirates below had already been frightened by the enormous lethality of the 'Death Cloud Technique' and were about to flee. Now, after hearing Christine's voice, they knew that the two mages had intervened and immediately fell to their knees, too scared to move.

Legends said that magicians had great power. In the eyes of the pirates, the master mage had appeared not long after the sneak attack had begun. The pirates feared that the master mage had known all along. Now, with hundreds of their companions lying dead before them, the mage's horror was even more apparent. Who would dare disobey?

The rest was easy. Christian ordered the soldiers guarding the fort to come down and tie up the pirates, and then he flew to the fleet not far from shore.

In the middle of the night, noise travels far, and the pirates in the fleet first heard the screams of the dying pirates, and then Christian's shouts. They immediately panicked, some trying to surrender, others trying to escape in the boats.

But soon Christian flew over and shouted at them to all jump into the water and swim ashore to surrender.

Hearing the Master Wizard's voice from above, some of the timid ones immediately obeyed and jumped into the water, while the braver ones continued to steer the ship, unaffected.

In the dark, the pirates had to light the ship with lanterns, otherwise they would be unable to see. As a Dragonblood Warlock with half-elf blood, Christine's vision was of course beyond doubt, and she could clearly see who was trying to escape.

Without haste, she cast a spell and a 'magical rocket' exploded the head of the pirate leading the escape attempt. The others obediently jumped into the water. There was also a pirate on the nearby ship who was trying to escape by boat. Christine flew over and blew his head off with a 'magic rocket' and everyone else obeyed.

There may still be people hiding on the ship, but the ship's not just for a few people, so they can't even think about running away again.

Master Adalbert Morningstar saw that the situation was under control and said goodbye to Christine before teleporting back. Although Christine landed because her 'flight time' was up, none of the terrified pirates dared to resist or escape.

It wasn't long before reinforcements arrived, and with so many men, the pirates were quickly captured and escorted to the harbour for detention. On Christine's orders, a soldier with good water skills used the small boat left behind by the pirates to board the anchored sailing ship, effectively taking control of it as well.

The rest of the work was done by the knight's squire, so Christine didn't have to worry.