The Phantom Ship line was pouring cannon fire in the thick of the remaining high-speed ships, five Battleships rushed forward in a triangular formation.
"Oh he he he, here come the hu-mans'
"Send them to the bottom!"
The Phantom Fleet guns targeted the high-speed ships.
"Fire! Why isn't it working?"
Ghost1 being able to hit a target they are aiming at is stretching reality to the breaking point.
"I'm blind as a bat. Can't see nothing. That big Ka-boom and pop sound scared me. I think that's the sound our boat makes when it's about to sink."
Ghost fire the cannons with eyes tightly closed. Discipline aboard an unruly Phantom Ship was completely nonexistent.
How a ship is sitting in the water in relation to the enemy is important, even if you fire without aiming it's more than enough if your ship's guns are roughly pointed in the direction of the enemy.
Water columns billow up all around the high-speed ships, a cannonball splinters a mast and then smashes away a small part of the deck. Many of the cannonballs were duds that failed to explode, even so the speed and weight of these balls did plenty of damage.
You really had no luck when these duds would some time later suddenly explode. Of course you can only expect bad luck when fighting against Phantom Ships. Bizarre events would also occur like a swarm of rats that would scamper from the cargo decks and spread a plague.
"Bear straight ahead! All sails! Admiral's orders!"
The captain and crew of the battleship were assaulting the center of the Phantom Fleet formation.
Since NPC sailors trained by the Haven Kingdom have high loyalty, even a mission with a high risk of death would be performed without hesitation.
The center group of battleships had to endure heavy fire as they charged forward, Drinfeld's two flanking combat squadrons took damage as they were struck by rocks and reefs as they navigated their way through the shoals to gain the open sea.
"Open gun ports. Fire. Fire. Fire!"
Cannon fire from the flanking squadrons blasted out red flames and smoke. These well-aimed broadsides struck the Phantom Ships easily.
"Ke ke ke, the ship's on fire."
"Pour the Grog. Let's put out that fire. Eh? It just got bigger. Ah well, it was a bit too cold but now it's nice an' toasty."
With the escalating flames you could see the phantom crews running around uselessly as their ship was sinking.
"Fire!"
When the combat squadrons opened fire they easily overwhelmed the Phantom Ships.
"Don't spare the ammo. Load the flame-shots!"
These flame-shots were custom made to explode in the air creating a dazzling ball of exploding flames. The flames continued to spread out in ropy thick trails covering the Phantom Ships with fire.
With the rain getting weaker these fires were not easy to put out.
The flanking 1st and 3rd squadrons drew more attention from the Phantom Ships, they began moving off station sailing toward those squadrons.
At the very moment of this new tactic, a piercing horn sounded from the battleship of Drinfeld.
"Main Fleet Advance!"
Holding back in the river until that moment Drinfeld took now took the rest of his ships and headed straight for the center of the Phantom Fleet.
Under constant fire from the Phantom Fleet some ships ran aground on the rocks, others recklessly braved the rocks in the Unfreezing River charging ahead using their full sailing speed.
"Once you reach the sea open fire. Fire as fast as you can load!"
Looking like they were spitting out flames the combat ships opened fire. Phantom Ships to the left and right of Drinfeld's main fleet were hit and began sinking.
Meanwhile, Weed precious sculpture lifeforms were able to sail to safety on board his Phantom Ship.
"We want to fight. Didn't you say we were needed for a big battle earlier!"
A large sculpture lifeform form holding a bamboo spear and carved to look like the goblin hero 'Kerra of the North' was objecting. One of the few sculpture lifeforms of a monster hero. An aggressive type it held little affection towards it's parent.
Weed just shook his head since there was no chance of that happening.
"Let me ask you, do you know why I granted all of you life?"
Yellowy, Golden Bird and Silver Bird all came up with the answer at the exact same time.
"To make money."
"Isn't it for the money?"
"Is there any other another reason except for money?"
Though currently a skeleton Lich and a complete miser, Weed nonetheless put on smile like a loving brother.
"You guys, right now you are just like newborn babies."
"No that's not true!"
Kerra of the North was objecting once again.
The other lifeforms that resembled famous creatures from well-known stories felt that they too were being needlessly slandered. If you damage the pride of sculpture lifeforms you end up losing intimacy with them, if it falls low enough they could declare independence and leave.
The current appearance of a Lich was also very unpleasant to look at.
The sculptural lifeforms had a clumsy obsession with appearance and were starting to see Weed as unworthy, but of course all of this was part of the plan.
"Did you know that the broad continent of Versailles is a beautiful, fun and blissful place?
You guys are lifeforms that I consider to be my own children. If you were to fight in this battle for my sake and die it would leave me nothing but endless days filled with grief.
I would do anything protect and defend all of you . Even if it is something worse than having to become this Lich, I would be happy to do so."
The heart of a parent for their children!
"This battle is my responsibility. So just plan to watch it from far away."
"I don't want to. I still want to fight."
Even after hearing this story the sculpture lifeforms that had been carved to look like large ferocious creatures were still insistent.
They have very prickly personalities but once tamed they're very easy to keep happy and loyal.
Yellowy and Golden Bird began to think aloud.
"Now they'll get a beating!"
"He'll suggest they go to a private place and have a talk!"
Weed could tell his warm words hadn't be able to move the sculpture lifeforms.
He next asked with a kind loving voice, like a mother who's child has just gotten into medical school what they would like for breakfast.
"I'm going to build a house for all of you. I'll also make delicious food. Isn't that what a family is all about? This way we can all live together and enjoy a wonderful life forever."
"I want to fight."
"Ok, alright. You will get plenty of chances to fight as much as you like later on. At that time I'll lead you myself."
"This is your Oath."
"Of course. For now take a break and build up your strength, once we reach land then you can fight with me.
I"m your parent. My only dream is to help you all achieve great things in life.
This is a job I'm resolved to do no matter what, or do you believe those words that I only care about money?"
"Of course not."
The Sculpture Lifeforms were impressed by Weeds concern for their lives.
"Oh, We've met a good owner."
Being able to show his deep concern Weed was able to acquire more intimacy.
If it were just a few Sculpture Lifeforms it was easy to employ blackmail or violence to handle everything.
Sculpture Lifeforms are difficult to manage so allowing the feelings of respect and appreciation to grow in their hearts made giving them any kind of orders later much easier for them to swallow.
A natural swindler ability honed and polished!
This sudden transformation wasn't awkward or indecisive. Weed had prepared for this well in advance, even as they were leaving.
Even Seoyoon was taken in.
"I'm happy seeing such a good father."
Weed responded with gentle humility. "Well, I did hope, you do understand? I just want to see things done right, perhaps it's my soft nature but I want to take proper care of them. I'm not looking for any kind of reward."
Yellowy and Golden Bird felt ready to puke.
In naval warfare close combat is less important thus there is less use for Sculpture Lifeforms.
'They'll earn me lots of money over the next 20 years, so they are not allowed to die here.'
If the ship were to sink most Sculpture Lifeforms can't swim and they would drown, wasting all that potential! Furthermore Sculpture Lifeforms have tremendous power to change the outcome of a battle. Truthfully it was also too soon to reveal them!
All of the Sculpture Lifeforms were ordered away from the battlefield except for those that could fly or swim.
Only once all of Weed's Sculpture Lifeforms returned to the ship did he turned his attention to the battle behind him, Drinfeld ships were now rapidly closing the distance to Phantom Fleet.
Each successful cannonade was able to hit below the water line and begin to sink those Phantom Ships.
The sea looked like it was on fire, cannons boom out loud enough to tear your eardrums.
On their own the Undead have a very low intellect unless they are under the direct command of a Necromancer.
Weed aboard his Phantom Ship now took command.
"Form up into a defensive line in front of the advancing enemies. Phantom Ship unit 'Magellan', bear off then come about!"
Ordinarily phantom ships used in attacking or sinking ships are mostly on the medium to small side, on the other hand large passenger ships also become phantom ships.
The Magellan!
The Magellan, a 590 passenger ship that had disappeared only to reappear as a phantom ship, just now it had been sailing away from the fleet at an acute angle only to suddenly change course to intercept the 2nd squadron.
"It's bearing down from our left!"
One battleship Captain cried out and tried to avoid the Magellan but the still floating sections from other phantom ship wrecks was blocking them. Ghost in small boats also appeared, they acted like fishermen and even spread fishing nets out into the sea.
"I"m going to eat all these fish myself."
"I really don't like sharks, I can't stand them. A shark once gobbled me up. Scared the shit out of me."
The fishing boats delayed the battleships allowing the Magellan to ram the battleships causing a three ship chain collision.
A serious traffic accident at sea!
The crash caused gun crew sailors to fall into the waters, now not only could they not use their guns but the hulls took a lot of damage. Just as the captain and crew where about to get back up after being thrown to the deck, the ghost crews from the passenger ship flew over.
"It's been a long time since I've gone outside."
"Come on, down on your knees. His Excellency the Marquis!"
On the passenger ship the Knights, Ladies, and Nobleman had all turned into ghosts.
"A new ship. The passenger ship we were sailing was captured by ghost on our voyage too, we'll be stealing this ship and keeping her till the end."
"Oo ki ki ki!"
Ghost swung like monkeys boarding the ship using the mast ropes. The passenger ship was haunted by a huge amount of ghosts. While the whole fleet was being blocked, from every direction came more phantom ships to ram them.
After being rammed a ship was not captured, Ghost would have to board in order to take over the ship, once they did it would rapidly change.
Ting!
-All personnel of this sailing vessel have died. The ownership of the battleship 'Decker' will be transferred over to the ghosts.
It is a requirement under this transfer that the ship be transformed into a phantom ship.
The battleship underwent a sudden aging progression. New ghost begin to work the navy gun. Battleship cannon fire started towards Drinfeld's squadron.
With the high-speed ships already sunk Weed now cleverly took advantage of the newly created combat ready Phantom Ships. Using the natural abilities of the Phantom Ships Drinfeld's fleet was left with no choice but to use the only open path.
In the sea you could travel in many directions. The more the cannons fired the slower a combat ship could turn.
Purposely allowing them to advance in the only open direction, the Phantom fleet was waiting and bombarded the oncoming battleships.
The heavy fire caused the advance to come to halt.
"You guys fight too!"
Weed summoned Van Hawk and the proud Vampire Lord Tori.
"I can feel my master's power has grown stronger."
"Kau-raaa ! The old lost power has returned. I would love to find out what that blood taste like."
The skills levels of Death Aura and Summon the Undead were higher now and it had affected both Van Hawk and Lord Tori.
After being summoned their Undead bodies could detect the Death Aura flow. 2
Both Lord Tori and Van Hawk had originally been underlings of the Undead Lich Lord Barkhan, they were both exceptionally strong boss class monster. Their current levels had grown from the early days by something like 200 to 300 levels.
However without a Necromancer to support them the Undead won't be able to utilize that strength fully.
They could fight on their own without support due to the Necromancer abilities to enhance the Undead
Of course there had been many pitiful scenes when Weed would beat these underlings without mercy, yet without the advanced Undead skills he had no choice if he wanted to be able to make use Van Hawk and Tori.
"Bear-away the ship."3
The three mad-crazy sharks of Becky Nin came alive with the command. They changed current sailing tack bringing them closer to the Haven Kingdom battleships fighting the Phantom Fleet.
"Go!"
Van Hawk jumped onto the enemy's deck. The Death Knight also took 100 underlings with him.
Weed's higher abilities as a Necromancer had increased the Death Knight Van Hawk's mana and he was now able to control a large number of subordinate Undead.
Some of the Death Knights force were able to summon phantom steeds which they rode as they scoured the enemy deck with blood.
"We'll take care of this fight. We, the True Blood Vampire Clan, will drink of the blood that lies before us."
As Tori's spoke his eyes became red as he transformed into his bat form. As the night became darker the Haven Kingdom cannons fired less as if it was growing weaker, yet for the Vampire Lord Tori the dark only made him stronger.
Vampire bats are rather difficult to fight against in a naval battle.
The other members of the True Blood Clan also transformed into bats and with Tori leading them attacked the nearest battleship.
The gun crews loading the cannons, the officers and the even pilots at the helm were violently bitten in the neck.
"You are now my underlings."
"Yes my Lord."
"Attack all those still living."
"Yes, my Lord!"
These puppets fired their cannons against their former navy battleships.
"What the hell? Is this some kind of crazy mistake?"
"Another! Return fire!"
Nobody could understand what was going on in the midst of this chaos. The True Blood Vampire Clan then used their enchantment magic captivating them within a world of illusion. With the night sky theirs to command the Vampires could now easily fly about without having to worry about enemy fire.
Since Weed as a Lich was now a proper superior, Van Hawk and Tori's combat skills became an unbelievable sight to behold.
Weed had prepared for the sea by having Bingyong and the Wyverns circling the area at a distance where they couldn't be seen.
"You guys over there, you fight too."
Golden Bird, Silver Bird, Phoenix and sea creatures without names were also committed to the battle.
"Use hit and run tactics for this fight. Bingyong and the Wyverns will be in command of the battle."
"Roger, Master."
Bingyong and the Wyvern's were very happy. They have a lot of younger brothers so being born early was a special reward they never got tired of!
"They all have to follow us."
Many of the lifeforms in the sea got drawn in to the battle along with the sea monsters. Above them flying in an accomplished formation was Bingyong, Phoenix and the Wyvern's.
They flew through the dark sky with a fiery glow and with claws ripped the canvas sails into shreds. They would grab the gun crews and drop them into the sea.
"The battle situation isn't looking too good Admiral."
Drinfeld's ships were shrinking. The problem was the sunken ships were being changed into Phantom Ships that would rise then turn and attack them.
Everything in the surrounding water was being saturated with bad luck which spread out like radio waves from all of the Phantom Ships. Even though there was no specific spells being used Weed's Necromancer skills caused the sunken ships to become Phantom Ships over time.
"That bastard really pisses me off."
Many of the Phantom Sailing Ships were very old. They were slow and the gunnery wasn't much but they had excellent battle formations. Weed's control of the sea meant that he could defend his vulnerable supply ships from attack.
"The combat has changed to close quarter hand-to-hand free for all, Admiral."
Drinfeld's fleet was centered on their tactical ability to be able to out gun the enemy. The Navy knights and crew were trained by default for cannons, since guns were better than swords at sea. They had never lost at a ship to ship firefight but against this army of sea monsters it was all hand-to hand combat.
Drinfeld's flagship combat troops had been reinforced from the Hermes Guild, they were brought on board since their holy magic and flames spells could sink the Phantom Ships. The Phantom Ships excelled at hand-to-hand combat while the rank-and-file battleships did not.
Having protection of sacred power was very limited since it was mostly nonexistent, the fact was that there were too few priests traveling with them. When the ghost boarded their ships they were left with no choice but to panic.
Weed brought his ship in at a sharp angle to be side by side with a battleship. High-toned moral justifications have been used throughout history thus it goes on without saying.
"They've prepared a feast!"
The natural state of human beings!
Weed's eyes just can't see anything outside of experience and items. He wielded his sword with the ghost who fought against the sailors. Weed was afraid he might miss some items.
"A Lich!"
Seeing Weed many sailors would lose their fighting spirit and run away.
This was the Lich's ability to create fear and it showed how effective his Death Aura had become.
In fact even thought the battle was difficult it wasn't enough to excite him. Except for being weak against a priest Necromancer class is one of the very best available.
Using his smooth flying glide Weed grabbed sailors by scruff of their necks.
"Mana drain!"
Taking mana from the crew he then used it to re-summon Phantom Ships which had previously been sunk. Bubbles rose up from underwater then an instant later many Phantom Ships bobbed to the surface.
There is a real reason to fear a Lich's absurdly powerful abilities. With the Death Aura increasing their health, fighting skills and mana, the Undead are able to take more of the enemy lives.
The health and mana strengthened the Undead while at the same time was able to raise the sunken Phantom Ships. As the central pivot for the Undead, a Lich was able to rule like a King.
Drinfeld watching this from a distance was worried. Their allied battleships were mixed up in the middle with the Phantom Ships making them unable to fire, as far as the magic users were concerned it was far too chaotic to do anything.
Even the sporadic raindrops now put his teeth on edge.
"No way."
"Eh?"
"Did they deliberately wait for us just to set up this hand-to-hand combat?"
"…"
If they had remained at the mouth of the Unfreezing River they likely would have had no problem overwhelming their enemies with their cannons, though it would have taken time. With that much time Weed would have gotten away.
Whatever it took it had been made abundantly clear that they needed to catch Weed in a bold and decisive battle. Had Weed been able to predict this battle and rather than being on the run had instead allowed Drinfeld's battleships to follow him to the sea.
If so, his plans had not allowed for this and that meant he would need to re-evaluate Weed again. Not only on the land but on the sea too, he knew how to fight making the best use of his power.
Conducting this amount of planning and strategy while commanding the Undead, it was outside of Drinfeld's expectations.
Ships are vulnerable fore and aft, while the sides are strong. More than 90% of the cannons were located along the length of both sides of a ship.
In a fight between two ships the position was the most important, Phantom Ships ability to maneuver varied widely.
Weed jumped into the middle of the melee battle.
A number of Battleships had been turned into Phantom Ships causing a tangle of ships clustered together while taking damage from the cannons, with no way to sail clear Drinfeld could only stand and fight.
If you are equally good with artillery and hand to hand combat people have no choice but to admit that your experience and skills are very good.
In the Jigolaths the accusation was the tactics had only consisted of surprise attacks, creating chaos then running away like a coward, but now they have to acknowledge the enemy general.
This has firmly established him as a great Admiral of the sea.
It was very clear he was strong in not just 1 or 2 areas but at least 3 which gave him a wider perspective and better judgment.
"Hey, you morons! Get a move on, who told you to count the gold? Do you want to go back to the deep dark sea and be wrapped up in seaweed? Ragged one-armed guy in the hat, why are you lowering the anchor? We're going to start moving in a moment so no more messing about!"
The only way Weed could command any sort of order was by being a colossal, nagging, backseat driver, otherwise the Phantom Ship wouldn't listen.
"I can't take this anymore. This chaotic hand-to-hand fighting is perfect for pirates, get in touch with the Pirate King Griffith. They have permission to go wild in this fight."
The Pirates were still anchored in the Unfreezing River, they were being watchful.
Drinfeld was afraid of seeing the Hermes Guild lose respect due to his fleet.
"We've finally got our chance. Raise anchors!"
The Pirates, with their massive amount of oars no longer had to wait and just watch.
A union of Navy and Pirate!
Any Phantom Ship that was latched on to a Navy ship in hand-to-hand now had a Pirate Ship targeting them.
"Get'em!"
"Wipe out the Ghosts!"
After hooking up to the Phantom Ship the Pirates began to board and attack. Their actual goal was to rob the Phantom Ships but their attempts were thwarted and they were driven back.
The place where the Unfreezing River met the sea; on one side was the Haven Kingdom Battleships and Pirates, for the other it was Phantom Ships and Sea Monsters.
Cannons and hand-to-hand combat had two likely outcomes, Phantom Ships could be sunk, but with a Death Knight on board they had a chance to be able to capture ships.
Then with perfect timing Weed's cavalry arrived.
***
"Weed! We're here!"
Pale and his party had finally made it to the Jigolaths. Heavy rain began to pour down in the area.
In her cabin Hwaryong applied cosmetics made from pure natural ingredients to her face. Her skin is clear and radiant, smooth and soft like that of a young child. It was essential that make-up appear like none had been used at all!
Dancers use cosmetics to enhance their abilities to draw in a viewer's eye.
"With the rain just a touch of blush, eyeliner shouldn't be used."
She untied her waist-length hair allowing it to flow naturally. One of the special skills of a dancer is being able to grow their hair quickly. This allows them a wide range of hairstyles they can use to create different effects.
Today the usual proud and charming Hwaryong has transformed into a glowing spirit of innocence.
Ting!
-You have successfully completed your make-up.
Charms + 21%,
Charisma + 15%,
Good Luck, + 29%
Dance skill effects + 31%,
The act of holding or picking flowers will raise the effects of your skill.
These special effects will be active as long as the makeup is maintained.
Since childhood she had displayed several looks to the audience, today's look was the closest so far to her true natural features.
"After not having seen Weed for a long time I want today's show to be unforgettable."
Checking her reflection in the mirror Hwaryong decided to not wear the earrings and necklaces, with that she was satisfied. The accessories had good options but they did not fit the dance. Her clothes glowed slightly, from far away it would be easy to see the full length white dress.
Pale was at the helm as the ship slid into the middle of the battlefield.
"Damn, my magic wanes in rainy weather. Well, it can't be helped. Whirlwind of Flame!"
Romuna cast her magic at the center of the sea battle.
The center of spinning fire expanded quickly growing like a wild-fire on the sea. The spinning vortex lifted with the wind high into the sky.
A spiral vortex of fire floating in the sky!
From within the vortex, fireballs spun out toward the battleships.
"Targets set….go go go. Multi-shot!"
Pale targeted the many ropes securing the sails. The already difficult task of cutting these swaying ropes was made even harder by the pouring rain.
Each arrowhead had been custom made with a wide sharp hook attached, as the ropes were cut they would continue tearing through the sails.
Not a large contribution in the conflict, yet it had a major impact by cutting down the sailing ships mobility.
'There he is, that's got to be the Captain, in that red hat.'
The Captains and Officers were all targets for his sniping arrows!
Zepinen, swinging his fishing rod kept incoming Pirates in check. Not a big role but it kept the Pirates from being able to board the ship. Surka swinging her fists, was able to put down any that did make it on board.
Pale muttered as he notched another arrow while moving.
"I wish Maylon could have been here, she'd have loved this."
This was an adventure Maylon wouldn't want to have missed, she would be full of envy. Because of her position as a host of the special programs she had been forced to give up on taking part.
The woes of the working class.
"Fire! Sink Them!"
Pirate Ships also had cannons.
Pale gave orders to raise sail to avoid being sunk by the Pirates who were now within range and starting to fire at them.
ta la la da ta la
Above the sounds of the cannon fire and swords clashing was the sound of a harp being played sweep out over the battlefield. In the crow's nest was the bard, Bell, she was playing her harp. It was a haunting and powerful sound.
"What…"
"What are they doing to play like this on a battlefield?"
The Pirates all burst out laughing.
In the heavy downpour of rain it was no exaggeration that the majestic sound could easily be heard even in the midst of the fierce battle.
The sound was dreamy, soft and friendly leaving every listener stunned by the performance.
Hwaryong had been sitting quietly on the main sail yardarm while the music started, she now stood up. She spoke quietly to herself.
"Where else would I have the chance to be able to play to an audience like this?"
She walked softly along the yardarm of the main mast. The dark clouds of the night sky and the vortex of flames together created a warm sunset glow effect.
As Hwaryong walked the rain soaked her white dress making the wet fabric cling to her body.
Usual the Booby-trap Dance4 was performed much closer to the targets in order for it to be effective in catching the minds of the viewers.
When to use the Booby-trap Dance, how to introduce it without looking out-of-place is a very important point!
Yet such on a large battlefield in the rain you couldn't just use a standard dance.
On a rainy day no matter how fierce a dance Hwaryong performed if it couldn't reach the audience it might as well be a billion light years away.
"Having an audience watching me on stage is something I've experienced many times. Now I'll give them my dance."
When she was very young she thought rain was worms falling from the sky. The land would absorb the water and create life. Dancing in the rain was a desire and a daring dream for anyone.
Standing on the tips of her toes, Hwaryong gracefully moved and turned like a ballerina.
The wind was gusting as she weaved and spun, yet the strong winds only cooled her generated body heat making the dancing easier.
The joy of dancing to the sound of falling rain.
""La La La La La."
Singing a tune in time with rain and wind.
Her hands and feet paint graceful lines and the intent look on her face had enough charm to stop the audiences hearts.
It felt like you were about to be drawn in and never be able to leave. A magnet that took control of the entire stage. A look that was beautiful and splendid.
Like a fairy that loved the rain and gave it her dance of joy, as if she would never be able to see the rain again.
The soaking wet dress added allure to the gentle curves, a sensual experience. A slender body that was hot enough to raise a devil, a graceful full neckline, an innocent face with stunning eyes.
Her long hair left sparkling jewels of water in the air as it swayed.
The pouring rain was a glittering backdrop making a perfect contrast to her decorative dance. She loved to dance, her world was a stage that could not constrain those feelings in that moment.
The joyful dance became passionate and full of powerful flows.
The stage was her world, at that point the audience was not something she was even aware of. Like the sparkling charm of Goddess just out of reach.
"Oh."
The Pirate and Navy crews mouths dropped open.
-The Dancer; Hwaryong is dancing
Your eye can not look away from the dance.
Because of the distraction all skill success rates will be reduced.
Your strength will be reduced.
Hwaryong's dance had trapped the eyes of all the Pirates and Naval personal in the area. Pirate users, Navy users, all fell helplessly in love with Hwaryong.