Chapter 115 - The Battle on the Ship and the Second Tabletop Strategy (Part 1)
Mizuki and I climbed the rope back to the sailing ship, and the line connecting us to the sinking galley was immediately cut. Our ship began its slow journey down the river, while the severed galley remained motionless in the water.
After watching it for a moment, I went to find Aira. Cecily was with Marmie, their hands held toward the floating crystal core to maintain the magic barrier. Wake stood guard over them. I scanned the deck and spotted Avea. Doris was beside her, apparently tending to those injured in the mutiny.
"The rebellion's been dealt with. Looks like you let yours get away," she said, clearly having seen Takemura fly off toward the galley.
"We cut off his arm. He won't be fighting anymore."
"Did you let him go on purpose? He's going to tell them every detail about our situation. You naive fools."
Avea sighed in exasperation. But whether they knew our situation or not, we were out of options.
"I made a deal. I'm hoping he'll be an ally one day."
"Hmph."
She snorted at my words.
"Anyway, come on. It's time for a strategy meeting."
I followed behind Avea.
Those who gathered were myself, Maira, Aira, Claire, Mercedes, Avea, the ship's captain, a few sailors, and Wake.
"The plan was to get to shore and escape on land, wasn't it?" Wake began. His expression was calm, but his tone was laced with irritation.
"The water's too shallow here. This ship is loaded down, so its draft is deep. We'll run aground before we ever reach the bank."
The captain's voice held an obvious edge of anger. He seemed pretty on edge, too.
"We were aiming for that spot."
The captain pointed far ahead, to where the riverbank seemed to end. A battle with the pirates was unavoidable if we wanted to reach it.
"What's the status of the magic barrier?" Avea asked. It was a powerful shield, deflecting arrows, cannonballs, and even balloons. If we could maintain it, we could escape to land.
"Marmie says she's reaching her limit," Wake replied. I looked at the enemy galleys. We were already within crossbow range, but the only reason a firefight hadn't broken out was thanks to the barrier. Marmie and Cecily were extracting magic from the crystal core to sustain it. Was the limit with their abilities, or with the crystal core's magic?
"The second it drops, they'll blast us with those cannons and it'll all be over," Avea sighed.
"About that, I made a deal with the balloon man. There probably won't be any more cannon fire."
"Are you sure? Our men shot quite a few arrows at him…" Avea said.
"I-It'll probably be fine." I had no proof, but I believed Takemura wouldn't try to kill me until he found out whether what I told him was true. The oars on the galley, which had been moving like the legs of a centipede, had stopped since his return. Now, just like our ship, it was drifting with the current. They kept a fixed distance from our sailing ship. Were they planning a new strategy to sink us now that Takemura was back? I could only hope my words had reached him.
"…"
The others exchanged glances, trying to decide who would be the first to complain to me. I had things I wanted to say, too. I'm an amateur. I can't read people's minds. I had to resist the urge to tell them that the experts should be the ones making the plans. My overestimation stemmed from the fact that the initial strategy, which was based on me summoning the goddess, had worked perfectly. With Joe's fleet of reinforcements nowhere in sight, they were probably feeling even more desperate to rely on me.
"…Well, if you say so, I'll trust you…" the captain said, his words trailing off uncertainly.
"Maybe Lady Racshell will…" one of the sailors muttered.
"She's not coming," I stated flatly. I couldn't have them holding on to false hope.
"Either way, a fight is unavoidable."
Just as Avea said that, stroking her chin, a balloon rose from the enemy galley. It floated away from the ship as if escaping, but a volley from their crossbowmen seemed to destroy it, causing it to fall.
"Did you see someone fall with it?" I asked Maira. She nodded. "Was it just one person? Or…"
"It was two people. It looked like two," Maira answered. It seemed Takemura had left the galley with his fellow transferee. With that, our worries about cannon fire were gone.
"Let's drop the magic barrier for now. And then, we prepare for a siege."
The magical shield that had enveloped the ship vanished as Cecily and Marmie released the spell. Marmie still looked fine, but Cecily was completely drained and leaned against me.
"A huge amount of magic just flowed through me. My head is spinning. I feel sick…"
Is it a similar sensation to what I feel after a goddess summoning?
"Mana exhaustion?"
"…Yes. Cecily has used up almost all of her own mana," Marmie answered for her.
"Didn't you use the crystal core's magic? I see, but Marmie, you still seem fine."
"…I'm an elf, so I have far more mana than Cecily. We need to use our own mana to convert the crystal core's power into magic we can wield."
"I see."
I didn't really get it, but I nodded anyway.
"Cecily, let me give you a mana recovery potion. Mouth-to-mouth."
"Okay."
Her mind must have been foggy. Normally she'd make a scene if I tried something lewd in public, but today she offered no resistance. I decided to take the opportunity to casually touch her butt. As I was stroking her rear and pulling a mana potion from my storage, Aira snatched it from my hand.
"I'll do it."
"No way. Cecily's mine!"
"And yet she's already told you it's over once you reach Migul!"
Aira stabbed me right where it hurt most, without a shred of hesitation.
"Mash, you can do it for the tiny one over there. She probably won't resist."
Aira pointed at Marmie.
"No way. If I did something like that here, it would cause a whole lot of trouble."
She was a child, and the daughter of one of the four ruling houses of Migul. Most importantly, I didn't want to do anything that would make Fam resent me.
"Then why not take her to a cabin?"
"It's the same thing! Just give it back!"
"Fine, then let's both do it. First, you take the potion into your mouth and pour it into mine. Then I'll give it to Cecily."
"…Seems like my part is pointless, but fine. Let's just do it."
I reached out to take the mana potion from Aira, but Patricia was suddenly standing there. She hit me with her fist. Then she hit Aira.
"Please refrain from doing anything indecent in front of Lady Marmie," Patricia said with a radiant smile.
Preparations for our siege on the water were steadily underway. The galley attached to our port side was cut loose. To prevent them from circling around to that side, our sailing ship was moved as close to the shallows as possible, then anchored in place. The sails were furled. The detached ship was repurposed as a defensive wall to block any charges from the rear. It was run aground in the shallows perpendicular to the shore behind our vessel. To prevent the enemy from boarding it and firing down on our deck, we made it list to one side. The ship on our starboard side was anchored a short distance away to prevent direct boarding, and then holes were bored into its hull to sink it.
Just like the ship that had caught fire from the cannonade, its hull didn't sink completely, leaving its deck above the water's surface. To ensure the sunken ship couldn't be moved by ramming or towing, the ropes connecting it to our sailing ship were left intact. With this setup, the attackers would either have to board the sunken ship first or swim over to reach us. We just had to hold out until nightfall. Then we would escape under the cover of darkness. I checked my phone; it was almost 3 PM. Nearly six hours had passed since the fighting began. The crew was exhausted. We had about five hours until sunset, plus the time it would take to escape. Could we hold on?
Fortunately, the sixty people who had been enslaved prisoners had agreed to join the fight. Even so, the enemy still outnumbered us by more than two to one. I prayed this makeshift fortress would work. By the time our preparations were complete, the enemy galleys began to move. We were already within crossbow range, but they didn't fire. We held our fire as well. The wind died down, and a stillness settled over the water.
The members of Levante were positioned near the bow. Fang, Avea, Marmie, and Wake were nearby. The area ahead was also shallow. If the pirates were to ram us, it would be through the gap between the shallows ahead and the starboard galley, or the gap between the grounded galley in the rear and the starboard galley.
I caught Cecily's eye.
"Are you okay? You can go hide in the cabin with Claire and the others, you know."
"…No, I don't want to wake up and find out we lost and I'm a prisoner."
"Can you use magic?"
"I kind of don't feel like it, but I'm fine. If it comes down to it, I'll launch some fireballs."
That was the same old headstrong Cecily. I couldn't help but smile.
"Hmph, what?"
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking that because of Aira, I missed my chance to kiss you earlier."
As I said that, she hugged me and pressed her lips against mine.
"Mash, let me stay with everyone."
The enemy ships showed no sign of attacking.
"An interesting strategy," Wake commented, his eyes fixed on the enemy just as mine were.
"It's not so amazing you need to laugh your head off."
I wanted to tell him that he, the military man, should be the one coming up with plans, but I held my tongue. After all, he was only cowering behind this shield because of his master's wishes.
"Sailing with a single ship to lure the enemy into a false sense of security, only to defeat them. Then, crushing the trump card of the reinforcements that arrived later. And now, showing a willingness to fight to the bitter end to break the enemy's spirit. These pirates may be used to ambushes and fighting fleeing ships, but they likely have little experience against a fortified enemy. They won't be able to attack this ship, which has already sunk three of theirs, so easily."
Are they planning a strategy? I peered through a gap in our makeshift shield. The enemy galleys were now further away than before, likely to avoid being sniped. They were rowing backward to keep from drifting downstream. A rather clever bunch. I was reminded of a man from my world who started as a pirate, rose to the rank of admiral, and eventually led a great fleet to victory. I could only pray there was no one with that kind of talent among our enemies.
"Is there any chance they'll just leave?" I asked Wake.
"It's possible. They must be calculating the potential losses of boarding this ship right now. They'll likely avoid any battle that would cause such heavy casualties that their return to the Demon Kingdom becomes difficult."
I hate fighting. Too many people have died today. It's enough. I wanted them to leave, but if they did, we would have to live in fear of their attacks wherever we went. I hated that idea too.
"In Migul, we have an institution called the 'Total War Research Institute' to prepare for the war with the Demon Kingdom. I'd like to scout you for it," Wake said. I glanced at his face, but I couldn't tell if he was serious or joking.
"I absolutely refuse!"
The name sounded like an organization whose work would consist entirely of having its meticulous research dismissed as mere armchair theory, only to be berated for not accounting for unforeseen factors. As I was thinking about such things amidst the tense standoff, the enemy galleys began to head downstream. I instinctively leaned out to watch them. The other crew members did the same, watching the departing enemy ships. It seemed they had given up the fight.
"We held them off!"
A cheer erupted from the crew. The name of Racshell was chanted over and over. It was then that I saw it. An object came flying from the western sky, backlit by the sun.
"Is that a dragon?"
There were four massive shadows. The shadows gradually descended, passing in front of us at an incredible speed. It was the sailing ships that were supposed to be our reinforcements. Below the bow of each ship was a ram, an armament designed for ramming enemy vessels. Flying through the sky… it had to be Joe or Becky's special skill.
"It's a special skill for flying, but it's completely different from flying with balloons like that balloon man…"
Mizuki muttered what I was thinking. How could two abilities from the same category have such a massive difference in performance? On that note, Takemura was handsome enough to be called a pretty boy and looked young, but did Mizuki see him as an old man? The thought of how she might see me was terrifying.
"Mizuki, want to go play that famous scene from the luxury liner on the bow of that flying ship? I bet it feels like you're really flying."
"No way. I just want a little thrill with you, that 'suspension bridge effect,' you know? I don't want something that's actually terrifying!"
The flying sailing ships touched down near the departing galleys, landing with a huge splash and gliding across the water's surface before ramming into their hulls. The loud crash of the impact echoed across the river. It looked like two of our ships had latched onto each of the enemy vessels. Before they could even exchange crossbow fire, a boarding action and melee combat began. The enemy crew must have put down their arms to man the oars. It was going to be a one-sided slaughter.
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