The Siren's Demise

The mist was hazy.

Two Sirens, swooping down, landed on the deck. Transparent saliva dripped from their mouths as they prepared to feast.

Lothar and Banya were already closing in, one after the other, right before them.

Faced with the aggressive approach of the two, the Sirens were startled. Their bodies were fragile. Their lower halves, covered in scales and slime, were manageable; sharp weapons like swords would easily slide off.

But their upper bodies were vulnerable human forms. They could survive in the deep sea through magic, not tough skin. They dared not clash head-on with Lothar, who held a sword.

Selena had only been slightly slower in her takeoff. The blood flowing from her feet was manipulated by Fringilla's Blood Magic, transforming into tough restraints.

The restraints wrapped around her slippery fish tail, cinching her tightly to the deck.

Lothar wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass. Gripping his hand-and-a-half sword, he strode forward. The slight rocking of the ship with the waves couldn't shake his stance at all.

The muscles in his arms bulged as he raised his greatsword.

The Siren, Selena, desperately flapped her wings, her sharp fingernails digging into the restraints as she tried to escape. But it was no use.

"Please."

"Please spare me. I'll bring you pearls and gems from the seabed. They'll make you the richest person in the world. Please!"

She spoke rapidly, in fluent Greek with a slight Asia Minor accent.

Her voice was as clear as a lark's.

Her beauty was exquisite, unparalleled.

But the man before her had a heart of stone. His cold eyes showed no pity or kindness. The sharp blade descended fiercely.

Thump—

A beautiful head rolled across the deck.

A large amount of blood spurted from the neck of the headless corpse, splashing behind Lothar.

Selena's actions proved they weren't as unintelligent as Fringilla had claimed. They simply couldn't suppress their craving for human flesh.

This declared that there was no possibility of Lothar cooperating with them.

"Kina!"

In the sky, the two Sirens screamed in terror.

Selena's name among the Sirens wasn't actually Selena. It was a name given by that Jewish merchant, a phonetic translation of "Siren."

Crystal tears flowed from their faces. They opened their mouths wide, revealing rows of sharp, serrated teeth between their small lips.

Their lips slowly tore open, leaving only a little skin connected, and saliva overflowed.

In the blink of an eye, those alluring red lips became gaping maws that stretched almost to their ears.

The next moment.

The two Sirens let out a joint, piercing shriek.

Their voices were filled with anger and sorrow.

Even the mist covering the sea churned because of it.

The terrifying sound waves gave Lothar the illusion of facing a raging storm.

On the deck, deep gashes appeared as if from knife strikes.

Banya stepped forward without hesitation, positioning himself in front of Lothar.

The demon-faced shield was raised.

Clang—

A series of metallic clangs rang out.

Lothar braced against Banya's waist, feeling an astonishing force from the front. Both of them were pushed back several steps.

"These Sirens are this strong?"

Lothar was somewhat astonished.

While Sirens' close-combat ability was far inferior to werewolves, this ranged sonic attack was comparable to powerful bows and crossbows.

"Indeed."

Banya nodded. "And they can fly, making them hard for us to hit."

"Big oaf, get their attention!"

Fringilla shouted loudly in Chinese. The linen robe she wore billowed as her magic surged.

Her white hair floated in the air.

"We have to deal with them in the air. If they dive into the water and bore through the hull from below, we'll all die here!"

Banya spoke unusually fast, a long string of words.

Immediately, on the black shield she held, the grotesque face carving seemed to come alive.

A terrifying aura of hell emanated from it, making her seem like the center of the world for an instant.

The two Sirens' upper and lower teeth chattered uncontrollably, and even their shrieks stopped.

"That's the aura of Cerberus, the doorway to Hell!"

"But it was at the bottom of the sea... how did it appear here?"

On the deck, two illusory figures slowly rose from the corpses and flew towards the gaping mouth of the demon-faced relief like swallows returning to their nest.

"No!"

"We can't let Kina's soul be devoured!"

The Sirens screamed in alarm, trying to rush over and stop it.

Just then, Fringilla's agile body stepped onto the ship's railing and leaped into the air.

In mid-air, she reached out towards the bloodstains flowing wantonly on the deck. The blood immediately gathered and transformed into a javelin emitting a strong, sweet, and fishy smell.

"Get down here!"

The blood javelin flew towards the two Sirens with a piercing shriek. Empowered by Blood Magic, its speed was extreme.

However, despite their anxiety, the two Sirens had already prepared their defenses. At this critical moment, they simultaneously stopped in place.

The blood javelin flew past them, almost brushing their faces.

But in the next moment, a sharp black shield shot out like a rapidly spinning chainsaw.

Closely following the black shield, a new blood javelin was thrown—this one was condensed by Fringilla immediately after and appeared in Lothar's hand, who was hiding behind Banya.

Squelch—

The black shield cut one Siren in half at the waist.

The other Siren was hit in the wing by the javelin Lothar threw. Her entire body tilted and she fell like a kite with a broken string.

"Die!"

Fringilla clenched her fist.

While the Siren hit in the wing was still in mid-air, the blood javelin exploded. The blood turned into sharp needles, instantly piercing her like a sieve.

"Great!"

Lothar said excitedly.

This wave, the cooperation between the three of them was perfect.

In fact, the moment Lothar threw the javelin, he wasn't sure he could hit the target.

After all, when he practiced throwing javelins on horseback before, he could only hit the target three times out of ten.

Although the deck wasn't as bumpy as a horse's back, it wasn't much better.

Banya let out a sigh of relief. She opened her hand, and the shield that had flown far away returned to her hand like a boomerang.

At this moment, Fringilla stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Fringilla!"

Lothar hurried over.

"Don't worry, I just overused some Spirit. It's nothing serious," Banya said calmly.

Although Fringilla was an Epic-level retainer, she was only level one. Lothar, worried she might get out of hand and also being short on funds, had never leveled her up.

Casting this series of powerful spells had exceeded her capabilities.

Lothar hugged Fringilla, feeling how light she was in his arms, as if she were made of paper and could float away at any moment.

"Let's go back to the cabin," Lothar said urgently.

"Okay."

The battered ship anchored at Crete the next morning.

After its original owner was lost, the ship was naturally commandeered by Lothar.

Therefore, the cost of repairing the ship fell on him. Fortunately, only the deck and mast had minor damage, which wouldn't take long to fix.

On Crete, they restocked their supplies and replaced their fresh water.

This island was primarily inhabited by Greeks, with various factions vying for influence. The Eastern Empire, Venice, Genoa, and even the Ayyubids projected their power here.

They rested at an island inn for the morning and set sail again in the afternoon, their destination being Jaffa (also translated as Jaffa) in the Holy Land.