The alarm bells of Castleton Harbour rang out at this moment, their deep tolling carrying far into the distance...
The Sea Wolf had already weighed anchor,
and the crew had cut the mooring lines.
As long as they adjusted their course through the channel out of the harbour and raised the sails, they could catch the north wind and rush out of the bay.
But before high tide, the channel through the deepwater harbour was not very deep, and these sailors were unfamiliar with it.
Small fishing boats could still pass through, but a Great Sea Ship was highly likely to run aground on the mudflats, especially on such a pitch-black night.
Clang, clang, clang!
The Sea Wolf's departure bell rang out.
The sailors had only raised the main mast's sail less than halfway
when several sharp arrows came whistling in from all directions and struck the ship one after another. Each arrow fired from the darkness had a rope attached to its tail, sinking deeply into the hull, followed by the sound of heavy objects splashing into the water.
More than a dozen Fishing Boats had surrounded the Sea Wolf under cover of darkness. From every angle, they fired Fish Spears with ropes attached, firmly locking the Sea Wolf in place.
Those splashes had been the sound of heavy stones tied to the ropes being thrown into the sea.
During the time these Elf Rangers had lain in ambush around the Sea Wolf while waiting for reinforcements, they had secretly requisitioned nearly twenty Fishing Boats from the docks and positioned them around the ship.
Their purpose was to prevent the Sea Wolf from leaving port, using the Fish Spears and ropes aboard the Fishing Boats to restrain it...
The Sea Wolf's Main Sail gradually filled. As the mast creaked and groaned, more than forty oars swung with all their strength, yet the ship could only crawl forward at a snail's pace.
The crew rushed to the railings. Seeing the Fish Spears and ropes binding the outside of the hull, they immediately tied themselves to safety lines and lowered themselves from the deck, risking their lives to cut the hooked ropes.
Another group of elves carried three Fish Spears onto the pier. Once their bases had been roughly secured with stones, they fired several hooked ropes in succession.
Nearly all those hooked ropes struck the Sea Wolf's stern.
The elves tied those ropes to the Stone Piles on the pier.
A volley of arrows immediately flew from the ship's rail.
Several elves were wounded at once, while the remaining elves dragged the injured beyond the range of the shortbows.
At this moment, Captain Simpson led fifty Elven Guards and quietly boarded the ship on the Sea Wolf's left.
After reasoning patiently with that Captain... to no avail, two Elven Guards put their longswords to the Captain's throat. Only then did they temporarily seize control of the ship.
A group of sailors tore away the tarpaulin covering the Fish Spear at the bow, swiftly replaced it with the largest Whaling Harpoon, and fired it at the Sea Wolf's rail...
The one-and-a-half-meter harpoon, thicker than a thumb and covered in vicious barbs, lodged firmly in the Sea Wolf's hull.
This ship even had a winch specifically prepared for whaling. The ropes soaked in Tung Oil could not be easily cut even with ordinary longswords.
Three ropes in succession had all been driven into the railing near the bow ram. Captain Simpson ordered twenty sailors to work together on the winch, winding the three ropes and forcing the ship, which had been securely moored at the pier, to hold the Sea Wolf fast.
This ship was more than half the size of the Sea Wolf. As they turned the winch, the Sea Wolf barely moved at all.
But the smaller ship listed severely. Although ropes from the pier and its anchor sunk into the mud stabilized the hull, the entire vessel was still drawn bit by bit toward the Sea Wolf by the winch.
Captain Simpson stood beside the railing, holding up a small Round Shield to block arrows that occasionally flew over from the other side.
Two bloody holes had been punched through the leather armor on his thigh by those hidden arrows, though fortunately the wounds were not deep.
The Elven Guards beside him were also almost all carrying arrow wounds...
Everyone stared fixedly at the approaching Sea Wolf, ignoring the severe list of their own ship. They only waited for the instant the two ships' railings came together... then they would board.
The Elf Rangers on the pier, along with a group of sturdy elves gathered from the harbour, charged aboard a ship on the Sea Wolf's right.
In comparison, this ship's Captain was much clearer-headed.
When he saw the Elf Rangers board, he immediately tore away the rainproof cloth covering the Fish Spears and voluntarily had his crew fire five harpoons into the Sea Wolf's stern.
With this, together with the dozens of hooked ropes already thrown out, the Sea Wolf's hull was practically covered in ropes.
The Sea Wolf's Main Sail had almost completely filled.
It even pulled the main mast tight enough to make it creak loudly, yet the ship remained by the edge of the pier.
It could not even enter the harbour channel...
What frightened all the Sea Wolf's crew even more was that the two ships beside them were steadily drawing closer under the pull of the hooked ropes.
Once the three ships collided, the next step would be a boarding battle.
Roy followed behind Princess Ophelia, standing on the harbour pier with a group of young nobles.
These nobles had not been allowed to take part in the boarding battle. Seeing that the situation here was not looking good, some began to grow agitated, while others secretly sent their attendants back to the Upper District for reinforcements.
Roy stood beside Klayr, watching the battle from the pier with the young elves.
Captain Simpson's Elven Guards and the Elf Rangers had never gained the advantage from beginning to end. On the contrary, the Sea Wolf had nearly escaped the harbour.
The situation was still not looking good. The elven warriors would have to board the Sea Wolf and fight...
Clearly, the Elven Guards did not have the numerical advantage.
Watching the battle aboard the ships, Roy felt an intense sense of helplessness for the first time amid his boiling blood.
Thinking that he could not help, and that Jasper was still imprisoned in the Sea Wolf's Bottom Cabin, he could not help worrying about Jasper...
Although they had gathered a large number of Elven Guards, they had not captured the Sea Wolf in one decisive push as expected.
Standing among the crowd, he stared at the three ships, his body tensing beyond his control as he could only clench his fists tightly.
"Do you feel... a strong sense of helplessness toward this battle on the pier?"
Princess Ophelia suddenly turned and asked Roy behind her.
Roy had been completely unprepared for Princess Ophelia's question and froze.
Then he nodded somewhat blankly.
Princess Ophelia glanced at him and said casually,
"Don't lose heart. You need to keep learning, and only then can you strive to become the warrior you wish to be..."
Roy's heart stirred slightly, but then he could not help wondering, did that mean becoming a Combat Priest?
Roy was not paying attention...
When he turned around, he saw Klayr crouched nearby with a group of young elves, choosing weapons.
Who knew which elven noble had managed to acquire so many fine weapons.
Besides swords and shields, there were even spears and warhammers among them...
Some young elves were even putting on Light Armor.
Klayr bent down and picked up a finely crafted short spear.
Roy casually picked up a longbow behind him and quietly asked Klayr,
"Klayr, how good is your archery?"
"Not bad!" Klayr replied.
Roy immediately stuffed the longbow into Klayr's hands, then picked up a quiver and tossed it to him as well.
Taking the short spear from Klayr's hand, Roy wanted to choose a light shield too. However, all the square shields had already been taken, so he only got a small cast-iron Round Shield. It did not look large, but it felt quite heavy once strapped to his arm.
Klayr asked in confusion, "You know how to use a battle spear too?"
Roy was familiarizing himself with the shortened spear. It was about one hundred and eighty centimeters long, agile when swung, with an extremely sharp blade.
"No. I picked it because it's just the right length. Those sailors on the ships are basically equipped with curved swords, and this is a bit longer than those..."
Klayr adjusted the bowstring of the longbow in his hands, somewhat unwillingly hanging the quiver from his waist as he asked,
"Then why did you give me a bow and arrows?"
Roy put an arm around Klayr's shoulders and quietly said, "When the boarding battle starts, I need you to cover me from the rear with your bow, Klayr. Can I rely on you?"
"Of course you can!" Klayr promised, patting his chest.
Then the two extended their right hands and gripped each other's tightly.
Belle Klayr stood among the crowd. When she had seen her younger brother choose weapons and prepare to fight, his reckless action had given her quite a fright.
She had been thinking of a way to persuade him to abandon the idea without hurting what little courage and confidence he had.
Unexpectedly, his friend took away that Short Flying Spear and instead stuffed a longbow and quiver into his hands.
That let Belle Klayr's anxious heart settle a little.
As an archer, at least Klayr would not need to engage those sailors in close combat...
The young elves around them had all picked up weapons, having recovered from the shock they had felt upon first arriving at the harbour pier.
Seeing the Elven Guards and Elf Rangers charge onto the ships on either side, these young elves also voluntarily picked up weapons from the ground and ran toward Captain Simpson's ship.
At the very front were Wolf Gokes and Wilson Griffiths.
At the ball, the two had already become somewhat unhappy because they both wanted to share Princess Ophelia's first dance. Now, they began competing against each other in secret once more.
Roy and Klayr did not rush to the front.
At this moment, Roy no longer concealed his identity as a Novice Priest of the Goddess of Freedom Temple. Standing before Klayr, he began chanting a prayer. As a divine pattern filled with holy light appeared before him, the prayer ended, and the pattern condensed into a pale golden fist that entered Klayr's body through the top of his head.
Roy then cast Strength Blessing on himself as well.
"You're actually a Priest of the Goddess of Freedom Temple?"
Princess Ophelia, standing nearby, asked in surprise.
Roy respectfully turned and replied, "I'm only a Novice Priest. My companion trapped aboard that ship is also a Novice Priest. He was originally invited there to purify the resentful spirits on the ship..."
Roy had actually wanted to cast Strength Blessing on the other young elves as well.
After becoming a level-two Novice Priest, he could cast this divine spell four times in a row.
But it seemed none of the young elves had the patience to stay and wait...
Before you continue