Liam Goes on the Offensive

After dealing with Coral and making arrangements with Wilton, Liam slipped out of the cabin and saw Jaina helping Brother Morton treat his wounds.

He quietly approached the girl from behind and heard a helpless sigh. At the same moment, he saw her collapse backward.

Since he was going to be exposed anyway, Liam simply dropped Stealth and reached out to catch Jaina's slender body. The warmth of her against his hands made his heart skip a beat.

"...Winning the war is the only way to achieve peace!..."

A ridiculous line from his memories slipped out before he could stop it. The girl in his arms froze, then fell into thought.

The scene was touching, but if Jaina had known what Liam was thinking, would she have used up the last of her mana just to fire an Ice Arrow at the bastard in front of her?

This girl isn't as cold as she looks. She feels so soft and warm, too...

Liam thought lecherously. Before the footsteps behind him could draw near, he suddenly blew a silent whistle. At the signal, Coral transformed into her Pyros form inside the cabin. Flames burst around her, drawing the attention of everyone aboard except Jaina.

But before the little parrot could show off, Wilton sliced her throat from behind. Coral was already used to the first stage of resurrection. At the cost of some health, she hatched from her egg as quickly as possible, then beat her wings and soared into the sky, skimming past the side of the Mist of the Maiden and heading toward the bow.

"Hey, girl, I'm going to deal with the enemy fleet. Get out of here, quick. But remember, you owe me one after this."

Seeing Coral fly off, Liam released Jaina, whom he was still "supporting," and clapped his hands together, looking ready for action.

"Y-you? How did you get on my ship?"

Jaina's emotions were in turmoil, leaving her a little dazed, but she still recognized the "fraud" in front of her. She couldn't understand how he had gotten aboard the Mist of the Maiden.

For some reason, seeing Liam again immediately reminded Jaina of what Antonidas had said when he'd teased her. The thought brought a blush to her pale cheeks.

By the time Jaina came to her senses, Liam had already turned around and lightly stepped onto the figurehead. Then he turned back, smiled at her, and fell backward into the sea, facing the blushing girl.

Jaina hurried to the bow and looked down at the churning sea. All she saw was a fire-wreathed Phoenix carrying Liam at tremendous speed toward the largest enemy ship in the distance. A trail of sparks drifted slowly through the air behind them.

It seemed she wouldn't be getting an answer.

When both sides saw Jaina's full-powered Flamestrike evaporate the clouds of Blizzard, the pirates' previously high morale sank into gloom—a stark contrast to the jubilant mood aboard the Mist of the Maiden.

"What are you panicking for? It was just a Flamestrike she barely managed to cast. Look at yourselves!" On the pirate flagship, the middle-aged mage, Mr. Zank, looked disdainfully at the captain beside him, who was clearly rattled.

"B-but..."

"There's no 'but.' With me here, a fledgling mage like that is no match for us!" Mr. Zank sounded completely confident. He had clearly judged her strength from the speed of her spellcasting and was sure he could handle everything.

He turned and began chanting again. Dark clouds slowly gathered once more, but this time they didn't form in front of the Mist of the Maiden. Instead, they appeared a short distance ahead of the pirate fleet. Mr. Zank had said he would gather the clouds of elemental power first, then deliver a fatal blow to the Mist of the Maiden once the elements had built up enough.

"Their Water Elemental has dispersed!"

"Without the Water Elemental, even the Tidesage is no match for us!"

As Mr. Zank focused on gathering magical power, the pirates aboard the ship suddenly erupted into cheers that resounded throughout the battleship.

"As expected of Mr. Zank! I knew that with you on our side, they'd be no match for us."

The captain hastily showered him with praise, unaware that Mr. Zank was also letting out a sigh of relief.

Whew... We're lucky this time. If I had to cast a Blizzard this powerful again, who knows how long it would take? Heaven really is looking out for us...

But his relief didn't last long. Flames rising from the Mist of the Maiden made Mr. Zank's pupils contract. The purity of that elemental energy far surpassed anything found in Azeroth's material world. At that level of purity, only an ancient elemental being from the Elemental Plane of Fire could possess such an untainted aura of fire.

Mr. Zank sensed Coral's eruption through his magic, so he noticed it slightly before the others. Not long afterward, when a giant, fire-wreathed Phoenix appeared at the bow of the Mist of the Maiden, the pirates aboard had lost the ability to speak.

What did a Phoenix mean to mortals?

Judging by the pirates' reaction, it might as well have been a divine miracle. Even Mr. Zank, a man who had "seen it all," hadn't expected a legendary Phoenix to suddenly appear aboard the enemy ship!

"Ka... Kael'thas? Impossible! This..."

Mr. Zank muttered to himself. He kept casting, but the shock made his spell falter. The rapidly swelling cloud stopped growing and simply floated in the air, looking so forlorn and helpless.

Flying on the back of a Phoenix was undeniably spectacular, and Liam was loving every second of it. But Coral's feathers, which looked so beautiful with their rising flames from a distance, were not so pleasant when they were burning right in front of his eyes.

If he'd known that his occasional attempt at looking cool would be mistaken for Kael'thas and scare someone half to death, he'd have been thoroughly annoyed. It would even have spoiled the thrill of riding a Phoenix for the second time.

But he didn't need to worry about any of that now. Coral was flying incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye they had reached a point not far from the pirate flagship. The cold cloud Mr. Zank had summoned again was now right in front of them.

Coral ignored the "little cloud" blocking their way and plunged straight into it...