Liam's Advance [Seeking Recommendations]

After settling Coral and arranging for Wilton, Liam snuck out of the cabin only to witness Jaina helping Brother Morton tend to his wounds.

He crept up behind the young woman, hearing her sigh with exhaustion just as she began to tip backward.

Since his cover was blown anyway, Liam dropped his stealth and reached out to steady Jaina's slender frame, the warmth of her body against his hands sending a jolt through him.

"...Victory is the only path to peace!..."

A line from his memories, utterly nonsensical, slipped out before he could stop it, leaving the young woman in his arms stunned and lost in thought.

Though the scene was touching, if Jaina knew what was running through Liam's mind right now, she might well risk magical exhaustion just to blast him with a Frostbolt.

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

Liam thought lecherously, whistling sharply before footsteps could approach from behind. Though the whistle produced no sound, Coral instantly transformed into his Pyrrhus form within the cabin, flames erupting around him and drawing the gaze of everyone on the ship except Jaina.

Before the little parrot could even preen, Wilton snuck up behind him and slit his throat. Having already mastered his first-stage rebirth, Coral sacrificed a portion of his health to hatch from his egg at breakneck speed, then beat his wings and soared into the sky, skimming the side of the Mist of the Maiden toward the bow.

"Kid, I'm going to handle the enemy fleet. You lot get out of here, but don't forget—you owe me one."

Seeing Coral streak away, Liam released the hand he was still using to "steady" Jaina, clapped his palms together, and cracked his knuckles.

"It... it's you? How are you on my ship?"

Jaina's mind was a blur from the emotional turmoil, but she recognized the "swindler" before her, though she couldn't fathom how he had appeared aboard the Mist of the Maiden.

For some reason, seeing Liam again immediately brought to mind the words Antonidas had used to tease her. At the thought, a flush of red suddenly bloomed across her pale cheeks.

But by the time Jaina regained her senses, Liam had already turned, nimbly stepping onto the ship's prow. He turned back to flash a faint smile at the blushing girl, then leaned back and fell toward the open sea.

Jaina rushed to the bow, peering down at the churning waves, but she saw only a phoenix wreathed in fire carrying Liam at incredible speed toward the largest battleship in the enemy fleet, leaving a trail of sparks slowly dissipating in the air.

It seemed her question would remain unanswered.

Just as the cloud from the Blizzard was evaporated by a full-powered Flamestrike from Jaina, the morale of the pirate fleet, previously high, suddenly turned deathly silent, in stark contrast to the jubilation aboard the Mist of the Maiden.

"What are you panicking for! It was just a desperate, barely-cast Flamestrike, look at yourselves!" On the pirate flagship, the middle-aged mage, Mr. Zank, looked at the flustered captain with disdain.

"B-but..."

"There are no 'buts.' With me here, a fledgling mage like that is nothing!" Mr. Zank was brimming with confidence, clearly having gauged Jaina's strength by her casting speed, which was why he felt comfortable making such grand promises.

He turned back to resume his incantation, and dark clouds began to gather once more. Unlike the last time, these clouds didn't form in front of the Mist of the Maiden, but rather a short distance ahead of the pirate fleet. According to Mr. Zank, he intended to condense the mana cloud first and deliver a lethal blow to the Mist of the Maiden once the elements reached critical mass.

"Their water elementals have dispersed!"

"The water elementals are gone, and the Tidesage is no match for us!"

Just as Mr. Zank was focusing on gathering his mana, a roar of excitement erupted from the pirates on deck, the cheers echoing across the entire battleship.

"As expected of Mr. Zank, I knew that with you involved, these people would be no match for us."

The captain showered him with flattery, unaware that Mr. Zank was letting out a long, internal sigh of relief.

Phew... I got lucky this time. I don't know how long it would take me to cast a Blizzard of that scale again. Heaven truly is watching over me...

But his relief didn't last long; the flames rising from the Mist of the Maiden made Mr. Zank's pupils contract. The purity of those elements was something the surface world of Azeroth could never replicate. Judging by that intensity, only an ancient elemental creature from the Firelands could possess such an untainted source of fire.

Mr. Zank had sensed Coral's eruption through his magical perception, so he was slightly ahead of the others. Moments later, when a massive, fire-wreathed phoenix appeared at the bow of the Mist of the Maiden, the pirates on deck were left completely speechless.

What is a phoenix to a mortal?

Judging by the reaction of the pirates, calling it a divine miracle was no exaggeration. Even the "well-traveled" Mr. Zank had never expected a legendary creature that only appeared in myths to suddenly manifest on the enemy ship!

"K... Kael'thas? That's impossible! This..."

Mr. Zank muttered to himself. Though he didn't stop casting, his internal turmoil caused his rhythm to falter. The rapidly expanding cloud stopped growing and simply hung in the air, looking utterly desolate and helpless.

Riding on the back of a phoenix was undeniably cool, and Liam felt fantastic. However, while Coral's feathers looked beautiful from a distance as they shimmered with flame, having them burning right in front of your face was not exactly a pleasant experience.

If he knew that his casual attempt at being cool had caused someone to mistake him for Kael'thas and nearly scare them to death, he would certainly be annoyed, enough to overshadow the thrill of his second phoenix ride.

But he didn't have time to dwell on that, as Coral was flying at breakneck speed and had already reached the front of the pirate flagship. Blocking the path of the man and the bird was the cold-air cloud Mr. Zank had summoned.

Coral, however, ignored the "little cloud" in his way and dove straight into it...