Taking on water

Brother Stuart's mist spell would only last so long. If they failed to use the sea mist to gain an advantage and cripple the Sailing Warship, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Lambert had already brought his ship within fifty meters of the enemy warship. He had no way out now. Once the sea mist cleared, eighteen Shipbreaker Cannons would blast them sky-high.

"Faster! Faster!" Lambert was coming apart. He had never imagined that a warship from Morris Shipyard would drive him into a corner.

The Pirate Flagship surged forward at full speed. Lambert swung its bow toward the Sailing Warship's Cannon Deck.

With the sea mist trailing close behind Rowan's warship, the Pirate Flagship burst out of the fog and caught him off guard.

It was already too late to order the Cannon Deck to fire a volley at the Pirate Flagship. Rowan immediately ordered Leonard, "Stop the starboard paddlewheel, turn the Ramming Prow toward them, and meet them head-on."

Rowan had originally planned to unleash full power and accelerate into a ram. But under the circumstances, he had few options left.

Leonard and every sailor present sucked in a breath. Their eyes turned to Rowan as one.

The Pirate Flagship had built up speed before charging at them, and it had a Ramming Prow of its own.

Meeting it head-on without any preparation-wasn't that playing with fire?

Yet this time, Leonard raised no objections. He carried out Young Master Rowan's order without hesitation.

This was war. The situation changed in an instant, and even a tiny mistake could jeopardize the battle and lead to defeat.

Leonard's heart rose into his throat. He feared Young Master Rowan had made a rash decision. Still, he turned the helm and aimed their warship's Ramming Prow at the Pirate Warship.

Two seconds later, the warships collided. Their Ramming Prows struck each other, throwing off blazing sparks.

The shriek of colliding metal assaulted everyone's eardrums. Rowan shook his head hard, forcing himself to stay calm.

The collision sent the warship rocking violently. Rowan clung to the railing and shouted with all his strength, "Byron, pull the Steam Valve all the way down! Full power!"

After the cannons stopped firing, Byron had gone to the Engine Room to await orders. At Rowan's command, he pulled the Steam Valve all the way down. The Steam Engine soon reached maximum output.

Scalding steam puffed from the Exhaust Port. The two connecting rods alternated faster and faster, and even inside the ship, Byron could hear the paddlewheels churning the sea.

To the sailors, this was an ordinary clash between two warships. In truth, it was a contest between sails driven by wind runes and steam power.

Soon, the enormous thrust from the Steam Engine allowed Rowan's warship to push the Pirate Flagship back.

The two Ramming Prows slipped past each other. Then, driven by its powerful engine, Rowan's warship slid its Ramming Prow along the pirate ship's hull, straight toward the Cannon Deck.

As Rowan's Steam Warship continued accelerating, its metal Ramming Prow pressed against the gun compartment and shoved the Pirate Flagship forty-five degrees off course.

Worse still, the relentless pressure badly fractured the planking around the Pirate Warship's gun compartment, and seawater poured into several compartments.

As Leonard watched the battered Pirate Flagship, astonishment mingled with awe.

He had never seen such a powerful warship. With the addition of a steam engine, this ordinary medium-sized Sailing Warship seemed to have become a sea beast of boundless strength, devouring every enemy in sight.

"Capture that pirate leader." Standing at the bow, Rowan clearly saw Lambert running toward the stern.

Leonard beckoned a sailor over to take the helm.

Then he snatched a greatsword from the weapon rack and sprinted to the edge of the deck.

With a fierce roar, Leonard activated Heroic Leap.

He sprang into the air, cleared ten meters, and landed with a heavy thud directly in front of Lambert.

Byron followed close behind. Putting all his strength into a running start, he tried to leap aboard the pirate ship.

Instead, he fell straight into the water with a splash.

Fortunately, ropes hung along the ship's side. Byron used one to climb aboard the pirate ship.

"What are you doing at a time like this?!" Gripping his sword hilt with both hands, Leonard twisted at the waist and swung his greatsword at Lambert.

A silvery longsword met the greatsword, and Lambert retreated half a step.

Byron wiped the seawater from his face and said helplessly, "Do you think every class can hop around like you Warriors?"

Before he had finished speaking, golden wings lit up behind Byron. Taking over from Leonard as the main attacker, he swung his warhammer into Lambert's longsword.

The warhammer shone with holy light, leaving golden Holy Seals on Lambert's two longswords. Lambert parried all three of the Paladin's Judgments.

"Careful! This bastard's a Level Four Fury Warrior." Seeing that Byron was halfway through his Crusade and Judgment sequence without having wounded Lambert, Leonard immediately used Charge to close in, then followed with a Heavy Strike.

Clang! Lambert could not fend off both attackers, and Leonard's blow caught him off guard.

"Motherfucker!" Wounded front and back, Lambert was about to pull away to defend against the Arms Warrior. But the Paladin's attacks kept getting faster. Wielding his warhammer like a rabid dog, Byron struck at Lambert's head again and again.

As long as the Paladin's Crusade was not interrupted, Byron's attack speed would keep increasing.

Byron was now attacking at his fastest, giving Leonard no chance to break away.

"Stand still! I'm going to beat you to death, you son of a bitch!" Byron seethed with anger. This bastard had killed more than twenty sailors and Merchants' Guild employees outside the Shipyard. He had to die.

"What are you waiting for? Fire!" Lambert knew he would never escape if he kept fighting these two class holders. His only hope now lay with the two remaining pirate ships.

The two pirate ships hesitated briefly, then fired a volley. Three cannonballs struck the Pirate Flagship, while two punched through the compartments of Rowan's warship.

One cannonball also struck near Lambert, blasting the deck apart. Seizing the chaos, he broke free and put distance between himself and Byron and Leonard.

The Pirate Flagship had taken on so much water that it was about to sink, but Lambert showed no trace of panic. He laughed arrogantly. "Soldiers of the Norwington Family? You've certainly surprised me, but it's all over now. Look at your warship. Its compartments have been breached. Just wait until you sink into the sea, fools."

Byron and Leonard both glanced over. Sure enough, seawater had begun flooding the compartments beneath the Cannon Deck.

The two exchanged grim looks.