Several cannon shots rang out from the pirate ship, but Karin saw only a few wisps of smoke drifting above it.
No cannonballs reached them. The two ships were still too far apart, outside firing range...
"They're trying to intimidate us!" Buck the musketeer said quietly as he carefully loaded gunpowder into his short cannon. "This is bad. They have four cannons, and we only have one!"
"And theirs is a sailing ship built for coastal waters, while ours is an oceangoing cargo ship..." First Mate Hana cried, clutching a kitchen knife in both hands. "They're much faster than us. Even if we turn around and run, they'll catch us!"
"So what?" Captain Leguli's voice suddenly grew much lighter. "We can't just let them take us... The North Sea Pirates won't spare us just because we raise a white flag and surrender... Get ready to fight!"
Karin gazed calmly into the distance, waiting for the All-Knowing Eye's response.
"Host, no spellcasters have been detected aboard the enemy vessel..."
"No spellcasters..." Karin nodded. That made sense. Whether they were mages from Dalaran or Quel'Thalas, or even the rarer dwarf and gnome mages, few would fall so low that they ended up becoming pirates.
That made things much easier!
"Everyone except the helmsman... gather around me!" Karin ordered firmly.
"Gather around you?" Several crew members immediately objected. If they crowded together, a single enemy cannonball could wipe them all out!
"Do as Mr. Karin says!" Captain Leguli ordered decisively. "Everyone, come here!"
As captain, he knew full well that they would have to rely on this elf mage to survive this crisis.
"I'll take the helm!" First Mate Hana dropped her kitchen knife and ran toward the rear of the deck.
The entire deck fell silent. Only the roar of the sea could be heard.
"They're about to enter firing range!" Buck the musketeer suddenly said.
Once the enemy came within their range, they would also be within the enemy's.
Boom! Smoke billowed from Buck's short cannon... The cannonball struck the pirate ship's deck, and they could just make out several pirates being knocked to the ground by the blast.
At the same time, four loosely staggered cannon shots rang out from the other ship.
Two cannonballs struck the surrounding waters; clearly, the pirates' aim was poor... One hit the deck behind them, punching a large hole through it, while another hurtled toward the tightly packed crowd.
Karin's expression was intensely focused. He raised his staff, and an invisible shield appeared in front of everyone.
The First Ring abjuration spell Magic Shield was the most versatile defensive spell, but when used properly, it could block even the most terrifying attacks!
"An impact force of fifteen horsepower. Since it is a physical force, deflecting it won't require much expenditure!" the All-Knowing Eye's voice rang out in his mind.
Just a few yards from the crowd, the cannonball veered off course and flew into the sea beside the Advance, throwing up a splash.
Karin breathed a sigh of relief. He had guessed correctly... Gunpowder in Azeroth was neither particularly advanced nor widespread, and the pirates used an especially inferior variety. It had less than half the power of ordinary black powder, and their aim was terrible as well.
Even if cannons of this caliber hit the hull, they would struggle to sink the ship or inflict serious damage... At most, they could kill or wound the crew aboard it.
Both sides began loading more gunpowder!
Buck finished first and fired another cannonball, but unfortunately, this shot went wide!
The enemy's four cannons fired in succession as well. This time, only one cannonball was on course to hit the ship... With experience now under his belt, Karin simply expanded his Magic Shield and deflected it into the sea once again.
After several rounds of cannon fire, a number of pirates had been wounded, while the Advance had suffered almost no casualties.
"Damn it, they have a mage who knows protective spells!" Aboard the pirate ship, the captain's face darkened as he shouted his orders. "Ready the boat! We're boarding them. I want everyone on that ship dead!"
Bringing a coastal sailing ship close to an Arcane-Powered Cargo Ship was an incredibly foolish move! If the cargo ship rammed them, the impact could capsize their sailing ship outright... A small boat was a different matter. Fast and agile, it could avoid being rammed by the cumbersome cargo ship.
"They're coming!" Captain Leguli tightened his grip on his cutlass.
A boat was lowered from the pirate ship and headed toward them! More than thirty pirates were aboard, brandishing their weapons.
"Buck, can you take it out?" Nathanos asked nervously.
"No..." The dwarf musketeer shook his head. "It's too fast... I can't get a clear shot!"
All-Knowing Eye! Karin suddenly asked inwardly. How many Fireballs can I cast in my current condition?
He did not want to exhaust his mana and trigger another bout of magical withdrawal.
"Twelve or thirteen!" the All-Knowing Eye estimated.
What if I drink a Lesser Mana Potion?
"Then you could cast at least sixteen!"
Good. Let's settle on fifteen Fireballs! Karin smiled, took out a Lesser Mana Potion, and drank the entire bottle.
Then he cast Levitate, raising himself a few yards into the air... The higher vantage point gave him a wider field of view.
At the bow of the small boat, the pirate captain watched the figure rising above their target ship.
So that's the mage? He looks like a First Ring or Second Ring mage, though... If he were Third Ring or higher, he probably would have sailed straight over and blown up my ship, crew and all!
A sudden sense of foreboding seized the pirate captain. He hurriedly drew his longbow and fired an arrow.
Karin had already cast Frost Armor on himself. An arrow fired from this distance could not hurt him for now.
"Five hundred yards..."
"Four hundred yards..."
"Three hundred yards... Target within range."
Karin emptied an entire bag of black gunpowder into the air around him... It hung about him like a dark cloud!
"All right. Justice from above!"
Fifteen Fireballs rained down on the boat and the water around it within thirty seconds... The entire boat was blasted to pieces. Some pirates were killed outright or badly wounded by the Fireballs, while others fell into the sea and struggled in the water.
Pirates were generally strong swimmers... But that did not seem to help much.
Nathanos picked up his longbow, and Buck drew his musket. Whenever a pirate's head broke the surface, they fired.
At the helm, First Mate Hana excitedly steered the Advance straight over the pitiful pirates floundering in the water!