Chapter 3: The Pirate Assault

Chapter 3: The Pirate Assault

In the blink of an eye, another six months flew by.

During this time, Airael had been wandering all over Avalon, the elven homeland.

She fought dragon beasts, eliminated magic wolves, and made numerous elven friends.

Although her practical and travel experience bloomed like a flower, she still hadn’t broken through to the tenth rank.

But Airael wasn’t disheartened at all!

As a being who had lived for centuries, half a year was just a drop in the ocean for her.

In light of this, Airael resolved to explore broader horizons.

She decided to leave Avalon and venture into the mainland.

Originally, in her grand plan, the relatively leisurely Avalon was just a beginner’s village.

Once she’d leveled up enough in the beginner’s village, it would be time to move on.

And now, the moment to leave had finally arrived.

On the boundless sea, a human merchant ship filled with goods was sailing smoothly.

On one side of the ship stood a slender figure cloaked in gray, seemingly admiring the ocean view without a care in the world.

The passing sailors ignored this living breathing person entirely as they brushed past.

This gray-cloaked figure was none other than Airael.

Though she appeared human beneath the gray cloak, having been an elf for so long made it difficult for her to blend in with human society.

Moreover, she found these sailors utterly uncouth.

For instance, two sailors sauntering past her wore lewd, shameless grins and discussed topics that could make one’s ears bleed—the kind of talk that could be harmonized for a hundred times, no, a thousand!

Once the two sailors were out of earshot, Airael finally let out a sigh of relief.

Her ears could finally rest in peace.

Wish you all would drop dead from your desires!

As a price for the auditory pollution, Airael silently wished them ill.

After finishing her blessings, Airael turned back to watch the sea.

Even though it wasn’t her first encounter with the ocean, unlike these sailors who lived at sea year-round, her time spent with the ocean had been quite limited.

Thus, the sea still felt remarkably fresh and fascinating to her.

Watching fish jump out of the water only to plop back in was downright amusing!

But the blissful view wasn’t meant to last.

Suddenly, a ship appeared on the horizon.

If it were just any ship, it would be fine, but the flag fluttering above made it clear—it was a pirate ship!

Airael’s eyes narrowed as she stared at the approaching vessel.

Meanwhile, the sailors aboard the ship also spotted the pirate ship.

A sailor stationed on the mast shouted at the top of his lungs, “Pirates! Pirates are coming!”

The merchant ship erupted into chaos at the shout.

Panic spread like wildfire among the crew.

Although the captain managed to keep his composure, his trembling hand holding the spyglass betrayed him.

Seeing the pirate ship up close, particularly the swashbucklers flaunting their fierceness up on deck, the captain lowered the spyglass and roared, “You lot! Get down to the lower deck and paddle for your lives!”

At this moment, the merchant ship’s guard squad flooded out from the cabin.

Though numbering only around twenty seasoned mercenaries hired to protect the ship, they were battle-hardened.

The captain, seeing these hired mercenaries, found his heart steadied amidst his earlier panic and encouraged them, “Mercenaries, it’s your turn to shine! You must protect my ship!”

“Don’t worry, Captain! Since we took your coin, we’ll make sure to guard your ship!”

The leading mercenary bellowed, then turned to his underlings, “Alright, lads, perk up! We’ve got work to do! We can’t let those pirates tarnish the reputation of our Blue Whale Mercenary Group!”

“Yes, Captain!”

The mercenary team echoed in unison, quickly preparing to thwart the impending pirate attack under the big guy’s lead.

Their movements were swift and decisive, without a single delay.

The captain nodded in satisfaction at their efficiency.

Then he turned his focus back to his crew, cursing and urging them to paddle faster to shake off the pirates.

Though the mercenaries seemed powerful, the ship’s inclination was still to avoid a fight if possible.

However, that wasn’t realistic at all.

Setting aside how well-suited pirate ships were for speed, it was clear that this merchant ship, loaded to the brim with goods, wouldn’t make a clean getaway.

Thus, neither Airael nor the mercenaries paid any attention to the flustered captain.

They kept their eyes glued to the rapidly approaching pirate ship.

Unless something unexpected happened, a bloody battle was bound to ensue very soon.

With a thought, Airael reached into her storage ring and retrieved a staff, stepping up to the leader of the mercenaries—the big guy from before—and asked, “Do you need my help next?”

It’s worth noting that the staff she pulled out was not the Staff of Eternity, but rather a decent one she had obtained during her prior adventures.

No need to flaunt wealth! Better keep the Staff of Eternity under wraps to avoid drawing unwanted attention.

After all, those lurking in the shadows are often more terrifying than the overt enemies.

Just then, the lovely voice reached the ears of the big guy and his mercenaries, causing them all to freeze momentarily.

Only then did they finally notice Airael’s presence.

While they were all quite alert, their previous focus on the pirates had made them overlook Airael.

“Who are you?”

Although her voice was melodious, the big guy had earned his title as the leader for good reason.

He didn’t let his guard down simply because Airael was a beautiful woman.

The mercenaries around him glared at Airael with cautious eyes.

“My name is Ailia! My current profession, as you can see, is a mage!”

Airael introduced herself, albeit using her alias.

Upon realizing that this woman was a high-status mage, the big guy shifted his gaze back to Airael with a smile, “Oh! Lady Ailia! I’m Hank. You can just call me Hank. If Lady Ailia is willing to help us, please punish those pirates with your magic!”