Chapter 5: The Powerful Airael

Chapter 5: The Powerful Airael

On the merchant ship, those who had just passed by now looked at Airael with eyes full of awe.

If the noble status of a mage had previously earned Airael respect, it was nothing compared to the fear that now accompanied their reverence after witnessing her “immense power” as a mage.

They could never afford to offend a powerful mage!

If they angered her, she would undoubtedly make them regret it!

This was the mentality of the lower-class humans when facing such a prestigious and mysterious being as a mage.

“Better to keep my distance. If I can’t afford to tangle with her, I’ll just stay out of her way!”

Airael keenly sensed the shift in the attitudes of those around her.

She said nothing about it.

It was all within her expectations.

Unlike the Elven Race, where every elf could learn magic and achieve notable accomplishments, most human mages were rare, with many stuck at the level of junior mage!

High-level mages were extremely scarce.

And, coincidentally, high-level mages marked a significant turning point in their power.

Only upon reaching high-level could mages unleash some truly devastating spells.

Airael’s gaze remained fixed on the pirate ship approaching them.

Though the pirates were already feeling fear, their captain had no intention of backing down.

“You bastard mage, I’ll make sure to take you down today! Charge ahead, ram their ship!”

The slaves could do nothing but comply, and the pirates also had to suppress their own fear temporarily, constantly agreeing with their captain.

“Charge ahead, sink their ship!”

“Sink it? Do you really think I’ll just toss you into the sea? If you sink our ship, how are we supposed to take anything back?”

Unexpectedly, as soon as one pirate opened his mouth, the captain stomped over and slapped him on the head, roaring.

The pirate looked quite wronged, staring at his captain with pitiful eyes.

But after letting off some steam, the captain ignored him and turned to the merchant ship that was drawing nearer, commanding the pirates, “Prepare the ropes, kill everyone on the merchant ship and toss them to the fish!”

At this distance, they could already ensnare the merchant ship with ropes.

With that, the merchant vessel would be completely at their mercy.

Even if they had a mage onboard, according to their intel, the guards on this ship were merely a very small mercenary group.

They were few in number and their strength wasn’t remarkable.

Only Hank, the group leader, was a high-level warrior, at level eight.

Such a person could be easily dealt with.

He was just a step away from breaking into the legendary level of a level-nine warrior.

Airael’s presence had certainly caught them off guard.

But it was mostly because she kept such a low profile.

When she boarded the ship, no one paid her much attention.

She just quietly stayed aboard, stirring up no trouble.

This led to a significant misunderstanding for the pirates.

And this would ensure they would suffer a grand misfortune today.

The pirates pulled out the ropes meant for ensnaring the merchant ship, revealing sinister grins.

As pirates, they had gone through numerous battles and faced off against mages before.

Thus, they also knew that the magical power of mages was somewhat restricted.

Not to mention the fact that mages weren’t great at close combat.

As long as both sides got tangled in a melee, a mage would have to consider the risk of friendly fire, meaning their attacks could be largely ignored.

Thus, as long as they successfully boarded the vessel, the battle would likely be as good as over.

Their captain was more than capable of sweeping away everyone on the enemy ship.

Seeing the pirates’ movements, Hank panicked, “Protect Lady Ailia!”

After speaking to the few mercenaries responsible for protecting Airael, he turned to her and said, “Lady Ailia, please step back; the boarding battle is about to commence right here.”

Airael nodded gently and began to move back.

Since she chose to pose as a human mage, she naturally needed to act the part.

Human mages generally weren’t very good at close combat, so getting embroiled in a melee could only lead to their demise.

However, Airael wasn’t merely retreating.

While stepping back, she was also preparing her magic.

Casting magic through a magic circle required the caster to keep their feet firmly planted on the ground to maintain the stability of the magic circle.

But through other methods, that wasn’t necessary.

Over the years, Airael had learned some alternative spellcasting methods.

One hand gripped her staff, while the other swirled with golden magical energy in the air, seemingly drawing beautiful symbols.

Before long, she unleashed a meteor fire arrow, a mid-level spell.

A line of fire arrows generated beside her and shot straight towards the pirates attempting to toss ropes onto the merchant ship under the cover of their comrades.

“You bastards!”

Upon noticing the fire arrows coming, the pirates had no choice but to abandon their attempt to throw the ropes and scattered like startled chickens.

They had just witnessed the devastation caused by the fire arrows.

They knew that spell could explode.

Thus, the closer they stood together, the worse it was, making it easier for the spell to hit them.

And just like that, Airael had thwarted the pirates’ first boarding attempt without them even getting to throw the ropes.

Hank and his mercenaries, who had been ready for close combat, couldn’t help but burst into laughter and tears at the absurdity of the situation.

It seemed that under Lady Ailia’s magical suppression, those pirates wouldn’t even manage to board.

In which case, that meant they had little to do at all.

With the boarding plan failing, some pirates began to realize that they were in over their heads, especially with that mage unleashing three powerful spells consecutively, particularly that lightning spell that was shockingly powerful.

After casting those three spells, she looked to be handling everything with ease: “Boss, it seems like we might be in a bit of trouble here. How about we withdraw?”

The captain completely dismissed his crew’s suggestion with a shout: “Withdraw? If we can’t board, then we’re sinking that merchant ship! If we can’t have it, then neither can anyone else!”

“Charge ahead, sink their ship!”

The pirates immediately relayed the captain’s orders.

However, as soon as the words left his mouth, the captain slapped one of his men again.

“Wait to ram! We’ll try again; this time we must board, understand?”