Chapter 404: Pursuit
After casting a menacing glance at the giant ship below and instilling fear in those on board, the Rank Two black mage let out a cold chuckle and prepared to continue his pursuit of Sein.
However, before he could depart, a tiny beam of energy shot from the deck below and struck him squarely.
Van Basten’s body faltered slightly in the sky, but he sustained no significant damage.
Looking down, he spotted a red-haired intermediate initiate near a magic cannon at the corner of the cargo area.
The two main magic cannons of this alchemy ship had been destroyed by Van Basten early in the battle.
The cannon that the intermediate initiate had just fired was one of the ship’s less powerful secondary cannons.
The intermediate initiate’s boldness had clearly infuriated the black mage, but his anger quickly turned to amusement.
With a strange laugh, he exclaimed, “Gwahahahaha, you’re very brave! I’ll spare your life for now since you’ve impressed me, little one.”
“If you can survive the Trial of Despair in the Catacomb Chasm, I’ll give you a second chance,” he said coldly, as the energy beam that had gathered at the tip of his magic rod dissipated.
Ignoring the pale-faced crowd on the alchemy ship, Van Basten transformed into a black shadow and sped off in the direction Sein had fled.
It was not until he had disappeared from view that the people aboard the ship finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The red-haired initiate who had fired the magic cannon was drenched in sweat. His hands trembled uncontrollably as he clung to the cannon.
As an initiate, confronting a Rank Two black mage had thrust him into an unimaginable state of fear.
“Eric, are you all right?!” The other initiates on the deck rushed over to him as soon as the black mage vanished into the distance.
This red-haired initiate, named Eric, was clearly popular among the group of initiates around him.
His recent daring act of firing at Van Basten—a formidable black mage who had effortlessly slain Thatch and two other Rank One knights—had solidified his role as a leader among the group.
The concerned voices of the others brought Eric back to his senses.
His resolve was evident—had he been the type to surrender easily, he would not have risked his life to target the Rank Two black mage with the magic cannon.
Although he knew nothing about the “Catacomb Chasm” and “Trial of Despair” that the black mage had mentioned, Eric instinctively knew they spelled danger.
“What do we do next? Even Master Thatch has fallen, we’re not going to die here too, are we...?” The only female initiate among the group spoke up, her voice trembling, tinged with fear.
The Black Magic Academy, where Sein had studied, had fewer female initiates.
Gender differences often influenced the demeanor and reactions among magic initiates, and it was evident here. Under the shadow of the crisis, it was the female initiate who showed her anxiety first.
Her distress weighed heavily on the other remaining magic initiates on deck.
They were the only ones with extraordinary power left on the deck. As for the squires who originally outnumbered the magic initiates, they were wiped out by the black mage with his black crows at the first opportunity.
The sacrifices of those knights had not been enough to save them.
Despite the dire circumstances, the magic initiate named Eric refused to give up.
Clenching his teeth, he commanded, “Inform the sailors that we will continue to set sail and head north! As long as we dock, we have a chance of survival.”
The magic initiates in front of him exchanged glances before one of them voiced his concern.
“The humpback whales and their handlers are dead, Master Thatch is gone too. It’ll be hard for us to get this ship moving ourselves. Can we really escape from here? Maybe that black mage will return soon...”
“No matter how slim the chances are, we have to try!” Eric cut off the initiate’s discouraging remarks.
With renewed determination, he said, “Zas, you have some skills in alchemy, don’t you? Go check out the engine room at the bottom of the cabin, we must get this ship going again!”
Eric’s words instilled a flicker of confidence in the initiates around him.
Driven by the instinct for survival, the pungent smell of blood in the surrounding seawater no longer stimulated their senses as it had before.
The primary focus for all the survivors was escape.
That Rank Two black mage, Van Basten, had been quite accurate in his assessment—Eric was indeed a promising intermediate initiate.
Regardless of his accomplishments in unraveling the mystery of truth and magic, Eric’s courage and determination far surpassed those of an ordinary magic initiate.
And in times like these, such qualities were invaluable.
***
Van Basten, the Rank Two black mage, was remarkably fast.
His ability to quickly catch up with and eliminate Thatch was proof of his superior capabilities, which were more than enough to overwhelm Sein, who had only recently been promoted to Rank One.
As Van Basten pursued Sein, he figured out Sein’s intention.
“Trying to use the tornado storm in the Boundless South Sea to hold me back, or making a desperate final stand? What a smart Rank One mage. You intrigue me more and more. Hehehe,” he mused with a cold sneer as he observed the dark, ominous clouds and the raging storm in the distance.
The two grayish-white mecha that had suddenly emerged from the sea below posed no threat to him.
After blasting through the chests of those mecha units with an energy beam, he casually collected the broken, smoking remnants.
“Hmm... Looks similar to those toys from Steel City, but doesn’t seem to be crafted through the alchemy of Magus World. This must be an otherworldly product,” he remarked.
“Perhaps from another technologically advanced world that the Magus Civilization has conquered?” Van Basten mused to himself as he scrutinized the battered mechas with a cold, detached gaze.
Despite the distance, Yuri could still control the two mechas.
While one of them had been destroyed and lost all combat functionality, the other tried to activate its shoulder cannon, which began glowing with white light.
However, before it could fire, Van Basten used his elemental hand to effortlessly crush and deform the cannon, extinguishing its potential threat as easily as one might snuff out a flame.
After storing the remains of the two mecha units in his spatial equipment, the Rank Two black mage laughed coldly as he continued his pursuit toward the converging storms, where Sein was believed to be hiding.