Kill
At this moment, the victor of another battle had been decided as well.
Seeing that the fight would drag on, Isabel had cast Dragon’s Breath without hesitation. Her flaming scales formed a dazzling armour that seemed like a bunch of fresh flowers, making her look like a valkyrie.
As a Dragon Warlock, she inherited the spellcasting abilities of a red dragon. On top of that, the bloodline Isabel possessed was that of a legendary dragon, boosting her power greatly.
The frantic flames consumed Odge in a flash, his barbaric toughness and determination unable to stop his painful wails.
*Schlick!* Isabel had activated the Red Dragon Sword immediately as well, and light flashed as Odge’s powerful enchanted sabre was broken apart.
Its obstacle removed, the Red Dragon Sword pierced into Odge’s heart without any reluctance. Flames blazed, immediately destroying all the vital organs in his body.
“AAH...” Odge lowered his head with great difficulty, looking at the scorched black flesh on his chest. The light in his eyes slowly dimmed.
“NO!” Madam Tillen let out a mournful wail. She managed to summon strength from some unknown well of energy, struggling to crawl next to Odge’s body.
“My... beloved...” She held Odge’s huge lifeless hand, her eyes filled with contentment as if she had grabbed hold of the most precious thing in the entire world. They slowly closed.
Looking upon them, Leylin and Isabel did not try and hinder them in any way. They quietly watched this pair of eternal soulmates pass into the afterworld.
“Such a sad and beautiful romance... No?”
Isabel rolled her eyes after hearing Leylin’s idle comment, “It’s rather unlike you to say that sort of thing.
“Also... Why are you this impatient?” She looked all around them. The Barbarians had been forced into a weak position.
With Odge and Tillen slain, the remaining barbarians had grown even more frantic. However, it ultimately ended with them struggling in the throes of death.
Once the final few barbarian shamans died, the entire crew’s destruction grew inevitable. They crumbled under such heavy suppression, jumping into the sea one after the other to flee. Yet, Robin Hood had long anticipated this retreat. They were shot dead.
This was the problem with naval warfare. Once a side lost, it was difficult to flee. Only absolute victories and losses were possible on the sea, and losing made it very difficult to free oneself.
Leylin had always been lucky. Rather, he’d always planned very well. His current pace and lack of hesitation conflicted with Isabel’s view of him, especially the use of their own people as bait. His methods stank of shortsighted vision.
“You could tell? Then there is no harm in you guessing what guards I’ve prepared in advance...” Seeing his cousin maturing, Leylin’s heart was rather gratified. She could be considered his greatest helping hand in the outer seas.
“It can’t be... The priest and thief from last time!” Isabel only needed to think about it for a moment before her eyes flashed in understanding.
“Mm!” Leylin nodded, waving his hand carelessly. A translucent wave rose, with a small water screen floating atop it. Although there was no indication of their identity, the sailors onboard radiated a uniquely murderous aura.
“Are these... pirates? Ones which were groomed by the God of Murder? They’ve always been hiding in Pirates’ Cove, I never thought...” Isabel breathed in sharply. She’d always believed that the Scarlet Tigers and Barbarians were the biggest crews in the outer seas, neglecting the fragmented small groups.
However, these small groups were in fact the biggest strength of Pirates’ Cove, forming the majority of ships in the Pirates’ Tide. Even a small part of those in service could assemble into a power force to reckon with.
“Thankfully you’ve already discovered them. If we fought a battle of attrition with the barbarians, these locusts would’ve descended on the place. The consequences would have been unbearable...” Isabel said, with a grave expression on her face. She now no longer had the slightest doubt in her mind that the church of murder were not just ordinary fishermen.
“Mm, you’re absolutely correct!” Leylin agreed with Isabel’s point.
“This is also why I avoided a fight at Pirates’ Cove. Of course I didn’t want the Barbarians to enjoy a locational advantage, but I also wanted to avoid these maggots in the dark...” The corners of Leylin’s lips quirked up into a sneer, “However, now we’ve discovered their plan and made preparations after destroying the Barbarians. What have we got to worry about?”
“What do you mean?” Isabel asked hesitantly. Standing by Leylin, she smelt that special scent of bloodthirst.
“Let’s welcome them, and kill them all!” Leylin’s eyes flashed as he made up his mind, “Now is the best time. The entire church of murder in the outer seas has assembled here. Their death will be a great blow to it...”
“A blow?” Isabel had never thought Leylin’s ambition would grow to the point that he’d wish to strike down a true god’s church.
‘How am I to spread my own religion without getting rid of them...’ Leylin smiled coldly to himself, ‘There is a dead calm here in the outer seas, and Cyric is the dark world’s greatest god. Once he is cut off from his lackeys in the prime material plane, all the faith in the outer seas will be mine for the taking...’
In reality, this wasn’t a question of benefits. Leylin had long since taken a fancy to the outer seas, and determined it to be his base. He prepared to establish it as the foundation of his religion, so he would clash with the existing religions here.
First was Cyric. He was the biggest influence in the outer seas, and had quite a few pirates as his followers. On top of that, this was an evil god and a public fight wouldn’t be an issue. On the contrary, it would perhaps earn him the favour of good gods.
In the future, Leylin would likely sweep across the outer seas, eliminating all the native religions and evil gods in one fell swoop.
“Don’t worry, cousin. The god of murder’s influence isn’t that strong in the outer seas, and he is suppressed by many other good gods... Additionally, even the Thieves’ Guild is not entirely under his control...” Leylin had acquired a lot of inside information on the three great guilds after travelling the continent.
Cyric could only be considered a shareholder in the Thieves’ Guild, not their head. There were many other gods supporting the organisation from the shadows. The Warriors’ Guild was the same, and a single god wouldn’t be allowed to monopolise these channels. Even the narrow-minded wizards weren’t purely loyal to Mystra. Oghma, among others, had his share of worshippers.
This meant a war against Cyric did not equate to an attack on the Thieves’ Guild.
“So it’s like that... But still, he’s a powerful true god,” Isabel’s eyes were full of anxiety. Needless to say, even weak gods wouldn’t relinquish their own territories, let alone allow their followers to suffer a big loss.
Even if Cyric’s influence in the outer seas was very weak, he wielded great power on the continent. He controlled many high-ranked military powers from the shadow.
It was entirely possible to dispatch one or two legendaries to fight for him.This was the ultimate decisive force in the prime material plane, and once such a high-ranked expert arrived Isabel was well aware that nobody on her side could offer even the least bit of resistance.
Ordinary people couldn’t touch the legendary realm. Even the Faulen Family’s entire wealth was nothing in one’s eyes.
“Even if a legendary comes to hurt my family, they’ll have to step over my dead body first!” Isabel declared firmly, tightly grasping her red dragon longsword. Leylin was naturally aware of the resolution in her eyes, but did not speak of his intended plans.
Cyric could possibly be fly into a rage and send legendaries over from the continent. However, this required time. By then, Leylin himself would likely have advanced. In addition, one’s development necessitated the blundering of others’ benefits. This would naturally lead to conflict.
Choosing the outer seas was Leylin making a quite tame decision. Had he begun developing on the mainland, legendary experts would probably have been sent to take him down already.
‘Ultimately, it’s all a question of strength. If I have enough strength, what can the church of murder do even if I slay their members and take over the outer seas?’ Cyric and Malar were both chaotic evil gods, held in poor regard by the general public. Leylin could use any means he wanted to deal with them.
‘Choosing the right faction is of the utmost importance. Since the good faction is out of the question, I must not lose the lawful faction...’ Leylin stroked his chin as he pondered the situation meaninglessly.
Just as Leylin and Isabel were about to speak, Ronald finished his mission. He bounded over to them in his excitement. There were still traces of barbarian blood on him as he began his report. “My lord! The Barbarians have been destroyed! Only five ships have been sunk, and the rest are now under our control!”
“Mm, prepare to launch the second phase of the plan. Take the heavily damaged ships away, and prepare to fight again!” Leylin’s orders were light.
“Hm? We still have enemies left?” Ronald had believed that the Scarlet Tigers would be the strongest crew in the outer seas once the Barbarians were gone.