Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 403 Ghost Ship

As for Eirima, the Flying General who retreated swiftly when the situation turned unfavorable, he also suffered no good outcome.

Completely focused on guiding the scroll, Tybien, sweating profusely despite the howling wind, was oblivious to the strange ship sailing past in the distance.

The tattered black sails fluttered fiercely in the wind, like the robes of ghosts;

The hull, covered with barnacles, had a dark brown hull, resembling the color of rotting wood or dried blood.
The ship was badly damaged, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was covered in wounds. The shocking holes and damage revealed its tragic past.

Ghost ship!
This ship, seemingly returning from the Dark Sea, had long since sunk in the Battle of Terror Island in the distant past, dragged into the abyss by Melron, the big boss of Watermelon Peel. Now, it is merely another echo of that tragic scene from years past.

However, who can truly say what is real and what is illusory?

It's fake. It must be an illusion created by that human mage. That damned and stupid monkey trick.

As the massive warship cutting through the waves and heading straight for them, Eirima, feeling completely numb, kept trying to reassure herself.

Although the Drow, who had never seen a warship before, knew very little about such a thing that they had only seen in books, as long as they were not blind, they could hardly ignore the magnificent prestige of this former flagship of the Iron Sail Fleet as it directly overwhelmed them.

As the ghost ship drew near, the priestess and her guards seemed to hear commands, shouts, and the commander's bell emanating from it, smell the sweet and rich aroma of rum, and clearly see the texture of the behemoth's material.

Despite its uncanny realism, the shimmering light and slightly transparent texture, along with the fact that it caused no impact on the ground during its journey and that any splashes it made dissipated without a trace, gave Eirima a boost of self-hypnotic confidence and courage, as if she had found a lifeline.
This ship is just an illusion, at most it carries some negative energy damage. With my own resistance, I should be fine. If I hold on a little longer, I can get out of the battlefield.

This somewhat self-deceptive idea was truly out of necessity. The priestess decided to retreat the moment she realized the scouts had been defeated. As for Taybion?

Being able to attract the other party's attention and hold them off for even a few seconds is a win, after all, it is an honor for a man of little value to sacrifice himself for the Spider Queen Priestess.

Compared to the mage who was trapped alone, Eirima was in a much better situation. At least when she was guiding the teleportation scroll, there were still several guards protecting her. In addition, the old man who could emit light waves had died in the earlier attack. The only thing to worry about was that damned human mage.

Just when she feared it most, the ghost ship appeared in the distance before her, even though she was casting a spell. The priestess had no way to hide.

Abandon teleportation and instead fight to the death with the opponent?

With their own side nearly wiped out and unable to inflict any damage on the enemy, continuing to hold out would be nothing more than a predator's death throes in front of its predator. Zhuo Er, who always enjoyed this kind of thing, was unwilling to be the one being played.

At this moment, Eirima can only gamble, bracing herself and staring wide-eyed as the wrecked ship is about to crash into her face; she's practically having a megalophobia attack.

It's fake, it's fake, it's fake. God bless this Spider Queen, it must be fake...it's real!

The stingy Spider Queen clearly had no spare mercy for such an insignificant little priest.

The ghost ship, which had been almost invisible and hadn't damaged an inch of the grass, arrived with a majestic air, accompanied by a sea breeze carrying the scent of death. The warriors guarding the front of Eurima finally couldn't bear the fear in their hearts and scattered and fled. Only two gray dwarf shield warriors, who were stuck in the very center at the front and had short legs, were left, and they didn't even have time to run away.

The gray dwarf, struck head-on by the ghost ship, rolled to the ground like a barrel run over by a carriage. The illusory ship became real at that moment, displaying immense power befitting its massive size.

At the critical moment, the priestess, driven by fear and her own frantic senses, finally dared not fight to the bitter end. As the violent airflow rushed towards her, her face turned from black to blue and then pale. Elimar could no longer care about casting spells on the scroll. She leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding its edge, and was covered in dirt before even landing.

After the ghost ship turned real, its hull cleaved the earth like a blade, plowing through the soil and splashing up muddy waves. Mud and gravel splattered all over the drow, making the elite hunting squad look like groundhogs.

Before the group of dirt rats could even get up and shake off the dust, a loud bang, like the sound of something shattering, swept across everything within a radius of tens of meters with an invisible yet tangible impact.

Zhang Yuan watched with great interest as the ghost ship, having arrived at its target area, disintegrated and sank into the ground amidst enemy forces, just as the scene had repeated itself years before.

As for the drow and grey dwarves who panicked and tried to escape, but had no choice but to endure it, their fates were all the same. For a spell like the Ghost Ship with its area-of-effect effect, thinking of dodging when the ship was already right in front of them was wishful thinking.

Eirima's wishful thinking ultimately backfired. In an attempt to escape after the teleportation was interrupted, she was thrown to the ground the instant the ship exploded. A tide of magic filled with negative energy washed over her, and even with her strong resistance, she couldn't help but vomit blood and faint.

But being a drow with innate magic resistance and the perception and spirit of a priest, the priestess regained consciousness in less than three seconds. She panicked and prepared to get up and run away, but then became even more horrified to find that the ground where she was lying was rapidly rising, with stone pillars rising up like demonic claws to surround her.

The brief moment was enough for Master Zhang to make some small moves. After physically hypnotizing the unlucky mage with a punch, he aimed directly at the enemy leader who had been knocked to the ground.

Stoneclaw, a very useful transmutation spell, was used directly on the ground beneath the priestess with just a few hand gestures and incantations. The soil was gathered, shaped, and transformed into a large granite hand that scooped up the target and closed its five fingers together.

Before the other person could even struggle, their limbs and torso were firmly gripped, making them writhe in vain like a salted fish pulled from the water.

It would be futile. The physical binding created by Stoneclaw doesn't care about the target's magic resistance or mental immunity. Unless you have superhuman strength like a giant (i.e., greater than 18), you'd better just stay trapped for a few rounds.

The overall situation is decided!

Several key figures on the opposing side had become emotionally stable and calm under his focused care, and the rest were almost all killed or wounded. All that remained was to clean up the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)