Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 417 Pirates
The modified Auerbach soon demonstrated its outstanding performance as a result of magical technology.

Not only did the speed double, but the improved ship's center of gravity lowered and its draft increased, significantly reducing lateral sway. In addition, the main power source, propeller propulsion, made speed changes much more stable.

The Auerbach sailed along the coastline in the near-shore area with a calm and tranquility that no one had ever seen before. The villagers on board were from coastal villages, and boating and fishing were commonplace for them. After a long day, they quickly fell asleep and had almost no difficulty adapting.

And what about those dwarves?

In any case, unless absolutely necessary, the monk had no interest in stepping into their cabin. In just one night, the place had become like a swill room, and the careless Mr. Zhang thought he had entered a pool of acidic hell.

Fortunately, I had prepared some sour berries and dried plums beforehand, and I would occasionally make some soup for these little tigers, which helped a bit.

It was roughly early spring, before Queen Ambrosio's fiery temper reached the cold northern coast. After seven days and seven nights of sailing, with two stops for resupply at Deepwater City and Dagger Beach, the Auerbach finally arrived at High Cliff Port.

At present, maritime transport and trade have not yet recovered from the winter off-season, and Gaoya Port is no exception to being affected. Only a few small and medium-sized ships come and go and dock. However, judging from the area of ​​the wharf area and the reserved berths, once the maritime traffic recovers, this place, located at the throat of winter, will definitely be a busy place for cargo turnover.

"What a great place, what a pity."

The mage knew all too well what a good port meant. It wasn't just about the profits from maritime trade; it was also about having a gateway to the sea, especially with the special advantage of being a non-ice-free port in the North, thanks to Neverwinter.

"It is indeed a pity. As far as I know, High Cliff has always served as a secondary port and transit hub for Winterless. If we could bring it under our control, at least we wouldn't have to worry about the territory's finances."

Nancy, who was born in Neverwinter, was no stranger to this satellite city of Neverwinter, especially after joining the Mandane family, and had witnessed its prosperity when she sailed with the family's merchant ships.

"That's why there's no way those drooling jackals would just stand by and watch this piece of meat fall into the mouth of an outsider like me."

Although he had long since accepted this reality, the thought of Gaoya Port being separated still made Mr. Zhang very unhappy.

"I'd better not let you catch me," the mage thought bitterly, a single thought swirling in his mind:
"Danze, or war!"

"It's only been a few days, and we've already reached the high cliff."

Lars, standing to the side, didn't seem to have as many lingering emotions. The end of this sea voyage had jolted him awake from a dream. Putting aside the superior performance of his beloved ship after its modifications, the ship's firepower left him speechless.

As the Auerbach sailed north and was still some distance from Waterdeep, a pirate ship bobbing on the sea "luckily" spotted its prey.

The unexpected joy of being able to open for business during the off-season of their industry thrilled these marine slag workers.

They soon realized they had been too optimistic.

What flanking maneuvers, what boarding maneuvers? Laughable, they can't catch up at all.

The lingering northerly winds of winter blow down from the world's ridge, bringing the chill of early spring and adding obstacles to northward-bound ships' voyages.

Even excluding these factors, how can a sailboat that depends on the weather compete with a magical ship that is powered by a turbine modified by alchemy?

The pirates quickly realized that their prey was ridiculously fast, and their ships were nowhere near keeping up. Stunned and then enraged, the pirates, oblivious to the fact that they were actually being favored by Tamora, refused to give up and launched an attack on their fleeing prey using the ballistae and small catapults on board.

In an instant, all sorts of projectiles were launched out like a clearance sale, creating quite a spectacle.

However, almost none of the arrows, stones, and incendiary bombs rained down on them. Their mobility was already far inferior to that of the enemy, so if they wanted to achieve anything with their outdated weapons, they could only pray for good fortune.

The miracle happened!
A stone projectile, the size of a watermelon and weighing several tens of pounds, was launched from a string mechanism. Guided by fate, it fell like a meteor onto the roof of the Auerbach's superstructure, leaving a huge hole in the recently renovated roof with a loud crack.

One shot into the soul!
However, this may not be a sign of fate's mercy, but rather a malicious trick by her.

Mr. Zhang, who was calmly eating dried fish and reading a book, was suddenly awakened by a loud noise and pulled from his immersive state. He called Lawrence over and asked him what was going on. It turned out that some pirates had set their sights on his house. This was outrageous!

The mage, stepping into the cockpit, looked at Lars, who was already skillfully maneuvering the ship beneath his feet, and asked:

"What happened? Were we attacked?"

"It's nothing serious, just a small group of pirates. We'll get them over the horizon soon."

Lars gripped the steering wheel with complete confidence.

"Why are you running? Didn't you want to see the firepower system I added to this ship?"

Lars, the old captain who had been sailing for merchant fleets for many years, did not want to get entangled with pirates. After all, these sea scum were like goblins in the wild, impossible to kill completely. They could just be rid of. If he were to concern himself with this, he would not need to travel any routes and could simply switch to the navy to fight pirates.

The monk, however, had a different opinion: Had he offended Master Zhang, he thought he could just run away?
"Hard to port, adjust the ship's bearing to the east by ninety degrees, and position the ship horizontally facing the enemy ship."

The ship was currently being operated by Captain Lars and the mechanic. The latter carried out the order without hesitation, controlling the right propeller to accelerate forward, while the former hesitated for a moment before turning the rudder to full speed and maneuvering the stern to the left.

As the two operated the ship, the Auerbach made a sharp 90-degree turn while sailing, blocking the path of the pursuing pirate ship in the distance.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of naval warfare from their previous life would understand what this T-shaped confrontation line signifies. However, unfortunately, most pirates are just reckless brutes who can't even read a single word, and as native barbarians of Faerûn, they are even less likely to possess such a forward-thinking perspective.

They were filled with nothing but joy.

Seeing that the prey was about to escape, it suddenly lost its mind and gave up the escape, instead stopping and making a sharp turn to the side, giving them a chance to catch up.

Perhaps some newbie from some family went out and panicked because he was intimidated by his own abundant martial virtue?

While his crew lavishly praised Lady Luck and Amberley, Captain Ruf harbored suspicions, which he quickly dismissed, and began to dream of capturing their ship.

Thank you to Wanliutongyuan, Shujiwuming, and Yuezhimin for your monthly ticket support!

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(End of this chapter)