Chapter 185: Encountering River Bandits.

The Mora stretch of the Itongli River lay beyond the control of any one authority. More than ten thousand river pirates had gathered there, to the endless frustration of the nearby lords. Every attempt to send troops against them had failed.

The pirates blocked the waterway, making passage difficult for any ship that traveled by river.

Most ships paid a protection fee to get through safely. How much they paid depended on the pirates’ mood.

Regulars who had built a good relationship with them could pay a fixed amount. A ship passing through for the first time was expected to hand over a third of the total value of its cargo. Those who failed to take the hint had their ships seized along with everyone aboard. Wealthy captives were held for ransom; those whose families could not pay were sold into slavery.

For their own safety, nearly every ship paid.

Even if it meant taking a loss, they paid.

No one wanted to become a slave stripped of all dignity.

Were the authorities truly powerless against pirates this brazen?

The truth was that the interests involved were tangled, and someone powerful was protecting them. Why else would every annual campaign to wipe them out come to nothing?

Johnny could have paid the fee and passed through without trouble. But he was competing to become the Graves family’s heir, and his cousin saw him as a threat. To stay alive, Johnny had been forced to hire a mercenary company.

Then that bastard Bide had bought off the mercenaries too. Johnny hated him so much he could have ground his teeth to dust.

Now, with seven Mage Apprentices escorting him, his confidence had returned.

He stood in the captain’s cabin with his arms folded, gazing straight ahead.

“When we get back to the royal capital, Bolf, drinks are on me. I’ll take everyone to a tavern and we’ll drink our fill. Oh, and I’ll hire a troupe of singers and dancers to entertain us,” Johnny said, stroking his smooth chin.

Bolf was less optimistic.

The seven Mage Apprentices had brought the cargo ship here two days ahead of schedule, throwing off the pirates’ planned ambush. But things could still go wrong. They could not afford to let down their guard.

Besides, no one knew how strong the Mage Apprentices really were.

If the pirates swarmed them, could seven apprentices hold them off?

“I’ve put a lifeboat at the stern, young master, just in case.” Ever cautious, Bolf had prepared a means of escape.

Johnny frowned. “Do you think I’m the sort of man who’d run for his life? You’ve traveled far and wide with me for five or six years. How could I abandon you and flee alone? Bolf, if we can’t hold out, you take the lifeboat. You have two lovely little girls at home. They need their father to protect them.”

“Master Bonny—” Bolf’s eyes filled with tears.

Johnny blushed at the sound of “Bonny.” “Oh, dear Bolf, please don’t call me by my childhood nickname!”

Bonny was what people had called him before he turned three. It really had no place being used for him at twenty-five.

Seeing his young master’s embarrassment, Bolf burst out laughing.

On deck, Shu Li and his teammates split up, taking positions around the ship. Each was responsible for one direction.

Ace stood at the bow, Dixio at the forward port side, and Angel at the forward starboard side. Amanda took the port rail, Budeno the starboard rail, and Kumandi the stern. Shu Li remained amidships, ready to support any of them.

With everyone in position, all that remained was to wait for the fight.

The black panther crest at the bow stood uncovered, plainly visible to everyone. As Johnny had put it, a member of the Graves family did not hide who he was.

Over the past few days, Shu Li had found him to be a remarkably upright man. That was rare among merchants driven by profit and adept at deceit.

No wonder his cousin had set his sights on him.

Among all the candidates, Johnny was probably talented, well regarded, and popular, with a strong reputation.

Their employer was showing this much backbone. The Light Squad ought to show what they could do, make an impression, and build a name for themselves.

Tremble, river pirates!

Ahead, the ships approaching the Mora stretch were lined up—waiting to pay their protection fees.

More than a hundred midsized pirate assault boats formed a blockade across the river. The pirates’ brawny figures were enough to make ordinary travelers tremble.

Their leader was a huge man with a face crisscrossed by scars and a body corded with muscle. Steel blade in hand, he barked orders to his men now and then, sending them aboard ships to inspect their cargo, assess its value, and collect an exorbitant fee.

The pirates were agile. They flung grappling hooks over the ships’ rails, then scrambled up the ropes like monkeys and swung easily aboard.

Sailors and merchants huddled together, watching in horror as the pirates brazenly counted their goods. Even when whole crates were carried off before their eyes, no one dared make a sound.

Once they had named their price, a pirate held out his hand imperiously. The merchant, wincing at the cost, handed him a large bag of gold coins.

The pirate weighed the bag in his hand, nodded in satisfaction, and waved. His men withdrew in orderly fashion until not one remained aboard.

The assault boats surrounding the cargo ship parted, opening a channel for it to pass.

Having paid, the ship surged forward. Its sailors rowed frantically to put the dreadful Mora stretch behind them.

If the cargo had not been so bulky, and transport over land even more expensive, what merchant would willingly deal with river pirates?

Ship after ship paid without protest, cowed by what they had seen.

Johnny’s cargo ship was nearly next. “Everyone to your positions!” Shu Li called.

As they approached the Mora stretch, Shu Li temporarily removed the magic from the ship so it would not attract the pirates’ attention too soon.

They followed the other vessels at a leisurely pace and joined the line. By the time every ship ahead had passed the checkpoint, theirs was still a hundred meters away.

At Shu Li’s command, Ace, Angel, and Budeno cast their spells together, restoring the magical enhancements to the cargo ship.

A shield of light sprang up around it. The ship shot toward the pirates’ blockade at breakneck speed.

The pirates had been lounging about, waiting for the next ship to come obediently forward and pay. Instead, the cargo ship suddenly seemed to go mad, charging straight at them.

Even more shocking was the protective shield around it, starlight flowing across its surface. Any assault boat that drew near was smashed to pieces.

“A ship’s trying to break through!” roared the scarred man. “Surround it, lads! Grab your weapons!” Whose cargo ship was that? Did they have no idea how things worked, running wild in pirate territory?

They thought they could avoid paying?

It would not be that easy!

They could keep their money—if they left their cargo and their lives behind.

With a vicious look, the scarred man directed over a hundred assault boats against the insolent cargo ship.

A ship that big had to be carrying valuable goods.

Greed gleamed in his eyes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Every pirate boat that approached the cargo ship was sent flying. Pirates tumbled into the river one after another. Before they could surface, whirlpools suddenly rose from the depths and swept them away.

Glug, glug, glug—

The pirates panicked and struggled toward the surface, but it was no use. The whirlpools dragged them deeper and deeper.

When the scarred man realized that not one of his men who had fallen overboard had resurfaced, he knew something was badly wrong.

“Brother Maiza—this cargo ship—it’s—it’s—”

A skinny pirate fought his way out of the water and climbed aboard the scarred man’s boat, shouting between gasps.

“It’s what?” Maiza seized him by the collar.

“It’s... it’s a Graves family ship!” the skinny pirate finally managed to say.

“What? The Graves family?” Maiza’s eyes widened. “Johnny’s cargo ship! Wasn’t it supposed to arrive the day after tomorrow?”

“I... saw a black panther on the bow...” The collar tightened painfully around the skinny pirate’s neck. His tongue protruded and his eyes rolled back.

Maiza let him go and waved his steel blade at another pirate behind him. “George, get back to the stronghold and bring Master Oguta here! And tell Llewellyn to send two hundred large assault boats.”

“Yes, Brother Maiza!” George leaped into a narrow skiff and rowed away. The little boat darted off with remarkable speed and agility.

Maiza planted one foot on the bow and roared like a lion. “Put your backs into it, lads! Surround that Graves ship! I want the cargo and everyone aboard!”

Dozens of assault boats, each five or six meters long, hurled themselves at the cargo ship. But the shield of light around it would not break. It flung the boats away, leaving the river strewn with wreckage and struggling pirates.

The tactics that worked against other cargo ships had failed, and the pirates were furious.

“Charge, lads! Stop it!”

“I’ll kill every last one of those bastards!”

“There are mages aboard!”

“Quick! Raise the steel-bladed barrier!”

On both banks, a dozen or so pirates strained to work the mechanism.

Rumble!

A barrier hidden beneath the river slowly rose above the surface, its top lined with sharp steel blades. If the cargo ship tried to force its way through, the blades would slice open its hull and send it to the bottom.

“Budeno, Amanda, with me!” Shu Li called.

“Right!”

“Coming!”

The two Little Fairies and the young dragon cast water magic together. As their spells took effect, the river surged upward, lifting the cargo ship high above the barrier. Its blades were useless.

The pirates stared, dumbfounded.

And it was far from over. Dixio brandished his magic staff and cast fire magic. Dozens of fireballs fell from the sky, striking the pirate boats with deadly accuracy. The wooden vessels caught fire at once.

“Fire! Fire! Put it out!”

The pirates shouted frantically. Forget ramming the cargo ship—they had to deal with the flames first.

“Hahahaha!”

Dixio doubled over laughing at their disarray. Once he had laughed enough, he waved his staff again and sent out more fireballs. This time, he secretly increased their power to the level of a Senior Mage.

The pirates’ assault boats were coated with paint meant to resist rot and fire, but even that could not withstand the fireballs raining down. The entire stretch of river became a sea of flames.

Dixio was thoroughly enjoying setting things ablaze. Not to be outdone, Angel hurled one ball of light after another, blasting the pirates into chaos.

Ace cast wind magic, sending more than a dozen tornadoes sweeping across the river and overturning scores of pirate boats.

The water was full of flailing pirates.

Strong swimmers though they were, they could not endure the magical assault.

Kumandi calmly controlled the wind, keeping the cargo ship moving steadily forward.

Shu Li silently cast wood magic. Aquatic plants grew wildly from the riverbed, wrapping around the pirates in the water and dragging them down.

Seven “Mage Apprentices” had thrown the whole Mora stretch into chaos. The pirates, usually so arrogant, could not even get close to the cargo ship before magic routed them. Fear of death spread swiftly, and the more cowardly among them scrambled to flee.

Johnny and Bolf stood at the very top of the bridge. At the sight of the pirates’ sorry state, they laughed and slapped their thighs.

“Brilliant! Brilliant! This is absolutely brilliant!”