Chapter 508 Faerie Fire and Hold Person

"Carrion Vulture" Gerry acted almost the moment he heard the news.

He had managed to establish an underworld faction like the Ebb Tide Gang in the Southern Archipelagos. Even if his gang wasn't particularly large, and even though the greed bred from his days as an adventurer occasionally drove him to commit ill-timed, reckless acts...

...as a gang leader, Gerry still possessed a relatively reliable ability to handle affairs.

Faced with intruders who had breached his stronghold and attacked his subordinates, he didn't rush out in blind pursuit. Instead, he first ordered his men to notify the Sahuagin currently sharing the island.

Right now, the Ebb Tide Gang and the Sahuagin were in a cooperative relationship, effectively enjoying a "honeymoon period." Even if only for the sake of the sacrifices held in the dungeon, the monsters couldn't possibly remain indifferent.

Events proved Gerry's judgment correct.

Hearing that hostile forces might have invaded Wild Berry Cliff, the fishmen took the matter extremely seriously. Their leader, the Sahuagin Priest, immediately gathered the tribe's elite fighters and set out with the Ebb Tide Gang to hunt down the intruders.

Led by the gang member who had first noticed the anomaly, the group soon arrived at the area where the Shield of Iron Rock Squad had ambushed Hogen. Nearby, they found the corpses of the thugs—everyone except Hogen himself.

Gerry's experience was nothing if not extensive. He instantly deduced that the enemy had likely spared Hogen intentionally to interrogate him for information.

But why would intruders risk making an enemy of the Ebb Tide Gang to infiltrate Wild Berry Cliff?

Had they discovered the gang's collaboration with the Sahuagin? Or were they just opportunists who had stumbled in by accident?

With so little information, Gerry found it hard to judge.

However, one thing was certain: the nearest key location was the warehouse the Ebb Tide Gang had built on Wild Berry Cliff, which also happened to be Hogen's original destination.

All their collected living supplies and spoils of war were stored there.

Considering the intruders chose to sneak in rather than launch a direct assault, if they wanted to reap a substantial haul on the island undetected, the warehouse was indeed the perfect target.

Soon, the guard camp in front of the warehouse—now littered with corpses—confirmed Gerry's theory.

The faintly flickering firelight from inside the warehouse meant the intruders were still in there.

"Carrion Vulture" Gerry was exceedingly confident in his own strength and that of the Ebb Tide Gang.

In his view, if the intruders' actual combat power far exceeded their own, they wouldn't have snuck onto the island; they would have just attacked head-on. As a result, he had already formed a rough estimate of the enemy's strength.

He was also reluctant to risk the supplies stored in the warehouse.

He had originally planned to have his lackeys use the cover of night to surround the building, waiting until they were fully prepared before launching an encirclement operation.

But the Sahuagin Priest's advice changed the pirate leader's mind.

"Warehouse... enemy... dangerous..."

Its Common was far from fluent, but it was enough to make Gerry realize that the intruders inside were likely not as simple as he had imagined.

Out of caution during this critical period of cooperation with the Sahuagin, and out of a sense of responsibility toward his brothers—

...Gerry finally gritted his teeth and handed tactical control of the field to the Sahuagin Priest beside him.

That was what led to the subsequent scene of a Fireball blasting directly into the warehouse.

He watched the large warehouse he had painstakingly built from local materials on this deserted island nearly collapse, the flames swallowing the supplies stored within.

Gerry's eyes brimmed with heartache.

But soon, the commotion from inside drew his attention.

"Hm? It only got one?"

The expected sight of a single Fireball ending the battle right then and there didn't occur.

Under the tangerine glow of the firelight, he could see the half-orc Hogk wailing and rolling on the ground, and he could also spot the several figures standing firmly in place behind him.

His already tense face grew even more solemn.

At the same time, the situation was just as grim for Xia Nan on the other side.

White smoke drifted off the Snake-Scale Arm Shield, its surface still radiating heat. His right hand tightly gripped the hilt of the [Ember Fall] straight sword. His sharp gaze swept over the figures rapidly charging toward the warehouse, assessing the battlefield.

First, on their side.

The half-orc Hogk had fallen into a heavily injured state; his pathetic wailing and rolling on the floor clearly meant he could no longer be counted as combat strength.

He wasn't hurt himself, but [Ember Echoes] was still on cooldown and unusable, leaving him down one trump card.

The other three members of the Shield of Iron Rock Squad were still in relatively good shape, thanks to his timely warning and the quick reflexes of the dwarf Habik.

Thus, they had a total of four Class Grade combatants.

And the enemy?

His sharp Perception spread silently as Xia Nan carefully gauged the attackers' strength.

[Fireball] was a 3rd Circle Spell. Unless it had been cast using a magic scroll, that meant the distant Sahuagin Priest was at least a Level 5 Spellcaster.

And beside the priest stood the Ebb Tide Gang's leader, "Carrion Vulture" Gerry—whom Habik had mentioned. His Class Level was likely around Level 4 or Level 5 as well.

These two core combatants alone were troublesome enough.

Not to mention the many grunts meant to pin them down.

Among the dozens of figures currently charging at them, the vast majority were either petty thugs who had never attained a Class Level, or the most common ordinary Sahuagin.

But mixed in were low-level Class Holders and many four-armed elite fishmen whose bodies were visibly bulkier.

Even without the two leaders holding the rear, these sheer numbers were enough to give the Shield of Iron Rock Squad a grueling time.

'What's the right call here?'

Xia Nan's mind raced.

A tactical retreat... might be viable, but that would mean failing his mission to retrieve Auriel's goods, and he would miss out on the [Proof of Diligence] with its phenomenal attributes.

Unless the situation deteriorated to the absolute worst, Xia Nan wouldn't consider the option of fleeing.

And if he had to meet the enemy head-on, his usual habit dictated that the primary target naturally had to be the enemy's Spellcaster.

But...

His gaze swept over "Carrion Vulture" Gerry, standing right beside the Sahuagin Priest.

Whether he suspected someone on their side might launch a sneak attack, or he was simply acting to protect his party's Spellcaster—

...the leader of the Ebb Tide Gang just stood by the priest, facing the people in the warehouse without the slightest intention of making a move.

"Tch."

Xia Nan found it incredibly troublesome.

There was no time left for further planning. Ahead of him, the first wave of enemies flooded into the warehouse.

"Galu!!!"

The air, already scorching from the surrounding flames, was suddenly tinged with dampness and a pungent, fishy stench.

An ordinary Sahuagin wielding a harpoon roared as it charged in.

Without a shred of hesitation, almost the instant it spotted Xia Nan, it hurled the harpoon straight at him.

Clang—

A sharp metallic collision rang out through the warehouse.

Planning to use the sudden dashing capability of [Fang Hunt] to catch the Sahuagin Priest off guard, Xia Nan didn't dodge nimbly as he usually would. The [Ember Fall] straight sword drew a perfect arc through the air, directly knocking the harpoon away.

He lunged forward two steps.

[Spinning Slash], back-to-back!

The fine scales covering the Sahuagin's body offered absolutely no defense against the razor-sharp blue-tier blade.

With a flash of sword light, the fishman's head—still frozen in a roar—soared high into the air, carried aloft by a geyser of fluorescent blue blood.

For the current Xia Nan, holding a comprehensive advantage in equipment, physical attributes, and combat skills, a Challenge Rating 0.5 Sahuagin and a Challenge Rating 0.25 green-skinned goblin were essentially no different.

"Ahhhh!"

The battle cry of the dwarf Habik rang in his ears.

This Level 4 [Shield Guard Warrior] showed no cowardice in the face of the enemy siege.

He wielded a heavy tower shield in his left hand and a Faceted Hammer in his right.

His skin, slightly reddened from the heat of the flames, had unknowingly taken on a steel-like hue, multiplying his Strength and defense.

He lightly struck the Faceted Hammer against the face of his shield, sending a blurry ripple rapidly spreading outward.

This forced the enemies who had originally intended to bypass his shield and flank him to subconsciously strike at the tower shield instead, as if compelled by some Taunt-like effect.

"Thwip, thwip, thwip!"

It was the sound of sharp objects tearing through the air.

Three blurred shadows flashed and vanished.

Accompanied by the dull thud of piercing flesh, three wooden arrows with quivering fletchings slammed into the heads of three enemies with absolute precision.

A short distance away, Seli gripped her wooden bow in her left hand, the bowstring trembling violently. Her right hand lightly brushed her quiver, and three more wooden arrows were already pinched between her fingers.

Having worked together for years, their coordination was flawless.

On the other hand, the gnome Rogue, Agu, had already vanished.

Xia Nan's heart stirred.

Shifting his footing, he gave his straight sword a light swing, slicing off the top half of an Ebb Tide Gang thug's skull.

Yet his gaze followed his Perception, peering deep into the night.

While the Shield of Iron Rock Squad might look a bit amateurish at times, they were still a Class Grade adventurer party. Having roamed the Southern Archipelagos for years, they possessed a wealth of team combat experience.

They didn't need to communicate; everyone knew exactly what to do.

Right now, facing a siege from the Ebb Tide Gang and the fishmen—

Agu, a gnome [Rogue] who served as the team's assassin, had made almost the exact same judgment as Xia Nan.

—They had to eliminate the enemy Spellcaster first!

Barely having recovered from the bombardment of the "Fireball," Agu's figure had already melted away from the battlefield.

His naturally short stature, combined with his Class-granted control over shadow energy, made him like a fish in water under the cover of night.

Even as he brushed past several fishmen, none noticed his presence.

That was until the sound of a horn blared once more.

A cluster of magical radiance drifted down leisurely from the moonlight, landing on an empty patch of ground fifteen feet away from him.

"Hum..."

A dazzling burst of brilliant light erupted in an instant, dyeing everything within a twenty-foot radius azure.

—1st Circle · Evocation · Faerie Fire!

This 1st Circle Spell didn't possess any damaging effects itself.

It simply coated Agu, who was caught within its range, in a highly conspicuous glimmer.

His stealth instantly broken, the gnome Rogue—who had tried to use the night to sneak up on the Sahuagin Priest—was thoroughly exposed for all to see.

And just as Agu was about to completely abandon his stealth approach and rely on an explosive burst of speed to rush the priest—

another streak of pink magical radiance descended from afar amidst the blaring horn.

—2nd-Circle · Enchantment · Hold Person!

Though the name was "Hold Person," this commonly used 2nd Circle Spell actually targeted all "humanoids."

Gnomes, of course, were included.

He failed the check once again.

Agu, already shrouded in glaring blue light, was slapped with a coat of dazzling pink.

His coiled, sprinting posture was frozen in a split second, as if time had stopped. The short body stood completely motionless, looking like a statue encased in light.

The Sahuagin Priest, looking somewhat fatigued after casting two spells in succession, lowered the horn with a pant.

But "Carrion Vulture" Gerry beside it had disappeared.

Unnoticed, he had already appeared behind the Rogue Agu.

In his hand, a scimitar the length of a forearm was raised high.

And viciously chopped down!

"Squelch."

The sickening sound of sharp steel tearing through flesh and bone echoed faintly in the night.

Struck by an outside attack, the pink light symbolizing "Hold Person" shattered into fragmented motes and scattered.

Freed from the control state, Agu made no move to counterattack or struggle.

His body had been cleaved in two on a diagonal slant, right from his right shoulder down to the lower left side of his waist.

Before he could even thrust the two Short Daggers clutched in his hands, his organs and intestines spilled all over the ground.

"Ahhhh!!!"

A shrill, bloodcurdling scream tore across the battlefield.

The usually taciturn Rogue was howling in agony—the loudest sound Xia Nan had ever heard him make since they met.

His legs spasmed violently, while his severed upper half crawled pointlessly across the ground, dragging its intestines behind it, fingers digging deep into the soil.

His body was even still covered in the blue glow of "Faerie Fire."

"Agu!!!"

Seeing this, Captain Habik's eyes nearly split at the seams. His round eyes were completely bloodshot, his face contorted in absolute fury.

Unlike the half-orc Hogk who was still wailing and rolling on the ground, Agu was an original member from the very founding of their squad. Their bond was far closer than what he shared with a disposable asset like Hogk.

Over the years, even if they weren't exactly family, they were the closest of friends.

Watching his comrade get chopped in half by the enemy instantly threw the dwarf captain into a berserk rage.

He wanted nothing more than to charge forward with his shield and exact revenge.

"Awoooo—"

But faster than his thoughts was the long, haunting wolf howl that suddenly erupted on the battlefield.

Turning his head instinctively, he saw that Xia Nan, who had just been fighting the surrounding enemies, had vanished from his spot.

In his place was a pitch-black Winter Wolf, treading on the moonlight, seizing the moment "Carrion Vulture" was away to pounce straight at the Sahuagin Priest.