Chapter 393 Battle At The Port City [Part 1]
“As long as you follow the plan, we have a chance to save them,” Lux said with a serious expression on his face. “However, this also means that the risk that you are going to take is the highest between the two of us. It is highly possible that you will be facing off against six Rankers on your own. But, remember, your role is not to fight them. You just need to make them take notice of you then run away.”
Millie nodded her head. “Even if I have to risk my life, I will do my duty without fail. Just promise me that you will save the Princess no matter what.”
“… Hello? Your mission is just to show yourself, hurl some Wind Blades at the ship from a distance, and fly away,” Lux stated. “I didn’t tell you to fight them. Your role is to harass them, and force them to shift their attention to you, while Eiko is carrying out her mission inside the ship.
“Depending on how the situation turns out, you will still need to assist in the rescue operation, so don’t talk about this dying nonsense. I need you alive just in case things turn south.”
The Half-Elf and the green-haired Dwarf were currently in a warehouse overlooking the port. They were paying close attention to the ship where the Princess Anastasia, Cai, Keane, and Clyde were taken.
Eiko was currently hiding at the Hold of the ship, where the majority of their supplies were being kept. She was just waiting for Lux to give the signal to start the operation before she made her move.
Compared to Millie, the baby Slime was playing a more dangerous role. Just thinking of the danger that Eiko would be facing was enough to make the Half-Elf’s stomach churn. But, since she had given Lux the “please believe in me, Pa!” gaze, the red-headed teenager decided to believe in her as she tried her best to save her friends.
“They are almost finished loading their shipment into their ship,” Millie commented. “Should we start the operation now?”
Lux nodded. “We need to strike now before they even leave the port. Even if parts of the port are destroyed, it’s fine. Those can be rebuilt, but try not to hit the other ships. This will prevent unnecessary trouble in the future. Be sure to wait for my signal before you start harassing them.”
Millie gave Lux a brief nod before putting on a hooded black robe to hide her identity.
Cai, and Keane had stopped giving him messages in the guild chat, but Lux wasn’t too worried.
According to Scarlet, they had just been put to sleep by a powerful sleeping spell, and loaded inside wooden containers that were then carried onto the ship. This was done to prevent the hostages from making any noise, while entering the port city of Watford.
‘Are you ready on your side?’ Lux asked.
‘Yes, Master,’ Asmodeus replied. “We are ready to start anytime.’
‘Wait until Millie has caught the attention of the enemy Rankers,’ Lux ordered. ‘Be sure not to hit the area where Cai and the others are currently held.’
‘Understood,’ Asmodeus replied. ‘Please be careful as well, Master.’
‘Okay. Go all out, Asmodeus.’
‘As you wish, Master.’
Lux put on a black robe also, similar to what Millie had donned earlier and activated his Doppelganger skill. He then left the warehouse in haste and positioned himself in the most ideal place to take a better view of the soon-to-be-battlefield.
“Diablo, Pazuzu, to my side,” Lux said as he summoned his Named Creatures to help him with the operation that he was about to do. After seeing his two trusted companions, the Half-Elf communicated with his Nightstalker, whom he had entrusted with a different kind of mission.
‘Ishtar, are you in position?’ Lux asked.
‘Yes, Master,’ Ishtar replied as she took a Siege Stance, summoning a two-meter long crossbow at the seabed, directly under the Twilight Ship.
Lux felt relieved because it seemed that the members of Twilight Rain didn’t detect Ishtar’s presence since she was an Undead.
As a Nightstalker, she gained the ability to become more stealthy in her actions, preventing others from noticing her, unless she made a sudden move.
——-
Inside the Twilight Ship…
“Man, this box sure is heavy,” one of the sailors that was carrying Cai’s box complained. “Just what did they load into this thing?”
“Stop complaining!” the Quartermaster shouted. “Just do what you are supposed to do and carry that thing under the deck!”
The sailor grumbled, but still did his work properly. The people that had come onto their ship were scary folks. According to their Captain, they were the high-ranking officers of their Guild and should be treated as VIP guests.
All the crew members on the Twilight Ship were of course members of Twilight Rain. They were the undercover agents that used the cover of merchants to deliver the Dark Guild’s supplies to the various places of the archipelago, located in the Northwestern Regions of the Kingdom of Gweliven.
After loading the three boxes into the ship’s main holding compartment, the Sailors finally left, and returned to the deck to oversee the preparatory work before they departed from the port.
The cabin fell into a stilled silence for a few minutes, before a slight movement happened at the corner of the holding compartment.
Eiko, who was communicating with Lux through the connection they shared, poked her head up from a sack of beans and glanced at her surroundings. Seeing that the coast was clear, the baby Slime jumped off the sack and crawled towards the three wooden crates where Cai, Keane, and Clyde were being held.
The baby Slime then pressed its body against the crate and listened for any signs of sounds and movements. A few seconds later, it climbed up the crate, and was about to make a hole in it when a presence suddenly appeared behind her.
“Well, well, well… what do we have here?” The Dwarf with reddish-brown hair, who had also tried to roast Cai a few hours ago, picked up the baby Slime, who immediately struggled from his grasp.