The Imperial Scepter of Glory

Chapter 18 Pirates (Part 2)

"It's about time..." Lintan murmured as he watched the pirates gathering in increasing numbers, cramming the narrow cave entrance.

"Scorching Orb!" After uttering a series of arcane words that even he didn't fully understand, a basketball-sized crimson fireball formed at his feet and rolled rapidly toward the cave entrance. The pirates quickly realized what was coming their way, and their once fierce demeanor vanished, replaced by panic as they scrambled to escape. However, the narrow and crowded entrance made it impossible for so many pirates to flee at once.

The Scorching Orb crashed into the group, its fiery tendrils igniting the trousers of the pirates at the front before spreading to the rest. Chaos erupted at the entrance as the second-level spell wreaked havoc. Some pirates tried to retreat deeper into the cave, while others brandished their cutlasses and charged out, only to be impaled by the waiting spears of Lintan's soldiers.

"Advance!" Lintan commanded, and the spearmen began to push forward. The flames at the entrance cut off the retreat of the pirates who had already emerged and blocked any reinforcements from inside. The dozen or so pirates at the entrance were quickly dispatched by the mercenaries' spears and greatswords.

The magical flames soon died down. After all, it was only a second-level spell, not particularly powerful. Yet, even this spell had drained nearly half of Lintan's aura.

"Sigh, if only I had a third-level Fireball spell, this fight would be over..." The third-level Fireball was a signature spell of arcane casters. A fifth-level mage's Fireball could have easily incinerated twenty or thirty pirates in such a crowded space and even collapsed the cave entrance, trapping the rest inside to starve. The Scorching Orb, on the other hand, had only managed to set the entrance ablaze and kill fewer than five pirates. Still, its impact on the battle was significant. The chaotic pirate group had lost over a dozen men to the mercenaries, who suffered no casualties.

Lintan didn't order his men to press further into the cave. The interior was the pirates' stronghold, and despite the chaos caused by the Scorching Orb and the loss of nearly twenty men, the enemy still had at least seventy fighters. Engaging them in their familiar, narrow, and complex terrain would likely put his own forces at a disadvantage.

After a while, as the flames died down, a pirate captain emerged, hurling curses at Lintan.

Lintan remained stoic, ignoring the insults. He simply extended his right hand, curled his little finger, and beckoned mockingly. The pirates began to file out, though they wisely avoided clustering at the entrance again. Lintan, however, wasn't about to let them exit so easily. He ordered his spearmen to hold the line, forcing the pirates to either break through the spear formation or risk another magical attack. After losing a few more men, the pirates retreated back into the cave.

Lintan was certain that this was the only exit. If they held their ground, the pirates would either have to surrender or risk charging through the deadly spear formation under the threat of another spell. However, Lintan wasn't sure how much food and water the pirates had stored inside. If their supplies were limited, the siege wouldn't last long. But if they had enough to last days, Lintan couldn't afford to wait.

After some thought, Lintan decided to let the pirates out. He ordered his spearmen to fall back, clearing the entrance. Soon, the pirates noticed the opening and, led by their captain, began to pour out of the cave.

There was no room for mercy between pirates and mercenaries, especially after Lintan's forces had already killed nearly thirty of their comrades. This was a fight to the death.

As soon as the sixty or so pirates emerged, they charged with their cutlasses and other weapons. Pirates were seasoned fighters in close-quarters combat at sea, but on open ground against a formation of spearmen and greatsword-wielding mercenaries, they were at a disadvantage. Despite their numbers, they quickly began to falter. The Freig Mercenaries, though outnumbered, held their ground, but casualties started to mount. Lintan and Sir Galabron, however, were cutting through the pirates with ease. The pirate crew lacked any formidable fighters, and in just a short time, the two knights had already slain over ten pirates.

Seeing that the pirates had surrounded the Freig Mercenaries, Lintan decided it was time to act. His aura surged as he cut down another pirate with two swift strokes, then let out a loud shout toward a pile of rocks. Immediately, the remaining mercenaries, who had been lying in ambush, sprang out.

The battle was fierce, and the pirates, accustomed to fighting on ships, hadn't thought to check for ambushes. The sudden attack threw them into disarray. Fensal, wielding a greatsword, led a dozen mercenaries in a charge, cutting down the unprepared pirates. Lintan, despite having used half his aura earlier, unleashed a relentless assault. Sir Galabron, too, stopped holding back, his battlefield-honed swordsmanship shining. Under the leadership of the two knights, the Freig Mercenaries began to turn the tide. Though outnumbered, their superior skill quickly overwhelmed the pirates.

The pirate captain, seeing the situation deteriorating, tried to retreat back into the cave with two of his men. But as they approached the entrance, two pirate corpses suddenly rose to their feet. The captain's eyes widened in horror—the two pirates were now ghastly pale, their eyes black and vacant. They were zombies!

Lintan's aura was nearly depleted. "This magic is such a drain... I can't keep this up," he muttered. The zombies were his doing, summoned to cut off the pirates' retreat.

With his aura almost gone, Lintan stepped back from the fight to focus on summoning more zombies. Soon, the pirate crew of nearly a hundred was wiped out.

The mercenaries were both amazed and uneasy about Lintan's ability to cast spells. The summoning of zombies, however, cast a shadow over their hearts. In a region where the worship of the Holy Light of Frank was prevalent, undead creatures like zombies were deeply unsettling. But as mercenaries, few of them held strong religious beliefs, so they pushed their discomfort aside. One person, however, wasn't so easily placated—Sir Galabron.

After assigning men to clean up the battlefield and search the cave for loot, Lintan found himself dreading the inevitable interrogation from the middle-aged knight.