"Use all your strength! Don't let this elven merchant ship get away!" A tall, burly orc wielding a giant axe berated his orc soldiers as they rowed.
The small boat moved quickly, and on the calm sea, the orc soldiers' boat soon approached the elven merchant ship. Verlana stood at the back of the deck, using her clumsy magic to attack the approaching green-skinned soldiers.
Tiny fireballs of magic were hurled at the orc soldiers. The orc soldiers swung their giant axes, dispersing the barely formed magical energy.
"Board! Take back ownership of this ship!"
Under the command of their orc leader, the orc soldiers threw barbed ropes onto the merchant ship. There weren't many elves on board; including the sailors, there were only about ten. With so many ropes thrown up, they had no chance to throw them all back into the sea.
Soon, a dozen or so orc soldiers boarded the elven ship. They quickly seized control of the elven merchant ship. The orc leader didn't kill the elves immediately. These elves weren't rangers and didn't possess magic; keeping them alive might still be useful.
In orc society, these non-aggressive creatures were always enslaved. These elves were no exception. After this war was won, they might fetch a good price. That was the orc leader's plan.
However, his plan, though good, wasn't so easy to execute.
A long, narrow streak of flame swept across the sky, and the orc soldiers standing on the outer deck were caught off guard and swept into the sea.
"Lirath!" At Verlana's shout, Lirath jumped down from the dragonhawk and swept his longbow at the orc leader. Before he could react, the burly orc leader was swept into the sea by the longbow.
The loud splash of the orc hitting the water enraged the greenskins standing on the deck, who swung their giant axes at Lirath. As a ranger, Lirath moved with incredible agility, and the dozen or so orc soldiers didn't gain the upper hand in the fight. Instead, Lirath seized numerous opportunities to sweep these green-skinned monsters into the sea.
At the same time, Leylin leaped onto the deck. After casting arcane blasts tore apart the remaining orc soldiers, he began drawing a teleportation array.
Was this a sign of rescue? Verlana hugged Lirath tightly. She hadn't misjudged this Windrunner ranger; although he wasn't as outstanding as her two older sisters, it was enough for her.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Verlana's voice trembled, her previous composure fading as she sobbed like a little girl in Lirath's arms.
Lirath glanced at Leylin and smiled, saying, "We have to thank my brother-in-law; I was the one who asked him to come and save us."
Leylin's expression was serious; he knew they weren't safely out of there yet.
"We're not out of danger yet. Take care of yourselves. The orcs won't let us off so easily."
Leylin was right. Kogel, the orc overseer of the Raider Clan, saw his orc squad fail. He never expected two dragonhawks to appear in the sky, and it was because of these two dragonhawks that all his soldiers were thrown into the sea.
"Overseer, should we send more squads to attack them?" a warlock asked.
"Foolish! Didn't you see a mage on the elven merchant ship? Sending more soldiers is giving them a chance to escape using magic. Have your warlock activate those elven magic cannons!" Kogel said angrily.
The warlock nodded and entered the second-floor cabin through the deck entrance.
Half a minute later, the elven flagship's magic cannons fired bursts of shadow flames. Incredibly, the orc warlocks had modified these magic cannons to be activated by magical energy.
The first volley hit the elven merchant ship. At the same time, these shadow bombs also destroyed the teleportation array Leylin was about to complete.
Without panic, the composed Leylin resumed drawing the magic circle.
Another round of shadow cannon fire blasted through the ship, destroying the newly begun teleportation circle. This time, the bombardment blew a hole in the hull. Seawater began flooding the cabins.
At this rate, all the elves on board, including Leylin, would sink to the bottom of the Endless Sea.
A new method of drawing the magic circle was needed. To prevent the cannon fire from destroying his circle again, Leylin used his own body to shield himself from the bombardment.
"All of you stand in behind me. That way you will be safe," Leylin commanded the elves on deck.
The deck tilted sharply beneath their feet, the chaos of battle raging around them. Leylin, ever composed amidst the storm, waved his left arm in a rhythmic pattern, his fingers dancing through the air with practiced precision.
The bewildered elves watched in awe, their gazes fixed on the mage's strange gestures and the strange energy emanating from his hands.
Meanwhile, with his right arm, Leylin meticulously drew a complex magic circle, symbols swirling and shimmering with arcane power. His focus was unyielding, every line and rune carefully etched into the air, a testament to his mastery of magic and waterbending.
Suddenly, shadow cannons thundered again, their dark energy lancing toward the ship like deadly bolts. But Leylin was ready.
With a swift, commanding motion, he summoned a towering wall of water from the sea itself, deflecting the shadow projectiles and absorbing their deadly energy. The water shimmered and roiled; a shimmering barrier that seemed almost alive.
The shadow cannons weren't particularly destructive on their own, but their true danger lay in the shadows they unleashed—a darkness capable of devouring an elf's very soul.
Leylin's water wall, however, was more than just a shield; it was a weapon. With a fierce surge of power, he forced the wall to surge forward, reaching terrifying heights as it crashed into the shadow-controlled ships.
The water rammed into the enemy vessels with thunderous force, tearing through their hulls and sending them to the depths. Leylin's mastery of waterbending gave him an unparalleled advantage in the open sea, where he could manipulate the tides and currents to his will.
It could be said that Lirath had found the right person to ask help with. Casting spells in his left and simultaneously creating a teleportation array in his right. Currently, in the entire Silvermoon City, besides Grand Magister Belo'vir, only Leylin could do both.
Because other mages couldn't possibly do what they did, they couldn't possibly draw a teleportation circle while using magic at the same time. Arcane energy gathered rapidly, and numerous magical patterns and unique runes appeared above the teleportation array. The teleportation array entered its final stage.
But, something unexpected happened to Leylin. A shadow bomb, at a unique angle, was projected from the sky above the teleportation array.
The merchant ship was about to sink to the bottom of the sea, and its deck was about to crumble. Lirath shook off Verlana and leaped into the air, using his body to block the shadow bomb!
He couldn't let his brother-in-law's teleportation array fail, otherwise Verlana, his brother-in-law, and all the elves on the deck would die here!
"You brat!" Leylin's heart trembled. At this critical moment, the teleportation array activated. At the same time, above the Western Sanctum, a pale purple arcane array spun rapidly.