The Noble Lady of Lust

Chapter 446: Naval Battle

"hmm...Chris, don't you think we should go help?" (William)

"So, what do you want to do? Can you fly or something? Or do you want to try a unique approach? Do you want me to throw you up there?"

"N-no, it's just that it feels weird that we're not doing anything." (William)

"Hey, Don't say another word. You and that damn crow's mouth of yours might get us into a fight."

"..." (William)

By then, most of us on board this enormous flyingboat were on the deck, watching to see how events would unfold.

I watched as Maximilian and Celestine—who, along with Instructor Graham, were the highest authorities—began giving orders and such.

And before I knew it, a circular formation had been created, with the outer ring consisting of instructors with over 8 metamorphoses and the members of Celestine and Max's factions and some mercenaries they'd hired.

Next came a ring of instructors—including Astrid and Lily, who are considered the weakest among the instructors who came.

And right in the center was our rookie group of twenty recent "graduates."

In any case, that formation meant we'd only have to fight in the worst-case scenario, though that idiot William seemed to want to do something to satisfy his hero complex.

But there was nothing we could do.

Bang! Boom! Crack!

For now, it was still a battle between ships and their weapons. At most, only mages and ranged attackers could intervene, but from our position, it would be difficult.

For now, it's best to just watch.

"Oh, come to think of it, why don't you bring out Munin? That guy might be useful."

"Huh? Do you think he can help?" (William)

Munin was William's divine beast—a golden raven, sort of like Mirk's son.

I was the one who suggested the name; in the alternate timeline, he was called Sirk, which I didn't think was very original. Munin isn't exactly original either, but nobody knows that.

Anyway, at my urging, William summoned Munin, who appeared on his shoulder.

"Kwak! Evil, evil, wicked!" (Munin)

And as soon as he saw me, he moved behind William, hiding from me out of fear.

Perhaps because he was a raven — he is one of the few divine beasts capable of speaking from birth — although at the moment he can only say simple words.

On the other hand, he acted that way because when he was first born, he thought he was a big shot; due to the way he was conceived, he possessed Mirk's pride and believed himself to be some sort of deity.

So I taught him his place that day and plucked his feathers, which caused him to beg for the ability to fly for a few days.

"So, Chris, what does Munin have to do to help?" (William)

"Nothing for now, but if the barrier protecting this ship falls and an attack comes our way, you'll release him and sacrifice him."

Yeah, that thing is just like in the alternate timeline—it can still survive as long as at least one feather remains, so it's the perfect sacrifice.

"..." (William)

"Evil, evil! You wretched bastard!" (Munin)

"Hey, you little piece of shit, when did you learn to speak in full sentences?"

"I-I think this is the first time she's ever said a whole sentence." (William)

Bromm! Crack!

"Oh! That broke the barrier. Alright, William, be ready to throw that little punk."

Well, jokes aside, things seemed to be getting worse and worse—the first ship to be attacked, which belonged to the beastmen, had fallen.

It's really not that big of a deal, since, at our level, you're more likely to survive a fall from a great height than die from it: mages can cast barriers, warriors have sturdy bodies, and they may have armor or artifacts with life-saving properties.

But most likely, the mages will coordinate to prevent the ship from crashing altogether; five Eighth Metamorphosis mages are enough to do something like that, and every ship had more than that…

But the important thing is that those demons seem determined not to let us get through.

The curious thing is that, once I enhanced my vision, I realized that the people aboard it—just like in our case—were members of the younger generation, along with some "veterans" who might have been instructors or something like that, which, technically, does not violate the rules of war.

But the problem is that the place where they intercepted us is part of our territory in the Middle World, so it's very risky for them to do something like this.

And that's exactly why this surprise attack was so effective—it's curious just how far they were willing to go.

Bang! Brum! Prack!

In any case, the seniors set up protective barriers against ranged attacks, so Munin's sacrifice didn't seem necessary.

But the problem is that now that the ship's barrier was broken, the demons' flying ship—which seemed to be targeting ours—seized the opportunity and closed in.

Judging by the speed at which it was coming, its plan seemed to be to ram us head-on from the side.

That ship still had its barrier intact, and its bow appeared to be reinforced with spells—or perhaps it was an artifact in itself—so it was possible it could split us in half.

But the crew of this ship weren't going to let something like that happen.

I saw Max, Instructor Graham, and a few other senior crew members position themselves right where the ship was about to crash.

Max took up a heavy greatsword. He raised it as high as he could and, in what I believe was the execution of his Art, brought it down, striking the enemy ship's barrier.

Bang!

Instructor Graham did the same, bringing down his large, solid staff.

The rest followed suit and did the same.

It was a massive ship, but even the weakest among them were at the peak of the eighth metamorphosis, so they were actually able to halt its momentum.

Even so, they couldn't break through the barrier.

"Hey, Silvia! the barrier"

I called out to Silvia, who was, in her own way, the other mages' worst nightmare. In fact, originally, just with her innate skill, Eye of Flow , she could identify things like this with relative ease, but now that she has the Eye of Zenith (Ω) she's even better than me and Asrid at finding weaknesses and flaws in barriers.

"I've got it!... It's right there!"(Silvia)

Boom!

Silvia didn't hesitate for a second and pointed to a spot, and where she pointed, a small blue light appeared.

Then, that light exploded, and like a chain reaction, the barrier fell.

I was only going to ask her to pinpoint the spot, but her initiative is good. I thought she'd be more scared or nervous, but she's unusually calm.

Now, the problem didn't end there.

Yes, we avoided being split in half, since, without their barrier and the momentum they had, their plan was no longer viable.

But now they were technically right up against our starboard side.

And they didn't waste that opportunity—like pirates, the demons began storming our ship.

Yeah, it's my fault; I should've muzzled William. I'll make a note of that for next time.

We'll probably have to fight now, though for the moment our seniors and instructors are handling it, and we don't have to do anything until they break through their defenses.

I looked at the others in my group, and many seemed nervous—even William, who just a little while ago wanted to do something.

Hmm, they're all very capable and strong. This isn't a situation where they'd die if they used everything they know and have… but nerves, combined with inexperience, are poison in this kind of situation.

The girls seemed a little calmer, but that was only in comparison. They were nervous, too.

Which once again makes me marvel at Silvia's calmness. Well, as for me, I was calm, too.

Maybe because of everything I've been through, along with my memories, this situation didn't seem like a big deal.

And the same goes for my main self… but I'm going to ignore the fact that I saw that idiot pull out a hook and put it on.

Putting aside that idiot part of me, I knew I had to do something to calm everyone down.

'Hmm, well, since even William seems nervous… Hmm, well, I'll do it. How hard can it be to give a motivational speech?'

I addressed the twenty people and spoke loudly so everyone could hear me.

"Okay, everyone, pay attention. We're about to embark on a battle where we could actually risk our lives. You understand that, right?"

""...""

"Okay, I'll take that silence as a yes. Now then… first things first: the girls—listen up, everyone—if things get ugly, don't hesitate to use the guys as human shields and run."

"Hey, what the hell, Chris?" (Esteban)

"Hey, don't interrupt me. I'm trying to give a motivational speech. So, as I was saying, the girls will probably be fine, but as for the guys, one or two might die for the sake of William's growth."

"Huh? Me?" (William)

"But I'm warning you—if you end up dying, at your funeral I'll give a speech about what great people you were and how you secretly liked to dress up as girls to go to shady clubs where there were girls—but girls with Adam's apples—and how you'd wake up unable to sit up… Ivan, Mike, you two are the biggest idiots; be careful."

"You bastard, you wouldn't leave me alone even if I were dead." (Mike)

"Hmm… I won't be able to sit up? Why does that sound familiar? Hmm…" (Ivan)

"If two of you die, I'll talk about how you were secretly in a relationship with each other, along with the whole club thing."

"Aren't you getting off topic?" (Ban)

"Oh, excellent observation, Ban. Anyway, what I'm saying is that no one better dare die today, or you know the consequences."

"Damn it, I'll survive no matter what." (Mike)

"I'm more afraid of what that bastard will do than I am of dying." (Ban)

"Me too… he's really capable of actually doing it." (Ivan)

"…He definitely is." (Alexander)

It seems my motivational speech worked— I'd also do everything in my power to stay alive if someone told me that. Even the girls I didn't threaten seem calmer.

"That's more like it. Oh, Esteban, you're not an idiot, but you're one of the most irrelevant ones, so you better watch your back, too."

"Ugh, you sound like you're joking, but why do I sense real danger...? But speaking of irrelevant, Tharen's worse than me, isn't he?" (Esteban)

"Huh?... Well, maybe."

Yeah, now that you mention it, there are a few more guys who were just used to make up the twenty.

I don't know them, but if they were selected, they should at least be able to survive on their own.

Anyway, now that the bad vibes and nervousness were gone, it was time to get things in order.

"All right, let's organize… Those of you who can cast healing and support spells, go to the center. For now, you'll be in charge of helping the senior and instructors; that'll make it harder for the invaders to reach us. And those of you who can attack from super long range, fire at the ones coming out of that ship. The close-range warriors, form a circle around them and don't let any of those bastards get in."

To begin with, we were already in a circular formation with our elders surrounding us, but now I organized a circular formation within it—a double layer.

Taking advantage of the fact that Instructor Graham had positioned himself at the front, I also discreetly added Astrid and Lily, as well as the other instructors who were in the middle, to this formation.

Really, the teachers should have stopped getting involved by this point, but since everything happened so fast and there weren't enough people, they somehow got swept up in it.

Well, those who were too weak—who had fewer than four metamorphoses and were more of the 'theoretical' type—were left behind.

The ones who were here could fight well, so I didn't hesitate to use them, and, curiously, they followed my orders without much resistance, although there were a few who looked at William with disappointment.

Maybe because he wasn't the one who set things straight, but this wasn't the time to think about factions and all that crap—the important thing was to survive.