The shipyard of this town is supposed to be one of the most guarded places in this town. The only reason that we had such an easy time getting to the place now is that the damn place is almost empty.

  Well, I can guess a reason for this. It looks like all the soldiers assigned to this shipyard have been redirected to the casino.

  Well, I guess that I should not have been surprised by that. After all, the only other place that they would have soldiers stationed other than here is the wall. With the death wave battering the place, it is not a place that they can abandon. That is about the quickest way to lose that wall and, by extension, the city.

  I am not exaggerating when I say that this place has been abandoned. Even entering the place, it looks like a fire elemental has been dancing about the place. The many ships that have been placed here are burning.

  As if that wasn't enough, the entire place has corpses strewn about it. Looks like the mayfires have been pretty busy. Well, I guess that was to be expected. I will be honest that I had not expected things to go this smoothly. The light that the searchers had cast is known as the thief's light. It is supposed to be one of the harder spells to cast in light magic.

  I actually don't know much about the mechanisms of the spell. I know that the spell can create a type of light that can selectively blind a target. (I don't know how exactly, but I have to assume that the domain of soul is somehow involved in the process.)

  Once the spell was cast and all the Navoks were blinded, it was pretty simple for us to escape. Not that the spell was able to keep them blinded for long. It did not take them very long to chase after us.

  From then on, it has just been us trying to keep ahead of Enrique and his party as we rushed through the town. Thankfully, we had the Searchers, who had the entire map of the place memorised like the back of their hands. (As for how they got a map ready so quickly is not a question that I can answer. These people had not even left the inn much after all.)

  That is how we managed to keep ahead of the Navoks. Sadly, we did not manage to buy ourselves long, though. Even now, it is pretty likely that they are not far behind. After all, even they know that there is only one place in the town that we would be going, and that is here.

  Even now, I am straining my mana sense to look for them. Weirdly, they are already not here.

  "How long are you going to stand there, human?" The lady on my back suddenly whispers to me. "Look at your troop, they have already entered the place."

  Even as the lady speaks, she breaks me from my thoughts. I don't reply to her as I study the strikeforce entering the shipyard. Well, I guess that I should be following after them.

  After all, once we get to the ship, my work is going to start. After all, the ship has been lying dormant for quite a while now. Starting it is going to be a pain. Thinking this, I follow the strikeforce. Even as I join up with them, I wonder if they have noticed my absence.

  All of them are focused on their surroundings, looking for any enemy. I follow them in silence as we go deeper and deeper into the shipyard. (For such a small town, I must admit it has too many ships.)

  The signs of battle here have just been growing more and more gruesome the deeper we go in. The number of dead people littering the ground is also growing the closer that we get. The closer that we get, the more gruesome the body is. Most of these corpses remind me of meat placed on a barbecue. Well, there goes my ability to eat barbecue for the next couple of months.

  Even as I struggle to keep the bile from my throat, I finally see my ship. (Which I had to abandon for so many days.)

  Well, if I am to be honest, I was actually not sure in what shape I would have found the ship in. The mayfires are supposed to be geniuses at fire magic. I naturally did not expect they would be able to preserve my ship if a fight happened. (That is why the Sentinels had gone on to reinforce the Mayfires in the first place. They are much less destructive.)

  All of the burnt ships outside also don't really help with my paranoia. After all, any fighting would have started on my ship. Still, I have to admit that they have done a very good job. There is barely a scratch on my ship. Well, it is more than possible that they have broken something that I can't see though.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Even as I am thinking this, I finally see the Mayfires, or at least I see one of their creatures. It is a massive eagle, made purely of flames. Even as I look at it, I realise that I have no real way of fighting that creature. (What else can you call such an alive-looking soul projection?)

  The only way to attack the creature would be to activate my sword at full strength. Then I would have to charge through the fire towards the caster. I will be burned pretty badly even before I make any contact with the caster. Once I kill him, though, I will have the leisure of healing myself peacefully. Other than this gamble, I cannot think of any other way of attacking.

  Well, I guess that I should get on the ship already. Even as I gesture towards the Mayfires to drop the bridge, I can feel myself fall to the ground.

  Even as the ground reverberates through me, I realise that I did not trip. I was pushed to the ground by the vampire. (What can I say, her strength is many times greater than mine.) Even as I get my bearings, a massive arrow strikes where I was just standing.

  I don't dare to let my guard falter as I get up slowly. I slip out my sword as I get ready. The vampire has disappeared, but I am sure that I shall find her in some corner of this place. Vampires are not easy creatures to kill.

  That is not an issue for now, though, as I focus on the man in front of me. It is Enrique, who is holding a massive bow at hand. The man is close. Too close if I am honest. What are the other doing?

  "Why are you after me?" I growl as he stares at me.

  "Well, why wouldn't I be following you? Do you think that I don't know a formation mage when I see one?" The man replies, a smugness to his voice. "I would say that the ship is the only way that you will be able to get out of this place. You are the only person in this bunch that can pilot this ship."

  Even as he is saying this, the man has been putting away that bow of his. Instead, the man pulls out a dagger.

  "Well, that certainly explains why you have been targeting me." I reply. Well, the man is strong. Fighting him is not going to be easy.

  The burst of blood mana makes the world take on a new definition. Even as I stare at the man in front of me, I see what situation the others are stuck in. A group of soldiers has pinned down everybody.

  The worst affected is Eric, who is right now fending off a group of five archers on his own. While they can't defeat him, they are also keeping him busy. Even now, Eric is running about the place blasting away with his crossbow.

  Right now, nobody will be coming to protect me, it looks like. (At least for the next few minutes.) The issue is that the other party must also have reinforcements coming any minute now. With reinforcements, there is no way we can beat them.

  Well, I guess there is no use thinking so much about it.

  "Well, I have to say that you are quite a coward." I speak. If it is going to be a fight, then I am going to hold the cards. "I hold a fraction of your cultivation, and still you don't attack me."

  The man has reached the peak of the foundation stage. He has enough mana to compete with any member of the strikeforce.

  "Well, I am not one to underestimate my enemies." The man replies. "I have seen them take your commands. There must be a reason for that."

  Even as he speaks, though, the man charges at me. He was clearly trying to catch me off guard. I jump back, feeling the dagger pass inches away from my stomach. The man is fast. I retaliate to this by bringing my sword down on top of him. I almost manage to hit him, but he slips out of my range.

  He is still in range of hitting me. That is why I take on a defensive stance.

  "What is the magic that you practice?" I ask. "It is not pure shadow magic. What you are using seems to be closer to martial magic. It is the only magic that can enhance your body in such a manner."

  "Do you think that I am a fool?" The man replies.

  He tries to play it cool, but my question had managed to disturb the man. He grasps his dagger tighter as he charges at me. This attack of his was ill-planned. Even as he gets closer to me, I swing my sword. His dagger bites into my left hand. (Which I had used to block his strike.) My sword bites into his shoulder, leaving a pretty solid gash. Even as he retreats, I can feel the vital mana flow into me.

  "What are you?" The man growls. "Are you one of those damn creatures or not?"

  "Well, do you think that I am a fool?" I reply, throwing his words back to him.

  Well, I was hoping that those words would have pissed off the man. I have no such luck. Right now, the man is looking to buy time by distracting me. After all, the more that he manages to hold us all back, the more advantageous it is for them.

  Well, my actions seem to have reminded the man about what he is supposed to do as he retreats. I try a few half-hearted attempts to get a strike in, but he moves away before I can even get close. He is close enough that retreating will mean getting struck. Fuck, the man has me trapped.

  Even as I am trying to think of a way to escape the man, I feel a presence right next to me. Well, there are about a couple of dozen mana presences in the place, but this one is unique. After all, blood mana tends to be distinct from all other types of mana. It is not just the mana, though. The location is the key. Right now, Esmerleda has somehow managed to sneak behind the man attacking me.

  Even I, who usually have an idea of where everybody is, did not manage to detect her. The only reason that I managed to do so was that the rock sword was activated by her. Right now, that sword is stuck in the chest of Enrique. I can see the man's flesh take on a grey shade as the petrification takes over the man.