Chapter 185 Encountering Water Bandits
The Mora River section is a no-man's land of the Yitongli River. There are tens of thousands of pirates gathered here. The large number of pirates has caused headaches for the nearby lords. They have sent troops to encircle and suppress the pirates many times but all ended in failure.
The river was blocked by pirates, causing great trouble to ships traveling by water.
To ensure safe passage, most boats pay protection fees. The amount depends on the pirates' mood.
Frequent sailors and those who had established good relationships could be given a quota. For ships passing through for the first time, the sensible ones had to pay one-third of the total value of the cargo. The unwise ones were directly detained, both the passengers and the boat. Wealthy ones could have their families redeem the passengers, while those without money were sold as slaves.
For their own safety, passing ships basically pay protection fees.
You have to pay even if you lose money.
No one wants to be a slave without dignity.
The pirates are so arrogant, is there really nothing the country can do about them?
In reality, the internal relationships are extremely complex, and someone is acting as a protective umbrella for them. Otherwise, why do the annual anti-bandit plans always come to nothing?
Originally, Johnny could have gotten away with it by paying some protection money, but he was caught up in the competition for the succession candidate of the Graves family. He was regarded as a thorn in the side by his cousin, and had to join the mercenary group for the sake of his life.
As a result, that bastard Bede even bribed the mercenary group, which made him hate him so much that he gritted his teeth.
Now with seven magic apprentices escorting him, he was full of confidence.
In the captain's cabin, he folded his arms and looked straight ahead with confidence.
"Balf, when we get back to the royal city, I'll treat everyone to a good drink at the tavern. Oh, and invite a dance troupe to entertain us." Johnny said, stroking his smooth chin.
Balf is not as optimistic.
Although the seven magic apprentices had the cargo ship arrive here two days earlier, thus avoiding the pirates' ambush time, there were always unexpected events and we must not take it lightly.
Besides, no one knows the true strength of the magic apprentice.
If the pirates swarm in, can the seven magic apprentices really resist them?
"Master, I put a lifeboat at the stern, just in case." Balf has always been cautious and made preparations for escape in advance.
Johnny frowned. "Am I the kind of person who's afraid of death? You've followed me all over the country for five or six years. How could I abandon you and run away alone? Balf, if you really can't handle it, use the lifeboat! You have two beautiful little girls at home. They can't live without their father's protection."
"Master Bonnie..." Balf was so moved that his eyes became wet.
Johnny blushed when he heard the word "Boni". "Oh, dear Balf, please don't call me by my nickname!"
Bonnie and the like, nicknames used before he was three years old, really can no longer be used on him at the age of twenty-five.
Seeing the young master embarrassed, Balf laughed out loud.
On the deck, Shu Li and his teammates split up and stood in a circle around the entire ship, each responsible for a position.
Ace stood at the bow, Discio stood at the front left, Angel stood at the front right, Amanda stood at the port side, Budno stood at the starboard side, Kumandi stood at the stern, and Shuli stood in the middle of the boat, ready to provide support to other companions at any time.
The layout is complete, just wait for the battle.
The black panther emblem on the bow was exposed, clearly displayed for everyone to see. As Johnny said, as a Graves family member, you never hide your head and show your tail.
After spending the past few days with him, Shu Li discovered that he was a man of considerable integrity, which was quite rare among the profit-seeking, cunning, and treacherous businessmen.
No wonder he was targeted by his cousin.
It is estimated that among the many candidates, Johnny is both good in character and academic performance, is deeply loved by everyone, and has a high reputation.
Since the employer is so tough, the Light Team must also show its strength, create momentum, show its characteristics, and increase its reputation.
Tremble, you pirates!
Ahead, the boats passing through the Mora River section are queuing up - queuing up to pay protection fees.
Hundreds of pirates' medium-sized assault boats surrounded and blocked the entire river. The pirates' sturdy physiques made ordinary civilians tremble in fear.
The big man in the lead had scars all over his face, muscles all over his body, and a steel knife in his hand. He looked very imposing and from time to time he would shout at his men to go on board to inspect the cargo, assess its value, and collect high protection fees.
The pirates were very agile. They swung the grappling rope and hooked it onto the railing of the boat. Then they jumped up like monkeys and easily got on board.
The crew members and merchants huddled together, watching in horror as the pirates arrogantly counted the cargo, and dared not say a word when entire boxes were taken away in front of them.
After assessing a price, the pirate arrogantly asked for money, and the merchant reluctantly took out a large bag of gold coins and handed it to him.
The pirate weighed his money bag, nodded with satisfaction, and with a wave of his hand, all the well-trained pirates retreated cleanly.
The assault boats that were blocking the cargo ship retreated, leaving a waterway for the cargo ship to pass through.
After paying the protection fee, the cargo ship increased its speed and the sailors rowed frantically, moving away from this terrible section of the Mora River.
If there weren't so many goods and the cost of land transportation was higher, which merchant would be willing to deal with pirates?
One after another, these ships that were intimidated by the pirates all paid protection fees obediently.
It was Johnny's cargo ship's turn soon. Shu Li shouted, "Everyone, take your positions—"
When they were about to reach the Mora River section, Shu Li temporarily removed the magic on the boat to avoid attracting the attention of the pirates too early.
Then, they slowly lined up behind the other boats. When all the boats in front had passed the pirates' checkpoint, their boat was still a hundred meters behind.
Following Shu Li's order, Ace, Angel, and Budno cast spells at the same time, adding magic BUFF to the cargo ship again.
In an instant, the cargo ship was covered by a shield of light and rushed towards the checkpoint where the pirates blocked the river at lightning speed.
The lazy pirates were waiting for the next ship to come over and pay protection fees, but suddenly the cargo ship went crazy and rushed towards them aggressively.
What shocked the pirates even more was that the cargo ship was covered with a protective shield of flowing starlight, which smashed the assault boat that approached it into pieces.
The scarred man was furious: "A boat is breaking through! Guys, surround it and grab your weapons!"
Whose cargo ship is this? Does it know the rules and dare to act so wildly in the pirates' territory?
Don't want to pay protection money?
It’s not that easy!
You can not hand it over, but leave the goods and your life!
The scarred man showed a sinister expression, and commanded hundreds of pirate assault boats with great momentum to besiege the ignorant cargo ship.
Such a big ship, the cargo on it must be very valuable.
He had a greedy look on his face.
“Bang, bang, bang—”
All the pirate speedboats that approached the cargo ship were knocked away, and the pirates fell into the river like dumplings. Before they could surface, a whirlpool suddenly emerged from the bottom of the river and swept them away in an instant.
"Mm--gululu--"
The pirates were panicked and struggled to swim upstream, but it was no avail. Their bodies were dragged deeper and deeper by the whirlpool.
The scarred man realized something was wrong when he found that none of his men had come up after falling into the water.
"Maizago—this cargo ship—the cargo ship is—is—"
A thin pirate struggled out of the water, climbed onto the scarred man's boat, and shouted breathlessly.
"What is it?" The big man with a scar on his face, called Mai Zha, grabbed the skinny pirate by the collar.
"This cargo ship is... it belongs to the Graves family!" The skinny pirate finally finished his words.
"What? The Graves family?" Maiza's eyes widened. "It's Johnny's cargo ship! Didn't they say it wouldn't arrive until the day after tomorrow?"
"I...saw a black panther on the bow..." The skinny pirate's neck was strangled so much that he stuck out his tongue and rolled his eyes.
Maiza threw him away, waving the steel knife in his hand, and shouted to a pirate behind him: "George, go to the village and invite Master Oguta over! Also, ask Llewellyn to mobilize 200 large assault ships."
"Yes, Maizago!" George took the order and jumped onto a small boat as fast as a shuttle. He paddled quickly and the boat left flexibly and quickly.
Maiza stepped on the bow of the ship and roared like a lion: "Guys, hurry up and siege the Graves family's ship! Leave the cargo and people to me!"
Dozens of five or six meter long assault boats fearlessly rammed the cargo ship. However, the light shield covering the cargo ship was indestructible and bounced them away. The river was filled with ship fragments and struggling pirates.
The pirates were all furious as their methods of dealing with other cargo ships turned out to be ineffective.
"Go—men—stop it—"
"I'm going to kill all these damn guys!"
"There's a magician on board!"
"Quick, quick, raise the steel knife to block the gate——"
In order to hold the cargo ship, a dozen bandits on both sides of the river bank pushed the mechanism hard.
“Boom!”
The intercepting gate hidden at the bottom of the river slowly emerged from the water, with sharp steel knives arranged on the top. If the cargo ship forced its way through, the steel knives would immediately cut through the bottom of the ship, causing it to leak and sink.
"Budno, Amanda, let's go together!" Shu Li shouted.
"Okay—"
"Here I come!"
The two goblins and the little dragon cast water magic at the same time. When the spell fell, the river water suddenly surged, lifting the cargo ship high up and passing the intercepting gate. The steel knife became completely useless.
The pirates were stunned.
This was not over yet. Disio waved his magic wand and released fire magic. Dozens of fireballs fell from the sky and landed accurately on the pirate ship, instantly setting the wooden boat on fire.
“Ah ...
The wooden boat caught fire, and the pirates shouted anxiously. They didn't care about ramming the boat, but tried to find a way to put out the fire first.
"Hahaha--"
Seeing the pirates in a panic, Discio laughed out loud. After laughing enough, he continued to wave his magic wand and release fireballs. This time, he secretly increased the power to the level of a high-level magician.
The pirates' assault boats were coated with a layer of anti-corrosion and fire-proof paint, but they could not withstand the fireballs falling from the sky, and the entire river channel was engulfed in a sea of fire.
Discio was having a lot of fun setting fires, but Angel was not to be outdone. He threw out balls of light, blowing the pirates to pieces.
Ace released wind magic, and more than a dozen tornadoes swept across the river, overturning dozens of pirate ships.
The river was full of struggling bandits.
Even though they have strong water skills, they cannot withstand the attack of magic.
Kumandi methodically controlled the wind direction, driving the cargo ship forward steadily.
Shu Li silently recited the wood magic, and the water plants at the bottom of the river grew wildly, entangled the bandits who fell into the water, and dragged them down.
The entire Mora River was thrown into chaos by the seven "magic apprentices". The usually arrogant pirates didn't even have the chance to get close to the cargo ship before they were defeated by magic. The fear of death spread rapidly, and the timid pirates fled in a hurry.
Johnny and Balf were standing on the top floor of the bridge. Seeing the pirates' miserable appearance, they laughed so hard that they slapped their thighs.
"It's so enjoyable! It's so enjoyable! It's so enjoyable!"
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