Flame Bird
Hundreds of towering warships glided across the outer seas, making for a magnificent sight.
However, it wasn’t so beautiful to the one in charge of the long voyage. There were five thousand men to feed and take care of, which was a huge problem on the seas. On top of that there was the restlessness, and the disease that constantly crept up on Leylin’s men.
Fortunately the crew were originally pirates of the Scarlet Tiger, so they could handle such long distance sailing.Tiff himself had dispatched the acolytes under him to each and every ship, boosting the morale of the men. Without holy magic to aid them, it was a very big test.
Leylin was on the deck of the flagship, looking out at the boundless sea. He breathed a light sigh, “Our food and water supplies are depleting quickly. This long distance war is really a huge gamble… Fortunately, we are able to reach Debanks Islands before our stock runs out…”
A flush of red appeared on Isabel’s face, a rare sight. Being the captain of the Scarlet Tigers for so many years had killed that elegant young lady. She was now a pirate, filled with savagery and deceit. Only when she was with Leylin like now would she reveal a part of her girly side.
“Are we depending to seize supplies upon reaching the shores? That might not be the safest method!”
Hearing Isabel’s surprised words, Leylin shook his head. “We have a limited number of men. Each of them is extremely precious, so we can’t make senseless sacrifices…”
Even in Leylin’s previous world, it was difficult to win wars after a period of travel.
“What are you thinking of?” Isabel looked at him.
He’d already drawn out a navigation map with Debanks Island at the center. The drawing scale was somewhat absurd, but it had sufficed.
“We will first make a detour and circle to this area.” Leylin pointed at group of islands beside Debanks Island. They were large enough to each have a ruling kingdom, with many smaller islands beside them.
“You mean to say… So we take down the Chihuahua Islands first, and use them as a supply point?” Isabel surmised. Although she had thought of this strategy as well, it required too much time to prepare. Leylin had maintained an unhurried pace in front of the pressing situation.
“Yes. There seems to be a tribe with over ten thousand members here, we could use them as practice to polish the skills of our men…” Although both Leylin and Isabel were confident in their army’s strength, it wasn’t possible to establish coordination in a day or two. Leylin wanted them to undergo some training.
“I got it…” This sort of slow and steady advance told Isabel how determined Leylin was, so she immediately passed down the orders.
……
The Chihuahua Islands were close to Debanks Island. The tribe that resided here were vassals of the Sakartes Kingdom, but because of the ocean supporting them they were quite independent.
After all, with the unskilled boat crafting abilities that these inhabitants have, chopping up all the trees in the area to make wooden rafts would still not be enough to stage a rebellion.
The ruler of this tribe might have had such thoughts, but his elders and priest would have advised him otherwise.
Under such a situation, this tribe was still doing fairly alright, compared to the others which had to offer much more tributes to the kingdom.
The chief of this tribe, Abasa, was now sheltered and served by his maids who lazily fanned a giant banana leaf, at the same time enjoying the taste of the tropical fruits.
Abasa was extremely dark skinned, and he was extremely obese. Layers of fat could be seen on his body, just like a giant hog. However, his neck was extremely slender. This was the sign of nobility, and several metal piercings were found on his lips. On his face were many oiled markings, which hid his original features.
“Something has happened!”
As Abasa enjoyed the service of his maids, an extremely skinny old man dashed in.
“Oh? My wise priest, what has made you come in such a flurry?”
The high priest had a heavy smell of incense mixed with lamp oil around him, and he wore a five coloured feathered crown which the plumes reached the height of three metres, the feathers angling in a very dangerous angle.
“My mighty chief, the king of the Chihuahua Islands, our ancestors’ spirits are now enraged, and this needs you to be there personally…”
The high priest fell and knelt on the ground, sounding serious.
“The fury of our mighty ancestral soul? Were our sacrifices not enough?” When it came to matters like these, Abasa found it difficult to continue enjoying himself. He pushed the maid away, eyes surrounded by puffy skin staring at the high priest.
“No, I think this is more like a warning!” There was a patch of blood on the high priest’s forehead, evidently shocked by what had happened.
“Bring me there!” Abasa waved his arms, and a few natives who were like monkeys raised the chair he was sitting on and began to walk.
Less than an hour later, all the natives in the tribe seemed to gather as they watched the high priest in the centre performing.
There was some sort of anesthetic incense and gas burning in the surroundings. As the leader, Abasa donned his ceremonial attire, a cloak formed of five-coloured beast hide, with difficulty. He stood at the front of the procession while the high priest unceasingly danced, body writhing as if he had epilepsy.
At the heart of the procession, on a crudely-made flag of animal skin, traces of dark red golden lines appeared.
“Mighty ancestral spirit… What hint do you wish to give us?” Abbas knelt, and the rest of the natives followed suit.
*Rumble!*
As everyone kowtowed, a huge cloud rose from the heart of the altar. The image of some creature flashed past, releasing a few roars that were difficult to understand.
“The ancestral spirit is warning us!”
At this moment, the high priest jumped as if he had obtained some divine enlightenment.
“At the west side… unprecedented enemies will appear. They will ride steel fortresses on the sea and bring about massacres and death… They are…”
The high priest foamed at the mouth.
“What are they?” Abbas pulled at the high priest’s neck till he turned purplish-red, as if about to suffocate to death.
“They are… the fair-skinned devils!”
After spitting this out, the high priest fainted.
“Fair-skinned devils?” Abasa rubbed his chin, “Send down the order. All warriors are to bring pikes and stone blades and wait at the western coast…”
The vocabulary and experience of natives was limited. Even the chief did not understand what a fair-skinned devil was meant to be. All they knew was that the enemy was coming.
“Oh!” With the encouragement from the ancestral spirit, the sturdy warriors in the tribe completed this task at great speed.
Abbas, who guided his subordinates, was full of mettle, “I shall skin the scalp of the enemy’s leader and hang it on the war to serve as my medal…”
……
“Hm? Our attack seems to have been discovered…”
Leylin, who stood on deck, frowned.
“Luckily, this is just a small tribe. Of the natural spirits they worship, they are at most only divine beings…”
Seeing the native warriors at the coastline nearby, Leylin spoke, “Isabel! Tiff!”
“Here!”
“You’ll take over commanding. You don’t have to worry about anything else. Just take down the Chihuahua Island. Remember to seal of the sea paths and don’t let even one escape…”
It was naturally best to have news of his invasion not spread for as long as possible.
After instructing this, Leylin took off, charging towards some divine being.
Isabel, who had taken over commanding, drew the Red Dragon Sword in her hand and glanced at the native warriors who had gathered at the coastline disdainfully. They had wooden pikes and stone blades, as well as canoes.
“Bombard them! Let them see our might!”
Isabel yelled. The natives were equipped so poorly, and there were less than two thousand of them. This was like a fat piece of meat being presented to them.
“Go!” The pirates immediately released terrifying howls from the battleship with reddened eyes.
A wave of bombs were shot to the native tribe’s position.
The ferocious explosions as well as terrible cries by his ears left Abbas frozen.
“Ancient ancestor! This huge fort on the sea… and that godly fire? What have we provoked?”
Countless warships closed in. Their canoes were already capsizing, and the guards by his side were already yelling as they tried to flee. The chief could not help but release bellows of despair.
In the next moment, this old chief had his head chopped off by a blade.
“Heh! This fat pig is obviously a high-ranked person. I wonder if there are rewards…” Along with this voice, the gold and silver accessories on the chief’s body disappeared in an instant.
“Is this the natives’ guarding spirit? While there’s divinity, it has low intelligence…”
Leylin took a look at this divine being that looked like a flaming bird, eyes flashing with light from the A.I. Chip.
“Your followers are now being massacred by me, and the power of my domain is diminishing. Submit to me, and I can let you live!”
Leylin used his divine will to send a wave of information, but what he got in return was the flaming bird’s howl of rage.
*Chiu chiu!*
Along with this sharp chirp, a bundle of golden flames enveloped Leylin, causing the air around him to distort and rise.