Chapter 57: Combat

Windsor was originally going about things as usual—Navigator Li Le was steering the ship, while Little Blue scouted the surroundings.

Everything had been calm, with no trouble in sight, until they encountered a shark.

This shark was 12 meters long, its body covered in blue skin with purple and black markings. A black horn protruded from the top of its head.

Windsor didn't have any appraisal skills, so she couldn't determine its exact strength. But seeing it severely injure Little Blue with a single strike, she immediately knew this creature was not to be underestimated.

Windsor ordered the civilians to retreat to avoid unnecessary casualties.

Then, she and Firefire engaged the enemy. As for Darkmoon—since it was daytime and her strength was limited—Windsor had assigned her to protect the civilians.

Windsor first cast a Light Shield on both herself and Firefire, then unleashed a Light Bind at the shark. At the same time, Firefire cast Fire Bind.

However, fighting at sea clearly limited Firefire's strength somewhat.

The shark fired a black arrow from its horn, shattering Windsor's Light Bind. It then shifted its body to dodge Firefire's Fire Bind.

Without pausing, the shark charged toward Windsor's ship.

At that moment, Windsor's Light Arrow and Firefire's Fireball flew at the shark. The shark dodged the Light Arrow but was struck by the Fireball.

The Fireball didn't deal significant damage, but it slowed the shark, making it less ferocious than before.

Seizing the opportunity, Windsor cast another Light Bind. This time, the shark failed to dodge and was restrained, its movement greatly slowed.

Seeing this, Firefire followed up with another Fire Bind, further strengthening the control.

Windsor watched as the shark struggled and continued charging toward the ship. Her eyes grew cold—she couldn't let it get close and damage the vessel.

She cast a Confusion spell, then unleashed Light Arrows, which rained down alongside Firefire's Fireballs.

The shark howled in pain, its body covered in bleeding holes from Windsor's Light Arrows and burns from Firefire's Fireballs.

Suddenly, the shark stopped moving. The markings on its body began glowing from the tail, the light traveling to its head.

Windsor then saw a purple-black orb form at the tip of the shark's horn. Arcs of electricity crackled through the surrounding seawater.

Her expression changed—the attack looked too powerful to block alone.

"Firefire, cast Fire Shield on me!" Windsor called out.

Firefire, realizing the danger, quickly cast two Fire Shields on Windsor.

Windsor also cast two Light Shields on herself.

When the purple-black orb came hurtling at her, Windsor fired a Light Arrow in an attempt to block it.

The Light Arrow shattered on contact, and the orb pushed through Firefire's Fireball.

But the orb didn't target Windsor or Firefire—instead, it hurtled toward the ship.

The shark clearly knew that destroying the ship would make Windsor and her team easy prey.

Windsor wasn't about to let that happen. If the ship was damaged, their journey would be severely affected even if they survived.

Taking a deep breath, Windsor leapt from the ship and intercepted the attack.

The orb crashed through her shields one after another. Firefire managed to add another Fire Shield, but it too was shattered instantly.

The orb struck Windsor, slamming her into the ship's side with a loud thud.

Windsor coughed up blood, her body covered in wounds.

She quickly cast a Healing Spell on herself, then glared at the shark.

After that powerful attack, the shark looked drained. Seeing its assault had failed, it let out a furious yet fearful shriek.

It knew that missing that strike meant facing its own demise.

And indeed, Windsor wasn't going to give it another chance.

She fired more Light Arrows, while Firefire, enraged by Windsor's injuries, unleashed furious Fireballs.

Shockingly, Firefire's body changed dramatically with her rage.

She grew taller, like a teenage girl, her body encased in red-gold armor. Her fiery hair whipped in the wind, and a golden flame mark appeared on her forehead.

Even her Fireballs changed—they became larger golden spheres instead of small red ones.

A golden Fireball struck the shark, shattering its black horn and punching a bloody hole through its head.

The shark died on the spot.

Windsor was stunned by the sight.

She then saw Firefire shrink rapidly and collapse onto the deck.

Windsor, alarmed, ignored the loot from the shark and rushed to Firefire's side.

Firefire's hair was slightly dull, but the gentle rise and fall of her chest made Windsor breathe a sigh of relief.

It seemed she had simply exhausted herself.

Windsor picked up Firefire, her heart full of gratitude. She understood that Firefire had transformed because she had been injured, and that thought made her look at Firefire even more tenderly.

Just then, Darkmoon approached, worried. "Windsor, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Windsor replied. The attack's power had been greatly reduced by the five shields, and thanks to her healing magic, she had recovered well.

"Go collect the loot. Let's not risk another incident," she instructed.

Darkmoon nodded and leapt from the ship to retrieve the shark's drops.

Windsor cast a healing spell on Firefire. Though she wasn't injured, the spell helped ease her condition.

Then Windsor went to Little Blue at the ship's bow, gently patting its head. If not for Little Blue's earlier intervention, the ship would surely have been damaged.

Seeing Little Blue's wounds, she quickly healed them too.

Li Le approached, bowing slightly. "My lady, what are your orders?"

Windsor said, "Let's stay put for now. We need to rest and recover."