As the whistling rapidly crescendoed, Rylan instinctively turned to look over his shoulder.

  Something smashed into the attacking warship’s deck. The impact rocked the entire vessel, sending out a wave of pressure that momentarily cleared the smoke as soldiers were sent flying like ragdolls amidst a rain of bamboo splinters.

  Some of the casualties landed in the whirling dance hosted by Artoran, who kept singing and playing without a hitch even as he ducked one of the falling soldiers. Others were less fortunate and disappeared into the fog.

  Wide-eyed, Rylan searched for the source of the attack. His gaze quickly locked onto an approaching twin-floater warship—a different, smaller model than that of the Talons—with a large metal tube sticking up at the prow.

  It seemed to have appeared from behind the lighthouse, reminding Rylan of the flash of movement he’d spotted up there earlier.

  His heart skipped a beat when he saw a flash of blue, as two small figures obscured by drifts of fog appeared to be loading a large sphere into the tube. Is that... Soren?!

  Whoever it was finished loading the weapon, and a moment later, it thumped a second time, releasing a great cloud of steam as another projectile was launched forward at great speed. Once more, the Talon vessel was rocked by a great impact that sent some soldiers flying, and the rest scrambling for cover.

  The chaos was complete now, with some soldiers trying to escape from the strange dance they’d been pulled into by climbing back onto their old ship, while others appeared to be trying to flee the new assault by boarding the one Rylan and co had stolen.

  As the twin-floater rapidly approached, Rylan spotted more flashes of blue, but also crimson, the colour of the Thistlethorn livery.

  Thistlebloom was only a couple of hours away, and it seemed the Thistlethorns had wasted little time in responding to what must’ve been visible from their estate. They must’ve moored at the lighthouse, to try to get a view... did they spot me from up there? Did they recognise me? Or did they just decide to help whoever was fighting the Talons?

  Either way, this changed things. Rylan let go of Leahna’s wrist, and drew two knives.

  “Where are you going?!” Yuel asked, still with one leg over the railing.

  “To make a stand,” Rylan replied as he started striding back down the slanted deck. “Running now would be pretty rude to our reinforcements!”

  As he said that, he broke into a jog, pouring mana into both of his knives, charging one with Knife-Throwing and the other with Knife-Fighting.

  He had mana to spare at the moment.

  “Blessed Ethereon,” he mumbled under his breath. “Please grant me an hour of accelerated recovery.”

  A few more pinpricks of blue light came flying in as Ethereon granted his request, automatically subtracting 10 credits. The energy flowed into Rylan’s chest and from there spread with each beat of his heart, soothing the sting from the various cuts and bruises he’d acquired and filling his tired limbs with fresh energy.

  He’d learned from his father that this was something Quinthar who were about to enter a serious fight often did—especially when facing other Quinthar. Mana Shells could only stop so much, and there wasn’t always time to request healing in the heat of battle.

  Rylan entered the odd circle dance created by his father and immediately felt the urge to twirl along. He didn’t fight it, flinging a knife into a guy’s throat as he started a pirouette, then leaping out of it to stab another man in the back.

  Unlike the soldiers, who were trying to get at a single slippery target—or two, now—he had targets aplenty. Worse, the few stumbling strikes they managed to land on him lacked force due to their unbalanced stances, and were further blunted by his and his father’s Mana Shells. Meanwhile, Rylan’s mana-covered steel tore through flesh and leather alike as if it were silk tofu.

  -Some two dozen soldiers had made it onto their ship, and Rylan made quick work of eight of them before he found himself faced with one of the Talon’s Quinthar.

  The halberd-wielding man wore no particular armour or mark that identified his status, perhaps to throw off enemy combatants. The way he stumbled along with the rest, pretending to be just as affected as the regular soldiers, seemed to support that theory.

  Of course, the glowing green spirit inside his chest stood out to Rylan like a sore thumb.

  Therefore, when the man tried to surprise Rylan by ‘suddenly’ regaining his coordination and lashing out with a glowing halberd, he was ready.

  Rylan activated his pre-charged Jump Skill, clearing the weapon with ease as he leapt forward and struck out for the man’s eye with Knife-Fighting.

  The man startled and quickly craned back his head, a white flash coming off his cheek as Rylan’s glowing blade tore through his Mana Shell and cut a deep furrow through beard and weathered skin alike.

  Rylan landed and immediately pushed forward, staying within the man’s guard. He scored a few more hits, leaving shallow, bleeding cuts on the man’s arms and chest before the enemy Quinthar managed to bring his halberd in between them and shove Rylan away with a flash of light.

  A defensive Augmentation. I’ll have to watch for that.

  Of course, Rylan was still dangerous at a distance. He drew Arphin.

  [About time!] the spiritblade commented. [How do you wanna do this, Boss?]

  ‘He’s got a lot of range, so let’s try the Flyby Shuffle.’

  [Awesome! You got it, Boss!]

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  As was their custom by now, Rylan manually poured mana into the skymetal blade and Arphin grabbed onto it, helping to keep it from leaking away.

  At the same time, Rylan started charging a Jump, more mana streaming towards his boots.

  The Talon Quinthar started twirling his halberd in front of him, following the rhythm of Artoran’s music as he built momentum, his halberd starting to glow.

  He seemed to be building up towards something, but Rylan wasn’t about to wait and find out what. Especially since, from the corner of his eye, he could vaguely see another green glow approaching.

  Another impact hit the Talon ship, and Rylan took the opportunity to make his move. In a burst of motion, Rylan took a step forward, then flung Arphin roughly at the man’s right eye.

  As expected, the man dodged left.

  Rylan immediately activated his Jump, shooting past the man’s swinging halberd even further to the left. His arm that had followed through on the throw, swung back out to the right, heading towards the man’s throat as if he were planning to punch him.

  Cursing, the man defensively drew up his shoulders, his upper arm shifting to block.

  However, when Rylan’s fist came within two feet of his foe, he rotated it outward and tugged on the node in his spirit.

  With a pop, Arphin appeared inside his clenched hand, sharp glowing skymetal inches from the man’s throat.

  Rylan instantly activated Knife-Fighting, pulling the mana already gathered around Arphin’s blade into the Skill. A blinding flash of white erupted as the enemy Quinthar’s Mana Shell tried to fend off the strike, but there was no stopping Arphin’s razor-sharp tip, and the spiritblade bit deep into the man’s throat, cutting through his breathing tube.

  Gasping and sputtering, the man stumbled back, one hand pressed to his throat.

  That was another reason Quinthar requested Ethereon’s accelerated recovery beforehand, when they could afford to. And judging from the copious amounts of blood seeping through the soldier’s fingers, he might not have had the funds or wherewithal to do so.

  To Rylan’s right, the music briefly stuttered as a female Emerald-Grade Quinthar landed a blow on his father with a glowing sword, actually leaving a cut on Artoran’s thigh.

  He turned to go help out, but a Talon soldier stumbled into his path, making an awkward strike at Rylan that he easily fended off with a glowing Arphin.

  His stomach clenched as the female Quinthar raised her blade for an overhead strike, but then a glowing arrow came flying in from the raised side of the deck. It pierced the female Quinthar’s shoulder with a flash of light, causing her to hiss and back up, giving Artoran the chance to slip away.

  Before Rylan could move in to attack her, however, a blue glow moving in the corner of his vision drew his eye.

  Vidric had personally boarded their vessel, a javelin in his hand, a few spares on his back, and Tamina right on his heels. His bright yellow leather armour now featured a prominent gouge at his left shoulder from the earlier harpoon, and it seemed to have even bled a little. By now, of course, the cut had fully healed. The Talon scion’s deep violet eyes drifted over Rylan, then landed on something behind him, and widened.

  Unfortunately, Rylan didn’t have to wonder what Vidric was looking at.

  By now, Artoran had switched to a more up-tempo song about sheep, of all things. “Beware beware beware the old man spake, as his fist shook; sheep are mutton but trouble, and more cunning than they look!”

  And of course, Artoran was still using both String-Playing and Rotate, his mana wafting into the air around them.

  Rylan could practically see the implications wash over Vidric’s darkening face. After all, Artoran wasn’t supposed to be able to use his Skills.

  Well, the gull had definitely flown the coop now.

  Vidric hissed something at Tamina, who nodded and moved off to the side, then he strode forward, eyes intent on Artoran.

  Rylan gritted his teeth, then stepped into the clodmonger’s path.

  Recognition flashed over Vidric’s face, and he smirked. “Cousin! I’ve been looking for you.”

  “So I’ve heard,” Rylan replied coldly.

  Vidric cocked his head to the side. “I don’t suppose I can convince you to come quietly, can I?” he asked, almost wistfully.

  Rylan lifted his glowing knives, activating Knife-Throwing on the blade in his left hand, and still maintaining Knife-Fighting on Arphin.

  “Pity,” Vidric said with a sigh. “I do so detest wasting potential.”

  They moved at the same time.

  Rylan flung the knife in his left hand with a quick snap of his wrist, going for speed over power.

  His swift throw didn’t land, however, as Vidric suddenly slid aside, his feet never leaving the deck as he slipped past the projectile like a cirrus eel.

  Then he thrust out with his javelin, familiar concentric circles travelling through its white glow.

  Rylan parried with Arphin, only managing to activate Redirect in the nick of time. In the moment their weapons clashed, his mana fought Vidric’s for control over the javelin, and managed to gain only a small foothold.

  It was enough to redirect the javelin’s angle of approach by some twenty degrees.

  His Mana Shell flashed brightly as the javelin tore through his shirt and grazed his ribs.

  Rylan gasped as he stumbled backwards from the impact, feeling not unlike he’d just been rammed by a foghorn.

  Those concentric circles... he’s using Smash, just like Captain Hammermore!

  It seemed like an odd choice to pair with a javelin... but Rylan’s ribs felt it was an effective combination nonetheless. Thankfully, Ethereon’s warm energy was still pulsing through his body, already soothing his bruised flesh and bone.

  “A Sapphire, even!” Vidric exclaimed, beaming like he was actually happy for Rylan. “Your father taught you well! Too bad he couldn’t bring your sister up to speed...”

  Vidric’s eyes drifted over Rylan’s shoulder.

  Rylan froze as he heard Yuel shout something back there, but he didn’t turn back; he couldn’t afford to.

  ‘Arphin, what’s happening behind me?!’

  [Boss, Tamina just slammed Nazyr against the deck with her shield!] Arphin sent, sounding aghast. [And she... she’s grabbing Big Sis! Why is she doing this?!]

  Gritting his teeth, Rylan stared murderously at Vidric, drawing another knife into his left hand and charging a Jump.

  “Oh? You’re not even going to look? How cold,” Vidric mocked.

  A Talon soldier chose that moment to stumble in between them. Rylan quickly side-stepped the man’s overhead swing and slit his throat, but as he did so, Vidric slid away from him across the deck, already raising his javelin.

  Seeing Vidric whip his arm forward, Rylan reflexively activated Jump. He shot up only just in time, and still had to spread his legs to avoid being hit. The air dragged along by the javelin brushed across his inner thighs, the projectile zipping by dangerously close to his... jewels.

  In mid-air, Rylan flung the knife in his left hand, this time curving it to the side, so that when Vidric tried to slide away again, it followed. Vidric seemed surprised by this, but allowed the knife to brush his waist, his thick Mana Shell flaring up as it deflected most of the blow.

  Rylan’s stomach sank; even when he successfully hit Vidric, it barely slowed the noble down. In fact, by the time Rylan’s feet hit the deck, Vidric had already grabbed another javelin and was whipping his arm forward again.

  The throw was a little off to Rylan’s left, and he just barely managed to stumble out of the way.

  The pirouetting Talon soldier behind Rylan wasn’t so lucky. The projectile caught him full in the chest, sending him flying off the rear end of the ship.

  Rylan, meanwhile, had managed to regain his balance by grabbing onto another man’s shoulder.

  “Hey son!” his father said with strain in his voice, his strum faltering for a moment as he took in the situation.

  “Oh my,” Vidric said mockingly, already lifting another javelin. “What will you do now?”

  Rylan watched its glow brighten with wide eyes. He... He purposely led me here!

  Within moments, the javelin’s glow exceeded that of all the previous ones, but there was nowhere to go. Rylan couldn’t dodge, not with his father right behind him.

  As Vidric hefted back his arm, he braced himself, raising Arphin and activating Knife-Fighting and Redirect, hoping against all hope that it would be enough.

  Right as Vidric threw, however, he felt his balance falter, a sudden rotational force taking hold of him and causing him to stumble back, right as his father stepped around him...

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