Chapter 221: Operation Extraction (1/2)
[Alright, there are the soldiers that are theoretically on guard. Tenundian Marines for the most part, and fairly weak at that.]
Mike scanned the rowdy group with Appraise, just to be on the safe side, but didn't see anyone that would warrant concern for him and his comrades.
[The dossier mentioned that captured ships tended to have a few Tier 2s stationed on them, to provide muscle for overwhelming the captive crew when necessary. I don't see anyone that really fits the bill, but they could be located in one of the cabins or below deck.]
Carefully analyzing the situation, he determined that he needed to disable the Tenundians discreetly, while preventing them from signalling the rest of the fleet. He didn't want to start a large scale conflict without knowing precisely where their target was, lest the prince get caught up in the crossfire. That also meant he couldn't make use of any of his flashy techniques or spells.
He dropped back down while maintaining his grip on the side of the ship, and whispered over his shoulder at the others, ”Alright, we've got eight enemies on deck. They're drunk and distracted, so I think we can take them by surprise. The last thing we want to do is attract attention at this stage. I have an-”
Lily sneezed loudly.
”Hey, what was that?” One of the Marines asked.
”I think it came from over there, by the edge of the ship.” Another spoke up. The sounds of booted feet moving across the deck followed shortly thereafter.
Mike resisted the urge to facepalm, and shot the woman an exasperated glare, which was returned with a confused head tilt as she rubbed her nose.
[Fine. We'll just do this the hard way. I played enough of those something creed games to know how this goes.]
From the sounds of it, a trio of the soldiers were approaching cautiously. He began to detect a low level of unfocused hostility, which indicated their wariness. Thankfully, this also allowed him to triangulate where they were without lifting his head back over the top of the railing.
He signaled Sera and Tal to be ready, and then adjusted his grip on the gunwale, waiting for the last second before making his move. The marine started to lean over the side, and Mike heard an intake of breath as the man prepared to say something. Stopping the soldier's shouted warning with a quick application of Air Magic, he grabbed the man by the front of his uniform and levered him down into the waters below, where his party members would finish him off.
Nearby, Lily repeated her previous maneuver, sending another dead marine overboard. This time, the crack as his neck broke resounded through the quiet air, easily heard by the others on deck. They would only have a few moments before the alarm was raised.
Moving with surprising grace, she swung up onto deck and grabbed the third soldier as he tried to draw his sword, a cry already leaving his lips. ”Intrude-”
Mike's spear tore out his throat before he had a chance to finish the statement, and before the man had even started falling, he was moving towards the larger group.
Despite their inebriated state, the Tenundians quickly formed a plan and executed it. Three marines charged forward, cutlasses raised. Evidently they intended to buy time, since one of them broke into a run for the door leading below deck, and the last started fiddling with a long stick-like implement.
Something about the object concerned Mike, so he hurled the Fang of the Primal at the man, spearing him through the chest and driving him up against the railing of the ship. He noted that the stick had rolled from the man's nerveless fingers, so he shifted his attention to the other fleeing soldier, while letting Lily take care of the three attackers.
Gathering the shadows, he hardened the darkness around the man's feet and ankles, freezing him in place from the calves down, and bringing his headlong sprint to an abrupt halt. Which had unfortunate consequences for the man's legs. With a sickening pop, he hyper-extended his left leg, dislocating his kneecap and tearing all kinds of tendons and muscles in the process.
A spike of darkness ended the man's agonized squealing, once he was no longer a moving target. Threat removed, Mike turned back to the remaining three marines in time to watch Lily go to work.
Ignoring their weapons as they bounced harmlessly off of her skin, she simply stepped forward and grabbed two of the soldiers by their armor, lifted them up, and slammed them against the deck of the ship. Before they had a chance to move, she drew back with both fists and delivered devastating punches to their solar plexuses, crushing bones and organs in the process. A quick glance was all it took to determine that they were out of the fight.
The last marine, perhaps starting to understand the futility of his situation, turned to flee, angling to throw himself off of the side of the ship. Unfortunately for him, his escape was halted as Lily latched onto his leg with her steel grip, dragging the man back towards her for a final dispatching blow.
[Alright, that went well. Although we made a bit of noise, hopefully the wind will drown most of it out. Now, if we can just sneak below deck and find the prince-]
A brilliant flash of red light rose into the air above the ship. Once it was about 300m high, it curved and began to slowly descend towards the ocean. As Mike watched, similar lights appeared above other nearby ships, this time in green colors. He looked back down at the marine he'd impaled with his thrown spear, and was slightly impressed when he saw that the man had managed to drag himself over to the stick-like object, which was clearly a flare of sorts, and activate it before passing out.