Trojan: An Epic LitRPG Adventure (Afterlife Online Book 3) Read online

  Instead of focusing on the individual undine, I watched the streaks of water in their wake. They moved so fast, dozens of paintbrushes slicing the ocean surface, weaving in and out, attempting to cut us off. Many of them took bad angles that left them in our backwash. A few were less aggressive and slower to close on us. While they kept pace for short bursts, it was clear the Cutter was winning.

  Right up until a streak of aqua appeared on our tail.

  "Back there," I called out. "What is that?"

  Kyle fired at the last mermaid scaling the hull. The bolt plugged her right in the neck. She gurgled and skipped on the water surface like a stone. The brewmaster lifted his head and squinted in the distance. "A really fast mermaid?"

  Errol hurried to the railing and extended a personal telescope. He brought it to his eye and stiffened. Then he slowly lowered it. "Can't say I've seen that 'fore today."

  "What is it?"

  The aqua wake rushed to flank us. The streak of water was wider than the others and agitated the sea with many more bubbles. As it paced us, Prince Navoo's crowned head crested the waves. He rose from the ocean with little effort, somehow still matching our speed.

  "How is that possible?"

  Errol's eyes widened. "By the Maelstrom, 'tis the Deep Blue." He scurried back to his command station and mustered the crew, voice booming over the wind. "To the cannons, men. If we don't hit 'em with all we got, we're doomed!"

  "I don't know guys," hedged Kyle. "This really doesn't seem that—"

  "Don't say it," I snapped.

  He shrugged, brought the crossbow to his shoulder, and closed an eye to take aim. Prince Navoo focused his menacing scowl on us. As Kyle released the bolt, the merman rose even higher from the sea. The glass projectile exploded against a small wood barrier around the undine lord's waist. As he continued rising, he appeared to be in a small craft.

  "That's a boat," said Izzy.

  "Ar," said Grug, rushing past. " 'Tis the Deep Blue."

  "It's a small boat," said Kyle.

  "Don't say it," I stressed.

  He scoffed. "What? It's a small boat. That's all I'm saying." He breathed in and out defiantly and peeped, "It doesn't seem that bad."

  Navoo's craft lifted above the ocean. His deck was tiny but supported by a wooden beam that lifted him higher and higher into the sky. In fact, his original boat wasn't a boat at all.

  "That's a crow's nest," I muttered. "That's not the boat." Within seconds, a huge deck surfaced below him. Seawater swept past a full undine crew as the Deep Blue emerged from the waves. The mast holding the Prince's perch unfurled an azure sail of its own. I slapped my forehead. "That's the boat."

  The hull of the Blue was covered with glittering scales. Reliefs of seashells dotted the body. A large spiral shell pointed off the fore of the ship like a narwhal tooth.

  "Avast!" yelled the pirates. "Ship ho!"

  "Tighten the sail," ordered Errol. "Pull in that slack." He turned to the starboard crew. "Tie up them loose ends 'fore ye kill yerselves!" He stomped over to an open hatch in the deck and peered below. "Ye have them cannons ready? 'Cause ready or not, here they come."

  A larger than usual aggro notification flashed before us.

  [Deep Blue]

  Undine Flagship

  700 SIP

  Two more sails breached the ocean behind us.

  [Undine Support Vessel]

  200 SIP

  "Crap," I yelled. "Stats. Let me see our stats!"

  "Full spin to starboard!" ordered Errol.

  The Cutter veered sharply away from the Deep Blue. The undine vessel was clearly fast enough, but the maneuver took them by surprise. It took me by surprise too.

  Agility Check...

  Pass!

  I barely stayed on my feet as the Cutter reversed direction by spinning in a sharp arc. Once again, half the hull submerged due to the tight turn. And while we were well clear of the murderous undine, we were now heading straight back at them and the two surfacing support vessels.

  "This is what you call running?" prodded Izzy.

  "Nay," said the captain. "The Cutter's been challenged at open sea. I can't let that stand."

  "Stats," I repeated.

  Errol nodded and waved his hand. A communal menu overlay appeared behind the wheel.

  Heartcutter

  Level

  3

  Structural Integrity

  500

  Speed

  5

  Maneuverability

  8

  Armor

  0

  Weapons

  Powder Cannon

  Powder Cannon

  Powder Cannon

  Powder Cannon

  Special

  Harpoon

  Turbo Sail

  Confidence ran through me as I noted the Cutter's structural integrity. Its health easily outmatched that of the support vessels. Unfortunately, the cannons and turbo sail were grayed out, meaning they weren't active.

  "What's the harpoon? Can we use that?"

  "Nay," answered the admiral. " 'Tis just a heavy fishin' spear I salvaged off an old enemy. It'll damage nary a seafarin' ship."

  The undine vessels sped towards us as we met them head on. They were still rising from the water and we were set to pass right between them.

  "How're them cannons?" boomed Errol. Apologetic muttering replied through the deck hatch. "I'll have none o' it!" he snapped. "Get me them cannons online or ye be no better than fish bait!"

  Prince Navoo was behind us, but the reversal had cost him a lot of ground. I smiled as I gleaned Errol's clever tactic. Instead of taking on the undine flagship, the pirate had immediately isolated the smaller fish. Now the prince was removed from the action, able to do nothing but watch our opening salvo.

  "Cannons out!" ordered Errol.

  Hatches in the Cutter's hull opened and iron tubes peeked through. The support vessels were still partially submerged. The undines had valued pursuit speed over safety. With us reversing direction, we'd halved their closing time. They now converged on us before being battle ready. Their sails were only beginning to unfurl, which meant they couldn't maneuver yet. Even worse, there was no time to deploy cannons of their own.

  Errol slyly watched the setup timers on his cannons expire. As the Cutter sliced between the pair of surfacing enemies, it was with great satisfaction that he yelled, "Blast them sea cows back t' the abyss!"

  BOOM. BOOM.

  Critical hit!

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 95 damage to [Undine Support Vessel]

  Waterlogged!

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 95 damage to [Undine Support Vessel]

  The cannons shredded the surfacing vessels with ruthless efficiency. Either Errol's cannons were overpowered or we had really caught them with their pants down.

  BOOM. BOOM.

  Critical hit!

  Mast Break!

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 95 damage to [Undine Support Vessel]

  Savage!

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 125 damage to [Undine Support Vessel]

  [Undine Support Vessel] is wrecked

  1 wreck awarded

  2000 XP awarded

  One of the ship's immediately canted over. The other stalled in the water, its mast and sail tumbling over the deck and smashing crew members. The vessel was barely hanging on.

  The display was astounding, but I had my eyes on something else entirely. "Holy crap! Did you guys see that XP?"

  "It's the life, ain't it?" boasted Errol. "Sinking an enemy vessel awards ten times its structural integrity points to every member of the victorious crew."

  Izzy beamed. "Where has sailing been all my life?"

  The pirate crew, unfazed or unaware of the XP gain, attended the sinking ship on the port side as the Cutter looped around it.

  Loot:

  1200 silver

  [Scale Hull Armor] x50%

  Errol lit up as he collected the upgrade. The silver split among the crew and the captain hungrily t
urned to the second support vessel. It would likely complete the armor requirement. The problem was the Deep Blue, now bearing down on us. Three seashells on each side opened up and deployed stony cannons.

  "They have us outgunned," said Izzy.

  Kyle pushed close. "What do we do?"

  I shrugged. "I'm not the pirate."

  The Blue made its way between both waterlogged vessels. Errol circled around the opposite direction. Prince Navoo launched his port cannons as we passed.

  CHOOM, CHOOM, CHOOM.

  The wreckage from his own ship absorbed the blow. Admiral Oates was playing keep-away.

  The incurable pirate laughed. "He may be fast, but fer all his scales, he ain't as slippery as us."

  We turned hard around the undine wreckage. Instead of following Navoo between his ships, we passed so that our port side faced his naked rear.

  "Fire!"

  BOOM. BOOM.

  [Powder Cannon] missed

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  The Blue veered away before we could attempt a follow-up volley.

  "Damned armor," muttered the captain. "We're in fer a hard time takin' him down with conventional cannons."

  A mermaid screeched as she pulled herself over the handrail. I drew my spear but Izzy's icicles were faster. The mermaid was knocked away. The Cutter pulled a wide circle and bore past the heavily damaged undine ship.

  "Reload," cried Errol. "Reload an' fire!"

  Sharp curses came from below deck. One cannon went off.

  BOOM.

  [Powder Cannon] missed

  The stray cannonball shot straight into the sky. I ran to the handrail. Two mermen were clamped to the hull and holding the cannon askew. Meanwhile, we were losing our chance at finishing off the hapless vessel.

  At the same time, Prince Navoo had changed bearing. Instead of circling to the left and chasing us, he circled right to head us off.

  "All the best," said Errol. "Our starboard cannons are still in commission. Brace yerselves!"

  Once we passed the waterlogged ship, the Cutter veered hard to port. The Blue passed our starboard side and both ships opened fire.

  BOOM. BOOM.

  CHOOM, CHOOM, CHOOM.

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 55 damage to [Heartcutter]

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 55 damage to [Heartcutter]

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 55 damage to [Heartcutter]

  Heartcutter: 335

  Deep Blue: 595

  "Curses, they fire fast!"

  Some quick mental math told me their cannons weren't quite as powerful as ours. They had three per side, though, and their significant armor rendered ours less effective. On top of those worrying factors, we had less SIP in total, making this a losing proposition any way you sliced it.

  "What else do we got?" I asked. "This isn't sustainable."

  "The hell it isn't. I'll gut ev'ry one o' them bastards meself."

  "We need to save the ship, Errol. How do we save the ship?"

  He bit down. "That armor upgrade. We'll need t' make another pass an' finish that support vessel off."

  I wasn't sure if the armor was worth taking more direct hits. Even if we reduced the damage capability of their shell cannons, the math still wasn't on our side. It wasn't that it was a bad plan, it just wasn't enough.

  The flagships circled the wreckage in opposite directions. We'd be at each other's throats before we knew it. Izzy and Kyle cleared the hull and restored the port cannons, but the swimming undine were getting more aggressive. Playing keep-away between wreckage was avoiding the full brunt of the Blue, but it also made us mermaid bait. Watching Kyle reload his crossbow gave me an idea.

  "Fire," I exclaimed. "A constant fire can dish damage that our cannons can't."

  Kyle puckered his lips. "You want me to use a crossbow against a boss ship?"

  I shook my head in exasperation. "I don't know. You still have grenades, don't you? Your Call of Duty special."

  The brewmaster hefted a glass bomb filled with yellow oil. "You mean this little bad boy?"

  I snatched it. "How many do you have?"

  "Only two more. I used a bunch in Oakengard. But I don't have the range to toss this to the Blue unless we get really close."

  I grumbled. That wouldn't work unless it was an emergency. "What about launching them from our cannons?"

  "That's one way to explode yourself, I suppose."

  I took his word for it. Kyle was sort of an expert at exploding himself. "But isn't there a way—"

  "Look," he said, "if I had time to focus on crafting some kind of heavy-duty cannonball that wouldn't explode as soon as we tried to launch it, I could maybe do it. Right now? I'm not prepared for that, bro. It can't be done."

  "Damn." He was right. It was a good idea, but ideas were a dime a dozen. Real battles were fought with preparation and readiness. "At least give Izzy your third fire bomb. If we get close enough, or if they sink us and drag us on board, you know what to do with them."

  They both nodded grimly.

  Errol shouted from the wheel. "Here we go, boys! I want that undine flotsam destroyed an' salvaged on the next pass. It might be our last shot!"

  The Blue steered toward us as we raced to our target. Our port cannons readied for the support vessel and our starboard cannons for the flagship.

  "This is gonna be a tight one," laughed Errol.

  Suddenly, a catapult from the deck of the Deep Blue launched a large jagged ball. The heavy projectile arced through the air and barreled toward us.

  "Incoming!" yelled the crew.

  The giant ball of armor bashed onto the deck and rolled haphazardly, flattening a pirate. When it stopped, the various brown plates separated. Crustacean legs poked out and the ball scurried across the deck.

  "What in the..."

  [Cannonball Crab]

  150 Health

  Before we could react, it hopped down the deck hatch and raised chaos below.

  "Fire!" screamed Errol as the Blue squared up with us.

  BOOM.

  One portside cannon fired a wide shot over the wreckage. The starboard cannons hurried off.

  BOOM. BOOM.

  [Powder Cannon] missed

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 35 damage to [Deep Blue]

  Graze!

  [Powder Cannon] dealt 10 damage to [Deep Blue]

  The last cannon didn't go off. I blinked in horror.

  "Oh, crap."

  CHOOM, CHOOM, CHOOM.

  1280 Sink or Swim

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 55 damage to [Heartcutter]

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 55 damage to [Heartcutter]

  [Shell Cannon] dealt 55 damage to [Heartcutter]

  Waterlogged!

  Your ship is taking on water. Speed and Maneuverability reduced by 50%.

  Heartcutter: 170

  Deep Blue: 550

  The Cutter shook. The ocean rushed through a small hole below deck. Pirates screamed in the face of the elements and their unwelcome guest. The giant crab, no doubt one of the Deep Blue's special attacks, was wreaking havoc on the crew.

  "Repairs!" called Errol. "Repairs!" He put his hands together and dove headfirst down the hatch.

  "Back him up!" I yelled. A couple of the pirates thought twice before going down, but their captain was in trouble. Seeing Izzy and Kyle follow reassured them.

  I paused on the deck. The Cutter and the Blue were breaking away from each other again. Another loop, another collision course. Except we'd barely survive another pass. I ran to the command station and straightened the wheel. "You!" I pointed to Grug. "Take the wheel. Keep it straight."

  He burped. "Cap'n wants to circle the wreckage."

  "We can't afford to do that with our cannons offline. Keep her straight. Get her up to speed to ward the undine away. As far as I can tell, the Deep Blue can't fire straight forward."

  "She's fa
ster than the Cutter. She'll overtake us."

  "Then come back to the wreckage to get your armor once the cannons are online. Just create some distance while we can."

  "An' what will you be doin', sir?"

  I mounted the mast, pulled on a rope, and showed my teeth. "I'm gonna be a pirate."

  I swung over the handrail of the ship, straight toward the waterlogged undine vessel. There was a whole lotta daylight between me and it. At the peak of my swing, I released the rope, triggered dash, equipped climbing claws, and prepared to put my scaling skill to good use. I fired toward the ship and slammed into the hull with a smack.

  Fall Damage!

  24 damage

  I slipped on the scaled wood of the support vessel. My claws weren't catching enough traction to keep me up. I leaned into my momentum and used wall run to climb several feet. It was still hard going but my ranger boots didn't fail me. I reached up and grabbed the bottom opening in the rail and, while not a conventional vault, the skill propelled me up and onto the deck.

  Whew.

  The undine crew scrambled as they erected a new mast. They were so focused on clamping it in place they didn't see me. They also made one hell of a juicy target. I tossed Kyle's fire bomb into the fray. Oil washed outward and flames blanketed them.

  Fire Weakness!

  Surprise!

  A stream of heavy-damage notifications flooded my combat window. Confusion erupted among their ranks. With the indirect damage, most of the undine still hadn't noticed me. I tried ducking into the shadows, but I wasn't that lucky. Two mermaids slithered my way brandishing claws.