The Song Of Sword And Magic

Chapter 15: The Ghost Ships 

[Translator — Asuka]

[Proofreader — Karane]

Inside the fog, they could barely see anything, and the humidity in the air made the fog stagnant. The captain shouted at the seaman at the top of the masts, “Hagen, if we’re too close to the shore or if there are any rocks nearby, tell me right away. Otherwise, we’ll all die here!” Then, he focused on steering the ship.

As the ship kept sailing, all they could see was the white fog. Fern, who was on the bow, couldn’t even see the seamen on the stern. No one dared to say anything as they were afraid they might miss any sound that was indicative of danger.

All of a sudden, Hagen’s shriek cut through the silence. “There’s a ship on the left! Turn right!” Then he shouted again, “There’s a ship on the right as well! My goodness!”

“What the heck?! How am I supposed to steer the wheel?” the captain cursed. 

Following that, a violent crash was felt from the port side of Princess Merry. All of them immediately tried to stabilize themselves to avoid falling over. However, a crash of the same intensity was felt from the starboard right after that. This time, all of them collapsed to the ground on the deck. Fortunately, the hull of the ship was made from the hardwood from the North, so the crashes did not break the ship. On the other hand, the ships that collided with Princess Merry weren’t so fortunate. The bows were broken, and the cracked wooden boards scattered around the river.

Fern struggled to his feet and looked to the left. There was no one on the deck of the attacking ship.

Flustered, the captain shouted at the seamen, “Push the ships away! Are you waiting for them to jump over?”

The chief mate spread his palms. “But, my captain, there is no one on the ships.”

“What? Are you out of your mind?” Exasperated, the captain ran toward the deck to check on the attacking ships, but when he saw that there was really no one on those ships, he said in disbelief, “What the heck?! Are these ships controlled by ghosts? Both of you, go over there and have a look.” He told the seamen behind him.

The seamen traded glances but didn’t dare to move forward. At that instant, Fern felt that what they were going through was similar to his experience in Sheepfold Village. Some things were right inside the cabins, waiting to burst out. Alarmed, he gazed at the ships and hurriedly said to the captain, “We’d better keep moving forward. Push the ships away. Hurry up!”

The captain shot a disdainful look at the mercenary and said, “All of you might appear to be powerful, but you’re inexperienced when it comes to sea sailing.” Then, he shouted at the chief mate, “Bring some people to check on the ships!”

Seeing that the captain wasn’t willing to listen to his advice, Fern flusteredly looked at Rae, who didn’t seem to have sensed any danger, so she just shrugged at him helplessly.

The chief mate and two brawny seamen jumped over to the other ship. Every one of them was holding a dagger or a wooden rod as they treaded carefully toward the cabin. The fog around them had thickened. At that moment, Fern couldn’t even clearly see the cabin door on the opposite ship, and the three seamen were moving out of his sight. 

“Come back!” Fern subconsciously yelled. He had a feeling that as soon as they were out of his sight, they wouldn’t be able to return. 

The chief mate and the others were shocked by Fern and turned around to curse at him. At this distance, Fern couldn’t see the expressions on their faces anymore, and he could only hear their voices. The captain pushed the mercenary away and snarled, “Stop shouting. Otherwise, I’ll throw you off the ship!”

***

Just then, waves started forming on the river, which caused the three ships to sway at the same time. The chief mate and the others were experienced seamen, so they managed to stabilize themselves quickly, but they were unable to move dexterously. Right then, the thick fog was about to devour them. Seeing that, the captain was flustered as well and told them to come back. Before the chief mate could reply to him, the cabin door flung open, and following that, they shrieked. The people on Princess Merry panicked, and the captain kept calling out to the chief mate as he drew out his blade. 

Stan had wanted to jump over to the other ship, but Fern pulled him back. “You can’t even stand stably here. You won’t be able to help them.” Then, he turned to Niss. “Do you have any way to cast away this fog? I just need to see what was on the other side.”

“I’ll try.” After a nod, Niss pushed out her palms at the chief mate and started chanting a spell. 

The three men on the other ship continued to scream, but they were unable to come back. The seamen on Princess Merry were calling out to their mates, but since they couldn’t see what was going on in front of them, no one dared to step forward. 

Just then, the stagnant air started whirling around as a gust of wind whisked across their faces. Following that, the wind grew stronger, and Niss’s long hair was flapping around her grim-looking face. 

Fern understood that Niss’s magic was starting to take effect. The wind was beginning to cast away the fog, which cleared up their vision. However, what they were about to see would be unforgettable for life. The cabin door was open, and three lifeless and swollen corpses were stepping out of the cabin. Black blood was streaming down from their eyes and mouths. Behind them, more corpses were coming out of the cabin. The chief mate and the two seamen were flabbergasted by the sight. Their legs had turned to jelly, and they could only screech on the spot.

“Zombies?! Why are they here?” Fern calmly drew out his sword and asked Rae. 

“No, they’re not zombies. I can’t feel them. But I should have thought of it. The residue of magic, the ghost ships that crashed into us on their own…” Rae said in exasperation. At the same time, she fished out her magic cane. 

Although Stan was stunned by the sight, as a knight, he managed to pull himself together quickly. After unsheathing his sword, he gripped the hilt with both hands. “What should we do now?”

Fern took a look at the ship on the right, and there didn’t seem to be any problem with it yet. “Rae, follow me to save them. Stan, you’ll stay here to protect Niss. She’s casting a spell, so she’s rather vulnerable now.” The mercenary stepped on the ship’s edge and turned his head to speak to the captain. “We’ll fight with those things now. Send some people to bring the chief mate and the others back. Be quick. We can only fight with them for a short time.” He was still terrified of his experience in Sheepfold Village.

The captain nodded mechanically. He was astounded by the sight on the opposite ship.

“Niss, make the river calmer!” Fern shouted at her anxiously.

After a slight nod, Niss held up her magic cane with both hands and chanted another spell. Her long hair and cloak swayed along with the wind.

A moment later, the river turned serene, and Fern jumped over to the other ship. Gripping his sword, he charged forward, and Rae was right behind him. 

The corpses’ movement was rather slow, so they were still some distance away from the chief mate. Fern lunged forward and raised his sword before he vertically hacked his weapon into a corpse’s skull. After that, black and pungent blood spurted out of the corpse. 

In an instant, Fern’s stomach started churning, and he almost threw up. While his movement slowed down, two corpses surrounded him and clawed their swollen hands at him. Unable to dodge, Fern hurriedly raised his sword to parry the attack from the left corpse. However, the hand of the right corpse was just a short distance away. He thought he was going to be hit.

All of a sudden, the corpse’s head was engulfed in a dark mist. Its hand slumped, and following that, the dark mist expanded and covered the corpse entirely. The corpse then collapsed to the ground without moving a muscle. When the dark mist went away, only blood-soaked clothes were left on the deck, and the corpse had vanished into thin air. 

Rae lowered the magic cane in her right hand. Her black eyes appeared to be intimidating. Meeting with her gaze, the mercenary shuddered. A moment later, he came to his senses as he wielded his sword and cut off the right hand of the corpse on his left. After that, he decapitated the corpse, and its head fell to the ground and rolled away from him. 

Although they had defeated three corpses, more and more living dead stepped out of the cabin and surrounded them. Knowing that they had to get out of this situation quickly, Fern shouted to the chief mate, “Run!”

However, the legs of the chief mate and the two seamen had turned to jelly, so they couldn’t move at all. 

Niss saw that Fern was in a perilous situation, but she had to focus on her spell, so she shouted at Stan, “Do something, Mr. Knight!”

***

Stan’s forehead was drenched in sweat. Seeing that the captain was still in a dazed state, he decided to forget about his knight’s etiquette temporarily and grabbed the captain’s clothes. “What are you waiting for? Go save them! They’re in a dangerous situation!”

After Stan’s shout, the captain came to his senses and clapped his own head. Turning around, he ordered, “Come on. Go save them with me!” After he finished speaking, he leaped over to the other ship first, followed by other bold seamen. They hurriedly lifted the chief mate and the others off their feet, lurched to the ship’s edge, and pushed them to Princess Merry. The seamen on the other side managed to catch them. After that, the captain and the rest of the seamen leaped back to their own ship. 

Seeing that they were safe, Fern parried the attacks as he moved closer to Rae. “Go back first! I have your back!”

Although Rae had managed to defeat some corpses with her magic, she wasn’t a warrior after all. At the moment, she was getting exhausted, and her arms were injured. She swung her magic cane at two corpses, which caused them to fly backward. “Be careful!” Seizing the chance, Rae rushed toward the ship’s edge. Seeing that their prey was running away, the corpses charged forward. Just then, a sword was slashed across a corpse’s waist. Fern blocked the corpses’ way to ensure that Rae could return to Princess Merry safely. 

Fern’s breathing was rapid. No one could help him counter the attack from the other side anymore. Although he wanted to go near Princess Merry, he was stuck on the deck. 

Niss had stopped casting her spell, and she was yelling at Fern agitatedly. Right then, the cabin door of the ship on their right side flung open, and countless corpses streamed out of the cabin and headed for Princess Merry. 

Stan wielded his sword and hacked the two corpses which were trying to climb over to their ship. However, more corpses were right on the ship’s edge and about to board Princess Merry. Stan immediately shouted at the stunned seamen, “Come here! Our life or death will depend on you!”

Then, Stan held up his sword vertically and muttered, “For honor. For Doyle!” Following that, he went ahead and brandished his sword at the corpses. The seamen were moved by the knight’s bravery, so they hurriedly drew out their daggers to stop the corpses from coming over. At that instant, they yelled and slashed their weapons at the corpses, which temporarily blocked their enemies’ advance. 

Rae was relieved that the situation on the right side was under control, but she knew that it was only temporary, and they had to stay away from the two ships as quickly as possible. Furthermore, Fern was unable to press on any longer. She took Niss’s arm and said firmly, “Niss, summon the wind to blow at the sails now. We have to leave this place immediately.” 

Seeing that the mercenary was stuck on the other ship, Niss shook her head. “No. How about Fern? He’ll die!”

Rae demanded, “This is our last chance. Summon the wind now! I’ll tell Fern to come back quickly.” Then, she rushed to the ship’s edge. The fog had gathered around them again, so it was difficult to see him. “Fern, the corpses from the right ship are coming over. We have to leave this place now. You only have fifteen seconds. Do you hear me?”

Fern, you have to come back in time, Niss prayed in her heart. Closing her eyes, she crossed her fingers as she was holding the magic cane, and she started chanting a spell. Her red hair fluttered along with the wind, and her tears streamed down from her eyes to her chin. 

Fern had heard what Rae said, but it was difficult for him to get out of his current situation. Just then, a gust of wind blew past him. He knew that Niss was casting a spell, and he was left with little time. 

The sails on Princess Merry started bulging. The ship slowly pushed away the other ships and moved forward. Fern could feel that the ship he was on was turning. After slashing his sword at the corpse in front of him, he then whirled around and hacked his weapon at two corpses before knocking against the other two which blocked his way. After that, he lunged toward Princess Merry at full speed. 

All of a sudden, he felt a grip on his left ankle and lost his balance as he fell to the ground. At that instant, he was seeing stars, and he felt as if his organs had been dislocated. Turning his head, he realized that a corpse was lying on the ground and grabbing his ankle. He immediately cut off that hand and struggled to his feet, only to be greeted by two more corpses in front of him. 

Behind the corpses, Princess Merry had knocked away the ships and began sailing forward. A sense of despair flashed across Fern’s heart, and his wounds started feeling painful. Is it too late? Is my life over? The corpses behind him marched toward him.  There didn’t seem to be any hope. 

His mind was a mess, and he had no more energy left. Subconsciously, he raised his sword, waiting for his imminent death. For that moment, he felt relieved, as though all his burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He slumped his hands, and at the same time, some corpses extended their hands. “Kaya, wait for me. We’ll meet again soon…”

It was at this critical moment that a column of water surged from the river and gushed toward Fern and his surrounding corpses, pinning them down on the deck. Soaked to the bone, the mercenary regained his senses and pushed away the corpse on top of his body. After struggling to his feet, he ignored everything else and dashed toward Princess Merry as he put his sword back into the sheath. 

On the other ship, Stan and Rae reached out their hands and called out to him. But Fern couldn’t hear anything as all his focus was on his own legs. Using his last bit of energy, he leaped into the air in an attempt to reach Princess Merry. 

However, he failed. When he was still five yards away from the ship, he started falling down. He reached out his right hand, trying to grab something, and his eyes widened in fright. Just then, two strong arms appeared from the ship’s edge and gripped the mercenary’s right hand. Half of Stan’s body was outside the ship, and behind him, a few seamen were holding his waist and legs.

“I will never leave my friend behind.” Determination was written all over Stan’s face. 

***

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