Book 5-1.5
“They seem to be trying to surround us. But will they be able to do so?”
Thriger started to speak to Yulian while smiling.
The reason Thriger was able to select this method was because the boats of the united tribe were too small to chase after the Desert Runner.
If this battle was out in the ocean, it would be a ‘come eat me~’ type of plan, but not here. If a small boat like that got in their way in the ocean, they would just crush them as they moved forward. The question was how to get the least amount of damage from the enemy fire arrows, and how quickly they could put out the fire on the ships.
“Archers, what are you doing! How can you prevent the enemy from approaching at that speed of firing?!”
The Mult-Arrow archers started to move their hands faster at Thriger’s urging.
But it was impossible to stop many boats from approaching using the Mult-Arrow from the beginning. They were really just there to prevent the enemy from being able to leisurely fire arrows at them.
A lot of the fire arrows managed to hit the Desert Runner, but over half of it was put out on its own, while the rest were put out by the extinguishers that were already prepared.
“We might get burnt alive like this. Helmsman, are we still not there?”
“We are riding on the current now.”
The warrior who was guiding the ship reported back to Thriger in a loud voice as Thriger put on a satisfied smile.
They might have been hit blind last time, but this time, they were prepared to run.
The quicksand river did not flow at the same speed in one direction. There were some places with whirlpools and others where the sand blew violently. The current that Ship 0 was on right now was a quick moving area that flows in a straight line.
As the Desert Runner started to move even faster, they started to get further away from the range of the fire arrows. Once the boats that rushed past them started to shoot flying arrows from the side, the damage to the Desert Runner started to increase.
They had already prepared lots of bags of sand and extinguishers, but there was a limit.
It was a battle of time. Will they gain speed? Or will they be attacked to a point that they cannot put out the fire?
Once they got away from the boats behind them, the Mult-Arrow archers moved to the Mult-Arrows on the side and started to fire. The fire arrows finally started to slow time.
“We have gained speed.”
Even without the warriors shouting at him, Thriger could feel it with his body. The Desert Runner was getting close to its top speed.
“After increasing the distance a bit, take good care of the sail. Helmsman, do not move in a straight line and only ride the current enough for the enemy to chase after us. This plan is a failure if the enemy does not chase us.”
Everything was ready and they had even practiced beforehand, but Thriger continued to shout. Even one mistake could mean the end for them.
“I am worried the enemy will not be able to see this current. It should be easier than out in the ocean.”
Once there was no issues to the safety of the Desert Runner, Thriger was now worried that the enemy would not be able to follow them.
“They are also Greatest Warriors, so they should be able to figure out how you were able to hit your top speed so quickly.”
Yulian looked back at the black swarm of boats chasing behind them, before shouting out in a loud voice that their goal, he, the Glow of Pareia, was right here.
Once the Desert Runner suddenly rushed forward at a fast speed, the two Greatest Warriors of the united tribe looked thoroughly at their surroundings. Even if the enemy helmsman was talented, they should not be able to gain such speed in such a short amount of time.
And then they managed to find it. The strong current that appeared on the quicksand river.
“All units, ride this current. Move in formation so that you do not end up running into each other.”
Once they received the order from their Greatest Warrior, the boats started to rely on the current that pushed the Desert Runner forward to chase after it.
After receiving focused training for the past few weeks, they were able to control their boats pretty well. It was only possible because the boats were small.
If it was a ship the size of the Desert Runner, it would take at least a year of studying and personal experience to even get a feel for how to move it. But for a small boat like this that uses the small sail to control the movement, it did not take much studying to figure it out.
“They are chasing after us.”
Thriger started to speak excitedly.
“I guess the Greatest Warrior is not an idiot. I hope they continue not being idiots from here on.”
Yulian said that before looking around at the quicksand river and then continuing to speak.
“I guess we just need our little punk to show up at the right time.”
“Isn’t he a smart little punk? Hahaha.”
Thriger happily laughed. The main reason they were able to use this plan was because of Shopping. It was the method to catch 20,000 warriors with just one ship and 2,000 warriors.
Thriger ordered the helmsman once more to not speed up too much before waiting to arrive at one of the many no-wind zones of the quicksand river.
Grooooooowl~
Shopping raised his head out of the quicksand river. He could feel his owner’s scent. He could also smell the scent of enough humans to fill his stomach.
“Shopping.”
A calm voice.
Shopping shot forward toward his owner’s voice before his owner jumped on his head.
It had been a while since the male owner had gotten on top of his head. That was why Shopping was happy. They were finally playing together for the first time in a long time.
Yulian felt his body spin to the left and right as he was covered in sand from Shopping twisting around in the sand, but he was not annoyed. He knew this was Shopping’s way of playing and his way of acting cute.
“I want to take you to the battlefield and show your strength, but even you might be in danger if the enemy focuses their attack on you. That is why we cannot do that.”
Yulian patted Shopping’s head before looking around. He could see odd flows in multiple locations in the quicksand river.
“You did as I told you to do. Good job.”
Shopping twisted his body in joy as Yulian continued to caress his head.
“Let’s play later. Hold still for right now.”
Once Yulian told him to stop, Shopping stopped moving and just kept his head out of the quicksand river.
Yulian could see that the Desert Runner had already completely entered the no-wind zone. They folded up their sails and used the oddly moving currents to push the ship forward.
As for the boats chasing after them? They were in the no-wind zone as well, and could not navigate like Thriger could. They were moving in odd directions and even running into each other.
The lead warriors were shouting at them to calm down, but it wasn’t like there was anything they could do even if they were calm. The currents in this area were not something beginners could handle.
Even a veteran captain like Thriger required a lot of experience and research. Without all of his hard work, he would not be able to move forward like he was doing right now.
As boats crashed into other boats, they started to lose balance and some of them even started to sink. There were even some boats that were spinning in place because of a strong current before sinking in place. In a situation like this, the Desert Runner 0 alone was enough to take them on even if it took a long time, but that was not Thriger’s goal right now.
Thriger sent a signal to Yulian who was far away and Yulian patted Shopping’s head as he started to speak.
“It is finally time to show your dignified appearance. Let’s go.”