Chapter 1696 Chapter 1696. Rushing to the Flagships

John's original plan was to have the Palgrost Armada lure the Liguritudum Armada out of the Blackmaw Strait. Once they did, the combined fleet from Themisphere and Verremor would hit the Liguritudum armada from the rear. Palgrost armada would then turn back and strike the Liguritudum armada. Pinned in the middle, they should make short work of the Liguritudum Armada without losing too many ships.

But as in any war, John knew that things did not always go as planned. Situations changed, so they had to adjust to the situation.

In their current situation, they still had the enemies pinned in the middle. It was not an ideal setup, though. Palgrost Armada was placed in an enclosed position and hence couldn't put up much resistance, but they still fought back and caused the Liguritudum Armada difficulties in dealing with the newly arrived fleet.

The Verremor and Themisphere's fleet managed to sink a few ships from the Liguritudum Armada on their first strike. After that, the Liguritudum Armada readjusted their positions to somewhat cope with their unfavorable situations.

As the battle raged on, John sent messages to the commander of the Verremor fleet to address the most pressing issue. The commander was none other than Water Lily, a Cipher Flight member and also Four Winds' right-hand woman.

"Viking reported their situation is not good. We need to punch through the enemies and get to where the flagships are fighting," John said to Water Lily. "If the enemies successfully capture President Thelgrun, they can use him to force the Palgrost Armada to stand down. We will be in a pinch then. If they fail to capture but kill the President, the Palgrost Armada's morale will drop significantly. Either way, it is not good for us."

"Do you know where they are?" Water Lily asked.

"Yes, Viking sent me their coordinates," John answered. "But I will need several of your ships to punch through, especially your two men-of-war."

"Point the way," Water Lily said.

"Follow the Grey Jewel," John instructed.

The Grey Jewel started moving into position. Water Lily had her two men-of-war and a few galleons followed. While they were moving, John sent a few ships in a maneuver to distract the Liguritudum ships positioned at the spot where they wanted to punch through.

Each ship in both the Themisphere and Verremor Armadas had at least one player on it, and John had all these players in his chat group. This way, he could send instructions. Without a war table, this was the best method he could use.

While the enemy ships were distracted, Water Lily had her galleons send a volley of cannonballs, further weakening the spot. Her two men-of-war and Grey Jewel then charged in at top speed. A few Verremor's galleons followed them, acting as bodyguards. They continued firing their cannons to clear the path.

Grey Jewel was a fast and extremely maneuverable ship for a galleon. It had no problem slipping between enemy ships while firing at them. The two Verremor's men-of-war rammed their huge bodies into the enemy ships in their way, pushing them aside and firing them with cannons at the same time.

With the barricade opened, they charged ahead to where the Liguritudum and Palgrost's flagships were located.

*

When Kaghast first realized a new opponent had entered the fray, he stopped for a few moments. These few moments were utilized by Viking. His Berserker class had upgraded into a second-class special class, Barbarian Warrior.

Barbarian Warrior's skill set was similar to Four Winds' Barbarian King's. While Barbarian King gained Savage Cleave, Royal Barbarian Blood, and Kingly Presence when they leveled up until level 70, a Barbarian Warrior gained Savage Cleave, Barbarian Blood, and Barbarian Presence. Barbarian Blood and Barbarian Presence were the weaker versions of Royal Barbarian Blood and Kingly Presence.

Viking had been using Barbarian Presence during his fight with the World Maker members. When he noticed Kaghast was distracted, he used Barbarian Blood. His blood vein bulged as his attributes increased. While Royal Barbarian Blood gave Four Winds purple color veins, Viking's was blue.

With increased power, he used Punishing Cyclone to force his three opponents away. He then used Charge to rush to where Thelgrun was.

"Mister President, follow me!" He shouted.

Thelgrun didn't hesitate. More and more ethereal soldiers had come aboard their ship. His dwarven soldiers were overwhelmed. It was only a matter of time till they were defeated. But now that reinforcements had arrived, they needed to survive until those reinforcements reached this ship. If he fell into the enemy's hands before then, it would complicate matters.

Mamunir and the other dwarven soldiers used their bodies to block the enemies while Viking and Thelgrun ran to the door that led to the lower decks.

Kaghast finally snapped out of it when he noticed their prey trying to flee. He chased after the two. With his speed, it seemed like he would arrive at the door before the two, but a sudden strong burst of fire pierced through the floorboard in front of him. He had no choice but to stop.

He jumped backward just before the floorboard exploded. Helga floated out from the broken floorboard.

"I thought you said you are my opponent?" Helga said. She had taken a recovery drink when she was down there. It wasn't much but it was still something.

Helga glanced back and saw Viking and Thelgrun enter the door. The door was closed again, no doubt locked from the inside. Mamunir and a garrison of dwarven soldiers placed themselves before the door and acted as barricades.

Kaghast wanted to advance but a burst of flame again stopped him. When the flame burst subsided, four large snakes made out of flames surrounded Helga. These snakes opened their maws and shot fireballs. Kaghast dodged the fireballs and rushed forward, but the snakes lunged at him.

While Kaghast was busy with the snakes, Helga cast another spell, Exploding Fireball. A huge fireball flew toward Kaghast. Kaghast dodged the fireball but Helga triggered the fireball's explosion mid-air. The eruption produced enough force to throw Kaghast away.

Now that Kaghast was at a distance, Helga wouldn't let this ethereal approach her again.