I Ascend to the Divine Throne through Arcane Means

[Mermaid] merchant ship,

At the loud call of the lookout sailor, many ran to the side of the ship, gazing at the eastern horizon.

A small black dot had appeared there, slowly growing larger in view.

Captain Loren quickly emerged from the cabin upon being notified by other sailors, his agile body climbing up the mast to the lookout platform to also look eastward.

The view from here was better, and as a Silver Level strong man, Loren's eyesight was naturally superior to that of ordinary people.

In his vision was a single-masted sailboat, noticeably narrower than the [Mermaid], which was clearly not a normal merchant ship, advancing rapidly toward the [Mermaid].

At that moment, mercenary Evar appeared beside Loren, observed for a moment, his expression somewhat grave.

"This could be a pirate ship!"

Evar declared in a deep voice.

"A pirate ship?"

Loren's face grew stern as he confirmed once more:

"Are you sure it's a pirate ship?"

"Can't be certain, but the likelihood is high."

Evar said calmly:

"This type of ship is fairly recognizable, it's neither used for long-distance voyaging as a merchant ship nor is it the kind of fishing boat used by coastal fishermen."

"However, this ship doesn't bear the pirate flag, so I also cannot be certain, but the likelihood it's a pirate ship is high."

Having lived by the coast of the Boditch Kingdom, Evar was quite familiar with the types of ships.

"Pirate ships like these are very fast, and average merchant ships can't escape their pursuit—ours... probably can't either."

Watching the swiftly approaching ship, Evar's hand rested on the hilt of his longsword, his body tensing up.

Hearing what Evar had said, Loren didn't entertain any other thoughts.

He wouldn't entrust his life to that evanescent possibility.

The very reason he had hired Evar was because he had heard at Dan Port that the number of pirates had recently increased in the waters near the Boditch Kingdom, and many merchant ships had already been attacked.

He had never encountered a pirate attack before. Although the defensive force on board the [Mermaid] was considerably stronger than that of a similar merchant ship, it still seemed appropriate to employ someone familiar with pirate activities.

"Rad!"

Loren called out loudly to the ship's first mate, his voice brooking no argument:

"We have a pirate ship, do as we planned before."

"All ordinary people get below deck, and everyone else grab your weapons and get ready."

"Bring out the Iron Armor Shield and kerosene!"

"Yes, Captain."

Rad below deck received the order and immediately began arranging things.

Loren's eyes were tightly focused on the pirate ship in the distance, which became steadily larger, his expression both stern and slightly tense.

Suddenly, Loren thought of something and shouted to Mans, who was organizing the crew below:

"Mans, go quickly and get Mr. Lis!"

"Alright."

Mans heard and promptly responded loudly.

Just as Mans was entering the cabin, he saw Lis walking out.

Seeing Mans's surprised expression directed at him, Lis became curious:

"What's the matter, you seem to be in such a rush?"

"Mr. Lis!"

Mans took a few quick steps and stood in front of Lis, saying:

"A strange ship has appeared to the east, quickly approaching us."

"Evar thinks it's very likely a pirate ship; preparations are underway on board."

"Captain Loren asked me to fetch you."

"Alright."

Hearing it was a pirate ship, Lis didn't delay.

As he walked out, Lis said to Mans:

"Mans, do me a favor."

"Get someone to take care of Helen and have her stay in my workshop cabin."

That spacious cabin had been given some temporary arrangements by Lis, making it at least somewhat safer in the event of battle.

"I know, rest assured."

Mans agreed without any hesitation.

Although at this time everyone should be preparing to face the pirates, if it meant that Mr. Lis could devote more of his energy, even setting aside a team to protect Helen was the right thing to do.

Whether it was the usual sparring or from the incident of the Siren attack before, Mans knew that with Lis's capability, perhaps no one on the [Mermaid] was his match.

...

"What's the situation?"

Lis's figure suddenly appeared behind Loren, asking him.
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"Over there."

Loren pointed eastward, but compared to before, the single-masted sailboat had grown much larger.

"It's indeed likely a pirate ship."

After a brief glance, Lis arrived at a conclusion similar to Evar's.

"So it's confirmed?"

Loren said gravely, trusting the confirmation from Lis and letting go of other illusions.

"Don't worry too much."

Lis looked at Loren, who was clutching his longsword, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

"Since they haven't raised a special pirate flag, this should just be an ordinary pirate ship."

"Their strength is rather average, they probably aren't a match for you."

To tell the truth, even during the times when piracy was most rampant in his previous life, the pirates on pirate ships were of mixed quality.

A single Silver Level strong man would dare to take a group and board a ship to plunder merchant vessels.

At that time, for a pirate ship to have a Gold Level strong man would already be considered a major pirate force.

The activities of pirate ships that had a Golden Strong Man wouldn't be limited to just one area; they would often roam the seas far and wide.

Thus, those higher-level pirate ships were much more solid and distinctive.

At least the pirate ship in question seemed quite ordinary, and despite the distance, Lis didn't sense the presence of any strong man.