Chapter 60 - Sea Wolves

"Sea wolves?" Mei frowned. "What are those?"

"Dangerous... things... neither living nor dead. They are the scourge of the Southern Continent. They are very expensive, and only those at the Meteor Vessel Stage equivalent can harness their power. If Lance detected two ships, that means they were friendly. We're not dealing with regular pirates. We're dealing with a small fleet," Lingqi said. "We need to get to Lance. He has an affinity for water. He's the only one who can stop the sea wolves."

Mei nodded, and the two girls ran towards Lance's room. Lance was currently meditating, many ideas swirling within his mind as he recovered his spirit energy and mana. He had many ideas about what to do with the soul flame. As the room swayed with the ship, he felt himself becoming one with it. He felt his body sway with the waves. There was mana within the waves, within the ocean. He let his senses flow and tried to connect his mana with the mana of the ocean.

"Lance! Lance!" a voice cried, causing Lance to wrinkle his brows as his mind was disrupted from the trance. He narrowed his eyes at the two teens who barged in.

"What are you doing? I said not to disturb me," Lance growled, the panther baring its fangs at Mei and Lingqi.

"We have a problem. I suspect the pirates might send sea wolves after us," Lingqi said.

"Sea wolves?" Lance said, tilting his head in confusion. "What are those?"

"Water spirits. They are mana given form and life in accordance with an element. They are the work of mages known as summoners. They transform their mana and assimilate it with an element, giving it life. Those spirits are held within special orbs and sold for hundreds or thousands of gold demon coins. Sea wolves are one of the more common ones. They run atop the water's surface as if it were the ground. The only way to destroy them is to disrupt the water that makes up their bodies. Each of them has a Mage's Mark inside that acts like a magical beast core. Destroy the mark; destroy them permanently," Lingqi explained.

"So what's the problem? Why do you need me specifically?" Lance frowned.

"The marks never stay in one place. They swirl inside the spirit in an unpredictable pattern. Only someone with an affinity for water can attempt to manipulate the sea wolves and halt the mark long enough to allow people to destroy it," Lingqi said.

"Wait, your Mage's Mark. Does that mean I have one too?" Lance asked. "Can I replace the mark with my own?"

"It is possible. Only a summoner can create a spirit, but no one uses spirits against another mage as they could be stolen," Lingqi answered, then gasped. "You mean to take one for your own, but it consumes a lot of mana to change a Mage's Mark into your own."

"What about a soul containing the mana of its previous life?" Lance grinned.

"Another experiment?" Mei shouted.

"Either I test it on the water spirit and destroy the soul in the process, or I store it inside a golem to make it an indestructible tool for all time. Even with my death, it will not be destroyed and will become a living statue. The soul is completely aware but unable to do anything. Would you have me doom the soul for all eternity?" Lance grinned. "Whose idea is the greater evil? Yours or mine?"

"Sea wolves! I see sea wolves five nauts out!" a sailor cried, Lingqi and Mei's faces darkening at the news.

"Well, we can discuss moral dilemmas later. Right now, my plan stands," Lance laughed as he raced to the deck.

"In oars! Close or bar all the windows. Force the sea wolves to attack from the deck! We need all fighters and sailors to defend the ship! If there are any with an affinity for water, we need your help, or we all die!" the new captain roared, many passengers cursing the rotten luck they had on this voyage.

"Eight sea wolves spotted! Two nautical miles out! One and a half now," the lookout cried.

"Since I have my panther, I need two. One to experiment on and another for assistance in battle. I cannot expose my practitioner arts and haven't learned to mix my martial arts with mana yet," Lance ordered as the panther, Lingqi, and Mei arrived behind him.

"They're here!" a sailor cried as growls sounded all over the ship. The ship tilted as several strong impacts landed on the port and starboard sides. After a few more impacts, geysers shot into the air and revealed eight wolves made entirely of water as they landed on the deck.

"Destroy their Mage's Mark!" the captain cried, the sailors using the guns they had taken from the pirates. However, the bullets could not penetrate the dense water of the sea wolves. The Mage's Mark within the sea wolves was glistening runes of light that indeed moved within the water spirit in an unpredictable pattern. The blood of the sailors sprayed into the air as the sea wolves clawed and bit them, their blood even entering the sea wolves.

"Water magic is mostly defensive, but water spirits are nearly invincible because of it. The blood will only make their defenses even stronger," Lingqi said.

"The sea wolves are only targeting the sailors. The Mage's Mark must allow them to be controlled. Not only will their defense heighten, but the pirates' goal is to slow our ship down by reducing the number of sailors. We need to stop them now!" Lance said, and the other three burst forward, clashing with the sea wolves.

Lance had his lava chains appear, a sickening smile on his face. He reached out and wrapped one of the sea wolves with the lava chain. As the sea wolf assumed it could escape, the water of its body made contact with the lava. The lava hardened and prevented the wolf from escaping. Lance lashed out with his other lava chain, the Mage's Mark destroyed as the chain whipped unpredictably.

"When a chain or whip cracks, they start slow and then accelerate as they strike. How could its path be predicted?" Lance smiled as the water spirit fell apart and became a puddle of water on the deck.

"Get off me!" Mei roared as two wolves bit into her legs. Light radiated from her body, turning the heads of the sea wolves into steam. As the water spirits attempted to regenerate their heads, their forms became smaller. Mei shouted as she lifted her sword, light cascading across the deck as she slammed it at her feet. A globe of light emanated from where her sword pierced the deck, the intensity of the light destroying the two water spirits utterly.

Lingqi and the panther were not at the Meteor Vessel Stage and had a harder time dealing with the sea wolves. Lingqi wielded two daggers, but her main elements were fire and wind. Her fire was easily doused when slashing at the sea wolves, and her wind only disrupted the makeup of their bodies, allowing the sea wolves to regenerate to the same size as the amount of water that was not reduced.

As Mei was consumed with rage, she quickly assaulted another sea wolf that was slightly crimson in color. It was evident that the sea wolf had killed or injured many sailors. Lance only smiled as he used the mana in his body to penetrate the body of one of the sea wolves he had caught with a lava chain. As the sea wolf abandoned its left hind leg to escape, it shrunk, leaving less area for the Mage's Mark to swirl.

"Curious," Lance muttered as his mana made contact with the Mage's Mark, forcing the water spirit still. "These summons are like my bone minions. However, they also possess their own minds and stop attacking to preserve their own lives. There's a pirate holding an orb on one of the two ships. He can't see through their eyes, but he can spread his spirit or mana sense through the sea wolves. Interesting. Break for me!"

"NOOO!" a human voice cried from the Mage's Mark as it twisted and changed form and color. Previously azure, it was now cyan. The Mage's Mark appeared in the form of a human skull, indicating the type of mage who now owned the water spirit.

To finalize his control, Lance took out the soul flame of the pirate captain and consumed it. Mana surged within his body, and he directed it inside the sea wolf. The sea wolf surged with power and became even larger than it had been before. Lance smiled as he felt an incredibly new sensation. It was no wonder the water spirits were expensive. He felt as if he were the sea wolf. He could feel the deck beneath its feet as if it were his own. The mana sense of the sea wolf was even greater than his own, a feeling of ancient power held within it.

"It's as if I've become the water," Lance laughed and turned to another sea wolf. "I must have more!"

[ On Garret's Ship]

"NOOOO!" the pirate captain cried as he lost another connection to his eight sea wolves. However, he sensed it was because of a mage. A mage capable of controlling water had actually overwritten the Mage's Mark of the summoner he had paid to possess the sea wolves. His face paled, and his heart broke as he lost all eight of his sea wolves.

"FUCK!" he screamed at the heavens.

"Captain?" his first mate asked nervously.

"Take out the communication bead and tell my little brother I only slayed a third of the remaining sailors. He owes me eight sea wolves and the top five women on that fucking ship! Tell the men to haul oars, even the fighters. I want us to attack the flanks of that ship and blast it to the Nether Realm! NOW!" the pirate captain roared.

"Aye, Cap," the first mate replied and turned to the rest of the pirate crew. "Get your asses on those oars before I gut you with my sword and throw you overboard, you useless lot!"

"That fucking chest better be worth my older brother's life and the cost of eight sea wolves," the captain snarled as he grabbed a pirate by the collar. "Bring me two of the women from the convoy and drag them into my cabin. I need to calm my mind by fucking them. As we draw close, aim the mana cannons at their sails and guide the ship to their port side. As my brother's ship arrives on their starboard side, destroy that ship with every mana cannon we’ve got."

"What about their loot and rum? The women?" the pirate asked before the captain roared with rage, broke his neck, and threw him overboard. "You! Over there! I know damn well you heard the words coming out of my mouth! Get to it!"

"Captain," the pirate stuttered and hurried to the first mate to relay the orders.