High-Rank Summoner

As Black raced toward the distant ships,a tense standoff was already unfolding on their decks.

All were merchant vessels—but three had surrounded the fourth,trapping it like wolves closing in on prey.

The scene screamed pirate raid.

Zooming in on the central ship’s deck—the tension had boiled over.

A gang of rough-looking thugs—armed with cutlasses, crossbows, and cudgels—had cornered a smaller group near the cabin entrance.

The defenders, outnumbered and grim-faced,used their bodies as human barricades, blocking the passage with desperate resolve.

Among the aggressors,a silk-clad dandy stood front and center—hair slicked back, smirk dripping with arrogance.

His lecherous eyes raked over a young woman in the besieged group,lingering on curves best left unmentioned.

He licked his lips, voice oozing false charm:

“Come now, Miss Brenna—no need to be so tense!

We’re all merchants here.

I’ll take that shipment of magic crystals you’re hauling.

Don’t worry—I’ll pay you… fairly.”

Brenna—soft-featured, fair-skinned, draped in modest linen—looked delicate, but her eyes blazed with defiance.

“Don’t play dumb, Jessy!” she snapped, voice trembling with fury.

“You’re using your thug army and that damn baron backing to strong-arm us into selling cheap!”

She knew exactly what he was after.

Magic crystals were scarce and sky-high in price.

Her father had risked everything to secure this batch from the frontier.

With business tying him in Servia,he’d sent her and Leán to guard the cargo personally.

Yet Jessy—somehow tipped off—had ambushed them mid-voyage.

And Brenna knew Jessy well.

Their families were rivals in trade,but Jessy’s clan, backed by a powerful baron,routinely bullied smaller merchants into submission.

No one dared oppose them.

But this? This was outright piracy!

“We’ve already fired the emergency flare!” Brenna shot back,grasping at law and order like a lifeline.

“The Knight Patrol will be here any minute!

Do you really think your family can survive the scandal?

Disrupting trade is a capital offense!”

Jessy laughed, waving a dismissive hand.

“Scandal? Miss Brenna, you wound me!

This is a voluntary sale! Isn’t that right, boys?”

His thugs roared with laughter,chanting: “Fair trade! We’ll all testify!”

Then Jessy’s smile curdled into a threat.

“But… if you refuse this generous offer…”

He spread his arms wide, gesturing to the endless, empty ocean.

“Look around. No witnesses. No help.

If I get… impatient…

I could toss you all to the sea dragons.

Who’d ever know what happened here?”

A chill ran through Brenna’s group.

“You—!”

She clenched her fists, rage and fear twisting in her gut.

Jessy was prepared—his hired muscle outnumbered hers.

If he truly wanted them dead,there was nothing she could do.

Her brother Leán couldn’t take it anymore.

Face flushed with fury, he gripped his spear and snarled:

“Sis, stop reasoning with him!

He never wanted to negotiate!

For scum like this—only fists speak!”

Jessy scoffed, utterly unimpressed.

“Fists? Leán, are you sure your crew can take on mine?”

He stepped aside—revealing a gray-robed man behind him.

“Oh—forgot to introduce my ace.

This is Master Tal.

A High-Tier Summoner.”

Jessy’s grin turned vicious.

“He calls fire drakes to heel.

One man could wipe out your entire crew.”

Brenna and Leán paled.

High-Tier Summoners were legendary rare—hiring one cost a fortune.

Jessy must’ve emptied his coffers to secure this fight.

There was no winning now.

Jessy’s eyes slithered back to Brenna,his gaze crawling over her body like a physical touch.

“But don’t worry, my dear…”

He leered, voice thick with implication.

“I’d never throw you to the sea dragons…

…I’d throw you onto my bed instead! HAHAHA!”

His men howled with vulgar laughter,their jeers dripping with lust and mockery.

Brenna’s eyes burned red.

She and Jessy were classmates at Dragonheart Academy.

For months, he’d harassed her—using his family’s influence to corner her in hallways,steal her assignments, spread rumors.

She’d swallowed every insult—for her family’s sake.

And now… again?

But Leán snapped.

Seeing his sister humiliated,

he lunged, spear aimed at Jessy’s heart!

“DIE, YOU COWARD!”

WHOOSH!

Jessy didn’t even flinch.

Before the spear struck—

Master Tal moved.

A flick of his wrist—and invisible force locked Leán in place.

Then—hurled him like a sack of grain!

CRASH!

Leán slammed onto the deck,nose bleeding, teeth gritted in pain.

“LEÁN!”

Brenna rushed to him, heart shattering.

His bruised face, his muffled groans—it was too much.

If this continued, more would die.

Tears welled in her eyes as she bowed her head,voice breaking with surrender:

“Stop… we’ll sell!

Take the crystals—just leave us alone!”