Chapter 302

All the people of the Eastern region knew the name Cariosa, and any pirate feared that shark flag.

However, her appearance was surprisingly unknown to the pirates, as all who had seen her were dead.

Pulrek looked at the sea men from the East with a dreamy feeling.

“Kill them all!”

“The sea maggots are swarming!”

“Crack their heads and throw them into the sea!”

“Let the dead envy them!”

A swarm of sharks charged from the ship with terrifying roars.

They wore armor sewn from iron plates, cloaked in blue capes, and armed with more than five harpoons and heavy tridents.

Boom!

Their armor was strong enough to block an ordinary ballista head-on.

Swish!

Their spears were powerful enough to pierce the pirate captain behind the third city wall.

Swoosh-!

Their swordsmanship was so formidable that it could cut down two or three pirates in an instant.

At the forefront was Cariosa, wielding the magic sword of Storm and Fair Wind.

“Fifteen men, on top of the dead man’s coffin!”

With each swing of her sword, blades of wind burst forth.

“Moreover, a bottle of rum!”

It is said that there is a room in the Asenorta family’s estate where specimens of famous pirate admirals are displayed.

All pirates believed the rumor, and Cariosa, with her gleamy gray eyes and sharp teeth, seemed more than enough to live up to that reputation.

The song she murmured had a melody that suited a blood-soaked hunter more than a great lord.

“Fire, fire!”

“Aim for their legs, not their heads!”

“Focus your fire on one target!”

On the city wall.

The alluring pirate admiral, Peyjin, shouted loudly as she struck the backs of the archers and ballista gunners.

“Three of you take one!”

“Concentrate on blocking! They’ll catch you from above!”

“Keep distance! Don’t rush out!”

Below the city wall.

Pulrek in his green coat, the short-haired Tenitia, and the hook-handed Oungula worked hard to ensure the pirates maintained formation.

“Prepare to fire the ballista!”

“Aim for the ship!”

“Let’s send those sharks to the bottom!”

Ballistas were installed intermittently on the city wall, and the pirates had learned how to use them from Arins.

“Load!”

“Attach the oil jars!”

“Aim!”

“Fire!”

With a bang, massive arrows, as big as flagpoles, flew out.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Crack!

The Asenorta family’s landing ship was large and sturdy, but not enough to withstand ballista arrows, and its three-deck hull was finally penetrated.

Thick oil leaked from jars and ignited, soon producing pungent smoke that rose wildly.

“Cough! Cough!”

It was oil modified to inflict pain on the crew, as burning a ship protected by the flame-resistant spell was too difficult.

“Good!”

“Kick their butts!”

“Let’s push them hard!”

Whether it had an effect or not, the morale of the sea men pouring out from the landing ship had lessened.

At that moment, Cariosa sheathed one of her swords and blew a trumpet to signal the battle mage.

Pwoooo!

Hearing the trumpet, the battle mage fired a ‘Spear of Fire’ into the sky, signaling the second attack to the flagship.

Swish!

“It’s the lord’s command!”

“Prepare for ballista bombardment!”

“Begin casting Destruction spells!”

“Activate aiming assistance spells!”

With Valenciaunos suppressing the Nayt Archipelago, there was no need to have many mages to protect the landing ship.

They remained onboard the twelve warships, waiting for orders, and finally received the call.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Gigantic silver arrows were loaded onto the ballistas installed on the deck.

Two battle mages attached to a ballista infused the arrow with spells.

“Pure power, the power to change the world!”

“Move forward, move forward, to the very end of this world!”

The signature spell of destruction, ‘Spear of Power,’ the spread of pure power, ‘Ball of Dispersal,’ and even ‘Fair Wind’ to extend the range.

Various expensive reagents, like golden elixirs, lightning-struck branches, and typhoon bird feathers, had been consumed, but for the greatest lord of the East, it was no trouble at all.

“With the daughter of the storm stepping onto land!”

The officers remaining on the ship commanded, and

Swish! Swish! Swish!

From one warship, dozens of ballistas erupted into flames.

A giant ballista arrow wrapped in mysterious purple light crossed several kilometers with impossible speed and accuracy.

Boom!

It scattered the ballistas of the triple city wall one by one.

Peyjin ducked her head, darkening her face with despair as she avoided the fragments.

‘No. No. No.’

The bloodthirsty Cariosa bared her teeth and roared.

“Go, and destroy them!”

* * *

Pulrek saw an Eastern soldier decapitate one of his subordinates and throw the head over the city wall.

“Wahaha!”

Chilling laughter echoed over the dock.

The pirates still had the numerical advantage.

The war mages on the warships could no longer fire blessed ballista bolts due to the fear of friendly fire.

However, the elite armed with the shark flag had resolved to end everything today.

“Kill these damn sea maggots!”

“I will tear apart everything living on this island!”

“The time for retribution for looting and pillaging has come!”

The navy could not recover overnight.

Most of the Asenorta family’s soldiers were professional soldiers, dedicated to Asenorta for generations, just as every elite in this era was.

They were pirates who had boiled over since the era of heterogeneous races.

Participating in this historical moment, putting an end to the battles fought by their fathers, and their fathers’ fathers, instilled deep pride in them.

An Eastern soldier charged at Pulrek.

“A captain-level one!”

“Kill him!”

Swish!

A harpoon flew powerfully and grazed over Pulrek’s head.

Pulrek unconsciously took a step back.

“That one’s mine!”

“Let’s cut off his hair and decorate the cabin!”

“Spread a red carpet before the daughter of the storm!”

His body crouched in the face of the excitement-laden gazes.

Just then, a booming voice snapped Pulrek back to his senses.

“Pulrek! Retreat into the city wall!”

The giant admiral, Oungula, grabbed Pulrek’s shoulder with his healthy right arm.

Bang!

Knocking away the harpoon that flew at him was just a bonus.

“Go and build barricades inside the second city wall. At this rate, it will be over.”

“Admiral—!”

Pulrek reflexively asked for Oungula’s safety.

The cruelest army in the sea had landed on the dock, and many Eastern soldiers had already climbed up the first city wall.

Oungula grinned grimly.

“I’ve lived running away all my life. It seems there’s no place left to run. It’s a rare opportunity to face titans like the daughter of the storm or the platinum knight.”

A meaningful expression flashed across Oungula’s rugged face, and Pulrek turned and ran.

“Be sure to come back!”

Oungula held a long trident in his healthy hand.

“It seems unlikely.”

Then he moved towards Tenitia, who was exuding a terrifying aura.

* * *

Tenitia was a knight in the service of Valenciaunos, and ordinarily, she wouldn’t have needed to participate in the landing operation.

However, during the process of suppressing the wings of the Nayt Archipelago, several Eastern knights had slipped away, and Cariosa wanted to fill that power gap, while Valenciaunos wanted to achieve more accomplishments to ease his guilt over leaving Tarti behind.

“I’m sorry. My lord.”

“No, please just give the orders.”

Thus, Tenitia decided to faithfully serve her lord with iron and blood like a loyal knight.

“In truth, just watching this from the ship wouldn’t be right.”

Clang, and then boom!

Tenitia deflected an incoming arrow with her platinum armor and slashed the neck of a pirate as she muttered.

“To assault and lay siege to the enemy’s stronghold, this I cannot tolerate.”

Underneath her helmet, her eyes smiled like a crescent moon.

“Moreover, I wanted to show the power of an imperial knight to the sea scum of the East.”

Tenitia surveyed the battlefield and was convinced that they had gained a definitive advantage.

“Get out!”

“Run away!”

The pirates, who had scaled the first and second city walls, were already retreating to the third city wall.

“Argh! How dare you—!”

“Don’t blame us! We don’t wish to die a dog’s death!”

There were also pirates running towards the Eastern soldiers, decapitating their captains or officers.

Of course, they were nicely beheaded and added to the additional supplies.

“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

“We will go to the highest, to the deepest!”

The sea men from the Eastern region were already penetrating through the collapsed city walls.

At that moment, a shadow blocked their path.

It was Oungula, over two meters tall with a rugged beard.

He swung his trident as he stood firm against the Eastern soldiers.

“Krah!”

Woooom—!

Thwaack!

The blue mana blade ignited trident carved a giant arc, sending several Eastern soldiers rolling on the ground.

“I am Admiral Oungula, the pirate! Those who cannot pass me will never breach the city wall!”

It was a cry as if to say, “Look at me.”

Of course, the sea men from the Eastern region had plenty of experience facing a ‘strong individual.’

“Fire!”

In the blink of an eye, the soldiers formed a line and dozens of magical ballista bolts were fired.

Tenitia thought Oungula would roll on the ground.

“No matter how much of a Sword Expert you are, it’s impossible to withstand that barehanded. You’ll be injured, lose fighting strength, and eventually bleed to death.”

Ting!

However, the sound that came was an unexpected rebound noise.

“!?”

Tenitia saw the purple scales sprouting beneath Oungula’s clothing.

Rip!

His clothing tore as his muscles bulged.

Fins like gills fluttered at his ears, webbing sprouted between his fingers, and spikes erupted along his spine.

‘Mixed race?’

Tenitia turned her steps towards him.

“You are not their opponent. Leave it to me.”

‘That’s what I wanted to say.’

Despite his solemn and dignified voice, a smirk appeared beneath his helm.

The Eastern soldiers looked at Tenitia and nodded, stepping back.

The scaled giant and the armored knight faced each other with thirty paces separating them.

Tenitia surrounded the Hwanhan with a mana blade.

Flare!

“I am Tenitia, a knight of His Highness Valenciaunos. What is your name?”

The red mana blade roiled like a tide of blood, and Oungula likewise added a blue mana blade to his trident.

Woooom!

“Oungula. Pirate General.”

His booming voice carried the pride of a warrior.

Feeling a hint of curiosity, Tenitia provocatively asked,

“You must be the chief. Which king appointed you as a general?”

“Aquila, the lord of this Nayt Archipelago.”

“A self-proclaimed king, no one recognizes?”

“Are you any different?”

“Of course.”

“If that is your thought, there is nothing more to say.”

Tenitia took a step forward and posed another question.

“A Sword Expert, indeed. You could live well without doing such things; why did you become a pirate?”

Oungula let out a quiet sigh.

“The only place that would shelter a monster like me with protruding scales was the bandit gang.”

Tenitia nodded her head.

If he had looked like that since birth, and could only hide his scales after building up strength, it was a plausible tale.

“They didn’t take you in; they used you. Poor warrior.”

Oungula clicked his tongue.

“Are you any different? A knight?”

What was the difference between being used by a lord to commit slaughter?

Perhaps it was a question he once pondered in secret.

However, Tenitia now knew where the essence lies.

“Both you and I live as human slaughterers and eat. Yet those who call us killers know nothing; it is in our honor to wield a sword for a reason.”

Ultimately, the affairs of the world could be interpreted in many ways, and how to interpret them was for each individual to decide.

“How unfortunate. Oh, monster. If you had a lord to protect and serve, you might have become a magnificent warrior.”

There was a genuine sense of regret in Tenitia’s voice.

A knight born of a mix of elves, ogres, and humans often viewed those with strong hybrid traits with kindness.

Oungula raised his trident and shouted.

“You are not the first to say such words to me. And you will not be the last!”

Clash!

The next moment, the scaled giant and the armored knight charged at each other.