Chapter 170

#170 Episode: The Tin Knight and the Short but Long Voyage (2)

The Lokria Federation has a deep connection with ‘water’ in many ways.

About half of its borders are directly adjacent to the sea, and there are also many wide and deep rivers that flow into that sea.

As a result, many territories within the Federation possess ships.

They’re useful for paying taxes, for commerce, and in case of emergency, they can even serve for leisurely voyages.

Dorothea has snagged a ship from the Lady of Donengarten.

Donengarten, whose main source of income is selling fresh produce, has lost a valuable means of transportation, so it’ll surely struggle to fill that gap, but that’s not something she needs to worry about.

Splash!

As Dorothea waved her hands clad in navy-blue gloves, a large ship suddenly appeared on the sea, sending waves crashing.

And when she touched the wagon again with her gloves, not only the wagon, which had been used as both residence and means of transport, but also the golem horse, fit right into the gloves.

Dorothea muttered under her breath with a slightly obsessive look.

“How can I not get this glove off in the kingdom? It’s way more convenient than any old key.”

If thieves and treasure hunters from across the nation heard this, they’d probably go crazy with envy.

After all, unlike thieves who have to sneakily raid someone else’s treasure vault, Dorothea’s group can confidently storm in, behead the homeowner, and loot the place, making a pouch for treasures far more important than a key to the door. The West Witch, who donated her possessions, would surely attest to that.

“It’s bigger than I thought. How do we handle it?”

Adelheid asked, gazing at the ship bobbing on the sea.

This would be the second time the group boarded a ship.

Since the purpose was simply ‘transportation’, unlike Franka’s small and nimble ship, the one taken from the Lady was overall large and bulky, presumably built for transporting agricultural goods.

Even to someone like Adel, who wasn’t familiar with ships, it seemed like they’d need at least dozens of skilled sailors. Yet, aside from their own group, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Of course, Dorothea had a plan.

“No need to worry. There’s a reason we brought the ship out from here.”

The place they currently found themselves in was one that people actively avoid due to frequent drownings or suicides.

To put it in the Tin Knight’s language, it was a full-blown spiritual hotspot.

Normal folks would avoid it out of superstition, but for a Necromancer, such a natural resource stash was rare.

Just as expected, as Dorothea pulled out a cage to summon souls, all kinds of them surged up around her.

Well, more precisely, other things aside from just souls were emerging as well.

“Uh, Witch? It looks like something’s swimming up from the water!?”

《Grahhhhhhh…!》

Pale, drenched faces. Hair sticking to their heads. Eyes wide open, as if the eyelids had never existed.

These were literally the epitome of water ghosts, emerging onto the shore with physical form.

And honestly, the one described was the tidiest of the bunch; many others looked so grotesquely swollen that words couldn’t capture their appearance.

Seeing such a catastrophic sight that felt like the end of humanity, Rapunzel trembled, and Adelheid had a slightly horrified expression, but Dorothea remained unfazed.

“Hmm. I guess because there’s deep resentment here. Looks like they were already half-undead before I even touched them.”

Sofia asked, “So it’s uncontrollable?”

“I can control them, but it’s easier to break their spirits first.”

After a brief answer, Dorothea added, “Go.”

That one word was so short that it was hard to tell who it was directed at.

But not a single member of the group questioned its meaning. It was quite obvious.

[The ‘Tin Knight’ joyously welcomes an impromptu combat event!]

Boom!

With an enthusiastic knee kick, the ghost lady at the front had her head spectacularly blown off.

While being tangible and able to harm people physically, such spirits were nightmares for ordinary folks but mere target practice for the Tin Knight. To be honest, there wasn’t much difference in hitting spirits with swordsmanship whether they were tangible or not.

Besides, none of the undead’s mental attacks or diminished physical abilities had any effect on the Tin Knight.

The horror genre works well against humans, but it didn’t quite hold up against non-humans.

As the assembled army of water ghosts transformed into something akin to sheer chaos in front of the jubilant Tin Knight, Dorothea initiated a ‘retraining’ process for them.

“Okay, those who think they can steer a ship, step this way. No, wait; leave your bodies here, just send your souls over. They’re all in bad shape anyway, so they’ll need to be discarded with only bones left behind.”

“What? You want revenge on a girl who betrayed you and played with another man? Forget it. Compensation will be granted in the form of delivering you to the afterlife. If you don’t like it, you can stay cold in the water forever.”

“What’s your deal? You want to leave a letter saying sorry to your mom? You too? Ugh… fine. Everyone, just write one each. Sofia, you take dictation. Adel, catch some birds around here.”

About an hour passed.

Thanks to the witch’s sensitivity to hygiene, various bleaching, deodorizing, and magically patching up procedures had resulted in a legion of skeletons made entirely of spotless, odorless bones saluting Dorothea.

《Thank you, Lady! My mind had been muddled and filled with dark resentments, but now it’s clear and light!》

《Thanks to you, I could convey my last words to my hometown!》

《We will ensure a safe voyage with you!》

“Er, uh… right.”

Dorothea nodded, a bit dazed.

To be honest, she didn’t have high hopes regarding the quality of the souls she summoned.

She had summoned many artisans on TikTok to have them work in the past, but that had only been possible in urban areas.

Just because a person dies in a specific location doesn’t mean their soul stays there, and the odds of those with the functionalities Dorothea desired actually sticking around were even lower.

After all, they weren’t at a port, but a spiritual hotspot that people tended to avoid, so she figured if even one in ten of them could steer a ship, it would be enough for her calculations.

And those calculations ended up being more advantageous than initially planned.

“Still, how ironic. I never imagined the victims of the recent naval battle would be stuck here.”

Sofia blinked in surprise.

The various types of magical devices flowing out from the Magical Kingdom have long been renowned for their superb quality.

Refrigerators that can preserve food, simple bathtubs that let one access hot water without boiling it beforehand, and bags that significantly lighten loads.

While it is said that the South Witch’s production of wizards after achieving the Empire’s chief mage position has brought the Empire’s magic closer to that of the Magical Kingdom, that mainly refers to combat magic.

Such practical daily-use magical devices, which open the noble’s wallets wide, still couldn’t catch up to the Magical Kingdom.

Between the Empire and the Magical Kingdom lies the ‘Garden’, and due to the soldiers from both sides fortifying their borders, trade is virtually impossible except for a handful of merchant groups authorized to operate on both sides.

What’s left are routes via land across the eastern continent and sea routes across the western continent.

It is a known fact that water transport is more convenient than land transport, so the waters between the Magical Kingdom and the Federation are always bustling with merchant ships, pirate ships, and warships.

Among the souls Dorothea summoned, there were quite a few from the navy.

“Hm.”

Though she had obtained high-quality labor with ease, Dorothea’s expression didn’t relax.

She had heard through rumors that the seas in this vicinity were treacherous, but the idea that pirate ships could come so close to the coast to tussle with the navy seemed to imply a serious situation.

The Lokria Federation wasn’t foolish enough to ignore the vast profits from trading with the Magical Kingdom, leading them to invest in their navy, yet they still couldn’t drive away the pirates. That meant the pirates were quite formidable.

“I thought I could just sail straight, but maybe it’s going to be riskier than I expected. If that fool falls into the water, we’d have a multitude of headaches.”

While the Tin Knight boasts combat prowess that is nearly unmatched on land, he has a significant weakness: beer bottles.

To be more precise, while he isn’t entirely incapable of swimming, he’d have to expend enormous magical power to keep his metallic body from sinking.

Dorothea took out an animal compass and infused magic into one of the symbols.

A silver horse emerged, plunging into the sea and swimming without any hesitation.

This seemed to affirm that the treasure she needed to find lay beyond these waters.

“Tsk, guess there’s no choice.”

Dorothea clicked her tongue.

She felt oddly uneasy, but it made no sense to come this far and then hesitate, fearing that the Tin Knight might fall into the sea.

“You, try to take care of yourself as much as possible. If you happen to fall into the sea, I’ll just leave you behind, got it?”

[The ‘Tin Knight’ reassures that there’s no need for concern!]

***

The greatest advantage of navigating with the undead is undoubtedly the cost-effectiveness.

Undead don’t eat. Undead don’t sleep. And they won’t wear themselves out by rowing too hard. Even if they do get worn out, just infuse some magic, and they’ll be restored in no time.

In other words, there’s no need for provisions for crew members, no need for rest breaks, and they won’t rebel or complain against the captain.

Of course, they consume magic in exchange, but for Dorothea, that disadvantage was nothing at all.

Operating around a hundred undead day and night wasn’t even a dent in her reserves.

To put it bluntly, a single Tin Knight uses far more magic.

Just as it seemed they would be reaching their destination smoothly, ‘that’ appeared.