Chapter 306

The pirate’s rocky fortress was located within the mountain that rose to the left of the city.

Arins guided us to the beach beneath the mountain.

“This way.”

I thought all his limbs had been pulled out, but before I knew it, he was walking steadily on his own feet.

As soon as we crossed over the breakwater surrounding the port, the atmosphere around us changed dramatically.

Strange rocks covered in barnacles, massive seaweed washed ashore by the waves, and remnants of shipwrecks filled the area.

Woosh.

Dark clouds sprinkled rain from the sky, and as the tide began to rise, deep blue waves surged forward, creating an atmosphere as if the Undersea People or sea monsters might jump out at any moment.

“I smell scaly creatures,”

Cariosa said, casting a doubtful glance at his back.

I probably wore a similar expression.

The beach was not made of sandy shores but of huge, flat rocks, with a significant crack where the rocks split in the middle.

Every time the waves crashed in through the gap, the water spray shot up to three stories high.

Splash!

The water was an eerie shade of dark blue, and the crashing waves created whirlpools strong enough to swallow small boats whole.

Arins confidently pointed below.

“You can go in through here.”

Cariosa placed her hand on the handle of her magic sword, Storm.

“I’ll kill you.”

Arins raised both hands and bowed his head to the barnacle-covered rock.

“I swear, it’s true, it’s true! I’ve been out this way before!”

I glanced at the whirlpool once more before asking Arins.

“How is it connected? No, how did you know this was a secret passage?”

He answered as if he had been waiting for that question.

“There are several basements in the fortress, and among them is a prison. While I was managing the prison side, I saw a cave leading towards the sea through a collapsed wall. Following that cave, I found water, and when I dived, I ended up here.”

There was no deceit in his voice.

Cariosa wore a slightly uncertain expression, and I nodded my head.

“Okay.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Instead, you lead the way.”

Arins looked like the sky had fallen as he nodded his head.

* * *

Cariosa issued orders to several Eastern knights who had followed her.

“You four are coming with me. You’ll go back and tell Jules to maintain the siege properly. If they attempt a breakthrough, instruct the battle magicians to open fire.”

I also looked at Lady Tenitia.

“Lady, take charge of the city side.”

Lady Tenitia raised her veil and shook her head.

“Your Highness, I am your guard knight.”

“I’m here, and Cariosa is here too. We have enough strength. The Eastern knights are strong, but if the pirate Admiral attempts to break through, the siege could break. Then, we’ll have to start hiding on this island, which we don’t know how vast it is or how many people are here.”

Lady Tenitia showed a slightly shaken expression.

“Moreover… there seems to be a discrepancy in Tarti’s message. She said prisoners are being devoured by barnacles in the city. But we haven’t seen any such prisoners, have we? We don’t know when something will come out.”

I spoke emphatically.

“On this island, the stench of sin and corruption wafts through the air. If you’re not the knight of knights, who else can we trust to get back? Aren’t you the most reliable knight on this island?”

Cariosa and the Eastern knights seemed to want to say something.

Lady Tenitia looked at the Eastern knights, smiled warmly, and lowered her veil.

“Yes, Your Highness. I, Tenitia, will keep watch here to ensure that not even a rat escapes from this damned fortress until you return.”

Thus, the personnel to enter the secret passage was decided.

There were a total of seven: Arins, me, Cariosa, and four Eastern knights.

Cariosa looked at the water’s surface and spoke.

“If a lot of us can get in, it might be worth considering infiltrating during low tide. I’ll kick you hard in the ass.”

I nodded and took off the ice spikes used for walking on water from my shoes and put them in my uniform pocket.

“Or we could just roast this fortress whole. If we keep a fire going from below for about three days, those above will all burn and suffocate.”

Cariosa nodded.

“Good. Then shall we go? You know how to swim?”

“Of course. Now, guide. It’s time for work.”

I kicked Arins in the back and threw him into the water.

“Aaaah! Please save me!”

He screamed like a bird.

* * *

Bloop bloop.

The water was dark, and there were many narrow and wide sections in the underwater cave, with numerous large and small holes to the sides and above.

Sharp, strange corals and seaweed that looked like giant hair were everywhere.

However, something terrible didn’t happen such as getting lost in the underwater cave and dying from suffocation.

Swish.

Cariosa skillfully crossed through the water as if she had been in and out of it a hundred times.

Arins, who was guiding us, turned to look at me in confusion.

‘Have you been here before?’

‘Of course not.’

Cariosa had her eyes wide open even underwater, seeming completely unaffected.

Her gray vertical pupils swayed like a real shark, scanning the knights and me, as well as Arins.

She appeared comfortable despite wearing a thick ray skin coat and pants.

Swish.

Her swimming was so natural, even more so than when on land, as she freely glided just above the bottom.

It seemed she had cast some magic, as her body moved effortlessly without her having to struggle with her arms.

She appeared to have created a natural flow leading deeper into the cave.

Indeed, she was the daughter of the storm, a descendant of Summerlin.

As I enjoyed such smooth swimming, something grabbed my leg.

Clutch.

An Eastern knight seemed to be trying to say something.

I instinctively turned around, and at that moment, I saw the Eastern knights.

Three were in front of me, the last had just passed by beside me, and Arins was going alongside Cariosa and me.

That something was still holding my ankle.

Crazy.

I turned around in shock and quickly identified its true nature.

With a reddish color and dozens of suckers, it was flexible like a tongue yet powerful, both barbaric and majestic.

A tentacle longer than my body emerged from a small hole and grabbed my ankle.

“Booouuu.”

Zoom.

The red-eyed octopus stared at me.

Cariosa and the Eastern knights had already reached further ahead and were slowly ascending.

Above that point, it seemed there was a land route.

At that moment, I heard a savage laugh.

Hee hee hee hee.

Red glows flickered in every direction from the surrounding holes.

The octopus that was holding my ankle slowly poked its head out of the cave.

The moment I saw it, I forgot that I was underwater and coughed.

“Cough!”

It wasn’t just an octopus; it was an octopus monster.

Its hairless head and tentacle-like moustache were long, and below it was a human body with a reddish color and a strange texture.

The fingers and toes were also tentacles, and its body donned armor with a shield and curved blades on its back.

The tentacle moustache was as thick as a large snake, and when it stood on two legs, it likely exceeded eight meters in height.

I recognized the name of this monstrous being, which resembled a completely mutated Infiltrator.

Undersea People’s Octopus Guardian.

Holy fuck.

* * *

Kaboom!

It wrapped its tentacles around me and dragged me in.

Crack!

Its beak-like mouth opened wide.

It looked like it was saying my ankle was quite delicious.

I aimed the sole of my shoe at that beak and shouted.

“Anima!”

The spell circuit engraved on my shoe created powerful thrust, and I cut through the water like a harpoon.

Splash!

The eight-meter-tall octopus monster was helplessly pulled along, and I used telekinesis with an ‘invisible hand’ to quickly catch up with the Eastern knights.

Ahead, I could see a cliff and the shimmering surface of the water above it, and the three Eastern knights who hadn’t gone out of the water looked at me in shock.

I reached out one hand above the water to grab a rock while gripping the octopus guardian’s tentacle with the other and pulled with all my strength.

“Ugh!”

Of course, no matter how strong I was, I couldn’t throw an eight-meter giant out of the water.

It was even harder when I couldn’t exert proper strength underwater.

But just lifting it up above the water a little was enough.

“Valencius!”

The daughter of the storm, who had fought the Undersea People her whole life, screamed in terror.

Splash!

She grabbed my hand and pulled me up, and I immediately stood on the ground.

“Cough, cough!”

The cave’s ceiling was higher and wider than I thought, with seaweed growing here and there.

The octopus guardian was still gripping my ankle with its tentacle.

Crash, crash!

It slowly extended its large, slimy hands out of the water, raising its upper body gradually above the surface.

Gurgle gurgle gurgle!

Its reddish octopus head and tentacles, along with its grotesque upper body, emerged above the water.

“Wooooo!”

It roared, blowing air from the hole on its head.

Its beak-like mouth opened wide.

The sight of tentacles writhing like hundreds of snakes was something that seemed to belong in a nightmare.

However, regardless of what kind of monster it was, now that I could create flames, it was no longer my opponent.

“Welcome, you monster bastard! Now… return to the abyss!”

I shouted, calling forth flames like a faithful follower of the God of Radiance.

Flames burst into the air, igniting its face.

Whoosh!

Its enormous face, larger than a person’s body, and thick, snake-like tentacles all caught fire.

“Wooooo!?”

It writhed in panic, twisting its body and trying to whip the tentacle gripping my ankle.

Slash!

At that moment, Cariosa swung her magic sword, Storm, slicing through that tentacle like the wind.

“How dare you!”

The guardian dipped its face into the water.

Splash!

The dark water illuminated as if a glowing crystal magic tool had been thrown in.

Cariosa’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

“Is that not going to extinguish?”

I nodded and reattached the ice spikes beneath my shoe.

“First, air is needed to create flames, but after that, mana alone can keep it burning. I could boil water with heat even underwater, but that’s a bit inefficient.”

“Well, that’s unfortunate. To burn to death underwater… that’s a fitting end for that monster.”

Cariosa laughed with satisfaction and turned to look at Arins, who had been trembling in a corner.

Her face bore a carnivorous vibe, and her toothy jaw gaped open.

“Well then, you. You’re going to have to explain what’s going on here.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Why are the Undersea People coming out here?”

Arins lay flat on the ground again.

“I don’t know anything!”

Cariosa and the Eastern knights wore expressions that said not to spout absurdities.

She had already drawn her sword, and the Eastern knights similarly gripped spears or swords.

Arins stuttered, her face pale.

“I-I was leading, right?”

Cariosa clicked her tongue.

“You might have some mark or magic tool that prevented you from attacking. For now, take off that hood.”

Arins looked at me.

Even in the shadow of the hood, I could feel her pleading eyes.

To be blunt, there wasn’t much value in keeping her alive as a guide anymore.

But if she were an elf, it would be a different story.

Just as I thought it seemed fine to reveal her identity now, a strange sound echoed from deep inside the cave.

“Karrrr…”

Cariosa reacted anxiously as if she had a trauma.

“You-!”

The sound of shark teeth grinding together filled the air, and power gripped her hand.

“Duke Valencius. Keep an eye on that one so it can’t make any mischief.”

“Are they Undersea People?”

She nodded with a serious expression.

Her vertical pupils contracted incredibly, and a murderous intent began to swirl behind her back.

“Are these sea maggots teaming up with those fish-headed bastards? Good. I’ll sweep them all up and serve them as sashimi!”

Her low voice roared like a mythical beast.

Arins looked at me, seemingly panicked, her mouth moving as if to say, ‘That never happened!’