Chapter 235 – Tyrant of the Sea

#235.

“No, what? Is that true?”
“Ah, yes. That’s right. I was in a hurry, but it’s a pity.”

He sighed deeply at the innkeeper’s words. Arriving quickly in Ronda less than a day after departing from the capital, I had just spent the night at the inn and came down to the first floor for a meal.

After eating, I was pounding on my stomach when I heard the bad news. Just yesterday, the news was that the trade ship was sunk due to the attack of the monsters. Thanks to this, the trade route was blocked, and cruise ships could not enter here either.

‘Driving me crazy…’

I had to go back as soon as possible, but the monsters seemed to delay the time. In the worst case, it seems that he has no choice but to give up going to Karlella. I don’t know when it will be, but it may have to be postponed until later.

“So how are things going now? Won’t you just leave it alone?”

I think if the lord has an idea, he will do anything. Now that this has happened, he has no choice but to subdue that monster. Even if you have to borrow the power of Sernia, you must accompany them together.

“It is said that the lord applied for subjugation to the mercenary guild as a special request this morning. He said he would be dispatched with his subordinates within a few days.”

It moves faster than you think. Haha, if the trade route is cut off, virtually all logistics in Ronda are blocked. The damage increases exponentially over time. I think I should go to the mercenary guild right away.

“Thank you for the information. Enough then.”
“The Mercenary Guild is located west of here!”

I thanked the innkeeper and left the building. It is safe to say that there is no fatigue from the trip, so I should apply for subjugation immediately.

The place where the raid took place is the sea area near the island, about 3 days away by boat from here. If you are in a hurry, it can be resolved within a week. I decided not to give up hope because I could endure it for that amount of time.

I quickly ran to the west and after a while I saw a building. The three-story building made of wood was full of people even though it was located a little away from the downtown area. Seeing the mercenaries come and go without a break made me feel like I was watching a pig pen.

I couldn’t see a gap for a young ant to dig into the space filled with muscle mass foragers, but it didn’t matter to me. Using the trick of the master, I squeezed through the space that was revealed in a short moment as naturally as flowing water.

Taking advantage of the pressure from all sides as a countermeasure, I was able to finally arrive at the bulletin board. There was only one large piece of paper attached to the place that should have been filled with various requests.

「Express Request – Looking for people who will join the voyage to subdue the monsters that cut off the trade route. Recruit only at least C-class mercenaries. Participation fee 10 gold. Add 50 silver each day.”

It is cheap for the price of human life, but it can be seen as an appropriate amount because people are the ones who remain here in the first place. Departure date is two days later. After checking, I immediately got out of there and headed to the counter.

Fortunately, there is a mercenary plaque that I received from Sernia in advance. In fact, there is something I used to use when I was with Mark and Lina couple in the past, but I can’t use it because my name is written as Lai. The only difference from the one I received from Sernia was that my name was True.

“Welcome. In case of a special request… ?”
“Yes. Here is the mercenary plaque.”

The female employee in charge of the counter tilted her head while looking at my face. I look young, so I guess it’s Gingamin or Hanga. A C-class mercenary is a level that can only be achieved if you know how to handle the minimum swordsmanship. It was natural to be suspicious.

But maybe the counter staff is doing a rough job more than I thought. Or maybe it was because the current situation was so urgent that he accepted the mercenary plaque without questioning Katabuta. After scribbling something on a piece of paper for a while, the female employee nodded and returned the mercenary card.

“Reception is over. You can go to the port in the morning in two days. Is there anything else you want to ask?”
“No. It’s okay.”
“Yes. Goodbye.”

After saying hello to the staff, I went back to the inn that way. I have nothing to do for two days anyway, so I’ll have to practice in the meantime. I don’t think it’s that serious, but you never know. How do you know if something like a Kraken will pop out?

After locking the door and sitting on the bed, I continued to warm up my body and started training with a virtual opponent in my head. Excluding the time to eat or wash, the action was repeated throughout the day.

***

“Is that it?”

Waking up just in time with my excellent body control, I ate a hearty breakfast and went out to the port. Many sailors were talking seriously. After seeing the fish as a side dish for alcohol and swearing while looking at the sea, I moved on.

There were so many ships moored in the port that it was impossible to find a seat. And among them, there was a place where large ships were lined up. At first glance, that was the place where the monster subjugation team would be.

When we headed there, there were a lot of mercenaries with weapons hanging from their backs or waists. There were still about 20 minutes left until the assembly time, but it was almost like everyone had gathered. Time passed quickly as we were mingling with each other and looking at the sea in a daze.

Thud!

[Fist! I am Admiral Livron, responsible for the safety of this port city, Ronda! From now on, we will go on a subjugation trip! I hope you all follow the directions well. More!]

It was a cooler man than I thought. Everyone took the story for granted and went back to the fleet. Instead, the man who appeared to be the sub-commander ordered his men to begin selecting his mercenaries.

Although there were a small number of unqualified ones who participated, I checked the mercenary plaques and started weeding them out. After the water change was over, the deputy commander made known various precautions such as actions that should not be performed or restricted areas.

In fact, the mercenaries had only one job to do. Just fighting. For other requests, such as night watch and transporting goods. It would be a lot of work to do, but there was no need for it on the ship. It could be said that he did not trust the mercenaries, but he had no complaints. Because it’s comfortable for me too.

After the brief talk, boarding began immediately. The ship I was assigned to was the warship on the far left. Once on board, six sailors, each with 10 men in charge, began guiding.

“Follow me. I will assign you a room.”

I walked around the ship following the navy who said so. Come to think of it, it was the first time I had ever been on a ship like this. In his previous life, he was such a beggar that he had no time to relax, such as riding a boat. That’s why it was a little strange. Of course, it must be because it is a warship of the Middle Ages.

However, I don’t want to show off a keut, so I was just rolling my eyes and looking around, when the guy next to me suddenly started talking to me. Turning his head, I saw a guy who was a little older than me, but with a face value of at most his early twenties.

“Kiya! Hey. See that girl Is it because you are in the Navy that your body is killing you?”
“…”

As he followed the direction of his finger, he saw a sailor standing on the deck and watching. Certainly, her body was on the excellent side. But it wasn’t my taste. That meant that her breasts were small.

“But it’s a pity that your breasts are small.”

She flinched for a moment. I wanted to deny that I had the same thoughts as this guy. Could it be that I looked like this guy when other people saw me? When I thought so, it was hard to hold my mug.

“Hey. My name is Kranes. What is your name?”
“… True.”
“Oh. Okay. It was true. Looking at the current situation, I think we will be assigned to the same room, but please take good care of us.”
“I am.”

I thought about whether or not to ignore it, but after looking around, I gave up. All of the mercenaries following the navy had already disappeared except for the two of us. They said that they had to share the same room because they had to share a room for two people, but I decided that it would be wiser to just respond casually.

This guy is quite revealing about women, so after he took his eyes off the navy, he started talking about what kind of girls he’d been fucking with. Even so, there were no great women. The only thing that bothered me a little was the story of cheating on her wife in a tavern without her husband’s knowledge.

As I moved while giving a reasonable response, the navy who was guiding me stopped. The navy, who had been chatting between his crotches, probably getting mad while listening to the story of Kranes, pointed to the wooden door and said,

“This is where you guys will stay. Since it’s 11 o’clock now, rest until 12 o’clock, have a meal in the cafeteria, and gather on the deck by 1 o’clock.”

After saying that, the navy turned around and disappeared without hesitation. On the other side of that busy movement, there was also a sense of desperation to not get caught. It seems that he does not want to be found out about his excitement after hearing a vulgar story.

“Then let’s go in! How far have you been talking? Ah! Didn’t you even talk about the inn’s widow? So…”

Upon entering the room, Kranes began to mutter his mouth again. Now he didn’t care if he was serious or lying. After listening to it, I unloaded my luggage on one of the two beds and began to focus on quenching my body.

***

Two days passed. Time flew by. All I did for two days was physical hardening and virtual sparring. Surprisingly, there was no monster attack at all. Not a single attack was seen.

“Where are you going? These guys…”

Of course, there was only a day or so left until the sea area where the trade ship sank, but I was starting to get nervous. It’s better to just fight in an all-out war, but looking at the current situation, it was just a long way off.

It is not acceptable to waste time scouring the relevant waters for weeks like this. After looking around the sea, I sighed and returned to my room.

“Hey, are you here? Where have you been? Could it be that you went to seduce Irina without my knowledge?”
“Nothing like that.”

Irina was the name of a female naval officer who was on deck on the first day. This guy, Kranes, was badly beaten while doing a dash that afternoon. The guy with all his joints slashed was rolling across his deck and showing ugliness.

I came up to the bed with a rough word and immediately focused on training. Kranes also didn’t have a long conversation with my constant ignoring for two days.

The night went on like that. The time when all but the minimum number of people are asleep. I didn’t need sleep, so I continued to train, but I suddenly opened my eyes to the numerous signs that entered my mana sensor.

At the same time, the emergency bell rang harshly.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

-It’s an attack!!
─Damn it! Everyone, grab your weapons and go to your seats!!

On the first day, along with various precautions, they also designated the place to go in case of an emergency battle, so I got off the bed and drew my sword. Platina was so conspicuous that she had pulled out an ordinary steel sword.

“Uh, uh… ! What, what! What happened-“
“It’s a monster attack. I go first.”
“Wait a minute! Together… !”

I resolutely shook off the voice of the guy who was holding me back and came out. I leaned over the railing and looked down to see a monster climbing up the wall.

A beautiful humanoid face in the body of a snake. It also had scales, so it reminded me of a dragon. There are many parts that match the description of the ancient Lamia, which I heard from Karut the other day. But other than that, there are significant differences. The most critical of these was the fact that it had four arms.

He pierced a hole in his stomach with his sword held in each of his four arms, and watched as he came up, he swung his fist.

Boom! The waves that spread along with the sound caused an explosion inside the moment it touched the body. Its guts ruptured and it plunged headlong into the sea, spraying red fluid from its hole.

“Get out… Was it?”

Monsters of the sea with four arms do not exist except for Nagi. It was a very distinct feature. After figuring out the general identity, I moved to the place in charge and killed the guy climbing the railing.

It was a difficult activity for a C-class mercenary to perform, but people didn’t even care. It’s because you can’t afford it. Thanks to that, I arrived at the place in charge without any suspicion, and secretly helped the dangerous mercenaries and started killing the naga.

─Aaaaah!
—You bastards!

It wasn’t much of a difficulty for me, but it wasn’t for the other mercenaries. Three or four people clung to each one, each holding an arm and struggling to hold on.

But even so, I thought it was easier than I thought. No serious injuries have been seen yet, and if you hold on like that, the knights will come and take care of the naga.

As time passed, the number of naga rapidly decreased. But when I turned my head, the sea was still full of naga. Upon closer inspection, the naga on the boat were also throwing themselves into the sea one by one.

Anxiety surged in an unusual situation. And as if to prove him, the navy, who was looking around from the anchor, shouted loudly.

“Captain! It’s the Sea Serpent! The Sea Serpent is behind the naga!”
“What!? Sea Serpent? Shit! Turn the ship to starboard! Retreat at once!”

Sea Serpent. It is a monster that is also called the dragon of the sea. As a subspecies of the silver dragon that actually lives in the sea, it is a top predator that can emit breath. Warships have such powerful destructive power that they can be sunk with just one breath.

At the command of the captain, the ship began to lean to the right. During the fight, the mercenaries who lost their balance and collapsed due to the sudden movement appeared one after another, but they were forced to do so. If we don’t evade her now, she will sink anyway in a collision with the Sea Serpent.

Just as the ship tilted and was barely recovering, something scratched the bow.

Quagga Gagagak!

Huge body. Something as gigantic as Kasha, Karut’s summon, passed by and smashed the ship. Even with the slightest collision, the prow was completely shattered and left in tatters.

“Hurry up and get out of here!”

The captain shouted while talking to the admiral over the communicator. At the urgent voice, everyone started to move in a hurry. It’s very cheesy from dawn.