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Chapter 233

Before the four high-speed boats slicing through the sea, a translucent mast began to rise from the depths of the ocean. A ghost pirate ship, in a sea-green hue reminiscent of the ocean, writhed as it exposed its immense body.

The sound of a commander’s voice echoed in my earbuds.

“Everyone, prepare for battle. We will sink the pirates here at the seabed.”

Listening to the commander’s grave voice, Yeon-woo headed towards the bow. Even at a glance, the condition of the pirate ship was anything but normal.

While the previous pirate ships boasted craftsmanship that seemed straight out of a movie, now it resembled a model kit that a visiting cousin during the holidays had ruined. Yeon-woo let out a whistle.

“Looks like the bomb gift did its job.”

The damage was appalling with barnacles and seaweed clinging everywhere, yet that only heightened the eerie atmosphere.

Perhaps the main body of the ship had taken damage, so it had summoned even greater undead spirits to compensate for it.

As a result, the battle could potentially become trickier, but Yeon-woo didn’t care much.

After all, the necromancer must be aboard that ship. Killing the necromancer would end everything.

There was no way the fight with those ghost pirates would simply conclude with a bombardment. Yeon-woo just had to wait quietly until close combat broke out.

Still, it seemed a bit suspicious to just stand there alone, so he decided to casually block any incoming shells while standing beside the commander. The commander nodded, acknowledging him.

“You seem quite relaxed.”

With a hint of sarcasm in his tone, Yeon-woo nodded accordingly. Well, what could he do? No matter how awakened one was, it wasn’t possible to throw shells from here to there. That wasn’t Yeon-woo’s specialty anyway.

“You don’t have to worry too much. As long as we don’t sink the ship, this fight shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“You’re speaking very easily about that?”

“Haha, who do you think is aboard this ship?”

“Well, since you have results, I’ll trust you.”

It seemed his past exploits in finding and raiding underwater caves were well-regarded. Yeon-woo shrugged nonchalantly. After all, in this hunter society, results proved everything.

*

The sight of modern warships firing heavier artillery at clunky old sailing ships appeared rather bizarre from an objective standpoint.

Especially if those old vessels weren’t just typical galleons but high-speed boats fighting cautiously.

But it was understandable. Enough technological advancement was akin to magic, yet when you think about it rationally—it becomes clear.

If there’s magic… then there’s no need to develop technology, right?

Sure, greedy humans acquire magic yet still push for technological advancement, but that’s beside the point.

“Indeed, it’s a holy power.”

In fact, the magic Yeon-woo unleashed was skillfully deflecting incoming shells. Of course, just because he redirected them didn’t erase the attack indicators on the enemy field. Was Hanoi’s noble power something to be taken lightly?

The crew seemed quite taken aback, because whenever a shell ricocheted away, they jumped in surprise. It wasn’t the kind of magic you could see just anywhere.

Naturally, since casting the same large-scale defensive spell on all four high-speed boats was too taxing for Yeon-woo, the barrier was only set on the flagship. The others were just regular barriers, battling it out in a nail-biting struggle.

Given the situation, it was only natural that the pirates would feel frustrated. Despite the ghostly ship’s reputation, shells were not infinite. Ghost shells? What a spiritual name that sounded like it would pass right through. Such a thing didn’t exist.

Sure, Yeon-woo’s mana wasn’t infinite either, but maintaining large-scale defensive magic over four vessels was far from easy. They would inevitably be cornered.

If they could just hold out until then, the pirates would have no choice but to engage in close combat.

As expected, the movements of the pirate ship began to grow ominous. It was as if the ship itself had a life of its own—or perhaps it was more like the ship was a seal, puffing up and deflating repeatedly.

The shape resembling a human face seemed to stretch out as if trying to emerge, then recoiling back into the form of a ghost ship.

It looked like numerous people trapped inside a balloon were all frantically running in different directions to escape.

“W-What’s going on…!?”

“Now, we’re going to start. The space on the high-speed boat is pretty tight. Want to hop onto the pirate ship with me?”

“What do you mean?!”

“Unless you don’t want to.”

As things lodged inside the balloon began to rush in different directions, it was only natural that the balloon would go pop! Translucent sea-green ghosts began pouring out of the ghost ship.

Some wielded cutlasses, others carried guns. Some donned pirate hats. Yes, these were the true ghost pirates!

“Hi hi ho!! Finally freed from that dreary bondage! Raise the anchor, you scallywags! It’s sailin’ time!!”

“Hi hi ho!!”

I wasn’t sure why, but at the captain-like ghost pirate’s shout, the released ghost pirates began to frolic with joy. Some charged towards the sea, some towards the ghost ship, and some launched themselves at the high-speed boat.

It was a veritable storm of spirits. The glowing sea-green translucence scattered everywhere in a wild frenzy. This truly was the age of great piracy.

“Those arrogant little punks, are they really shouting such stylish pirate slogans?”

Goodness, what brash little fellows. Hi hi ho? Yeon-woo couldn’t hide his astonishment at their pirate flair. Didn’t they need a slogan to match?

Pausing to think for a moment, Yeon-woo clapped his hands and leapt high using the Aura technique to board the sailing vessel.

“It’s time for ahoy, you punks!!”

*

On the soot-stained deck of the sailing ship, Yeon-woo was truly making a mess while shouting ahoy.

That meant he was fighting hard. After cleaving ghost pirates charging at him with his White into two, he gripped the hilt and shifted it into a spear to counter the incoming mana he sensed from behind.

Whoosh!! The rapidly spinning spear became the armor cloaking Yeon-woo’s body. Ghostly bullets flew from all directions, bouncing off with a ting!

‘Hmm, this is tough.’

During his past life, he had tried mimicking a technique used by Namgung Seong, but it wasn’t easy. He’d seen someone defend against incoming projectiles while returning them to the opponent.

But the bullets Yeon-woo deflected didn’t return to the enemy—rather, they simply flopped to the ground.

“Well, some things just don’t work out.”

With the spear slung over his shoulder, Yeon-woo pulled out a Doppelganger. Though dual-wielding wasn’t second nature, one had to practice when the opponent was weak.

“Alright, come at me, you lackeys.”

“Hi hi ho! What are you doing, you trashy scum?! That’s only one against us!!”

At Yeon-woo’s challenging declaration, the ghost captain grew enraged and charged in. Oh, that cutlass looks impressive. The way he waved around the bejeweled cutlass was quite a display of bravado.

“Oh, so you’re the captain?”

“Hi hi ho! Indeed, I am! I am the powerful lord of the sea that even makes crying children stop, Red Beard!!”

“Uh, that’s sea-green, though.”

“…What? My beard!? Why is it sea-green!!??”

Yeon-woo’s remark made Red Beard’s beard start to glow. There was no other word to describe it but ‘glowing’. The wild frenzy in his eyes as he tugged on his short beard, as if to verify it with his own eyes, was pure madness.

“You, you touched my beard!!”

“No, why is it my fault?”

Yeon-woo muttered in disbelief as he randomly ended up attracting the captain’s grudge. Shouldn’t he have noticed when it turned sea-green from the start?

After spinning the Doppelganger in his hand, Yeon-woo charged at the now-raging Red Beard.

Red Beard swung his cutlass in frenzy. Yeon-woo hastily ducked under his rapid, sharp stroke, sliding onto the deck to regain his stance.

“Hey, uncle, you’re pretty good!”

“My beard’s enemy…!!”

“No, it’s not me.”

But as expected, there was no way a ghost would listen to reason. It would be best to either quickly deal with him or ignore him and rush off to obliterate the necromancer.

“Still, it wouldn’t hurt to deal with you here.”

Why choose that, you ask? First, it was evident that while searching for the necromancer, he’d be swamped from all sides.

Second.

“Remember, the blessing of Amir has no eyes.”

If it’s a dead one, whether protective spirit or evil spirit, it gets chopped up.

Gripping a pistol in one hand and a cutlass in the other, Yeon-woo gazed at Captain Pistachio Beard.

In an instant, the ancient musket’s muzzle was pointed straight at him. Ah, with a musket, there’s definitely no rifling.

Bang!! The sound of the shot rang out as Yeon-woo leaned back. Behind the bullet whizzing past, he glimpsed raindrops beginning to fall from a cloudy sky. Ah, almost got it in my eye.

As the rain began to pour down, Yeon-woo jabbed the spear forward. The cutlass, held in a unique grip, spun around, entwining with the spearhead. He began retracting it as if to pull it out.

In response, Yeon-woo wedged the spear against his armpit to stabilize it. Unlike the Doppelganger, which would be lost if taken, this method afforded a way to reclaim it.

Once he infused mana into the White, its form began to change. The captain quickly withdrew his hand from trying to grasp just beneath the spearhead. But it was too late; he ended up slicing his finger on the transformed spear’s blade. One could hardly just call it a fingertip; it was more like his finger got chopped off in chunks.

“Hi, hi, huh!? What is this…!!”

“This item was consecrated by the priest~. You can take it, but you won’t be able to use it, got it?”

“Those damn Jesus freaks again…!!”

“I’m actually an alligator freak.”

Really now, if you’re that clueless, then your future is going to be tough.

“I’ll make sure that your journey isn’t so arduous by sending you off comfortably.”

“W-What…!?!”

Yeon-woo reached out like he was grasping something and then yanked back his arm. Red Beard, enveloped in Yeon-woo’s mana, was pulled forward without being able to control his body.

While he hadn’t transcended to the level necessary for manipulating humans in mid-air, it became much easier since the target was a ghost. They were practically lifeless, after all.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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