Chapter 100: Recovery of the Southern Archipelago

‘As expected,’?

Vasen Lak Orazen thought to himself,

‘Aiming for the deck was the right choice.’

The pirates had been waiting to jump onto their ship on deck, and thanks to that, they became easy targets for the cannon.

One of the pirates yelled, “G…get away!”

The second and third cannon fired in order. A round, carved rock flew through the air. Even after the rock smashed through the railing, its kinetic energy barely diminished. Hit in the shoulder, a Deep One fell down the railing at the same time his shoulder got smashed. The rock drew a parabola in the air before falling onto the ship, but it still had enough momentum that it rolled across the deck and struck another pirate’s shin. With a crunch, the Deep One fell to the floor, and the rock fell off from between the railing on the other side. A cacophony of screams erupted.

“Aaack!”

The pirates couldn’t escape the cannonballs. They could only pray that the cannons weren’t aiming at them.

As agonizing cries broke out from the six ships in the front, the other four ships became abuzz with nervous energy.

Right then, a giant Deep One who was clearly the second-in-command after the captain ordered, “Don’t panic because of the strange weapons! There’s no way they will be able to use them again immediately. Put our ships next to theirs, now!”

Vasen was impressed.

‘Is that a lucky guess?’

Vasen had no choice but to shout, “Prepare to load again immediately!”

Past the mast of the pirate ship, Vasen could see the giant Deep One grinning.

‘No, he didn’t. Rather than a lucky guess, the pirates simply had no choice but to fight us head on, and the Deep One said whatever was necessary to calm the chaos and encourage his crew.’

The fact that the enemy was no simple fool was important information for Vasen, who was in command during the battle. Even though they were ugly, their intelligence meant that they should be considered people.

Vasen looked around the deck and shouted, “Don’t be afraid! And don’t panic! We’re winning, aren’t we?”

At those words, the discouraged sailors and soldiers responded by shouting.

The four pirate ships passed through the gaps between the six pirate ships in the front and sailed up to them. The ships rubbed against one another; the friction sounded like a whale’s cry.

The giant Deep One then yelled, “Get the ships closer! We will win if we fight on deck!”

‘I don’t know where that confidence is coming from,’ thought Vasen.

He raised the flag.

“Second row, aim!”

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The giant Deep One mumbled, “...Second row?”

At Vasen’s command, the cannoneers on the first row stopped loading and moved back, and the cannoneers on the second row pushed their cannons forward. The first barrage of shots had come from only half of their cannons.

‘Cannons do have the disadvantage of taking a long time to load, but we can just fire in intervals.’

Vasen lowered the flag.

“Fire!”

The short fuses sticking out from the rear of the cannons were lit at once. During the brief delay when the fuses were burning, all the Deep Ones cried out at once.

“...No!”

Boom!

Another torrent of shots ravaged the deck of the pirate ships. As the shells flew across the pirate ships, fragments of wood and dead bodies scattered, and the bones and flesh of those who were still alive flew all over the place.

Vasen did not let the moment of victory get to him.

“Theone.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Let’s put some distance between us now. I think we would be able to load the second row in the meantime, as well as make other preparations.”

“Alright. I’ll signal the other ships with the flags.”

While the pirates were still reeling from the cannon attacks, The Humiliation of Pirates and the military ships widened the distance between them and the pirates.

Vasen thought to himself,

‘Our goal is to safely deliver the cannons and gunpowder. Unless the pirates purposefully attack us further, there’s no need to destroy all of them.’

Firstly, there were more pirates and pirate ships than there were soldiers and ships under Vasen’s command. It would be an unreasonable plan to fight the pirates on deck to occupy their ships.

‘But of course, if we’re not the ones chasing after them, and they instead charge at us…’

As if the giant Deep One had read Vasen’s mind, they pressured the pirates by saying, “The ones who are still alive, fix the direction of the broken sail! Tie it properly and pull! And those who aren’t immediately needed for that task, hide under the deck! Move!”

‘I see they’re not thoughtless,’?

thought Vasen.

The mast was the sturdiest target on deck. However, the sides of the ships were designed to withstand rough waves and reefs.

Given the size of the current cannons they had, Vasen doubted they would be able to break the side of the pirate ships even if they got extremely close.

‘We have no other choice.’

Vasen then said, “Prepare the big cannon.”

Vasen was referring to the largest cannons on board. There were only two on each ship, and they were so heavy that it would take six trained sailors to move one. And its destructive power was that much stronger.

The big cannon fired at the ships chasing after them, and the cannonball broke through the side of one of the pirate ships, coming out of the other side with a smash.

Screams erupted from the holes in the pirate ship. Without even the need to check it, one could assume how much of a mess the inside of the ship must be.

The pirates came on deck again.

‘Simple.’

Once again, the cannons were fired at the deck. By the time the second row fired, those on the four pirate ships were already abandoning their ships and jumping into the sea, and then one of the four ships began to sink.

Vasen said, “Hm, I don’t think it’s been long enough for water to enter through the holes.”

“I think the keel may have broken because of the cannonball.”

Theone tapped on the barrel of the big cannon and said, “It’s hard to aim and shoot with this, but it’s certainly efficient. They would run away now, wouldn’t they?”

“No. The way I see it, they still have one more trick up their sleeve.”

“A trick?”

Vasen shouted, “All ships, watch out for Deep Ones climbing up the hull! They can breathe underwater as well!”

Vasen made the warning conclusively even though he wasn’t certain about that. Still, it was common for even pirates who weren’t Deep Ones to climb up ship hulls. There was no harm in taking extra precaution.

At those words, the sailors and soldiers who weren’t playing the roles of cannoneers raised their spears and bows, keeping a wary eye on the railings on the deck. Vasen also took a bow and notched an arrow. Then he shot at the bottom of the military ship next to them. The arrow hit a webbed hand and pinned it to the ship.

“Kaack!”

It was a Deep One pirate. As soon as the Deep One tried to pull the arrow out, Vasen’s second arrow pierced through the Deep One’s temple.

‘Of course.’

From the start, Vasen had in mind the possibility that the pirates could survive even after abandoning their ships. Given how similar to fish they were in appearance, he assumed that they would also have the abilities of one. But that wouldn't matter as long as they were vigilant. A ship on sea was like a fortress on land. The pirates would have to ambush them, or there would be no point in attacking.

‘There would also probably be some who survive by hiding underwater, but there’s nothing to be done about that. They are stragglers who have lost their morale anyway. That’s also a common situation on land.’

It seemed that Yaboon’s Pirates had judged that there was nothing else they could do. After all, they had launched an attack at night, yet they were utterly destroyed.

“Shit! Retreat!”

Vasen tsked.

If they were going to end up retreating, it would have been better for them to retreat right after they got hit by cannons, when all ten of their ships were still intact. Now they had six, and the number of pirates had significantly decreased due to the series of cannon shots. It would now be worth trying to fight them on deck.

“Chase after them! Take aim!”

The Humiliation of Pirates and military ships trailed after the rear of the four pirate ships.

“...Fire!”

Boom!

Only two pirate ships survived to the end and escaped.

***

“Good.”

The battle on board The Humiliation of Pirates was quite entertaining for Sung-Woon. It showed what a troop with cannons could do to enemies who didn’t on sea.

But of course, Sung-Woon didn’t get into this battle just because he was lucky. He had pulled some strings behind the scenes to make the pirates target The Humiliation of Pirates and the three military ships.

It wasn’t a difficult task for Sung-Woon. He sent the white spider, Hillove, to chase away the pirates stationed at the Southern Archipelago, and he had Sratis appear at the village that the pirates were targeting. Sea routes were determined by wind that regularly blew in particular areas, so it was only natural for the pirates seeking targets to approach the four ships they encountered. Of course, Sung-Woon hadn’t made all that happen just because he wanted to watch a sea battle.

‘They needed a drill.’

Yaboon’s Pirates was a large group. And since there were a few pirate posts at the Southern Archipelago, a problem could arise if he simply allowed a large-scale battle to break out. Considering that, Sung-Woon guided his characters to victory step by step, starting with smaller battles.

‘Ravina was on board anyway, so there was little possibility of them suffering major damage. And I could have interfered if needed. But I didn’t expect Vasen to show greater competency than I expected and acquire a skill.’

The skill Vasen got was Command. It was a skill involving charisma that compelled his subordinates to understand him and follow his orders in wars and other similar situations. Additionally, his Leadership had also seen notable improvement.

‘Strategy and tactics were also needed during Lakrak’s time, but the combat ability of each warrior was more important. With the emergence of firearms, though, the playing field becomes more leveled. Therefore, having the ability to make subordinates move as one wishes becomes more important. It’s a good skill.’

And Vasen produced good results just as Sung-Woon had predicted.

Once he reached Magnen and encountered Black Scale’s naval force, Vasen taught the generals and soldiers the principles of utilizing cannons during battles. And while he was there, he got a secret order from Kyle to wipe out the pirates at the Southern Archipelago. He led his expedition team there as per the order.

It only took one month for Vasen to reclaim the Southern Archipelago.

***

“But…we can’t just leave like this.”

After Black Scale recaptured the Southern Archipelago, a grand party was held.

There were still small groups of Deep One pirates on the islands, but the Astacideas were able to defeat them with their own strength. This was because the Deep Ones couldn’t overpower the Astacideas when their numbers were the same—no, even if there were a little more Deep Ones.

But Vasen decided that he couldn’t just leave even though he had fulfilled Kyle’s order.

Theone bluntly asked, “Why not?”

Then Ravina replied, “The Southern Archipelago was the biggest territory the pirates had claimed, but it isn’t their main base.”

Vasen nodded.

Though they wouldn’t be able to go all the way to the southern continent where the pirates came from, there were other islands the pirates used as their bases.

“I heard there are two islands closest to the Southern Archipelago. One of them is called Olmur.”

Then Theone said, “You’re talking about the island west of the northernmost island of the Southern Archipelago, right? Considering it’s close to Danyum, the pirates first sighted at the coasts of Bavrin, Danyum would probably be using it as their base.”

Vasen nodded.

“And the other is Doltan Island.”

This time, Ravina said, “It is way beyond the southernmost island of the Southern Archipelago. Seeing that the Astacideas only recently discovered the island, it’s likely to be very far. And above all, it would be the closest to the southern continent, so there’s a high chance it’s the main base of Yaboon’s Pirates.”

Vasen replied, “We succeeded in reclaiming the Southern Archipelago without suffering much loss, but if there are the same number of pirates on the two islands, it would be difficult to divide our troops in two. We have to take one of the islands first.”

In Vasen’s opinion, attacking either island first had their respective pros and cons.

Just then, a black shadow made its way through the chaos of the party and came up from behind Vasen.

“Don’t worry, we have occupied Olmur Island.”

Vasen turned around.

There stood a tall Garuda, with what seemed to be a black rotten left hand.