Chapter 131: Chapter 131
Prior to heading out to sea in earnest, the Pendia army first conducted training to adapt to the marine environment.
Though it sounded grand, it simply meant they practiced how to at least float without sinking when dropped into the ocean.
“S-Save me!”
“Keheh, ack.”
It was the seashore right next to Beshalia Port.
Stripped of their armor, the Pendia soldiers entered up to where their feet barely touched the seabed and flailed about, swallowing mouthfuls of water.
The few who knew how to swim subdued their panicked comrades and brought them to shore.
Having barely crawled up onto the beach, Ravana spoke while letting her soaked rabbit ears droop down.
“Man, somehow it feels like I shouldn’t have come…”
Of course, he was only joking because it was exhausting; he did not truly regret participating in the expedition.
What they focused on training in particular was practicing taking off armor underwater.
As long as one succeeded in calmly shedding their armor without falling into a panic, it was possible to at least stay afloat on the water.
Naturally, doing so would mean losing the shed armor, but for Pendia now, the life of a single elite soldier had become more important than a suit of magic armor.
This was thanks to steadily raising their production capacity all this time.
And alongside becoming familiar with the water bare-bodied, there was one more thing they had to train in: adapting to seasickness.
“It is an honor to serve you, Your Highness. This ship right here is the Saint Carmine, which will serve as our flagship.”
Giznu spoke while pointing at a large warship anchored in the port.
Measuring around fifty meters in length and ten meters in width, the ship was constructed from fine oak and gave off a thick smell of tar.
Originally, sailors belonging to the Arman Alliance, including Pendia, liked to name their ships after saints.
Because they were so sensitive to superstition, it was out of a desire for a saint to bless their vessel.
For this reason, there were multiple ships bearing the name of the same saint, sometimes leading to farcical situations like asking, “Which captain’s Saint Carmine is it?”
At that moment, anchored in Beshalia Port alongside the Saint Carmine introduced by Giznu, were roughly ten warships of similar appearance.
The Saint Rusha, the Saint Merk, the Saint Bellerua…
All of these were warships constructed based on the massive profits Marquis Beshalia had earned through maritime trade, and could be called the essence of Pendia’s naval strength.
“If we push it a bit, we can carry around one hundred and fifty combatants per ship. With twelve vessels in total, there will be no shortage of space for all of Your Highness’s soldiers.”
“First, Roden and I will board the flagship. Station the others as discussed beforehand.”
As he had done before, Shan placed Roden on the flagship with himself as commander, then distributed the knights and soldiers across the dozen or so ships.
Once the ships raised anchor and set sail, sounds of vomiting echoed from all around before long.
“Ugh-“
The soldiers hailing from the Palles region, including Roden, had experienced riding boats on the Tesen River several times, but the sea with its constantly crashing waves was a different story altogether.
Needless to say for those who had never ridden a ship at all.
Watching Roden panting while leaning against the gunwale, Shan asked nonchalantly.
“Does it feel a bit better after throwing up?”
“Not at all… You don’t even look like you need to ask. Damn it.”
As always, Shan was completely fine.
He could not understand why people found it so difficult to be aboard a ship.
Thus, in the process of traveling back and forth between the port and the sea, honing their swimming skills, and devoting themselves to training to get used to ships, the Southern Sea Expeditionary Force gradually adapted to the sea.
While it was absurdly premature to say they had become skilled marines, they had at least reached a point where they could put on a decent imitation.
The sailors Giznu introduced proved to be a great help in this.
Mercenaries who guarded merchant vessels or marines who had formerly worked under Marquis Beshalia were skilled at teaching greenhorns unfamiliar with the water.
After finishing several weeks of training like that, Shan finally granted a period of rest to his subordinate forces.
Originally, to send people out onto the battlefield, it was necessary to give them time to recover their mind and body, which had been exhausted by harsh discipline.
While resting prior to their departure, a single large warship approached Beshalia.
It was none other than the envoy of the Ruman royal family.
*
The news that Pendia was assembling an army to subjugate the pirates had already spread far and wide across the Southern Sea.
That was only natural, considering that among those traveling to and from Beshalia, Ruman people or pirate informants were hardly one or two.
Furthermore, the soldiers’ naval adaptation training was also conducted in full view of anyone.
Since conducting large-scale military exercises in a region adjacent to one’s own nation was an explicit armed provocation, it was not particularly surprising for the Kingdom of Ruman to respond.
Rather, it ought to be viewed as having come even slightly later than expected.
“I am Benon Robar, Count of Nasrin Island, Admiral of the Ruman Royal Navy, and appointed ambassador of His Majesty the King.”
“Lord Protector of the Pendia Royal House and Duke of Velakar, Shan Barendil.”
A chilly atmosphere flowed through the reception room of Beshalia Castle.
However, the ambassador of the Ruman King, Benon, maintained an upright posture, unbothered by the hostile gazes of the Pendia nobles standing around him.
Thanks to Giznu explaining beforehand, Shan knew that his counterpart was quite a famous figure in the Southern Sea.
He was a noble ruling one of the largest islands in the Kingdom of Ruman and the naval admiral most trusted by the king, a personage who had gained great fame by triumphing over pirates in battle numerous times.
As a bonus, he had also served as the commander-in-chief leading the Kingdom of Ruman’s reinforcements during the recent Pendia civil war.
Taking his seat, he uttered a few conventional greetings before immediately getting down to business.
“His Majesty the King expresses deep concern regarding your nation deploying elite forces led by the Lord Protector to the port area and conducting naval combat training. Such armed provocations will only invite discord between our two countries-“
“Is Ruman supporting pirates to attack merchant ships not an act that invites discord?”
When Shan cut him off bluntly, Benon replied with a nonchalant face.
“That is literally nothing more than a false rumor. The King of Ruman has never allowed pirates to roam the seas, nor has he ever supported them.”
His reaction was exactly what Roden had already anticipated and told Shan.
That while they picked a fight to rally internal unity, they did not truly wish to go to war, so they would deny it to their faces.
Roden laughed somewhat exaggeratedly and shook his head as if in disbelief.
“That’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard. You’d make a fine jester.”
That the King of Ruman was the pirate of pirates was known to everyone in the Arman Alliance, yet saying such nonsense without a single change in expression was quite a talent in itself.
As laughter erupted from all around, Shan lightly raised a hand to put a stop to it and spoke.
“Right, since there’s no proof, let me assume the pirates were merely expressing excessive loyalty. It remains an undeniable fact that those bastards attacked Pendia’s merchant ships. Ruman has no intention of dealing with them. So we intend to deal with them ourselves, and I fail to see why that’s a problem.”
The right to hunt pirates was something possessed by all freemen belonging to the Arman Alliance.
It was difficult to refute the logic of intending to exercise that right.
Of course, the Ruman King’s ambassador had already come prepared with words to counter that.
“Naturally, that is your nation’s right, but in the process, you must not trespass upon our nation’s territory. Can you promise this?”
“Are you telling us to let the pirates go if they land on shore?”
“We are merely exercising our legitimate rights.”
Shan smirked at the statement that effectively told them not to even dream of landing.
As expected, Roden was impressive.
For he had anticipated this entire flow of conversation as well.
“You people intruded as you pleased during the recent civil war, plundered Hasra, and slaughtered innocent citizens.”
“That was strictly due to Prince Elvin’s request for support-“
“Whatever the pretext, strictly speaking, your country and ours are in a state of war. I don’t know about you, but our side holds a great deal of resentment.”
Benon grimaced at Shan’s grim words and asked.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Whether it is your country’s territory or anything else, if a pirate stronghold is identified, we will subjugate it without exception, and if anyone collaborates with them, they too will be considered pirates and executed on the spot. If you have complaints, feel free to come at us anytime. Our war is not over yet.”
At the outright declaration that they should fight if it bothered him, Benon Robar wore an expression as if rendered speechless.
Looking around, he realized that this was not something the Lord Protector had thrown out in a fit of rage as an individual, but something agreed upon by all the Pendia nobles, and let out a hollow laugh.
“Crazy… Did building an immortal reputation on land make everything in the world look like a joke to you? The sea is different from the land where you ran wild!”
“Feel free to test it out. I’m curious to see just how different it will be.”
Casting aside even the last bits of courtesy, the ambassador shouted, locking eyes with Shan for a long moment before abruptly rising from his seat and walking out of the reception room.
Shan spoke softly as he watched Benon leave.
“Would it be problematic if we sink that guy into the sea before he reaches Ruman?”
“There’s no need to smear dirt on our honor through the petty method of killing an envoy. In any case, the Kingdom of Ruman has yet to recover from the losses incurred by intervening in the recent Pendia civil war. No matter how brilliant a commander he might be, he won’t dare stop us.”
This was also the basis for Pendia’s decision to openly advance onto the sea and subjugate the pirates this time.
The fact that Ruman had sent an ambassador to issue threats was also proof that their judgment was not wrong.
Had they possessed a sufficient number of troops, they would have waited for them to come out onto the sea to hunt pirates and then ambushed them instead.
Rather than growling and threatening them not to come out, as they were doing now.
*
“A lowly Altoan bastard, acting up without knowing his place…”
On the way out of Beshalia Castle, an adjutant accompanying Benon looked back and muttered quietly under his breath.
It was a behavior typical of Ruman people, who originally called Altoans a race of traitors and looked down upon them.
Benon, who was walking out with a hardened face, looked at him and spoke.
“Shut up. We are still in enemy territory.”
“I apologize, Admiral.”
Snapping at his adjutant, he walked and walked without saying another word.
Only after the ship departed from the port did he let out a sigh.
“Phew…”
Truly, was this what it felt like to come face-to-face with a giant monster?
Originally, the dominant sentiment in Ruman was that the legend of Shan Barendil was somewhat exaggerated.
That was because among those who fought him directly, few returned alive, most being dead or taken prisoner.
After all, believing claims like slaying a thousand men alone or ripping out an ogre’s heart with bare hands would be the dumber story, wouldn’t it?
Sailors skilled in boasting were always saying things like having killed a kraken or impaling a serpent to death with a wooden sword, and they considered the legend of the Thousand-Man Slayer Duke to be similar.
However, having met him in person, he could tell.
Whether those wild legends were all true or not remained unknown, but that guy was unmistakably a monster.
“Adjutant.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
“I must write a letter, so fetch paper and a pen.”
A short while later, Benon drafted a letter to send to the king.
It was content recommending to avoid engaging with Pendia’s army as much as possible.
*
After the final three days of rest ended, Pendia’s fleet finally set out officially from Beshalia.
The sight of ten warships in total spreading their pure white sails as they departed the port possessed a heart-pounding grandeur.
“We go to catch the whale’s tail-“
“There was so much of the beast’s meat that we could even share it with my grandmother-“
The soldiers whose skin tone had darkened from naval adaptation training hummed songs learned from the sailors.
In the flagship’s captain’s cabin, Shan heard from Giznu the location of their first objective, the stronghold of the Red Eagle.
“That bastard’s stronghold lies about seven days to the south of Beshalia. Of course, this may vary to some extent depending on the wind and currents, but fortunately, spring is a season with few variables, so it shouldn’t make much difference.”
The good weather for sailing in the Southern Sea was spring and autumn, while bad weather was summer and winter.
In summer, the rainy season was included, causing excessive rainfall that made the sea easily turn rough, while in winter, strong winds made waves dangerously high.
“Surely those bastards haven’t fled, have they?”
“They absolutely will not. Though called pirates, they are semi-lordlike existences at their own bases, so abandoning it would amount to abandoning the families of their members.”
In fact, the nobles of Ruman to begin with were existences originating from the most powerful local gentry during the ancient Arman Empire era long ago.
The most powerful pirates occupying specific islands as bases had simply become lords.
The current pirates were latecomers who failed to secure a place because they went through that process too late.
Just as Giznu had said, the weather was calm and the navigation was smooth.
Although a few soldiers who were still not fully adjusted vomited their guts out, most had adapted and managed to endure reasonably well, merely feeling slightly fatigued.
During the voyage, they encountered merchant ships coming up from the Selim Republic a couple of times, but as soon as they saw Pendia’s warships sailing down, they retreated in fear.
Since it was obvious they would not even be able to resist if plundering was attempted, it was only natural.
On the sixth day after a smooth voyage, the Red Eagle’s base finally came into view far off in the distance.
Giznu, who was looking ahead using a magic tool that enhanced eyesight, let out a quiet groan.
“What is it?”
“It appears to be a trap, Your Highness.”
Looking through the magic tool handed over by Giznu, as many as over fifty sailing ships could be seen in front of the island.
Each individual ship was smaller than Pendia’s warship, but gathered in such numbers, their swarming presence carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.
Having likely noticed their presence already, those bastards were catching the wind and heading north.
Observing this from around them, other ships diligently raised flag signals to warn of the danger.
Taking the magic tool next, Roden looked at the symbols painted on the sails and muttered.
“Red Eagle, Devil’s Banner, Curse of Elam… There’s also the Black Covenant Band and Blood-Red Vortex. With this much, it feels like half the pirate fleets of the Southern Sea have gathered. It seems those pirate bastards joined hands among themselves.”
Learning that Pendia’s army was setting out, the pirates had chosen to directly stand and fight them instead of abandoning their base and fleeing.
By gathering their forces to launch an all-out offensive at their most vulnerable moment, before they could gain experience in naval warfare.
Giznu looked at Shan and asked in a serious tone.
“That looks to be easily three thousand men. What will you do? If we turn about now, retreat is possible.”
“Do you think we’ll lose if we fight?”
At Shan’s question, Giznu looked around at the nearby soldiers.
Confirming their armament and Shan’s eyes, which held not a shred of fear, the sailor shook his head.
“No, absolutely not.”
“Then advance.”
“Yes! Issue the order to advance!”
As the flag bearer of the Saint Carmine fluttered the flag along with Giznu’s shout, the ships that had temporarily fallen out of disarray upon sighting the enemy reformed their ranks and headed toward Red Eagle Island.
At the choice to charge despite being numerically disadvantaged, signs of fluster colored the faces of the pirates.
That was only brief; their ships likewise emerged from near the island and began approaching the Pendia fleet.
Their ships were not orderly like Pendia’s warships, but as befitted skilled sailors, they maintained an exquisite balance without crashing into one another even amid the confusion.
When the distance narrowed from where only outlines were faintly visible to where facial expressions could be recognized with the naked eye, arrows were fired from both sides.
“Argh!”
“Ack!”
Although it was identical that arrows shot from both sides swept across the decks, screams echoed from only one side.
This was because the magic bows of Pendia’s soldiers, embedded with mana stones to enhance elasticity, were sufficient to pierce the enemy, whereas the arrows shot by the pirates failed to penetrate the magic-reinforced leather armor.
The moment the faces of the pirates were stained with astonishment upon confirming in the initial clash that their enemies were extraordinary, something even more surprising occurred.
Shan, standing at the bow of the Saint Carmine, formed the Thousand Shapes into the shape of a long whip and extended it toward a pirate ship.
“What in the world is…”
As the long silver whip wrapped around the pirate ship’s mast, a knight clad in faint golden armor leaped down from the bow.