Chapter 222
It was the very stimulant Boris had tested on mercenaries in Delpoa back when he was known as the Black Yasha.
“Ghrrrr!”
Brainwashed by the drug, the merfolk rushed recklessly at Zieg.
Zieg turned, stomped his foot into the ground, and unleashed the Shockwave Resonance.
BOOM!
A powerful wave rippled outward, sweeping through the merfolk’s bodies.
“Ghooork!”
As their insides churned from the shockwave, the merfolk lost their balance and collapsed.
Zieg immediately activated Healing Factor as an area-of-effect buff.
Hummmmm!
To his surprise, the range of the AOE buff had expanded compared to before, and the potency of the effect had grown significantly stronger as well.
Thanks to the Healing Factor, the fallen merfolk’s bodies rapidly began to recover.
“Gah!”
Regaining consciousness, the merfolk vomited, unable to steady themselves.
Is this withdrawal from the stimulant?
After a moment’s thought, Zieg drew Roland, the Gemstone Sword.
If it’s Recovery, it might actually heal them.
Princess Arina had carved Recovery—a light magic spell—into Roland before returning it to Zieg through Klone.
Though it was his first time using it, he trusted Arina, so Zieg gripped Roland and cast Recovery.
Hummmmm!
A silvery radiance burst from the blade.
The blinding glow seeped into the bodies of the collapsed merfolk.
Sssssss—
As the light faded, the fallen merfolk finally came to their senses.
“Ughhh—”
“Aah, I’m dyin’ here…”
“My head hurts, and I’m so thirsty…”
Zieg pulled water from his inventory and distributed it to them.
Without even checking who had handed it to them, the merfolk quenched their thirst and barely managed to push themselves up.
One of them asked Zieg in a trembling voice, “W-where are we?”
Looking at the awakened merfolk, Zieg asked, “Are you Peter Pan’s Merfolk Pirates?”
At Zieg’s words, the merfolk blinked, his eyes now looking simple and gentle—a stark contrast to before.
“Well, callin’ us a ‘pirate crew’ is a bit much, y’know? We just go out on the boat sometimes to catch fish and snag bad guys. That’s pretty much it.”
What’s with this guy?
Rather than a pirate, it felt like dealing with an innocent young man from a rural fishing village.
Just then, the other merfolk regained their senses and approached.
“Big bro, you alright? Feels like my head’s split in two.”
“Don’t even talk about it. I feel like I’m gonna die. Mark, how’re you holdin’ up?”
The one called Mark was the largest among them. Still dizzy, he wobbled as he stood before flopping back onto the ground.
He was the very merfolk who had thrown the net at Zieg earlier.
“My stomach’s turnin’, my head’s throbbing, I’m dyin’ here. But where are we, big bro?”
“Beats me. Sir Knight, where in the world are we?”
Faced with a merfolk pirate crew completely different from what he had expected, Zieg forcefully suppressed his confusion.
Then, he calmly asked, “Who is the highest-ranking… no, who is the eldest among you?”
At that, the skinny merfolk who had woken up first raised his hand.
Zieg gestured to him.
“Alright, let’s go through this step by step. What’s your name?”
“I’m Bill.”
“Bill. So, are you and the rest of the merfolk here not part of the Merfolk Pirates?”
“Well, that’s kinda true, but also kinda not.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“You see… we’re actually the youth association from our island’s village.”
“Youth association?”
“Yup. When the island guys come of age, we join the youth association together. If there’s hard work in the village, we lend a hand, and if bad guys kidnap our folks while they’re out fishing, we take a boat, chase ’em down, and bring 'em back. Things like that.”
“So you’re saying that youth association is what people call the Merfolk Pirates?”
“We ain't pirates ourselves, but folks keep callin' us that. The Boss said it makes things easier to get work done, so we just went along with it.”
“By ‘Boss,’ do you mean Peter Pan?”
Hearing that, Bill clapped his hands and laughed.
“Ahaha, seriously! Every time I hear that name for the Boss, I can't help laughin'.”
“What’s so funny about it?”
“Peter Pan was originally the name of the whale we raised on our island.”
“A whale?”
“Yup! Back when we were thinkin' about what to name our youth group, our Peter Pan popped right up out of the water. So we said, ‘Great! Let’s call our youth group Peter Pan and the Merfolk!’ But then that hook guy—or whatever his name was—started callin' our Boss ‘Peter Pan’ out of nowhere. Ever since, everyone just kept callin' him Peter Pan, and that’s how it stuck.”
Hearing Bill’s explanation, Zieg found it completely absurd.
What? Are these guys really the Merfolk Pirates—supposedly the strongest among the South Sea pirates?
Yet, the movements he had witnessed during their clash earlier were undeniably exceptional.
Their teamwork was seamless, and judging by their precision in throwing nets and hooks and their form when thrusting harpoons, this was no novice skill built overnight.
Composing himself again, Zieg asked Bill, “Have you ever heard of Khali Dreker?”
Bill clapped his hands again and exclaimed, “Gosh, even country bumpkins like us know the Silver Knight! They say she’s super pretty and ridiculously strong, right?”
“Super pretty…? Anyway, moving past that. Are you saying you didn't come here with Peter Pan under orders from the Empire or the Siemens bastards to eliminate Khali Dreker?”
Bill waved his hands frantically in denial.
“We don’t know nothin’ about that! We’re just helpin’ out ’cause it’s something the Boss is doin’ for our island.”
Zieg stared intently into Bill’s eyes.
With his enhanced spiritual power, he could easily gauge the truth behind such simple words.
It doesn't seem like he's lying.
After considering it, Zieg spoke to Bill.
“The reason you all felt dizzy earlier was because of a stimulant made from Soma by the Empire.”
At those words, Bill asked in shock, “S-Soma? Ain't that bad medicine?”
“It’s mostly used as a drug. In any case, it seems the Empire injected you with the stimulant to brainwash you. Do you remember anything?”
Bill clutched his head in deep thought.
“Hmm. Come to think of it, a few months back, someone visited the island where our youth association stays.”
“Who was it?”
“I don't know who he was, but he looked pretty scary. Had red hair and all.”
From that description alone, Zieg knew who it was.
Abel Dreker. That bastard approached the Merfolk Pirates.
Zieg asked Bill again, “Did Peter Pan join hands with him?”
Bill shook his head immediately.
“Oh boy, don't say such crazy things! Our Boss would never do that. When the Boss gave him a flat-out refusal, the guy just got back on his ship and left.”
“Hmm, Abel just left?”
“Don't know if his name was Abel or whatever, but yeah, he left. But right after that… huh?”
Right then—
“Ghhhk!”
Bill suddenly clutched his head and collapsed.
Zieg hurriedly lifted Bill’s head by force to check his condition.
Bill’s eyes rolled back, and his body trembled violently.
“Ghhh! Knights! The knights are swarming in! T-The Boss! H-He got caught because of us…!”
Bill shuddered before passing out cold. Seeing this, the other merfolk rushed over to check on him.
“Sir Knight! Is Big Bro Bill gonna be okay? Oh dear, what do we do?!”
After a moment’s thought, Zieg had them move Bill closer to the seawater.
For a merperson, being in seawater was the most comfortable state.
Once Bill was placed in the water, Zieg activated a firm mental defense buff using his area-of-effect ability.
Hummmmm!
As the light seeped into his body, Bill’s expression softened, looking far more at ease than before.
What on earth happened?
Zieg decided to find out what had transpired with the merfolk through the sleeping Bill.
Gripping Bill, he channeled his energy.
As his Dragon Sense activated, Bill’s memories surged into Zieg’s mind.
When Zieg opened his eyes, the surrounding landscape had completely transformed.
“Where is this?”
Zieg stood on an unfamiliar island.
Centered around a crescent-shaped rocky isle, several large and small islands were scattered about.
Suddenly, the long blare of a horn echoed across the entire island.
Boooooooo!
Simultaneously, a massive whirlpool erupted in front of the path leading toward the crescent island.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
The ships rushing toward the island were halted, unable to move due to the whirlpool.
Zieg recognized the vessels as Imperial warships.
Did the Imperial forces attack the Merfolk Pirates?
Just then, something soared up from the ships.
Screeeeaaach!
Astonishingly, flying magical beasts shot up from the vessels and flew straight toward the island.
Whoosh!
The beasts flew right over Zieg’s head. Mounted on their backs were demon-kin and dark mages.
BOOM! BOOM!
From the air, the dark mages rained mana bombs down onto the island's village.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
As the mana bombs exploded, the merfolk in the village rushed out armed with harpoons and nets.
At the same time, the demon-kin riding the beasts leaped down toward them.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Wielding swords wrapped in demonic energy, the demon-kin attacked the merfolk.
The merfolk threw nets and stabbed with harpoons to resist, but it was useless.
Before long, most of the merfolk were either killed or taken prisoner.
In the end, the whirlpool blocking the path into the island dissipated, and the Imperial ships safely entered the inner bay.
The ones stepping foot onto the merfolks' island alongside the Imperial knights... was none other than Abel Dreker, the Knight of Slaughter.
His red hair fluttered in the wind as he surveyed the island.
So that bastard Abel really was involved.
Just then, a knight spotted Zieg, grabbed him, and dragged him over toward Abel.
Zieg realized he was viewing the scene through Bill’s perspective and sharing his emotions.
Kneeling before Abel, Bill was paralyzed with terror.
Through Bill’s eyes, the face of a familiar man came into view.
“Whew, these merfolk sure are a pain in the neck. You've had a tough time as well, Commander Abel.”
A man with thinning hair.
It was Morgan Buffon, the Knight of the Four Dog Bows.
Abel looked down at Bill with cold, detached eyes and spoke.
“Will taking these filthy merfolk hostage really bring Peter Pan to heel?”
Morgan Buffon nodded in response.
“It seems Peter Pan is quite attached to the merfolk of this village. He’ll definitely fall for your proposal, Commander, so do not worry.”
Abel slowly nodded at Morgan’s words.
Morgan then grabbed Bill’s chin and smirked slyly.
“Once we douse these merfolk in drugs and brainwash them, they’ll become obedient enough. They should easily push through that ruin, so His Majesty has high expectations.”
Abel stared at Morgan Buffon’s despicable grin, then turned his head away without a word.
As Abel walked away, the smile vanished from Morgan’s face, and he gestured to the knights.
“Clean this up. We’re going to meet that Peter Pan fellow right away.”
The peaceful village burned, and the merfolk were shackled in chains, dragged onto the Imperial ships like slaves.
Watching the horror unfold, Bill wailed and thrashed, desperately trying to break free.
In response, the knights battered him mercilessly with the butts of their spears. As Bill lay soundly beaten, a suspicious-looking mage approached and injected something into him with a syringe.
“Ughhh...”
The world began to spin.
Calling out for his Boss, Bill lost consciousness right then and there.
“Whew.”
Having returned from reading Bill’s memory, Zieg came to his senses.
He roughly grasped how things had unfolded.
The Empire captured the merfolk to blackmail Peter Pan.
Not only were they trapping Khali, but they had also attacked the island to exploit the merfolks' unique abilities to explore the ancient ruins hidden here.
Zieg clenched his fists tight as he looked at the merfolk gazing at him with innocent expressions.
In the past life he had lived through, events like this occurred all across the continent.
However, since Peter Pan and the Merfolk Pirates were ultimately being used as well, it was clear there were far more victims than he had originally known.
Abel’s cold glare and Morgan’s despicable sneer flashed through Zieg’s mind.
Damn bastards.
Zieg brought Bill out of the seawater.
He then asked the other merfolk, “Does anyone happen to remember what happened to your Boss?”
At Zieg’s question, the merfolk clutched their heads with confused expressions.
Drugged as they were, none of them seemed to remember anything.
Right at that moment—
Bill, who had lost consciousness, came to once again.
“Ugh.”
Zieg approached him.
“Are you feeling any clearer?”
Bill looked at Zieg and opened his mouth.
“I-I remembered. I remembered!”
Hearing that, Zieg leaned in closer.
“Did you remember something about your Boss?”
Barely pushing his body up, Bill panted out to Zieg:
“T-The Boss... he fought against t-that person for our sake!”
Zieg’s eyebrows twitched at his words.
“That person? Who do you mean?”
Gasping as if wringing out his breath, Bill choked out, “Khali Dreker... I mean the S-Silver Knight!”