Ghost Fleet (2)
Turn Undead. For anyone wielding holy magic, it was a trump card spell unlocked at a certain level—and right on cue, Baek Seol-hwa had acquired high-level holy magic through her contract with Bahamut.
She'd already been Pohang's strongest Awakener even before the contract, with a level high enough to match, allowing her to learn new spells worthy of it.
The effect of Turn Undead was brutally simple: it inflicted catastrophic damage on the undead... essentially an instant kill.
If the target wasn't undead, it just fizzled out awkwardly with no effect whatsoever. But if it was undead...
"Kieeeek!"
It was like facing their absolute worst predator.
The banshee, which had been drifting over the sea and unleashing waves of terror with its screams, let out an agonized wail under Seol-hwa's single Turn Undead spell and vanished without a trace on the spot.
With the banshee—the source of the artificial dread that had cowed Pohang's fleet—erased in one shot, the panic gripping the ships evaporated instantly.
For the patrol vessels losing control of their high-speed craft amid the fear, this was a golden opportunity.
"All high-speed craft! Intercept those enemy speedboats charging our fleet!"
"Roger!"
With the artificial terror gone and Baek Seol-hwa wiping out hordes of banshees in a single strike, the marines' morale surged as if on command. They followed Kim Tae-sik's orders without question, charging the enemy speedboats aiming for their prows and responding perfectly.
Free from the banshee's screams, the marines regained their courage. They rushed onto decks to prepare for boarding actions or unleashed magic and autocannon fire to intercept approaching craft.
Some Pohang speedboats even rammed the enemy from the side, turning the tables with boarding actions of their own.
And...
"Whoa. One shot? As expected of the magic bestowed by the Dragon God!"
[Looks like my guess was right—they really are undead. If Turn Undead works this well... Wait, does that mean it works on zombies on land too?]
Baek Seol-hwa, who had overturned the dire battle with a single spell, praised the Dragon God Bahamut as the cause of it all upon seeing the banshees vanish. Bahamut, observing coolly, confirmed the enemy was genuine undead.
He hadn't been entirely sure himself, so he'd taught Seol-hwa the spell to test it in combat—and it had worked perfectly.
Confirming the zombies were truly akin to undead, he wondered if Turn Undead might work on those entrenched on land too.
'Huh. Then all our efforts so far feel kinda wasted.'
Bahamut felt a hollow pang in a certain sense, but...
'Still, Turn Undead is a high-level spell. Right now, only Yuna and Seol-hwa can use it. Not a total waste, I guess?'
It was advanced magic, after all, and within the Balhut Cult, only two members could cast it.
The cult had plenty of mages, but their spells and casts were limited. Even knowing the weakness, exploiting it proactively was tough.
Besides, the cult relied less on mages' spells—favoring Bahamut Bullets for firepower projection, with mages themselves preferring familiar modern weapons forged from Bahamut's coins.
"Worth testing, then."
But it was definitely worth experimenting with. Knowing it worked was half the battle; the rest could come through trials.
If a powerful undead surfaced on the peninsula someday, Turn Undead would be their ace against it.
[Right. Let's deal with the enemy at hand first.]
"Leave it to me."
But first, the ghost fleet in the East Sea needed handling.
Bahamut agreed and ordered Seol-hwa to annihilate the sea foes. She promptly returned to the bridge and issued commands to Kim Tae-sik, directing the naval battle.
"Rally the scattered marines near the patrol vessels. Our fleet will charge the enemy."
"Understood, Yuna-nim. But what was that miracle just now?"
"Magic bestowed by the Dragon God. As you saw, it banished those terrifying banshees in one go."
"I... I see. Magic from the Dragon God himself."
At Bahamut's name, Kim Tae-sik was convinced this battle wasn't hopeless. He'd already sensed victory from the miracle, but Seol-hwa's words made it feel imminent.
"All fleet! Form up around the patrol vessels! Speedboats detached from the line—regroup at the command ship immediately! Repeat: detached speedboats, return to command ship now!"
"Roger!"
Marines in boarding fights boarded their craft and converged on the patrol ship per orders. With banshees gone, control was firmly back with the patrol vessels.
The disorganized formation reformed swiftly into a crane-wing array centered on the patrol ship.
"Alright, then. Shall we squeeze them slowly? Kim Tae-sik, once the speedboats are in position, advance gradually toward the ghost fleet."
"Understood, Seol-hwa-nim."
Fear had vanished from the fleet. Kim Tae-sik followed her orders faithfully, without doubt.
As the fleet edged toward the ghost flagship, Seol-hwa stepped out onto the deck again.
As Pohang's fleet advanced on the command ship, banshees poured from the ghost fleet once more.
"Tougher than expected. Those screams are annoying. Turn Undead!"
The fleet's formation wavered at the banshees' emergence, but Seol-hwa blasted them with Turn Undead, erasing the horde.
Yet the forced fear slowed their advance effectively; the fleet's speed visibly dropped.
Even with Seol-hwa vaporizing banshees instantly, their sheer numbers meant marines hearing the screams fell back into panic.
[Once the status effect lands, it sows massive chaos and illusory damage through confusion. If uncontrolled speedboats show up now, we're the ones in danger.]
"Can regular Awakener even withstand that?"
It was a new monster with no countermeasures. Variant spider zombies fell to physical prowess, but banshees ignored it entirely.
Bridge crew only mildly affected suggested the effect weakened without direct exposure to the scream, but...
[Even brave marines are succumbing. It's not willpower—likely magic resistance. We'll need rare items to boost that.]
"We can't find those here!"
[Haha, true. Have to tough it out for now. We'll think on it later.]
Fighters on deck had no real counter. Bahamut speculated it was resistance over will, suggesting rare items—but none were at hand, as Seol-hwa noted.
"Simple, then. Snipe them with Turn Undead the moment they emerge from the ghost ships!"
[Can you manage that?]
"Yes. Long-range sniping? That's my specialty."
Seol-hwa's plan: pick off emerging banshees one by one from the command ship.
It was tricky, so Bahamut questioned feasibility, but she claimed confidence.
"Turn Undead!"
A banshee half-emerging from the flagship got precisely sniped, vanishing in black flames without a scream.
The ghost flagship tried again, but...
"Turn Undead."
"Kieeeek!"
This one was hit before fully manifesting. Its cry echoed only inside, harmless to Pohang's fleet.
[She's really good at this.]
Even Bahamut, watching, was impressed. Pinpoint sniping specific spots was child's play for her.
"Turn Undead. Turn Undead. Turn Undead. Turn Undead. Bonus explosion!"
No cooldown in sight—she spammed it relentlessly, leaving the enemy scrambling.
Banshee screams were their best tool to halt advances, but she sniped them all.
The undead defenders ground their teeth—if they had any—facing her barrage.
She even shattered obstructing fishing vessel keels with her signature temperature magic, sinking them mercilessly. Nothing blocked the patrol ship's path anymore.
"Is... is that spell easier than it looks?"
"No way."
Kim Tae-sik, witnessing it, asked the mage crew if it was simple magic. The bridge mage shook her head, incredulous.
'Spamming like that without tiring? Infinite mana?']
Any normal mage would've exhausted or collapsed their mana by now. Yet Seol-hwa was fresh as ever.
She knew it was high-tier magic too.
"She was Pohang's top Awakener before. Now? Peninsula's strongest—no exaggeration."
"That good?"
"Yes. I'm no expert, but compared to named peninsula Awakener on the forums? Few match her."
"Haha, that's music to my ears. Perfect."
Kim Tae-sik grinned, clutching a lifeline.
"Turn Undead. Turn Undead. Turn Undead... My throat's getting sore from chanting!"
The advance was unstoppable, spearheaded by Seol-hwa on deck with the patrol ship leading, speedboats flanking.
They reached the ghost flagship—but...
"Th-the enemy fleet... they're fleeing! The ghost fleet's running from us!"
"N-no way. Zombies fleeing? Impossible!"
As Seol-hwa's fleet closed in, the ghosts turned tail without hesitation.
Seol-hwa stared in disbelief at zombies fleeing before a real fleet battle.
Intelligent variant spiders fled sans odds, sure—but this? Before proper engagement?
[No overwhelming gap. Fleeing over one Turn Undead?]
Fleeing an impossible foe like Bahamut was fine. But ghosts had the edge; Seol-hwa's fleet had cleared blocking ships via her magic.
They could've bled them in a war of attrition at range—instead, they just bolted.
[...This is weird.]
Bahamut muttered quietly at the bizarre turn, unlike anything before.