Beg and Beg Again (6)
“Seventeen ships flooded overnight! Seventeen!”
“Holes punched through the hulls. Nothing for it.”
“That’s what you call an answer?!”
“Did I not warn you, my lord? That if things continued this way, something foul would occur? It was you who chose not to listen.”
Baramson watched with a soft cackle as the Archmage pressed the lord of the city hard. The man glared at him, but Baramson could not have cared less.
He carried a temporary writ of absolution and a message from the lord of Zakrati. So long as those existed, the lord of Gryu Telz dared not treat him carelessly. Even without witnesses it might have been different, but with a Sage of the Magic Tower shielding him, the point was settled.
“Dispatch troops. Now.”
“T-troops?”
“The forces to be used for the Sea Dragon hunt. Ah, and there are other matters you will need to support as well…”
Yesterday the Archmage had been a man Baramson desperately wanted to murder—and the urge still lingered—yet as an ally he was an unmatched negotiator. Thanks to him, Baramson simply observed in comfort while the Archmage smoothly extracted every demand he had made.
“They say even if seas turn to mulberry fields there is still somewhere to stand. This is proceeding more smoothly than I expected. Honestly, I thought it was finished.”
The first mate at his side murmured the words into his ear. Baramson agreed. When he had first heard the full tale yesterday, he too had thought Zakrati was done for.
He had even considered pretending to cooperate, then slipping away by night. Stealing one of the ships in the harbor seemed far more manageable than being drafted into a dragon hunt.
Of course that would have put him at odds with the Adventurers’ Guild, yet it might have been the better path. If the Guild sent hunters after him, he could always lure them into a clash with Bipurit.
Then again, those same adventurers might simply join Bipurit instead.
“Tell me about it. If we could settle the whole business inside three days, that would be ideal.”
What had killed the idea of flight was the Dragon Tooth Soldiers that had appeared yesterday. No matter how far he fled in a stolen ship, meeting one of those things meant drowning without achieving a thing. Dying without accomplishing anything was the one outcome he could never accept.
There was also a colder calculation at work.
Now that the creatures had not only entered the city but sunk ships, the lord would never sit idle. Even if they could not kill the dragon inside half a day, the matter would surely move within three. The longer it dragged, the more ships would go under, and the greater the lord’s losses would become.
“Three days? Nonsense. Two will be plenty. We may even finish before the troops promised to Zakrati ever arrive.”
When the Archmage cut in with that confident claim, Baramson forgot the situation’s sourness for a moment and laughed.
“That kind of contract breach I wouldn’t mind at all.”
Provided they lived, of course. Still.
And if—by some miracle—this succeeded… he would return to Zakrati with aid far exceeding what he had originally sought.
It was, quite literally, a gamble.
A gamble with his own life, the lives of comrades who had shared half a lifetime with him, and the lives of the families waiting in the city as the stakes—and the city’s salvation as the prize.
Baramson felt the sudden weight on his shoulders and rubbed a hand across his face.
Is this truly the best path? The question he could not speak aloud tormented him. He almost missed the days of riding out a storm in a single boat. Back then, all he had needed to safeguard was his own life.
“More importantly, I wonder where the Demon Knight has gone.”
“Demon Knight?”
“Ah, you never received a proper introduction, did you? That is the moniker of the man you first wished to recruit.”
“Ahh. So that’s it. He played hard to get, and only now I learn the name.”
Demon Knight. As a native of Yabad who shuddered at the mere word “demon,” it was hardly a welcome title. If the man had earned it by slaughtering demons in droves, that would have been one thing.
“…I will grant that his temperament makes him somewhat difficult to approach, but do not take it too much to heart. He has his reasons.”
“Hm? Pwahaha. You thought I cared? Don’t worry yourself. To a seaman, that level of arrogance isn’t even a flaw.”
“That is a relief, then.”
“Of course, if the skill to back it up isn’t there, then I’d have regrets.”
“Have no fear. In the matter of ability, he is not a man who will give you cause for regret.”
If even a Sage of the Magic Tower would vouch for him, just how strong was he?
Baramson left the castle and cast a look around. And, quite by chance, he witnessed a portion of the harbor sea parting.
It was the work of mana so black it raised gooseflesh.
“The Demon Knight is over there.”
“…That’s the Demon Knight’s doing?”
“Indeed.”
Well now. If that truly was the man’s work, then a little arrogance hardly seemed unreasonable.
No one Baramson had ever seen—not even knights—could manage such a feat.
It had taken one day longer than the Archmage had promised Baramson, but the once-stagnant preparations now raced forward without pause.
I never knew an entire military camp could be raised in a single day. After heading out to Gamak Bay to clear Dragon Tooth Soldiers, I returned only to gape at how briskly the barracks were going up.
Separately, since I had no part to play in building the fortifications, I rested thoroughly once the Dragon Tooth Soldiers were handled. There was so much free time that the people who would board the ships even gathered to introduce themselves to one another.
Of course, when we were the ones who had to cooperate in luring the dragon, getting to know faces and gauging each other’s strength was only natural. I simply had never managed (or bothered) to do so until now.
“A lot of mages.”
“What else can we do when there are so few warriors who can fire off Chamgyeok at that level?”
A mage dispatched from the Magic Tower said this while fixing me with heated eyes. The look was even more irritating because of the warning the Archmage had delivered about the Tower. I had no idea why he was staring like that.
Or maybe he was still sore that I had fired Chamgyeok around the harbor the other day. I was a close-range fighter; I couldn’t just stand there. I had only been testing the maximum range of the few long-range skills I possessed. I hadn’t even damaged the harbor.
“Ahem.”
The Archmage, who had just approached, cleared his throat once, loudly, and most of those gazes vanished. Much better.
“Were the mages not told to wait below decks?”
“But Archmage—”
“Your section is…”
“I will go in at once.”
After the Archmage drove them below, things grew more comfortable still. My cheeks had been burning so fiercely I had been debating whether to pick a fight.
“Still, we are not without options. Harpoons can be thrown in support.”
“Well, true. Whether a harpoon will even work on a dragon, I have no idea.”
“Each one has been magically reinforced, so there should be some effect.”
“Maybe.”
…Wait a second. They weren’t ordinary harpoons? I had thrown a few earlier for practice and broken about three of them.
So that was why the mages had been staring at me so passionately??
“Everyone who’s boarding is aboard, right? Then we cast off.”
In any case, the hour had arrived.
Twenty mages from the Magic Tower, five adventurers, sixteen from the temple, thirty-three sailors. And the four of us.
A force assembled strictly for luring began to leave for the open sea.
“Urgh.”
Of course, seasickness found me in less than half an hour. This was the largest ship I had boarded yet, and it still wasn’t enough.
“Hold on—what’s wrong with your face?”
I had tried desperately to hide it amid the crowd, yet Baramson alone noticed with sharp eyes. The others seemed oblivious; why he alone always spotted it remained a mystery.
“Y-you?”
Baramson gave me a look of pure betrayal. I understood the feeling, yet it still felt unfair.
Did he think I wanted to be seasick? Blame the body of the character I was stuck with!
“He fights just fine even like that, so don’t worry.”
Dev—who had agonized fiercely over whether to stay ashore and ultimately decided to come—answered for me. I still didn’t know why he had followed, but I was grateful for the cover.
“Damn it, is this really okay?”
Actually, no. As long as I remained on deck, the seasickness would never improve. But the ship was already under way. Turning back now was out of the question.
“I brought tea.”
The Inquisitor suddenly inserted herself. Having learned of her identity only yesterday, Baramson’s face hardened and he stepped back at once, yet she paid him no mind and simply held the cup out to me.
A herbal scent rose, more fragrant than bitter.
“They say it will help if you drink it.”
Would it really work?
I accepted it half-doubtfully. Closing my eyes, I drained the cup; my stomach seemed both to churn harder and to settle a little.
“Main sail shifting!”
A sailor bellowed just then. Baramson’s head snapped toward the sound; he drew a deep breath.
“What are you doing? Drop the center sail!”
“Storm coming!”
In that brief opening, reports flooded in one after another. Even a landlubber’s ears could hear the wind turning ominous, and the sailors grew still more frantic.
“Don’t panic—prepare the way you always do! We haven’t even reached the Dragon’s Gate yet!”
Baramson shouted that, then shot me a sidelong glance.
“Listen. If we fail to kill the dragon, I’ll kill you myself. Remember that.”
If we failed to kill the dragon we would all drown long before he could murder me… but words were free.
“If I fail, it will only be because the ship failed to weather the storm.”
In that spirit I answered with whatever came to mind. Baramson snorted and left to do his own work.
“….”
Normally the Inquisitor would have flared up at a criminal speaking so freely, yet she remained quiet. Her gauntlets scraped together with a metallic creak.
“Ahem.”
Dev cleared his throat. His eyes darted about, reading the room.
Since yesterday evening their bickering had almost vanished once Baramson joined. Only two days so far, true.
“Sir Knight, do you truly believe we can slay the dragon?”
Plans exist to be broken, and the future is future precisely because it cannot be foretold. Every time a question like this came, my insides twisted.
“If you intend to speak weak words, get out of my sight.”
Few commands are more vicious than “do it or die,” yet few words are as frequently obeyed. Possibility or no, we simply had to succeed.
“Tidal wave!”
“Idiot! A wave that size won’t flip the ship! Stop making a racket and hold still!”
“Hey—if you’ve got strength to spare, help with this!”
Meanwhile the swells grew fiercer, and the clouds that had already begun to gather thickened further. The sun was no longer visible.
Slap, slap. The great ship began to pitch. Having shoved the mages below in advance had been a masterstroke. Those fragile sticks would have been blown clean overboard if left on deck.
“Everyone who came up, get below!”
Sailors, already being soaked by the rain, drove the people on deck—mostly adventurers—down below. They were in the way; that was the reason. We were no exception.
“Do not interfere with me.”
Was I going to obey? Not a chance.
If I went inside I was certain I would retch, so I forced myself to stay. The stench below decks was no joke; stepping in now meant one hundred percent vomiting.
“If you fall into the sea, don’t expect me to care!”
Honestly, the ones climbing the mast along netted lines looked far more endangered than I did.
I gripped the railing hard and planted my feet.
“Aaaah, this wind’s insane!”
“What a weakling!”
“I told you I’m not a superhuman like you lot!”
“Then go inside!”
“Beside you people is the safest place I can see!”
Because I refused to go down, the Inquisitor and Dev stayed as well. The Inquisitor, aided by her armor and her own weight, seemed to have little trouble holding on; Dev had all four limbs wrapped around the rear mast.
Plip, plop.
To make matters worse, rain began to fall in earnest. The tense shouts of the sailors and Baramson’s orders melted into the downpour and mixed thickly together.
Crash!
Clinging to the rail with eyes shut, I felt a sudden blast of cold. A wave had struck the hull and poured over the side.
Our spot happened to have a low railing, so I took the seawater full in the face.
Since the rain was going to soak me anyway it was no great matter. The cold shock simply snapped my mind clear.
“…!”
Yet when I considered what came next, that might actually have been fortunate. It turned my gaze toward the sea.
A hostile target exists within a 30 m radius.
This system of mine seems to refuse to sound these days until I notice first. Unbelievable.
“They’re coming.”
“Pardon?”
Still, preparations had to be made. I drew my sword.
A short distance away, the Inquisitor—who had taken a similar soaking—swept her hair back and looked at me in confusion. I did not bother explaining.
Once Chamgyeok carved into the water, she would understand on her own.
“That—!”
Thanks to the slash she located the targets easily. She urgently drew up Holy Power and formed a temporary barrier.
Boom!
Dragon Tooth Soldiers slammed into her shield.
“Combat already?”
“S-sharks—something like sharks in the water!”
“We told you about the Dragon Tooth Soldiers, you idiot!”
“Captain! The protective devices!”
A sailor spun desperately toward Baramson.
Dragon Tooth Soldiers had sunk many ships before, and until the protective devices installed on this hull were activated, its strength was no different from any other vessel.
The minor problem was that those devices had a time limit.
Even with full authority, Baramson did not order them activated lightly. He had to consider the battle against the dragon that still lay ahead. He was the captain, after all.
“…Is it necessary?!”
Instead he sought confirmation.
“Do not activate them.”
So I gave him the answer he wanted.
“Not yet.”
I targeted the creatures hidden in the sea. With the Inquisitor’s barrier holding them back, their positions became momentarily easy to mark.
Kra-boom!
A second sword stroke, accompanied by the ring of metal, shattered the barrier and bisected one Dragon Tooth Soldier. Another was cut halfway through the waist and began spreading something black and viscous through the water.
“You! Bring me a harpoon!”
“Stop giving orders!”
Dev complained at the Inquisitor’s command yet did not refuse. The rogue dropped to the central deck and passed a harpoon with precise hands.
“Demon Knight!”
I took the harpoon she held out and gripped it firmly.
Could I hit? But the situation no longer favored stubborn use of Chamgyeok.
Their underwater movements were too grotesque and the range too great. The deck itself had become an obstacle that made firing the slash awkward as well.
So I threw it with the knack I had barely grasped during earlier practice.
Trajectory, water resistance—none of that needed calculation. Wrap it in mana and it flies almost straight.
“Hup.”
I swallowed the nausea and held my breath. One of them was swimming toward us at high speed.
Whsssh!
The harpoon, sheathed in black energy, shot forth like a cannonball. The instant it entered the murky water it pierced the Dragon Tooth Soldier’s skull.
Splash!
The Inquisitor’s harpoon somehow found a mark as well. Though she failed to hit the head as I had, it skewered the body.
The monster thrashed with a harpoon through its torso, spreading blood-like fluid through the sea.
“One more coming!”
A sailor hanging in the netting of the rigging pointed to one side.
“Sir!”
Dev timed another harpoon perfectly; I caught it and threw in the same motion. By a hair’s breadth the Dragon Tooth Soldier’s head was impaled and it died.
Slash!
The sword I drew next poured out Chamgyeok, tearing apart the two that still clung feebly to life.
The rain, now torrential, soaked my hair thoroughly and ran down the bridge of my nose, my cheeks, the line of my jaw.
“I-I think that’s all of them!”
“Good!”
The moment combat ended, the rising queasiness forced me to lower my head for a moment.
I’m dying for real. Eyes closed it’s almost bearable, but open them for a fight and it’s hell.
“Forward! More Dragon Tooth Soldiers approaching!”
…Correction. Hell was only beginning.
The curtain rose on the Sea Dragon raid.