Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: The Logic of Betrayal
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Once the fleet split up and began to operate separately, the contribution points earned by the users surged.
It was a natural outcome, as a single ship now monopolized the contribution that would have otherwise been shared among many.
[You have acquired contribution points.]
[You have acquired contribution…]
The result was a flood of contribution points!
The users could only marvel at the influx.
“Wow, this is insane.”
“How much did we just make in one go?”
With every successful subjugation, rankings fluctuated by several places.
Conversely, if their ship remained idle while another engaged in a hunt, their rank would drop by several places.
Seeing their ranks rise and fall so visibly made the users even more sensitive to their contribution scores.
“Move! If we stay put, we’ll fall behind again!”
“Archers have good eyes! Help us find some pirate ships!”
“Dude, no matter how hard we look, there are none left around here…”
“We have to go further out.”
The users gradually ventured into the distant sea.
…And this was the result.
“Kuhaha! Plunder everything!”
“To dare come into these waters with a single ship, you must have lost your minds!”
“Don’t let a single one of them escape alive!”
In a moment of carelessness, they had been surrounded by three pirate ships in the blink of an eye!
Thanks to that, the deck was now in chaos.
A fierce melee had broken out.
“Pant, pant!”
“Priest, we need support over here! They’re breaking through!”
“Ah, damn it! Can’t you handle that much on your own? We’re busy enough as it is…!”
“I was saving this… Everyone, gather here! I’m using a buff scroll!”
“I’ll use one too!”
Sensing the crisis, the users scrambled around, fighting off the pirates.
They even used the high-grade scrolls and secret skills they had been saving.
However…
*BOOM!!*
[A cannonball has directly hit the ship.]
[The right side of the ship’s hull has…]
“W-What was that!?”
“Crap! There’s a hole below! Is anyone free right now!?”
“Block the leak! If we sink, it’s really over!”
“Uwaaah…!”
The unfavorable tide of battle did not turn easily.
Instead, their situation began to worsen as they were slowly chipped away.
The sheer number of enemies was a factor, but more than that, the pirates were much stronger than they had anticipated.
By venturing into the distant sea, they had naturally encountered a higher level of pirates.
This was a problem they could have foreseen with a little more caution, but…
‘What could possibly go wrong?’
‘More importantly, what are we gonna do if our rank drops?’
The users, their eyes already clouded by the allure of contribution points, had ignored the risks.
And now, they were paying the harsh price.
*Slash!*
“Gah!”
“Watch out! Dammit, we’re starting to get pushed back!”
“No heals?”
“My cooldown is over, but I’m out of mana!”
Slowly, their mana and health depleted, the users began to fall back.
“Finish them! Crush them all!”
“They’ve got nothing left!”
“Kugh…!”
The pirates, sensing this, intensified their assault.
Cannon fire was added to the mix.
*BOOM!!*
“Heok!?”
[The hull has sustained critical damage!]
[If the damaged area is not repaired, the ship will sink shortly!]
[Warning…]
“Can you repair it?”
“You think? We don’t even have enough people to fight right now…!”
“Ah, damn. What do we do then?”
In this desperate situation, the users tore at their hair, not knowing what to do.
It was then.
*Bwoooooo…!*
“Huh?”
“What’s that sound… A ship, it’s a ship!”
“What? A ship? Our ship!?”
An allied ship had appeared just in the nick of time!
The users, who had been plunged into despair, went wild.
Like people who had found a ray of light in a dark abyss, they rushed to the railings.
“Waaaaaah!! Over here! Here!”
“Help us!!”
“Hey, hey! Change the flag. Quickly! What if they miss us and pass by!”
Responding to their fervent cheers, the allied ship approached.
It then swiftly dealt with the pirates, who were already exhausted from the fierce battle.
“W-We’re saved…”
“Phew.”
At that sight, the users finally relaxed and collapsed onto the deck.
…But unfortunately for them, the situation was not yet over.
In fact, the real tragedy was just beginning.
“Thank you for saving u…”
“Attack!!”
“…!!?”
*Swish!! Thud!*
*BOOM!!*
[A fireball has directly hit the hull.]
[A cannonball has directly hit the hull.]
[The sail is torn by an arrow.]
[The hull has been completely destroyed…]
[…]
[…Repairs are impossible!]
[Abandon ship!]
“Uwaaah!”
“…Wh-What? Are you crazy!?”
“Where are you shooting! We’re not pirates, you idiots!”
Lee Shin glanced over at them.
Then, he answered confidently.
“I know.”
“!?!?!?!?”
“…Keep firing!!”
*BOOM!!*
A crazy barrage of attacks rained down from their supposed allies!
The users, with fire now at their feet, scrambled back up.
They didn’t know what was happening…
But they couldn’t just let themselves be slaughtered.
“…Dammit! We attack too!”
The users belatedly launched a counterattack.
But with their health and mana already depleted, the outcome was obvious.
Lee Shin’s unit annihilated them with overwhelming force.
* * *
“Sob! Why the hell are you doing this!”
“You bastards!”
“Was the quest that important to you!?”
Atop the sinking ship, the users hurled resentful words.
At this, the hands of the users who had been pouring on attacks at Lee Shin’s command paused for a moment.
They had been gleefully attacking on his orders, but…
‘…Hut!’
‘What have I done…!?’
Coming to their senses, they began to worry about the aftermath.
It was fine now, but the problem would come in three days.
That was when those players would resurrect.
‘Wh-What should I do…?’
‘Should I go easy on them now?’
The users stood around awkwardly, glancing at their surroundings.
But their hesitation soon vanished.
And for good reason.
*Thud! BOOM!!*
“Wh-What is with this psycho!?”
“Someone stop him!”
“Why are you going this far!”
Compared to the one user rampaging in the distance, what they had done was a mere drop in the bucket.
Even though the battle was already decided, Lee Shin was still in a frenzy, performing a sword dance of death.
“……”
“……”
The users quietly shut their mouths.
And continued what they were doing.
How much time passed like that?
By the time the ship had almost completely sunk.
Lee Shin finished off the last remaining user.
*Stab!*
[You have killed a user!]
[Your experience increases.]
[Your infamy increases.]
[…]
[…The unit you commanded has annihilated the pirates!]
[As a commander bonus, you acquire a portion of the total contribution points (5%)!]
[As a commander bonus, you acquire a portion of the total experience…]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
“…!!”
Lee Shin’s eyes widened.
How could something this good happen?
Startled, he checked his rank and found he had already climbed to first place.
[…The unit you commanded has annihilated an allied unit!]
[As a commander bonus, you acquire a portion of the total infamy…]
…His infamy had risen as well, but that wasn’t a bad thing.
In fact, it was a good thing.
He could now control his infamy with cursed equipment.
So this simply meant the damage of his 'Avatar of Malice' had increased.
[Your infamy has increased by a large amount!]
[The incubation time for the Seed of Malice is greatly reduced.]
• Remaining Time: 73 days, 17 hours.
On top of that, the incubation time was reduced!
It was still a long time, but considering it had been close to 100 days before, this was a massive reduction.
A smile spread across Lee Shin’s face at this far-better-than-expected outcome.
‘I might even be able to hatch it during this quest.’
A few more battles of this scale, and it was a definite possibility.
After reading through the messages, Lee Shin sent a whisper to Arthur.
- You can come out now.
- Sir?
- Come out and grab the items.
- Ah, yes.
As a result of the massive slaughter, the deck was littered with uncollected items.
‘A gold mine.’
Lee Shin began to pick up items and gold with Arthur.
[You have acquired an item.]
[You have acquired an item.]
[You have acquired an…]
[You have acquired an…]
“…E-Excuse me.”
Then, a voice, not a mechanical sound, cut through the notifications.
Lee Shin turned his head.
“?”
A group of users was approaching him, looking strangely hesitant.
At the sight of them, the slight upward curve of Lee Shin’s lips flattened into a cold line.
‘Don’t tell me…’
Don’t tell me they don’t understand their position and came to ask if they could loot too?
If that was the case, he was thinking of throwing them into the sea right now.
And then pulling them out after 10 minutes, just to kill…
“N-No! That’s not it!”
As if his thoughts had shown on his face, the users frantically waved their hands.
Lee Shin tilted his chin, and one of them asked, their face etched with worry and anxiety.
“What do we do now?”
“About what.”
“The consequences…!”
Lee Shin turned his body completely.
Then, with a look of genuine confusion, he asked back.
“What consequences.”
“…We betrayed them! What are we going to do about this!?”
“Are you raising your voice at me right now? You want to die?”
“Huh!? Ah, no. Sorry.”
The user flinched in surprise and apologized.
Then, he barely managed to hold back the incredulous retort that was about to burst out.
‘This psycho.’
What kind of person’s first response to a slightly raised voice is ‘You want to die?’!
The problem was that this psycho was the one who currently had Drake’s trust.
Swallowing hard, the user continued in an extremely cautious tone.
“Users resurrect after three days, right? What if they go to the lord or the commander?”
What if they tattled about the betrayal? Lee Shin’s answer to this was simple.
“We just deny it.”
“?”
“Say the pirates attacked them, not us.”
“But that’s a lie.”
“Huuuh…”
Lee Shin let out a deep sigh.
He then looked at the user who had just spoken as if he were pathetic.
His expression seemed to ask, ‘What’s your level, and you don’t even know this?’
“…!”
The user on the receiving end of that gaze flinched, feeling a strange sense of humiliation.
He was just asking because he was curious…!
Was it such a strange question?
Lee Shin clicked his tongue and answered.
“Dude. How would the lord or the commander know it’s a lie? They didn’t see the fight.”
“…Huh?”
“Were they here? Or were they watching from afar with a telescope?”
“W-Well, no. They weren’t picked up by detection magic, so…”
“Then what’s the problem? There’s no evidence.”
The only ones who could serve as evidence were the allied NPCs.
They were under the lord’s command, so their words alone were proof.
Frankly, if one of the captains or soldiers pointed at Lee Shin and said, ‘That man betrayed us!’, it would be over.
But.
‘I already took care of them.’
Lee Shin was well aware of that, which was why he had dealt with them first.
That left the conflict with the users, which was easy to resolve.
“How?”
“We just need to show our results.”
The results he was talking about were the contribution points.
“Then it’ll all sort itself out.”
“……?”
When the users still looked confused, Lee Shin elaborated.
He gestured with his chin toward the already sunken ship and asked.
“Hey. If we kill all of them, who’s going to have the higher contribution score later?”
“…Us, obviously?”
“Then, dude. Who are the commander or the lord going to believe? When two guys with similar affinity are both making claims, one with a high contribution score and one with a low one.”
“…Ah!”
“The one with the higher score, obviously, right?”
Even if both sides were complaining, the one who ‘gets the job done’ would be more convincing.
It was a matter of course.
“I-I see.”
“That makes sense.”
The users nodded.
As they did, they thought to themselves.
‘…What a terrifying person.’
‘He’s definitely not normal.’
* * *
“I have returned.”
After collecting the rest of the items, Lee Shin went back to Drake.
Drake looked at the unscathed Lee Shin and asked.
“Casualties?”
“We have four dead.”
“Hoh…”
“We were lucky.”
“At sea, luck is also a skill.”
[Drake’s affinity has increased.]
“What should I do now?”
“First, I plan to return to base. We’ve been at sea for too long.”
“The base… ah.”
Lee Shin’s eyes lit up.
‘The pirate island!’
It was a place he absolutely had to visit to complete Regreus’s quest!
Lee Shin asked cautiously.
“Am I going with you?”
“We don’t normally allow outsiders, but…”
Drake paused and looked at Lee Shin.
After a moment, he nodded and replied.
“Well. I suppose you’ll be fine.”
“…!”