Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: A War of Opportunity
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Thwack! Thwack!
Lee Shin suddenly started beating the users. Midway through, he glanced back.
“……”
Drake simply stood with his arms crossed, as if giving his silent approval.
*You handle it!*
With Drake's tacit permission, Lee Shin confidently continued the beating disguised as an interrogation.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
[You have attacked a user.]
[You have attacked a user.]
[Your notoriety increases.]
[Your notoriety…]
[…The incubation time for the Crystallization of Malice is reduced!]
‘Oh?’
My notoriety rises just from beating them up!
Thanks to that, the incubation time for the Crystallization of Malice, which had already been greatly reduced, shortened even further.
With about ten days left, it looked like it would be ready to hatch by the time this quest was over.
‘Perfect.’
In high spirits, Lee Shin beat the users with even more gusto.
All the while, he didn't forget to pepper them with interrogating questions.
“Talk. Tell me who your accomplices are!”
“Damn it, I told you I don't know!”
“Is that really true? I guess we'll find out as we continue.”
“What kind of…!?”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!!
[Critical Hit!]
[The target's health is below 3%...]
[…The user has died!]
[Your notoriety has greatly increased.]
“Oh, dear. He died.”
Lee Shin muttered nonchalantly.
The other users glared daggers at him, but Lee Shin coolly ignored them.
He simply smoothed over the situation by collecting the dead user's dropped items and offering them to Drake.
“My apologies, Captain. Before I could get any information…”
“It happens. Don't worry about it.”
“Thank you!”
Sucking up with another man's loot!
The users seethed.
‘That, that…!’
‘If I ever run into him on the street…!’
But Lee Shin paid them no mind and silently carried on with his task.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!!
[A user has died.]
[A user has died.]
[A user…]
Some time passed.
When the number of remaining users had dwindled to below ten.
Lee Shin caught his breath and lowered his club.
“Hoo.”
“…!”
“Let's take a short break. Captain. Is that alright?”
“Do so.”
With Drake's permission, Lee Shin gained a moment's respite.
He approached the users who were looking up at him with wary expressions.
Then he looked at a few of them and asked quietly.
“Do you know why you survived?”
“…What?”
“I'm going to let you, you, you, and you live. Do you know why?”
“I, I don't… no, huh?”
The user, who had been answering with a look of confusion, let his jaw drop.
He finally noticed the commonality among most of the surviving users.
His eyes widened as he muttered.
“D-don't tell me…?”
“…Well, I was asked to.”
“Si-eun…!”
And this was exactly the kind of reaction Lee Shin wanted.
The users were misunderstanding all on their own!
Lee Shin suppressed a smile that threatened to escape and warned them sternly.
“If you want to live, pretend you don't know anything and keep your mouth shut.”
“…! Of course! Got it.”
This way, he had secured people who would side with Arthur.
Having finished the conversation, Lee Shin once again raised his club.
Drake asked.
“Are you going to continue?”
“Yes, wouldn't it be better to finish quickly?”
“That's true. As expected, the Adjutant is always diligent.”
It wasn't that he was being diligent; he was just worried Drake would leave if he took too long a break….
The power of high affinity!
He interpreted it favorably all on his own.
Lee Shin silently continued his task.
Just as he finished off the last user Arthur hadn't been able to win over.
A whisper came from Arthur.
-It's done! I've set the fires! They'll spread to the island's edge soon.
“……”
Perfect timing.
Lee Shin smiled faintly.
-Change back and come here.
-Yes!
After ending the whisper, Lee Shin turned his head. Then he pretended to frown and sniffed the air.
“Adjutant. What is it?”
“…Sniff, sniff. Captain. Do you smell something right now?”
“……?”
“……?”
Lee Shin's sudden remark about a smell left Drake and the other pirates looking bewildered.
The surviving users also made eye contact and muttered amongst themselves.
“A smell…?”
“Do you smell something?”
“I don't smell anything.”
“Me neither.”
Drake asked.
“What kind of smell are you talking about?”
“…It seems like something is burning… My apologies. I'm not exactly sure.”
“Aren't you being a bit too sensitive, Adjutant?”
“That might be the case, but…”
Lee Shin trailed off with an anxious expression, looking at Drake.
At this, Drake nodded as if he understood.
“Well, if the Adjutant is worried, there's no harm in being cautious. You two over there, go check it out!”
“Yes, sir!”
He ordered the nearby pirates to go and check.
But from his calm expression, he wasn't really worried about a fire.
The reason he gave such an order despite this was simply because Lee Shin, with whom he had high affinity, was anxious.
“Let's wait a moment.”
“Yes.”
The pirates who went to check returned quickly.
“So, how was it?”
Drake asked the pirates who had hurried back.
His tone showed not an ounce of worry!
However…
“…Hah, hah! We're in big trouble, Captain!!!”
“Right, so nothing was… What!?”
“*Sob*! The island is on fire!”
“…F-fire, you say!?!! What do you mean!!!”
*Thud!*
Drake shot to his feet.
He rushed outside….
And indeed, he could see black smoke rising from far away.
“What!?!?!”
“I-it's real!?”
The users who followed shouted in shock.
As for Drake, his face had turned completely pale.
He was so shocked his mind went blank, and he couldn't give any orders, just rambling incoherently.
“Th-uh…, uh…”
“Captain, this is no time for that! Please give your orders!”
“…!”
Drake barely managed to snap out of it at Lee Shin's shout.
He turned around and gave an order.
“The f-fire, put it out! Now!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Mobilize all hands! We must put it out!”
“…Yes, sir!”
The pirates scrambled into action.
Lee Shin also hurried to join them.
“Adjutant…”
“I am a member of this pirate crew now! Even with the rank of Adjutant, how can I stand by in a crisis like this? I will step in and help myself!”
“Kh!? You……!”
Drake looked moved by the rapid-fire speech.
But of course, Lee Shin had ulterior motives.
Because if something unexpected happened and the fire was in danger (?) of being extinguished, he had to prevent it.
After moving away from Drake, Lee Shin looked around.
Around him, pirates were diligently carrying and throwing water and sand onto the fire.
‘…Hmm.’
The pirates are more desperate than I thought!
Seeing this, Lee Shin felt the need to interfere.
He approached the pirates who were filling sacks with sand.
“Sand! Fill the sacks with sand!”
“Move faster!”
“I'll help too. Give that here!”
“Oh? The Adjutant is… Thank you!”
*Snatch!*
Lee Shin snatched the sack and filled it with sand.
…And, he secretly added gunpowder as well.
*Swish, swish, swish, swish!*
His skill was admirable!
His hands were so fast that no one noticed he had pulled a trick.
“…Here you go.”
“Oh, thank you!”
The pirates who received the sacks from Lee Shin immediately took them and sprinkled them over the fire.
They didn't show a hint of suspicion.
It was the moment Lee Shin's sabotage worked perfectly.
FWOOOSH!!
“W-what the!?”
“The fire is spreading! Bring more, more!”
“…Got it!”
Despite the sand, the flames only grew larger.
Startled, the pirates continued to bring more sand…
FWOOOOOSH!!
“…Why is this happening!?!?”
The flames continued to grow in size.
In the end, the fire grew enormous!
Putting it out seemed impossible.
“……”
“…C-Captain.”
Heartbroken, Drake had no choice but to make a decision.
“Grr…! The docks! Protect the ships and the docks at least!”
“*Sob*…! Yes, sir!”
***
The fire instantly devoured the oak forest and all the wooden buildings within it.
Only the people and the ships were safe.
“Ah………”
Drake's voice was hollow.
He could only stare blankly at the completely burnt remains of the island.
He was completely shattered.
Lee Shin approached him.
“Captain.”
“……”
“…Are you alright?”
“……”
Drake remained silent.
But the focus was slowly returning to his vacant eyes.
Seeing this, Lee Shin continued to speak.
“Rebuilding the island that has already burned down will be difficult.”
“Grr…! I know that!!”
At the words that suddenly poked a sore spot, Drake lost his temper despite his high affinity.
It was clear how enraged he was.
If it hadn't been Lee Shin who said it, he might have been executed on the spot to vent his anger.
‘Almost there.’
Lee Shin calmly continued.
This was the main point.
“…So since it has come to this, how about we use a more extreme method?”
“……”
Drake flinched and turned his head.
Then, in a much calmer voice, he asked Lee Shin.
“……What do you mean by that.”
“As I said, rebuilding the island will be difficult.”
“I can see that.”
“We saved the ships and the crew, but without a base of operations, the reality is that even maintaining them will be difficult.”
“…Get to the point!”
He had started listening calmly, but as he listened, his anger flared up again, and Drake lost his temper once more.
However, his anger subsided at Lee Shin's next words.
“So how about we take someone else's base and use it?”
“Ha…?”
Drake looked stunned by Lee Shin's suggestion.
“……”
He was tempted.
Being a pirate at heart, his body reacted to Lee Shin's suggestion of solving it through plunder before he could even think through the specifics.
Noticing this, Lee Shin quickly followed up with his next words, not giving Drake a moment to ponder.
“Captain, this is actually a good thing.”
“…A good thing?”
“Yes. Think about it. Didn't you already have a plan to dominate this sea region anyway? A crisis is an opportunity! Now is that opportunity. The island burning down is unfortunate, of course… but thanks to that, the crew's motivation will be at its peak.”
“……!”
“So we must fight right now! Before it's too late!”
“…That's it!”
[Drake is persuaded.]
In the end, Drake was swayed, mesmerized by Lee Shin's dazzling rhetoric.
His fists trembled as he shouted belligerently.
“It's war! Prepare to set sail immediately!”
[Drake declares a faction war!]
[A quest has been generated.]
Special Quest - War of Plunder
Drake has lost his entire base due to someone's conspiracy. However, his crew and ships have survived intact.
Aiming for a comeback, he has planned to drive out 'Edward's' forces with his remaining strength and take over their base.
Help him lead the war to victory!
•Reward: Position of Vice-Captain
***
Drake did not hesitate.
He immediately mobilized all his forces and headed toward the enemy faction to wage war.
“War, it's war! Kuhaha!”
He was so crazed, his eyes wild with excitement, that even Lee Shin, the one who orchestrated the whole thing, was inwardly surprised.
As if to prove he was a pirate, he actually seemed more lively now that he was going off to plunder.
Since it wasn't a bad development, Lee Shin said nothing and let Drake do as he pleased.
Some time passed.
About fifteen minutes after leaving the island.
A crewman spotted something and shouted.
“Enemies over there!”
“…!”
Hearing that, he turned his head and saw a thick, dark blue fog in the distance.
It looked like it was surrounded by an area-of-effect buff, just like Drake's fleet.
Drake immediately gave an order.
“Attack!”
“Aye!”
[Drake uses 'Fierce Wave'!]
[Drake uses 'Daring Charge'!]
[Drake uses…]
[……]
[…Drake's fleet quickly closes in on Edward's fleet!]
And so, the war on the sea began.