Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Ghost of the Sea (4)
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Even if a full-rigged ship unfurled every sail and caught the wind to its maximum, its speed was still slower than a person running.
The reason ships were the best mode of transportation wasn't their short-distance speed, but because they kept moving 24 hours a day.
That fact, which was common sense to sailors who had spent their entire lives at sea, was crumbling today.
Swooooosh!
The small boat sliced through the water.
No, that wasn't right. It wasn't cutting through the currents—it was becoming one with them, surging forward.
Rafting in a canyon might give a similar feel, but the speed was on another level entirely.
"This is so much fun, Brother Galen!"
Lilia, standing at the bow like a figurehead, spun around with a joyful voice as she looked at Galen.
"Isn't this faster than a horse?"
"Probably," Galen replied calmly from his seat at the oars.
The small boat was normally rowed with oars on either side, so there were rowing positions. "We could go even faster, but I'm a bit scared of that. Might get flung off."
"This is plenty fast already! Everything's already in chaos!"
Lilia was right.
Pirate ships, which needed to shake off pursuers and dart away quickly, naturally favored speed.
Yet here was a tiny skiff with just two people aboard charging forward at a terrifying velocity that made those swift pirate ships look like sluggish caterpillars. How could anyone stay calm?
Disciplined groups held firm, but ragtag bands like these crumbled the moment their momentum broke.
The pirate ships, which had advanced in neat formation just moments ago, now looked visibly disorganized.
"Looks like their pirate boss or whatever isn't on those!"
"If they came out to greet us knowing we were coming, that'd be even scarier, right? I wasn't expecting to meet them right away anyway. We'll just squeeze out some info..."
Galen paused for a moment.
"What's wrong?"
"Come to think of it, Lady Lilia—this might be rude..."
"Go ahead!"
"Have you... ever killed a person before? Excluding demons, I mean."
"Nope. I've only hunted demons until now."
"Will you be okay?"
In this world, priests weren't strictly forbidden from killing. The church's teachings were uncompromising: "Punish the wicked to protect the innocent."
But no one thought killing was a good thing. Among warriors, mages, and priests, priests had the image most distant from bloodshed.
So Galen had asked with a hint of concern.
"I'll be fine! It's not my first time seeing someone die, and anyway... pirates aren't much different from talking demons, right?"
Lilia's pure, straightforward answer was chilling. She was saying she wouldn't treat pirates as people.
As her trembling at demons showed, she had no mercy for anything classified as evil.
"Well, they're scum who aren't any use to the world alive anyway. That's why we don't bother capturing them—we just send them straight to the gallows."
Galen chuckled and leaned his body slightly.
The small boat veered off at an angle, slowing down. It was still far faster than the pirate ships, of course.
"The middle one's probably the captain's. Let's take out the two on the sides first."
"Got it! If anything comes flying our way, I'll block it!"
The boat looped around and came to a brief halt, facing the side of the pirate ship on the right.
The pirates were scrambling to turn their vessel.
Galen leisurely took in the sight before moving the boat again.
Not as fast as before, but at a moderate pace.
Whoosh!
A wave surged up in front of the small boat, sweeping forward as if guiding it.
The mana for Water Flow Manipulation was being consumed at a ferocious rate. The waves kept building, growing taller with each surge.
Archers were an elite unit, and bows were vulnerable to moisture, so there was no chance of pirate archers. Even if there were, they had no way to target Galen.
With the house-sized waves hiding the boat in their wake, what could they do?
"This is insane!"
"Evacuate! Grab something—anything!"
The distance between ships shrank enough for the pirates' screams to carry. The gap between the ship and the waves was even smaller.
Boom!
The massive wave smashed into the pirate ship.
With a splintering crack, the hull ripped open, and the deck was swept clean.
The ship, which had listed heavily to one side, teetered to the other—and never righted itself. All from a single impact.
"Whoa, that big one's going down!"
Lilia marveled from the small boat gliding past. Galen shrugged it off.
"Ships are more fragile than they seem. Once the balance goes, that's it."
"Still, I doubt anyone but you could do it like that, Brother Galen."
"Honestly, I might've overdone it a bit."
If he'd wanted to conserve mana, he could've just approached near the pirate ship and dropped Lilia off.
But what could he say?
Even after solving the water shortage with his spirit, this was his first time truly wielding Water Flow Manipulation freely.
Maybe that was why the Oceanis Family never left the Sun Archipelago. The omnipotent sensation atop the water was intoxicating.
"Anyway, on to the next one."
"Yes!"
The pirates, who had been merely flustered at the first charge, were now in full panic, howling in fear.
Of course, it didn't change what they could do: nothing.
At best, they could prepare a little more than the first sacrificial ship.
Boom!
The second wave engulfed the second ship.
"Gah!"
"Aaaagh!"
Pirates were flung like leaves into the sea or smashed against something. Those who managed screams were in relatively better shape.
A few had avoided direct hits by hiding in cabins, but so what?
With the hull breached, listing from the impact, and seawater gushing in, how could they cope?
The left ship began sinking slowly, following the right.
"You're doing all the work, Brother Galen!"
"Then the middle one's yours, Lady Lilia."
"Great! Leave it to me!"
Galen turned the bow toward the remaining pirate ship.
This time, no leading wave. Instead, he created a small one to buoy the boat from below.
The pirate ship, desperately trying to flee, drew rapidly closer. With it, the small boat rose higher—the supporting wave growing beneath.
"Dodge—dodge it!"
Not knowing Galen's intent, the pirates swerved anyway. It conveniently cleared a path for him.
Splash!
The wave rose exactly to the height of the pirate ship's rail and flooded the deck.
Riding atop it, the small boat slid right onto the deck.
"Heave-ho."
Galen rose leisurely after boarding effortlessly. Lilia hopped lightly down beside him.
From the outside, they looked surrounded in a circle by pirates.
Or, from another angle, the narrow deck left the pirates nowhere to run, forcing them to stand there grudgingly.
"Wh-who the hell are you?!"
A scarred middle-aged man bellowed.
His grit in trying to maintain dignity amid chaos was admirable, but the trembling voice ruined it.
Galen scanned the surroundings, noting the scarred pirate's ornate clothes, and asked,
"Are you the captain of this ship?"
"Y-yes...!"
"He says yes."
Galen turned to Lilia.
"We only need to interrogate one, right?"
"Shall I clean up the rest?"
"Please do."
"Gladly!"
A sword of light sprouted from Lilia's hand.
She rubbed her shoe soles on the slick deck a few times, getting a feel for it.
"Huuu."
After a short deep breath, the smile vanished from Lilia's face. A priest about to kill lost her mirth.
Swish!
Lilia's form blurred.
"Gurk!"
"Urk!"
Three pirates on the right side of the encirclement collapsed almost simultaneously. Lightning-fast thrusts had pierced their hearts cleanly.
Before their bodies hit the deck, Lilia had moved to the front of the ring.
Stab-stab-stab-stab!
Her stabbing was so swift that the flesh-tearing sounds blended into a continuous rip, despite the clear in-and-out motions.
As if to block any approach to Galen entirely, she spun circles around him, flashing east and west like lightning.
She was single-handedly sealing all four directions.
Yet the encirclement wasn't closing in—it was being shredded.
Pirates' ferocity terrified ordinary folk, but meant nothing against overwhelming skill.
"M-monster... Gah!"
Pre-Galen Lilia might've hoped to use the ship's confines to swarm and drown her.
But a bishop was a high priest on par with golden warriors or mages. Bronze-level pirates at best couldn't touch her.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
Aiming solely for hearts, and even knowing it, none could counter or even defend.
It didn't take long for the pirate ship to become a ghost ship.
"Uh... uuh..."
The scarred pirate, teeth chattering despite his looks, had lost all will to fight.
Lilia dispersed her light sword and approached Galen. Her expression had returned to normal—dimmer than before, but killing dozens, even villains, wouldn't leave one happy.
"Interrogate here?"
"Back on the ship."
"Knock him out, then?"
Galen nodded, and Lilia gripped the scarred pirate's throat.
"Gurk!"
Whether she squeezed the carotid or something, he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings in seconds.
"I'll check the cabins quick."
"Load him on the skiff?"
"That'd be great."
Leaving Lilia to prep departure, Galen headed to the cabins.
He checked rooms likely belonging to the captain or first mate, but found nothing worthwhile.
Loot would be at their base, and pirates didn't keep logs.
As expected. He hadn't come to search—he'd come to destroy.
Fwoosh!
A shadow only he could see fell. Flames from Infernal Arrogance soon ignited the cabins.
Galen exited as the blaze roared to life.
Lilia had already launched the skiff and loaded the unconscious scarred pirate.
"Um, Brother? The ship's on fire back there."
"Yeah, my doing."
Galen casually swept the seawater soaking the deck overboard.
"Couldn't have pirates from the capsized ships boarding and escaping. Hunting down every swimmer's a hassle."
"Aha."
Ships often had sand for fires, and plenty of water nearby, making shipboard blazes relatively easy to extinguish.
If there was anyone left to do it. With the crew wiped out, the flames missed the initial suppression window and consumed the entire vessel.
Leaving the burning ship behind, Galen and Lilia returned to their warship.
"Great job!"
"Incredible!"
The captain and crew praised them sincerely in unison.
Summoning waves to capsize ships? This voyage felt absolutely safe now—morale soared uncontrollably.
"Alright, enough praise."
Galen eyed the scarred pirate being hoisted aboard with the skiff.
"Let's interrogate him."