Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 220
Chapter Title: Maritime Kingdom
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The continent's forbidden zone, the Archipelago, was a sprawling collection of islands. Countless isles scattered across the South Sea. Each one served as a base for petty pirate gangs, and those pirates strained every nerve to subjugate their rivals and expand their turf, even if just a little.
But for all that, it was like comparing acorns. Pirates scattered across uncountable islands. These beastly men wanted no one growing exceptionally strong.
Even when a pirate with grand ambitions appeared, nearby crews would band together and offer him up to the sea god.
Thus, unifying the Archipelago was deemed impossible common sense.
That was, until just 20 years ago.
Twenty years prior, a man had comet-like appeared and swiftly tamed the savage, beast-like pirates, leashing them all.
Once every beast was broken and collared, the continent dubbed this cluster of tiny islands a new forbidden zone.
And it was also called this:
The Maritime Kingdom.
The massive central island of the Archipelago, the main isle.
Seagulls, those seabirds forever roaming the waves, crisscrossed the main island endlessly today as well.
With its sheer size came abundant food, so their constant traffic was only natural.
But anyone with a sharp eye would spot it at once. The seagulls, scattered every which way, all converged on one specific building.
Flap flap flap!
In that building where seagulls came and went, countless people inside were untying notes from the birds' ankles, checking, and sorting them.
"Seized cargo on the Philador-to-Ikenia route. Manifest includes assorted daily necessities and..."
"From the Osiris Kingdom..."
"The Gadric Pirates are stirring trouble again..."
News of every sort from across the entire South Sea. Unlike the continent, communication magic barely reached the Archipelago's myriad spots, so they gathered intel this simple way.
Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle.
At the building's center, amid the informants' reports, a blue-haired woman sifting through endless documents in real time suddenly paused. Sensing something off, she stopped turning pages and furrowed her delicate brow.
"...Something's wrong."
Her murmur halted the informants' actions like magic.
Part of it was her iron-fisted nature—she punished noisy underlings harshly when lost in thought—but mainly, her judgment had never once been wrong.
If she deemed it strange, it was strange.
"I don't recall seeing any reports from the Neptune Pirates lately."
The Neptune Pirates. Led by Samuel, a dimwit whose greed far outstripped his talent.
Yet their numbers rivaled any crew, so they'd been assigned the Ikenia western front.
A front like that demanded daily reports, but that idiot Samuel couldn't even manage basics.
Now, it had been over a week without word. Even for lazy Samuel, this was too long.
"Heard that Sword Family pup's been rampaging lately. Did he get taken down by that kid?"
Swipe!
Her gaze flicked to an informant, who answered instantly.
"Impossible, Lady Martel. Sword Family Victor shifted from the west to the Ikenia central front two weeks ago. Timelines don't match."
"Hmm..."
Shuffle!
Martel, the woman, reached for the Neptune Pirates' last report.
-We'll cover the shortfall in full at next tribute.
Confidence oozed from those curt words.
Samuel, mocked as his seizure rates dropped after a thrashing by the Sword pup. This was his boastful reply.
Yet contact cut off right after...
'One of two.'
First: They'd bolted with a big score, skipping return to the Archipelago. Beastly pirates loyal to instinct over reason did that sometimes.
'But not Samuel.'
Stupid, sure, but his loyalty and fear of the king were genuine. He knew capture's horrors better than anyone; he'd never risk it.
So, second case: Wiped out.
But that was no easy call. Samuel was small fry personally, but his fearful Neptune crew boasted numbers rivaling kingdom navy.
Erasing that many quietly? No small feat.
'The king could. Easily.'
But only two others saw the world through the king's eyes. They wouldn't budge their heavy asses for mere Neptune.
Thud!
"Prepare. We're heading to the Neptune base."
Martel rose, declaring it. Endless paperwork here yielded no answers. Simple: Go see for herself.
Splash! Splash!
Surging waves against a modest cliff. The everyday sight of any rural fishing village.
Like anywhere, the unassuming cliff became kids' secret dive spot. Olivia's humble fishing hamlet, Raine Village, was no different.
Splash!
"Pwah! Hey, your turn! No way you're chickening out?!"
"Ugh, no way! I can do it!"
As kids always bluffed, the cliff today hosted boys' pride-fueled dares.
"Here I go...?"
Freeze!
Scared stiff? The kid who'd seemed ready to leap now blankly stared seaward.
"What, backing down? Lame!"
The first diver yelled taunts from the water, but cliff-top boy gazed sea-bound, entranced.
"...?"
Finally sensing oddity, the diver looked too.
And understood why his friend hesitated. No cowardice—fear gripped him solid.
Not from the cliff, but approaching ships.
Flags bearing a skull in a red hood.
The notorious Neptune Pirates' vessels closing in.
"G-Gyaaaaah!"
"M-Me too!!!"
Kids snapped awake, fleeing village-ward like ghosts pursued.
Bang!
"What in blazes is this?!"
Raine's elder, Village Head Delro, slammed his desk, roaring.
Spry enough to harpoon fish despite age, but pirate sails left him soul-shaken.
"How long since word the lord's set? And now this...!"
Delro sighed deeply.
Indeed.
The capital's prince, Julius of Ikenia, granting Olivia to Jerome von Carviot of Shield Family was kingdom-wide news.
Shield third son, no less—the name shaking the continent lately.
For Olivia folk, long sent criminals and Sword Family foes as "lords," no hotter gossip.
Finally, a proper one.
They'd poured heart into prepping for Baron Jerome's arrival. But heavens cared little.
Neptune Pirates, no less—rivals to the royal navy!
Why crawl into this backwater?
What would Baron Jerome say? Might recoil at the grim reality and bolt back to capital.
'Inevitable, I suppose.'
Delro wryly smiled. At least he'd hoped to see village kids grow happy.
Alas, denied even that.
Scrape!
Delro stood, bellowing at the meeting's young men.
"Byri, signal Colmar Village now! Everyone to inner walls, bar doors, hunker and hold!"
"V-Village Head, it's the Neptune Pirates. Not the small fry we've handled."
Folk voiced fears.
"Why not open gates, no fight? Might spare our lives."
"Hah! Gutless youths! Neptune, aye—not small fry! Never heard the tales?!"
As if. Their infamy was ear-blistering.
Like locust swarms, killing and looting indiscriminately.
"Die fighting, die yielding! Better hold till lord arrives! Who is our appointed lord?!"
Age-forgotten Delro's rallying cry softened terror in their eyes.
Yes. Jerome von Carviot. Shield direct blood, soon their master. Hold till then, survival odds rose.
"Neptune or not, pirates are pirates! Core never changes! No fear—do as always!"
"Yes!"
Clatter!
Hope-sparked, they charged out.
Empty meeting room.
Alone, Delro released his straining arms.
Shiver shiver shiver!
Trembling fiercely. Bitter smile at the sight.
How could he not fear?
But if Baron Jerome was the heroic sort rumored, he wouldn't ignore kids amid their corpse-pile.
"Even if we perish here, please don't abandon the children."
Murmuring his quiet wish calmly, Delro grabbed his corner harpoon and stepped out.
A week since towing the captured Neptune ships toward Olivia.
We'd swept up more small pirate crews en route, swelling our momentum.
"Man, no need to build ships at this rate?"
Endless galleons drew a whistle from me.
"Not cause for unbridled joy, my lord."
Dwayne saw it differently.
"Why? You know galleon prices."
"Indeed. But..."
Dwayne frowned.
"Far more pirates than anticipated."
He gestured around.
"See? They're sailing every one."
True enough. We'd split Blizzard Knights thinly across, but pirate-manned ships abounded.
"They obey now, fearing us. But entrusting ships fully? You know better."
Obvious. Mere deck-swabbers now.
"Hence selling them to Mercaudo on Ikenia arrival? Slaves for innocents—done deal. What's the issue?"
Plan held: Neptune and all to Mercaudo.
Hated treating humans worse, but they'd forfeited humanity.
Pay for sins. In turn, rescue innocents for Olivia populace. Boost numbers, save wronged.
Bonus: Check elf/lycanthrope progress there.
Win-win. So what problem?
"Time. No time."
Dwayne sighed.
"Neptune's annihilation hits main isle soon. Your name spreads. Clashing Pirate King? Time problem."
True. Why we came to Olivia.
"Naval battles differ from land wars, decided by elite count. Weather, currents—all factor in."
Spot on. Why continent still hadn't crushed Valak.
"And crucially, another factor."
"...Troop quality. Elite training."
Now I grasped Dwayne's worry.
Too many pirates meant vastly more navy to train.
"Right. Blizzard Knights took ages to naval-adapt... Raw landsmen to navy? Time unimaginable."
"...Hm."
Serious indeed.
Supplies overflowed from allies, but handlers were human.
Training humans took time, granting Archipelago same for buildup.
Prolonging war.
Delaying Paeonia secure, Empire prep.
'Swift navy build-up...'
Sea-hardened, pirate fearless masses would solve it instantly.
Any way?
Sharing woes with Dwayne, Olivia's shore neared unseen.