The Incompetent Hero and the Pill Smuggling Ring (6)

Wait — what the hell was he talking about? Attacked by pirates?

Who? Wasn't that guy with Haoman? An intelligence outfit of the Yeom Kingdom? And he got captured? By pirates?

I stared at him in disbelief. Jeomsoi just shrugged.

"Well, this is a place where a lot of merchant guilds do business by sea, right? So pirates hang around ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plenty."

"There's a clan that runs this region, isn't there? I'm sure it was… the Moyong Clan? So why are pirates roaming free?"

"Oh, there is one, sure — but even the Moyong Clan, how exactly are they supposed to catch pirates out on the open water? Those bastards treat their ships like their own houses, sailing wherever they please."

"…You've got a point."

At best, all the Moyong Clan could do was keep them from coming ashore to plunder. Even if they launched ships of their own to hunt the pirates, whether they could properly pursue them — let alone wipe them out — was an open question.

And that went for me, too.

"…What's the Yeom Army doing about it?"

The Yeom Army. The military arm of the Yeom Family — the imperial house of this land. Their authority had been significantly eroded of late, and they were scrambling to reverse the decline… but they were only weakening, not reduced to empty scarecrows.

I'd said it before: the Yeom Kingdom was absurdly vast.

Even with thirteen sects and clans each projecting influence and keeping the peace in their own jurisdictions, the places their reach didn't cover far outnumbered the ones they did — and those places were the Yeom Family's responsibility. They had the power to match. Quality might be lacking, but the sheer quantity of force was real.

"Well… they do run regular sweep operations, but from what I hear, nothing much comes of them."

"…"

Useless bastards.

If the quality wasn't there, all the numbers in the world meant nothing.

…No. It was still fine.

Even if those pirates treated the sea like their own backyard, if their ships got wrecked out on the open ocean and they went under, they were still human. They'd die like anyone else.

So if I could lure them out into deep water and sink the lot of them—

"Ah, come to think of it, there's been talk. Pirate activity's gotten a lot livelier lately… and the reason, supposedly, is that the Beastman Alliance has been backing them. That kind of rumor."

"…"

A picture started to form.

The Beastman Alliance. They needed to smuggle Geogeonhwan while dodging the eyes of the Yeom Army and the Moyong Clan.

Manufacturing was one thing — but how did they move the product?

Overland?

With the Moyong Clan watching like hawks, could they really stabilize a smuggling route safely?

Maybe at first. But once the Yeom Family caught on, getting caught was only a matter of time.

And yet no overland smuggling route had been found. That meant there simply wasn't one.

So — by sea?

Goods entering or leaving a country were normally inspected. The Yeom Kingdom was no different. Conventional maritime smuggling, the longer it ran, left a trail just as surely as land routes did.

So how had they kept the trade going?

…They used the pirates.

The Yeom Army had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probably figured as much. That was why Illyeon had sent me from Sichuan to Dandong. The boatman Jong-ui — Haoman agent and the contact I was supposed to meet here — would have said something similar. Pirate movements looking highly suspicious, rumors of Beastman Alliance backing, an investigation needed. Something along those lines.

"…Haa."

"G-Great Hero, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You gather information pretty well. And it wasn't even that long."

"Haha, I'm a local, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I've been at this for ten years already. I've got this place locked down tight. Anything you need done, anything you need me for — just say the word."

As he spoke, Jeomsoi made a little money gesture with his fingers, pointing discreetly. If I wanted him for anything, pay up. This round of intel was covered by the money and food I'd already given him, apparently.

Bolder than I expected.

The food he'd brought was already gone — he'd eaten all of it himself — so I rose from my seat.

"Good meal."

"Great Hero, you didn't take a single bite."

"Just looking at it filled me up."

"Father!…"

Who the hell was his father? This guy was a complete lunatic.

I left the meal money on the table and headed for the shore, trying to settle the chaos in my head.

The sky was clear, the seabirds called cheerfully, and all creation seemed to be having a wonderful day — so why was my heart so heavy?

"Mom, that man is looking at the ocean and saying weird things."

"Shh, shh! Let's hurry past."

"…"

Ah, for fuck's sake.

Standing on the shore with the sea wind on my face, gazing out at the dazzling water, poetry had risen unbidden — and to everyone around me, I apparently looked like a madman. Fair enough. If I saw some guy muttering mournfully at the ocean, I'd steer clear too.

"…The sea."

First thing I needed was a ship.

I couldn't walk on water, and even if I could, physical limits would catch up eventually. A ship was essential — a resting place on the waves, a watchtower against enemies.

"…Sword King. What the hell are you?"

Just how many trials had this man survived?

It was genuinely terrifying.

Still — there were limits. I could walk on liquid — the sea — at one mana per second, but my mana wasn't infinite. Current total: 24,220. That meant about 24,200 seconds… roughly four hundred minutes. Sounded like a lot, but it was barely over six hours.

Cross the ocean in that time, find pirates whose location I didn't even know, and wipe them all out?

"Impossible… right?"

Wait. Maybe it was doable?

…No, no. Jeomsoi had said it himself — the Beastman Alliance might be involved. And if they'd dispatched beastmen to the pirates, those beastmen would almost certainly be ones at home in the water — fish-related, say. If they dove inland into the sea, I couldn't chase them.

"…Hold on."

Jeomsoi had said the Yeom Army ran regular sweeps. That meant they had units permanently stationed for the job — and those people would know something about the pirates' operating grounds, maybe even where the main base was.

The identification I have…

Jang Cheon-woo of the Azure Dragon Unit, Yeom Army. I didn't know the details of the Azure Dragon Unit, but I'd heard they were an elite force under a high-ranking Yeom Family figure — likely operating on the Emperor of Yeom's orders, traveling the kingdom on classified missions. With Azure Dragon credentials, couldn't I get some support from the Yeom Army?

"…"

The thought hit me out of nowhere. I hurried back to the inn.

"Can you make a poison mist that covers an entire island?"

The first thing I did upon returning to the inn was find Dan Seollin. If what I was thinking could work, she was the key.

"Hmm… I'd need to check the island's size, the terrain, and a bunch of environmental factors… but if all those conditions lined up, then yes — I could cover a whole island in poison mist by myself."

"But too many variables, is what you're saying."

"Yeah. Exactly."

She'd answered the question, but Dan Seollin tilted her head at me, clearly wondering what this was about. Baekryeon, sharp as ever, seemed to have read the situation; her expression turned serious as she adjusted her grip on her sword.

"Matters appear to have taken an ill turn, Doryeong."

"They have. According to Jeomsoi — the one I asked to gather intel — the boatman I was supposed to get information from, Jong-ui, got captured by pirates."

"Pirates… well, with the sea so close, it stands to reason they'd be around."

Baekryeon nodded. Then she tilted her head, puzzled.

"But was he not of the Haoman intelligence network of which Doryeong spoke? Would such a man fall so readily to mere pirates?"

You're telling me.

I wanted to ask the same damn thing.

"Nothing confirmed, but there's a rumor those pirates have a connection with the Beastman Alliance — that the Alliance is backing them. I won't know for sure until I check myself, or until we rescue boatman Jong-ui."

"I see. So that is why you asked me whether I could blanket an island in poison mist."

"Right. They wouldn't have built a base inland — they'll be operating from some island out beyond the sea."

And I couldn't let a single one of them escape. But physically monitoring an entire island alone was impossible, and even if I tried, if beastmen were mixed in among them, I had no confidence I could chase them through the water.

"…Then it might be difficult."

"Can't do it?"

"Well… Father might have managed it, but… if it's a pirate stronghold, there will definitely be patrols moving around constantly. Preparing the poison mist is one thing — producing it at exactly the right moment is… hard."

"…Useless."

"!!!"

Dan Seollin exploded at that single word, shouting something furious, until Baekryeon held her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠back.

"S-Seollin Sojeo. What of this method?"

"?"

"You know — among the ways of using poison that Seollin Sojeo mentioned earlier, was there not also the method of mixing it into the enemy's food?"

"There is, but… why?"

Baekryeon continued.

"What if we deliberately allow ourselves to be captured, and Seollin Sojeo secretly poisons the pirates' food — or their water supply — and incapacitates them?"