Chapter 72
Chapter 72
The Iron Emperor — Chapter 72
Swoooosh.
"Ahh~."
As Gerard stood at the very bow of the fleet cutting through the azure waves, his heart had never felt so free. The gentle sea breeze softly brushed through his golden hair as it passed.
"This is good."
Even launching the ships had gone off without a hitch. They'd tensed up when they ran into patrols from the Holy Empire midway, but they'd dealt with them without letting a single one escape. To Gerard's eyes, their archery was nothing short of miraculous. Though, of course, a few days ago that miraculous archery had nearly gotten people killed.
Three days earlier...
"Kyaa! A lake and the open sea really are worlds apart!"
"You said it!"
The sailors, clearly invigorated by the sea breeze, had color rising in their faces. Just as cavalry only truly feel alive on horseback, these men only showed such vitality when they were aboard a ship.
"Tch, now that land's almost out of sight, it's a shame fresh meat's gonna be hard to come by."
"We've got jerky."
"Eh, doesn't taste the same as fresh meat."
The sailors and soldiers were already grumbling about meat. Just then, one of the archers who'd been gazing up at the sky took his bow down from his shoulder.
"How about some fowl?"
"What?"
A single bird was circling overhead.
"Oho, can you hit that? That's a fair distance."
"Well, I might not be as good as General Uru or Deputy Commander Yuwol, but I can manage something like that."
He still had his eyes fixed on the sky. The sailors around him had tilted their heads back to stare upward too, as if it were contagious—or rather, they were eyeing the potential chunk of meat flying up there.
"Looks big enough to feed everyone here, don't you think?"
"Yeah. That's a pretty big one."
In their eyes was the image of a mouth-watering bird practically smiling back at them.
"Hey, Chunsam. Can you do it?"
"Trust me."
Instead of a regular arrow, he drew a tonga from his quiver. It looked like he was about to shoot a Pyeonjeon.
"Hm?"
Gerard had come up on deck for a breath of fresh air and noticed the sailors gathered to one side, licking their lips as they stared at the sky.
'What's up there...?'
Unconsciously, Gerard tilted his head upward.
"Hmm."
A single bird was circling above the ship.
"Huh?"
Gerard's pupils dilated abruptly. His gaze snapped back down to where the sailors were gathered. One soldier among them was drawing his bowstring back with all his might.
"Wha— stop...!"
Twang!
WHIZZ!
"...it!"
The words of protest hadn't even fully left Gerard's mouth before the bowstring was released, and only the sound of wind tearing through the empty air followed.
A frantic voice ripped from Gerard's throat.
"Everyone take cover!"
"Eep!"
"Oh! What brings you out here? We'll have roast fowl ready for you shortly, hehehe."
Despite Gerard's warning, the sailors just kept smiling as they approached him. Gerard's exasperated voice burst out at them.
"You fools, do you even know what you just shot at?! You can't take that thing down with a single arr—"
"Got it!"
"Chunsam, you really are a master archer!"
"......."
Once again, the sailors' voices cut him off. Gerard, at a loss for words, turned his head toward the sky with an expression of disbelief. The bird that had been circling in midair was plummeting powerlessly downward. And gradually, confused murmurs began to leak from the sailors' mouths.
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
"Hwoah!"
The noises continued until the bird splashed down. As if voicing their collective shock, someone's voice squeezed out from the crowd.
"Is... is the bird getting bigger?"
Whiiiiiine—
THOOOM—BOOOOM!
SPLAAASH!
"......."
In a heartbeat, the bird's corpse slammed violently into the sea. The impact of it crashing into the water alongside the ship made the vessel shudder, and a massive column of water drenched everyone on deck as it swept over them.
"What's going on?!"
The shock was strong enough to make the ship list, and people came pouring out of the cabins. Then their jaws simply dropped, and no one could manage a single word. A voice finally broke the silence.
"What kind of bird is as big as a goddamn ship?"
Gerard and the sailors stared at the wyvern floating lifelessly on the sea and still could not believe it.
That... was the full account of the wyvern-hunting incident that had occurred three days prior.
"Heh, how did he even think to aim for the eyeball?"
Whether by luck or fortune, the archer they called Chunsam, intending to show off his skill, had aimed for the wyvern's eye. The Pyeonjeon had not only struck the wyvern's eyeball but had driven straight through and scrambled the brain inside. It was a heaven-sent blessing and a stroke of tremendous luck.
"Commander-in-Chief! The commander says preparations for the council are complete and requests your presence."
A sailor's voice cut through his reverie.
"Right."
Gerard took one more deep breath of air and headed for the cabin.
"......."
A sailor who approached the gunwale where Gerard had been standing stopped, his face twisting into a grimace.
"Ah, hell."
Cursing under his breath, the sailor turned and hollered over his shoulder.
"Hey, get a mop over here. He threw up again."
"Ah, dammit, again?"
"That's right."
A younger sailor lugging a mop and bucket grumbled as he trudged over.
"Why can't he just stay in the cabin?! He's not even chumming the water for fish—keeps just spewing it all over the place!"
"Beats me. Ugh, that smell."
Right where the sailor had moved from, a perfectly round little pancake of vomit sat provocatively assaulting the crew's gag reflexes.
Creeeak.
"At ease!"
"Mm."
Fleet Commander Jang Bogo rendered his salute, and Gerard acknowledged it with a brief nod of his head.
"Let's see."
Having not been to sea in a long time, Gerard had spent several days alternating between lying down and barely getting up again. Though he'd thrown up just moments ago, he was finally fully adjusted now.
Gerard's eyes, as he looked over the unfurled nautical chart, were laced with deep concern. Everything had gone without issue so far, but what lay ahead was the problem. It would be troublesome to encounter enemy ships before they could secure the uninhabited island they planned to turn into their base of operations. Moreover, they needed a safe sea route.
"I suppose we have no choice."
Gerard's eyes had settled on one place: the Sea of Sirens.
Sirens were, as their name suggested, half-humanoid creatures with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. The problem was that passing through the Sirens' sea came with immense danger. That danger was the Siren's Song. Whenever a ship passes, Sirens sing in beautiful voices. Sailors who hear the Sirens' plaintive song throw themselves into the sea without realizing it, or steer their ships straight toward the Sirens. And directly in front of the Sirens, a whirlpool is always waiting. In the end, both the sailors and their ships sink into the deep.
"Well, if we just skirt the edge carefully, it should be fine."
"Fleet Commander Jang."
"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."
"Let's go this way, then over this way, and then thaaat way."
"......."
Gerard traced a few lines with his finger over the map, explaining it like a coachman giving directions. By now, Fleet Commander Jang seemed largely used to it. He studied the chart, nodded his head, and then relayed orders to the other captains.
"Inform the lead ship of the heading."
"Yes!"
"Oh, and Fleet Commander Jang, the area we're heading into is dangerous..."
Gerard approached Jang Bogo as he issued orders and informed him about the Sirens' habits and the perils of the region they had to pass through. A flicker of surprise and wariness crossed Jang Bogo's eyes as he nodded. The captains listening nearby couldn't hide their astonishment either, glancing back down at the chart.
"So, our situation is that we must avoid both enemy ships and the Sirens. Make sure everyone knows."
"Yes!"
A chorus of acknowledgment answered Gerard as he delivered his final warning.
The seventh day of the voyage.
Everything was still proceeding smoothly so far.
The sailors were enjoying peaceful, uneventful days, and although the prisoners had been taken under the nominal label of slaves, they'd been treated with every effort to give them peace of mind. Truthfully, even though the Gauri army had brought them along, strictly speaking, these people were their saviors. Having had their lives saved from a situation where they might have been killed by goblins, they couldn't help but harbor some goodwill. Amid such placation, the six-ship fleet continued carving its way through the currents.
"Huh?"
"What's up?"
A sailor pacing the deck cocked his head to one side. When a fellow crewman asked him what was wrong, instead of answering, he was simply straining his ears toward something.
"You hear something weird?"
"Huh?"
Only then did the other sailor begin to pick up something in his own ears. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life.
BANG!
"Damn it!"
Gerard burst out of his cabin, his expression ferocious, and raced up to the deck. The very situation he had dreaded was unfolding at last. As he reached the deck, the Siren's Song echoed in Gerard's ears.
Aaaah~ Aaaaaaaah~.
Many sailors were already out on deck, staring toward the direction the song was coming from.
"Everyone stand back!"
Gerard frantically drew up his mana and shouted at the sailors.
'God dammit, I should've been more careful...'
Regret washed over Gerard's mind like a tidal wave. This wasn't a sound you could block just by covering your ears. Gerard channeled mana to his ears, moved toward a mast, and began tying himself to it with a rope. Then he shouted at the sailors once more.
"I said, everyone stand back!"
"We is?"
"Yes, now move— huh?"
What answered Gerard's desperate cry were the sailors' clear, bright, utterly unenchanted eyes.
Before Gerard had charged out, the crew had gathered curiously on deck to listen to the strange, unfamiliar melody they were hearing for the first time in their lives.
"No, but who's out here in the middle of the ocean singing?"
"Dunno..."
"Ah, that's a real nice tune though."
Each of them had been chatting among themselves, listening to the song. But that calm only lasted until Gerard came charging out, shouting.
"Everyone stand back."
"......?"
"No, why's the Commander-in-Chief acting like that?"
The sailors looked at each other's faces, genuinely curious about what had Gerard so worked up.
"I said, everyone stand back!"
"We is?"
When Gerard's shout rang out again, one sailor gazed back at him with wide, innocent eyes and answered. Gerard's eyes widened as he stared at them in amazement.
"You're all... fine?"
"We is."
"Ah, but all she's doing is humming. When's she gonna actually start singing?"
"The voice is real pretty, but why ain't she singing words?"
"......."
Listening to the sailors' conversation, Gerard was left utterly speechless. The normal sequence was that once you heard the song, you could no longer hear other people's voices. Then your eyes would grow glassy and unfocused.
And yet here these sailors were, hanging off the rail and chattering away to each other?
"I'm done. Came out to hear some singing, and instead my chest's just getting tight with frustration."
"Hold on a little longer. Maybe she'll start soon."
Aaaah~ Aaaah~ Aaaaaah~.
As one impatient sailor grumbled and turned to leave, a crewmate beside him grabbed his arm with wistful eyes. But the impatient sailor shook off the grip and snapped back grumpily.
"Hold on for what? All she's doing is going 'Aaaaaah~' like some ghost. If you ask me, that ain't even proper singing."
"Then what is it?"
"What d'you mean, what is it? It's the sound of a ghost grinding sesame seeds."
"Keeheeheehee!"
In an instant, the ship erupted with laughter.
Gerard doubted his own eyes as he checked the bearings of the other ships. The situation on every other vessel was identical to this one. Sailors everywhere were chattering with curiosity, completely overturning everything Gerard knew to be true.
"I'll give 'em a real song, so y'all can hear what actual singing sounds like~!"
"Hoi!"
A sailor who'd stripped off his upper garment bounded into the center of the deck and started tapping his foot.
Clop-clop, clop-clop~.
To a rhythm almost as rapid as the sound of horses' hooves, the sailor's deep, booming voice resounded across the sea.