Chapter 113
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Uninvited Guests
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1.
Earin, a patrol guard from the village of Ear which bordered the Southern Sea, ran down the forest path, gasping for breath.
The paralytic poison from the dart lodged in her thigh was spreading rapidly, but she could not stop running.
Whizz!
Another poison dart flew past her from behind, grazing her cheek, but she bit her lip hard and forged ahead.
I have to tell the village. And request reinforcements from Galad
She already knew the identity of the people chasing her.
Human pirates.
They had to be the terrible fiends who plagued the Southern Sea.
She recalled the several ships she had seen approaching the Great Forest.
The southern waters of the Great Forest were originally the domain of the naga.
Normally, the naga would have attacked the pirates without mercy.
But the naga had opened the sea to them.
That could only mean one thing.
The naga and the pirates have struck some kind of deal.
It was a story that would horrify her people if they found out.
Ordinarily, she would have relayed this information to the village through a spirit, but for some reason, the spirits were not responding to her.
She hadn't even had time to panic.
Somehow, the human pirates had found out about her and given chase immediately.
The paralysis will spread soon!
The captain said if we catch that bitch, we can do whatever we want with her!
The pirates were pursuing her with practiced skill.
With every passing moment, the distance between them closed.
It was obvious what would happen to her the moment they caught her.
It might be better to take her own life than suffer such a humiliation.
But Earin couldn't bring herself to make that choice.
It wasn't because she was afraid of dying.
I have to tell them.
At this rate, her village, and perhaps all the elves, could be in danger.
Thwack!
Kuh!
An arrow shot from behind lodged itself in Earins back.
The pain of her flesh tearing made her vision flash, but she gritted her teeth and endured it.
She knew there was no hope.
Even the nearest patrol outpost was a thirty-minute run from here.
But her destination wasn't the outpost.
It was the Tree of Purification, about ten minutes from her current location.
If she could reach that tree, she would be free of the nagas magic and be able to summon a spirit.
Please, please.
She didn't mind dying.
As long as she could warn her people of the danger, she would die a hundred times over.
Shes slowing down!
Throw the net and capture her alive!
The pirates voices grew closer.
Her sensitive hearing picked up their rough, labored breaths, each one echoing vividly.
Her legs began to give way.
Her body, pushed to its absolute limit, could no longer resist the poison.
Pleeease.
Her vision blurred, and her mind grew hazy.
She squeezed out the last of her strength to take another step forward, but now even her strides had shortened.
And just like that, the pirate at the head of the pack caught up to her.
Crash!
A burly pirate blocked her path.
She met his two eyes, gleaming with lust.
Im first. Heh heh.
The pirates hand, as large as a pot lid, reached for her face.
Earin thrust the dagger in her right hand toward the pirates hand.
Stab!
The dagger pierced the pirates hand. But lacking strength, it didn't go deep.
Only about half of the short blade sank in.
Ah.
A final, strangled sigh escaped Earins lips.
There was nothing more she could do.
Thump!
The pirates fist slammed into her head, and her body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
I knew following the captain was a good idea.
Earin couldn't understand the words the pirate was spitting out.
But his expression told her everything she needed to know.
It was all over.
The pirates, having joined forces with the naga, would descend upon Ear village.
Mother.
In her fading consciousness, Earin repeated the name of the World Tree.
Please, have pity on us.
The pirate's large hand moved toward her body.
The paralytic poison, having spread even to her tongue, made it impossible for her to even take her own life.
She couldn't even blink. Earin could only accept the situation with unfocused eyes.
Mother.
The very moment the pirates hand touched her clothes,
Sssshhhk!
Something unbelievable happened.
What is this?
The lust-filled pirate looked down at his hand with a bewildered expression.
Darkness, crawling up from his own shadow, had already stained his hand black.
Is this your doing?
The pirate, still on top of Earins body, bared his teeth ferociously.
Spirit art? I thought the naga bastards took care of that
It was then.
Yeah, thats my doing.
A voice echoed from within the pirates shadow. A moment later, a knight clad in black armor emerged from it.
So this is the range for shadow travel? The conditions are tricky, and the range is tiny. Tsk.
The pirates face twisted into a scowl as he stared at the knight who had appeared out of nowhere.
What the hell are you?
What do you think I am?
His tone was light, completely devoid of seriousness.
The pirate, his face contorted, tried to get up. Or rather, he attempted to.
Why cant I move my
So its possible to hold a person with a shadow, huh? Hey, thanks. This bastard made for an excellent test subject.
A smooth, teasing voice echoed in the pirate's ear.
The pirate wanted to scream something more, but now even his tongue refused to obey.
It felt as if something was gripping his entire body.
Amidst that inexplicable helplessness, the other mans voice echoed once more.
Mind if I ask you a few questions?
Is that a no?
Answer me, you bastard.
Slice!
Thud.
The deep blue blade sliced cleanly through the pirates neck, and his head dropped unceremoniously to the ground.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Ca-Captain!
The other pirates, who had just arrived, stared at the black-armored knight with pale faces.
The knight immediately turned to face them.
Hey, I told this bastard to answer me, and he just ignored me. Wouldn't you guys be pissed too?
A smile played on his lips, visible beneath his helm.
So, you guys can answer in his place. Ill let whoever answers live. Oh, and by the way.
Slash!
A wave of sword energy from the knights blade easily lopped off the head of the pirate standing at the very front.
Its first come, first served.
Karron said to the pirates, his voice filled with amusement.
2.
Of the ten pirates, only one survived.
The moment Karron cut down the third pirate, the rest chose to abandon their comrades and flee.
But not a single one of them managed to escape.
Karrons companions, who had arrived on the scene after him, had cleanly disposed of the fleeing pirates.
Karron. All taken care of.
Good work.
Karron nodded at Leo, then turned to Rion and said.
Sis, can you treat the elf?
Should I use some diluted Dew?
Yeah.
Alright.
The elf lying on the ground was in critical condition.
After handing the elf over to Rion, Karron turned back to the pirate.
Alright. Now that things are mostly sorted out, lets talk properly. So, you guys came to raid the elf village, right?
Ye-yes, thats right. The captain said we were going to raid the elf village. Naturally, we we just followed the captain here.
Besik, the Sixth Hero. Is that your captain's name?
That is the captain's name.
The lone surviving pirate began to spill everything he knew without resistance.
This one had been the first among the ten pirates to surrender.
A man with not a shred of loyalty to his crewmates was hardly likely to be loyal to his pirate band.
Karron gave a small nod, then plunged Guillotine into the ground right next to the pirates thigh.
Whats your name?
Wigo. Its Wigo.
Wigo-Wigo? Same first and last name? Why the hell did your parents give you a name like that?
Its just Wigo.
My bad. Try not to stutter. I almost misunderstood.
Karron leaned in slightly. He looked at the mans face and gave a faint smile.
Alright, Just Wigo. How big is your fleet?
Wigo trembled as he answered Karrons question.
Our White Shark Pirates have eight ships, and the Edward Pirates have five a total of thirteen ships.
The Edward Pirates you mean Edward, the Fourth Hero. So he came too.
Two of the Empresss Heroes had been mobilized.
A fleet of thirteen pirate ships.
It might seem like a small number at first glance, but considering the size of the ships they operated
At least a thousand men.
Karron frowned.
The number of troops was far too large for a simple raid.
Did the Heroes themselves come in person?
Yes, they did.
The fact that the Heroes had come personally meant they were taking this raid seriously.
But why?
Raiding an elf village to capture elves?
It was certainly a profitable venture.
But to say they came to capture elves for money seemed contradictory, as they were already sucking every last bit of profit from the coasts of the southern kingdoms.
One look at this Wigos equipment gave a glimpse into their financial state.
Well-maintained armor and weapons, far too good for a mere pirate.
If even the grunts were this well-armed, the pirate band couldn't be short on funds.
In other words, it was highly unlikely they were raiding the Great Forest for money.
The Great Forest was a dangerous place, even for pirates.
Considering the opportunity cost, there had to be another reason.
Having reached this conclusion, Karron immediately questioned Wigo.
It doesnt seem like you guys would all go crazy and throw yourselves at the Great Forest for no reason Theres another motive, isnt there?
At Karrons question, Wigo immediately slammed his head to the ground and shouted.
I was only doing what the captain ordered! I really, truly dont know anything.
Ah, so youre saying if I want answers, I should go ask your captain?
Its the truth! The captain only said we were going to raid the elf village; he never told us the reason. Please please believe me.
Wigo pleaded desperately with Karron, tears streaming down his face.
It was a desperate struggle for survival.
Karron looked at Wigos messy face and clicked his tongue in pity.
Tsk. A pirate, begging for his life. Pathetic.
If you spare my life Ill do anything.
I already said Id spare the one who came first, didnt I? I may not look it, but Im a man of my word.
It seemed there was no more information to be squeezed out of this one anyway.
He was just a minnow; Karron hadn't expected much from the start.
Just finding out the scale of the pirate force was a significant achievement.
Knowing the enemy's size versus not knowing it made a huge difference.
Open your mouth.
At Karrons command, Wigo opened his mouth wide.
Sssshhhk!
The darkness flowing from Karrons hand formed a small sphere. Karron immediately shoved the sphere into Wigos mouth.
Mmph, mmph.
Swallow it if you want to live.
Wigo did his best to swallow the black sphere.
He felt the urge to gag, but it was fine.
As long as he could live, nothing else mattered.
Alright, now you can get lost.
As Karron spoke with a smile, Wigo replied in a trembling voice.
Really? Can I really go?
If you dont want to go, well, I could just kill you.
N-No, sir!
Get out of my sight within three minutes. If I can still see you after three minutes, Ill hunt you down and kill you. Got it?
At those words, Wigo scrambled to his feet.
His pants were soaked from where he had pissed himself, but that was the least of his concerns.
He started running forward without a single glance back.
Is it okay to let him go like that? What if he goes back and reports about us?
Leo, who had approached Karron from behind, spoke quietly.
What on earth are you thinking?
A sort of experiment. Just seeing what Pluto is capable of.
Are you some kind of warlock now? Experimenting on a pirate?
Thats a bit harsh, isnt it? Brother. Stop bugging me and go bury the bodies with Utulla.
Karron casually pushed Leo away and gazed in the direction Wigo had disappeared.
The bait had been cast.
Lets wait and see.
If all went well, he might just land a big one.