Chapter 109: A Different League. Other Ships Are Just Puttering Along
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 109: A Different League. Other Ships Are Just Puttering Along
Seo-un and Gi-chan couldn't hide their awe as they gazed at the vessel floating majestically upon the waves. Its bow was adorned with a fierce dragon head, and its roof was encased in iron plating that mimicked the rugged shell of a turtle.
Watching the two of them gush over the sight, Li Min asked, "Is it really that good of a ship?"
"Of course," Seo-un replied, his voice brimming with absolute confidence.
"The roof is completely sealed by iron plating, so it looks like securing a field of vision will be difficult. It doesn't exactly look maneuverable, either," Jin Long remarked, eyeing the heavy design.
Gi-chan replied with a knowing smile. "We'll find out once we're inside."
"It’s packed with cannons," Juriel noted, her eyes fixed on the heavy artillery installed along the Turtle Ship’s flanks.
"The defense is definitely solid," Dump added, clearly taking a liking to the ship's rugged aesthetic.
A grin spread across Dump's face as he looked at the countless sharp spikes protruding from the iron plating—a nightmare for anyone attempting to board. They opened a sliding door next to a gunport and stepped onto the deck. Immediately, a system notification rang out.
"High-grade Mana!" Li Min, who had been the team's primary pilot, shouted in excitement. "And it even has active skills!"
Dump was equally thrilled, wandering around the hull and running his hands over the reinforcements.
"The Mana Cannons are positioned for optimal firing arcs, too," Gi-chan noted, his interest piqued by the mechanical layout of the artillery.
Meanwhile, Li Min discovered a switch labeled 'Vision Open.' Intrigued, he reached out and flipped it.
"Whoa."
"Ho..."
"With this, we won't have to worry about our sightlines being blocked at all."
The ceiling and outer walls that had felt so stifling suddenly became transparent, as if transformed by an illusion of vision magic. It provided a crystal-clear, panoramic view of their surroundings while maintaining the protection of the iron shell.
"This is incredible."
As Li Min marveled at the ship’s features, Seo-un called out to Gi-chan.
"Gi-chan."
Gi-chan shifted his gaze from the Mana Cannon he was inspecting to see Seo-un smiling at him.
"Dump them all in."
At those words, Gi-chan pulled out the upgrade items he had been hoarding and tossed them onto the floor of the Turtle Ship.
As the flurry of upgrade notifications finally settled, Li Min looked at Seo-un, his eyes eager for orders. It was only natural to want to test-drive a masterpiece the moment you got your hands on it.
"Aren't you tired? You must be exhausted from fighting all through the night."
"The sun is already high in the sky, Captain. What's the big deal about missing one night of sleep?"
It wasn't just Li Min who was restless. The rest of the team looked just as anxious to see what the Turtle Ship could do. Seo-un's lips curled into a smirk as he surveyed his crew.
"Let's go! Check the pings!"
Since the center of the magnetic field had shifted within a single day, the Turtle Ship began its maiden voyage toward the large island at the center of the zone, cutting through the waves with refreshing speed.
Despite its incredible mobility—far surpassing that of a standard Caravel—the interior remained comfortable and nearly windless since it was fully enclosed. The team’s expressions brightened with every knot of speed they gained.
Sirens followed in their wake, leaping out of the water as if enjoying the thrill of the chase. They had been sailing smoothly for a while when a Caravel suddenly emerged from behind a distant island.
With a thunderous roar, a red Magic Bullet streaked through the air in a straight line toward the Turtle Ship.
A heavy vibration rocked the ship, followed by a notification.
"Ram them head-on!" Seo-un commanded.
The Turtle Ship surged forward, charging directly at the Caravel despite the distance. Gi-chan manned the Mana Cannon installed in the dragon's mouth, firing back to keep the enemy suppressed.
As the Turtle Ship charged fiercely, returning fire with interest, the Caravel—which had been turning broadside to bring its own cannons to bear—hurriedly tried to turn its bow away in a panic.
"Don't let them get away!"
"They can't escape," Li Min replied with a smirk.
Cutting through the sea with overwhelming mobility, the Turtle Ship easily closed the gap on the basic, un-upgraded Caravel.
Just then, the ship shuddered as a loud vibration echoed through the hull.
"On the left!"
A Panokseon had appeared from behind a small rocky outcrop, opening fire with its own Magic Bullets.
"Are they working together?"
"There's another one on the right, too!"
It was a classic pincer maneuver: drawing the target in with frontal fire while flanking them from both sides.
"What's the play?" Li Min asked, sounding conflicted as he watched the enemies close in from both flanks. It was a simple but effective trap. If they had been on any other ship, they would have been in dire straits the moment the trap sprung.
However, Seo-un didn't hesitate for a second.
"Keep charging! Activate the skills!"
At his command, Li Min triggered [Fatal Dash].
The barrier eventually gave way under the continuous bombardment, but Seo-un didn't blink. Juriel and Lyle worked in tandem, casting protective barriers to shield the hull, though the enemy's red Magic Bullets were powerful enough to shatter a mage's shield in a single hit.
By the time they caught up to the fleeing Caravel, the Turtle Ship's hull damage had exceeded 15%. The enemies flanking them, firing relentlessly, were naturally left in the dust by the Turtle Ship's superior speed.
As they closed in on the enemy's stern, the dragon-head figurehead began to glow a menacing red, its eyes flashing with light.
The Turtle Ship jolted violently as it collided, accompanied by a deafening roar of rending wood. In that instant, Nam Sa-gwang was already leaping from the iron plating toward the enemy deck.
"Can you handle it alone?"
"No problem. I've already scouted them."
Through his Qi detection, he had already confirmed there were no formidable experts on board.
"Turn the bow! Close in on the Panokseon!"
The moment Seo-un gave the order, Li Min hauled the wheel over.
The Turtle Ship swung its bow around, shoving the crippled Caravel aside. The Panokseon that had been chasing them stopped its fire in pure shock. The Turtle Ship lunged toward it as the enemy ship desperately tried to turn away.
"Tsk." Li Min grimaced at the notification.
Although their mobility had dropped by 10% now that hull damage exceeded 20%, it was still more than enough to run down the sluggish Panokseon. Even as the second Panokseon continued to fire its Mana Cannons persistently from the other side, Seo-un remained unfazed.
As they drew alongside their target, a barrage of magic began pouring from the enemy deck.
The moment the dragon-head figurehead slammed into the flat stern of the Panokseon, Seo-un shouted, "Board them!"
Seo-un led the charge, kicking open the side door and leaping onto the enemy ship, followed closely by Jin Long and Li Lingwei. The enemy knights tried to form a line to block them while their mages unleashed spells from the rear.
However, the team was now seasoned in the chaos of shipboard melee. They didn't give an inch, ruthlessly pushing the enemies back.
Meanwhile, Li Min, who had stayed behind to manage the ship, turned the wheel hard and activated a skill.
A thick, blinding white mist began to spew from the dragon head's mouth. The fog instantly swallowed both the Panokseon and the Turtle Ship, spreading in all directions. The remaining Panokseon in the distance was forced to cease fire.
With their vision completely obscured, a stray shot could easily result in catastrophic friendly fire. They could only hover at a distance, their crew stomping their feet in frustration. They feared the strength of the enemies inside the mist, but they couldn't just watch their allies die. In the end, they chose the only logical option: flight.
"It's over for them! We have to escape while they're still occupied!"
The players on the fleeing Panokseon looked grim, but as they tried to put distance between themselves and the battlefield, a scream echoed across the deck.
"E-Enemy!"
The players' eyes widened as they looked toward the sea. A lone martial artist was closing in on them with murderous intent, sprinting across the surface of the water.
With Hand Aura shimmering in one hand and his entire body drenched in the blood of his previous victims, the martial artist running across the waves was the very embodiment of terror.
A desperate volley of magic flew toward Nam Sa-gwang, but nothing could halt his advance.
"Knights! Block him with your lives!"
Even as the command was given, it was a death sentence. It was practically impossible for ordinary knights to stop a martial artist capable of manipulating Aura. Furthermore, Nam Sa-gwang simply bypassed the heavily armored frontliners, focusing his lethal strikes on the mages.
He was a master of one-versus-many combat. Although the average level of the players had risen significantly, dismantling a squad of this caliber alone was child's play for him.
"Gah!"
Nam Sa-gwang cut down the last remaining knight, cleaving through both man and plate armor in a single stroke. He stood still for a moment, gazing back toward the area shrouded in thick mist. Then, the Turtle Ship emerged from the fog, its dragon-head figurehead looking more majestic than ever.
"You're finished already?" Seo-un asked, standing atop the figurehead and looking down at Nam Sa-gwang on the blood-soaked deck.
"A squad like this, without a single Sword Emperor to lead them, is nothing."
Seo-un smiled. When Nam Sa-gwang had been an enemy, he was a nightmare; as an ally, there was no one more reliable.
After they finished looting the wreckage, Gi-chan tossed a newly acquired repair kit onto the floor of the Turtle Ship to patch the hull.
"It would have been a massive headache if it weren't for this ship," Gi-chan remarked. The rest of the team nodded in silent agreement. Without the Turtle Ship's overwhelming mobility and durability, that pincer attack would have been a grueling fight.
"The enemies themselves weren't much."
If they had met on land, Seo-un's team could have wiped out a force three times this size with ease, provided there wasn't a Sword Emperor among them. However, naval combat introduced too many variables.
"As long as we have this ship, we can crush almost anyone," Dump said. He wasn't exaggerating.
Just then, the haunting song of a Siren drifted across the water. Seo-un hurriedly opened the side door and leaned out.
"What is it?"
Seo-un nodded and looked at Li Min. At the mention of the Turbulent Sea, Li Min was already at the wheel, bringing the engines to life. The ship accelerated, leaving the graveyard of the recent battle behind.
As soon as they cleared the area, a blue boundary appeared on the map, indicating the Blue Zone. Dump shuddered as he looked back at the churning sea and the black clouds gathering behind them.
"If we got caught in that, they wouldn't even find our bodies."
Seo-un nodded, but as he looked at the map, his eyebrows twitched. "So that's how it is."
Juriel was the first to catch the change in his tone. "What's wrong?"
She instinctively pulled up her own map, and her eyes widened. "This is..."
"Yes."
A name that hadn't been there before now appeared directly in their path.
[Mirage Sea]
It was unclear why the name of this hidden region had suddenly been revealed, but one thing was certain.
"It must be related to the Main Quest: Treasure Island."
The situation was clear enough for even Dump to grasp. A sea area appearing out of nowhere. The name 'Mirage.' A blatant Main Quest urging them to find a hidden island and claim its riches.
"Should we bypass it?" Li Min asked. He had a gut feeling that entering a suddenly revealed zone was a bad idea. Every time they completed a Main Quest, an Epic Monster appeared and drastically accelerated the game's lethality. They knew all too well that the moment they found that treasure, something absurdly difficult would crawl out of the depths.
As they debated, Jin Long, who had been scouting with a monocular while the Siren sang, shouted.
"Priest! Enemies! It's not just a few ships—it's a fleet!"
At the word 'fleet,' everyone looked out. Over twenty ships were converging on the Mirage Sea from the distance. Seo-un focused his internal power into his eyes and peered through the monocular. He could faintly see a figure standing majestically atop the massive flagship at the head of the fleet.
The silhouette—silver hair and a fluttering black cloak—immediately brought one name to mind.
'The Madman of the Battlefield. Senrurk.'
Instinctively, Seo-un turned to look at Juriel. Seeing his grim expression, she offered a small, sad smile. He didn't have to say a word; she understood the situation perfectly. She had been keeping track of the survivor list herself.
"It seems King Senrurk has arrived," she said softly.
Seo-un nodded, his face stiff. Even Dump’s expression hardened as he looked at Juriel. When the rest of the team looked confused, Dump explained in a low voice.
"Senrurk is the king of her homeland, Cresen."
The deck fell silent. Everyone’s attention turned to Juriel. Under their collective gaze, she spoke with a forced brightness.
"Don't worry, everyone. I won't be a burden to the squad. This is a battlefield, and right now, the King and I are enemies."
Seeing her draw such a clear line, Li Lingwei looked concerned. "Are you sure you're okay with opposing him? There might be other ways."
As she spoke, Li Lingwei pulled a unique mask shaped like a red demon from her subspace. At the sight of it, Li Min cleared his throat and glanced at Jin Long.
The Killing Mask of Jindok Valley.
It was a mask used only when one intended to kill in the name of the valley. It was infamous in their world; whenever a martial artist wearing that mask appeared, the Righteous Faction would inevitably bleed.
Normally, Jin Long, a member of the Righteous Faction, would have been incensed. But he didn't seem to mind at all. The bond within this squad had already grown that strong.
Juriel took the mask and gave a bitter smile. "Thank you. I'll use it if it becomes necessary."
While they spoke, the massive fleet continued its steady approach toward the Mirage Sea.
"What's the call, Captain?" Li Min asked, looking at Seo-un.
Their options were limited. The enemy was an overwhelming force of over twenty ships, while they were only ten people. And right in front of them lay the Mirage Sea—a blatant trap designed to lure players to their doom.