Chapter 129

Ghost Captain

The floating city of Berneze was in a state of pandemonium.

There were the roaring sounds of the firing cannons echoing from the sea, and the destruction caused by the cannonballs.

And it was because of this that people everywhere were running and screaming.

They grabbed their valuable belongings and ran in the opposite direction of the port.

It was a wise decision, of course, but made it even more difficult for us. Still, we waded through the crowds and made our way to the port. Unfortunately, this meant our arrival was delayed.

When we finally did arrive, it had been nearly half an hour since we left Marco Polo’s mansion.

Thankfully, the port was still intact, and the city guards had arrived as well.

However, we didn’t have much time. I was sure that if things didn’t change, they would be able to take this port within an hour.

“Quite impressive.”

Toshizou muttered. And he was right.

Since this was the captain of a ghostship that we were dealing with, I had assumed that little strategy would be involved, but it was not really the case.

Francis Rosnay, captain of the ghostship, was firing off his cannons from off the coast in order to destroy the port’s fixed artillery.

At the same time, they fired at what I assumed was the guard’s headquarters, causing confusion in the chain of command.

It was clear to me that they weren’t hitting these targets by chance. They had been very prepared for this attack.

“A first-rate military commander.”

I muttered as I got a glimpse of his face.

Captain Francis Rosnay came in a particularly ugly ship, and his appearance was no different from it.

He raised his voice and barked at his subordinates.

Half of them had abnormal shapes.

These monsters came in the shapes of merfolk, octopus-like monsters, lizard men, and slimes.

The other half were humans, but all of them looked just as evil as the others. It seemed like he had conquered other rival pirates and made them his subordinates.

And they represented both quality and quantity, as they continued to kill the city guards amidst the chaos.

If this continued, they would get through the city’s defenses and flow into the city. Realizing this, I began to chant.

The words of ancient magic.

“O thunder god of nature! Shake the sky and cast down your judgment. Burn flesh and bone! Come out, Lord of Pain!!”

As the curse was activated, objects started to surround me.

Magic energy shot out from them towards a single point, and a gate to another world opened up. And from there, the king of thunder appeared.

Solemnly, the king brought its judgment to the wicked, casting barriers on all of the exits to the port.

Lightning appeared and it covered the roads like waves. One of the monsters touched it and was electrocuted to death in a flash.

Toshizou watched this and said,

“Are you also a monster, master? I doubt a mere sorcerer could cast a thunder barrier of this size.”

No sea creature would be able to cross it. He added. But Jeanne disagreed.

“That’s not true. The path leading to the main street is still open.”

Toshizou looked in the direction that Jeanne was pointing and groaned.

“Hmm, you’re right. That’s quite a sloppy mistake, master.”

He said as he looked towards me. But I smiled back.

“It was part of my plan. I wanted to leave them one path to go through.”

“Why did you want to do that?”

“To keep them in one place. If we take our position there, all of the enemies will come to use. We won’t have to move around and search for them. And we won’t have to spread out our fighting force.”

“That’s true. But on the other hand, we’ll have to take on hundreds of monsters at once.”

“While it leads to the main street, it’s still narrow. We should be fine if we position ourselves there.”

“I see. So you’re going to use the narrow terrain again.”

“Again?”

Jeanne asked with a tilt of her head.

“Have you already forgotten what was only a few months ago, Saint? Remember when our master defeated ten thousand zombies?”

“Oh, the battle against Demon King Eliges!”

Eligos. I corrected, and then explained.

“It’s as Toshizou says. We’re using the same strategy. Things won’t end well for use if we’re surrounded by hundreds of enemies at once. But we can make it if we take on smaller numbers at a time from the front.”

Well, it was better to do it than just talk about it. And so I used ‘Flight’ to move towards the entrance to the main street.

And as I flew, I gathered energy towards my right hand.

As black energy enveloped it, it transformed into a sharp blade.

Then I raised the piercing attribute to the highest and shouted.

“My right hand pleads as it shines! It shouts for me to stab the pirates! Darkness Lance!”

A black lance then extended from the blade. It kept going, as if endless.

Jeanne exclaimed,

“Amazing! An infinity lance!!”

And she was right. If my magic energy was infinite, then this lance would continue to stretch on forever.

Unfortunately, I was not that powerful. And so I was merely able to pierce the side of the ghost ship that was nearest the port.

The lance pierced through a few dozen monsters as well, which felt like a fitting way to greet Captain Francis Rosnay.

It came out the other side of the deck, close to where he stood.

His face looked monstrous and squid-like. But in spite of this sudden attack, he remained very calm.

He just looked back menacingly. Yes, a good leader would not be phased so easily. He was a true man of the sea.

I was reminded of how strong this enemy was, but continued to take down the weaker crew.

By launching Fireballs and Thunderbolts, I created chaos on the ship, and then shouted,

“Toshizou, Jeanne. It’s time for you two to go.”

I told them. Toshizou shouted as he came running towards me.

“Understood!”

Jeanne was quick to reply as well.

“It annoys me that you called me after him, but I will obey!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at this, but they were both strong.

Toshizou’s sword cut mercilessly into the pirates. The fishmen were filleted, the octopi skewered, and the pirates diced.

The tentacles danced as they fell to the floor.

Jeanne looked at them hungrily, but she quickly returned to herself and swung her holy blade.

A godly, golden aura surrounded her as she cut through the pirates.

The two Heroes slaughtered their way through the monsters as they made their way to me.

Then they shouted.

“We are the best of the Ashtaroth army!”

Their words were filled with confidence and truth.

And they followed them with even more slaughter.

Like this, the tide turned in our favor.

It had only been a short while ago that the pirates had overridden the port, causing the citizens and guards to tremble with fear. But now, they were pushed to being on the defense.

They feared us, and it was starting to affect their ability to fight.

It would not be difficult for us to win now. The pirates started to turn around and run back towards their ships.

Was it done then? It was just as I wondered this. A great cannon ball landed in a group of fleeing pirates.

It had come from the ghost ship.

Then Francis Rosnay shouted. His voice was amplified by magic.

“Who said you could retreat? Do you really fear that fledgling Demon King over me?”

His voice was filled with cruelty and coldness. The frantic pirates felt a chill run through them.

Then they regained their savagery, their hands clenched around their swords.

Satisfied with this reaction, Francis Rosnay himself started to move towards the frontline.

He jumped from boat to boat as he made his way towards us. While it looked almost like magic, I didn’t sense any. He was moving like that with his physical ability alone.

Damn it. He really was a monster. People like me had to chant in order to move like that.

I grumbled to myself as I prepared to meet the ghost captain.