Chapter 54
The port of Lawless Port!
Leaving behind the sight of countless ships lined up endlessly, I stepped onto the podium.
Thanks to Shin Ha-yeon pouring money generously, we had somehow managed to prepare a force that could be called a fleet.
Without her money, it would have been impossible to prepare such a large fleet in such a short time.
Most of the ships were converted from merchant ships to warships, and even with this fleet, our power was at most 30% compared to the Pirate Alliance’s total strength. However, we had built a decisive weapon, and crucially, we had the Merfolk. On the sea, we wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
Thinking so, I turned my gaze forward.
In front of me, countless users stretched out as far as the eye could see.
I smiled as I looked at the sight.
The scene reminded me of the past, a sight I had seen countless times in the previous game – the endless armies of the Guild Alliance and the Iron Blood Alliance that ruled Ard World.
Yes, this is how it should be.
Thinking so, I tapped the magic loudspeaker and spoke into it.
“Thank you all for taking the time to come and fight with us, even amidst your busy schedules.”
My voice echoed throughout Lawless Port.
“When this war is over! You will no longer have to tell your lovers, friends, or acquaintances that you’ve been grinding dungeons endlessly. If someone asks you about your heroic tales in Ard World after this war is over, tell them this. I fought alongside Drakan, that damn bastard, and blew the heads off pirates!”
My words brought laughter from the crowd.
I smiled inwardly with satisfaction and continued.
“I take this opportunity to offer my condolences in advance to those pirates who will face us. I will dye the Eastern Sea red with their blood. Especially the Pirate King! I will personally split his head in two!”
As I finished my speech, cheers and applause erupted from the crowd.
I smiled awkwardly as I watched them.
I had given countless speeches before battles, but this was the first time I had received such enthusiastic cheers and applause, like a celebrity concert.
Yes, just like the speeches Eugene, that bastard, gave when he established the Revolutionary Army.
‘Considering that he witnessed this scene countless times, I never stood a chance against Eugene from the beginning.’
Eugene.
In the previous game, people followed him like clouds, and all users cheered when he gave speeches.
Six years ago, all users in Ard World supported Eugene, so from the beginning, I was fighting a losing battle.
This disaster was all because my past self was foolish and blinded by short-term gains and quest strategies, and I had no intention of repeating the mistakes of the past.
Recalling my defeat, I looked at the users boarding the ships.
Pirate King!
The time to settle the score with him was approaching.
▄ ▄ ▄
The Eastern Sea!
A shadow fell over the vast ocean, where endless blue waters stretched as far as the eye could see.
A red-scaled flying monster, twice the size of a Wyvern, with flapping wings, a Drake, was cutting through the sea breeze.
“Ah, what am I doing right now? I’m on reconnaissance. Reconnaissance. Why am I doing it myself? There are many other great people here, but how can I refuse at my level?”
The armored man riding on the Drake’s back chattered non-stop while looking into the void.
A translucent chat window, constantly updating, appeared in front of him.
[Eek FlyingMan on reconnaissance lol]
[Look at Jeil’s class, sending FlyingMan for reconnaissance?]
[Well, this lineup is insane]
FlyingMan with 7 million subscribers!
A Hidden Class Drake Knight, a high-ranker who achieved SS-rank in the Combat Information Archive, and the Ruler of the Skies, famous for taming and riding a Fire Drake to dominate the skies!
He, considered the best user in Ard World when it came to aerial combat, was also one of the streamers participating in this expedition under Jeil E&M.
“Ah, yes. Thank you for the donation.”
The moment FlyingMan expressed his gratitude for the donation.
Beyond the translucent chat window, a massive fleet filling the horizon came into view.
In the center of the fleet, a massive black warship, looking extraordinary and larger than ten other ships combined, was majestically cutting through the water.
The Jolly Roger flag, symbolizing the Pirate Alliance, fluttered on the warship, and chat messages continued to appear in FlyingMan’s view.
[Pirates have appeared!]
[Wow, look at the number of ships, crazy. It looks like at least three times our size?]
[How can we win this?]
The Pirate Alliance!
Looking at their grand fleet, the viewers burst into laughter, finding it amusing.
“It seems my reconnaissance mission ends here.”
FlyingMan smiled faintly, turned the Drake’s head, and whispered to the main force that would be following behind. The whisper was immediately relayed to Ignis, who was aboard the flagship of the Lawless Port fleet, the Steelwing.
“FlyingMan has spotted the enemy fleet.”
“What’s the size?”
“He says it’s three times our size.”
Drakan, who received the information from Ignis, smiled.
“As I expected, he mobilized his fleet.”
Drakan had already seen through Pirate King Drake’s strategy.
The Pirate King!
He wouldn’t have sent his fleet hoping to win the naval battle.
Of course, winning would be ideal, but even if he lost, he would try to consume as much of our forces as possible to gain an advantage in the landing operation. Drakan was certain of this.
And Drakan had no intention of falling for the Pirate King’s intentions and letting his forces be depleted.
“Dispatch the Wyvern Unit and the Merfolk Unit.”
“Understood.”
The Wyvern and Merfolk units, having received Drakan’s orders, immediately launched.
Steelwing!
This flagship of Drakan’s fleet was a massive vessel with a deck so vast it could be mistaken for an airfield, a floating airfield, in other words, an aircraft carrier.
An aircraft carrier carrying the Wyvern Unit!
This massive ship was the decisive weapon Drakan had prepared for victory in the naval battle.
The cost of building this aircraft carrier alone was an astronomical amount, easily reaching hundreds of millions in real-world currency.
The money that could have been used to buy more than ten Legendary grade items, known as ‘house-selling items,’ was invested in this giant ship, and in the end, we were able to build the first aircraft carrier in Ard World within the deadline.
It was truly a victory of capital.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!”
“Kyaa!”
The Wyverns, carrying riders and mages, roared and soared into the sky, taking off from the flight deck of the Steelwing.
And that wasn’t all.
Underwater, the Merfolk, led by Kraken, riding sea turtles and whales, were already swimming towards the enemy fleet.
Drakan smiled as he watched the scene.
It was time to show the Pirate Alliance the true power of a carrier strike group.
▄ ▄ ▄
The black, enormous ship, with a giant Jolly Roger fluttering majestically.
The Pirate King’s flagship, the Invincible!
This ship, the symbol of the Pirate King and the terror of the eastern seas, was currently occupied by someone other than its owner, the Pirate King.
It was Cortes, the leader of the Crystal Skull Pirate Crew and the commander-in-chief of this naval battle.
Cortes stood on the bow, twitching the corners of his mouth as he gazed at the endless horizon.
“Those guys? Haven’t you found them yet?”
“That’s right.”
A subordinate pirate replied to Cortes’s words.
Hearing the answer, Cortes stroked his handsomely grown mustache and said.
“If the information that they set sail is accurate, they should be running into us soon.”
Cortes clicked his tongue, muttering to himself.
He had mobilized the fleet as soon as he received the information that Drakan’s fleet had departed from Lawless Port Granado, so it was normal to encounter his fleet by now.
However, the enemy fleet was nowhere to be seen.
It was a bit strange, but not a bad thing.
Cortes whistled.
Except for the fact that the enemy fleet was not visible, all circumstances were extremely satisfactory.
The flow of the ocean currents, the clear weather without a single cloud, and the grand fleet of the Pirate Alliance stretching endlessly behind and beside the Invincible!
All the conditions for victory were in place.
Cortes smiled.
Thanks to Drakan, Edward, the second-in-command of the Pirate Alliance, and Riach, the third-in-command, had died, creating a temporary power vacuum at the top of the Pirate Alliance.
In such a situation, if he were to achieve the feat of crushing Drakan’s fleet?
He might even be able to aim for the second-in-command position, which was occupied by the deceased Edward, instead of the third.
Ambition.
That’s right. Cortes had asked the Pirate King for command of the fleet out of ambition.
However, that didn’t mean Cortes was blinded by ambition and jumped into a battle with no chance of winning.
He had his own calculations.
‘The key to victory in a naval battle is, after all, the fleet. Drakan, that guy will fall before me before he even reaches the Pirate Archipelago!’
Cortes smiled as he looked at the horizon where the enemy fleet could appear.
Thanks to bringing out 70% of the warships owned by the Pirate Alliance, the fleet he commanded boasted both terrifying quantity, like a fortress on the sea, and quality that could reduce a place like Lawless Port Granado to ashes with bombardment.
A formidable force that could even win a head-on battle against the Gasan Kingdom’s navy!
That was the potential of the fleet Cortes possessed.
Moreover, he had even brought along the secret weapon used against marine monsters to deal with the Merfolk, so with this much, even if the rumors were true that Drakan used his uncanny abilities to summon sea monsters and Merfolk, it would be a force capable of winning.
That’s what Cortes thought.
At that very moment.
“What’s that?”
In Cortes’s vision, something like black dots swarming in appeared far in the distance of the blue sky.
The moment Cortes narrowed his eyes.
A subordinate pirate came running in a hurry and shouted towards Cortes.
“Captain! Captain Cortes!”
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s a report from the lookout. A, a Wyvern has appeared in the sky!”
“A Wyvern?”
Cortes’s eyebrows twitched at the subordinate pirate’s words.
A Wyvern in the middle of the vast ocean, where the nearest land is a seven-day journey by ship?
Considering the Wyvern’s flight range, this was impossible.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“I, It’s true!”
The moment the subordinate pirate replied to Cortes’s words.
Kwa-gwang!
A tremendous roar echoed in Cortes’s ears.
He looked up at the sky.
Far away, the sight of Wyverns flying through the sky and launching magical bombardments towards the fleet entered Cortes’s vision.
“Th, This is, No, No way! This is impossible!”
Cortes denied reality.
Magical bombardment using Wyverns in the middle of the vast ocean!
This was no different from completely shattering the common sense about naval battles that Cortes had held so far.
As Cortes was in a state of panic.
Chwaaaaak! Splash! Kwa-gwang!
This time, the calm seawater suddenly began to churn violently.
Merfolk!
The moment they, the race that ruled the seabed, arrived on the battlefield following the Wyvern unit under Drakan’s command.
