Ch.191Chapter 191. Like Before

The Undead.

These were creatures I’d encountered to the point of exhaustion at excavation sites, characterized by their tendency to repeat behaviors from their living days based on residual memories in their corpses.

It wasn’t difficult to deduce that this lake was once a sea, and pirates who had been submerged beneath it had somehow risen as undead.

The key question was how many pirates existed on that ship.

“Just checking, but are they under the Lord of Corpses?”

“No, they’re naturally occurring undead.”

If they weren’t affiliated with the Lord of Corpses, it meant they wouldn’t have any of the Four Knights among them.

However, before I could feel relieved about that fact, the ship blocking our path was several times larger than our ark.

“The problem is that large undead armies aren’t exclusively created by the Lord of Corpses.”

“Seems that way.”

Countless undead were climbing down ropes attached to harpoons.

In the brief moment we took to assess the situation and talk, over a hundred of them had already boarded our ark.

“This is… our Black Anchor’s territory…!”

“Intruders… eliminate them. Plunder… plunder everything!”

The undead approached, swinging rusty weapons while howling monstrously.

Though their weapons and appearance were unimpressive, their sheer numbers made them dangerous—we could easily be surrounded if we weren’t careful.

Moreover, most people in this refuge were evacuees and laborers.

With so many to protect, we couldn’t allow even a single intruder to break through.

“How did you usually handle this?”

“When the old man set up barricades to protect everyone, the guards, including myself, would clear out the ones that made it aboard. Once their numbers were reduced enough, that ship would retreat on its own.”

“And you’ve been repeating this process all this time?”

They attack according to their memories from life, then retreat when they see no chance of success… and repeat the process.

That’s typically how undead behave, living on lingering attachments.

Occasionally there are undead who awaken to self-awareness through powerful regrets, but dialogue seemed impossible with the ones before us.

“Is it impossible to wipe them out completely?”

“Look at the size of that ship. It’s packed with undead, and alone I can only manage to clear those that come aboard. Besides, as you know, even if you eliminate undead, they can quickly recover their forces if the summoner remains alive.”

Right, a lich-level undead could mass-produce more undead from mere body fragments.

While creating self-aware powerful beings like the Four Knights would be difficult, summoning low-level troops like these would be possible as long as they had the power.

“Then if we eliminate this summoner you mentioned, there would be no more danger in this lake.”

Removing the cause would mean no more problems would arise.

Garam asked nervously in response to my suggestion:

“…Do you think it’s possible?”

“Nothing’s impossible if you cover me well. Remember our old strategy?”

I would draw their attention while Garam would unleash massive bombardment to annihilate the enemy territory.

At my suggestion, Garam smiled, and rocks began to float around her one by one.

“…Alright. Let’s try our old approach.”

“Are you ready?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Her unique ability to manipulate objects.

The rocks she raised into the air began colliding with each other, sharpening their surfaces.

The result was projectiles with razor-sharp edges that would deliver even more devastating impact.

-KWAGAKANG! KWANG!

Merciless bombardment crashed into the undead, followed by smaller fragments that hindered those outside the blast radius.

Her attacks seemed much more destructive than the last time I’d seen them.

Yet despite such attacks, the undead showed neither fear nor pain as they continued swinging their weapons.

“Hyoseooong! Time for… plundering!”

“Everyone, take care of Hyoseong!”

These damn undead are going on about Hyoseong again.

Despite the attacks that should have hindered their movements, they kept charging forward relentlessly.

It seemed that because there was a summoner controlling them from the ship, I couldn’t expect my abilities to impede their actions.

“HYOSEOOONG! HYOSEOOOOONG!”

But with their attention focused on me, Garam was receiving relatively less attention.

Seeing this as an advantage, I deployed my weapon, stabbing it into the undead I passed and sending the signal to detonate.

BOOM! BABOOM! The undead shattered into pieces in a chain of explosions.

With the explosions behind me, I rushed into their midst, spinning to deflect their weapons, building magical momentum with each deflection.

-SWISH!

The undead were pushed back by the storm that responded to my will.

Originally I had planned to clear a path forward immediately, but the endless undead climbing down the harpoon ropes quickly filled any space I cleared.

Damn, there are too many to handle alone.

-TUPAPAPAPAK!

A shower of countless pebbles flew in from the side.

As the undead caught in it collapsed in tatters, I saw Garam shrugging her shoulders as she gathered power for her next attack.

“You need me after all, right?”

“Of course, I’m fighting because I trust you.”

Right, I wasn’t fighting alone.

Being able to move forward while someone has your back is the optimal condition for creating a breakthrough.

-KWAGAKANG, KWANG!

I continued pushing forward with this momentum.

Finally stepping onto the thick rope connected to the harpoon, I gathered magical power in my feet, preparing to collide with the undead blocking my path.

At that moment, I noticed undead archers taking aim from the sides, but I wasn’t concerned.

By the time they drew their bowstrings, projectiles would strike them at an even faster speed.

-BABOOM!!!

At the end, I broke through the rope and stood on the pirate ship’s deck.

In the center of the deck, crowded with undead pirates, stood one undead emanating an ominous aura.

With a hook, hat, and a prosthetic leg replacing a missing limb—the typical appearance of a pirate captain.

“So you’re the leader.”

The power emanating from him seemed to control the surrounding undead.

Noticing this, I gripped my spear, and the pirate captain glared at me with flashing eyes.

“So it’s you… who interferes with my plunder… lackey of the… royal family…!”

BOOM! A thunderous sound erupted as he stomped his prosthetic leg.

In response, the undead focused their glowing eyes on me as the captain rose from his position, pointing his hook at me and shouting with all his might.

“Bring me… his head…! I will hang that head… at the front of the ship… and declare war on the royal family!”

-HYOSEOOOOOOOOONG!!!

The undead charged, using my name as their battle cry.

Their momentum was formidable, but I had broken through far worse battlefields countless times.

-SWISH!

As I spun to meet their attacks, air currents accumulated around my body.

Each time I released those currents, undead bodies flew in all directions, clearing a path for me to advance.

Of course, other undead filled the gaps each time I pushed them away, but if I could advance even one step, the battle’s outcome was just a matter of time.

“T-this is ridiculous… What are you doing… failing to eliminate one man!”

Finally recognizing the opportunity after repeated exchanges, the captain roared and began swinging his hook, channeling magical power through it.

The resulting sharp wind was a powerful strike in itself.

But I had learned to reverse the power of the strong.

-WHIRR!

The wind blade’s trajectory twisted to match the rotation of my spear.

As I increased the momentum of the rotation, the attack transformed into a fierce storm that swept the surroundings.

Despite this, undead continued charging like moths to a flame. When their numbers had somewhat decreased, my spinning spear became a javelin that flew toward the captain.

“KHAAK!! Such… petty tricks!!”

The captain deflected my decisive strike with his hook, his eyes flashing as he stomped the deck again with his prosthetic leg.

“Y-you… stupid lackey of that foolish king… Do you think you can defeat me, the ruler of this sea?!”

In response to his will, the undead that had been cut apart by the wind blades began to regenerate.

The sight of fragments randomly reconnecting demonstrated that the captain’s power was not to be underestimated.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

But I hadn’t recklessly set foot here without a plan.

As the captain tried to issue orders to his subordinates, massive boulders began sweeping through their ranks.

“W-what is this… Is Briton bombarding us…?!”

The troops that had just been regenerated were crushed and scattered by the bombardment.

Even if some managed to survive, with the deck completely overturned, it would be impossible to regroup to protect their master.

“I’m tired of hearing nonsense. Can we end this now?”

At the center of the ongoing bombardment.

As I approached, gripping my spear, fierce magical power began to swirl around the captain’s body.

“A lackey of Briton serving that foolish king…! I will never surrender this ship, never!!”

A loud explosion erupted beneath his prosthetic leg.

Using that as propulsion, he closed the distance, aiming a kick at my head—but the tip of my spear deflected his attack upward.

What awaited the captain as he was deflected upward were boulders converging from all directions in parabolic arcs.

“KRAAAAK!!!”

When the rocks fused in mid-air, completely trapping his body.

Completely sealed by the attack, the captain began to howl as if struggling desperately.

“Briton, you damned fools!! Why don’t you aim for supremacy with such power!! With that power, defeating the Empire wouldn’t be just a dream!!”

Briton, Briton… come to think of it, he’s been repeating that name all this time.

The name sounds familiar because I once visited that place myself.

Not as Hyoseong Woo, but as Tachia… Yes, it was the royal family of that country that commissioned me to hunt a dragon.

Does that mean this pirate is raging because he was executed for raiding that country and has now returned as an undead with a grudge?

“You’re annoying till the very end.”

But that happened over half a century ago.

Even though I have Tachia’s personality, I couldn’t be bothered to care about a country that perished long ago.

“If you’re dead, stay dead instead of causing trouble. Go back to the afterlife quietly.”

-KWAAANG!!!!

His rotten body, still bound by my javelin, shattered into pieces.

With that, the undead who were trying to rise again froze, then scattered like dust and disappeared.

The battle against the specters occupying the lake had ended.

*****

Peace returned to the refuge after the battle with the pirates.

After clearing the deck and returning to the wheelhouse, Garam and I began receiving thanks from the crew members one by one.

“We survived thanks to you Heroes. Now we can travel to the other side of the lake.”

“Those pirates had been preventing us from advancing to the opposite shore, but now our range of movement has expanded significantly.”

Expanded range of movement…

Right, we were at the edge of the Empire’s territory.

Considering that the refuge’s purpose was to protect as many people as possible, an expanded range of movement was definitely a positive development.

“Heroes, what are your plans going forward?”

“For now, unless something special comes up, we should circle around the lake and help people in trouble.”

Garam gave instructions to the crew members, representing our group.

The ring she occasionally displayed during this process proved she was acting as the proxy for the lord who was the actual owner of this refuge.

Come to think of it, Garam is only about high school age, yet she’s already responsible for managing an entire facility.

“…We’ve barely overcome one crisis.”

Once the crew members left and we were alone.

Seeing her sigh deeply with those worried words, I approached to offer encouragement.

“Aren’t you happy? The pirates that have been bothering you are completely wiped out.”

“This isn’t the end. Whether we stay in one place or move elsewhere, more severe incidents will keep happening.”

“You’re thinking too negatively. Don’t worry so much. Now that I’ve joined Jaseong, your burden should be lighter…”

“Brother.”

Her call interrupted my attempt at consolation.

As I stopped speaking and looked at her, Garam turned around and began walking somewhere.

“There’s a place I’d like you to come with me to, if that’s okay?”

“Oh, sure, of course.”

If there was something more to do, I should naturally follow.

The place we entered was filled with numerous urns.

“It’s a columbarium. A place where we’ve laid to rest those who died during the creation of this refuge…”

“…”

“…You remember this name, don’t you?”

She stopped at a place with a familiar name written on one of the urns.

My fist unconsciously clenched as I looked down at it, because the person there was someone I could never overlook.

“…Yes, I remember.”

Hero Taeyang Lim.

One of the three Heroes who had been kind to me during my time as a porter.