Chapter 29: 29

on Monday, January 1, 2018ein zwei

16-29 . Garleon Union (5)

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『Satou, we're done peer reviewing the magic you gave earlier . 』

『Nn, worked hard . 』

『Thank you . Did you find any problem?』

『Perfect . 』

『Since the mana control code has been completely left out, even an expert magician would have a hard time controlling the magic, but I don't think there is any problem in the execution itself . 』

Oh good .

I had given it a try in the middle of the night myself, but a cross check is important as an insurance before a flaw could manifest itself .

『But really, when did you find the time to develop that kind of magic?』

『Well, I had nothing else to do during the cruise . 』

And so I tried making <<Create Frigate Golem>> magic to kill times . It was relatively simple since I took the basic code from the existing ones .

This magic creates steel golem ships complete with a set of living statues as their dummy sailors .

The hardest part was making these living statues looking like humans .

Additionally, each golem ship only has 10 mana cannons on it, so it's weak for a golem at level 50 .

Of course it also can't fly in the sky like an airship .

Each cast will create 12 ships, so this magic should prove useful in this pirate subjugation if I cast it a lot .

I could have increased their firepower if I equipped them with high-powered mana cannons, but that would result in quick depletion of the mana supply, so I didn't put them this time .

I'll modify it the next chance I get .

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"--Admiral! The support fleet is lagging behind . "

I heard a crew reporting to the admiral .

"Tch, damn those money grabbers, they must be skimping on the magic cores . "

The admiral clicked his tongue to hear the report .

Seems he overlooks the fact that he abused wind magicians to do the work without magic cores himself .

This fleet has 9 garleok army ships, 12 escort ships, and 4 reinforcement ships sent from other cities of Garleon Union that were on the port, 25 ships in total .

In addition, 7 of the guard ships have pirates on board, and there are even pirates slipped in half of the union reinforcement ships .

They will probably start a revolt once the melee begins, I should watch and stop them at the right time .

『Satou . 』

Mia's voice reached me through space magic [Tactical Talk] .

『Pirates, sunset direction . 』

『Thank you, Mia . 』

Looks like the airship patrolling in the sky has caught a sight of the pirates .

Almost at the same time, a flashlight installed under the airship for communication also flashed, informing me the same thing .

It's a secret that the data from the light signals is more abundant than Mia's words .

『Intercept?』

『No, let's observe them, I'd like to know the capability of this subjugation force . 』

From what the Map shows me, there's no ship getting attacked by pirates, so it should be fine .

"Admiral! Warship sighted at two o'clock! They don't have a national flag on them . "

About half a hour later, a birdkin soldier who was patrolling the area gave such report .

"Alright! Look for an ambush, wind magicians . "

The wind magicians who were giving speed to the ship stopped their magic and began to chant search magic .

"Engine unit! Raise the magic furnace output . "

"Aye aye sir . "

Vibrations and mana wave coming from below got stronger .

"Admiral, should we get the mana cannons ready?"

"Umu . . . Scouts! How many ships there are!"

"I see one ship!"

"Then let's sink that one and raise our fleet morale . Prepare the mana cannon . "

"Aye aye sir . "

The gunport is opened, and the waterproof cloth covering the mana cannons downstairs are removed .

"Admiral! One warship at two o'clock, distance 2200 . "

The wind magicians give their report after the mana cannons had finished preparing .

Looks like Garleon Union's unit of length is similar to yard .

The distance is about 2 kilometers .

"Alright, no ambush it is . "

The admiral grinned .

『Summon?』

『--No, there's no need for the artificial spirits . 』

Mia asked if she should support us with artificial spirits, but that would be a total overkill .

『Mwu』

『Don't worry, you'll have your chance later, hold on a bit okay . 』

『I would like to take part too . 』

『Yes, of course . Sistina-sama too, please have patient until your turn . Until then, could you please help patrolling the area with the gargoyle unit?』

『Yes, leave it to me . 』

The girls get their turn for real when the pirates have amassed their main force .

However, Lady Karina and Princess Sistina might have their turn early .

Big red spots shown on the Map tell me just that .

I check out several red spots cruising under the pirate fleet .

Their identity are that of Torpedo Squids and a Squid Kraken .

There are 20 of the former averaging at level 12, and the latter consists of only one at level 45 .

No wait, there's around 30 Sea Orcs whose levels are at single digit following them too .

Every one of the monsters have this unusual state of [Subordination] .

It's probably a type of Tame .

These monsters are advancing under water, so wind magic search cannot find them .

At a glance, the captain who didn't search underwater with water magic might seem incompetent, but I can understand why he's hesitant to largely deplete the fleet mana to do that .

Even though there are pirates accompanied by seaborne demi-human, their war force cannot be compared to one pirate warship .

In addition, about 10-20 kilometer behind that pirate ship, the pirate main force is gradually amassing, it seems like the wind magic earlier couldn't pick them up .

They also have several Squid Krakens coming with them, so Mia and Princess Sistina will have plenty of chance .

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<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka . com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel . >

"Warship in sight!"

The pirate ship came into sight on the horizon before long .

"Black pirate ship?"

"Oy! Look at that pirate's flag!"

"Skull coiled by sea snakes--It's the Skeleton Archduke's ship!"

According to the Map, Skeleton Archduke isn't on that ship .

They probably let their subordinates hoist the flag to cause confusion and to act as a warning .

"That flag, weird~?"

"Tama think so nodesu?"

Tama and Pochi who came out of the shadow on my feet bent their body forward on the handrail .

It's already time for lunch break, I guess?

Fortunately, the people around us are busy preparing for the battle, they haven't noticed the two .

"You two, women aren't allowed to be on this ship, so go to the ship where Karina-sama and the others are and watch from there, okay . "

The two who were looking up at me looked dejected .

"Nyu~?"

"Too bad nodesu . "

Nevertheless, the two obediently went into the shadow and got on board the airship in the sky .

『Send the dummy signal . 』

『Yes siir』

I asked the brownie on the airship to send out a dummy light signal .

This ship's navigator who noticed that signal looks at me in askance .

"Admiral, there's a high chance the enemy is being accompanied by monsters . "

"Accompanied? We knew about the tamed Sea Orcs already . "

"No, not that--"

"Sir Pendragon! I'm busy with the battle . Act like an observer would and observe our fight quietly!"

I wanted to warn him that the monsters were Torpedo Squids and a Squid Kraken, but he turned a deaf ear .

The fleet will suffer serious damage if this keeps up, I should drop down Karina Bomb the moment Squid Kraken shows itself to prevent that .

As for the Torpedo Squids, well, considering we have 25 warships, they should manage somehow .

『Karina-sama, it's about time for you to show up--』

I talked to Lady Karina in the sky above to ease her boredom .

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"Those bunch are heading straight to us . Are they getting desperate?"

"Hmph, this is all those worthless pirates amount to . Fire the mana cannons all at once when they get within range . "

The fleet begins to encircle the pirate ship and turns their flanks toward it .

"The pirates aren't attacking, are they?"

I tried asking the navigator .

"They're on the downwind, so they're still outside the arrow range . "

Is that really true?

We're only about 100 meter apart from each other though .

"Mana cannons, get ready to fire--fireeeeeeeee!"

The mana cannons spewed flame with the admiral's command, the consort ships next to the flagship shot out their mana cannons one after another .

"Oh?"

A wall of water appeared in front of the pirate ship's black hull, warding off the mana cannon flame balls one after another .

That's probably the magic of the Squid Kraken under the sea .

"I-impossible! Fire the next volley!"

Seeing that, the admiral issued an order in flurry .

"We haven't finished reloading the mana cannons yet . "

The pirates will charge in if this keeps up .

There's an extra large horn-shaped battering ram on the pirate ship's hull .

Looks like they were planning to charge using the horn and get on board this ship from the start .

I took out a magic bow and several steel arrows from my magic bag .

"Admiral! The enemy ship is on a collision route . "

"Eey, to the starboard!"

The flagship tried to take a sudden turn to evade the collision, but our speed had fallen because of the forced maneuver .

And that's when the Torpedo Squids are coming .

"Admiral! Monsters underwater!"

"Just ignore those Sea Orcs!"

"It's not them, it's Torpedo Squids!"

"W-what'd you say--"

Looks like the flagship crew finally noticed the Torpedo Squids .

These monsters are only level 20, but their length is about half the flagship .

"I'll lend you a hand . "

I announced that, and aimed my arrows at the Torpedo Squids swimming underwater .

"Mere arrows can't possibly work underwater--"

I shot out three arrows while judging the timing and killed seven Torpedo Squids .

I'd feel bad if I killed them all and take all the credits, so I left three of them half-dead .

"--They hit and even killed them?"

The admiral who was going to sneer at me was surprised with his eyes wide open .

No no, do your admiral job than doing that reaction .

His subordinates were taking actions all the while he was getting surprised, water magicians were shooting the Torpedo Squids with water lances, and the wind magicians were chanting evasion magic .

The ship crew were earnestly controlling of the sail using the rope to re-accelerate the ship .

"It's coming out . "

I point at the rising water surface in front of us .

The sea was split and ten tentacles surfaced at first .

The tip of those tentacles are adorned with harpoon-like thorned claws, each of the suction pads is larger than a person .

"I-it's Kraken!"

"R-run away! This ship's gonna sink!"

The crew fell into panic when they saw it .

Of course that applies not only to the flagship but the entire consort ships .

The Squid Kraken hasn't even shown its main body, yet it's already turned into a pandemonium here .

And it seems like the admiral and the ship captains that should have been the ones who calm them down are also barely able to keep their composure .

『Karina-sama, go on and do it . 』

『I've been waiting for this!』

Lady Karina sounded so happy in her voice transmitted with space magic .

『Strong wind is blowing to the west so--』

『Kungfuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick, desuwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!』

Lady Karina fell down while shouting the technique name out loud before I could warn her to be careful of the wind .

No no, you shouldn't shout out that technique name here .

I don't think there's anyone calm enough to hear it though .

Lady Karina who was making a fall as fast as a meteorite, while kicking the air to correct her course, pierced through the Squid Kraken .

『Vorpal Piercing, nanodesu!』

『Vanquish Tornado~?』

Following after Lady Karina, Pochi and Tama fell down with new techniques .

The Squid Kraken's HP was already zero by then, I'll keep my mouth shut regarding that .

"All hands! Capture the pirate ship!"

I put strength on my stomach and shouted out toward the people who were panicking at the sudden falling meteorites .

The mana cannons that had finished reloading shot down the mast of the pirate ship that had lost the Squid Kraken protection, and opened a huge hole on the pirate ship's hull .

The pirates got on board the second warship that barely evaded the battering ram .

We're boarding the pirate ship ourselves from the opposite side .

"There's a strong one . "

"Must be one of the Skeleton Archduke's confidants, Skeleton Knight Zamud . "

Although he's called Skeleton Knight, the guy is not a demon or a monster, but a former knight of Parion Holy State wearing a skeleton-like mask .

He's level 38, and apparently specializes in close quarter combat .

Lots of sailors would die if we left him alone, I should give them a help a bit .

"Heave-ho, there . "

I sent Zamud's sword flying with my magic bow, and shot his dominant arm .

And while I'm a it, for the pirate's ship captain--

"Punch, desuwa!"

--Lady Karina who had seaweeds decorating her head landed her fist .

The pirate captain got sent rebounding on the deck with arched back .

"Here comes Pochi, nanodesu!"

"Tama comes too~?"

Pochi and Tama who boarded the deck took the shupin pose .

"Pochi, Tama, it's all thanks to you that I was able to take out the villain!"

Looks like the two threw Lady Karina on the deck earlier .

"Don't worry be happy~?"

"It's too early to let your guard down nodesuyo!"

Pochi kicked and sent a pirate, who was going to attack Lady Karina from behind, flying .

The pirates who charged in all at once got a beat down by Tama and Lady Karina .

You might be deceived by their cute looks, but these three are more brutal than the gigantic kraken earlier .

『Caught them . 』

Mia's water spirits seem to have captured pirates who were trying to flee .

『Satou, the patrolling gargoyles reported that more than 20 pirate ships have gathered . 』

『Thank you very much, Sistina-sama . 』

Now then, there is still some time before the enemy main force finished gathering, but there's something I need to do before that .

"Sir Pendragon, I give you my thanks for your assistance, but yer' overstepping your bounds!"

The admiral pressed me on while scattering his saliva around .

This one is more depressing to deal with than the pirates .

62 enemy ships remaining .

They've split into three groups of around 20 ships, each lurking on reefs and islands dominated with complex tides, waiting for our fleet in ambush .

Once this fleet fell for the most conspicuous decoy, they would undoubtedly encircle us .

I have a feeling that that will definitely happen if we leave the command to this admiral .

I'd rather be on the side doing the encirclement than be on the receiving end, thank you .

※ Next update is planned for 1/7

※This is the last update of the year (2017)

Hope everyone has a good year ahead of them~

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