Chapter 145: The Sea God’s Prey

Hector Punisher slammed straight into Admiral Baileys’ forehead.

A resounding impact rang out, and his eyes rolled back.

He’ll stay unconscious for a while, but he won’t die.

I had cracked so many skulls lately that I could now control the force pretty well.

Of course, I wasn’t pulling off any flashy techniques like in movies or martial-arts novels.

Still, the result was the same.

That was good enough.

“G-Giant!”

The man standing beside Admiral Baileys trembled, his empty left sleeve flapping.

With a hook in place of a hand, he looked like a pirate who had been around for a long time.

“What is this, Captain Hook?”

“How did you know my nickname?”

“What a sense of naming. Tsk!”

I clicked my tongue and lifted Hector Punisher.

But right at that moment, Captain Hook spread both arms wide and shouted boldly.

“Wait a second!”

Wondering if he had something prepared, I paused my attack.

Of course, I wasn’t completely defenseless.

With Hector Punisher resting on my shoulder, I could respond almost instantly.

“What is it?”

“I already expected the empire’s subjugation force to come.”

“Yet your guards are this pathetic?”

“I just didn’t think you’d disguise yourself as a prisoner.”

“Oh? You even figured out how we infiltrated?”

Most pirate captains were nothing more than cruel thugs who ruled through bravado and charisma.

Their combat ability was usually predictable.

But this guy seemed fairly sharp.

Even without solid information, he had noticed how we got in.

“Heh heh! Just by looking at the commotion at the dock, anyone could guess. Anyway, that’s not the important part.”

“Then what is?”

“We have a solution prepared for a day like this!”

“Ugh, just spit it out already.”

“It’s right heeeere!”

“You’re dragging this out way too long. Just lie down.”

“Sea….

Smack!

Captain Hook’s eyes rolled back before he could finish, and he collapsed.

I would have listened to the end.

I was a little curious what he had to say.

But he kept stalling too much.

It was as if he was waiting for reinforcements.

I can’t fall for such a cheap trick. It would set a bad precedent.

I stood at the head seat and gazed up at the rocky hill.

Aside from Admiral Baileys’ escorts, there didn’t seem to be any particularly strong fighters.

Most had probably rushed to the dock to check on the disturbance.

That left only the large ballistas installed for hideout defense.

My attack power dropped sharply to boost defense, but against these guys it’s more than enough.

I took a few running steps, then hurled Hector Punisher with a powerful motion.

Tap-tap-tap! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The warhammer spun as it flew.

Near the ballista that had been aiming at me, I heard someone gasp.

“Wh-What is that?”

“It’s flying way too accurately. Shouldn’t we dodge—”

The rocky hill was only about a dozen meters high.

The head seat where I stood was also quite elevated.

That was why I could hear their voices.

Come to think of it, they had fired from that close?

These guys are ridiculously crude.

Of course, I wasn’t one to talk while smashing siege weapons with a hammer.

Kwaaaaang!

“Uwaaak!”

“The support beam broke!”

Hector Punisher, having flown dozens of meters, shattered a wooden pillar.

With one side tilted, the pirates could no longer fire the ballista.

“What about the other one?”

“Loading now!”

“Hurry and fire that one at least—!”

The pirates’ urgent voices rang out.

But things would not go their way.

I planned to smash them all anyway.

Summon.

Swooooosh! Clack!

I recalled Hector Punisher and repeated the powerful motion.

Tap-tap-tap! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Thud!

“Uaaaaah!”

“It’s collapsing!”

The second ballista, now loaded, was rendered useless in an instant.

After repeating the process a few times, every siege weapon in the Billigert hideout fell completely silent.

I looked down at the slave trading area and shouted.

“Surrender, and I’ll spare your lives!”

I genuinely meant it.

I had zero intention of killing the pirates.

Dragging them back to Perias for trial would provide free labor for the labor camps.

It wasn’t my personal gain, but it was a national benefit.

The profits would become tax revenue.

Then someone suddenly let out a venomous roar.

“Don’t lie! Who would believe an empire dog’s words!”

Harsh cries erupted from every direction.

It seemed his desperate shout had given them courage.

“You’re going to kill us anyway, yet you talk so smoothly. Typical empire pretty boy.”

“Kekeke! You must not know why pirate flags have skulls on them. We’re already no different from the walking dead!”

The pirates swarmed toward the head seat.

I let out a short sigh and shook my head slightly.

No choice, then.

Honestly, I never expected to subdue them with words alone.

This was a gathering of the most irredeemable scum imaginable.

Besides, they knew full well they would spend the rest of their lives in prison.

After all the crimes they had committed, a quick death might even be kinder.

“Ugh, what a hassle.”

No matter what, I still had to move personally….

Wait, where did this guy go again?

I glanced behind me, but Cordell McNeil’s presence was nowhere to be felt.

He had definitely been nearby when we escaped the One-Shot.

When I turned my gaze toward the slave trading area, I spotted a familiar silhouette freeing prisoners.

Mainly the beautiful women.

“Please come this way, my lady.”

“Oh my! Are you perhaps a knight?”

“Indeed. I am Cordell McNeil of the Imperial Guard Knights. And you, with those clear, pure eyes?”

“My name is Isabel Pearson.”

“Ah, a noble lineage, as expected.”

“My father was a viscount. He served as a supply officer in the eastern war.”

“Ooh! A war hero! I must hear his stories someday.”

Even in this situation, all he could think about was women.

His way of thinking really was completely different from normal people.

Still, it didn’t annoy me as much as usual.

Better to free prisoners than to flirt shamelessly.

Especially for the infamous rake Sir Cordell McNeil.

Sigh. As long as he doesn’t brag later that he did everything himself.

He had left his face imprinted on the prisoners’ memories, so the story would spread widely.

I didn’t need fame, but seeing Cordell in the spotlight still irritated me somehow.

I’ll deal with him later. First, let’s clean up.

I stared down at the pirates slowly closing in.

Their eyes burned with murderous intent, yet they still hesitated to charge.

Of course they would.

I had crushed Admiral Baileys, Captain Hook, and even the ballistas.

After witnessing Hector Punisher’s power firsthand, they had no choice but to be cautious.

Then the nearest pirates suddenly widened their eyes.

“Hup!”

“Uhh?”

They even let out strange exclamations.

I hadn’t done anything yet.

Why are they acting like that?

I tilted my head and spun Hector Punisher in circles.

Grabbing the cloth tied to the handle and whirling it produced a threatening sound.

Whirrr whirrr whirrr whirrr whirrr!

If I released it at peak speed, one or two of them would get smashed to pieces.

They were probably scared stiff by the spinning warhammer.

But the pirate at the front let out a strange noise.

“Se… Sea….”

“Oh?”

Wasn’t that exactly what Captain Hook said before he passed out?

It annoyed me that they were saying something only they understood.

What would happen next?

They’ll just get hit harder. Hah!

I was about to hurl Hector Punisher with a battle cry when the stuttering pirate finally finished his sentence.

“Sea God!”

Then he spun around and bolted.

Just moments ago they had been tightening the encirclement as if ready to kill, and now this?

It wasn’t just one person running.

The archers preparing arrows in the distance scattered in panic as well.

“What the hell are they saying? This is weird.”

In this cramped hideout, where did they even think they could run?

Then a strange feeling hit me.

Was my shadow always this big?

Even a small person could look like a giant to someone else.

Pressure and dignity created that kind of optical illusion.

To the pirates, I probably looked like some kind of monster.

But that still didn’t explain why my shadow had grown enormous.

I casually glanced behind me.

A gigantic something had risen from inside the trap.

It had a head shaped like an anglerfish and a body that reminded me of a cyclops.

Webbed fingers suggested it lived in the sea.

“Oh…….”

I was at a loss for words at its appearance.

I had never dreamed a monster like this would emerge from the Billigert hideout.

Come to think of it, Captain Hook also passed out after saying only “sea.”

He had probably been trying to say “Sea God.”

But just how powerful was this thing to be called a god of the sea?

It looks impressive, but it doesn’t feel all that threatening.

If Shugl or Feltron were here, they could give me a proper answer.

Those two would definitely know what this anglerfish monster was.

Suddenly, a voice that seemed to echo directly in my skull rang out.

Finally, you’ve come!

“Me?”

Yes. Delicious prey.

“Hah! What kind of crazy nonsense is this?”

I had never once considered the possibility of becoming someone’s prey.

I mean, realistically, eating me would only give them one human’s worth of meat.

Yet this thing was staring at me like a delicious feast laid out before it.

“Wait, you seriously plan to eat me?”

I have never once spoken nonsense. Uahaha!

The anglerfish monster let out a booming laugh and stared at me quietly.

It had just declared it would eat me, yet now it was only watching.

Its behavior was completely incomprehensible.

I gripped Hector Punisher tightly and quickly scanned its body.

Its skin is covered in mucus. It looks extremely slippery. Will a blunt weapon even work?

Hitting it with the warhammer would probably do no damage and might just expose an opening.

Better to slash with something sharp.

Of course, I wasn’t completely out of options.

A highly concentrated mass of energy would ignore the slipperiness.

I immediately prepared Destructive Retribution.

To maximize attack power, I would need to change Extreme Choice as well.

But the instant I switched to an offensive stance—

Tap-tap-tap!

“Huh?”

A spark-like sound crackled near my chest.

Something felt off, yet the monster had done nothing.

It was simply staring at me.

Then who—?

I tilted my head and tried to look around when the ominous sound came again.

Tap-tap-tap-tap!

Then, without warning, an enormous explosion erupted.

Right inside my body.

KWAHAAAAAANG!