The undead.
I had encountered these creatures countless tis in the excavation site, and their characteristic was that they repeat the actions they took in life, based on the mories left in their corpses.
So, it wasn’t hard to assu that this lake was once part of the sea, and the pirates who were buried beneath it had sohow been resurrected.
The key issue was determining the scale of the pirates on that ship.
“Just to be sure, are they under the Corpse Lord’s command?”
“No, they are naturally occurring undead.”
If they weren’t part of the Corpse Lord’s forces, it ant we weren’t dealing with a Four Knights-level threat.
But before I could feel relieved, I noticed that the ship blocking our path was several tis larger than our ark.
“The problem is that not all large undead armies are created by the Corpse Lord.”
“That seems to be the case.”
Countless undead were descending the ropes attached to the harpoons.
In the short ti we spent assessing the situation, the number of undead that had boarded the ark had already exceeded a hundred.
“This is the territory of the Black Anchor Pirates…!”
“Invaders… Punish them… Pillage… Pillage everything!”
The undead approached, shrieking as they brandished their old, worn-out weapons.
Their equipnt and appearance might be shabby, but with their overwhelming numbers, letting our guard down could lead to being surrounded.
Moreover, most of the people in this refuge were refugees and workers.
With so many people to protect, we couldn’t afford to let even a single one of these undead infiltrate.
“How did you usually handle them?”
“Uncle would set up barricades to protect everyone, and then the guards, including myself, would take out the ones that got on board. Once their numbers dwindled, the ship would retreat on its own.”
“So you’ve been repeating that process all this ti?”
They attack based on their mories from life, retreat if they think there’s no hope… and then repeat the process.
That’s the typical behavior pattern of undead driven by lingering regrets.
Occasionally, so undead awaken their consciousness through strong regrets, but the ones in front of us didn’t seem like they’d be up for a conversation.
“Is wiping them out all at once impossible?”
“Look at the size of that ship. It’s full of undead, and all I can manage by myself is clearing the ones that get on board. And as you know, even if we take out the undead, as long as the caster is alive, they can quickly replenish their forces.”
Right, a Lich-class undead could mass produce more undead, even with just pieces of a corpse.
While powerful beings with a sense of self, like the Four Knights, were out of the question, lower-tier soldiers like these could be summoned endlessly as long as the caster had the power.
“Then, if we eliminate the caster, there won’t be any more threats in this lake.”
If we removed the source, there wouldn’t be any more problems.
Ga-ram, sounding tense, cautiously asked,
“…Do you think it’s possible?”
“As long as you cover well, it’s doable. Rember the operation we did before?”
I’d draw their attention, and Ga-ram would launch a massive bombardnt to wipe them out.
At my suggestion, Ga-ram smiled, and soon, large rocks began to float around her.
“…Alright. Let’s do it like we used to.”
“Are you ready?”
“It goes without saying.”
The power to manipulate objects, which was her unique ability.
The stones she lifted in the air collided with each other, chipping away at their surfaces.
The result was projectiles, sharpened at the ends, and made even more destructive.
-Kaboom! Bang!
The relentless bombardnt crashed into the undead, followed by fragnts that hindered the movents of those outside the blast radius.
The attack felt far more destructive than the last ti I saw it.
Yet despite such an attack, the undead showed no fear or pain, swinging their weapons without hesitation.
“Woo Hyooooo! The ti… for looting…!”
“Everyone, take care of Woo Hyooooo!”
And of course, these damn undead keep shouting my na.
Their relentless charge didn’t falter, even though their actions should have been hindered by their focus.
It seed unlikely that my ability could stop them since there must be a caster controlling them from inside the ship.
“Woo Hyooo! Woo Hyooooo!”
But with their focus on , Ga-ram was relatively less noticed.
Seeing this as an opportunity, I deployed my weapon, driving it into the undead nearby and signaling for detonation.
Bang, bang! The undead shattered into pieces as the explosions chained together.
As I moved through the undead in a spinning motion, the force of their weapons was pushed back, increasing the montum of my magic.
-Swoosh!
The undead were swept away by the storm that responded to my will.
I intended to clear a path and move forward, but even as I did, the undead kept pouring in, filling the gaps left behind.
Damn it, there are too many to handle alone.
-Thwap, thwap, thwap!
A barrage of countless pebbles ca flying in from the side.
The undead caught in the barrage were reduced to rags and fell, while Ga-ram shrugged as she gathered her strength for the next attack.
“As expected, it’s up to , right?”
“Of course, I’m fighting because I trust you.”
That’s right, I’m not fighting alone right now.
Being able to trust soone to watch your back is the best condition for creating an opening.
-Kaboom, bang!
With the montum gained, I pressed forward repeatedly.
Finally, I stepped onto the thick rope connected to the harpoon, gathering magic in my feet and preparing to collide with the undead blocking my path.
There were undead on the side aiming their bows, but I paid them no mind.
By the ti they drew their bows, a projectile faster than their arrows would strike them down.
-Bang!!!
At last, I reached the deck of the pirate ship by climbing up the rope.
In the center of the deck, which was filled with undead pirates, stood an undead radiating a nacing aura.
He had a hook, a hat, and a peg leg to replace his missing limb—the typical appearance of a pirate captain.
“So you’re the leader.”
The power emanating from him was controlling the surrounding undead.
Noticing this, I gripped the spear in my hand as the pirate captain glared at with a sharp gaze.
“So it’s you, the one interfering with my plundering… the Royal family’s… lackey…!”
Boom! He stomped his peg leg down, unleashing a thunderous noise.
The undead responded, their eyes gleaming as they focused their attention on . The captain stood up and pointed his hook at , shouting with all his might.
“Bring that scoundrel’s head…! I’ll hang it on the bow and declare war on the Royal family…!”
-Woo Hyooooo!!!
The undead charged at , replacing their war cry with my na.
Their montum was intimidating, but I’ve fought through far worse than this countless tis.
-Swish!
I spun in place, building up montum to counter the incoming attack.
Each ti I released the accumulated force, the undead were sent flying in all directions, repeatedly clearing the path ahead.
Of course, each gap was quickly filled by another undead, but as long as I could keep advancing, it was only a matter of ti before the tide of the battle shifted.
“Y-you fools…! What are you doing, unable to take down just that one…?!”
Finally, after repeated exchanges, the opportunity presented itself.
Realizing this, the captain let out a roar and swung his magic-infused hook toward .
It was a mighty strike, as sharp as a blade, slicing through the air.
But I had learned how to turn the power of the strong against them.
-Swish!
I twisted the trajectory of the blade-like wind by matching the rotation of my spear.
As I increased the montum of my spin, the attack transford into a raging storm that swept through the area.
Even as the storm reduced their numbers, the undead kept charging like moths to a fla. But as soon as the storm died down, my spear beca a javelin, flying straight toward the captain.
“Ugh!! You pitiful fool!!”
The captain blocked the javelin with a powerful swing of his hook, his eyes flashing with rage as he stomped the deck with his peg leg once more.
“Y-you fool. A re lackey of that foolish king…! Did you really think you could defeat the ruler of these seas…!”
Responding to his will, the undead that had been sliced apart by the wind began to revive once more.
The sight of their fragnted bodies reassembling themselves was a clear indication of the captain’s formidable power.
“Aren’t you forgetting sothing?”
But I hadn’t co here recklessly without sothing to rely on.
As the captain ignored and began giving orders to his crew, massive boulders ca crashing through them.
“Wh-What is this?! Is Britannia bombarding us…?!”
The troops he had painstakingly reassembled were crushed and scattered by the bombardnt.
Even if they could sohow survive, there was no way they could reform ranks to protect their master on a deck completely overturned.
“I’m tired of listening to your nonsense. Isn’t it ti we ended this?”
Amidst the ongoing bombardnt, at the center of the scene.
As I tightened my grip on my spear and closed the distance, the captain’s body began to surge with powerful magic.
“A re lackey of that foolish king of Britannia…! I will never surrender this ship!!”
Right after, a fierce explosion erupted from beneath his peg leg with a bang!
Using the explosion as propulsion, the captain closed the distance and aid a kick at my head, but I deflected it upward with the tip of my spear.
As the captain was knocked into the air, he was t by boulders flying in from all directions.
“Kraaah!!!”
The mont the boulders collided in midair, they encased the captain’s entire body.
The captain, completely trapped by the attack, began to scream in frustration.
“Curse you, Britannia!! Why do you not seek to beco the strongest with such power?! If you used that strength, defeating the Empire would be no dream!!”
Britannia, Britannia… Now that I think about it, he’s been repeating that word over and over.
The na felt familiar because I once visited that place myself.
Not as Woo Hyo-sung, but as Tashia… Yes, it was the Royal family of that country who commissioned to slay a dragon.
So, could it be that this pirate beca undead out of resentnt after being executed for plundering that country in the past?
“You’re so damn annoying until the very end.”
But that was sothing that happened more than half a century ago.
Even though I possessed the personality of Tashia, it felt like a waste of ti to focus on a country that was destroyed so long ago.
“If you’re dead, stay dead and stop causing trouble. Go back to the afterlife quietly.”
-Kaboom!!!!
His decayed body was shattered into pieces, still bound by the spear.
At that point, the undead trying to rise again froze in place, then disintegrated into dust and vanished.
The battle against the pirates occupying the lake had finally co to an end.
After the battle, peace returned to the refuge.
As Ga-ram and I finished securing the area and returned to the control room, the crew mbers began expressing their gratitude one by one.
“Thanks to you, we survived. Now we can finally move to the other side of the lake.”
“Those pirates had been blocking us, preventing us from reaching the other side, but now our range of movent has greatly increased.”
The range of movent has increased…
Yes, we were definitely at the far edge of the Empire.
Considering that the purpose of this refuge was to protect as many people as possible, the increased range of movent was undoubtedly a good thing.
“Hero, what are your plans going forward?”
“For now, if nothing special cos up, we should circle the lake and help those in need.”
Ga-ram gave instructions to the crew on behalf of the group.
The ring she occasionally showed during the process was proof that she was the deputy of the lord who owned this refuge.
Co to think of it, Ga-ram was only about high school age, yet she was already in charge of managing an entire facility like this.
“…We’ve barely passed one hurdle.”
Finally, the crew left, and the two of us were alone.
Seeing Ga-ram sigh deeply and complain, I approached her to offer so encouragent.
“Aren’t you happy? We finally wiped out those troubleso pirates.”
“This isn’t the end. Whether we stay here or move elsewhere, more serious challenges are bound to co.”
“You’re thinking too negatively. Don’t worry too much. With Ja-seong and joining, your burden will lighten.”
“Oppa.”
She called out just as I was about to continue my encouragent.
Ga-ram, who had been staring at quietly, then turned away and started walking sowhere.
“There’s a place I’d like you to follow to, if that’s okay.”
“Sure, no problem.”
If there was more to do, it was only right that I follow.
The place she led to was filled with countless urns all around.
“It’s a columbarium. A place where we laid to rest those who died during the creation of this refuge…”
“…”
“…You rember this na, don’t you?”
The place where she stopped was marked with a familiar na among the urns.
My fist clenched involuntarily as I gazed down at it, because soone I could never forget was there.
“…Yes, I rember.”
Hero Im Tae-yang.
One of the three heroes who were kind to during my ti as a porter.
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