CH 176

Chapter 176 – Demon King’s Sea Battle

The pirate ship, which had been steered by Kayson-san, was smoothly picking up speed as it caught the wind. Perhaps it was because the ship was unloaded, or perhaps it was designed for raids, but it was lighter and accelerated faster than expected.

“The distance is about half a mile. Can we get there in a little more time?”

“Probably.”

Myrril-san had already guessed the strategy I was going to take. The problem is the result.

“McKin-dono, is the lord on board that ship?”

“Yes, I’m sure he’s on board. He’s a lowlife who loves to look down on others with a look of triumph on his face. If you see a tall, thin, balding old man in a blue cloak, he is the lord of the eastern territories.”

“Mir?”

“Oh… yes, there is indeed such a man. He’s the one who commands the archers on the bow of the ship.”

“Hold your fire.”

“Umu, roger that.”

In this world where gunpowder guns are not widely used in battleships, the decisive factor in naval battles is the close-quarter boarding combat, or in short, attacking with blades.

The projectile guns can only hit ships that are very closely packed or anchored. There may be a possibility of destroying the hull with a catapult, but from what I have seen, ships in this world are not very suitable for this because of their lack of speed.

The theory would be to make a preemptive attack with the bow on the enemy on the ship before sending in the cutting party.

“Takifu, Mir, we have stationary shields for naval battles; hold these up.”

“Tig.”

“Louis and I will be ready for the cut.”

“Oh… sorry, you won’t get a chance to do that this time. You guys stay behind the shields.”

“”Huh?””

“Soldiers! Take your shields and protect your lord!”

“”Yes, sir!””

Needless to say, they seemed to be working that way. Now I can concentrate on the battle.

“Archers are firing at once. Here they come!”

The enemy gunship seemed to have switched to a volley of archers as it entered inside the effective range of the projectiles. A man in a blue cloak was seen raising his hand in front of the bow as a signal. Arrows rained down on us like rain.

“Hold on!”

Kayson-san’s skillful maneuvering caused most of the arrows to miss the ship, and the few that came down were bounced off by the shields.

“Is anyone wounded!?”

“We’re fine!”

“Calmon and his father are also unharmed!”

“The lord and his guards are safe!”

The shields are made of wood and not metal. Maybe because they are tossed about by the sea breeze, their trajectory is unstable, and they are not very powerful.

“Enemy ship, incoming! All hands, prepare for impact!”

Kayson-san shouted loudly. This is the real challenge. A huge hull is coming at us at full speed, trying to crush the pirate ship. Just as the bow of the ship is over our heads and the hulls are about to collide with each other, I begin the ‘Demon King’s Battle.’

“Stow!”

“”””Huh?””””

On the deck of the pirate ship, everyone gasped and froze. The gunboat that had been covering the view suddenly disappears, and dozens of soldiers and sailors, thrown into the air, fall to the surface of the sea, drawing arcs above their heads.

They are completely naked.

“That’s not good.”

Without his blue cloak, I can’t tell which of them is the lord. I catch an old man who looks like him and teleport back to the pirate ship.

“McKin-dono! Is this the right guy!?”

“Y-yes. This is Tyrell, the Lord of the East.”

Behind him, the sound of the gunboat’s crew submerging one after another rises. They won’t die instantly, but if they were slammed into the winter sea, they would most certainly die in less than five minutes.

I don’t give a damn. Now, let’s finish off the rest of the ships.

“Kayson-san, turn around! The target is the transfer ship!”

“Takifu-san, hold on!”

Captain Kayson started to turn the rudder, but for some reason, he was still on the lookout for anything.

“H-hey, Takifu, look at that one…!”

Louis tugged at my hem and pointed frantically at the surface of the ocean.

“What is it, Louis? You have enemies you want to help?”

“Don’t be ridiculous; just look at it!”

I turned my head and saw a flatboat being jumped up and overturned. It was a slow-moving landing craft called a troop landing craft.

“Eh!?”

The huge dorsal fin was undulating beside it. Soldiers and sailors who had appeared on the surface of the sea disappeared into the water with a splash.

“Hey, Mir, what’s that?”

“…Oh, it’s the Sea Serpent. This is not good. It seems we’ve made a ruckus in its territory and even spread food for it.”

“This is no time for jokes, you know⁉︎”

“Good grief. If I had a little more time on my hands, I’d be hunting for the sea serpent I’ve always wanted.”

I don’t mean that, Myrril-san! If we don’t get away, we’ll be eaten!

I hurriedly instructed Kayson-san.

“Kayson-san! Get to Lafan right now!”

I wondered if his earlier caution was in response to that thing. He was a man of the sea, so he seemed to know what was going on. The rudder had already been pointed, and the ship was speeding up and heading straight for the harbor. Fortunately or unfortunately, there was plenty of food. The troop landing craft is turned over one after another. The screams disappear with a splash from the edge of the water.

“Hey, Demon King, those aren’t your familiars, right?”

“What are you talking about? I don’t know anything like that! I mean, I don’t know any monsters!”

“Only Moff… No, he’s probably a spirit beast.”

Mir-neeasn, you can still relax now?

This is not good. The only firearms I have on hand are RPKs, but I don’t think assault rifle rounds will work on such a big thing.

Although the total length is unknown, the undulating, fragmented fish scales, or dragon scales, and the size of the scales indicate that it is at least in the class of an earth dragon. That means it needs to have the firepower of a tank gun to get the job done. I didn’t bring anything like that with me. Even if I did, there is no way it would fit on a wooden ship, and it wouldn’t be effective against undersea prey, to begin with.

“What about the transfer ships?

“One of them has sunk. The other is…”

I followed Myrril’s gaze and saw that they were following us. They were also desperately trying to escape, heading for the harbor.

The ship, which was trailing about a hundred meters behind, was snapped up by the Sea Serpent, and the entire crew disappeared among the waves.

“As expected, the “Wuji” couldn’t do anything about it. Give me Remington, Takifu.”

I don’t think rifle rounds will help, either. I pull out my M700 and hand it to the Nojaloli sniper.

“Quarter of a mile to port!”

Kayson-san in the wheelhouse shouts. We make it just in time or a little short. Unlike our opponents, who don’t care about the draft, we have to slow down just before entering the inner harbor.

“Takifu, cover me. Don’t push it, but just keep up a barrage of bullets.”

“Roger that.”

I put out an RPK, attached an extended magazine with 40 rounds, and fired a fully automatic shot into the dorsal fin that was on the water’s surface. I don’t think much damage was done, but the Sea Serpent sank below the surface as if it didn’t want to take the shot.

“Good, keep it up.”

There was a splash just behind the hull. The enemy, perhaps angered by the damage to its fins, turned its head slightly. Myrril fired a series of shots, but they were bounced off by the scales and failed to do any damage.

“I don’t think a rifle bullet is going to do it, do you?”

“That was just a little threat to scare it off. Now it won’t think of us as a cheap feed. I will make it regret that it ever underestimated the Demon King and his partner.”

Nojaloli-san cursed quietly as she loaded the ammunition she had consumed. With a fearless smile on her face, she is still trying to finish it off, and her whole body radiates a murderous intent.

I also attach a seventy-five-round drum magazine to the RPK and send the first round into the chamber. I am ready to fight with Myrril. Whether I survive or die, I will fight to the bitter end. Thinking of this, my nervousness and fear disappeared. Instead, I was filled with a strange sense of excitement.

“Shall we go, Mir?”

“Well, you look good, Yoshua. I knew you were the man I had been looking for.”

The Sea Serpent seems to have gone under the ship, and the hull is shaking. If it were lifted up, it would be the end. Not to mention being eaten, I would die of a heart attack. If we survive that, we will die of hypothermia.

“Kayson-sasn, full starboard!”

“Hang tight!”

As soon as the ship turned, the rudder and the hull danced, and a face like a giant dragon jumped out from the side of the ship. It glared at us and yelped menacingly.

“Now, it is time to hunt!”

Myrril’s ferocious yell was filled with glee.

A fully automatic RPK shot crashes down on the tip of its nose, causing its huge face to turn sideways.

“Take that, you brute! This is the hammer of the Demon King!”

A bullet fired by Myrril pierced the Sea Serpent’s eyeballs and scrambled its brain.