The next day, we arrived at the center of Murcia City, located on the western edge of the Empire's territory. This city is the central point of trade between the Empire and the Kingdom of Thrasia. The small sea that separates these two lands is named the Murcia Strait, which has a total of forty islands within it.
"Buy here, buy here, clothes with quality materials from the Land of Kuwalid!"
"Cheap magic potions! Pen** enlargement potions are here, muscle enlargement potions are here, everything is here!"
I was in the harbor market of Murcia City; the academy students will stay for one day in this city before sailing towards one of the islands in the Murcia strait. However, in the game, the group of academy students will be attacked by a group of pirates.
Some died and were kidnapped to be asked for ransom by those pirates.
I was the one who created this event in the game as an opening act for the Players when they are about to start the Survival Exam.
At this moment, I am heading to the harbor to find a sailor to take me somewhere.
"Greetings, My Lord, do you need something here?"
A man wearing a sailor hat suddenly approached me.
"Do you provide sea transportation services?" Anyone is fine; I only need a boat to take me to the pirates' hiding place.
"Of course, Sir! How many ships do you need?" asked the man.
"Just one is enough." I don't need many people to destroy those pirates. "Does your ship have a smaller boat?"
"Of course Sir, the cost is 20 Silver to rent one ship for one day," said the Sailor.
I gave the man one Gulden coin. When he was about to give the change, I stopped him.
"Just keep the change."
"Th-thank you very much, Lord Noble! My ship will sail wherever you wish!" exclaimed the Sailor, looking excited.
Hearing his words, I gave a wicked smile. "We are going to Rocky Island tonight, Captain."
Hearing my destination, the Sailor's expression suddenly turned pale.
"B-but Sir, that island is famous for often being a hiding place for pirates."
Indeed, that is my goal, to prevent the pirates from being able to sail and attack the fleet of ships carrying the academy students.
"That's why I paid you extra, isn't it?" I said while pointing to the gold coin in his hand.
The sailor thought for a moment before deciding. "Alright, I will take you there," said the Sailor finally agreeing. "But, I will only take you up to a distance of two kilometers from the island."
I nodded, agreeing to his condition. After all, it would be too conspicuous if I approached that island using a large ship.
After getting a ship, I then went to the residence of Count Juan de Murcia to meet Elena, who was having business with him at this time.
Previously, I had informed Elena about the smuggling activities of a rare mineral named Bagermith stone by Count Juan de Murcia to the Kingdom of Thrasia.
Bagermith stone is prohibited from being exported abroad by the Empire because it is very useful for making an S-rank Mana Core as the main material for creating a powerful artifact that can be used as an Imperial weapon.
However, Count Juan secretly sells it abroad at a selling price 10 times higher to the Kingdom of Thrasia, which indeed does not have many Bagermith stone mines.
In the game, this disclosure is a Side Quest from miners who are fed up with the Count, who does not give the miners wages according to their hard work.
I asked Elena's permission to negotiate with Count Juan on her behalf. I planned to threaten the Count to support Princess Elena if he didn't want me to report his illegal activities to the Imperial Minister of Trade.
However, Elena insisted on trying to do it herself.
As far as I know, she does not have good diplomatic skills. Elena has an honest and brave character. She tends to lose control if she sees injustice and evil.
Arriving at the gate of Count Juan's residence, I saw Elena just coming out of the Count's house. She then saw me and walked over here.
"How was the negotiation?" I asked Elena, whose face looked depressed.
"Emm... you know..."
Seeing her attitude, I already knew that her negotiation had failed.
"The negotiation failed, didn't it?" I asked her.
"Ah no, regarding the negotiation, it went smoothly. The Count will support me in the upcoming Imperial succession election."
Huh? Then, why is her attitude suddenly becoming strange like that?
"This... You know, Count Juan wants to give me money from his smuggling activities to fund my activities for the upcoming victory," said Elena in a gloomy tone. "I really am the worst, doesn't this mean I am enjoying the proceeds of crime, right?"
Well... So that is what's weighing on your mind right now. I guess it's natural considering the President has just turned 17 years old. In my world, children her age aren't busy handling state politics.
I think this is a common occurrence. When someone commits a crime within the government, that person must invite others if they don't want their crime to be uncovered quickly.
I think we shouldn't immediately believe Count Juan's sweet promises. It's possible he has made agreements with other candidates beforehand. Giving promises and money to Elena, I think, is his effort to buy time to see the development of this succession election.
I am sure, if the candidate he supports already seems to have an advantage, he will definitely withdraw his support for Elena because he already has a guarantee from another candidate.
Is this what's called two-legged politics?
"President, I think we shouldn't immediately accept the offer from Count Juan."
"Huh, why? Wasn't this your suggestion from the start to threaten him so he would support us?" asked the President, looking confused.
I think it's better if we find out first who the actual candidate Count Juan wants to support is.
Hmm... Should I start giving specific tasks to Karl to place his agents in this City to find out Count Juan's relationship with other candidates?
"For now, I suggest the President write a letter to the minister of trade to send a team to inspect mineral trade activities in this City. With your status as the Emperor's Daughter, you can at least do this, right?"
With this, Count Juan will surely contact the candidate he actually supports to ask for help.
"Yes, I can indeed do that," Elena replied, nodding in agreement with my suggestion.
If the plan goes smoothly, we can find out whether Count Juan is a noble we can recruit into our Faction or not. If he comes to ask Elena for help, it means he doesn't have a strong relationship with other candidates and we can recruit him to our faction. But on the contrary, if he goes to ask another candidate for help, then he is one of the nobles we must destroy.
"By the way, President." I remembered my reason for meeting Elena wasn't to talk about political issues. "Do you have a Supreme-tier lightning magic scroll?"
A magic scroll is a magic Rune written inside a magic paper. Someone can use the magic within it if their mana is sufficient. However, making a magic scroll is quite difficult if the magician doesn't yet understand the concept of the magic formula.
"I have three of those magic scrolls," the President replied, looking confused. "In any case, what are you going to use those scrolls worth a hundred Gulden coins for?"
Hearing her question, I gave a meaningful smile to the President. "I'm going fishing tonight."
***
At night, I was walking toward the harbor with one member of the disciplinary committee. I needed her ability for this mission.
"Captain, what are we going to do late at night like this? Isn't it time to rest to prepare for tomorrow's exam?" asked Viera—an archer member of the disciplinary committee.
"You don't need to worry about that, let's see the results of your training all this time."
We then saw a caravel ship tied to a pier; the sailor who spoke with me this morning was seen leaning on the bow of the ship.
"Ah, My Lord. You have arrived, it seems!" exclaimed the sailor.
Several crew members were also seen pulling the anchor, preparing to sail.
"Are you ready to take us?"
"Of course, come up here, My Lord!"
Viera and I began to climb a rope attached to the hull of the ship and then boarded it. The crew then opened the ship's sails to start sailing toward Rocky Island—the place where those pirates are hiding.
"How long until we arrive, Captain?"
"I think about 4 hours, Sir!" replied the sailor.
As I recall, a caravel can have a speed of up to 8 knots. This means the distance from Rocky Island to the harbor is nearly 60 kilometers.
After boarding the ship, I explained my plan to destroy the pirate ships at Rocky Island to Viera. She looked surprised when she heard I was going to fight hundreds of pirates on that island.
"But Captain, how is it possible for you to fight that many pirates?" asked Viera, doubting my action.
"Well... look here Viera, who would win if a big tiger fought with 100 humans?" I asked Viera, trying to teach her something.
"Of course the humans would win!" said Viera, answering my question logically.
"But one month ago, there was a tiger attack on a village that resulted in 12 deaths. By the time the Patrol Guards arrived, the tiger had already escaped into the forest. What do you think this means?"
Viera then fell silent for a moment as if thinking about something. "Ah, panic! Panic will make humans chaotic so they become easy targets for the Tiger!"
"You're right, under the right conditions, one human can easily defeat a hundred people," I said, quite proud of Viera who was quick to understand. "We will approach up to 150 meters from where their ships are anchored, and you will shoot their ships with fire arrows from the sea."
Hearing this, Viera's expression changed slightly. Shooting with the wavy sea surface would definitely be more difficult than shooting on stable ground.
"If those pirates start chasing you, don't stop shooting; I will hide to give them a surprise attack, understand?"
Responding to the instructions I gave, Viera only nodded.
After four hours of sailing, we finally could see an island in the distance in the darkness of the night. A light produced by the pirates' campfires illuminated the coastline.
"We can only take you this far, My Lord. Any closer, then those pirates will easily see our ship," said the sailor.
"Alright Captain, but we will borrow one of your smaller boats."
The crew then lowered a small boat into the sea for us to ride toward the coastline where many pirate ships were seen anchored.
Viera and I then began to row the small boat we were in.
"Alright Viera, I will hide behind their ships now. Wait for my signal to start shooting."
"I understand, Captain."
After giving Viera instructions, I started swimming to the shore. Those Pirates were seen getting drunk and partying. I also saw several women who were kidnapped by these Pirates. But, my mission was not to save those prisoners this time.
Upon reaching the beach, I began to sneak, trying to move without making any sound at all. There were a total of five Pirate ships on this island.
"Hey, is it true that tomorrow we will get a big target?"
"Yes, I heard the boss has planned this attack. There will be many noble children we can take hostage if we succeed tomorrow."
I heard a conversation between two Pirates on the bow of a ship regarding the attack they would carry out tomorrow.
I then signaled Viera, who was on our small boat, to immediately fire arrows at these ships.
Viera was seen lighting a fire then dipping an arrow that was previously covered in straw into an oil. She then began to aim her bow toward the sky and then released her arrow.
"Hey, isn't that a falling star?" asked one of the Pirates, pointing to the arrow Viera launched into the air.
"Hmm... You mean a fire arrow that is heading toward us?"
Not long after, they looked at each other and realized they were being attacked.
Splash!
Viera's fire arrow pierced the ship's sail and then began to burn it up. Not long after, other arrows began to land on the ship's body, making this pirate ship catch fire.
"We're under attack! We're under attack!"
"Quickly put out the fire, idiot!"
Several of the Pirates tried to extinguish the fire that began to spread and burn the entire ship. However, some began to enter the Sea to attack Viera, who was still shooting at their ship with fire arrows.
"There she is! Kill that woman!" exclaimed one of the pirates, trying to swim toward Viera, who was not far from the beach.
Seeing the Pirates starting to enter the seawater, I took out the magic scroll I asked from Elena this afternoon.
Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two....
Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two.... I think this is enough.
I began to flow mana into the palm of my hand and then pressed it against the magic scroll. I began to feel something like sucking my mana in large amounts.
Not long after, a Rune appeared on my right hand.
Aiming my right hand toward those Pirates, I began to recite a magic incantation.
"The wind blows through the air, the dragon roars like lightning in a storm..." A yellow flash of lightning began to appear on my right hand. "Lightning Burst!"
A flash of lightning then struck toward those Pirates. Being in seawater, the pirates' bodies received a stronger electric shock than usual.
A puff of smoke came out of the mouths and ear holes of those pirates. Undoubtedly, they were all dead.
With this, about 30 pirates died instantly.
I then jumped onto the pirate ship to take down those who were trying to extinguish the fire.
"Huh? Who are you!"
"He's one of the intruders! Kill him!"
Four pirates ran toward me carrying swords.
One of the pirates attacked me with a thrust; I shifted my body and then slashed his hand until it was severed.
"Agghhh! My hand! Haaaaaa!" The man screamed hysterically.
The three remaining pirates attacked me alternately, giving me no opening to counterattack.
I jumped backward to keep my distance from them and then prepared a stance. The three pirates then ran chasing me.
Stamping my foot hard, I launched quickly using the Charging technique toward those three pirates. They looked surprised to see me suddenly in front of them.
Three heads flew in the air; I cut their three necks all at once.
Crack!
The sound of wood breaking was heard from the pirate ship that began to burn down. I hurried to jump to another ship. Several pirates were seen trying to extinguish the burning mast.
I hurried to slash them before they noticed me.
After I killed those pirates, I saw a very large man on the beach. Our eyes met; he then jumped onto a boat and then landed on the bow of the ship.
"Who are you that tries to destroy my ship fleet, stranger?" asked the man. He was the captain of this pirate group.
"Your Creator," I replied while preparing to fight. "I came here to exterminate you all."
"Nonsense!" The big man unsheathed his sword.
He is Captain Zack—A Boss in the pirate attack event in the Game Path of Destiny. In the game, he has two Health Bars and is level 20.
He has strong Power with weak Agility. I set his Stamina status quite high, making Players who chose an Attrition strategy to defeat him struggle.
The fastest way to defeat him is to play aggressively but not too Greedy if you don't want to die by his fast special combo.
This Boss's combo will surprise Players who assume that Zack doesn't have fast attacks.
A one-on-one situation with a burning pirate ship as the fighting arena; this would be an interesting Boss Fight if only Boss Music like in the game could be heard.
"I will mince you until nothing is left!" exclaimed Zack while running toward me.
His greatsword was very intimidating.
I rolled to the left to avoid his attack and then slashed my sword toward his leg. However, the resulting wound was not very deep. I think he has activated the Steel Body magic, making his body quite hard like iron.
With this, ordinary attacks will not be enough to penetrate his body. But, I am the one who created this magic; I know the weakness of using Steel Body magic.
"Ora, ora, ora, oraaa!"
Zack attacked blindly; I kept rolling and jumping to avoid his attacks, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.
"Die!"
Zack swung his sword horizontally. I ducked to avoid it; his powerful slash split the mast into two parts.
I then rolled forward and then slashed my sword toward his right leg joint.
"Aghhhhh!" Zack shrieked in pain. He then tried to attack me again.
I hurried to dodge; Zack now looked like he had difficulty standing on both legs.
"Damn you!"
Well... Steel Body is a magic to harden the body. However, if the user wants to be able to move while the magic is active, they must not coat their joints with that magic.
That is why a Knight's Armor is divided into several parts so they can move freely using their Armor.
"Come here you foul brat!"
Zack tried to attack me again, but it was all in vain. I could easily read his attacks and then slash his joints with counterattacks.
"You're agile too, Kid!"
Zack's breath looked panting; there was a cut on every joint in Zack's body. Blood began to soak his body, making his appearance quite terrifying.
"But this is not over yet, Uwahhhhh!" Zack tore his clothes and then beat his chest.
Berserk, huh? He is entering the second stage of the Boss Fight.
In this stage, he can ignore all pain and also increase his Power and Agility statuses.
his skin turned red, and all his hair began to stand upright. Zack lifted the mast that was split earlier.
Does he plan to use it as a weapon?
"Grahhhhh!" He swung that large pole quickly.
I tried to dodge his attack. A loud impact caused by his attack was heard. Wood flew everywhere, showing the power of Zack's swing.
Not stopping there, Zack attacked me again. I had quite a hard time dodging this time.
It didn't stop there; Zack attacked me again. I had quite a hard time dodging this time.
Zack then swung the pole low. I reflexively jumped to avoid it. However, Zack quickly reversed the pole and swung it back again.
"Damn, Repel!"
Bam!
My body was thrown back by his attack. My hands felt numb from withstanding that powerful swing.
I landed on the coastline. Zack was seen jumping high into the air and then landing right in front of me.
"I won't let you escape, Kid!"
My remaining mana was only a little left after using the magic scroll earlier... I must kill him in this one attack.
"Sterben..."
My sword began to emit a light. I flowed as much mana as possible into my sword and held it there.
"Oraaa.!"
Again, Zack swung that large pole vertically to attack me. The tip of the pole was seen burning with fire, making his attack look a bit terrifying.
I dodged to the left and then jumped onto the pole. Using the Charging technique, I could easily be in front of Zack's face, who looked surprised.
"Aghhhh! My eyes, My eyes...!"
I stabbed his eyes with my sword. Making him struggle uncontrollably.
"Release..."
The moment I uttered that spell, Zack's head exploded. My clothes and face were dirty with his disgusting blood.
His large body then collapsed.
"Im-impossible... The boss has been defeated..."
Seeing their Captain killed, those pirates abandoned their weapons and then fled far into the forest.