On the Southern Archipelago, Lycas gritted his teeth as he watched the incoming enemies.
“Damn it, how did it come to this?”
Usher and the others had all gone to the Eastern Archipelago. Of all times, an attack came now, and he had to consider that the other side might be experiencing a separate defeat as well.
With a frustrated click of his tongue, Lycas shouted.
“Prepare to fight, you bastards!”
The enemies were hard to identify—whether they were people or fish was unclear.
He didn’t know how the situation would turn, but given that even Serpent had been summoned, it seemed too much to hope that the enemies would suffer minimal damage and still lose. A bitter smile spread across his face.
“I finally met that bastard’s daughter…”
He felt ashamed in front of Kyle.
Just when he thought he would make that girl the master of the archipelago, his life had been put on the line.
However, if he could reduce the number of enemies she had to face, that would be all he could do. Thinking this, Lycas boarded the ship.
He grabbed a cutlass in each hand and took a battle stance.
Then, suddenly…
“Oh, I’ve had a tough time running here.”
A man appeared, laughing boisterously. Lycas’ eyes widened in surprise.
“…Subordinate?”
“Melvin! Captain!”
A middle-aged man with a casual appearance grinned and greeted him in a way that didn’t seem to fit the situation.
Lycas stood there, stunned. This was the person who had gone to the Eastern Archipelago—why was he here?
He didn’t have time to solve his confusion.
Melvin narrowed his eyes and looked at the creatures of the Western Archipelago and the serpents approaching from afar.
“There are quite a few…”
He smacked his lips, and Lycas snapped out of his daze and asked, “The West! What happened there?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s all taken care of. Our lady swept them all away.”
The lady he referred to was the woman with a dry, dull appearance, the one he hadn’t thought capable of such power.
But it brought him some relief.
“So, you’re saying it’s safe there?”
It was a small consolation amidst the misfortune.
“That’s right. Our lady said she’ll join us from the West Archipelago, so she told us to bring out the troops.”
“…But how can we fight with these things right in front of us?”
“That’s why I came, isn’t it?”
Melvin shuffled towards the bow.
He was calm, even in the midst of this crisis.
A broad smile stretched across his face.
“I’ll handle it soon.”
Immediately, something no pirate had ever imagined happened.
Whooooosh!
The wind blew and enveloped his body.
His body began to transform into a deep green wind.
Lycas’ eyes widened in shock.
“What… what’s happening?!”
[Don’t ask about someone else’s vision so carelessly.]
A voice echoed through the air.
It was a terrifying sight. No matter how you looked at it, Melvin’s form now resembled a spirit.
His perception was correct.
In fact, Melvin was in a semi-spirit form.
At a time when things were beyond comprehension, Melvin lightly jumped, crossing the sea and charging towards the enemy ship.
His body, now a storm, began to tear apart the enemy vessel.
Tukwaaah—!
“Eeek!”
The crew members fell to the ground in shock.
Lycas was equally stunned.
How was this even possible?
He couldn’t understand it.
It was natural.
Spirit transformation was a technique that had never existed in the world.
Melvin Richter.
One of the highest-ranking knights of the Order, he was originally a knight capable of spirit resonance.
However, realizing that there were limits to growth with just that, he sought a breakthrough—transforming himself into a spirit.
He volunteered for Judith’s protection.
Through this, she studied spirit magic and implanted the “spirit transformation” vision into his body as a result of their beneficial exchange.
Thus, the storm-like form he now had was born in secret, and he was known by no one as the “Sakpung” (North Wind) Knight, Melvin Richter.
The pirate ship was overturned.
The serpent’s skins were completely crushed by the cutting winds.
Melvin laughed loudly and grabbed the wind in his hands.
Then, like wielding a sword, he swung the wind horizontally.
That was his final move.
Whooooosh—!
The enemy fleet sank.
Lycas’ eyes widened as he watched the scene in shock.
Melvin rode the wind and reappeared before him, returning to his human form.
“It’s done! Let’s set sail now!”
He smiled like an ordinary middle-aged man you could see anywhere.
But, from this moment on, Lycas would never look at him the same way again.
“Who… who are you really?”
A high-ranking knight of the Sacred Order.
It wasn’t a title that was hard to say, but since Melvin was now hiding his identity, he simply brushed off the question with a smile.
However, one of the crew members, seeing what Melvin had just done, couldn’t help but think of the highest-ranking sacred knight.
It was inevitable.
A warrior who could single-handedly face an entire legion. The existence of a First-Class Knight was the very reason the Sacred Order, with only a single stronghold, could coordinate the entire continent.
“Alright, let’s set sail! Charge! Charge!”
What if he really was a First-Class Knight?
The pirate crew trembled.
Whether Melvin knew the fear of his crew or not, he continued to laugh nonchalantly and shout forward.
The ship set sail.
Lycas slowly calmed his nerves.
Then, a question arose in his mind.
“By the way…”
“Yes?”
“The delicate man who was with that child. Is he as strong as you?”
After the shock of the previous events, Lycas had asked this question, thinking that only Usher could protect Bersia.
Melvin sneered and spoke in a firm tone.
“Don’t make such comparisons.”
So this kind of power was one of a kind.
That was the thought that crossed his mind.
“How could I defeat that guy? He’s a genius, no, he’s called the greatest genius in our homeland’s history. A mutant. A freak.”
Melvin sneered in disgust.
There was a trace of faint fear in his expression.
Lycas chuckled.
If even such a monster was scared, how strong must that delicate and sly man be?
Whatever the case,
‘It means I can rest easy.’
Lycas could now give the order to advance with a much lighter heart.
“Isn’t this too pathetic?”
“…No.”
On the deck, Usher was crouched down with a pale face.
There wasn’t any major issue.
No, if there was a problem, could it be considered a problem?
‘Ugh, they said big ships don’t cause seasickness…!’
Until now, Usher had thought that Bersia’s body never got seasick since she never had any trouble on small boats.
But after being on this large ship for just an hour and a half, Usher found himself sitting down, complaining of seasickness.
What kind of body is this?
From time to time, when he felt the differences between his original body and this one, a deep sense of weakness would rise up.
His body trembled.
Was there ever a time when his original body was needed more desperately than this?
He was lost in such thoughts.
“Ugh…!”
“Hey, will you pull yourself together?”
Judith approached.
She exhaled cigarette smoke and gestured to the far distance.
“West Isles are in sight. Looks like we need to fight soon.”
“Of….”
For a moment, Usher was happy that land was getting closer, but his expression immediately stiffened.
“What kind of forces are those…”
Along the coastline, there were fishmen everywhere.
Their armaments varied, including swords, spears, shields, and bows.
On the other hand, the weapons on their side were relatively poor, and they were at a disadvantage.
Usher groaned in distress, and in that moment, Bersia whispered.
“…I just had a thought.”
“If there are only fishmen, can’t we use that?”
What was she talking about?
Usher pondered for a moment, and his face grew even paler.
Prayer.
She was talking about using the prayer with this body.
“…Isn’t that too dangerous?”
“No, the issue was the range. Plus, it’s about time to test it out.”
Usher fell into thought.
But indeed, in this situation, there was nothing wrong with using it.
She didn’t know many long-range targeting prayers, but even one could provide enough firepower.
As they continued whispering, Judith, overhearing, spoke.
“Can you clear that out? Ah, stupid question.”
Judith laughed as if realizing something.
“Right? Why was I worrying about landing when you’re here? I guess I’ve been acting so weak lately I forgot.”
Her jaw lifted slightly, and a hint of excitement showed.
Then Judith spoke.
“Hey, try clearing that up.”
At this point, Usher thought it might really be possible.
He looked at Bersia one last time.
Bersia also nodded.
“It seems better than causing damage on our side.”
That settled it.
More than anything, Usher wanted to get back to land as quickly as possible because of the seasickness.
He slowly headed to the bow of the ship.
Looking back for final permission, he took a deep breath.
‘This should do….’
Rather than bombardment, pushing might be better.
Usher thought and slowly released his divine power.
At that moment, the sky trembled.
Kuuuuuuung!
Golden light exploded.
It was harnessed in Usher’s grasp.
He faced his palm forward.
As he began to weave his divine power,
Kiiiiiing!
A halo appeared.
Usher’s cheek flushed slightly.
“Ugh, this happens every time!”
Healing prayers could be used without a halo, but combat prayers were different.
His concentration wavered from embarrassment, but he managed to regain it and completed the prayer.
At that moment, Felik suddenly jumped out, surprised.
“W-What’s going on?!”
At the same time, Usher unleashed the prayer.
The Prayer of Shock. It was a technique that simply emitted a shockwave to push back enemies, but with the combination of Bersia’s body and Usher’s mastery, it created a phenomenon that could never have occurred before.
Paaaaaang!
The air was displaced.
The ships rocked violently.
And ahead,
Kuuuuuuuung—!
“Graaaah!!!”
“F-Flee!!!”
A tidal wave engulfed the coastline.