C497
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First, they went to the inn.
Cale completely rented out an annex of the inn, and there, he was able to hear the full account of what happened from Ron.
—…The shipyard was destroyed?
—Yes. They say pirates wrecked it recently.
—Aren't the local troops doing anything? Are they just going to let that happen?
—The mayor was assassinated a month ago, and the position has been vacant since then.
—…Even the fishing boats and merchant ships were all sold or stolen?
—Yes.
—Ugh —Cale let out a sigh.
—This is a disaster.
Alberu gave his opinion calmly, taking a sip of his tea. Cale, with the cup of lemon tea Ron had given him, looked out the window.
The Marine Union.
It was a place formed by hundreds of islands if you counted the small islets along with the vast sea.
—There are no ownerless ships in the harbor —Ron commented.
—And there's no ruler either —Alberu added.
There was a classification: 3 large, 5 medium, and 10 small. The Somuta kingdom belonged to the "10 small."
—In Somuta, they are leaving the Solarpla harbor abandoned. It seems they plan to wait until the turmoil in the Marine Union calms down.
—…
—Originally, they were expected to intervene, but after the mayor's assassination and the shipyard explosion —which left the ships within reach of looters— they preferred to remain silent.
It was, truly, a disaster.
—Your Highness, what exactly is the state of everything? —Cale asked.
Alberu put down his cup and spoke:
"Do you think I know everything?"
—Yes.
Cale bit into a cookie; Alberu sighed. Just as he had said, while Cale was away, Alberu had been closely following the situation in the New World.
—With the "Great First Step," players can become rulers like kings or mayors. —Alberu said— But no one thought it could happen so soon.
—So the news that the #1 ranked player would become the crown prince of the Eastern Empire stirred everyone up.
—Exactly.
Alberu looked at the view of the harbor: the sea sparkling under the sun, the people, but something sinister floated in the air.
—A rift has appeared in the Marine Union.
—The Marine Union… is where many of those who inhabit the islands and the sea live. Despite being a powerful force, now… —Alberu explained— The great general who acted as the leader is in a coma. They say he could pass away at any moment.
In the Marine Union, there is no king: the great general was the one who held power, and his seat, occupied for thirty years, had become vacant. Now there are those who, silently, covet the general's position. That's why there is war there.
—And the players have gotten in the middle —Alberu added.
—So those disturbances attracted the players? —asked Cale.
—Yes.
Cale looked at Alberu impassively and said:
—I was told His Majesty the King's location is Island 1.
—Wow. The very island where the comatose general is —murmured Alberu.
The Marine Union numbers the islands for convenience; Island 1 was the one controlled by the now unconscious general. The 17 factions of the congress of generals controlled from Island 2 to 18; beyond that, there were many more islands numbered into the hundreds.
—Cale, there are still two weeks left —said Alberu in a warm tone— First, let's find a ship. Let's find out the balance of power and how to get to Island 1.
The sea, covered by hundreds of islands, was a powder keg of conflicts. If they didn't act properly, they could get caught up and attacked by mistake.
—We need to prepare everything well —whispered Alberu.
—I don't feel like it —Cale replied.
Alberu raised an eyebrow slightly; Cale gave orders to Ron.
—Ron, tonight we will go to the sea; bring information about the surroundings.
—Yes, young master.
Ron left without another word, taking Beacrox with him. Choi Han also joined.
—I'll come too —said Choi Han, and he set off.
Alberu observed this, but Cale was faster.
—You know, right? —murmured Cale. He was talking about the information the God of Death had given about the king's location. —The king could move at any moment. Contacting death isn't easy; it's better to go to the location we were given as soon as possible.
Alberu did not reply. Cale remembered how Alberu had rushed over when notified of the king's location: he knew what it meant. The relationship between prince and king was something Cale didn't understand well, but Alberu seemed to care for his family.
—He's more fragile than he looks —Cale thought about Alberu— he's someone with a tendency for sacrifice.
Alberu, who had remained silent, asked:
—What about the ship? Wouldn't it be better to wait until dawn instead of leaving at night?
Cale directed his gaze towards a woman who was quietly enjoying her snack in the room.
—Witira, what do you think? —he asked.
She smiled, with eyes like the sea.
—My back is broad —Witira responded.
Archie, of the killer whale people, raised his hand: —My back is available! The kids can ride on my back, hahaha!
Cale smiled contentedly while Alberu silently observed the scene. Alberu had never ridden a killer whale in his life.
---
When night fell, the Solarpla harbor was still lit and bustling. There was no trace of available merchant ships.
—We couldn't get a merchant ship? —someone said.
—What do you think? The serious issue is moving cargo between islands now; that service might not even be possible —another replied.
A merchant looked towards a cliff without a coastal guard and, at first, thought he was mistaken.
'I must have seen wrong.'
Below, in the darkness under the cliff, a black shape was moving. At first, it seemed impossible for something so large to be there.
But then, crossing the sea without warning, a sound was heard:
—Human, it's like last time, a shabby boat! —said Raon, and Alberu, in his small boat, felt a slight relief: Ron had managed to get a tiny boat.
Next to them, on the back of a giant killer whale, Archie was carrying the others, entertaining them. The enormous being under the fog seemed to cohabit with the small boat tied next to Witira.
Alberu, looking at the immense form moving forward, opened his mouth without planning to:
—You—
—Yes?
—Never mind.
Cale was lying down naturally. Alberu shrugged: "Everyone seems so calm except me," he thought, and stopped thinking too much.
Island 1 was to the north, a bit removed from the center of the archipelago; it was quite a distance to get there. As he looked at the night sky, Cale reviewed his companions' plans: Choi Jung Gun would separate to investigate in the Divine World; Choi Jung Soo would get information about the closed sacred areas of the Heavenly World; Choi Jung Gun would continue investigating; Eruhaben would accompany; and Choi Jung Gun, for his part, had promised to transmit information when he had it.
—A ship appears —the Heavenly Demon said with a calm voice.
Cale immediately sat up. Witira, who had been barely visible above the water, submerged a bit more, leaving Cale almost touching the sea. Cale asked the Heavenly Demon:
—Tell me what the flag looks like.
With his vision enhanced thanks to chi, the Heavenly Demon described the ensign; Ron nodded.
—Flag confirmed: they belong to the fleet of Island 89.
The journey to Island 1 was long: days and days. They couldn't always travel on the back of a whale. Furthermore, because of the war, it was likely that magical interference devices and formations that made teleportation difficult were being used.
'It's chaos: magic, swordsmanship, martial arts; all mixed together.' —Cale thought— going directly by sea was the fastest and safest.
They also needed provisions: it was going to take too long and Cale hadn't prepared anything. Instead, he wanted Ron to get more information.
—The flag is from a fleet of Island 89 —Ron said—. They are classic pirates, famous for plunder.
—Interesting —murmured Cale, with a slight smile.
In the Marine Union, the factions were pirates, merchants, generals, or a mix. These were textbook pirates.
—Lately, they intercept merchant boats trying to reach the islands and only attack the weaker ones. —Ron explained—.
Cale smiled more intensely.
—Are we going to raid them? —asked Raon. Cale looked at the crown prince out of deference; Alberu smiled mischievously:
—I see myself doing this —he said amused.
Cale raised his hand:
—Let's take a ship.
On, the small feline, jumped into Cale's lap.
—Meow —was heard, and a thick sea fog began to cover the sea, so dense it hid even the stars and the moon.
—What fog is this? —a sailor asked.
—I don't know! Let's go in this direction: surely something was coming! —another replied.
The captain, receiving the reports, frowned and checked his binoculars.
—Are you sure? It's far away; can we attack it? —he doubted.
—There's no light or flag, it must be a merchant ship moving in secret! —a sailor retorted.
The captain hesitated, but he was uneasy: the fog was too strange, as if it erased even the stars.
—It seems like magic —one murmured.
—Or an enemy? —asked another.
The captain, feeling that something was wrong, ordered to turn around and return to the island. He broke a small bead in his pocket as a signal of alert. Some crew members wanted to take a risk to plunder something and protested, adjusting the sails, but soon, the group fell silent: something was approaching, a sound that couldn't be seen. When the fog parted slightly, a figure was revealed on the sea's surface: a man standing on the water, advancing with the fog splitting to open a path for him.
The pirates couldn't move.
Because what was under him…
The sound became clearer: a gigantic form was approaching. Its size couldn't be judged through the fog, but then it appeared: an immense whale, rising from the surface. Its eyes were fixed on the ship; on its back, standing, was the pirate hunter—Cale Henituse—fixing his gaze on the vessel.
The pirate hunter had arrived in a zone infested with plunderers.
