kscans

Chapter 168 - The Ghost Ship

The ghost ship rammed into the side of the vessel Hayato and the others were on, striking it with its bow.

The point of impact was the right side from the ship's direction of travel. In other words, the starboard side. It then pulled up alongside them, running parallel as it threw several hooked ropes onto Hayato's ship, creating a bridge between the two. They were so practiced it was over in an instant.

Then, skeletons dressed as pirates, Pirate Skeletons, began boarding Hayato's ship in droves. The skeletons wielded curved swords known as cutlasses and carried no shields. A few skeletons remained on the ghost ship, readying their bows. It seemed there were even some capable of using magic.

(We ran into a ghost ship before we even saw any pirates. I've never heard of this happening before.)

There was a reason Hayato could afford to think so casually. The party members who had been knocked over by the initial impact had gotten to their feet and immediately begun to counterattack. Esha and Relic moved closer to Hayato.

"Master, you took quite a tumble. Are you all right? It would be a disaster if you fell into the sea, you know."

Falling into the sea wouldn't make it impossible to breathe, but your HP would gradually decrease. The Diving Skill could slow the rate of loss, but it was unlikely anyone would acquire the skill for that purpose alone.

"I'm fine, but it looks like the ship took a lot of damage from that impact. I need to repair it with my Woodworking Skill."

Even at sea, a ship with reduced durability could be restored to eighty percent with the Woodworking Skill's repair function. To fix it completely required returning to a shipyard dock, a limitation that existed at sea. Repairs also required lumber, but they had loaded plenty onto the ship, so as long as they had wood, they could make fixes.

Viewed this way, the Woodworking Skill seemed quite useful, but the overwhelming majority of players never went to sea. Otherwise, the skill was only for making furniture and wooden equipment, so it was considered rather underappreciated.

(Even now, I hear very few people are trying to salvage things from the sea. Whoops, this is no time to be thinking about that. No matter how strong everyone is, it's over if the ship sinks. I'd better fix it right away.)

Thankfully, the ghost ship didn't have cannons. It was attacking the hull with arrows and magic, but the damage was far less than the ramming attack. Considering the amount of lumber they had on board, Hayato figured they could manage.

However, he couldn't repair it indefinitely, so they had no choice but to defeat their opponents.

The quickest way would be to sink the enemy ship. But it was questionable whether even Esha's Destroy could sink a ghost ship. That meant they should either wipe out the entire crew or defeat the pirate captain.

Besides, though it was a ghost ship, it was still a physical vessel. The reason for the attack was unknown, but it was possible they were engaged in plunder. In other words, the ship might be full of treasure. It would be faster to rummage through the ship as it was than to salvage it after it sank.

"There might be treasure, so let's not sink the ghost ship and explore it later. Aim to wipe them all out."

When Hayato said that, some of the members let out a war cry. It was mainly the members of the Treasure Hunter Guild. They crossed the rope bridge the enemy had made and boarded their ship. Sonia was the very first one across.

"Whoa, hell yeah! If that's the case, that cool sword the captain's holding is mine! Don't let those treasure hunters get ahead of us!"

With that, Cecil immediately crossed a rope and boarded the enemy ship. She launched an attack on the skeleton that looked like the captain. The members of the Dragon Busters followed her with slightly wry smiles.

(Unlike Ash, Cecil seems like the type to act on intuition, so I bet everyone has a hard time... Still, maybe it was a bad idea to give Cecil a lance. Another weapon would have been better against undead.)

Cecil had five lances equipped. He had given her weapons with a special attack skill against marine life to counter sea monsters. Even without that special skill, the lances he'd given her were quite strong, but they weren't the most effective choice. Plus, while Cecil could equip multiple weapons, she couldn't use her item bag and had the disadvantage of not being able to switch equipment on the spot.

"Cecil will be fine. She usually prioritizes looking cool, but if you let her handle a variety of weapons, she might even be stronger than that Ivan."

Perhaps his thoughts had shown on his face, as Esha said this to him. Relic agreed with her.

"Cecil is the type who fights by instinct, but she is unquestionably strong, so there will be no problem. However, the footing is also unstable, so Esha, could you please support Cecil? I will protect Hayato-sama here."

"Then I'll leave Master's protection to you. I doubt Cecil needs my support, but there are enemies attacking from a distance. I'll take care of them. That's one chocolate parfait you owe me."

"Huh? Owe who? Me?"

Esha didn't answer Hayato's question, instead readying her Beelzebub. She then defeated the skeletons with her normal attacks.

Normally, gun attacks were not very effective against skeletons, but Esha's shots unerringly pierced their heads, felling them in a single blow.

As if spurred on by this, Ney's group and Rosalie's group also began taking down the skeletons that had boarded the ship.

Ney was dual wielding the Excalibur Replica and the Arondight Replica. She had originally been the type to fight with a single one-handed sword held in both hands, not using a shield, so perhaps dual wielding didn't feel particularly strange to her. She fought with considerable skill.

Rosalie was attacking with her usual scythe, but the weapons of the Black Rose members were varied. One had a giant hammer, while another wielded a thorny, whip-like weapon. There was even one member with a crossbow in each hand, making one wonder how she managed to load the bolts.

Watching them, the only thing Hayato could say was that they were all strong.

(There's no way they'd lose to mere skeletons. Alright, I'll fix the ship while I have the chance.)

Hayato took out a saw and selected "Repair Ship" from the menu. The ship's durability slowly began to recover.

"Hayato-sama, please be careful. The enemy's movements seem strange."

At Relic's words, Hayato looked around.

The Pirate Skeletons in their pirate attire were almost all gone. But other skeletons had appeared in their place. They were not humanoid, but monster-shaped.

There were skeletons of the fishman Sahagin, and the fish-like bones of some unknown species were floating and swimming through the air.

"My, my, to think you would destroy the undead I so carefully created. In that case, I shall get a little serious myself."

A voice came from somewhere. It was hard to see through the fog, but it was probably from above, around the mast of the enemy ship.

"It seems you are the leader, yes?"

Hayato couldn't see him, but he had a gut feeling the voice was referring to him.

The next moment, a black object shot down from the sky toward Hayato.

Hayato braced himself, but Relic immediately stepped between him and the object. When Relic struck the black object with a right hook, it skidded across the deck from the impact.

"Oh my, you're quite skilled for a human, aren't you?"

Relic remained silent, still in his stance. Hayato guessed the black object had charged on its own.

(I only caught a glimpse, but that form...)

Thanks to Relic, Hayato hadn't been attacked, but he had seen its form. It was different now, but a moment ago, it had been a giant bat.

He had a good idea of who an opponent that could turn into a giant bat might be.

"A vampire...?"

"You figured it out in that instant? Quite the keen eyesight you have."

A man dressed like a nobleman from a bygone era, the Middle Ages, was standing there.

He had long golden hair that reached his shoulders and an androgynous face, but his voice was male. He wore all black, including a knee-length coat, and had a somewhat gentlemanly air about him. However, his face was pale and looked unhealthy. Though his clothes and features were different, his atmosphere was similar to Mist's.

"Is this ghost ship yours?"

"Indeed it is. I live apart from the world, conducting my research, but humans sometimes wander in, you see. So I like to amuse myself like this from time to time. However, it is a problem to have my undead destroyed to this extent. Therefore, I shall join the fray from this point on."

"Well now, it has been a while, hasn't it? I am glad to see you in good health."

Rosalie suddenly spoke to the vampire.

"Oh my, what a beautiful young lady. To wish a vampire good health, what a witty jest... You, you are Rosalie Quentis...? Why are you here?"

"I was asked a small favor."

It seemed Rosalie and the vampire were acquaintances. Just as Hayato thought they could avoid an unnecessary fight, the vampire looked slightly upward, covering his eyes with his right palm as he began to laugh.

"This is perfect! I shall repay the debt from that time, right here and now!"

"No matter how many times we fight, the result will be the same. Besides, unlike back then, you are alone now. Do you truly believe you can win?"

"The only reason you all won that time was due to the field effect. Had it been night, I would not have lost. But this time, it is the reverse. Do not think you can fight the same way you did back then, you hear?"

"Um, sorry to interrupt while you're all fired up, but are you two acquainted?"

Hayato's words didn't seem to reach the pair, or rather, the Black Rose members and the vampire. They faced each other, faint smiles on their lips.

In that opening, Relic moved in front of Hayato and began to back away.

"Hayato-sama, that vampire is likely an ally of Mist-sama. One of the Ten Undead Elites, you could say."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes. And the Ten Undead Elites lost to the Ten Black Rose Saints in the previous Clan War, so I imagine that is what they are referring to."

"Ah, so that's... It's fine to fight them, even if they're Mist-san's allies?"

"They both seem eager, so let us leave it to them. Hayato-sama, please retreat for now."

Hayato nodded and, with Relic, moved over to where Diite stood, a smile on her face, her hands still on the ship's wheel.