Chapter 140 – Pangaea (6)

Cutting through the thick fog that draped all around, a group of figures began to appear.

The Red Scorpion Mercenary Company. All of them had come up to the deck.

“Long time no see. You were nowhere to be found all day today.”

Even though I gave a light greeting, Ramas made an effort to avoid my eyes.

So I tried to be a little more persistent.

“This won’t do. We have to work together tonight. Right?”

Only then did he respond.

“Wait a moment. Once our side is ready, I’ll explain the plan to you.”

“Well, suit yourself.”

Following Ramas’s command, the mercenaries efficiently prepared their equipment.

Then, they moved all the remaining passengers on the deck to their cabins.

Everyone seemed to be certain.

That pirates would appear tonight.

“Hey Ramas. By the way, isn’t the Count coming up on deck?”

“…What? The Count?”

Ramas’s expression turned cold.

Judging by the atmosphere, the reason was that I had omitted the word ‘Lord.’

I reacted with a slight lift of my lips.

“The Count isn’t here, so what’s the big deal. Right?”

“It’s not Count, it’s Lord Count!”

In that instant, Ramas ground his teeth.

He looked ready to grab me by the collar. If it weren’t for yesterday’s commotion, he would have done more than enough.

I got a feeling.

These guys were not an ordinary mercenary company. I didn’t know what their relationship with the Count was, but I felt something secretive.

“I didn’t know you’d fly off the handle like that. Well, it doesn’t cost anything, so I’ll call him Lord Count from now on.”

Only then did Ramas relax the tension in his eyes.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make a mistake with the title next time.”

It certainly wasn’t the typical behavior of a mercenary.

The feeling of a highly loyal private soldier.

Much like the relationship between me and the Chamryongdan.

“Then let me ask you one thing. Your mercenary company, do you often sign mercenary contracts with Lord Count Berwood?”

“There’s no reason to disclose such details to an outsider.”

“Anyway, this isn’t the first time.”

For a moment, Ramas flinched.

Of course, I just threw that out there.

To see how he would react.

“…Why did you think that?”

And this reaction gave me certainty.

“Let’s just call it intuition.”

I grinned.

Ramas didn’t argue any further about this.

He must have judged that making excuses would look more suspicious.

I took another detailed look at the Red Scorpion Mercenary Company.

They were clearly at a competent level.

Although he was humiliated by me, Ramas was by no means a weak guy.

I didn’t know exactly what the standard of the world of Pangaea was, but he would be a strong person even on Earth.

He was definitely above Ho-joong.

‘That must be why the Count can wait for the pirates at ease.’

Not only their skills, but the mercenaries’ loyalty must also be a reassuring factor for the Count.

Furthermore, Ramas had even recommended me to the Count.

Even though he himself was humiliated, it was just for the reason that I would be helpful to their forces.

Anyway, it was an interesting situation for me. If I watched, I would find out what was going on.

“Then tell me now. What kind of plan do you guys have for tonight?”

Ramas said with a serious and grim expression.

“What pirates aim for are usually two things. One is the ship itself. The other is treasure.”

“That’s obvious.”

“But this passenger ship we’re on is too large to be captured. So, in the end, what the pirates will aim for will be the goods loaded on this ship and the passengers’ possessions.”

I nodded.

This enormous passenger ship was so huge that it couldn’t be sold anywhere.

Ramas continued to speak.

“Therefore, what we are most concerned about is a situation where the pirates destroy this passenger ship with cannons or the like.”

“A long-range battle would certainly be burdensome.”

“That’s right. So, the first thing we must do is to induce a close-quarters battle with the pirates as quickly as possible.”

It meant that if a pirate ship appeared, instead of increasing the distance and running away, they would take the enemy’s cannon fire and approach as quickly as possible.

A tone of voice that showed confidence that they would unconditionally win in a close-quarters battle.

The equipment the mercenary company was preparing right now was also defensive gear to prepare for cannon fire and arrows.

“You’ve prepared thoroughly. And what you’re saying makes sense.”

During my Johan Raven days. I didn’t have many, but I had experience in naval warfare.

At that time, too, the most difficult situation was, as Ramas said, when the ship was attacked from a distance.

No matter how much of a Sword Master I was, I couldn’t survive in the sea with my bare body without a ship.

Of course, back then I could explode my sword qi to cut down enemies from afar, but now, that much was impossible. A close-quarters battle would indeed be the best option.

“Do you also know about the scale of the pirates that will appear tonight?”

“If our information is correct, there will be one ship. The number of pirates will be greater than ours.”

“That’s amazing information. But how do you know all that?”

“You don’t need to know that much. You just have to carry out your mission.”

Ramas drew a line in the sand.

‘Anyway, it’s clear they’ve prepared properly.’

It wasn’t a situation where they suddenly signed a mercenary contract and were escorting the Count.

If these guys were only a mercenary company on the outside, but in reality, were Count Berwood’s special force, then all the pieces would fit.

The story where the Count was targeting the pirates, and this special force had been making thorough preparations for a long time to meet that demand.

There were still many gaps in the middle, but I felt like the picture was being completed.

‘What on earth are they aiming for.’

It was then.

The huge rush of water and the presence of mana felt beyond the thick fog. And the will to fight and killing intent.

It was undoubtedly a pirate ship.

And at the right time, the Count appeared.

“Ramas, is everyone ready.”

“Yes, Lord Count! The passengers have all moved to their cabins, and equipment preparation is also complete. There will be no problem even if the battle starts right now.”

“Seo Ji-han. What about you?”

“Me, yes, but I think it would be good for you to prepare yourself mentally as well, Lord Count.”

“What do you mean?”

“A cannonball is about to fly in.”

“What?”

As soon as my words ended, a cannonball flew in.

Kuuung!

A huge impact shook the side of the ship.

The Count showed a slight sign of being flustered.

I went to his side and held his shaking body, and Ramas hastily shouted for the operation to begin.

The mercenary company immediately raised their shields.

Pababababat!

Arrows flew in, cutting through the thick fog.

Despite the shower of arrows pouring down on the deck, the mercenary company showed no signs of wavering.

Because this must have been part of the expected scenario.

The ship’s bow turned towards the direction the arrows were coming from, and the ship began to move quickly.

This, too, was part of the plan as prepared.

Ramas’s appearance as he commanded was quite impressive.

Just last night, his face looked like he had a screw loose, but today, he looked like a commander in his element.

Kuuuung.

A little later, there was another huge impact on the side of the ship.

It wasn’t a cannonball.

The pirates had connected a ladder to our side.

And then, they immediately began to pour in.

Up to this point, it was a perfect part of the plan.

The scale of the pirates that revealed themselves before us was about fifty men.

In terms of numbers alone, it was about twice ours.

But this, too, was not beyond expectations.

Chaeng!!

Chaeng!!

The mercenary company, which had already formed ranks, drew their swords.

At that sight, the pirates wore an interested expression.

“Wahahahaha! Don’t tell me, you’ve been preparing all this time?”

Ramas stepped forward one step and answered.

“Welcome, Dukerein Pirates.”

“What! You even know our identity? Are you guys perhaps the navy?”

Then, the guy quickly shook his head.

“No. You don’t feel like the navy at all? Well, we’ll find out when we catch you and beat it out of you.”

A look full of leisure even in a situation where they were caught off guard.

Honestly, I thought it made sense.

‘Something was a bit strange.’

In fact, the information Ramas had told me and everything else was true.

That they would attack tonight.

That there was only one ship.

And even the scale of the enemies was as Ramas had said.

But there seemed to be one thing that Ramas hadn’t expected.

The level of the pirates’ strength.

They seemed to have judged that it was possible for the mercenary company to stop the pirates on their own, but the presence of the guys who appeared now was unusual.

Moreover, considering the forces still remaining on the pirate ship, the battle would be difficult for the mercenary company alone.

‘It seems Yoon Joo-hee has infiltrated well.’

The level of those remaining on the pirate ship was not to be trifled with either, so the plan was to have her just wait for now.

For now, our ship was the key.

“Was it perhaps you guys? I heard there were some guys digging into our pirate crew.”

It was a series of surprises.

The Dukerein side had already noticed.

But Ramas shook his head.

“Seeing as you’re telling such lies, you must be flustered.”

“Lies? Is that really so?”

The pirate guy showed a fishy smile.

“Attack!”

At Ramas’s signal, the battle began.

For now, I planned to guard the Count’s side and watch the situation.

The Count didn’t have any particular complaints about this.

He must have judged that the mercenary company alone was enough in the first place, and hiring me was for the sake of insurance.

But in my view, he was greatly mistaken.

‘This won’t be easy.’

Ramas’s plan was to lightly suppress the pirates and then enter the pirate ship as quickly as possible.

But the aspect of the battle was developing differently from what was expected.

Chaeng!

Chaaaeng!

The mercenary company was struggling from the start.

“Aaaack!!”

There was already an injured person.

Of course, on the pirate side, it was highly likely that they were also judging our forces as unexpected.

Because it was also true that the level of the mercenary company was not to be trifled with.

“When this battle is over, I think you’ll have to reprimand that guy Ramas a bit.”

“Reprimand?”

“If he was going to dig into the pirates, he shouldn’t have left a trace, but it seems his tail was stepped on. Thanks to that, didn’t the Dukerein Pirates also come fully prepared?”

“But the result won’t change. There’s no way the mercenary company will lose.”

“You seem confident. You must know the mercenary company well?”

The Count didn’t respond to this.

“But after you reprimand Ramas, I think you should also praise him.”

“What do you mean?”

“For recommending me to you, Lord Count. If he hadn’t, everyone would have been in danger. Both the mercenary company and you, Lord Count.”

Chaeng!

Chaaaeng!

The fierce battle continued.

At that moment, another injured person appeared from the mercenary company.

He was stabbed in the abdomen and fell, vomiting blood.

At the same time, the Count’s expression also hardened.

“It seems it will be troublesome if you keep me as just insurance any longer. It seems I’ll have to enter the battle, so would you mind evacuating to the cabins for a moment?”

Since I received 2,000 gulit, it was now the moment to earn my keep.

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