Chapter 153 – Pangaea (19)

The pirates charged in, thrusting their swords in perfect unison.

It was a battle on the sea, but a highly efficient formation. Even while walking on the deck, they maintained their current formation without much disarray.

From this simple movement alone, I could tell that these guys were quite skilled in close-quarters combat.

‘With this much fighting power, they must be quite notorious.’

This group was surely not among the lower ranks of the 9 Pirates of Karsein.

In that case, I briefly considered wiping them all out here.

My current quest merit was 67. If I were to receive high merit for exterminating pirates, all my quests might end before I even entered the Abyss of Pangaea.

Still, I needed to subdue them first.

Kwakakang!!

As the Holy Sword Bastian unleashed a volley of Sword Qi, the advance of the pirates pressing in on me was momentarily halted.

Those among them who couldn’t block it properly vomited blood and rolled on the floor.

Nevertheless, no pirate took a step back.

“Forward!!”

Rather, the pirates began to resume their pressure on the captain’s command.

It was a surprising sight.

They felt like well-trained elite soldiers.

Swaaaak!

But the bravest one is the one who dies the fastest.

Blood splattered on the sword path created by the holy sword.

I fairly sent the pirates to the afterlife in the order they charged at me.

The pirate ship quickly began to be stained with blood.

Of course, I had no intention of turning this into a ghost ship.

Pabababa!

I began to run forward, lightly emitting Sword Qi.

The pirates who were coming towards me flinched slightly at the force I was emitting.

The pirates raised their swords in unison and went into a defensive stance.

Heh.

I raised the corners of my mouth slightly, kicked off the ground, and soared into the air.

Numerous swords were aimed at me simultaneously.

Of course, even this overwhelming number could not pose a threat to me.

Although they were well-trained, there wasn’t a single master who could inflict a fatal blow on me.

They just looked at me flying in the air and adjusted the trajectory of their swords.

Paat.

I kicked off the tip of a sword thrusting towards the sole of my foot and soared up once more.

Hwiiiing!

And so, the place I landed was the main mast towering in the middle of the ship.

I looked down at the deck from above.

They just stared at me with blank expressions, like dogs that had been chasing a chicken.

Only the archers positioned at the rear began to move busily.

Then, they aimed at me in unison.

“If you don’t come down immediately, I will give the order to fire!”

The pirate captain spoke to me for the first time.

“You’re gravely mistaken.”

“What?”

“If I come down, I might just wipe you all out in one go. Is that what you want, by any chance?”

In reality, I was being merciful.

What I wanted was for the pirates not to interfere with my vessel.

My objective was solely the Abyss of Pangaea, and exterminating pirates was not my concern.

“Reveal your identity at once!”

“You’re asking rather late.”

“Answer me! What the hell kind of person are you to attack us so fearlessly!”

“Hey. Even if you’re a pirate, you should get your facts straight. Think carefully. About who attacked first.”

After hearing my words, the captain tilted his head and then seemed to realize something.

Then he let out a slight sigh.

An ‘Ah!’, to be precise.

“Well, I’ll admit to storming your ship on a boat. But that’s because your side was preparing to open fire first. Do you perhaps think I’m wrong?”

The captain did not deny it.

After all, denying it would only make him look worse.

“Who are you! You don’t seem to be from the navy.”

“Is the pirates’ intelligence network this shoddy? A rumor must have spread.”

“A rumor?”

“There’s no way the story of what happened at sea a while ago hasn’t spread.”

At my words, the captain furrowed his brow and seemed to be deep in thought.

Then suddenly, his eyes widened.

“Could it be, the one who was on the Orteon passenger ship a while ago…?”

He had finally figured out my identity.

I nodded.

“Back then, I completely destroyed a pirate ship. I’m actually deliberating on how I should deal with you guys.”

“Don’t be so cocky! Do we look like pushovers who would be taken down by a single one of you?”

“You don’t look like pushovers, but I can tell you’re scared.”

“Bullshit!”

The captain immediately flared up.

“You are scared, aren’t you. That’s why you can’t even give the order to fire right now. Am I wrong?”

“Th-that’s!”

“Let me give you one warning. If even a single arrow flies at me, my sword will immediately aim for your neck.”

As I issued my ultimatum, the captain bit his lip, unable to do anything.

The archers’ gazes also collectively lost their direction.

If the captain’s order were to fall, they would immediately release their bowstrings and rain down a volley of arrows, but they couldn’t help but be concerned about what would happen next.

I smiled slightly and decided to open up a way out for them.

“But don’t be so tense. Honestly, if we fight to the death, maybe you could catch just me, everyone’s thinking that, right? Am I wrong?”

Even at my question, only silence hung over the pirate ship.

And so, after a slight pause, I continued.

“But I think there’s a better way than fighting to the death like this.”

“What is it you want to say!”

In fact, having stormed the pirate ship and turned it upside down to this extent, I had already achieved my initial objective.

Since the possibility of them firing upon our vessel was gone, it wouldn’t matter if I left as is, but since I had come all this way, I thought I might as well get some information.

“Have you ever been to the Abyss?”

At my question, the captain’s eyes showed considerable surprise.

“…You know about the Abyss?”

“I know it well. That’s why I’m asking you now.”

As I said that, I pointed my sword at the captain.

It was a sign for him not to relax and to answer properly.

It was also a warning not to do anything stupid just to save face in front of his subordinates.

“For your information, the place I was headed to right now is the Abyss. Do you happen to know what’s there?”

At my words, the captain gave a wry smile.

“It’s clear you’ve never been there.”

“Why do you think so?”

“Because that place is hell. A place I never want to go to again.”

His honest feelings were conveyed intact.

He was clearly not lying.

In that case, the Abyss of Pangaea was likely different from the one on Earth.

Which made me even more curious.

In the middle of the vast sea, a faint light shimmered.

A thread-like light that could be easily missed at a glance.

No one knows how long this light, which appeared and disappeared with the gentle waves, has existed here.

Whether this light has been swallowing people passing through the sea route into another world since the beginning of time.

Or if it was newly created recently, as Count Berwood claimed.

Nothing had been definitively revealed yet.

But this oval shape was very familiar.

“Unit Leader!”

“Yes. It really was the gate to the Abyss.”

It was the moment I confirmed with my own two eyes that there was a path to a new world in Pangaea as well.

“But I’ve gathered that it’s very different from the one on Earth.”

“In what way?”

“A much more dangerous place.”

“I see.”

“If you’re scared, you can stay on the ship. If I accumulate merit here, the effect will go to you too.”

“No, sir. I will go with you.”

In truth, it was a question that didn’t need to be asked.

“Then let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Yoon Joo-hee and I threw ourselves into the portal.

The endlessly stretching vast sea disappeared in an instant.

What appeared before us was pitch-black darkness and the cries of monsters coming from all directions.

And one more thing.

[You have entered the Abyss.]

It was a very familiar message to us.

The only place where our vision was clearly revealed was the small oval portal behind our backs.

According to the pirate captain, you couldn’t even light a fire here, and once you got lost, it was quite difficult to find the portal back to the sea of Pangaea.

For that reason, when the pirates entered the Abyss, a few of them would remain near the portal and convey their location by voice.

Of course, it was a useless method if the distance from the advance party exceeded a certain point.

Kraaaaa!!

The monsters’ roars were getting closer and closer.

“Take the lead.”

“Yes. Understood.”

What I could be sure of now was that not all areas of the Abyss could be endlessly dark like this.

This was a natural thought if one knew the essence of the Abyss.

Once we crossed a certain point, we would surely reach a quest area.

It was possible that we might even become the first to conquer it.

Swaak!!

Swaaaak!!

The monsters in front were quickly being cleared away by Yoon Joo-hee’s sword.

The effects of the Stupeo training were coming to light.

No matter how constrained one’s senses were, there was nothing that couldn’t be seen and nothing that couldn’t be heard.

As long as there was mana.

“They’re just mobs, so don’t be scared. Just keep pushing forward without slowing down like you are now.”

“Understood, Unit Leader.”

Yoon Joo-hee’s sword slashes continued without rest.

Yoon Joo-hee was certainly making a significant leap through this journey in Pangaea.

She was not weak to begin with, but in the Chamryongdan, she felt like she had risen to the position of the third-in-command, after Choi Ho-joong and Shin Ah-yeon.

And the journey here was not even over yet.

She seemed to think she was just tagging along with me, but that was not the case at all.

Even right now, thanks to Yoon Joo-hee clearing the path ahead, I could walk comfortably through the darkness as if on a stroll.

What I had wanted in the first place was nothing grand.

“11 o’clock direction. You’ll have to pay a bit of attention this time.”

“It seems to be a troll!”

Bingo.

At this rate, her perception had improved considerably.

Swaaaak!

And the troll’s neck was severed clean by her sword.

Her skill in targeting a weakness that couldn’t be regenerated in a single blow was also top-notch.

Above all, the fact that she did this in the darkness was something that could not be helped but praised.

“Excellent.”

At my single word, Yoon Joo-hee’s shoulders flinched slightly.

And then, a slightly different atmosphere.

Her heightened tension was revealed directly in her sword path.

The scattered straight and curved lines made the one-hit-kill that had been going so well until now disappear.

Her sword had failed to completely sever the troll’s neck.

Kraaaaa!!

The enraged troll quickly regenerated its wound, and Yoon Joo-hee barely managed to evade its fierce charge.

Swaaaak!

In the end, the troll’s neck was cut off by the blade of Bastian.

“I’m sorry, Unit Leader!”

I thought it wasn’t a big deal that she made me swing my sword once, but I didn’t bother to say so.

This girl seemed to lose her mind at things like praise and warm comfort.

“Keep walking without slowing down.”

“Understood!”

We had been walking in the darkness like that for about an hour already.

The smell of blood reeked from Yoon Joo-hee’s clothes.

It was a natural consequence, as it was difficult to even guess the number of monsters she had cut down.

I wondered where a president’s daughter would have received such treatment, but she had not a single word of complaint.

Swaak!

Swaaaak!

Yoon Joo-hee, covered in monster blood, cut down and cut down again.

And finally.

[There is a quest area nearby.]

[You have achieved the feat of first discovery.]

It was the moment when the great era of pioneering in Pangaea truly began.

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