Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 502: The Prince and the Father (7)
Previously on Trash of the Count's Family...
SLAP, SHWAAAAAA—
SLAP, SHWAAAAAA—
“Human, there are so many ships!”
Raon was right.
Cale looked around.
His ship was positioned in the rear.
Ahead of it and to either side, an enormous number of warships were maintaining a fixed distance as they moved at tremendous speed.
“Light the fires!”
“Light the fires!”
The shouts came from the front.
Island 16’s warships were moving toward Island 19.
Lights flared all at once across the warships, only half of which remained.
“Striking Island 19 first, huh.”
Alberu stood beside Cale at the bow and stared out over the night sea with him.
“She judged that defense would be useless.”
General Ferry, the leader of Island 16, had made her decision the moment she understood the current situation.
Island 19 will conquer Island 16 today.
And it would do so with the countless pirate islands that followed it or cooperated with it.
In this situation, General Ferry, who had not been able to preserve her full forces, could have stayed inside Island 16 and chosen to defend.
Island 16 was exceptionally suited to defense.
“Because even if she defended, it would fall in the end.”
“Right.”
Alberu nodded at Cale’s words.
SHWAAAAAA—
SHWAAAA—
“No matter how naturally fortified Island 16 may be, with insufficient food and insufficient troops, it would eventually collapse if Island 19 kept hammering away at it.”
Once Alberu finished speaking, the Heavenly Demon, who stood behind them, continued in a low voice.
“I told you. Killing the leader is the answer.”
Hah.
Cale and Alberu both let out short laughs.
They were close to bitter smiles, but neither of them denied the Heavenly Demon’s words.
General Ferry had immediately issued an emergency alert across the island and given orders.
“Evacuate all residents into the castle and activate defensive posture at once!”
“Gather every fishing boat and merchant ship! Prepare them so they can leave the island the moment the signal is given!”
“Send messengers to every great general’s island in the central sea and to the island generals of the Council of Seventeen! Tell them Island 19 is attacking the gatekeeper!”
After putting the bare minimum defenses in place.
“All naval soldiers, listen!”
She climbed onto the flagship she used whenever she set sail and raised the flag that symbolized her as she shouted.
“Today, we go to Island 19!”
“We will annihilate the enemy that made us lose our comrades and seeks to destroy the honor of the guardians!”
She had made her judgment in a short span of time.
“And I, Ferry the guardian, will cut off Shark’s head!”
“WAAAAAAAAAA—!”
“UWAAAAAAAAAA—!”
Following her command, the naval soldiers roared, solemn resolve settling in their eyes.
“It was an excellent decision.”
The Heavenly Demon praised General Ferry’s judgment.
“General Ferry judged that the only move capable of overturning this situation was Shark’s life.”
Unlike the naval soldiers, who had trained countless times and guarded the gate of the sea for generations, pirates had a high chance of collapsing if only their leader disappeared.
Grin.
The corners of the Heavenly Demon’s mouth rose.
He looked a little interested.
“But it is also the most dangerous move.”
Witira, who had been silently looking around with her lips pressed shut, opened her mouth.
“They are prepared to die.”
The naval soldiers atop the warships.
Witira could feel it from their expressions.
They had gone out to sea prepared for death.
“Is that not obvious?”
The Heavenly Demon responded to her calmly.
“The number of ships, the number of people, the quality of their strength. In every absolute sense, Island 16 is at a disadvantage right now. Of course, the strength of their officers may be somewhat superior. But on this dark night, pirate ships will endlessly rush in from every direction and attack.”
The Heavenly Demon tossed the words toward Witira, the heir to the Whale Tribe’s throne.
“It is a battlefield they are bound to lose. Then why do you think those soldiers are moving forward?”
“......”
“Because if they do not, everyone dies.”
My homeland.
My foundation.
My family.
Everything would end.
That was why the soldiers had thrown themselves into the sea for the single remaining possibility.
“The sea is not a merciful place.”
Witira shut her eyes tightly at the Heavenly Demon’s muttered words.
It was then.
“Hm?”
Raon’s invisible voice reached everyone’s ears.
“Everyone dying? That won’t happen!”
Witira opened her eyes and looked toward the source of the sound.
Flutter, flutter.
The cool night wind brushed her cheek with the beat of Raon’s wings.
A bright child’s voice rang out.
“Aren’t all the ships here on our side?”
“They’re on our side!”
“They’re allies.”
On and Hong answered Raon.
Only then did Witira suddenly realize that these three children, though young, had stayed at Cale’s side longer than she had and crossed enormous battlefields with him.
How had these children not lost their childishness amid the cruelty called war?
As Witira found herself thinking that without meaning to—
The three children, Raon, Hong, and On, who had already lived through lives like hell before meeting Cale, spoke one after another.
“Our human has never lost at sea!”
“Our side will be fine!”
“It will be all right.”
Ah.
Witira felt the three children’s absolute faith in Cale.
At the same time, she realized that calling it simple faith was not enough, because these children had been stating facts.
The Whale Tribe ruled the sea.
She herself had experienced countless defeats.
However, the man before her, Cale Henituse, had never lost at sea.
“Young master, they are coming.”
When Ron’s voice sounded, Witira realized that Cale had been looking ahead.
SHWAAAAAA—
While everyone moved forward, one ship came back toward the rear.
It was the flagship General Ferry was aboard.
“......”
“......”
Cale’s eyes met General Ferry’s.
The moment the mist ship and the flagship moved side by side—
Tap.
Ferry lightly kicked off the railing and crossed over onto the mist ship.
“!”
A gleam passed through Cale’s eyes when he saw that movement.
She’s light.
General Ferry was known for using an extremely fast sword.
As the gatekeeper, one might expect her to wield a heavy blade, but they said no one could match her swift sword.
“Sir Cale.”
General Ferry had boarded the mist ship alone. She looked at Cale and opened her mouth.
“Very well. Let us go together.”
Ferry, who had accepted Cale as an ally and placed him in the rear, approached him with a firm expression.
“I have a request for you.”
The moment General Ferry mentioned a request, Cale opened his mouth.
“Do you want us to rescue Vice Captain Ebo?”
“......!”
“Or do you want us to retrieve something important he may be carrying?”
“!”
Ferry’s eyes shook.
“How—”
At the word she barely managed to force out, Cale answered with an indifferent face. As if it were nothing.
“I thought today’s large-scale pirate subjugation was not a simple subjugation, but a smokescreen for something else.”
“......”
“I assumed you were trying to call allies, and the right person for that would be your younger brother, Vice Captain Ebo.”
“......”
“And because there is a spy among your allies, you came to us alone like this to make your request.”
“......!”
Faced with Cale’s words, which had seen through everything, Ferry had no choice but to express with silence that all of it was correct.
“You probably want to prepare for the possibility that you may not be able to kill Shark today, General.”
And at Cale’s following words, she was left even more speechless.
Cale said,
“Were you going to ask us to take over Vice Captain Ebo’s task?”
Ah.
A sigh slipped from Ferry.
All of Island 16’s naval soldiers were heading to Island 19 prepared to die at sea.
She had to prepare for the possibility that she would fail to kill Shark.
Even if Island 16 falls.
This sea alone must not collapse.
“General.”
That was why she had intended to ask this unknown powerhouse before her.
To deliver the message Ebo carried to the Seventh General. In return, she would give them as much as she could of what they wanted in the current situation.
Amid distrust, the only reliable thing was a transaction.
But this man—
“You are worried about the backer behind Island 19, aren’t you? That is why you want to warn the Seventh General even more urgently.”
This man was far too dangerous.
Ferry, unable to say anything, saw the corners of Cale’s mouth rise.
“Are you afraid?”
The words hidden within it were unmistakable.
Are you afraid of us?
That was why Ferry’s answer had already been decided.
“There is nothing a guardian fears.”
General Ferry decided to trust the courtesy shown by those who had honored her and Island 16 as guardians.
On the harsh sea, those who knew how to observe even small courtesies were more trustworthy than one might think.
And only then did she see Cale Henituse smile as though very satisfied.
“Then I will make a proposal.”
Cale properly offered a deal to Ferry, whose eyes were calm and dignified, to the other party who had decided to stake something on him.
“We will board the flagship.”
“!”
“You know the rough map of Island 19, don’t you, General?”
The person who knew the greatest enemy better than anyone was surely General Ferry.
“Take your elites, circle around, and seize part of the island. Even one port will do.”
If she did that—
“There will definitely be evidence on the island showing who Pirate Shark is communicating with behind the scenes and what they are plotting. Take it.”
This would not be mere survival for today. It could become a foothold for the future.
“I heard that Island 16 was able to remain implicitly neutral until now because the island generals of the Council of Seventeen treated the gatekeeper, at least, as inviolable and did not touch it. The bastard who broke that can hardly complain if he gets beaten down legally, can he?”
The red-haired man smiled as though enjoying himself.
Ferry swallowed and asked,
“What will you do once you board my ship?”
“You know, don’t you?”
The flagship without Ferry.
Cale’s group would board the ship without its captain and pretend to be the flagship’s command.
“Shark is targeting you, so he will focus his full force on the flagship.”
Ferry spoke in a trembling voice.
“Will you handle Shark?”
“Ha, haha—”
Cale laughed as he answered.
“Yes.”
It was an extremely concise answer, but the moment Ferry heard it, her hands clenched into fists without her realizing it.
It had been like this dark night sea, where she could barely see an inch ahead.
And yet, suddenly, it felt as though a path had appeared.
If it is this man—
This man would handle Shark.
When she had felt his aura, had Ferry not felt choked, enough to remind her of the great general?
No.
She immediately corrected her own thought.
Shark will not be able to handle this man.
Yes. Rather, Shark would be unable to handle him.
This man was surely stronger than Ferry herself.
However, there was something she had to say.
“They are numerous.”
“I know.”
“And they may have brought a backer, another helper.”
“I know.”
Ferry asked Cale, who said he knew everything.
“Can you handle all of it?”
“Yes.”
Cale shrugged and asked in return,
“Why do you keep asking the same question? I believe we are pressed for time right now.”
Ah.
General Ferry felt chills rise over her skin when she realized that from the moment she first asked about Shark, the other party had already judged things this far.
“...I will repay this debt without fail.”
At General Ferry’s words, Cale and his group merely answered with smiles.
“......”
Watching them, Ferry felt something unpleasantly suspicious.
What is it?
Cale’s group headed toward the flagship in her place. For some reason, some among them looked extremely pleased. As though they had discovered a toy before their eyes.
Only then did she realize that every single one of them, not just Cale, was anything but ordinary, and she quietly withdrew to the rear with a portion of her elite naval soldiers.
It is all or nothing anyway.
Not simply to escape danger, but to prepare the foothold for a reversal, General Ferry headed toward Island 19 with all the ship lights extinguished.
In a different direction from the allied ships whose bright fires receded into the distance.
“...Please—”
She looked at the bright lights of the flagship that had now moved to the center, then turned her head away.
“......”
Ferry’s face turned cold.
If they can hold Shark back even for a short while, even if they cannot defeat Shark and lose—
A path would appear.
She had asked Cale that if the situation turned unfavorable and he could not rescue Ebo, he should pass one phrase on to him.
Leave it to your sister.
She had asked him to deliver those words.
They carried one meaning.
Die.
It meant that even if he died, she would take over after him.
Her younger brother Ebo would understand immediately and die along with the message.
“......”
She had prepared for the worst as much as she could.
SHWAAAAAA—
Only a few ships cut quickly through the current.
And far away—
BOOOOM!
The moment a sound rang out, Ferry sensed it.
They met.
Cale’s group and Island 19’s forces had clashed.
*****
Just as she had said, Cale could see countless ships approaching from far away.
“Wow.”
Cale was sincerely impressed.
SHWAAAAAA—
SHWAAAAAA—
They did not all fit within his sight.
A truly endless, enormous number of pirate ships was surging toward them.
“...The center is Island 19.”
Just as the subordinate General Ferry had left behind said, pirate ships bearing Island 19’s flag could be seen in the center.
They were, in their own way, taking the lead from the front.
“There are flagless ships behind them too.”
At the Heavenly Demon’s words, Cale thought the flagless ships behind Island 19’s pirate ships might be the forces backing them.
“Hah.”
“They’re insane.”
The naval soldiers who had prepared to die were rendered speechless when they saw the approaching pirate ships.
Endless pirate ships.
If those pirate ships surrounded them, the allied force would be captured in an instant.
“Sir Cale. We must spread out.”
Before they were surrounded, they first needed to scatter and engage in separate battles.
They needed to create a melee.
“No.”
Cale shook his head at Ferry’s subordinate and spoke.
“With the flagship in the lead, stay gathered as one.”
His finger pointed toward the ship behind the leading vessel of Island 19’s pirate ships.
The ship flying Shark’s flag.
“We strike Shark’s ship, the flagship.”
SHWAAAAAA—
SHWAAAA—
The pirate ships approached faster.
“Khahahaha! That crazy bitch Ferry has finally shown herself!”
“Boss, the enemy numbers are exactly as we expected!”
“Khahahaha! Do not hesitate! Advance! Surround them at once and slaughter every single one of Island 16’s naval force!”
The pirate ships, having already coordinated their plans, cut across the sea without hesitation.
Their momentum was fully palpable even as their ships drew closer and closer.
“Sir Cale! If we gather together—”
“No. We have to gather to survive.”
Cale had no intention of trying to persuade Ferry’s subordinate.
He simply gave an order.
Because the situation was urgent now.
“I am the captain of this ship.”
“...Understood.”
Ferry’s subordinate squeezed his eyes shut.
SNAP!
He lifted the flag, and soon, the allied ships gathered.
“Raon, wind!”
—I got it, human!
SHWAAAAAA—
Cale’s flagship took the lead.
And one person stood before Cale.
It was Witira.
She wore General Ferry’s uniform, her hat pulled low to hide her hair.
She held a sword awkwardly.
“Khahahaha!”
Shark laughed mockingly when he saw General Ferry standing at the front.
“Are you targeting me?”
He had read her thoughts.
Even if she scattered her forces, even if she created a melee, in the end, Ferry must have realized the conclusion would be decided by her battle with Shark himself.
“Fine, good!”
Shark looked at the approaching naval force and ordered his subordinate.
“Raise the flags!”
“Yes!”
SNAP!
His subordinates raised the flags, and the one who received that hand signal blew a horn.
BWOOOOOOO—
The pirate ships moved at once.
The naval force approached like an arrowhead, and the pirate ships spread around them like a crescent moon.
Even in the face of that orderly movement, the naval soldiers held their breath and watched only the flagship at the front.
Everyone except those aboard the flagship believed General Ferry was on that ship.
That was why they trusted their general and acted.
Looking at the naval force approaching him like that, Shark drew a deep smile.
His own ship, the flagship, stood behind two ships positioned as if to protect it, and beyond them, he saw General Ferry’s flagship coming.
He opened his mouth.
“Everyone, prepare to attack!”
He lifted his telescope and looked again at General Ferry’s ship.
General Ferry in uniform—
“Huh?”
Until now, it had been far away, so he had not been able to see clearly.
Her hat covered her face, so Ferry’s face was not
