Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 503: The Prince and the Father (8)
Previously on Trash of the Count's Family...
Mist?
Pirate Shark saw the sudden mist and remembered information he had half-dismissed that morning.
“...Disaster?”
The mist ship, the ship called a disaster.
The ship that moved without a flag—
“!”
Shark saw the flag representing General Ferry being lowered.
The approaching red mist ship had no flag.
No way!
Was this an ally General Ferry had called from outside?
“Damn it!”
He had a bad feeling.
“Sto, stop—”
He wanted to tell them to stop.
But—
“!”
A chilling sensation from behind forced him to roll quickly to the side.
BOOOOM!
The deck shattered, and splinters of wood shot upward.
“Heh heh.”
Archie laughed as he spoke.
“Too bad. I could’ve smashed your head. Heh heh.”
“How dare you, you lunatic!”
A lunatic who had suddenly appeared.
Was this bastard with that mist ship too?
Shark opened his mouth.
“Seize this bastard at—!”
Seize this bastard at once!
But once again, he could not continue.
“!”
The place Archie had passed through.
The place he had walked through was full of sailors lying on the ground, unconscious or groaning in pain.
“......”
Shark quickly rose to his feet.
His expression turned serious, unlike before.
This ship was Island 19’s flagship.
Every single sailor here was skilled enough to fight General Ferry’s hands and feet without falling short.
To be honest, in one-on-one fights or small-group battles, his subordinates were stronger than naval soldiers accustomed to combined formations or ship-to-ship combat.
“This bastard—”
Shark realized Archie was strong.
Rattle.
He unwound the whip coiled around his wrist.
“Heh. I was waiting for that.”
With those words, Archie cracked his neck as if he had been itching for this and charged straight at Pirate Shark.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His steps were so forceful that the deck shook beneath them.
Archie did not care and charged at Pirate Shark.
“Let’s start with a beating!”
The moment his fist was about to drive down toward Shark—
RATATATATA—
The whip moved.
Witira.
Because the weapon his liege used was a whip, Archie had already kept counters against it in mind.
So just as his smile deepened—
“!”
Archie’s pupils widened.
The whip did not head toward Archie.
RATATATA—
The whip wrapped around the mast.
Pirate Shark’s body moved along the whip toward the mast.
Archie’s fist cut through empty air.
“......”
For Shark, who had a massive frame comparable to Archie’s, his movement was far too quick and light.
Together with that, the skill with which his whip coiled around the mast and the way he used the whip’s force to move—
Seeing all of it, Archie realized something.
He isn’t weaker than me.
In other words, he was strong.
The Shark before his eyes was a powerhouse.
And that powerhouse had fled from Archie.
He clutched the mast with one arm and hung in the air as he shouted.
“Protect the flagship!”
The loud shout pierced through the waves.
“That Ferry is a fake! Find the real one!”
Archie saw the pirates aboard the ships on either side of the flagship immediately pick up arrows.
And those arrows were aimed precisely at Archie, who stood on the deck.
“Do not retreat! If you retreat here, the sea will become your grave!”
At Shark’s shout, the pirate ships moved even faster toward the naval force led by the red mist ship.
There was no more hesitation in their actions.
Grin.
Archie saw Shark smiling at him.
“You’re not a seaman, are you?”
Shark said that, then added,
“You know nothing about fighting at sea. Unlike land, the sea is not fought alone!”
Vwoooong—
Pirates on the ships to either side aimed arrows at him.
At the same time, the sound of mana vibrating could be heard.
There were pirates on this ship who used magic as well.
Magic, swordsmanship, martial arts, formations—every kind of power that could be used to fight coexisted in the Oceanic Alliance.
Pirate ships were no different.
Each individual might be weak, but a pirate ship that combined its strength possessed many diverse powers.
“There’s no such thing as a strong man in a gang beating!”
With those words, Archie saw countless arrows rain toward him.
“Magic preparations complete!”
The mages nearby as well.
Of course, there were only one or two per ship.
But there were countless ships.
Vwoooong—
All kinds of different magic—
“Attack the mist!”
All of it headed at once toward the red mist extending from the naval warships that had become an arrowhead.
“Left wing, begin attack!”
“Right wing is beginning attack as well!”
It was not just Island 19’s pirate ships. Every pirate ship nearby had come here in full.
To destroy Island 16, the gatekeeper, and turn the entrance to the central sea into a pirate sea.
They began long-range attacks as they advanced toward the naval force that had become an arrowhead.
Magic, arrows, cannons. All kinds of attacks headed toward the naval warships.
“Kekeke.”
Shark watched the sight with a deep smile on his lips.
At this rate, I won’t even need help from the Third General’s hands and feet.
The red mist.
That ship was unpleasant, but all he had to do was sink the rest of the naval warships.
They said that mist gives fear and terror rather than attacking directly.
Of course, what he had been told about was white mist.
But it was probably similar.
If they dispersed that mist with magic first, it would have some effect.
Good. Step by step.
He just needed to deal with them one at a time.
And General Ferry. He had to confirm where that crazy bitch was hiding, or—
Did she go to the island?
He had to confirm whether she had gone to Island 19.
Shark decided to immediately give orders to send the ships in the rear back to Island 19.
It was then.
BOOOOM!
A tremendous roar came from directly below.
“How, how—”
There stood the bastard who should have at least suffered one injury from that rain of arrows.
The bastard he had therefore ignored.
Archie had torn a plank from the deck and was knocking away every arrow that came toward him.
“Khahahahaha! This is fun!”
And he was laughing.
He was truly enjoying himself.
“He says I know nothing about sea battles! Hahahaha!”
Just when Shark thought this bastard really was insane—
“B-Boss!”
BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
At his subordinate’s voice, at the deafening roars that rang out one after another, Pirate Shark looked straight ahead.
“......!”
For an instant, the strength nearly left the arm he had around the mast.
“Wh, what is that?”
The naval warships were clustered like an arrowhead.
A translucent black barrier covered all of those warships.
“A shield?”
There was a mage over there capable of casting such a large shield?
No—
BOOOOM!
BOOOOM!
“Th, then magic won’t work, will it?”
Every petty spell failed to pierce the shield and either exploded or bounced off.
The arrows, naturally, could not reach them.
“The mist keeps coming!”
Even when they fired magic at it, the mist continued to appear without end.
“We’re about to collide!”
Shark’s mind went blank for an instant at the shout coming from the two ships in front of him. The ships in the lead.
No, how are we supposed to break through a mage who can cast a shield large enough to cover that many warships?
No.
There were only a few people that strong even in the central sea.
They would have to be at least above the Seventh General.
SHWAAAAAA—
Even in the meantime, the mist ship approached.
It had even shot out alone beyond the shield.
It was coming especially fast.
And the moment that red mist touched the two ships in the lead—
“Uwaaargh!”
“Urgh!”
“M-my leg—my leg!”
“Ugh!”
Shark saw the sailors’ bodies paralyze and collapse one after another.
The two leading ships gradually stopped. There was no one left to row.
Everyone, from those holding the sails to the captains of the ships, had collapsed.
“Av, avoid it!”
Pirate Shark realized the danger of that red mist.
“Avoid it!”
They had to retreat.
They had to avoid the red mist.
But that was not easy.
“Damn it!”
The pirate ships had charged forward while looking only ahead.
It was not easy to retreat now.
It was then.
Front, left, and right.
The pirate ships approaching while surrounding them on three sides began to slow.
The moment Cale sensed the confusion within them, he opened his mouth.
“Left. Heavenly Demon.”
Thud.
The Heavenly Demon lightly kicked off the deck, but the force contained within it was so heavy that the ship rocked.
The Heavenly Demon’s form headed toward the pirates’ left wing.
“Right. Miss Witira.”
Rattle—
The moment water whips unfurled in Witira’s hands, her feet were already crossing over the sea.
“Follow me.”
Whiiiiish—
Wind swirled around Cale’s ankles, and he lightly kicked off the floor.
“Have a good trip.”
Leaving behind Alberu, who waved him off with a slick, relaxed voice, Cale’s body headed toward the pirate ships at the front.
Among them, he headed toward the ship in the lead.
“Ron. Rescue Ebo.”
“Yes, young master.”
“Choi Han, break ships with Archie.”
“Yes, Cale-nim.”
“Raon, On, Hong. You come with me.”
Before his companions headed to their respective positions, Cale left one final sentence.
“We just need to make a mess.”
That was one of the things Cale’s group was best at.
Tap.
He landed on one of the two leading ships.
Step, step.
Cale walked leisurely.
On and Hong were beside him.
Invisible Raon fluttered his wings behind Cale’s back.
“Uuugh—”
“Urgh.”
Groaning pirates.
Cale passed calmly between them and lifted his head to look at the flagship behind the ship that had stopped.
Pirate Shark hung from the mast.
His appearance matched the information they had received.
Even from here, Cale could see his trembling expression clearly.
Grin.
The corners of Cale’s mouth rose.
Just as General Ferry had done, Cale had also struck first and gone to the enemy.
It would be troublesome if our ship broke, wouldn’t it?
BOOOOM!
BOOOM!
He could hear ships breaking with a single gesture from the Heavenly Demon.
RATATATATA, BANG!
He could hear the sound of many things breaking beneath Witira’s whip.
Tap, tap-tap!
Choi Han passed Cale and climbed onto Pirate Shark’s ship first.
Shing.
Black aura bloomed from the sword he drew.
A shining black aura.
It seemed the seed on the verge of manifesting as individuality had not yet been revealed.
Step, step.
However, that aura revealed that Choi Han was a Sword Master.
“S-Sword Master......!”
Shark’s face turned white.
At that moment, Choi Han swung his sword.
“!”
Shark quickly descended from the mast.
Slice.
He flinched at the sound from above his head.
The mast had been cut.
And very cleanly at that.
Creeeak—
The severed mast tilted.
“Oh, seriously! Why would you cut it this way!”
Archie, who had been laughing even amid the rain of arrows, jumped up, caught the mast falling toward him, and threw the severed pillar sideways.
“Aaaaaagh!”
“The, the ship—”
Chaotic voices rang out, but Shark could not look away.
What the hell.
General Ferry. What kind of people had that crazy bitch called in?
Pirate Shark was positioned more centrally than anyone else, so he could clearly see everything happening right now.
On the left, some bastard was breaking ships as if it were nothing.
He dodged every attack as lightly as if it annoyed him, and as if even killing was annoying, he simply broke the ships.
On the right. A woman used a whip like him, but perhaps because its attribute was water, she too was breaking ships at random.
However, unlike the man on the left, she showed no sign of annoyance and diligently broke them one by one.
“...What the hell is this—”
On top of that, a Sword Master had appeared.
The red mist spread wider.
It cleverly avoided the ship Pirate Shark was on and spread around it instead.
“Ugh!”
“Argh.”
The sounds of people collapsing came from all over.
He had definitely prepared an overwhelmingly vast number of pirate ships and aimed for Island 16.
Yet seeing powerhouses here who should only be seen in the central sea, and only very few of them at that, Pirate Shark’s mind began to go blank.
“Wh, what the hell are you people......!”
In the end, he had no choice but to pour out his anger.
Because to his eyes, this battle could not be won.
It was then.
Step.
Cale, who had been walking with Choi Han ahead of him, stopped and looked at Shark.
“Hey.”
He asked Shark,
“Where is he?”
“...What?”
“Your backer.”
“!”
“Where is he?”
Pirate Shark.
According to the information, he was not weak.
Island 19.
There was no way the one who had risen to become its leader would be weak.
It was only that the ones here now were Cale Henituse and his companions, who could no longer be compared to pirates and had even faced gods.
The central sea.
Only the powerhouses there, those above the Seventh General, would be able to roughly compete with each of Cale’s group.
“Shark. There’s no way you caused all this alone.”
Cale smiled and spoke kindly to Shark.
If the countless pirate ships—
If every person aboard the innumerable pirate ships had charged at Cale as though fighting for their lives—
Cale’s group would have had a hard time.
But neither those pirate ships nor Shark had that kind of desperate resolve.
What bastards who practiced piracy and human trafficking wanted was probably nothing more than the profit they could gain without dying.
Tap.
At that moment, Cale looked over Pirate Shark’s shoulder at the sound he heard.
A person had crossed from the ship immediately behind them onto Shark’s ship.
“Are you the backer?”
Cale asked.
“!”
A gleam appeared in Pirate Shark’s eyes.
The man was known as the Third General’s closest aide.
They said he was the Third General’s right hand.
A person who covered his entire body from head to toe with a hood and robe.
He walked past Shark.
They said he’s a powerhouse comparable to the Third General!
Then perhaps he could defeat those mysterious powerhouses before them.
Those who surpassed the Seventh General, especially those within the top four generals, were each treated as commanders of the north, south, east, and west, and they said their strength existed on a different level.
Slide.
The man lowered his hood.
His mouth opened.
“I found unexpected prey here.”
The middle-aged man, whose complexion looked exhausted, gazed at Cale with a faint smile.
He looked precisely at Cale and smacked his lips.
“Cale Henituse. That is your name, is it not? The one who dares interfere with our affairs.”
The smile on his lips grew wider and wider. With a smile so bright it felt grotesque, he said,
“You do not know me, but I know you well.”
As expected! A gleam appeared in Shark’s eyes.
The Third General knew those unidentified powerhouses!
Then there was no need to worry—
“Hm?”
At that moment, Cale tilted his head to one side and said,
“I know you too, though?”
“......?”
“You have Transparent-grade individuality, don’t you?”
“......!”
The gray-haired middle-aged man’s eyes shook.
Grin.
Cale smiled.
“Cho, Ryeon. If you are going to be with me, provide me with all the information on your family. Especially any Wanderer at Transparent-grade or above. Tell me their appearances and everything else.”
Cale’s finger pointed at him.
“Aren’t you the third Emperor’s sworn younger brother?”
They said the third Emperor had three sworn younger brothers.
All of them were powerhouses with Transparent-grade individuality.
“Heh.”
The corners of Cale’s mouth rose.
“So the Wanderer bastards were pulling tricks here?”
“......!”
The gray-haired Wanderer’s pupils shook.
Something was strange.
He knew what Cale Henituse looked like. That was because he had heard from his sworn elder brother, the third Emperor, about what Cale had done at the holy land of the God of Chaos’s descent, and the Five Colored Blood family was searching for Cale Henituse.
But Cale Henituse knows me?
Something.
Something was going strangely.
Just as an ominous feeling began to cover him—
“Choi Han.”
“Yes.”
“We can’t let that bastard get away. And don’t let him contact anyone.”
“Yes.”
Seeing Cale Henituse so blatantly discuss tactics right in front of him, the gray-haired Wanderer’s face twisted.
“How dare you......!”
He was a Transparent-grade powerhouse.
He was an incomparable powerhouse, unlike siblings such as Cho and Ryeon who could not stand whole on their own!
And yet this bastard dared—
“Was your name Mujeon?”
“!”
When Cale even knew his name, Mujeon, whose anger had been rising, flinched.
Cale did not care, and the smile on his lips deepened.
Wow.
The Oceanic Alliance.
He had thought the hunters’ claws would have reached this place too.
But it was the third Emperor’s side?
Then that’s perfect.
First, Cale decided to capture the lone Transparent-grade individuality Wanderer, Mujeon, and hear more information from him.
In fact, there was a reason Cale recognized M
