Chapter 33 – 34

Chapter 33 – I fought the Leviathan!!!

"A-a Leviathan!?"

Erevan and Ashton echoed the word.

A Leviathan…the giant creature that the gods had once created to rule the seas.

They appeared in the seas all over the world. They could burn down ships with their breath or drag them down to the bottom of the abyss.

And it was said that their blue scales were so strong, that no weapon could penetrate them.

Furthermore, they were supposed to be able to use all kinds of magic.

That being said, this was all myth.

The kind of stories that drunk sailors told each other when they wanted to boast of having encountered such a monster.

However, there had never been any stories about anyone actually defeating the Leviathan.

After all, the Leviathan was known as the strongest creature in the entire world.

If you took everything into consideration, it was pretty obvious that there was no way we could stand against it.

Even as we watched, the Leviathan came out of the water and then dove in again.

It was clear that it was heading towards us.

Kamyu sat down as his legs shook.

"…It's no use. We're finished…"

"Tsk… Orcs aren't what they used to be. That's just a giant sea serpent."

Erevan said. But Kamyu fired back.

"Sea serpent!? You're only saying that because you haven't experienced what it's capable of!! Do you know just how many of my ships have sunk because of that thing!?"

Kamyu shouted. And then he started muttering to himself. Maybe he was praying.

Well, I understood how he felt.

There was no way that we could beat it…

"Erevan, Ashton… Listen carefully."

"Huh?"

"…What is it?"

"I want you all to run as fast as you can to the caves. Take everyone with you."

Ashton nodded.

And while Erevan had put on a bold face, it seemed like he actually understood that this was not an enemy we could stand against. And so he nodded somberly.

"However… What are you going to do, Chief?"

"I'm going to escape after burning all of the undead… You wouldn't mind, right?"

But Kamyu did not answer.

Perhaps his mind was already gone.

"Could you two take him to the cave? And you orcs over there! You go as well!"

The orcs hesitated for a moment, but seemed to come to the conclusion that they could no longer pretend. And so they threw down their weapons.

Then I turned to the golems.

"All of you, act as their shield."

Erevan and Ashton forced Kamyu to his feet, and then he said to me,

"…You. You'll die."

"Perhaps… But I have to try. Erevan, I want you to keep this for me."

I handed him the Substitute Stone and the Ascending Stone.

"This crystal can become a Dragon Sphere Stone. So if I die, can you bring me back to life?"

"O-of course, I will. But…"

"It's fine. I'm just giving it to you as insurance."

Erevan did not look convinced, but he opened his mouth.

"As you wish… Chief, good luck out there…"

"Aye."

And so I faced the Leviathan alone.

I couldn't stop shaking from fear.

However, I had no choice but to stay…

"Lord Heal!! Please escape at once!!"

I could hear Rienna shouting from behind me.

There were other voices telling me to run as well.

Hell, that's exactly what I wanted to do…

I waited to see that Erevan and the others had reached the cave, and then I acted.

First, I used up all 8,000 Crystals that I had accumulated.

And then I unleashed Fire on the ships, starting from the furthest to the right and working my way to the left.

The hellfire that was born from my hand was so powerful that even I was shocked.

And one by one, the ships were engulfed in flames.

The Leviathan was in the center of the fleet and must have been startled by this attack, as it immediately dove into the water.

However, by the time that all the ships carrying the undead were burned up, the Leviathan resurfaced with a great splash of water.

In a desperate attempt, I unleashed Fire at the monster.

However, it did not even singe its scales.

So, those scales deflect magic?

Well, I hadn't tried thunder magic…

"Bolt!!"

However, it was completely pointless.

The Leviathan just jumped high into the air.

"Freeze!!!"

In the end, I tried unleashing ice magic, but it was not able to freeze that gigantic body.

Magic didn't work… However, that was only for the outside of its body.

What about inside?

As if returning the favor, the Leviathan spat out blue flames from the sky.

The fire shot right towards me, but I managed to block it with Shield.

For ten whole seconds, my vision was enveloped by the blue inferno.

When my vision cleared up once again, the Leviathan was charging right towards me.

…Here it comes.

It was the moment that I had been waiting for.

I raised my hand and unleashed Fire straight into the Leviathan's mouth.

The outside of its body was covered in scales.

But inside…

However, I had underestimated the monster.

And even Fire was easily absorbed by the Leviathan.

It wasn't the scales that was stopping my magic. It was the Leviathan's own magic.

It continued to shoot towards me, its mouth wide open…

Perhaps it was so sure of its victory, because its jaw was opened so wide that I could no longer see its eyes.

"Nooo! Lord Heal!!"

I could hear the echo of Rienna and the monsters shouting.

If not magic…

In a flash, a giant boulder appeared in front of my hand.

But if you saw it from the side, you would see that it was shaped like the head of a spear.

It was just a little smaller than the Leviathan's head.

And I had made the tip out of Mithril with a jagged edge.

In fact, the entire boulder was coated in a layer of Mithril.

And I launched it into the Leviathan's mouth.

As the Leviathan's eyes were pointed upwards, it was not able to notice in time.

Notice that I had shot an arrow of rock and Mithril at it.

Immediately, I created another one and fired it off as well.

The Leviathan's eyes rolled back when the first one hit, and then the next one pushed the boulder further in.

As the boulders were a little wider than it, its body had to expand a little to accommodate it.

To be honest, it looked painful…

And like that, the Leviathan fell weakly onto the reclaimed ground.

The island shook as if there was an earthquake, and I was thrown into the air.

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Chapter 34 – A triumphant return!!!

The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, and I was thrown into the air.

If I plummeted to the ground like this, I would probably die…

And so I used wind magic in order to float in the air.

However, I really didn't have to worry about my landing.

Because Shiel was waiting under me with its body expanded like a bed.

Before I knew it, Rienna, Erevan, and the others had rushed to my side.

And so I slowly got off of Shiel's body.

"Lord Heal!!"

As I landed on my feet, Rienna threw her arms around me.

Tears streamed from her eyes and she held me tightly.

"Rienna…"

"…I'm so glad. Lord Heal, if something happened to you…I!"

To think that I had become so important to her…

I rubbed her back.

Maybe it would have been better to hug her in return.

But I had never attended the balls or social events, and so I didn't know how to act around a lady…

In any case, Rienna seemed to have calmed down now.

The kobold baby at my chest had also been trying to comfort her by licking her hand.

"I'm sorry…for making you worry. All of you. I'm sorry…"

But Erevan shook his head at this.

"Why should you apologize, Chief? It is we who should be sorry. We were completely useless…"

"No, it's only normal to run away from such a thing…"

I didn't feel like I was alive while I faced it.

Those horrible eyes and teeth… And while the arms were small, they had very sharp claws.

I had only managed to beat it by using the power of Cave King…

Creating a large, sharp boulder in an instant, and firing it into the enemy…

In a way, that might be stronger than magic.

After all, the enemy might have a skill that allows them to detect magic.

And considering how much magic the Leviathan was using, it would be no surprise if it had such a skill as well.

However, such skills would mean nothing when a boulder was shooting towards them.

Then Baris said,

"Your safety is all that matters. …Still, was this thing really a Leviathan?"

"I don't know. But its appearance and the fact that it was immune to magic and any weapons is just as the legend says…"

The Leviathan was currently completely still, with its eyes rolled upwards.

It looked dead…but we would have to make sure of it.

It was just as I was thinking this, that I was beaten to the punch by a man who approached it with deep curiosity.

Mappa started to tap on the scales as if he were testing its durability.

And as if that was not enough, he began to bite it and pull at its whiskers. There was no restraint at all.

In any case, it now seemed like a safe enough bet that the Leviathan was dead.

Besides, its magic energy had been enormous earlier, but I couldn't sense anything now.

Just then, Ashton and Haines arrived on the scene. The goblins and kobolds followed them.

They had also brought the orcs, who were bound at the wrists.

"Line up over there!!"

And with Kamyu in the lead, the orcs were made to kneel.

Then Ashton turned to me.

"There are 21 of them in all… Lord Heal. What is your command?"

My command…

This was the Korbas. Pirates that have threatened the royal seas.

They had no lands, and so they stopped by other orc villages along the coast in order to get supplies.

So their ships were their homes…

So they had lost their homeland as well.

And nearly all of their friends.

I didn't mind letting them stay if that's what they wanted…

However, the Korbas had just recently fought against Ashton's Tibris tribe.

The Berdan and the Tibris had been enemies as well, but they were living together now.

However, there had not been an actual conflict between their tribes for over a year. That was something to consider.

On the other hand, the Korbas and Tibris hadn't been enemies until this battle at sea.

This was because the Tibris tribe had long avoided the use of ships, and so they had never come in contact with the Korbas.

Regardless, they were mortal enemies now…

If I gave the command, Ashton and the others would likely obey…

"I know… We should search the sea to make sure we haven't missed any survivors. Erevan. Can I count on you?"

Even though the battleship had split in half, there may still be orcs that survived.

"Of course. Hey, you. Follow me."

Erevan took the goblins, kobolds, and Cave Spiders, and set off by boat.

Now… I guess it was time to talk to these orcs.

And so I addressed the handsome orc, who was still in a state of shock…Kamyu.

"Kamyu, was it? Are you really the head of the Korbas?"

"…I am. Well, maybe it would be more accurate to say that I 'was.' My men are all shark food. We have no treasure and no ships to return to…"

He said this much before he burst into laughter.

"Go ahead. Kill me… I have no reason to live anymore. No, I am probably already dead… Being attacked by such a monster, coming to this island… And then some cute human killed the monster."

Well, I suppose it was no surprise.

The Leviathan was the stuff of legends.

Being attacked by one was already difficult to believe, but then they landed on an island where an enemy he had just fought was waiting…

And then some human had shown up with abnormal powers and killed the Leviathan with a giant boulder.

Though, the part about being cute was unnecessary…

In fact, even I didn't quite understand what I had done.

However, I knew that I was alive.

It was the same with Kamyu and these orcs.

"You can think what you like… But I have no intention of killing you."

"…Huh? But I tried to take this island from you? Besides, we're enemies to these kobolds…"

Then Ashton opened his mouth.

"Kamyu. I would be lying if I said that I didn't hate you all. But we serve Lord Heal now, and have been severed from our past. Just like the Berdan were before us…"

He was biting his lips pretty hard.

It had only been days ago that their queen was killed…

And the one responsible was right in front of him.

However, he also understood that he, in turn, was someone else's mortal enemy.

After all, had he not killed Erevan's son?

"It is not for us to decide your fate. What happened between us is in the past…"

Just then, the younger brother, Haines, patted Ashton on the shoulder.

Then Haines turned to me.

"The Korbas are not quite the same as the Gofel orcs. The Gofel kill all their enemies without mercy. But even if the Korbas sink ships, they will save the crew from drowning. Of course, it is likely to sell them or collect ransom money… But… What I'm trying to say is…"

Perhaps it was a roundabout way of saying that I need not be so worried on their behalf.

I had heard about the Korbas myself.

When royal trading ships were attacked, there were times when you could pay your way out of being attacked.

Furthermore, there was a story about a member of a ship's crew that was saved after being shipwrecked two years ago. This man had lost an arm and was poor, so he could not pay his ransom.

Once the leader of the Korbas found out about this…in other words, Kamyu, he decided that there was no point in shaking an empty purse, and so the man was just released.

And so the Korbas were only at war in order to survive on the cruel seas.

They were not like some others, who took pleasure in killing without reason.

Kamyu could not hide his surprise at hearing Ashton and Haines's words.

And so I said to him,

"…You can, of course, leave if you wish. But I don't know if that will be possible since you have no ship… So, you might have to stay here for a while?"

Upon hearing this, Kamyu answered with a trembling voice.

"…Do-do you really mean it?"

"I don't see how I have a choice? Besides, if you do stay, you'll have to work hard. We are not so stable here that we can afford to feed prisoners who are locked in a cell."

Kamyu heard this and tears fell from his eyes as he shouted.

"…You! You are…truly a man of the sea!!"

And with that, he broke the bindings on his wrists.

Then he spread out his arms and tried to jump on me.