Chapter 169: Chapter 167: Offshore battleship Assault – Toward the battleship

As the Hades scorpion demon stood up to confront the horde of sea serpents, Marcellus was on top of the submarine, overseeing the operation. The objective, of course, was to climb the side of the giant battleship.

While many demons could use their own claws to climb up the side of the battleship, some demons and Marcellus himself couldn’t do that. So they attached safety ropes to the climbing demons to support their ascent.

Attaching the ropes was done by strong individuals like Tigar and Zald, who were capable of handling any complications. They retrieved the ropes from the sinking submarine and wrapped them around their own waists.

“Damn! How long is this guy gonna sleep…”

“Watch your mouth. What are we going to do if he wakes up?”

Tigar and Zald, both regarded as second only to the Hades scorpion demon in strength, naturally found themselves on the assisting side. However, they were assisting an unconscious Imperial soldier, their superior, who had fainted during the operation.

He showed no signs of waking up anytime soon; moreover, he was the weakest among them all. That’s why the two strongest members of the special operations squad carried him up.

“Hey, Marcellus, speaking of which, what’s this guy’s name?”

“Huh? What kind of question is that… Wait, you mean he hasn’t introduced himself!?”

“Yeah, he said there’s no need for me to introduce myself. It seems like he doesn’t remember our individual names either.”

While tying the ropes, Tigar asked Marcellus for the name of their superior. Marcellus had hoped that only Tigar didn’t know his superior’s name, but Zald’s clarification made it clear that none of them knew.

“So, he got in through connections, and on top of that… well, I’ll tell you now… Uh, everyone, get down!”

“Doaaah!?”

“The ropes!?”

Despite thinking it was foolish, Marcellus was about to reveal that man’s name from his own lips, but before he could do so, he saw it. The moment when torrents of water gushed out from the wide-open mouth of the sea serpents behind them like a waterfall.

Although they managed to avoid a direct hit thanks to the Hades scorpion demon who shielded them from the attack, the shockwaves alone were enough to cause cracks in the submerged submarine, leading to a critical breach. The submarine shattered into pieces as it was affected by the aftermath, and the members of the special operations unit were thrown into the sea.

“Whoa! Is everyone okay?”

“Cough! Yeah, somehow!”

“Pei pei pei! There’s never been a day when I felt so jealous of people who can swim so well…”

As the members of the special operations unit found themselves in the sea, they used the wreckage from the shattered submarine as makeshift floatation bags to avoid drowning. However, amidst the temporary relief, Marcellus was the only one who noticed the absence of his subordinate.

“Hey, where is he!?”

“Huh!? Damn, he’s not here!”

“Did he sink while unconscious!? Without someone who can swim among us, we can’t go to his rescue.”

“The sea demons… Damn! It seems like I dropped the communication orb when I fell.”

As the ropes were yet to be secured, it seemed that their superior officer had sunk and disappeared. They should have gone to his aid, but none of the special operations unit members were skilled swimmers. Although Marcellus tried to order the sea demons to help him, he dropped the communication orb when he fell into the water.

With no means to convey orders, Marcellus was in a dilemma. On the other hand, forcing the special operations unit members to go to the rescue would likely result in them drowning as well. After careful consideration, Marcellus reluctantly concluded that he had to abandon his subordinate.

“…There’s no other choice. We’ll climb the ship’s side by ourselves. Tigar, I’m counting on you. Zald, assist the others.”

“All right. Leave it to me.”

“Let’s go with that.”

While Marcellus agonized over the decision, Tigar and Zald responded matter-of-factly. They felt no remorse about leaving their superior Imperial soldier behind. If anything, they relished the idea that the guy who had always mistreated them had met his demise.

Looking at the indifferent reactions of the two, Marcellus could deduce how his subordinate had treated the special operations unit. He had repeatedly warned against rough treatment, but it was clear the guy hadn’t followed his advice; this ordeal left him with mixed feelings.

“What’s the matter? Let’s climb up quickly, Marcellus.”

“A-Ahh, once the ropes are secured, we’ll ascend the ship’s side. Looks like some units have already made it to the top.”

While they were in the water, it seemed that those who hadn’t been targeted had already reached the battleship’s side. Amidst the roar of gunfire and the clash of swords blending with the sound of artillery fire from the deck, they were a step behind but finally began their ascent.

“Hmm? What’s wrong, Bolts?”

“…Oh, nothing at all. Yeah, it’s nothing.”

At that moment, as Linardo, who was climbing at the rear, began to assist Bolts, he noticed the kid making a significant movement. Linardo inquired if something was amiss, but Bolts answered in a calm voice that nothing had happened.

Linardo thought it must have been a momentary loss of balance and didn’t press further. However, at that moment, he might have noticed something he should have paid attention to—the wicked grin that Bolts had on his face.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

“Shaaaaaaaaa!!”

“Juraaaaaaaah!!”

A sea serpent emerged from the ocean’s surface, spewing torrents of water and attempting to strike by thrusting its tail out from beneath the waves. I remained on the sand platform, engaging in battle with my sand pincers and twin swords.

I used the sand pincers as a shield to deflect the released water streams, sliced through the tail with my twin swords, and seized the opportunity to decapitate the creature. The enemies were numerous, and their attacks were relentless. A direct hit from any of them would have proven fatal.

However, the significant difference in our sizes worked to my advantage. My relatively small stature made it difficult for them to keep track of me as I darted around. Especially when I got close to the base of their heads, they completely lost sight of me. This allowed me to maneuver as I pleased.

“Gyaoooooooooo!”

“Jurooooooooo!”

“Ugh… This is tougher than I thought.”

While I steadily reduced their numbers, it was far from a comfortable situation. The discrepancy in our sizes was causing me to expend more energy than I had anticipated. The water streams released from their large mouths were thick and difficult to dodge once they had a clear aim.

Moreover, the difficulty of evasion was further heightened as they swung their heads to mow me down and unleashed torrents of water. I had no choice but to use the pincers made of sand as a shield to protect myself. However, with each use, the pincers were crushed, forcing me to expend a significant amount of spiritual power to rebuild them.

“But, you’re the last one.”

Still, my advantage remained unchanged. I moved in complex patterns, closing in while wielding my twin swords to cleave through the last creature’s neck. As the severed head plunged into the sea, it became completely engulfed in the already blackened waters, tainted by the blood of the giant sea serpents.

When the head made contact with the water, the droplets flew into my mouth, and an unintended taste entered my mouth. It was a mixture of the blood’s metallic tang and the salty sea, causing me to involuntarily furrow my brow. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the sea serpents’ last-ditch harassment but then again, such action was fruitless.

“Phew…shall I go then?”

“H-Hey! Wait a second!”

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I was about to leap towards the battleship when I heard a voice calling out from below. When I turned towards the source of the voice, I saw one of the sea demons, and to my surprise, it was the leader-like shark demon.

I wanted to make my way up to my comrades quickly…. but there was an odd sense of urgency on the guy’s face. Seeing that, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to listen for a moment, so I stayed in place.

“What’s up? I need to go up quickly. If you have something to say, make it quick,” I said. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“What the hell are you, anyway?! We couldn’t handle the giant sea serpents at all, and you just… Aren’t we supposed to be the strongest demons?”

“I don’t know. But Karelvo who synthesized you calls us failures.”

“Failures…?”

The shark demon was left speechless and stunned. I didn’t have more time to spare. As a parting word, I decided to say just one thing.

“If you’re in the sea, you’re undoubtedly the strongest. If you’re satisfied with that, it’s fine. But if you aim for more, hone your skills. I’m still far from strong and will continue training to survive.”

Without waiting for a reply, I manipulated the sandy platform, swiftly ascended in altitude, and leaped onto the battleship’s deck.

The deck was transformed into a battlefield, filled with shouts, gunfire, and spiritual magic flying around. Unfortunately, the spot where I landed happened to be behind enemy lines. It would have been better if they hadn’t noticed me, but it seemed that three white-armored soldiers had detected my spiritual power and were now attacking me.

[There’s still one left!]

[It’s unlucky for him to come alone!]

[Don’t let your guard down! This might be the rumored one…]

I could understand the Republic Army’s language to some extent, so I had a general idea of what they were saying. The first two who came charging at me seemed to underestimate me, but the one behind them appeared to know something about me.

In general, I eliminated every enemy I encountered, but in large-scale battles, it wasn’t always that simple. Some slipped through my grasp or observed me from a distance, and it seemed that there were those who knew about me.

Well, whether they knew or not didn’t matter. To survive, I had to cut down the enemies in front of me. Even though my body was worn out from the intense battles I had already endured, I took a deep breath and pushed that fatigue out of my consciousness.

“…Compared to that guy, you’re too slow.”

[Guh!?]

[Impossible…!]

However, my experience of facing the golden-armored soldier, who was a descendant of the gods, had made me even stronger. I had already become so strong that I could hardly lose in one-on-one battles against the white-armored soldiers, even before that encounter. However, facing them now didn’t evoke any amazement in me, as I was aware of their speed and strength.

I deftly evaded the white-armored soldiers’ swinging blades and slid my twin swords into the gaps in their armor. Precisely targeting their vital points, I left the two white-armored soldiers lifeless.

[…The rumors about the worst demon being a scorpion demon seems to be true. However, I’m stronger than the two from earlier, and I won’t let my guard down. You probably don’t understand what I’m saying.]

No, man, I can understand you just fine. It seemed that I was regarded as the “worst demon” among the Republic Army. But even in the face of such a demon, this guy seemed to have some confidence in his abilities.

Strong enemies were troublesome, but there were plenty of openings if the goal was simply to kill. I needed to defeat him as quickly as possible and join my comrades.