Chapter 99
Contact with the troops guarding the island—outposts, barracks, and all—was cut off as if it were a lie.
In effect, Blue Harbor’s entire defense capability had gone down. The situation would only worsen as time passed.
“Communication with Sir Finch has also been lost.”
The head butler let out a deep sigh.
“It seems he’s either engaged in battle with the pirates, or something’s happened to him as well.”
At those words, the maids murmured with frightened faces.
Even the necromancer from the Oldwen family, considered the highest combat power, was unreachable, making the situation all the more hopeless.
“Just as Keyzen student said, something seems to have happened at the base.”
Finally giving up on communication, the commander tucked the communicator into his inner pocket and spoke.
“Still, I’m sure the troops on the field are fighting. I’ll gather any remaining forces and try to build a defensive line.”
Sring!
The commander drew the sword at his waist. The other soldiers followed, drawing their weapons.
This time, the head butler opened his mouth.
“Then we should prepare an escape route…”
“If we try to leave the island by boat now, it’ll be even more dangerous. The pirates have likely blockaded the waterways.”
Simon said.
“The outposts and entire naval force were perfectly neutralized. This was a plan thoroughly prepared long ago.”
“Hrmm.”
The atmosphere around them darkened. The commander spoke again.
“I agree with Keyzen. If the outposts at sea were taken, then there’s no escape route. I believe our only option is to hold out on this island.”
Saying so, he looked at Simon.
“Keyzen, could you help us? If it’s you, you’d be a great help…”
“I don’t mind.”
Simon gave a bitter smile as he looked down at Shun, who clung tightly to his leg. Simon was on escort duty, and Shun’s protection was the top priority.
“Simon.”
“Yes, Milord.”
“I… I’ll be fine.”
Shun pulled away from Simon and slapped his own cheeks. Then, with determination in his eyes, he put on a resolute expression.
“As the administrator of Blue Harbor, and as the client, I ask you. Don’t worry about me, please save the people.”
Murmurs echoed around them. Simon bent his knees to meet Shun’s gaze.
“Shun, I’ve got a bad feeling. There may be people targeting you.”
“Saving the civilians in danger is more urgent right now. I’ll pay any additional commission, just please.”
Shun bowed his head, trembling.
“Please, save Blue Harbor and its people.”
“……”
It looked like he had made up his mind. Still young and small, but truly a boy worthy of inheriting the countship.
Simon bowed his head as well.
“I accept your orders, Count.”
* * *
They split their forces three ways. Shun, the head butler, and the family’s guests would move to the mansion and fortify it.
That place had some defensive facilities, and there were butlers who could fight.
The navy commander headed toward the barracks with his soldiers. The priority was to regroup the scattered personnel and reorganize the forces.
And as for Simon—
Step. Step.
He walked alone toward the beach where the pirate ships had first arrived. Among the three pirate ships, the largest and most ornate one was docked here, and Simon judged it likely that the captain was aboard this one.
If he could capture the captain, the rest of the rabble would fall apart, and with the remaining Blue Harbor naval forces, they might still salvage the situation.
‘Feer! Can you hear me?’
Ever since the pirates had started attacking, Feer’s clone had gone silent. It seemed he had been caught up in the incident earlier than Simon.
‘For now, I’ll do what I can.’
After passing the mansion and entering Blue Harbor’s downtown, Simon found a horrifying hellscape.
The beautiful city had been turned into a sea of fire by bombardment, and painful screams and desperate cries rang out from every direction.
Pushing through thick smoke and blazing fire, Simon finally saw townspeople gathered near a fountain.
Some navy soldiers were fighting off pirates, but due to their inferior numbers, they couldn’t resist for long and were quickly overwhelmed.
“Please! Anything but that! That’s my father’s…!”
“Disgusting.”
The man clinging to his father’s keepsake was kicked hard and fell.
An unfiltered scene of shameless plunder. Pirates were rummaging through buildings, snatching valuables, and if the townspeople resisted, they were struck down without hesitation.
“Hey, hey! You gonna drop the sword or what?”
“You bast—!”
A lone navy soldier was seen facing off against the pirates. The pirates held a blade to a civilian’s neck, threatening him.
“Huh? You’re really not dropping it?”
Slaaash!
A pirate slashed one of the hostages, who collapsed, bleeding.
“Kyyaaaaaaah!”
“Darling!!”
“Still not dropping it?”
Next, an old man, then a young man, were struck down, spraying blood. The hostages wailed in terror. This wasn’t just using them as hostages.
The pirates were playing.
‘These bastards are insane.’
The navy soldier trembled. More people could die if he got any closer. He lowered his posture, pretending to drop his sword.
“W-Wait! I’ll drop it! Just calm down—!”
Whack!
A pirate snuck up from behind and struck him in the back of the head. The soldier collapsed on the spot.
“Kya-haha!”
“That was easy!”
The pirates swarmed him, mercilessly stomping him.
“Don’t even know the difference between war and a skirmish, huh? You think we’d hold back just ‘cause a few prisoners die’?”
“Bastards pampered by peace!”
Simon, watching from behind a building, bit his lip hard.
Beating up a few pirates would be nothing, but if he rushed in recklessly, the hostages’ lives would be in danger.
Even worse, among the kneeling hostages in an alley, there was a barrel of explosives. The pirates had ordered the hostages to cling to the barrel, and people were huddled around it, trembling.
[Boy! Can you hear me?]
Just then, Feer’s clone spoke into Simon’s mind.
‘Feer! Why so late?’
[A pirate ship came to my side! I’m fighting it right now!]
‘Can you handle it alone?’
[Kuhuhu! This is nothing! More importantly, yesterday you successfully used Bone Armor with a summoned skeleton for the first time, didn’t you?]
‘Yeah! I did. Why?’
Feer’s clone grinned.
[Then I grant you permission! Use Bone Armor with the legion-type undead now. As much as you like!]
With that, Feer’s message ended. It seemed he had gone back into combat.
‘Alright.’
Whatever Feer meant, Simon had no choice but to succeed.
He summoned multiple fully-formed legion-type skeletons from subspace. Then he summoned the mental image needed to heighten his focus.
‘Can’t focus well.’
He saw embers fluttering in the wind.
‘Not yet.’
Simon clenched his teeth.
His mind soared. His senses sharpened as if his consciousness had transcended his body.
‘Slowing down. Slowing down. Slowing down.’
Slowly, but surely, the falling embers seemed to move in slow motion.
Nodding, Simon stepped out from behind the building.
Crack!
Thud!
The man, robbed of his father’s keepsake, was getting kicked repeatedly by the pirate. Furious, Simon thrust out his right arm.
‘Bone Armor!’
Two skeletons clattered apart and shot toward the man.
“What, what the hell?”
The pirate staggered back in confusion.
The flying bones began to attach to the man one by one. On his arms, legs, and chest, the bones lined up tightly, connecting precisely.
Simon finally realized why Feer had forbidden him from practicing Bone Armor with legion-type skeletons.
‘It’s way easier!’
There had been no need for practice.
Each legion-type skeleton had a distinct ego and instinctively knew where they needed to go for Bone Armor.
All Simon had to do was coordinate. It felt like he was drafting the blueprint, and the skeletons completed it on their own.
Once you mastered Bone Armor with summoned skeletons, you naturally mastered it with legion-types as well.
Clack!
Clack!
Click!
The man in Bone Armor stumbled. Through the gaps in the bone suit, airborne bones clicked in like precise puzzle pieces.
The man looked down at himself in shock. Before he knew it, his entire body had been clad in a suit of bone armor.
“Wh-What did you do to me!?”
The startled pirate kicked the man square in the chest, but thanks to the bone armor, the man didn’t feel a thing.
Then, the man’s body moved on its own, and he punched the pirate in the face.
Craaaaack!
With an unbelievable impact, the pirate spun three times in the air, blood gushing from his nose, then crashed to the ground. His teeth glittered in the sunlight as they flew.
“Hey! What’s going on!”
Another pirate, seeing the scene, ran over.
Crack!
This time, it was the fishmonger who slammed his fist into the pirate’s head. The pirate’s skull was buried in a nearby wooden crate.
“I-I didn’t do that! Why is my body moving on its own…?!”
Clatterrrrr!
The bone armor covering the fishmonger slid off and moved to another location.
“Kyaaaa!”
“Stay still!”
“Please don’t do this!”
A thuggish-looking pirate was harassing a female tourist.
Having lost his mind to primal lust, the pirate licked his lips and reached to tear her clothes, but the bones of a skeleton began to attach to her body, piece by piece.
“I said don’t!!”
She wept and slapped the pirate’s face.
And then—
Craaaaack!
The pirate’s body flew several meters into the air before crashing to the ground.
Startled, the woman covered her mouth and stared at her palm in disbelief.
“Kill this bastard already!”
“Stomp him!”
Simon’s arm moved furiously. Bones flew toward the navy soldier who had been beaten and trampled after taking a blow to the back of the head, and bone armor formed around him.
“H-Huh? He’s getting up!”
“He’s still got fight left in him?”
Even with five pirates stomping on him, the navy soldier pushed off the ground and began to rise. No matter how much they kicked, only the pirates’ own feet were hurting.
“Grrrrhh!”
The navy soldier let out a strained roar and shook the pirates off him. Like bowling pins, the pirates flew and hit the ground hard.
“You bastard!”
A pirate swung his sword at him.
But clang!—the strike was effortlessly blocked by the bone armor. It was as if the armor itself were alive and moving.
“What the hell is that thing!”
The pirates’ attacks were useless, and the navy soldier felt courage surge through him. He grabbed the pirate’s head and slammed it into the ground.
Craaaack!
The tile floor shattered as the pirate’s head was embedded in it.
“Ha, hahaha!”
Unbelievable strength. The navy soldier looked down at his body in awe.
“Out of the wayyy!”
A young woman jumped three meters and landed a flying kick on a pirate. The pirate’s body flew through a wooden building, smashing it.
“You disgusting pervert trash! You’re all dead!”
Crack!
The florist, who normally used a cart for deliveries, lifted it bare-handed and began swinging it at the pirates.
“My strength’s finally awakened! Back in the day, I—!”
Suddenly, the townspeople launched a full-scale counterattack. Ordinary citizens who had been overwhelmed moments ago now overpowered the pirates with incredible strength as soon as the bone suits were equipped.
“Y-You bastards!”
A pirate ran toward the barrel of explosives surrounded by hostages, lifting his torch high.
“Back the hell off, you lunatics! Or I’ll blow them all sky-high…!”
Smash!
The pirate’s eyes rolled back as he collapsed.
It was one of the hostages, an old man, who had cracked him in the head. Brushing his palms off, the old man smiled, his bone armor still covering his skinny frame.
“Old man!”
Simon appeared on the street and shouted.
“Please get rid of that!”
The old man saw Simon and quickly assessed the situation.
“You’re the one who gave me this suit! Got it!”
The old man hurled the explosive barrel toward a trash heap in the empty plaza. With a BOOM!, the barrel exploded.
“Nggh!”
At the peak of his concentration, Simon swept his arm to the side. The old man’s bone armor detached and flew toward a man locked in battle with a pirate.
“I was waiting for this!”
The man landed a brutal uppercut and launched the pirate with a single blow.
‘Right side.’
The man’s bone armor detached and flew through the air. A woman clutching a child had leapt from a fourth-floor building to escape the flames.
The bone armor wrapped around her, absorbing the impact. She stood up unharmed.
‘Back to the left.’
‘Retrieve two suits and send them to the plaza.’
‘We need to reinforce the fountain area.’
Simon’s immersion had reached a near-artistic level. His bone armor control was impeccable.
His arms moved wildly, suiting and unsuiting civilians being attacked by pirates at will.
‘No more victims. I’ll save every single one of them!’
Simon’s eyes blazed. Ten sets of bone armor rampaged through the city, protecting people.
And now, the citizens had begun to figure out who was behind the mysterious suits.
“That’s Keyzen, right?”
“Yeah! He’s the one who was interviewed at the exhibition!”
“Keyzen’s helping us!”
“Woooooaaah!”
The townspeople, who had been helpless against the pirates, were now exhilarated. Some even stepped forward, asking to be suited up.
Simon made full use of them.
“Mister! Please take this suit and deal with the pirates in that alley!”
“Okay!”
“Miss! Two pirates up front!”
“Leave it to me, kid!”
The tide of battle turned instantly. The pirates were now being overwhelmed by the untrained civilians.
“Look over there! It’s that brat’s doing!”
“Take him out first!”
A few pirates spotted Simon and charged at him.
But Simon, focused on equipping distant targets, was completely unaware of his surroundings.
“Kid, move!”
“Watch out!”
The nearby people screamed.
Just as the pirates curled their lips and swung their swords—
Crack!
Smash!
Thud!
Out of nowhere, the florist, the navy soldier, and the tourist girl, each wearing bone armor, soared in from three directions and kicked the pirates down before landing solidly.
The pirates flew dozens of meters and crashed into walls or houses.
“Ooooooooh!”
“Nice!”
Wiping sweat from his brow, Simon grinned.
“Alright, let’s keep up the counterattack.”
One man changed the tide of battle.
It was the moment the citizens of Blue Harbor realized the greatness of a necromancer.
Superb.