CH 104

“Walk faster, you filthy brutes!”

“Hurry up!”

Four pirates shouted while dragging several figures behind them. The pirates were armed with torches and cutlasses, and the figures behind them were tied up with ropes.

‘That’s…’

Eugene was quite surprised. Those who were being dragged were not humans. The bodies of the figures were covered with fine, glossy, dark brown hair, and they were very similar in appearance to the seals Eugene had sometimes seen on his way back and forth from Maren and Moffern.

‘Hybrids?’

The seal humans possessed longer and plumper bodies than humans and their fin-like limbs were quite short. As such, they couldn’t move quickly even with the pirates urging them.

“Fuck. Let’s get this over with and get out of here.”

“B-but do you think the demon god will accept our request?”

“I’m certain,” the pirates were conversing in an unfamiliar language, but Eugene was able to understand thanks to the ability of ‘language interpretation’ he gained from consuming the drake’s mana stone.

“The demon god likes unique things, right? Since we have ten sacrifices, I’m sure it’s enough to satisfy… What?!” The pirates continued to clamor in a voice filled with fear, then they suddenly stopped in their tracks. They had finally discovered the lifeless corpse of the sea monster.

“The demon god is dead!”

“W-what should we do? What do we do now?!”

“I don’t know, fuck!” The pirates started to panic.

Eugene silently watched the pirates while assimilating Black Scales into the surrounding scenery. He slowly stood up before walking toward the pirates. He used Black Scales on top of the camouflage ability that he had obtained from consuming the red mana stone he gained from the giant cave spider lord.

Of course, upon close examination, it was possible to notice the minuscule differences between the surroundings and Eugene’s camouflage, but the pirates were too occupied with the monster’s death to notice anything strange.

However, it appeared that the seal humans were a little different.

“KKyu…?” The youngest-looking cried out while blinking its big, black eyes.

“You filthy beast, what are you trying to do?!” One of the pirates shouted angrily before attempting to swing his stick towards the seal human.

Shiik!

However, the attack never connected. Eugene’s claw grew longer in an instant and cut off the pirate’s throat.

Fwoosh!

The pirate collapsed while blood spewed from his half-sawn neck, and Eugene continued to wave his claws without hesitation.

Shuuack! Thuck!

“Keugh!”

“Kuaaagh!”

The pirates collapsed one after another with pierced throats or holes in their chests.

“Hieeek! What is this!? What’s going on!?” The last remaining pirate retreated while swinging his torch and cutlass.

Shing!

A small patch of black appeared out of nowhere before gradually spreading in the air. Soon, Eugene’s body was completely revealed with Black Scales still covering his body.

“Heup!” The pirate gasped. Eugene’s hair, face, and body were covered in black, and his red eyes were emitting a fear. The pirate’s instincts were warning him to flee, but he could not move. The fear of an Origin Vampire was constricting both the pirate’s body and soul.

Tap. Tap.

Eugene neared the pirate before speaking in a low voice.

“Tell me everything you know…”

The pirate could not comprehend Eugene’s words. However, it was an order that completely seized and imposed Eugene’s will upon the perfectly overpowered subject. As such, the pirate began to reveal everything he knew, starting with his own name.

***

Slice!

The decapitated pirate fell like a bundle of straw. Eugene turned around after shaking his claws free of blood.

“K-Kyuu!”

“Kyuk! Kyu!”

The seal humans finally started to struggle with fear after being freed from Eugene’s fear. However, their legs were just too short, and they simply fell to the ground due to the rope binding their bodies.

“Hmm.”

Eugene approached the seal humans with interest.

“Kyuu…” The seal humans instinctively realized that Eugene was an ‘absolute predator,’ and that he could not be compared to the human pirates. In the end, they could only quietly lie on the spot and look up at Eugene.

The sea monster had reigned as the ruler of the nearby sea for many years, and Eugene was the one who appeared to be responsible for its death. As such, none of the seal humans dared to rebel, let alone even squeak.

The big, black, puppy eyes of the human seals were glistening with tears, and their appearance was heartrending.

“Sir, I feel kind of bad for the sea puppies. They were simply living here peacefully until they were caught and turned into the monster’s prey,” Mirian said.

“This world follows the law of the jungle. They should have retaliated. Poor as they may be, it doesn’t change the fact that they are incompetent. Even if the pirates had not captured them, they would have been devoured by the monster anyway,” Eugene responded.

“Hing. That’s true, but…” Mirian hesitated.

“But I might have a use for them,” Eugene stated.

“A use for them?” Mirian asked.

“I have something in mind,” Eugene replied.

With a few swings of Wolfslaughter, Eugene cut apart the rope that was restraining the seal humans.

“K-Kyuit!?” The seal humans expressed their surprise. Eugene pointed with the tip of his sword before continuing.

“Oi, Pocas. Lead the way. Go back to where you came from.”

Although they could not understand Eugene’s words, the Pocas realized what they wanted from them. After sharing a gaze with each other, they started to waddle. However, they kept on looking backward and bowing their heads. They seemed grateful, but fearful at the same time.

“Are you sure you can make use of the sea puppies? They seem like complete idiots.” Mirian commented.

“They’re just timid and slightly stupider than humans,” Eugene responded. The Pocas were smarter than monsters such as goblins and kobolds, but they were timid, which made them the perfect targets to take advantage of. This was why the pirates made slaves out of the Pocas and regularly used them as sacrifices to the sea monster.

“Kkyu kkyu.”

“Kuwa, kuwa.” The Pocas were slower than humans because of their short legs, but they eagerly waddled forward while shaking their chestnut-shaped hips as they entered the cave entrance.

Eugene followed them at a distance.

As a member of the Night Tribe, darkness was no obstacle for Eugene. However, the Pocas were also able to easily navigate through the dark, complex cave without any torches or lights. Simultaneously, they would turn their heads to make sure that Eugene was keeping up with them. They seemed to be kind, timid creatures by nature.

After slowly treading behind the Pocas for a while, Eugene passed them and took the lead. He could only feel a single streak of air from this point on, which pointed him to the entrance of the cave. He didn’t have to walk behind the slower Pocas any longer.

“Kyuu?”

“I will take the lead,” Eugene declared while pointing at his chest, and the Pocas bowed their heads before following behind him.

“Sir, I can see light up ahead! But it’s really noisy outside!” Mirian reported after returning from flying up ahead. Eugene unsheathed Wolfslaughter in response. He had to consider the possibility that the pirates were preparing something since their colleagues had not returned for a long time.

Uaaagh… Ahhh…

Kuaghh…

‘These are screams, right? And the stench of blood?’

Eugene raised Wolfslaughter and ran out of the cave. He felt that something unusual was happening.

“Huh?”

“Kieeeh?” Both the spirit and the vampire became wide-eyed at the sight that unfolded before them. Indeed, there was something unusual taking place. There were two fully armed knights literally massacring pirates in the wide, gravel field located in front of the cave.

“Kuwaagh!”

“Aggh!”

***

The knights had easily overwhelmed the pirates when they were equipped with simple, leather armor on the ships. As such, the difference in their power was made even clearer once the knights were fully equipped in plate armor and various weapons. The pirates were no different from mobile wooden dolls in front of the knights.

The pirates were stronger in numbers with more than 100 men on their side. But in less than ten minutes, greater than seventy percent of their numbers had been killed.

“L-let’s run!”

“Run!”

The knights slit their throats even if they surrendered and begged for their lives, so the pirates chose to flee up toward the hill or jump into the sea. However, there were numerous sharks waiting for them in the water, and there was a group of sailors formed around Partec and the two aides waiting for the pirates on the hill.

In the end, all but a few pirates were slain.

“Master!” Galfredik ran with joy after spotting Eugene coming out of the cave.

“What’s going on?! Why are you coming out of that cave?” Galfredik asked.

“Well,” Eugene continued on and gave a brief recount of his experience, from killing the sea monster to rescuing the seal humans. In the meantime, the Pocas carefully exited the cave, and Lanslo ran up and took his place by Eugene. Lanslo spoke while looking at the Pocas, “This is a surprise. I had heard that all the Pocas in this place had gone extinct when the islands were occupied by pirates.”

“Huh? Is that them? Pocas?” Galfredik frowned after seeing the Pocas slowly waddling forward. It appeared that the Pocas were slightly wary of the three knights.

“The Pocas are a very timid and gentle race. They are known to hide in the water when other races approach their settlements, which is why they are relatively unknown,” Lanslo explained.

“Then how were they captured by the pirates? They were being used as slaves, right?” Galfredik asked.

Lanslo shrugged in response. 

Eugene answered instead, “Maybe it’s because of the sea monster. They chose to be slaves to the pirates rather than being eaten by the sea monster after jumping into the sea.”

“Ahh.”

“Hmm. That sounds entirely possible. When the Rodrick family ruled the archipelago, humans didn’t involve themselves with the Pocas. They might have thought that humans were better than the sea monster,” Lanslo surmised.

“The pirate I questioned didn’t know much about Rodrick, but he must have been a pretty decent person,” Eugene stated. The pirate that Eugene questioned at the sea monster’s den had been just a lowly thug, so Eugene hadn’t been able to gain any important information from him.

Lanslo responded with a grin, “Yes. It is true that he had a good reputation, for he was rumored to be a very generous, merciful lord. However, he wasn’t human.”

“What?” Eugene said.

“Didn’t I tell you earlier? Brantia is very accepting of other races, and there have been cases when they became lords,” Lanslo added.

“Then…”

“Yes. The Rodrick family were orcs.”

***

The pirates’ den was easily wiped out with the three knights taking the lead. One peculiar thing was that the pirates weren’t only humans, perhaps since the island was used to imprison criminals from Brantia in the past.

There were orcs, dwarves, and even elves. However, the pirates were under-armed and had been living an idle life. They were no match for knights who constantly teetered on the edge of life and death.

“Hey, technically, you’re an elf as well. Is it fine for you to kill them like that?” Galfredik asked as Lanslo pulled out his longsword from the heart of an elf pirate. Both knights were coated in blood.

“That’s an interesting question. Humans kill humans, so why can’t elves do the same?” Lanslo responded.

“Haha! Sir Drak, that’s a great fucking response. I like that about you,” Galfredik said.

“I wasn’t saying it to please you, but thank you anyway. Ah, you aren’t interested in men, are you?” Lanslo asked.

“I don’t even like shaking hands with men,” Galfredik responded.

“That’s a relief,” Lanslo spoke with a grin before turning toward Eugene. He had just returned with a group of sailors following behind him.

“Did you take care of them, Sir Eugene?” Lanslo asked.

“A few of them seem to have fled into the mountains, but we can deal with them at night,” Eugene answered. The pirates didn’t know that Eugene and Galfredik were vampires. After tonight, the pirates of Rodrick Island would cross the river of death.

“Lanslo, take Partec, his men, and the sailors to rescue the Pocas. Ah, take them with you as well.” Eugene spoke while gesturing at the Pocas. The seal humans slowly approached him while bowing.

“And what are you planning to do, Sir Eugene?”

“The man I questioned earlier said something interesting.” Eugene coldly laughed when he recalled the words of the pirate. Although the man had been ignorant of any important information, he hadn’t been completely useless.

“It seems that the descendants of the Rodrick family are confined somewhere in that castle.” Eugene continued.

“Oh. Does that mean…?” Lanslo asked with expectant eyes. 

Eugene nodded. “I’ll have to save them for now.”

“As expected! You are always pursuing true chivalry to…” Lanslo started.

“I plan to have them come under me instead of paying me a ransom. If they refuse, then there’s no helping it,” Eugene responded.

“That’s… a very benevolent, yet practical judgment,” Lanslo expressed his awe. Eugene had made a decision befitting his status as the leader of the expedition.