Chapter 138

When faced with an unfamiliar situation, one’s mind tends to freeze. Woojin was slightly flustered.

‘What is this?’

Why was a naga warrior committing piracy in a place like this? It was so sudden and unexpected that he couldn’t quite judge how he should deal with it.

Should I try talking first?

Woojin stood still, quietly pondering. Meanwhile, the naga warrior had grown completely full of himself.

“If you hand over what you’re carrying, you can keep both your ship and your life.”

His voice hissed like a snake. The naga warrior swaggered arrogantly. It seemed he thought Woojin had frozen up out of fear.

No matter where you go in the world, there are always one or two fools who can’t read the situation.

Like a stupid pigeon sticking its head into a hawk’s nest, the naga warrior fearlessly tapped Woojin’s chest with the tip of his spear.

“Didn’t you hear me?”

The naga muttered fiercely. By that time, Woojin had already reached a conclusion.

‘I guess I should rough him up a bit first.’

Woojin suddenly grabbed the shaft of the spear. From the naga’s perspective, it was a reckless and foolish act.

The spear tip was still aimed at his chest. The naga warrior adjusted his grip with both hands. His intention was to thrust the spear forward with all his strength and stab the foolish human.

…Right after that, the creature realized the situation.

‘W-What kind of strength is this?’

For some reason, the spear tip didn’t move at all. It was like trying to wrestle strength against a massive boulder.

Flustered, the naga twisted his body and pulled at the spear. Woojin watched the spectacle, thinking about how he should cook this insolent snake.

‘He looks pretty weak.’

It felt like he might die after just a few hits, so Woojin hesitated to lay a hand on him recklessly.

Just as he was thinking that—

Thud!

Perhaps realizing that fighting would be suicide, the creature ran away. The naga warrior threw away his spear and dove into the water.

Of course, Woojin had no intention of simply watching his prey escape.

Crunch!

He stepped forward and stomped down on the end of the snake’s long tail. The naga’s body, which had been falling toward the surface of the water, suddenly stopped in midair.

They say if your tail is long, it’ll get stepped on…

Thanks to that, the naga was now stuck, unable to move forward or back.

The creature shouted as if pleading.

“W-Wait!”

But Woojin had no intention of stopping. He snapped off the blade of the spear he had just taken, then swung the remaining shaft like a switch.

Smack!! Thwack!

The sound of a beating echoed through the air.

“Kyah—Kyaaaak—!”

Along with it, the naga let out pitiful screams.

The naga curled up, covering his head with both arms. Just a few minutes ago he had acted proudly like a lion, but now his situation looked rather ridiculous.

Woojin did not stop and continued the beating—until some manners were hammered into the creature’s head.

After about ten minutes had passed…

‘That should be enough.’

The naga fainted and collapsed face-down on the deck. Woojin tied him up with rope, then scooped up seawater with a bucket and dumped it over the creature’s face.

“Ghk—Pwah!”

The naga, drenched in salty water, thrashed wildly. It seemed his strength had returned.

He blankly looked around, but the moment his eyes met Woojin’s, he was startled out of his wits. It seemed he had remembered what situation he was in.

“Human! Please spare me!”

The naga warrior cried desperately. In response, Woojin muttered as if speaking to himself.

“This brat… speaking casually.”

Did he not get beaten enough yet?

Just as he was about to start the beating again, the naga sensed the danger and hurriedly added—

“Honorific speech! Haven’t learned yet!”

“Ah.”

The naga warrior seemed to have learned the human language only clumsily. His pronunciation was awkward, and the range of words he knew was limited.

But still… impressive.

It had only been a short time since the naga race first made contact with humans. Even if it was awkward, the fact that conversation was possible at all was impressive.

Woojin brought over a fishing chair and sat down. Then he began the interrogation in earnest.

“Why are you doing this here?”

Why was a naga warrior committing piracy in a place like this?

When he asked that question, the creature hesitated. It seemed reluctant to leak information.

In situations like this, there was only one method.

Woojin picked up the switch again. Seeing that, the naga hurriedly opened his mouth.

“Scout! Came to scout this region!”

“Explain in detail.”

“That is… how it happened…”

The naga began explaining in a rambling manner.

The king of the scaled ones, Veshkan, wished to expand his territory through a war of conquest. But recently, the Scaled Empire had not been in a comfortable position.

“We lost too many troops fighting the Fallen Dragon.”

The dragon abomination.

Together with an army of mutated monstrosities, it had struck the Scaled Empire. They had been tormented by those horrific creatures for far too long, and the naga race’s power had visibly weakened.

It was not the time for war.

With that judgment, Veshkan turned his attention elsewhere.

‘Let’s investigate the sea.’

They would explore the surrounding waters, and if they found ownerless islands, they would plant their flag and claim them as naga territory.

A gentler way of expanding territory compared to war.

While exploring the seas like that… a piece of new information reached Veshkan’s ears.

‘The Nol tribe is growing at an incredible rate.’

The city of the Nol tribe, allied with humans, was developing at an unbelievable speed.

Hearing this news, Veshkan became greatly curious and ordered his subordinates to explore the southern seas and find a sea route connected to human lands.

Thus, they began sailing south…

“…I smelled delicious food.”

When the fishermen dumped leftover bait into the sea, the scent of the bait attracted the naga here.

Woojin spoke in disbelief.

“So… while you were at it, you also tried a little piracy?”

“….”

The naga warrior silently lowered his head. It seemed he was ashamed of the situation he was in.

It was rather funny.

He had boldly attempted piracy, only to be beaten senseless and tied up by a fisherman.

The naga race tended to value practicality over dignity, but… this guy was going to become famous for sheer embarrassment.

What should I do?

Woojin crossed his arms and thought.

Killing him didn’t feel right, but since he had committed a crime, simply letting him go was awkward as well. Bringing him along would probably make things even more troublesome. Feeding and housing him would also be a hassle.

Besides, it didn’t seem like this situation would end with just one incident.

According to the explanation, the nagas would likely continue sailing south and enter their seas.

I guess I’ll have to settle this properly before heading back.

Having made up his mind, Woojin spoke.

“Guide me to your base. I want to have a conversation with your superior.”

“…That would be a bit… difficult.”

“Why?”

The naga warrior replied with a troubled expression.

“If there’s no authorization, entry is forbidden. If we’re caught, both of us will be executed.”

Outsiders could not be brought into the base.

It seemed he was worried about the consequences. Woojin laughed dismissively and spoke.

“Hey, choose.”

“Choose what?”

“Either you get beaten to death by me here, or you guide me to your base. Pick.”

If he chose the latter, he might survive if he was lucky. If he chose the former, he would definitely die.

After presenting the two choices, Woojin picked up the switch lying near his feet. Seeing that, the naga warrior shouted urgently.

“That way! If you go that way!”

“Good.”

The naga warrior pointed the direction with his tail. Woojin nodded in satisfaction.

After turning the helm to set the ship’s heading, he cast a gust spell on the sail, making the sailing ship move forward faster.

After racing like that for about two hours… something very strange came into view.

‘What is that?’

Woojin narrowed his eyes.

Something that looked like a small island was floating on the surface of the water. On top of the island stood six or seven structures built in the naga style. The width looked to be roughly fifty to sixty meters.

Too small and unimpressive to truly call an island. But somehow…

Is it moving?

The island was slowly shifting its position. The movement was too clear to dismiss as imagination.

Woojin asked just in case.

“That island… don’t tell me it’s alive?”

“It is.”

The naga warrior added an explanation.

“That is a turtle. The only mount our race treasures above all others.”

A sea turtle magical beast.

Although it possessed an enormous body, the turtle beast was gentle and only ate seaweed. That was how the naga warrior explained it.

A sigh of admiration escaped Woojin.

“Wow… judging by its size, it’s practically on the level of an ancient being. That guy Veshkan was hiding something like this?”

It was truly a moving fortress.

Its body was so massive that it probably couldn’t move properly on land. But the fact that they had tamed and were using such a magical beast was extremely surprising.

I should get a closer look.

Excited, Woojin increased the ship’s speed. The distance closed quickly.

The naga race noticed the uninvited guest.

Splash!!

Suddenly several splashes erupted. Nagas leaped high above the surface of the water. They landed directly onto the sailing ship and thrust their spears forward.

In an instant, Woojin was surrounded. Nine spear tips pointed directly at his neck.

It was an unpleasant situation.

“Shake off the water before climbing up.”

Seawater had flooded the deck, making it slippery. Irritated, Woojin casually pushed aside the spear at his neck with the back of his hand.

Perhaps interpreting the gesture as resistance, the nagas gripped their spears with both hands—

“Don’t do it!!”

The naga pirate who had been captured earlier shouted urgently, but it was already too late. The naga warriors thrust their spears at Woojin.

Having already guessed what would happen next, the naga pirate sighed and closed his eyes as if turning away.

“…I clearly warned you.”

Thud, smack! Whack!!

The sounds of a beating rang out. Screams pierced the air again and again. The fight did not last long.

Soon the number of hostages had increased to ten.

‘Quite a full catch.’

He might run out of rope to tie them up.

Thinking that, Woojin was binding the fallen nagas one by one when—

Splash!

Another burst of water shot upward. Five naga warriors climbed onto the deck.

They were bigger and more robust than the ones captured earlier. And they carried brutally sharpened scale weapons.

Elite warriors, perhaps.

This might be a bit more interesting. Thinking that, Woojin clenched his fist.

“…Kiit?”

One naga warrior, particularly large in build, widened his eyes. His gaze stared fixedly at Woojin.

He carefully spoke.

“Are you… the Guardian of the Nol tribe?”

The naga warrior had recognized Woojin’s identity. Hearing that, Woojin also remembered his opponent.

One of the naga king’s generals.

He had probably seen him during the last battle with the abominations. A naga general with outstanding strength and martial skill.

Woojin spoke to him.

“It’s been a while. Are you the one responsible for this fortress?”

“No… that is not the case.”

The naga general shook his head. Apparently, someone of even higher rank was present.

“Guide me to your superior.”

Woojin demanded bluntly. The naga general seemed to ponder for a moment… then unexpectedly nodded without hesitation.

“Very well. I will guide you.”

“That was quicker than expected. Meeting the one in charge of a fortress usually isn’t easy.”

He had expected a refusal.

When Woojin said that, the naga general waved his hand as if the idea was absurd.

“I wish to live a long life, with my body intact.”

There was no need to provoke unnecessary trouble.

Saying that, the naga general stepped forward to lead the way.

Much wiser than his subordinates.

It seemed he hadn’t won the rank of general through gambling.