Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 182

182―――――

No luck!

We need to hit a carrier!

“Ptooey!

Filthy kingdom bastards!”

Another day, another bust.

They had been ambushing the usual trade routes for days, but the navy chased them off every time. Sometimes, the merchant ships even traveled in packs, ready to ram them, making it too risky to attack.

‘This is the fourth day in a row we’ve come up empty.

That bastard Captain is going to kill me.’

He had been entrusted with a ship, and instead of plundering goods, he had been depleting their water and food supplies for four days straight. He couldn’t blame the Captain for being furious.

In truth, piracy had become quite difficult since the kingdom’s navy started mobilizing.

Even if they could strike and retreat quickly, the Hispania navy’s ships were slightly faster.

The pirate ships, hastily gathered, were relatively old, while the navy received full support from the nobles and had the latest ships developed through continuous innovation.

The Captain’s ship was one of the few that could rival a Hispania warship, but such ships were rare among the pirate fleet.

‘I can’t afford to get wrecked like last time.’

He was one of the few survivors of the pirate suppression a few years ago.

He had barely escaped and tried to live an honest life, but as they say, it’s much harder to live right than to live wrong.

Eventually, he caused trouble and became a fugitive again. He happened to hear that the pirates were secretly regrouping, so he immediately rejoined his old comrades.

And that’s where he met the ‘Captain.’

The man who introduced himself as the Captain began to explain in detail to the pirates why the previous pirates had been defeated by the kingdom and suffered a mass death, and what their future course of action should be.

‘If pirates only look out for themselves, we’ll all perish.

We must cooperate.

Even if we don’t share the loot, we should at least share information and, while avoiding full-scale battles with the navy, inflict damage whenever possible to show that we are not to be trifled with!’

‘At the same time, we shouldn’t scatter foolishly but build our own port on an island and fortify it.

Just as it’s very difficult for us to attack the kingdom’s port cities, we must make it difficult for the kingdom’s navy to attack our base.

We need to be able to say that they must be prepared to make enormous sacrifices to suppress us!’

His words made a lot of sense.

The pirates who had been active before regarded each other as rivals, so they didn’t help each other. They even lured the navy to other pirate ships, and sometimes pirate ships attacked other pirate ships.

For that reason, the pirates naturally couldn’t unite to fight the navy, so the kingdom’s navy freely attacked any pirate ship they saw and drowned all those they captured.

Moreover, when the navy later came to the islands to find the pirates, the pirates had no strong ports or fortresses to defend, so they were completely blockaded and fought the kingdom’s soldiers, whom they had tried so hard to avoid, and were eventually annihilated.

‘We will create our own secure base.

That way, we can always maintain our best condition for piracy and even fight the navy on a large scale at least once!’

Following the Captain’s words, the pirates built a port on an island of considerable size and constructed a fortress strong enough to withstand an attack from the kingdom’s forces.

They put so much effort into it that they spent a fortune to bring in two mages to reside on the island and prepare to attack the kingdom’s navy ships in battle.

‘Of course, they were mages who couldn’t handle many spells.’

Setting fire to a ship would be a success, so they could be satisfied with that.

Above all, their base was hidden in a very secret location, so they were confident that it wouldn’t be easily discovered.

In addition, the Captain had recently sunk a ship that the Hispania prince was on.

It would have been best to capture the ship and take the prince hostage, but if they had tried to do that, they might have all been diced into mincemeat by the royal knights.

Therefore, he set fire to the deck and sails, making the ship irreparable, but that alone was a tremendous achievement for the pirates.

‘After that, everyone else gained confidence and no longer feared the navy to the point of running away. Instead, they lured them to where other comrades were to launch a joint attack, or lured them near strong currents to exhaust them.’

In that sense, the Captain was indeed a great man.

He had transformed those who would have briefly risen to prominence as vicious sea robbers, only to be killed by the kingdom, into a fairly decent group.

Of course, many envied or were wary of him, but everyone acknowledged his ability.

Thanks to him, the Captain’s power continued to grow, and he was now active as a captain commanding a pirate ship under the Captain’s command.

“Captain!

The lead ship of a trade convoy is in sight!”

The lookout who had been watching the horizon had spotted a merchant ship.

They had apparently decided to avoid the usual route and take a slightly longer but safer path.

The captain slammed his palm with his fist and grabbed the helm.

Finally, today, they had found a pretty tasty prey.

If they missed them this time, the Captain would definitely chew him out like crazy, so they had to catch up with the merchant ship and steal all their goods.

“Tighten the sails!

Increase speed!”

“Stop sleeping and get up, you guys!”

The boatswain’s shouts and the noise of the sails being tightened filled the pirate ship.

Flap, flap—.

As a result, no one heard the sound from above.

There was an object circling above the pirate ship, checking on them, but since they were only looking at the horizon and had no need to look at the sky, it was natural that there was no vigilance at all.

Flap—.

With a huge flap of wings, a griffin, a rare sight in the middle of the ocean, soared into the air.

Then, with a very familiar gesture, it tucked its wings as close to its body as possible and began to dive straight down.

Whoosh!

The griffin was speeding like crazy, as if trying to snatch its prey.

But the direction the monster was heading was the direction the huge pirate ship was moving.

If it continued like this, it could crash into the ship without snatching a sailor, or it could simply plummet into the sea.

But the griffin continued its dive without the slightest hesitation.

‘A little more.

A little more.

Just a little more!’

Dickinson, who was riding on his griffin, ‘Corsair,’ felt once again that the goggles that the mages used during experiments were quite useful for blocking the wind, and expressed his sincere gratitude to them.

The wind was too strong for him to see the target with his bare eyes in this empty space.

The ship, which had been the size of a finger a moment ago, now looked as big as the palm of his hand.

Originally, they were supposed to drop him off around this point for the safety of the rider and the griffin, but Dickinson was eager to give those pirates a solid blow while he was at it.

This was a glorious first combat flight for the griffins and their riders, and at the same time, it was the first opportunity to make a significant impact.

Dickinson knew that if he couldn’t prove its practicality, it would be a disservice to Zion, who had spared no support, so he gritted his teeth and focused only on the pirate ship, forgetting everything else.

Whoooooooooosh!

‘They’re not changing direction, and there’s no sign of an attack.

Everything is perfect!’

Kiyaaaaak!

Corsair screams as if to say, ‘Now is the time!’

A cry to let the rider know when they are close enough to the target.

At that moment, Dickinson didn’t hesitate and took out the magic scrolls from his pocket.

Not one, not two, but three of them.

‘There’s always a chance of defects.

So there’s only one way.

Overwhelm them with quantity.’

Thinking of Zion’s words, Dickinson grinned.

He knew how expensive each of these seemingly worthless pieces of parchment was, and he once again thanked Zion for allowing him to use these things to his heart’s content.

“Uwaaaaaa!

Let’s go, Corsair!

Let’s show them what we’re made of!”

Boooom!

Dickinson tore three magic scrolls without hesitation and ordered Corsair to ascend, kicking its flanks hard at the same time.

Whoosh!

Fortunately, there were no defects.

Thanks to the characteristic of the objects that accurately go straight ahead when the magic scroll is torn, it was clear that three fireballs were flying exactly to the point where the griffin was diving.

“…Huh?”

All the pirates could see was a sudden flash above their heads, followed by an unfamiliar noise and huge fireballs falling on them.

Kwaaaang!

―

Kwaaaang!

All targets were blown up with a deafening roar.

Only then did the woman, who had pulled her hands back, take a long breath, unclench her tightly clenched fist, and slowly calm the mana circulating in her body, returning to her usual self.

Lilith, who had been watching the scene for a while, clapped her hands, exclaiming involuntarily.

“Amazing, Lucia.”

“…Thank you, Lilith.”

The woman, who had been walking barefoot on the lawn, approached the chair that had been placed in advance.

Lucia, who took a deep breath, plopped down next to Lilith, looking a little tired, and closed her eyes to rest for a while.

Thanks to this, Lilith was able to observe Lucia’s current appearance in detail.

‘…Until recently, she was just a mage.

She must have worked really hard, too.’

Lucia had thrown away the robe she usually wore and was now wearing comfortable shorts, with her upper body completely bare except for a chest wrap.

The previous Lucia would have been embarrassed by such attire, but she clearly showed that she could endure such embarrassment to be of help to Zion.

In addition, the bandages wrapped around her hands and ankles showed how much Lucia had focused on martial arts.

‘I never thought she would actually combine magic and martial arts.

It’s hard enough to do just one, but she grits her teeth and works hard to make it happen.

Is the power of love really that great?’

The martial arts that Lucia uses are not flashy or insanely fast, but each movement is definitely powerful, and above all, it contains mana, so the moment the attack hits, a small explosion occurs right there.

Zion, who knew Lucia’s weaknesses, that she had talent in both magic and martial arts but couldn’t bring them out to the extreme, had turned those weaknesses into strengths by mixing them together.

“What are you looking at so intently?”

“Huh?

Ah, should I say that I’m not used to seeing you like this?

Until recently, you looked like a mage to anyone, but now you’ve suddenly become a martial artist.”

“That’s true, but I’m still a long way off.

Look at me.

If I called myself a martial artist with this frail body, I’d probably only be laughed at.

I need to work harder than I am now to be of help to Zion.”

Lucia’s light green eyes trembled uneasily.

She probably felt a little pressured by the fact that Lia had become a perfect adult and had returned much stronger than before.

In addition, Rishikida was said to be receiving instruction from Kim Yu-hyun, so she may have been worried that she was now falling behind the most.

“Hoo.”

Lucia, who had finished her short break, loosens her body to start training again.

She rotates her shoulders, checks her wrists and ankles, and loosens all the muscles and joints in her body once more.

Even though she had wrapped a compression bandage, her breasts, which were still larger than Trisha’s, seemed to bother her quite a bit, and she frowned slightly and tightened the bandage even more.

At times like this, she wished her breasts were smaller, but soon she thought of Zion, followed by Lilith, Rishikida, and even Lia, and Lucia thought that wasn’t the case.

Yes, to be honest, she had to be at least this good to compete with the other women!

“Are you going to practice again?”

“Yes.

I need to get a little more familiar with it somehow before Zion comes back.”

“If you push yourself too hard, it’ll only get worse later on.

Don’t overdo it.”

“Yes, I will.

Thank you, Lilith.”

Lucia smiled and retightened the loose bandages on her hands and ankles.

Then, after taking a breath, she lightly punched forward, following the basics that her father, Raido, who was known as a genius martial artist, had taught her.

Kwaaaang!

Of course, the aftermath and the sound that followed were by no means light.

“Haat!”

She punches again, quickly recovers and blocks the front, while kicking up her foot to aim for the opponent’s empty flank.

Lucia, thinking that the enemy would be hit by the blow and unable to assume a defensive posture and allow the next attack, repeatedly throws powerful straights that dig into the gap.

Each time, the explosion magic that had already been applied exploded accurately on the spot, inflicting a powerful follow-up attack, and a terrifying one at that.

She was not yet a skilled martial artist, and her body was still closer to that of a mage than a martial artist, but she was still Raido’s only daughter and a woman who had received his teachings.

In addition, she was not without talent, and rather, she was a ‘genius’ who had succeeded in combining martial arts and magic at such a young age, which Lilith had no doubt about.

Lilith couldn’t help but let out a dumbfounded laugh as she looked at Lucia, who had grown so much in just a few months, not years.

‘…Zion, how do you manage to make everyone you meet like that?’

At this point, Lilith was starting to wonder if she was the only one who was strange for not changing.

The other women were catching up to her at an incredible rate, but somehow she felt like she was just standing there like an idiot.

‘I can’t let this happen.

I’m going to knock Zion down as soon as he gets back.’

…The succubus queen was suddenly drawing strange conclusions.

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

Did everyone enjoy the free conversion event!

I also tasted the thrill of being #1 on the charts for a short but intense time···!

The air is definitely…

Different!