Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 186

186―――――

“We have to go to the carrier!”

Haah-aahm.

The pirate on watch yawns widely.

If someone unaware of the situation saw this, they might think, ‘What a lax attitude!’ and smack him upside the head. But for the pirate, it was perfectly normal.

He was guarding a secret pirate base, hidden on one of the many islands in the southern sea.

To evade the Royal Navy’s search, they chose a location with a complex topography. The pirates discovered an island with a deep bay, and they built a makeshift port inside the bay where several ships could dock.

Since they were all familiar with the sea and had experience on ships, building a makeshift port was not difficult.

After that, to avoid being easily destroyed by the Royal Navy like before, they stockpiled food and water and took turns staying at the base. They were developing into something close to a regular army.

‘At first, it felt so reliable and good.

Even if the navy guys came, we could hold out. And while we did, the other guys who went out to sea would come back and catch them from behind, so we’d be surrounding them!’

But after they perfectly built the base and started pirating in earnest, something happened.

The captain, who had strongly advocated for building the base, got one good hit in on the Prince of Hispania, and the situation became very ambiguous.

The navy, which had been pushing the pirates so hard, suddenly became lukewarm, chasing pirate ships but avoiding engagement.

Thanks to this, the Royal Navy didn’t comb the sea like they did during the pirate crackdown a few years ago, looking for pirate bases.

And as a result, the base, which had been fortified beyond just a port, became somewhat ambiguous in its purpose.

“Kkeueueueuk.”

Feeling that guarding the base had become more of a boring chore than anything else, the pirate stretched again and yawned widely.

Then, he noticed a small, black dot moving in the sky.

Thinking it was just a seabird living near this island and the other islands nearby, he was about to lower his head when.

“…Huh?”

Something felt off.

Very off.

It seemed far away, but when he looked up again, it had quickly grown larger.

The black dot grew bigger, and the single point suddenly multiplied into five.

“What kind of bird is that?”

If the ones above heard him, they would have shouted, ‘Not a bird, but a griffin! A well-behaved, smart, and incredibly charming griffin, even if they have a bit of a temper!’ and smacked him upside the head.

Of course, they couldn’t tell him directly, so they greeted him in a much more fiery way instead of smacking him.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

Whirr-up!

“…Ah, shit… Why are those mage bastards doing weird things from the morning…”

The pirates who were enjoying a nap in the makeshift quarters inside the base frowned at the sudden explosion and pulled their blankets over their heads.

The mages, whom the pirates had barely managed to hire for a hefty sum, were unfortunately stuck somewhere between beginner and intermediate level.

So, with nothing much to do here, they were always practicing magic together.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

Purrrr!

He had told them so many times to use quieter magic when people were sleeping, but those self-important bastards never listened to the pirates.

Kwaaaang!

Perpeopeong!

“…Ughaaaaa!

You sons of bitches!”

Finally, he jumped out of his hammock and grabbed the doorknob to go outside.

Then, as he rushed out, about to shout, ‘Hey, you mage bastards! Stop using that magic when people are trying to sleep!’

“…Huh?”

Literally, the whole world was on fire.

Especially the ships that were docked, which had become huge fireballs, burning brilliantly. Everything else made of wood was also on fire, creating a chaotic scene.

The pirate, who had been enjoying a nap, wondered if he was dreaming before cursing and running like crazy.

The flames were so intense that if he stood there blankly for even a moment, he would be cremated alive.

Only after running until his breath caught in his throat was he able to move to higher ground where the fire hadn’t reached.

From there, he could assess the overall situation.

The base, which had been as well-organized as any port until yesterday, had instantly turned into a giant inferno, dyed red as if hell had been unleashed.

Flames everywhere, like the setting sun in the late afternoon, everything in sight was engulfed in flames, spewing out scorching heat.

“Wh-what on earth…?”

Their base, which they had built with so much hardship over more than a year.

It took only an hour for it to completely collapse.

The port, the ships, the buildings, all were sacrificed to the giant fire.

“Hmm.”

Looking down at the ground, McClusky lightly patted Hellcat’s back, as if to say that was enough.

Originally, he would have stayed a little longer to check if anything had been missed, but they had already been flying since morning, and it had taken them well over two hours just to get to this island.

Including the return trip to the mothership, the griffins would have to fly for five hours straight, which was like running non-stop for a human.

‘Especially since these guys are carrying us too, it must be even harder for them.

If we stay any longer and they get tired, the situation will really become difficult.’

McClusky lightly nudged the griffin’s side with his right foot.

The griffin flapped its wings once, as if understanding, and turned around.

Kyaaaak!

Like an older sister telling her immature siblings to follow her, Hellcat cried out.

Following behind, the other four griffins completed their mission and began to return to the mothership.

And not long after, several pirate ships appeared near the island.

In fact, they had seen smoke and flames rising from earlier, but since they hadn’t confirmed that any Royal Navy ships had entered, they just thought some stupid bastard had accidentally started a fire, or the mages had caused another accident because they couldn’t resist showing off.

“…Damn it.”

But the closer they got to the island, the more they saw red flames and black smoke.

Only then did they realize that it wasn’t just a small fire caused by an accident, but a full-blown ‘attack.’ They rushed to wake up their ‘Captain,’ who was enjoying a nap in the captain’s cabin.

“Captain!

Captain!”

At the shouts calling him, the Captain opened his eyes wide.

Then, he grabbed the short sword and hook he had placed next to him and began to stride onto the deck without a word.

The reason he would act like that after suddenly waking up was because he had told the crew not to wake him unless the Royal Navy had appeared, so he assumed they had woken him because they had encountered the navy.

“…What the hell?”

And soon, he saw the scene of his base, which he had painstakingly prepared by persuading the pirates who only knew their ships and money, turning into a giant bonfire, filling his eyes.

“…”

He would have preferred a scene where more than ten Royal Navy ships surrounded his ship.

At least that was the end he had always imagined would happen someday.

It was also a somewhat plausible scenario.

But the fact that the base, which maintained the highest level of security and was built as far away as possible from the routes of navy ships and royal merchant ships, had been ‘raided’ so easily was completely unexpected.

Whirr-up!

Ggeugeuk!

The scene of all the hard work he had put in turning into firewood, and the sound of that firewood collapsing.

The Captain let out a sigh of disbelief and just watched the scene.

From the beginning, this place was not a route for navy ships, but a busy path for pirate ships coming and going to rest like himself.

If the royal army had discovered this place and decided to attack the base, they would have been detected by nearby pirates no matter what, and at the very least, the attack should have been known in advance to the guards here.

‘…I’m screwed.’

The Captain was sure.

That with those flames, the hope that he could continue to endure had also completely disappeared in the fire.

After the Royal Navy began to move in earnest, the damage to other fellow pirates increased, but after the Captain dealt a strong blow to the Prince of Hispania, the damage clearly decreased.

The biggest reason was that the navy showed a strangely passive attitude, but another reason was that fewer pirates were exhausted and dropped out on their own due to a rapid increase in food, water, or crew fatigue, like before.

They gathered the looted trade goods in one place, quickly sorted them out, procured supplies while avoiding the eyes of the navy, distributed them to the pirates who came to the base, and then they quickly went back to sea to force Hispania to bleed.

The Captain was convinced that if they did that for a month or two, Hispania would be the one to get tired first.

‘The fairies definitely said so.

Hispania can’t pay attention to the south for a long time for some reason!

If we just hold out for a few months, they will eventually switch from suppression to protecting limited trade routes!’

The Captain did not yet know that the ‘holy war’ would be the reason the fairies spoke of.

But he was certain that there would be a reason why the kingdom could not focus all its attention on the pirates threatening the trade routes, as it had done before.

That’s why the Captain persuaded the pirates to aim for a long-term war while pirating, and eventually succeeded in securing a base.

“Captain.”

“Captain, what do we do now?

Could it be that Hispania knew about the base all along…?”

“Is this even possible?

No, how could we not know that the royal ships were coming to launch such a surprise attack when there are so many colleagues and ships patrolling around here!”

“All the food and water we’ve stored, as well as the loot, are gone.

Damn it, all our stuff that we risked our lives to steal has burned up!”

Seeing their base, which they had believed was absolutely safe, disappear in an instant, the pirates began to visibly waver.

Looting is good, and money is good, but what they like the most is their lives.

Their home had been completely ambushed and destroyed, and the navy of Hispania could be lurking behind them, aiming for their heads.

‘As expected, it takes a long time to build, but it collapses in an instant.’

The Captain sensed that if he hesitated here, they would all become fish food together.

Either give up everything here and run away to save their lives, or destroy all the navy and take control of the entire southern sea.

“Since it has come to this, there is only one way, you cowardly bastards.”

“Captain?

Is there any way…?”

“There will be guys who realize that something has happened to our base and are coming here like us.

We will tell them, and all the ships we can contact.”

The fact that the base was attacked was proof that it was no longer safe.

But conversely, the fact that they attacked like that and retreated meant that they were underestimating them.

The descendants of Hispania only think of them as looters who focus on plundering and try to ambush them near the port.

The Captain was going to let them know properly.

And he was going to stab the necks of those who were careless.

“Everyone gather, we will destroy the navy and take over the cities in reverse.”

―

Tuk―.

After finishing a voyage that lasted well over a week, Zion returned and chuckled inwardly at the situation he had roughly anticipated!

Several nobles in the south, who had been thoroughly robbed by Prince Erader until recently, greeted his return with faces full of undisguised delight.

“Young Master Zion Klausen!”

“We heard the news, you have achieved great merit!”

“As expected of the holiness of Hispania!”

“You flatter me. Thanks to your trust in me, I was able to successfully deal with ‘nine’ pirate ships.”

Zion deliberately emphasized the word ‘nine’.

Of course, it was a service for the prince who was making a very uncomfortable expression in the back.

As if understanding Zion’s inner thoughts, the nobles immediately added comments.

“Oh oh oh!

Amazing.

Nine ships in that period!”

“Didn’t you say seven ships a few days ago?

To catch two more in the meantime. You are really amazing, Young Master Zion!”

The nobles were beaming at the part that Zion had added, ‘You guys have this much merit too.’

They were slowly realizing who would be the one to achieve the greatest merit and triumphantly return as a hero if they completely suppressed the pirates in the south.

‘Hmm.’

Zion then noticed Count Bremen Isik, who was standing next to Prince Erader with a slightly troubled expression.

If the Guten Marquisate and the Taiga County were families that grew through trade between the southern and central regions, the Isik County was a family that purely gained power through maritime trade with other countries.

In other words, the influence of the Isik County was greater than anywhere else in the southern tip of the coast.

‘Should I manage public sentiment a bit?’

He had already crossed the point of no return with Prince Erader.

Now, he had to properly screw over the prince and knock him down so that his head would break.

“Of course, I can’t say that I have no merit, but I certainly didn’t achieve it alone. If it weren’t for Heman Isik, the excellent captain of the southern sea and the one who carried out my unreasonable requests without any complaints, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve such great merit.”

“Oh oh oh!”

Zion already knew that the people of the south had a strong sense of pride.

In that regard, he judged that it would be wise for Heman, a member of the same southern nobility, to take some credit and maintain at least some pride, rather than having someone from another region take all the credit.

And as Zion expected, the southern nobles looked at Heman as if to say, ‘As expected!’

As if they were really grateful that the successor of the Isik County had saved at least some of the pride of the south.

Thanks to that, Heman couldn’t hide his troubled expression and only scratched the back of his head, and Count Bremen seemed to be in a very good mood because the nobles treated his son as someone who had achieved merit, though not as much as Zion.

“Cough cough!”

‘As expected, I was wondering why you weren’t trying to ruin things.’ Thinking that, Zion turned his head in the direction of the coughing sound full of discomfort.

Prince Erader, who was standing there, turned his head slightly to look at the mothership anchored on the outskirts of the port and slowly opened his mouth.

“That must be the rumored method of sure victory.”

“That’s right, Prince Erader.”

“Come to think of it, Young Master Zion. I never imagined you would be able to operate the griffins like that!”

“To take out something that had been shelved long ago because operating flying monsters was too burdensome and use it so wisely. As expected of Young Master Zion Klausen.”

As the nobles added comments again, Zion decided to turn Prince Erader’s stomach once more.

Because it was something he had done just before returning, he had not yet reported that he had turned the pirate’s base into a sea of fire.

“Actually, before coming here, I succeeded in attacking an island that the pirates seemed to be secretly using as a base. Perhaps the pirates will have a hard time showing the same sharpness as before because they don’t have a base for a while.”

At Zion’s words, the nobles now even clapped and rejoiced.

They seemed to sense that the day when they could suppress the pirates much faster and more effectively than before was not far off.

Just as they were all happy and about to open their mouths.

“The pirates have lost their strength, huh. That’s very welcome news.”

Prince Erader opened his mouth with a blank face and approached Zion.

And the moment he said something to Zion.

“…?”

The faces of all the nobles except Zion froze in embarrassment.

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

Prince―(whispering) Remember this.

When I come back, I’ll destroy you.

Zion―(bullshit) What are you talking about?