The Storm Of Coral Sahar (5)

“Azadine! This ship can’t stop! The wind’s too strong, anchoring would be dangerous!”

Sion, who was at the helm, shouted a warning.

“Keep going, Sion! We’ll handle anyone coming aboard! Damn it, my hands are tied managing the sails.”

Azadine yelled back while fully furling the sail. Just then, Naga climbed onto the ship’s railings.

“What the hell are these?”

“You… You’re with the orc! And that woman?”

The Naga instantly recognized Scott, who was using illusions, and Shati, who had transformed.

“Actually, we’re your allies.”

Azadine said nonchalantly, but the reaction was unexpected. The bewildered Naga turned to someone who seemed to be their leader.

“Nonsense! No matter if you’re from the Messenger Clan, we’ve been ordered to kill any newcomers!”

“What?”

Azadine flinched at the words. So these guys had some kind of deal with the Messenger Clan?

“Then I need to hear more about this!”

Azadine tied the sail rope to a pin on the railing, freeing his hands. But the small ship made fighting atop it difficult.

The path was blocked, and the Naga lunged at Zebec first.

“Hiyaa!”

“Hyup!”

Zebec drew his longsword, parrying the Naga’s curved blade while simultaneously thrusting into the Naga’s neck— a perfect counterattack.

But he didn’t stop there. Even on the swaying deck, he pivoted skillfully, adjusting his angle and delivering a powerful diagonal slash.

The lead Naga splattered blood as it tumbled into the river below, sending up a massive splash.

“Huh?”

The ferocity of the attacking Naga weakened.

‘Zebec fights impressively. His swordsmanship is solid. Skaralbes is a common noble family name in the north, but maybe there’s more to his story?’

Azadine pondered as he observed the Holy Knight.

—BOOM!

Suddenly, a water pillar shot up from beneath the ship.

While Azadine’s group was focused on the Naga aboard, others had fired magic-infused air bubbles at the hull.

The ship lurched violently, and Zebec lost his footing, slipping overboard into the river.

“Ahhh?!”

“Dammit!”

Shati, who had been holding a rope and pretending to be a captive, leapt forward, grabbing Zebec before he could fall into the water.

“Ugh! Th-Thanks!”

“What’s with her?”

The Naga frowned, watching Shati—who they thought was a prisoner—saving Zebec.

“Looks like she’s from the Dryland Tribe.”

“As expected, filthy Dryland scum.”

“Catch her and she’ll make a fine slave!”

They began discussing turning Shati into a slave.

“Screw it! Let’s just kill them all!”

Shati screamed in frustration, and Azadine scoffed.

“You didn’t even need to say it!”

He fired an arrow.

“This puny thing won’t—”

—THWACK!

The arrow shot straight into the Naga’s open mouth.

“Huh?”

“You’re all dead! You water snake bastards!”

Shati roared, seemingly giving up.

Azadine fired another arrow.

—SPLASH!

“W-What the—?!”

A Naga tried to block with his sword, but the arrow curved, slicing through the rain and striking him anyway.

“Argh!”

“I better pull my weight too…”

Scott muttered as he grabbed a fish from a basket, stabbed it with a dagger, and enchanted it before tossing it into the water.

The dead fish charged at a Naga still casting air bubble magic at the ship.

“Ghoulify!”

At Scott’s chant, horns, spikes, and sharp teeth sprouted from the fish’s body.

“Enrage!”

“ARGH! What the hell is this?!”

The fish bit the Naga ferociously. Although small, it clung to him relentlessly. The Naga panicked, ripping the fish off his body.

“Corpse Explosion!”

Scott formed a hand seal, causing the fish to explode, blinding the Naga with blood and torn flesh.

“Tch. It looked like a tasty fish.”

Scott sighed, disappointed to have used it for necromancy.

“W-What are these guys?!”

—THWACK!

Another Naga took an arrow straight through the head.

Azadine’s arrows, unlike typical Messenger Clan projectiles, were terrifyingly fast and powerful. Even skilled Naga couldn’t counter them.

The dark skies and storm made the arrows nearly invisible.

Normally, heavy rain would reduce accuracy, but Azadine’s arrows hit their mark every time, each strike dealing fatal damage.

“N-No more… Let’s get out of here!”

The Naga began to retreat.

“Alright then.”

Azadine had captured one of the Naga as a prisoner—specifically, the Naga commander whom the others had glanced at earlier.

“Ugh. You warm-blooded bastards!”

The Naga commander, tied to the mast, hurled curses.

“Fine, I get it with the warm-blooded folk, but you! You Dryland Tribe woman! Do you intend to betray the great Queen Cobra?”

“No, I’m still not sure what’s going on.”

Shati replied, clicking her tongue.

“Your Water Serpent Tribe and we aren’t exactly on friendly terms, right? I don’t even know what you’re up to, so how’s that a betrayal of Queen Cobra?”

“Shut up. Lay some eggs in your cloaca the next time you spawn.”

“How could you say something so awful?!”

“What… what does that even mean?”

Azadine asked, aghast. It seemed to be an especially vile curse among the Naga.

“Hey, Naga friend. You mentioned the Messenger Clan earlier, right? What kind of deal did you have with them?”

“You think I’d tell you?”

“Tell us, and we’ll let you go.”

“What?!”

“Huh?!”

Both the captured Naga and Shati exclaimed in shock.

“You’re letting him go?! You can’t do that! What about me? Am I supposed to keep playing the role of your herbal bath?”

“Herbal bath? You make it sound like we’re boiling you alive.”

“You might as well boil me, you bastards!”

“Boil you? Well, if we get hungry enough, we might consider it.”

“…You’re joking, right?”

Shati, flustered by Azadine’s comment, turned to the Naga tied to the mast.

“P-Please! I’m not cooperating with them willingly. They’re forcing me! Even if I get free, don’t call me a traitor…”

“Do I look stupid to you? Lay some eggs in your cloaca—put in two this time.”

“You son of a—why two now?!”

Azadine chuckled at the exchange.

“Doesn’t seem like he’s planning to talk.”

“We could kill him and ask through necromancy.”

Scott suggested.

“Absolutely not. Using necromancy to forcibly extract information from the dead is a vile act. It disrupts the natural order and crosses a line we shouldn’t breach.”

Zebec protested.

Even Azadine, who wasn’t particularly opposed to necromancy, shook his head.

“That’s way too dangerous. Asking through spirit summoning creates a malevolent ghost, and if you manipulate the dead’s brain for answers, Scott, you’ll go mad.”

“You know quite a bit about necromancy.”

Scott said, surprised at Azadine’s understanding of both methods.

“Well, yeah—wait.”

“It’s the Sahar Gate!”

Sion shouted from the helm.

Near Coral Sahar stood a massive bridge known as the Sahar Gate.

Normally, soldiers and gatekeepers would staff the bridge, charging tolls to merchants crossing over and controlling ship traffic below with nets.

But now, debris had piled beneath the bridge, with massive wooden planks swirling in the water.

“If we approach any closer, the ship will be torn apart. The current’s rough, and there’s plenty of floating wreckage. Plus, something’s scraping the hull.”

The city had clearly flooded, sweeping in wreckage. It was a miracle they’d made it this far in such weather—thanks to Sion’s exceptional sailing skills.

“There should be people here, but it’s deserted.”

“Maybe they took shelter because of the storm? One wrong step up there, and you’d slip into the water,” Ismail suggested.

Azadine shook his head.

“Even so, not a single person? Not even guards nearby?”

“Yeah… that is odd.”

It was strange. This was a major city—an entire kingdom’s capital—and yet the gate was abandoned.

“From here on, we’ll travel by land. We need to get this boat ashore…”

“I’ll look for a spot.”

Sion replied, steering the ship.

Even the docks were submerged, making it difficult to find a landing.

Still, Sion managed to spot a hill and navigated the ship there, dropping the anchor into the water.

“Swim to shore! I can’t bring the ship any closer!”

The group hesitated.

“What about the Naga?”

Mediam asked.

“If they won’t talk, we’ll have to kill them here.”

Sion sighed.

“Wait!”

One of the Naga, silent until now, finally spoke.

“If… if I really talk, will you let me go?”

“Yes.”

“Indeed.”

“Of course.”

Azadine, Sion, and Zebec all answered in unison. It was an empty promise, but the Naga had little choice but to believe them.

“So… our Water Serpent Tribe has been in competition with the Sea Serpent Tribe—sometimes fighting, sometimes cooperating. Then, one day, a woman from the Messenger Clan approached us through the Sea Serpents.”

“What was her name?”

Azadine asked.

“She called herself Janis.”

“And what did she offer?”

“She said she’d temporarily snuff out the Light of the Crown here in Coral Sahar, giving us a chance to claim the throne.”

“What?”

Zebec was shocked.

The throne of the Yaegas God Tribe wasn’t just a chair—it was a source of immense magical power, a pivotal symbol of destiny.

If the rightful king sat upon it, the Light of the Crown would protect the world, and the king would receive the Heavenly King’s Book of Truth, transforming him into the most powerful sorcerer—a core doctrine of the King’s Church.

And now, followers of the Kurt God Clan intended to seize it?

“Is that even possible?”

Azadine asked.

“I don’t know. We Water Serpents weren’t told much. But the Sea Serpents agreed. They killed our chieftain and took our families. The Sea Serpents… they’ve changed. They got stronger, fiercer, more grotesque.”

“Grotesque, huh? I mean, Naga are already kinda gross-looking…”

Scott muttered.

Everyone turned to him.

“Don’t get too hung up on my orcish good looks. If you get used to my charming face, your attraction to your own kind might wither.”

Scott flexed his muscles, then caught himself.

“Oops, flexed too hard. Gotta be careful—don’t want to overgain.”