Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 64 As their conversation continued, Turan realized that the "brotherhood" Tasan spoke of wasn't anything as formal as a sworn oath. It simply meant that, as one man to another, Tasan respected Turan and considered him his superior.
In other words, it didn't establish a lord-vassal relationship where they were obligated to obey or protect each other. Regardless, it meant Tasan was willing to defer to him, so Turan didn't mind. Still, being called "Hyung-nim" by a man nearly a hundred years his senior felt truly bizarre.
Tasan seemed to have regained his composure after his earlier emotional outburst; his voice now carried a mix of embarrassment and self-deprecation.
"Anyway, Hyung-nim... I understand your wishes perfectly. I will take full responsibility for returning those people to their homes. And of course, I won't ask for a single copper in passage fare. Isn't that right!"
"Yes, Captain!"
At Tasan's shout, the officers standing behind him responded in unison. Among them, a few seemed to sigh at the thought of the expenses involved in sailing the ship back and forth, but they did their best to hide it.
However, Turan shook his head and interjected.
"No, I'll only feel at ease if I give you something in return."
If piracy couldn't be eradicated in the Southern Sea, it was better to have the "decent" pirates in power. If Tasan returned the kidnapped victims without any compensation, the Red Whale Pirates' finances would suffer, and their influence would inevitably shrink.
Most importantly, Turan wanted to strip them of any excuses. He didn't want them to claim "livelihood" as a reason for failing to follow through when he eventually came back to check on them.
"I think the ship we arrived in should be sufficient."
Initially, he had planned to use the minerals obtained from the island, but he decided it would be better to settle the debt with their current vessel. Compared to the ships he had sold in the North Sea, it was small and shabby, but a sailing vessel was still a sailing vessel.
Tasan adamantly refused at first, but after a particularly sharp-looking officer among his subordinates pleaded with him about their dire financial situation, he eventually accepted with a dejected expression.
"Ahem. It's embarrassing to receive a reward for doing the right thing, but I suppose refusing would be a slight against my young Hyung-nim's honor. I will ensure we do many good deeds so that the ship doesn't go to waste!"
"That's all I ask."
And so, the strange negotiation—where the giver tried to give more and the receiver tried to take less—came to an end.
After finishing the conversation, Turan had the people from the pirate ship disembark to rest on the island. Some whose hometowns were far away would have to endure a long voyage, so they needed to recover their strength.
A few of them, mostly women, claimed they had no confidence in living a normal life back home and begged to follow Turan instead. However, to a solo traveler like him, ordinary people were nothing more than a cumbersome burden. When he distributed a reasonable amount of money so they could settle down elsewhere, they eventually relented, though they did so with tears in their eyes.
Turan didn't just idle away during the break.
First, he extracted information about the Cobinus Pirates from the captives he had brought from Parayan Island. By cross-referencing this with intel from the Red Whale Pirates, he learned a great deal: their organizational structure, defense systems, the abilities of their leader and officers, and their equipment.
Meanwhile, whenever he had time, Turan remained in stealth to scout the internal state of the Red Whale Pirates. He expected they might show a different side when they were alone, away from their "guests."
Fortunately, he concluded that they weren't two-faced. Of course, a few low-ranking or mid-level pirates grumbled about Tasan's soft policies and secretly wished for murder and pillage, but that sentiment was far from the mainstream. In fact, if there hadn't been a single person like that, he would have suspected they were being brainwashed by magic.
Even during this busy time, he occasionally joined the drinking sessions Tasan invited him to for the sake of socializing. Thanks to that, he learned a surprising fact.
"Solif was here?"
"That's right! He was a real man's man."
Tasan nodded with a nostalgic expression. It turned out it was the Red Whale Pirates who had told Solif about the saltpeter on Parayan Island. At the time, they hadn't known that miners were being kidnapped and enslaved there.
"He said he came looking for me because he was curious about my bloodline ability. Said he was looking for someone strong and good at swimming."
Tasan had been a disappointment since he only possessed a common Strength-bearer bloodline, but regardless of that, they had become friends and spent several days drinking together.
Turan thought he knew what Solif had been looking for. One of the bloodlines contained within the Mimic Relic was named "Wave Walker." Based on their previous conversation, Solif had discovered somewhere that one of the Drowned God's bloodline abilities involved exceptional physical strength and swimming skills, and he had been searching for a descendant.
In truth, if a descendant had actually remained, it would have been widely known long ago, so it seemed Solif's search had been headed in the wrong direction.
Three days passed in this busy manner. Having finished all his preparations, Turan announced his departure.
"Are you sure you'll be alright alone, young Hyung-nim?"
"Yeah. It's actually more of a hassle to have someone with me."
Tasan groaned as if he couldn't quite believe it, but for Turan, being alone was truly more comfortable. That way, he could freely use his stealth abilities and the Soul of Fire.
Before leaving, Turan left Tasan with a piece of advice that doubled as a warning.
"Some of your subordinates might have other ideas, so let them know: I'll be checking later to see if the people I protected returned home safely. If there's a problem, you'll be making an enemy of a mage capable of crushing the Cobinus Pirates single-handedly."
"I will keep that in mind," Tasan replied with a solemn nod.
Naturally, since the Cobinus Pirates' territory was near Parayan Island, Turan had to head back northwest. It was a distance that had taken three days to sail, but flying on Bije, he was able to return in just a few hours. No matter how much he boosted his speed with wind magic, the difference between flying and sailing was astronomical.
After confirming that the corpses on Parayan Island were still abandoned—meaning the news of the pirates' annihilation hadn't spread yet—Turan compared his position with the sea charts he had memorized while stopping at various islands on his way north.
Despite a few errors, he managed to find his first target by late evening.
This is Mikan Island, and that one far off is Vinatu Island... Good, I'm almost there.
The Cobinus Pirates had three main bases. On a map, they formed a perfect triangle, earning them the nickname "The Three Brother Islands." Since Cobinus and his officers usually traveled between those three islands by ship, Turan had to visit them personally to find their location.
Turan flew over one of them, Vinatu Island, and activated the senses of his relic.
About two hundred pirates, ten knights, and one noble...
At first, he wondered if it was Cobinus, but the mana was too weak. At best, it was someone who had just barely crossed the threshold of being a noble—likely one of the top officers.
After spending a long time analyzing the situation with his eyes closed, Turan concluded that there were no civilians in the base.
Alright, let's settle this quickly.
Charging in and beating them to death wouldn't be too difficult, but since he intended to massacre an unprepared enemy before the night was over, he needed to conserve his mana and physical strength. The best way to do that was to consume other resources instead.
Turan instructed Bije to circle the base and began scattering the Soul of Fire. Now that he had secured several hundred kilograms of it, he had no reason to hold back.
The pitch-black powder falling from the sky was hidden by the dark night, spreading across the entire pirate residential area on the wings of wind magic.
Then came the explosions.
With a terrifyingly loud roar, light and flames erupted. Buildings collapsed, and the bodies of pirates were torn apart. Turan didn't miss those trying to flee, using the relic's senses to trigger continuous explosions.
Two hundred people, one hundred fifty, one hundred, fifty...
The only ones left alive were a few knights and one noble hiding inside a stone fortress at the center of the base. He had replaced the effort of killing hundreds of people scattered across a wide area with just a few handfuls of the Soul of Fire.
It's hard to kill targets indoors, after all. Even stone buildings can't be completely destroyed if the walls are thick enough...
Explosions using the Soul of Fire were easy to increase in range, but it was difficult to increase the intensity itself. Then again, even the first time he saw it, an entire pouch worth of the stuff hadn't been enough to cause instant death.
Inputting this new information into his mind, Turan entered the ruined pirate base with Bije.
The corpses inside the central fortress were relatively intact, likely thanks to the stone ceilings and walls. Judging by the blood leaking from their eyes and ears, they had probably died from the sheer pressure of the explosions.
When he reached the innermost chamber, he saw the surviving knights and a single noble.
"Y-You... who are you...?"
Looking at the noble with a half-burnt mustache holding a trident magic tool, Turan recalled the information he had gathered from the pirates on Parayan Island. His name was Vagos, a noble with a bloodline that manipulated water. He was one of Cobinus's trusted lieutenants.
"Where is Cobinus? Tell me, and I'll give you a painless death."
"Why... why would someone as strong as you launch such an attack?"
"Because I don't like what you guys do."
Turan didn't tell them that the reason they were dying was simply because they had kidnapped and enslaved a few people. It would be far more frustrating for them to die for a reason that seemed utterly trivial.
Vagos glared at him and screamed.
"Don't give me that shit! Even if I die, I won't betray the Big Brother! Everyone, at—"
Before he could even finish the word "attack," an explosion occurred, sending the surrounding knights flying in all directions. It was a technique where a small amount of the Soul of Fire was blown by the wind to explode precisely in front of a target. Through his recent practice, he had figured out the exact amount needed to kill a knight, so none remained alive.
In the meantime, Vagos was also rolling on the floor. He hadn't been hit by the explosion like the others; instead, he had lost a leg to a pre-prepared sling attack. He hadn't even had the chance to use his prized trident magic tool or his water manipulation magic.
Turan grabbed the helpless Vagos by the head and said, "Now, only you are left."
"Ugh, uuuuh...!"
Vagos looked terrified, yet he didn't dare to resist. To think someone could be overflowing with this much power even after unleashing such massive magic just moments ago? At this level, wasn't he a top-tier powerhouse from a Great Family—no, a monster equivalent to a Family Head?
Since Vagos didn't know the explosions weren't the result of pure mana, he couldn't help but think that way. But even in the face of such an opponent, he gritted his teeth and remained stubborn.
"I... will not betray the Big Brother..."
"Is that so."
Turan looked down at Vagos with dry eyes and then snapped his neck. It was a small mercy, a mark of respect for his decision to maintain loyalty, even if they were nothing more than villainous shepherds.
Contrary to his expectations, there wasn't a large amount of treasure stored inside the ruins of Vinatu Island. He guessed that most of it was either on Cobinus's flagship or stored in the warehouse of the island where he resided.
After dispersing the mana of the noble and knights and collecting the valuables, Turan sank the few ships he couldn't take with him and flew straight to the second island.
Regrettably, Cobinus wasn't there either.
I don't know if I should call this lucky or unlucky.
He had succeeded in thinning out their forces before the enemy could prepare, but Turan actually wanted to kill Cobinus immediately, take his head, and then clean up the remaining rabble. Even though he had a large supply of the Soul of Fire, it was a limited resource, so using mana was ultimately better.
By the time he had bombed two islands and rested enough to replenish his mana, the dawn was already deep. If Cobinus wasn't at the next location, he would likely be traveling somewhere by ship, which would make things quite annoying from then on.
Please, let him be there this time.
With that thought, Turan arrived at the third and final destination, Deben Island, and frowned at the presence he felt.
One noble at a level comparable to Solif, three nobles who were weaker than that but still stronger than Turan, and seven nobles who were weaker than Turan but still at the level of an average Family Head...
What the hell is this?
No matter how he thought about it, this level of power was absurd for a mere pirate gang. That force was enough to deal significant damage even to the Dark Elf Subjugation Squad led by Meisa. If a mere pirate possessed this much power, they would have unified the Southern Sea and become a Great Family long ago.
Turan landed on the shore of the island and created a small burrow to hide Bije. He was worried that Bije might be captured by some noble again, like last time.
"I'll be back soon, but even if I don't come, don't come out until you're really hungry. If you do come out, run away from this island. Got it?"
[Be careful!]
After preparing a sufficient amount of jerky and water, Turan used his stealth and slipped onto the island. Naturally, mere pirates hadn't prepared for the stealth abilities of the Zahar, so he successfully entered the fortress without a hitch.
Checking the presences, most of the nobles seemed to be gathered and sleeping on the upper floors, while only two remained in the basement area. The strongest noble's presence was felt from below.
Let's check that way first...
He moved slowly for several minutes, prepared for a situation like when he was caught by Lida. When Turan reached the dungeon in the fortress basement, his eyes widened at the unexpected sight.
What is that?
The first thing he saw was a noble youth leaning against the bars, acting nonchalant. And inside the cell, to his shock, was Solif—beaten to a pulp and bound tightly.
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