I Became a Veteran Who Has to Stir Up Trouble to Survive - Chapter 70

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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[070] Mermaid Assault
We set sail toward the Balearic Archipelago aboard Boggles’ weathered caravel.
The deck creaked and groaned in protest from every corner, and the acrid stench of old oil permeated the air—but I couldn’t expect much from a ship we’d commandeered for free from pirates.
Still disguised as the pirate Barbo, I gazed leisurely beyond the horizon.
“The wind favors us, and the waves are calm. At this rate, we’ll arrive soon.”
“Y-yes, Captain! It seems Neptune’s blessing is upon us…!”
Watching Boggles fawn over me while cold sweat beaded his brow, I couldn’t help but let out a quiet chuckle.
True to his nature as a pirate who’d survived by reading the room, the man was quick to assess the situation.
Stripped of all weapons and stranded in the middle of the Vast Sea, he had no choice but to grovel before us.
But just as our voyage was proceeding smoothly, Boggles suddenly wrenched the helm hard to one side.
“What are you doing?”
I asked, placing my hand on the hilt of my sword, and Boggles cried out with a ashen face.
“T-this waters ahead are infested with mermaids! They’ve become ferocious lately, and we absolutely must avoid them!”
“Mermaids attack ships, not just coastal regions?”
“Yes! Previously, we could pass through by offering tribute, but lately even that doesn’t work… I’m not sure why, but it seems someone has thoroughly provoked them!”
“So they’re attacking indiscriminately now…”
The upheaval in Liberta—its effects had reached even here.
“If you pull any funny business, I’ll flatten that bogglehead of yours. That blunt-faced monster over there is watching with murderous intent.”
“Y-yes, sir! Without question! I shall ensure your safe and swift passage!”
While Malton, masked and wielding a mace, kept watch over Boggles and his crew, I concealed myself behind the mast and loosened my collar.
“Ugh… this is suffocating. How do people who grow beards even tolerate this?”
“You must be exhausted. Shall I fetch you some water?”
“Thanks, Ra… wait, we agreed not to use names on the ship.”
Getting entangled with pirates meant we couldn’t predict what trouble might follow, so we’d decided to use codenames whenever they were around.
I was Turtle, Radi was Mouse, Malton was Deer, and Karen was Rabbit.
As I wiped the sweat from my brow and took a swig from the waterskin Radi offered, they regarded me with a peculiar gaze.
“…What?”
“Well, it’s my first time seeing you transform into another person. I’ve seen you change into monsters so many times that I thought I’d grown accustomed to it, but… not only your appearance changes, but your voice too. It’s quite… strange.”
“That’s why I hate transforming into other humans either. It feels like my insides are twisting. My body becomes difficult to control as well.”
“Hmm…”
Radi, who’d been staring at me with their chin resting on their hand, suddenly asked with suspicious eyes.
“Wait… could you possibly transform into me or Malton? Or maybe Karen?”
“Not yet. But if my skill level increases, it might become possible someday.”
Upon hearing my answer, Radi’s face went pale and they cried out.
“Absolutely not! Don’t you dare dream of transforming into me! I’ll actually kill you if you do!”
“Alright, alright.”
Was there really a need to be so serious about it?
I straightened my collar back into place and leaned against the mast, humming a tune.
“Yo ho… yo ho… hoist the sails, everyone…”
「You have sung the Undead’s Hymn [Introduction] [Sea]!」
“The undead’s fighting spirit surges! Their morale burns white-hot!”
After so long without the sea breeze, I found myself humming the song I’d heard aboard the Ghost Ship, when suddenly the alarmed Pirates came rushing over.
“Wait, that’s the song of the undead…!”
“Stop at once! Singing that song in Liberta Waters is inviting calamity!”
The Pirates made gestures as though brushing off some terrible omen.
‘Hmm… perhaps I should refrain in front of them?’
I’m not one to put stock in superstitions, but in Belheim, ill omens often become reality.
Yet in that very moment, the sea grew eerily calm, and the gulls circling our ship suddenly took flight in unison.
A chilling silence descended.
Karen, her face covered by a mask, cried out from atop the mast.
“Beneath the water… something’s there!”
Before the words even finished, dull impacts erupted from both sides of the ship in rapid succession.
Crack! Boom—!
“Ahhh!”
“Everyone hold tight!! Something in the water is ramming the ship!”
The mysterious attacker, concealing its form, relentlessly targeted the ship’s vulnerable points from below.
As I rushed toward the railing, I caught sight of an enormous fin gliding smoothly beneath the surface.
“We’ve encountered the Mermaids of Liberta Coast!”
“For some reason, they are in a state of extreme fury! Few humans have survived incurring a Mermaid’s wrath upon the sea.”
A Pirate shouted.
“Mermaids! The Mermaids are attacking!!”
“Lower the sails at once, you fools! If the sails tear in the Vast Sea, we’re finished!”
I kicked the panicking Pirates into action, issuing commands with cold precision.
Lowering the sails would cost us maneuverability, but there was no way to outrun a Mermaid’s pursuit on the open sea anyway.
If they hurled spears that shredded our sails, we’d go down with the ship.
I prioritized and gave orders, then considered what means we had to strike back.
“Harpoons! There were harpoons aboard!”
I hurled the harpoons I’d confiscated from the Pirates with all my strength, but it was futile against a Mermaid swimming swiftly beneath the surface.
Malton joined in, but even he managed only to graze a fin.
“Damn it!! Ka… Rabbit! Can’t you do something with magic?!”
“The water weakens magic’s potency! If only we had some medium to conduct heat…!”
Karen stomped her feet in frustration.
This was entirely different from our battle with the Kokokuran Tribe.
They were mindless beasts, but Mermaids possessed keen intelligence.
Knowing that breaking the surface exposed them to danger, they would never emerge from the water.
“No, they’re trying to capsize us!”
As I braced myself on the pitching deck, watching cargo tumble about, a brilliant stratagem struck me.
“I have an idea! Follow me, Deer!”
I headed toward the stern with Malton.
The chaotic rear deck was stacked high with wooden barrels lashed with rope.
If I release this into the sea and set it ablaze, the mermaids won’t be able to withstand the sudden heat and will be forced to leap from the water.
“Throw it overboard, quickly!!”
“On three, we push together! One, two….”
“Three!!”
I combined my strength with Malton’s, rolling the oil barrel over the ship’s railing.
Maintaining balance on the swaying deck while pushing the heavy barrel wasn’t easy, but I managed it.
However, another problem immediately presented itself.
“They’re all clustered together….”
The barrels remained bunched together instead of scattering, bound as they were by rope.
If I unleashed flame magic now, the uncontrollable inferno could spread to the ship, or the powerful explosion might capsize us entirely.
That left only one option.
“Rabbit! I’ll cut the ropes—cast your magic the moment I signal!”
“You’re going into the water crawling with mermaids?! Have you lost your mind!?”
Instead of answering, I vaulted over the railing and plunged into the sea.
As my body twisted through the air, my flesh transformed into a creature encased in hardened carapace.
｢You have disguised yourself as a Rapid Lobster!｣
｢A deliciously plump crustacean monster! It can swim with remarkable speed using its fan-shaped tail!｣
Splash! As I dove into the frigid depths, I glimpsed the graceful silhouettes of mermaids drifting between eerie blue luminescence.
‘Please don’t notice me…!’
As the mermaids drew closer, the power of the Antagon Rune activated, and I heard their thoughts.
｢???: I could have sworn I just saw a stupid human jump in this direction….｣
｢???: You must have been mistaken. Let’s sink that ship first, then we can investigate.｣
‘Thank goodness they didn’t notice…!’
Confirming they hadn’t detected me, I lashed my tail and shot like an arrow toward the clustered barrels.
With my powerful claws, I severed the ropes, and the oil barrels scattered and bobbed to the surface.
Having accomplished my objective, I crawled onto one of the floating barrels and waved my claws frantically.
“Grab hold of this!!”
“Now! Flames of inferno, consume the sea and incinerate them all!!”
As I seized the rope Malton threw with my claws and made my escape, Karen’s massive fireball detonated directly above the barrels.
Kabooooom—!!!
A towering pillar of flame erupted with a deafening explosion that split the ears.
The oil-soaked sea ignited entirely, and fish caught in the massive column of steam were hurled skyward, tracing parabolas as they fell.
Unable to withstand the sudden torrent and scalding heat, the mermaids shrieked and burst from the water, only to be struck down by Radi’s Bolt and Malton’s harpoons.
‘That magic is always terrifyingly powerful….’
My carapace had turned bright red from the heat. Perhaps I’d become even more appetizing.
Using the moment when the pirates’ attention was fixed on the flames, I released my transformation and severed the life of the mermaid that had been dragged aboard.
｢You have defeated a Sea Mermaid!｣
｢It is almost unprecedented for a human to achieve victory against a mermaid in the sea! Should you share this tale in a tavern, many sailors would gladly pay for drinks just to hear it!｣
｢From this remarkable Achievement, you feel increasingly familiar with the sea’s turbulent waves!｣
｢You have gained substantial experience and leveled up!｣
“You have awakened the ability to transform into a Mermaid! However, it will be extremely difficult to match the swimming prowess of a Mermaid born and raised in the water in a single leap.”
“Phew….”
I wiped away blood and seawater, gazing down at the Mermaids lying dead, their bodies scorched with burns across every surface.
The exhilaration of victory was fleeting—seeing the Mermaids with my own eyes, creatures I’d only heard whispered about, spawned a creeping doubt.
‘Why did they attack without warning?’
The Mermaids I knew were exceedingly proud and gentlemanly beings.
When they encountered sailors, they would typically let them pass unmolested—they weren’t the type to smash and destroy without question.
The only conjecture that came to mind was that it might be connected to the catastrophe drawing near.
‘If Leviathan’s emergence causes tidal waves to engulf the land, expanding their territory, are they siding with the monsters to attack humans?’
Yet something about that theory felt oddly misaligned, like puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit.
I suppressed the nagging unease and turned to Karen with a smile.
“You did well, Ka… I mean, Rabbit. Thanks to you, we were able to eliminate the Mermaids. Your power seems even stronger than last time, doesn’t it?”
“….”
But Karen paid no mind, staring blankly at her own palms as she murmured softly.
“I didn’t collapse from exhaustion….”
“Pardon?”
“Normally, I’d lose consciousness after casting magic… but this time I didn’t go berserk. Could it be because of the bracelet I obtained at the Mansion? Or perhaps….”
Karen stared directly at me, then turned her gaze away and spoke in a hushed voice.
“…Thanks for the advice.”
“….”
As I scratched my head awkwardly, my eyes met those of the Pirates staring at me with trembling gazes.
“Bogglehead Boggles and his subordinates are seized with terror!”
“While they are greatly afraid of you all, who have slaughtered the Mermaids with overwhelming firepower, they also harbor a measure of awe!”
‘They’ve become quite obedient.’
Having demonstrated my true strength once, they would now keenly feel the gap between us.
Any foolish notions of striking me from behind would have been thoroughly extinguished.
‘In that case, perhaps it’s time to dangle the carrot a bit…?’
Rather than crushing them with fear alone, getting them to cooperate willingly would yield far greater results.
A true leader knows how to wield both persuasion and coercion in equal measure.
I gestured toward the Mermaid corpses and spoke.
“You may take them.”
“Pardon…?”
“Mermaid scales fetch a high price on the black market as alchemical materials. This haul should more than cover the cost of the oil we burned in this battle, with plenty left over. Not a bad offer, wouldn’t you say?”
“Wh, what?! Are you… serious?”
“Of course.”
After all, without a sales route, they’re nothing but dead weight to us.
The Pirates quickly ran the numbers in their heads and reached their conclusion.
“Boggles and his crew cheer and congratulate themselves!”
“Several Pirates celebrate and retrieve rum from a secret compartment beneath the deck!”
“Having tasted profit, the Pirates will faithfully follow you for some time to come!”
“Now, from this moment on, we’re partners in crime aboard the same ship! How much longer until we reach the Balearic Archipelago?”
“Not much further, sir! We’ll treat you with the luxury of a grand passenger vessel! All hands, raise the sails!”
“Let’s go! To the Pirates’ paradise!”
With the black Pirate flag billowing in the wind at our backs, we surged forward at full speed toward the Balearic Archipelago.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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