The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 197

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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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Chapter 197
Chapter 197
Luke’s fangs, the ‘Black Flame Dragon’s Tooth’, which I had obtained from the Imperial Palace Treasure Vault previously.
After selecting this, Luke’s ‘Predation’ ability was greatly enhanced.
Thanks to that, every time I defeated a monster, I could clearly see the effects of the enhanced predation.
For that reason, I decided to collect as many of Luke’s body parts as possible going forward.
“Body parts? Are you talking about something like those fangs from before?”
– Yes, sir. It is extremely faint, but unmistakable.
The one presumed to be the Pirate Crew’s Captain.
From this creature, I sense the aura of a body part, he says.
“Which part?”
– I am uncertain. The aura is too faint for me to perceive anything beyond the fact that it is his own aura.
“I see.”
Then there is only one method.
Wake this creature and interrogate him directly.
The method is simple.
Ssshhhhk!
Since he was not completely dead yet, I could pour a potion down his throat to keep him clinging to life.
Still, it would be wasteful to use a premium potion on a pirate.
[ Lowest-Grade Health Potion ]
I used the most abundant, lowest-grade potion available.
In truth, with the durability to withstand lightning strikes, recovery with such a lowest-grade health potion would take quite some time.
As a result, his health would return slowly, and he would feel all the pain gradually and leisurely.
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
Well, what of it?
He should be grateful that I saved his life at all.
After pouring dozens of bottles of the lowest-grade health potion into him, the creature finally regained consciousness.
“Haaack! Y-you monster!”
“Who are you calling a monster?”
With white scales sprouting across my skin, gills on my neck, and webbing between my fingers, he calls me a monster.
The audacity is beyond measure.
What kind of creature is this anyway?
“P-please! Save me! No, please save me!”
The creature regained consciousness and begged for his life, then immediately sought an opportunity to escape.
Well, naturally.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Crunch!
“Gaaaaaahhhhh!”
There was no way he could escape in that condition.
Kang Ju-hyuk immediately seized and subdued the fleeing creature.
He broke the man’s arm and pinned it beneath his own with practiced ease.
Thanks to this, I could interrogate him comfortably.
First of all….
“Where is the White Water Deity?”
I needed to know the White Water Deity’s location first.
However.
“Ah, you mean the Evil God?”
“Yes.”
“We don’t know either!”
He answered with feigned ignorance immediately.
Well, I hadn’t expected him to talk willingly from the start.
So.
– I activate the 1st Circle Lightning spell.
I began working to loosen his tongue.
Lightning—a 1st Circle spell that electrocutes enemies with weak electrical shocks.
It wasn’t powerful enough to seriously damage the Pirate Crew’s Captain, who had even received the Evil God’s power.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!”
But it was more than sufficient to cause pain.
After electrocuting him for a while like that.
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything I know! Please, please stoooooop!”
He seemed to have developed a willingness to answer.
For some reason, I wasn’t satisfied, so I electrocuted him once more before finally stopping the spell.
Terrified that I might cast the spell again, he immediately began answering my questions urgently.
“I truly don’t know the Evil God’s exact location! I only know that he’s recovering his power deep beneath the sea!”
Crackle!
“Ahhhhh! It’s the truth! We’ve been sinking ships to offer sacrifices to the Evil God and help him recover his power!”
“Do you have any idea where that might be?”
“Th-the Apostle! There’s a place where we used to meet the Apostle! Since he’s the Evil God’s Apostle, he must know something! And even if he doesn’t, wouldn’t the Apostle be close to the Evil God?”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
“Ahhhhh! It’s true, it’s true! That’s all I know! Please, please stooooop!”
From his reaction, it seemed to be the truth.
I actually had an item like a lie detector that could distinguish truth from falsehood in NPC statements.
But it would be a waste to use it on someone like this.
In a situation like this, extracting information wasn’t difficult enough to require such high-grade items.
‘Well, from this I can roughly estimate the Evil God’s location.’
I had gotten a rough idea of the location.
Besides, if I kept this man alive, he’d probably guide me to the location himself.
I might even be able to deceive the Apostle through him.
So, it was time for the next step.
“Have you ever seen the bones of a Black Flame Dragon?”
“B-bones of a Black Flame Dragon? What do you mean…?”
“The bones of a black dragon. Even if not bones, it doesn’t matter. Horns, scales, claws, and so on. Anything presumed to be a body part of the black dragon will do.”
“The bones of a black dragon? Such a thing…?”
I needed to find out about the aura Luke had sensed.
The shock seemed to have made his memories hazy.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
When I applied a little stimulation to his head.
“Ahhhhhhh! Ah, ouch! Ow! I remember! I remember now! I remember! That’s it!”
The creature screamed as if the memory had suddenly returned.
I paused the magic for him.
“I think I saw it on that large, pitch-black Pirate Island!”
“Pirate Island?”
“It’s where the pirates of the south gather! The massive black horn in the center of Pirate Island! That’s what you’re referring to!”
A satisfactory answer came.
“Luke, is that right?”
– It appears they are referring to my dragon horn.
“Dragon horn means a horn, right?”
– Yes, that’s correct.
The dragon horn of the Black Flame Dragon.
I never expected it to be on Pirate Island.
If he hadn’t told me, there would have been no reason to go there.
‘Where should I go first?’
First, the White Apostle of the Water Deity.
Second, the dragon horn on Pirate Island.
As I deliberated which target to pursue first, I was able to decide on my first objective without much delay.
“Once maintenance is complete, I will head directly to Pirate Island.”
“W-with a pirate ship? Are you serious? That place is where all the pirates of the south gather!”
“I’m serious.”
My first destination was Pirate Island in the south.
I decided to go there to find Luke’s horn.
After all, to face the White Water Deity, I needed to strengthen my power even slightly.
And well, even if all the pirates of the south converge on Pirate Island.
‘Compared to the White Water Deity, they’re nothing.’
Even by level alone, going to Pirate Island first was the right choice.
Oh, before that.
‘Should I make some preparations?’
While maintaining the ship, I should prepare a bit to face the pirates.
* * *
The Imperial Army of the Southern Continent.
The Imperial Army fought various enemies across the continent to achieve unification, and among them, monsters remained the most formidable foe.
Yet this region harbored an adversary far more troublesome than any monster.
“Kahahaha! You Imperial lapdogs dare approach our Pirate Island? Have you grown so weary of life?”
“We may have underestimated you, but know this—when it comes to defending Pirate Island, we pirates can unite our strength!”
“Listen, Red Nose! You circle around to the side!”
“It’s Crimson Nose, not Red Nose!”
“What’s the difference?”
They were the pirates of the Southern Continent.
As the saying goes, the more chaotic the era, the more bandits emerge—was it not so?
The same held true for pirates.
As the Southern Continent descended into greater chaos, as resentment toward the Imperial Army festered and grew.
The pirate ranks swelled ever larger, and these emboldened corsairs increasingly dared to strike at Imperial forces.
When Imperial intelligence finally exposed the pirates’ stronghold, the Imperial Army came personally to eradicate them.
“The information about Pirate Island’s location was accurate, but the numbers were wrong.”
“Captain! There are far too many pirates!”
“And they’re actually cooperating with one another!”
“We cannot manage this alone. We must request additional reinforcements!”
The pirate numbers were overwhelming.
Ordinarily, mere numerical superiority would pose little problem—pirates, true to their nature, rarely coordinated effectively enough to pose a real threat.
Yet the pirates surrounding Pirate Island were attacking the Imperial forces with a coordination wholly uncharacteristic of their kind.
“These wretched pirates…”
The pirate problem extended beyond mere attacks on the Imperial Army.
As their numbers grew, they indiscriminately ravaged not only Imperial forces but the native populations of the Southern Continent.
Stripped of their resources, these natives had no choice but to become pirates themselves—a vicious cycle perpetuating endlessly.
The Imperial forces had desperately sought to eliminate the pirate threat entirely.
It seemed they had gravely underestimated their adversaries.
Thus they attempted to withdraw.
“Captain! Our rear is blocked!”
“What?”
“We should have evaded all the circling pirate vessels?”
“These aren’t circling vessels—they appear to be pirate ships returning to Pirate Island from outside!”
“We have no choice! We break through!”
“But the casualties will be catastrophic!”
Staying to fight would only compound our losses! We must break through at any cost!”
“Yes, sir!”
The returning pirates had sealed off their escape route entirely.
With no viable alternative, the Imperial forces had to accept heavy casualties and force their way through the pirate blockade.
As the Imperial soldiers gritted their teeth and charged toward the pirates.
Boom!
From far away.
From somewhere, there came a sound as if something enormous was being fired.
The Imperial Army soldiers, startled and turning their heads in case another pirate had appeared, saw what entered their vision.
“Water…?”
It was an enormous water droplet.
No, could that even be called a water droplet?
A water droplet larger than a cannonball?
Without even time to be flustered, the sphere of water that came flying swiftly—a water sphere—
BOOM!!
“Aaaahhhhh!”
“Damn it, what is happening!”
“The hull has completely collapsed!”
“We’re going over!”
“Danger! Everyone just jump down!”
It struck the pirate ship that had been blocking the Imperial Army’s retreat.
Though merely a sphere of water, its destructive power was tremendous.
Not only did the side of the pirate ship’s hull that was hit collapse, but it lost its balance, tilted, and ultimately capsized.
The problem was that this water sphere wasn’t just fired once.
BOOM!
Bang, boom!
“Kyaaahhh!”
“What is this!”
“Everyone evade!”
Water spheres came flying in succession.
Though the pirates lived upon the sea, familiarity with the sea did not mean they could withstand a tidal wave.
Similarly, being accustomed to the sea did not provide a way to safely block water spheres of such magnitude flying as swiftly as cannonballs.
The pirate ships fell rapidly.
Naturally, the Imperial Army raised their telescopes and searched for the direction from which the water spheres were coming.
And there was—
“A ship?”
There was one enormous ship.
Water spheres were being generated there and fired toward the pirates.
Following this, the Captain was able to spot the man who stood behind the fired water spheres.
That man’s face seemed somehow familiar.
Not long ago.
A lord said to have been appointed to the Kalbera Territory in the Southern Continent.
A noble of adventurer origins, known to have come down after receiving tremendous recognition for his achievements in the inland regions.
“Baron Mir?”
The appearance of Lord Mir, which had been transmitted in advance from the Empire, was unmistakable.

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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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