The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 198
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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 198
Chapter 198
The magical weapons I had installed on my ship were lightning and ice attribute magic.
The reason was simple.
My enemy was the White Water Deity.
The White Water Deity and the monsters that appeared alongside it were almost entirely—no, completely aquatic monsters.
Aquatic monsters were fundamentally weak to electrical attacks, and ice attacks were advantageous given the sea’s terrain, so choosing lightning and ice magic was the obvious choice.
However.
‘If my opponents are pirates, that’s a different story.’
The weakness of ordinary pirates wasn’t lightning or ice.
Of course, both could strike enemies effectively, but there was a more advantageous attribute.
Fire attribute, you ask?
Fire attribute is certainly effective.
Since pirate ships are mostly made of wood, firing fire attribute attacks could burn both the hull and the sails.
But there was an even better attribute.
And that was.
‘Water.’
Water attribute.
What weakness does water attribute have?
I didn’t choose water attribute because it was the pirates’ weakness.
Rather, it was because of the terrain I was currently in.
‘In places abundant with water like the sea, the power of water magic increases.’
Attribute magic is affected by terrain.
In volcanic terrain, fire attribute mana is abundant, making fire attribute magic stronger.
In mountainous regions, earth attribute mana is abundant, making earth attribute magic stronger.
Similarly, water attribute magic becomes stronger at sea.
However, water attribute attacks wouldn’t be very effective against the White Water Deity, so I hadn’t used that method.
But if my opponent is a pirate, the situation changes.
A pirate ship could be sunk in one hit with proper impact—electricity or flames weren’t even necessary.
In that sense, the magic I chose was.
[ Water Cannon ]
This.
Like Thunder Cannon and Ice Cannon, it was a 5-circle water magic.
However, since it was designed to be used on water and to particularly absorb the surrounding water attribute mana well.
Boom!
Its power became incredibly strong.
With each shot, an entire pirate ship would sink.
And so.
‘The Imperial Army?’
Ships that had been hidden behind the pirate vessels came into view.
A massive golden dragon emblem carved into the side of the hull.
Anyone could see at a glance that these were Imperial Army vessels.
I wondered why Imperial Army ships had suddenly appeared here, but for now, destroying the pirate ships took priority.
Boom!
Pirate ships sank one after another.
However, not every pirate vessel was eliminated by a single water cannon blast.
“That damn bastard! Are these reinforcements from the Imperial Army!”
An enormous pirate ship approached from the side.
A vessel so massive it dwarfed even the Imperial Army’s warships.
It wasn’t a well-crafted ship—it appeared they had plundered materials from various vessels, assembled them, and modified the structure to increase its size.
Though crude in appearance, the construction was surprisingly solid, suggesting a skilled shipwright had overseen the work.
Because of that.
Boom!
“Kahahaha! You think attacks like that will work on our Big Giant! Fire a hundred more times and see if any of them land!”
The water cannon failed to inflict significant damage on the pirate ship.
Well, it did cause some damage, but the outer hull was covered in multiple layers and the ship was so massive that the damage was negligible.
Observing this enemy.
“Water Blaster, prepare for deployment.”
“Yes, my lord!”
I immediately moved toward the second magical weapon.
During the journey to where Pirate Island was located.
The second magical weapon I had carefully crafted to defeat the pirates.
Its true identity was.
[ Water Blaster ]
A 6-Circle water spell, Water Blaster.
It was a higher-tier magic than the 5-Circle Water Cannon.
As a 6-Circle spell, I had considerable difficulty creating the magical weapon.
And because it was 6-Circle magic, even with me charging mana right beside it, high-grade mana stones were necessary for operation.
However, mana stones were hardly in short supply for me.
Even for me, special-grade mana stones weren’t particularly abundant, but if I calibrated the magical weapon’s formula properly.
[ Lowest-Grade Mana Stone ]
A rumbling sound.
It was possible to fill the mana by quantity, dumping over ten thousand lowest-grade mana stones from Luke’s subspace into the weapon.
The moment I finished charging the mana.
“Take aim.”
“Yes, my lord!”
While I adjusted the magical weapon’s spell, the crew moved the device in my stead, targeting the pirate ship.
Toward the massive pirate vessel that continued its bold approach.
“Activate.”
I activated the 6-Circle magical weapon.
Then I gave the order.
Whoooooosh!
A tremendous torrent of water erupted from the magical weapon with devastating force.
The impact was so powerful that the ship tilted in the opposite direction.
An attack so intense it evoked the Blue Dragon’s Water Breath.
“Kahahaha! What kind of attack is that! It won’t work on our Big Giant anyway! We’ve reinforced the hull multiple times—do you really think a water cannon could penetrate it!”
A pirate shouted confidently upon seeing the water torrent.
He couldn’t fathom that such a water jet could destroy his pirate ship.
Of course, a pirate vessel capable of withstanding a 5-Circle spell to that degree certainly possessed formidable defensive and structural integrity.
Crash!
The power of 6-Circle magic was entirely different from 5-Circle magic.
One would be gravely mistaken to think Water Blaster was merely slightly stronger than Water Cannon.
The Water Blaster, erupting like a dragon’s breath, touched the pirate ship’s hull and—
Crackle, crackle, crack!
—began carving through the massive vessel’s hull with ease.
Like a sandcastle crumbling before the tide.
At that sight—
“Impossible! Our Big Giant! This can’t be, aaaaagh!”
The pirate panicked.
Regardless, the Water Blaster pierced completely through the pirate ship’s hull.
When our crew adjusted the magical weapon slightly, the Water Blaster shifted and cleaved the pirate ship in two.
The power was so tremendous that the water jet, unsatisfied with merely splitting one vessel, pierced through the pirate ships behind it as well.
The ones shocked weren’t only the pirates.
“Good heavens…”
“How on earth did you create such a weapon?”
“I’ve never seen any magical ship equipped with a magical weapon of this caliber…”
“You fashioned such a weapon on the way to Pirate Island?”
“Could it be modeled after your own attack…!”
My crew aboard the Black Dragon Ship was equally astonished.
Even those who had assisted me in aiming the magical weapon.
And one more person.
“Insane—are you actually a monster? You created a weapon like this?”
Kang Ju-hyuk spoke to me in amazement.
“It’s not a perfect weapon. It can only be used in the sea where water-attribute mana is abundant, and only with a massive ship to absorb the recoil.”
“With a weapon this powerful, couldn’t you just sweep away that White Water Deity or whatever it is?”
“Impossible. Water-attribute attacks won’t be effective against the White Water Deity, and I can’t use this frequently.”
I hadn’t prepared the Water Blaster from the start without reason.
While the Water Blaster was devastatingly powerful against pirates, it wouldn’t deliver comparable damage to water-attribute monsters like the White Water Deity.
And using 6-Circle lightning or ice magic instead would be impractical—the surrounding area lacks sufficient mana of those attributes.
Most importantly, as you can see from the magical weapon that just unleashed the Water Blaster, it’s not an attack I can use frequently.
Once activated, it requires at least several dozen minutes before it can be used again.
Still, though.
“Run for your lives!”
“It’s a monster!”
“Come on, let’s go! Come with us! Please!”
It was more than enough to terrify the pirates.
The moment they caught sight of the Water Blaster, the pirates’ courage evaporated and they fled.
Naturally, I had no intention of simply watching them escape.
“We’ll pursue them!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The moment the pirates turned their backs, we gave chase.
The Black Dragon Ship had magic imbued in its propulsion systems, allowing it to move faster than most vessels.
Moving at such speed.
Boom, kaboom!
Crackle!
Crack—
I unleashed all the magical weapons, targeting the fleeing pirate ships.
Thunder Cannon, Ice Cannon, Water Cannon.
Every attack at my disposal was fired.
I did the same.
I left the Water Cannon to my crew and retrieved the weapon I had used against the White Sea Pirates.
[ Portable Ancient Mana Cannon ]
Boom!
I fired it toward the pirate ships.
Under the relentless barrage, the pirates sank rapidly.
Of course, no matter how hard my crew and I tried, we alone couldn’t sink all those pirate vessels.
“Fire!”
“Yes, Captain!”
“Support the Black Ship! Sink all the pirates!”
“Capture them all!”
The Imperial Army vessels that had been fleeing from the pirates moments before.
They began to aid us.
Though they had been retreating under pressure, they were all proud soldiers of the Baltika Imperial Army.
As such, they rapidly sank the pirate ships by firing the cannons mounted on their vessels.
Thanks to their assistance, we were able to eliminate most of the fleeing pirates.
As the situation drew to a close.
The largest vessel of the Imperial Army fleet pulled alongside the Black Dragon Ship.
A bridge was extended between the two ships, and someone climbed across it toward us.
“My lord.”
“They don’t appear hostile. Let’s observe for now.”
I worried the crew might need to cut the bridge, but it didn’t seem necessary.
After a moment, someone crossed the bridge entirely and descended onto the Black Dragon Ship.
She wore the Empire’s distinctive azure uniform, emblazoned with the golden dragon insignia and various medals.
A typical Imperial officer’s appearance.
The moment she stepped onto the deck, she approached me in a straight line.
“Greetings! I am Sidrin, serving in the Baltika Imperial Navy with the rank of Admiral!”
“I’m Mir… Baron.”
The title of baron felt unfamiliar on my tongue, but given how she introduced herself, I couldn’t help but reveal my own rank.
Still, among the Empire’s NPCs, there were many who didn’t favor me—an adventurer-turned-noble—so I hadn’t given it much thought.
“As I suspected! From a distance, I wondered if you might be Baron Mir!”
“You know of me?”
“How could I not! A noble of adventurer origins! A noble who transcended the limits of their birth! Baron Mir, you are the idol of all commoner-born officials!”
“…Pardon?”
“Think about it—aren’t they similar? Commoners who can never reach nobility, and adventurers! I myself have risen to the rank of Admiral, yet I see no path beyond this. But seeing Baron Mir gave me hope!”
She launched into sudden praise.
“In fact, since Baron Mir obtained your noble title, the Empire has been implementing various promotion policies! The policies themselves are shifting from bloodline-based to merit-based and achievement-based systems!”
“…Is that so?”
“It’s all thanks to Baron Mir! And thank you again for this support! Without Baron Mir, the damage would have been catastrophic!”
She also seemed to believe that my attack on the pirate ship was meant to save them.
In truth, I discovered the Imperial Army only after attacking the pirate ship, but there was no need to correct her.
“Baron Mir, would you not assist us? With Baron Mir at our side, we could completely eradicate the southern pirates!”
[ Sudden Quest ‘Pirate Island Subjugation’ has been created. ]
Rank: Unique
Description: Sidrin, Admiral of the Imperial Navy, is attacking Pirate Island to subjugate the southern pirates.
Help her eliminate or drive away all pirates on Pirate Island.
Objective: Eliminate or drive away all pirates on Pirate Island and claim it.
“Of course, I would never dare claim Baron Mir’s achievements! I will report your achievements properly! I simply wish to feel the honor of standing alongside Baron Mir!”
A sudden quest had appeared.
A smile spread across my face as I confirmed it.
I was already heading to Pirate Island to obtain Luke’s horn anyway.
If I accept this quest, I’ll be fighting alongside the Imperial Army, which should make subjugating Pirate Island easier, and I’ll gain additional quest rewards as well, won’t I?
“Very well.”
“An honor, Baron Mir! I will do my utmost!”
With that in mind, I extended my hand to her.
Soon after, we began advancing toward Pirate Island, sailing over the sinking pirate ships.
With that in mind, I reached out my hand to her.
Soon after, they began advancing over the sinking pirate ships to subjugate Pirate Island.
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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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