novelraw Chapter 65 : You’re the First Hardcase Like You I’ve Seen
Chapter 65 : You’re the First Hardcase Like You I’ve Seen
Chapter 65: You’re the First Hardcase Like You I’ve Seen
“Keugh…….”
The Admiral clutched his right arm and let out a groan.
An arrow was embedded in his upper arm, blood flowing down.
“Keheok.”
“These crazy bastards…….”
The Admiral was not the only one hit by arrows.
The crossbowmen on the merchant ship even struck their own pirate allies.
Thanks to them acting as human shields, Robin and Imelda were unharmed.
‘So they’re telling us to give up on threatening them with hostages.’
He abandoned the plan of negotiating while dragging along the pirate the old man had knocked unconscious.
The other side had come out strong.
Robin whispered to Imelda.
“Go down below the deck.”
“But the lock…….”
The one who had locked the iron-barred gate was the Admiral.
He also had the key.
They had to get it.
“Another volley of arrows might come, so hide behind the mast.”
Without even waiting for an answer, Robin ran toward the Admiral.
A voice tinged with laughter drifted down from the merchant ship.
“Crossbowmen, reload.”
Click, click.
They loaded the arrows.
Robin swung his sword toward the pirates around the Admiral, blocking the way as he advanced.
Up close, the Admiral’s complexion looked pale.
He had already been beaten black and blue, and now he had even taken an arrow.
“Roy… if I die, please pass word to Count Wilcock’s territory…….”
“Who’s dying? Enough of that. Where’s the key to the lock?”
“In my pocket…….”
Robin slung the Admiral over his left shoulder and rummaged through his pocket as he ran.
A finger-length key came out.
To avoid being hit by crossbows, the pirates backed away from around Robin.
He set the Admiral down and placed the key in his left hand.
“Open the lock. Don’t worry about the arrows.”
With sluggish movements, the Admiral opened the lock and undid the chain.
In the meantime, the crossbowmen finished loading.
A man on the merchant ship extended his hand toward Robin.
“Fire.”
In the slowed flow of time, it was not impossible for Robin to block the arrows.
The problem was that there were over a dozen arrows, and there were people behind him he had to protect.
He pushed his concentration to the extreme and moved his hands.
Robin’s sword, moving as if dancing, knocked away the arrows one by one.
Kaang.
Starting with sparks flying from the left-hand sword, the clangor of metal painfully assaulted the ears.
Head, shoulders, chest, abdomen, lower body.
He blocked every arrow aimed at his entire body without missing a single one.
With each deflection, the impact traveled through him, making it feel as if his grip would tear apart.
Five seconds that felt like an eternity passed, and silence descended.
“…….”
Creeeak.
The door opened.
Robin saw Imelda hiding behind the mast.
She was safe.
“Quick, get in here.”
At Robin’s chin gesture, Imelda shook off the pirates and ran.
One pirate aimed for Imelda’s back.
Robin threw his sword at the bastard.
Puuk.
The pirate, struck in the chest, collapsed on the spot.
When another approached from the side, Imelda this time stabbed his neck without hesitation.
Blood sprayed, but Imelda did not care.
The muttering voice from the merchant ship sounded unusually loud.
“I’ll change the plan. Crossbowmen, strike all at once, regardless of whether they’re holding cold steel.”
Robin spoke toward Imelda and the Admiral.
“From now on, leave it to me. You two hide down below.”
A mix of emotions surfaced on Imelda’s face.
Worry and frustration. Though she felt those opposing emotions, she did not argue.
“Mr. Admiral, excuse me.”
“Ugh…….”
Imelda hoisted the Admiral onto her shoulder and went down.
Robin locked the door and handed the key to Imelda.
“Don’t worry too much. Nothing will happen.”
Imelda did not reply.
Right now, all she could do was trust Robin.
Tadadadat.
Dozens of pirates poured onto the pirate ship’s deck.
They formed a group about ten meters away from Robin.
Crossbowmen were mixed in here and there.
The man from the merchant ship coolly assessed their combat power.
Robin’s martial prowess was not something that could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
The plan he devised was to fire crossbows during close combat.
If arrows rained down from both the pirate ship and the merchant ship, he would not be able to dodge them.
“He looks like a brat not even twenty, but he’s strong.”
“Get your words straight. It’s not that I’m strong—it’s that you’re weak.”
At Robin’s words, the pirates frowned.
The man let out a scoffing laugh.
He drew his sword and pointed it at Robin.
Only then did Robin realize it.
‘That man is the real leader.’
The one who had been in the pirate ship’s captain’s cabin was probably just a mid-level officer.
He did not know what they were doing on the merchant ship, but it did not matter.
He would find out soon enough.
An order fell from the man’s mouth.
“I’ll give ten silver coins to whoever brings me that bastard. Alive or dead, I don’t care.”
“Waaaaaaah!”
Pirates wielding rusted swords surged toward Robin.
Robin picked up swords rolling on the ground and held one in each hand.
He took a deep breath.
“Shall I stir up a blade wind.”
Ignoring the charging pirates, he leaped toward the merchant ship.
He advanced while stepping on sticky blood and chunks of flesh.
The pirates, once numbering close to a hundred, were halved, and now only about twenty remained.
Whether pirate ship or merchant ship, the fishy stench of blood stimulated his nose.
Chwaak.
Another pirate fell.
After shaking the blood off onto the ground, a group huddled to one side came into view.
Every one of them wore the same expression.
Fear.
The urge to drop to their knees and beg for mercy was being provoked.
Right on cue, Robin opened his mouth.
“If you surrender, I’ll give you a chance.”
With every step he took, an unpleasant, sticky sensation followed, like stepping through a mire.
Squelch, squelch.
The pirates no longer attacked Robin.
They silently watched as the blood-soaked boy approached.
He was slashed and stabbed all over, yet his momentum did not diminish.
Arrows were embedded in his shoulder and back, yet he moved as if it were nothing.
“When we reach Runeberg, I’ll let you go. The security there isn’t very good, so try escaping with your own skills.”
“Are you saying you’ll spare us?”
“Yeah.”
At some point, the pirate captain began speaking to Robin politely.
After exchanging a few words with his subordinates, he put down his weapon.
With both hands raised, he slowly came forward.
The remaining pirates knelt down and slammed their foreheads against the deck.
“We surrender.”
“Good. First, clean up.”
Robin threw the weapons the pirates had set down into one place.
Countless swords and crossbows gathered together.
The pirates glanced around, then poured seawater and cleaned the deck.
The captain, too, wiped the floor with a rag, recalling what had just happened.
The distance between the ships alone had to be over five meters, yet he had leapt across it.
-Running alone into enemy territory. Kill him.
The boy had jumped into the middle of the merchant ship without a hint of fear.
Even pirates were people who had once made a living by the sword.
A group of men who could easily handle two or three ordinary people at once.
The victory they had taken for granted drifted farther away each time the boy swung his sword.
‘No idea where such a Monster crawled out from. And he says he’s going all the way to Runeberg…….’
If the boy’s words were true, there was hope.
Runeberg was land currently thrown into chaos by war.
If they could just avoid the guards protecting the port, they could start anew with fresh identities.
“Hey, what are you doing standing around. No exceptions just because you’re the captain.”
“I’m sorry.”
After ten minutes, the merchant ship’s deck was clean.
With as many as thirty hands, the cleanup went quickly.
In the meantime, Robin brought out the passengers who had been staying on the pirate ship.
Since the pirate ship was still strewn with blood and corpses, many could not hold back their vomit.
As soon as Imelda saw Robin, her face crumpled.
The passengers could not close their mouths.
Robin added words to reassure them.
“It’s all over.”
“You really did it…….”
The Admiral muttered as if his soul had left his body.
Even Serena, who was not easily surprised, widened her eyes as she looked Robin over.
The old man approached Robin and spoke calmly.
“You did well.”
“If you had helped, sir, it would have ended even faster.”
“What use is it to kick away the foothold one needs to grow. I’ll watch over things now, so get treated first.”
The treatment the injured, including Robin, could receive was limited to simple first aid.
There was no proper physician.
Robin pulled out the arrows embedded in his body in one go and wrapped bandages tightly around himself.
“Doesn’t it hurt……?”
“It hurts, but I endure it.”
When he pulled out the arrowheads tearing through living flesh, his vision turned white.
Even so, he could not show the pain.
Because the pirates were still watching Robin.
“I’ve never seen a hardcase like you.”
At Serena’s words, he raised an eyebrow in response, then gave the passengers their instructions.
If the pirates picked up weapons, they were to announce it loudly at once.
If any pirate approached the pile of gathered weapons, they were to stop them.
Everyone on the ship listened closely to Robin’s words.
“Now let’s move one by one.”
The passengers who returned to the merchant ship hugged each other and let out sighs of relief.
They also shot sharp glares toward the pirates.
Some even caused a disturbance, claiming they would kill the pirates with swords.
The captain bowed deeply and asked Robin.
“Th-then… what will you do with our ship?”
“Abandon it.”
At the unhesitating reply, the captain fell into despair.
As he stood there only moving his lips, unable to speak, the Admiral stepped in instead.
“Rather than that, how about taking that ship with us too?”
“I didn’t spare the pirates for no reason. Every sailor who could handle the ship is dead.”
“Not all of them.”
The Admiral pointed to himself and smiled awkwardly.
‘He even has sailing experience?’
“So you’re saying you’ll pilot the ship alone?”
“We can make them work.”
“The pirates? Even without weapons, they’re robust men. It’s not a good choice.”
“If Miss Melida comes along, it should ease my worries a bit.”
When her name was called unexpectedly, Imelda turned her head.
Robin looked at her, asking what she would do.
“I’ll do it. If we take that ship, there’ll be some kind of reward, right?”
“Then let’s do that. Choose the personnel yourself. Take some sturdy people from among the passengers too.”
After expressing his thanks to Robin, the Admiral went to the pirates with Imelda.
It did not take long.
About twenty people moved over to the pirate ship and began bustling about.
The pirates left on the merchant ship also finished preparations for departure.
The captain gauged the mood and spoke.
“Do we depart now?”
“Yes. It’s better to leave as soon as possible.”
The captain swallowed hard and issued orders to the pirates.
The lights for the middle of the night had long been extinguished.
Though they knew the dangers of night sailing, they had to hurry.
As the ship began to move, the passengers took turns standing watch.
It was to prevent the pirates from doing anything foolish.
A kind of large-scale night watch.
Robin spoke to the passenger guarding the door leading to the cabins.
“I’ll go rest for a bit.”
“Please rest well. We’ll guard things properly here. Roy-nim deserves that.”
After receiving a greeting filled with respect, he entered the cabins.
He went into any empty cabin at random and locked the door.
“Keuheuh…….”
The pain and groans he had been holding back spilled out.
Though he had won against dozens of pirates, it was not without damage.
It was hard to believe he had been walking around fine until now.
Each time he took off his blood-soaked clothes, his whole body stung.
He had rinsed himself roughly with seawater, but not all the bloodstains had washed away.
When he looked in the mirror, countless wound marks on his upper body were revealed.
“…….”
Mental fatigue and physical fatigue crashed over him at once.
No matter that they were pirates, his opponents had been people.
He had killed dozens.
It was the first time he had killed so many people while fully conscious.
No one could blame Robin, but what he felt himself was different.
“Huuuu…….”
He collapsed face-first onto the bed.
His head and body moved separately.
Bring herbs and get proper treatment.
Keep watch so the pirates don’t harbor dangerous thoughts.
Reason lashed at Robin like a whip, but his body did not move.
Like cotton soaked in water sinking down, Robin fell into sleep.