CHAPTER 265: OH GUARDIAN GOD OF THE SEA

Ethan, aboard the turtle ship, took his position in the middle of the vessel.

‘I certainly learned well from Admiral Yi Sun-sin.’

He never thought he’d be engaging in naval warfare so soon. But he clearly remembered Yi Sun-sin’s teachings.

Not how to avoid defeat, but how to secure certain victory.

Ethan operated the turtle ship according to Yi Sun-sin’s teachings.

‘I can use mana to move the turtle ship and fire shells.’

There were two ways to operate the turtle ship.

First was close combat through ramming. Simply put, it meant crashing into enemy ships with the sturdy part attached to the ship’s bow.

Then, add firepower with the numerous cannons mounted on the turtle ship.

‘He said it was upgraded from the original turtle ship.’

The turtle ship Ethan had summoned now could be considered a living monster that moved freely on the sea.

“Everyone, friend or foe, must think I’m at a disadvantage.”

The enemy ships alone numbered dozens right away.

Moreover, the size difference was not small. There were several ships twice as large as the turtle ship, and some of similar size.

From the start, the numbers were quite different, so this side was in an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation.

‘There’s no way I can lose this.’

But Ethan didn’t think he was at a disadvantage at all.

He was almost grateful to the 5th Apostle for leading him into a naval battle.

‘I can see everything clearly.’

Originally, the turtle ship’s shell-like top made it difficult to secure visibility. But inside this improved turtle ship, the outside situation was clearly visible.

‘Their formation is properly organized. They must be pirates or navy.’

If so, all the better.

‘They’ll be accustomed to standardized tactics. They won’t be able to properly deal with the turtle ship.’

Bang-!

Ethan drove the turtle ship roughly and quickly. In an instant, Ethan arrived right in front of the enemy ship and crashed the turtle ship into the enemy’s vanguard.

Boom-!

As it hit squarely on the side, Ethan infused mana into the turtle ship.

Screech-!

The turtle head’s eyes glowed, and then flames poured out of its mouth.

Simultaneously, Ethan opened all gun ports and fired cannons in all directions.

‘Being in the middle of the enemy ships like this prevents them from freely using cannon attacks.’

If they fired carelessly, they might hit their own ships.

‘On the other hand, I can shoot without hesitation.’

“Arghhhh-!”

“Dodge! Dodge!”

“Don’t shoot this way!”

While firing the cannons, Ethan moved the turtle ship again.

‘It’s not just firepower.’

In addition to the turtle ship, Ethan had one more power from Yi Sun-sin.

‘Eyes of the Great Hero.’

This Eyes of the Great Hero, Yi Sun-sin’s unique skill, showed tremendous effect in naval battles.

This technique, which allowed instant understanding of the battlefield situation and sea currents, showed Ethan a near-perfect answer sheet in the current situation.

‘I can see the route.’

He could see everything – where to move the ship, which ship to attack first.

Bang-!

Ethan drove the ship again, following the route indicated by the Eyes of the Great Hero.

Bang-!

Once again colliding with an enemy ship and half-destroying it, the turtle ship fired its cannons.

Bang-!

“What, what on earth is that?”

“We can’t keep up with its speed!”

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

The Dawn Council’s fleet was helplessly taking hits from Ethan’s cannon fire without being able to counterattack.

Not only was the turtle ship’s speed extraordinary, but the power of its cannons was also exceptional.

‘This is crazy.’

The power of the cannons was surprising even to Ethan. The cannons mounted on this turtle ship were not ordinary ones.

‘It has a unique power like Hang Woo’s Counter Radiance imbued in it.’

The undefeated general.

The sea god.

It contained power befitting these titles.

However, the turtle ship had one weakness.

Ethan momentarily staggered and touched his forehead.

‘Mana is consumed too quickly.’

“Lyuka!”

Ethan quickly summoned Lyuka to recover mana. At the same time, he took out the decoctions he had saved and drank them in succession.

Gulp gulp.

‘I can’t use it for long. I need to end this quickly.’

Swoosh-!

The turtle ship moving through the sea was like a fierce beast.

The enemy ships tried to resist somehow, but they couldn’t hit the turtle ship that was breaking through their formation at high speed and firing cannons in all directions.

“Fire! Hit it, I said!”

At this rate, it was like a predator dropped among herbivores.

The First Orders personally manned the cannons and fired at the wildly moving turtle ship. But the turtle ship accurately dodged the shells.

The mages on the ships also continuously fired various spells, but it was impossible to stop the turtle ship’s movements.

“How on earth is this happening!”

“This is impossible! How can it move at that speed!”

The First Orders were shocked. Even they, who had won countless naval battles until now, had never experienced anything like this.

Their pupils shook violently. They clearly needed to take some action, but they couldn’t think of what to do.

They tried to draw answers by reflecting on their accumulated experiences, but the turtle ship’s power was so overwhelming that those experiences were more of a hindrance.

Bang-! Boom-!

As the turtle ship rampaged through the enemy lines, ramming and destroying, half of the Dawn Council’s ships were shattered.

The reinforcements arrived, but they only became prey for the turtle ship, unable to do anything.

“We, we need to retreat!”

“We must retreat for now!”

“The Apostle is waiting! We can’t retreat like this!”

“We’ll all die at this rate!”

The vice-captains of each ship pleaded with the dazed First Orders.

Normally, the First Orders would have made quick judgments, but in this situation, it was difficult to make proper decisions.

“Let’s regroup one more time…”

Kaboom-!

But there was no time to regroup.

All the vanguard ships had been devoured by the turtle ship and sunk to the bottom of the sea, and the remaining ships were just trying to distance themselves while firing cannons.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before the entire fleet sank.

Bang-!

A shell hit right behind a First Order.

Soon after, the ship burst into flames with an explosion.

Filled with anger at this tremendous humiliation, the First Order glared at the turtle ship with eyes full of rage.

“I’ll go.”

The First Order grabbed the ship’s helm, intending to sink the turtle ship personally.

But then.

The turtle head’s mouth began to open.

“I won’t fall for the same trick twice!”

They already knew it was equipped with a flame cannon. If so, they just needed to counter with artifacts.

However, what came out of that mouth was something else.

Whoosh-!

“Ugh…!”

A shower of arrows began to pour out of the turtle head’s mouth. Not only the Dawn Council followers but even the First Order couldn’t withstand the attack and perished on the spot.

“!”

Seeing this, the other First Orders and followers on the other ships trembled.

It was time to make a decision.

“Retreat! All forces retreat! Retreat!”

As soon as the retreat order was given, the Dawn Council’s fleet hurriedly began to turn around. The artifacts installed on the ships activated, moving the ships quickly.

The Dawn Council’s fleet made a full turn and retreated.

Grind-!

The First Orders gritted their teeth and glared at the turtle ship.

“On this sea… to suffer such humiliation on this sea…”

They had been pointed at as pirates, but they had sunk all those who pointed fingers, including those who had looked down on them.

They had made a name for themselves by facing 100 ships with just 10.

This was the first time they had been so overwhelmingly defeated. They had lost helplessly without even putting up a decent resistance.

“Damn it! Damn it all-!”

It was their first time experiencing such a one-sided defeat and retreating without properly carrying out orders.

Similarly, the two First Orders beside them couldn’t hide their anger.

“What… what about the Apostle’s orders?”

“This is not the time to think about that!”

They could be completely wiped out before even reaching Watopia where the 5th Apostle was waiting.

No, there was a high possibility that the 5th Apostle had already been defeated by that monster-like being.

“The 5th Apostle… might have already been defeated by that monster-like figure!”

If so, they needed to escape first and report this fact.

“It’s, it’s chasing us!”

“It’s chasing us!?”

They never thought it would chase them. It had faced dozens of ships alone, so its strength must have been depleted. They thought pursuit would be impossible.

But they were wrong. Rather, the enemy increased its speed and started firing cannons.

Bang-! Bang-!

“The, the power is stronger than before!”

“The left wing has completely collapsed!”

The right wing had already collapsed, and with this bombardment, the left wing collapsed too.

Now all that remained were the ships in the center where the First Orders were.

Just five ships.

These five ships were much larger than the others, but they were just being chased by the much smaller turtle ship.

“Just one ship… to be like this because of just one ship…”

One First Order had already died in the shower of arrows earlier, and the two surviving First Orders couldn’t even think of counterattacking, only thinking about fleeing.

At the moment the First Order turned back in shock.

A shell hit the ship directly.

***

“…”

The king of Watopia blinked his eyes.

The enemy had dozens of ships.

On the other hand, this side had only one.

It was a battle with Watopia’s fate at stake, but this side was at a severe disadvantage. That’s why he, as the king, had planned to take the lead personally to boost morale.

Even if they were defeated, he intended to take all responsibility so that everything could end with just his life.

“Is this… right?”

The king asked, swallowing.

“I asked if what I’m seeing is correct.”

But there was no answer. Everyone was silent, shocked by the unbelievable sight they had witnessed.

It was shocking enough that Watopia had risen above the water’s surface, but what was happening before their eyes now was even more shocking.

“Captain of the Knights!”

“…Yes! Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Is it reality that the turtle ship boarded by Ethan Whiskers, no, the turtle ship boarded by the hero Ethan Whiskers, has defeated dozens of enemy ships?”

“…Yes, that’s correct. It’s the victory of a single ship.”

The captain of the knights nodded and answered.

The turtle ship that had sunk the entire enemy fleet returned leisurely to Watopia.

Ethan disembarked from the turtle ship and took a deep breath.

“There are no more enemies now.”

At Ethan’s words, the merfolk began to cheer.

“Wooooooah-!”

“Ethan Whiskers has saved Watopia!”

The merfolk rushed towards Ethan in a crowd. Ethan was extremely tired after using all his strength to operate the turtle ship to its limit.

Nevertheless, Ethan waved his hand, responding to the merfolk’s cheers.

The Pope approached Ethan with a pleased expression.

“Ethan.”

The Pope bestowed a blessing on the tired Ethan.

Whoosh-!

With that blessing, which was close to healing, Ethan felt his fatigue fly away.

“I have clearly seen the good you have done.”

The Pope smiled.

“Continue to do good and show kindness in heart and action like this. Then, even if you believe in another god, the goddess will always bestow her mercy.”

-Your survival probability increases significantly!

-The Pope is satisfied with your good deed.

-Pope Frederick’s trust in you reaches its limit.

-2 points are awarded according to the increased survival probability!

Author's Thoughts

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