Chapter 571: Chapter 571

As Lucia and Mukapa nodded, Sanford, blinking in surprise, turned around.

"From here on, no more breaks! You bastards! Even and odd rows will row in turns, nonstop, until I say halt! Understood?"

The response from below deck was, unexpectedly, not curses or complaints, but a roar of agreement. The blessing carried on the warmth had clearly roused their spirits.

"We’ll count in twos now! Ready, one!" Hashim, at Sanford’s glance, quickly raised his voice.

Meanwhile, Ian, looking at Lucia and Mukapa, said, "Don’t push yourself too far. Mukapa, keep Lucy safe."

"Yes," Lucia replied, picking up a piece of firewood and sitting down on the floor.

She was clearly preparing to pray again. Mukapa, instead of answering, undid the leather strap securing the battle hammer and gripped it with both hands. Due to his size, his stance was much more stable than when Ian had held it.

"Well then, shall we return to our posts?" Thesaya added, with a faint smile.

Ian, gesturing for Sanford to follow, nodded and turned. He didn’t forget to add a word to Brennen, who was still looking bewildered. "I’ll be counting on you."

As Brennen numbly nodded in response, Lucia said from behind, "You two be careful as well."

Thesaya winked at her. "Don’t you worry. This Elder will show you what she’s made of."

Ian stepped onto the stairs. The light from the brazier flowed onto the aft deck along with the warmth. The Blessing of Battle was less than a quarter of its full strength, but it was enough to clear his mind and boost his fighting spirit. Of course, the heat that had settled in him was helping as well.

"Divine blessings really are a strange thing," Thesaya murmured, her composure returning.

Of course, not everyone was feeling the same.

—Friend. I’ll probably need to drink your blood now and then. Will you allow it?

Nodding at the hushed whisper, Ian stepped onto the aft deck. Perhaps because the ship was now brightly lit, the sea, swirling with mist and waves, felt even darker.

The ship was tilted toward the bow, making him feel as if he were left alone in the middle of the writhing darkness. However, far beyond the water’s surface, the blue and purple lights still shimmered. The fact that they looked clearer than before was likely because the mist mixed with the wind had thinned.

It’s not just the mist.

Ian’s eyes narrowed slightly. The shimmering blue light had also faded compared to the purple. Bukikia’s minions, having sunk the smuggling ships, were now clearly sending the archipelago’s vessels to the bottom of the sea.

"Sir!" Sanford’s shout came from behind.

Gripping a hook in his right hand and with a rope coiled around his shoulder, he came running, staggering across the deck, casting a long, swaying shadow before him.

"I knew it, but..." he said, stopping unsteadily in front of Ian, his eyes shining as he continued, "you truly are the Superhuman of the North, sir. Seeing that red divinity makes it finally feel real. It’s just as the rumors said!"

"I don’t think so," Thesaya cut in bluntly.

At Sanford’s glance, she tilted her head. "When he receives the full blessing, it’s incomparable to this. It’s as intense as a roaring flame. He becomes terrifying."

"Let’s save the flattery for later. Let’s see what you brought." Ian said with a dry laugh, looking at Sanford.

"Ah, yes. Here it is!" Sanford quickly held out the hook in his hand.

Ian gripped it with his left hand. It was shaped like four large fishhooks joined together like a bouquet. It was, of course, very sturdy.

"Yes. As I said, this rope is made with sea beast tendons. It’s very tough, and long enough." Sanford said, shrugging his shoulders, which were loosely wrapped with the rope.

As Ian nodded, Sanford looked at Thesaya and said, "Could you wrap this around him for me, Elder? My left arm is in this state, you see."

A soaked bandage was still wrapped around his left arm. The splint seemed to be broken, but he hadn’t taken it off.

"With pleasure. Ian, how should I wrap it?" Thesaya asked, eagerly grabbing the rope.

Ian glanced down at himself beneath the folds of his cloak. "Wrap it tight around my waist, then loop the rest around my left arm."

"Got it. Leave it to me." Thesaya nodded and kneeled in front of Ian.

She pushed the end of the rope deep into his cloak and wrapped her other arm around his waist.

"Don’t get the wrong idea. This is necessary," Thesaya said, looking up at Ian’s slightly furrowed brow with a sweet smile. As she did, she pushed the end of the rope, which she had wrapped once around his waist, between his legs.

"I don’t think you need to go that far," Ian said, his brow furrowing a little more.

Thesaya shook her head. "This way, it’ll be tight and secure. You’ll regret it if you just wrap it around your waist."

Ian, who was about to argue, smacked his lips. She had a point.

So I’m making a harness out of sea beast sinew.

"What are you doing?" Ian asked coolly, looking to the side.

Sanford was watching them with a hesitant expression. "W-well, it’s just that..." Sanford shifted his weight and subtly averted his gaze. "I heard that the Superhuman of the North wields a sword of radiant light and a golden shield... and commands the thunder..."

Who in the world is spreading nonsense like that?

Ian smirked, though his eyes, of course, were not smiling at all.

Wiping the cold sweat that had formed on his forehead, Sanford stammered, "I was just thinking... if I waited, I might be able to see it. As you know, today could be the last day of my life."

Ian clenched the hook in his left hand, and brilliant golden light flared between the seams of his gauntlet.

A hexagonal shield of shimmering gold unfolded and hovered just above the back of his hand. Sanford’s jaw dropped at the sight.

"Satisfied?" Ian, meeting Sanford’s shimmering gaze, gave a curt nod with an expressionless face. "Go."

"I-It is the honor of a lifetime, sir!" Only then did Sanford nod his head so hard it looked like it might fall off. He suddenly met Ian’s eyes. "Then, I will be counting on you, sir. No... O Superhuman."

"I’ll try, so you just focus on your job. And from now on, no one is to come near this deck."

"Aye!" Sanford replied with a sharp salute and ran off.

So he really was in the Navy.

Ian let out a low chuckle as his gaze drifted downward again.

"It’s done. Try moving," said Thesaya, clapping her hands free of dust from where she sat on the floor.

The rope was snugly looped twice around Ian’s waist, the rest threaded between his legs. It wasn’t a pretty sight by any stretch of the imagination, but since it was a dark color like his armor, it wasn’t too conspicuous.

Testing the line with a shift of his hips and shoulders, Ian finally murmured, "A little tight... but excellent."

As Ian nodded, Thesaya, with a smile on her lips, finally stood up. "Knew it would be."

By then, Ian’s gaze had fallen back to the hook in his left hand. Fortunately, even as he gripped it, it didn’t clash with the Platinum Barrier shimmering over his knuckles. With a little care, he could hurl it freely in the thick of battle.

A colorless wave shimmered in Ian’s eyes.

The hook, which had floated slightly into the air, began to move in a spiral around Ian’s hand. The rope, which had been hanging limply below his cloak, wrapped loosely around his left arm.

Once it was clear it wouldn’t snag on the cloak’s hem, Ian gripped the hook again. Of course, the Cloak of the Undying would never catch on the rope, but there was no harm in being careful.

"Step aside for a bit."

With that, Ian lifted his left arm over his shoulder. A twist of his waist followed, and then he swung his arm diagonally upward.

The hook shot out. The ropes coiled around his left arm unwound without a tangle, thanks in part to the help of the Willful Grasp.

A faint smile curved Ian’s lips. "Excellent."

Ian, gripping the rope firmly with his left hand, pulled back with all his might. The hook, which had been drawing an arc, was pulled back as if sucked in. Of course, it stopped dead before it reached Ian, caught by the Willful Grasp.

"That power of yours amazes me every time," Thesaya said, leaning against the railing.

Ian, re-coiling the rope around his left arm with the hook, shrugged. "It’s harder to control than you think. There’s a reason I practice whenever I have a spare moment."

Of course, things changed in real combat. His attributes were Concentration and Intuition, precisely what let him wield the Willful Grasp more freely, the greater the danger. Not that he’d be tossing a hook into thin air in battle.

"Still, the applications are endless—" Thesaya trailed off as a monstrous roar erupted from far behind them. She snapped her head around, eyes narrowing. "It’s a complete mess."

"And they’re catching up, too. Which means we’ll need a skilled spellcaster soon," Ian said, approaching her side and looking at her profile.

"Of course." A cold smile spread across Thesaya’s lips.

She didn’t take her eyes off the sea beyond, which looked like a writhing darkness. Far away, a large shadow, drawing a purple arc, shot up and fell. The resulting spray was faintly visible even from here.

"In that case, I should start preparing."

Thesaya, as if sensing the ship beginning to tilt toward the stern, nimbly climbed onto the railing. It hardly needed saying how precarious and dangerous that looked.

Ian said, "What are you going to do if you fall?"

"Then you’ll catch me, won’t you?" Resting her right hand on the wooden frame, she smiled down at him.

Ian shrugged. "I might miss this time. I’ll be casting a spell too."

"You will? What if you get caught?" Thesaya’s eyes widened, and she looked at the main deck where the sacred fire was flickering.

"Didn’t you hear what the captain said? The Superhuman of the North commands the thunder." Ian shrugged. The most update n0vels are published on Nov3lFɪre.ɴet

She finally looked back at Ian, blinked, and said, "You’re really going to push that?"

"I’ll just say it’s the power of Karha."

Thesaya, after staring for a moment at Ian, who was nonchalantly selling out a god’s name, finally burst out laughing. "Come to think of it, Ian, you’re just as shameless as any pointy-ear."

"No. I can’t." Thesaya shook her head immediately and looked at the sea with a resolute expression. "To be honest, I’ve only known about this spell. I’ve never actually cast it. I feel like I’ll fail if I don’t tense up and focus properly. So let me prepare ."

"You said you learned advanced-tier magic," Ian asked, his brow furrowing.

Thesaya’s lips curled up as she looked up at the sea that filled her vision. "I’m going to cast a spell above even that. If I fail, I’ll try again. Until I succeed."

Though he narrowed his eyes, Ian didn’t try to stop her further.

So she knew high-level magic too.

Without another word, he turned and moved to the right side of the wooden frame. A hop later, he was standing on the railing himself, hooking his grappling claw to the frame before glancing back at her.

"Well then, go ahead."

"Watch closely, Ian. I’ll show you what I can do." Thesaya, with a smile that was clearly more tense than her words suggested, soon took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. She held her left hand below her chest, palm up to reveal the orb, and placed her right hand over it at a slight distance.

Subsequently, a bluish light flickered in her half-opened eyes, and the orb in her palm shimmered faintly with magic. Despite what he’d said, Ian didn't take his eyes off Thesaya. He used skills to cast spells, and his casting speed was unparalleled, so he could start preparing after confirming her spell was a success.

—Now that looks like a proper spellcaster.

Yog whispered languidly, having taken another sip of blood from the other side of Ian’s neck.

Thanks to the light of the brazier, a deep shadow was cast on Thesaya's front. The bluish glow from her eyes and the orb looked mystical, even in this extremely dangerous situation. Perhaps it was because of this situation that her static form felt that way.

A shriek swept along the wind. Ian turned his head toward the distance. The battle line, once hidden by the waves, was now coming into view. Mist scattered in every direction, and the water’s surface churned with a purplish glow. Rising from it, the silhouette of a massive beast looked as though the word dinosaur would suit it best.

That side... they’ve almost lost their will to fight.

The fleeing fleets were literally scrambling to escape. They were still firing back blue, glowing crossbow bolts, but it felt more like a desperate struggle. And the enemy line was far closer than expected, close enough that they’d be caught in less than half an hour.

Then again, even with the blessing, there must be a limit...

Ian’s narrowed eyes gleamed violet as the bead of chaos essence began to release its power.

A low voice came from his side then. Thesaya, who had opened her eyes, which were now imbued with blue magic, was looking at him, still precariously perched on the railing, unable to hide the smile on her lips.

"I... succeeded in arranging the spell!"

The pure joy in her carefully, slowly spoken words was palpable. Ian, smiling back, cast the Thunderbolt Cloud spell and said, "Be careful not to fall."

"Of course." She stole a glance behind her, then back at him. "My apologies to the Blazing Goddess... but I’ll need to bring a chill over this place. She’ll understand. Her temple is in the North, after all."

Though it whispered, it was enough for Ian to hear.

Looking at the battle line with his purple-tinged gray eyes, he smiled. "Then let’s turn this into a proper disaster."

The Elder spellcaster, instead of replying, thrust her hands, which had been clasped before her chest, forward. The orb in the center, which had been glowing a chilling blue, released the spell.

The mist, driven in by the wind, froze in place like ink bleeding on paper. In an instant, the haze turned to sleet, and the wind reversed direction with a roar.

A snowstorm, glittering with sharp ice crystals, began to spread toward the battle line at an incredible speed. Ian finally realized the identity of the spell Thesaya had cast. It was high-tier blue magic, Blizzard.

It complements mine perfectly.

Gazing at the fiercely spreading Blizzard spell, he looked to the sky, which was churning with dark clouds. He raised the True Silver Steelsword, which he had drawn at some point, diagonally, and thrust it forward.

The spell that had spread from the blade shot up into the sky, carving a thick purple lightning bolt into the air.

The clouds churned unnaturally, flashing with violet light. A bolt of purple thunder split downward.

The purple lightning that fell, piercing through the raging storm, shattered on the sea’s surface. Ian paid it no mind. He only raised his sword, gaze burning with chaos and magic, eyes fixed on the far line.

The storm, filled with blade-like ice crystals, was reaching the battle line, accompanied by a shower of purple lightning, amplified by chaos.