Paladin of the Dead God

A commotion began to stir aboard Horace’s ship.

Isaac signaled Eidan, who had been watching quietly from the back. Eidan, gripping his cutlass tightly with a tense expression, approached Isaac.

“As expected, he’s out of his mind. Looks like we won’t be able to avoid a fight.”

Eidan’s face turned pale.

“Why didn’t they attack us from the start and instead surrounded us?” he asked nervously.

“They probably wanted to gauge my level,” Isaac responded.

“Your level?”

“To see if they should offer prayers to the Archangel of the Immortal Order or not.”

Eidan’s face paled even further.

Just as Isaac had come to his conclusion, Horace opened his mouth again.

[Isaac, this ancient senior of yours has only one suggestion for you.]

“And what would that be?”

[You can either be conscripted or submit. Choose one. That is the only option for your pitiful ship and crew.]

To be conscripted meant becoming a mindless undead slave for eternity, while submission meant keeping one’s consciousness but still becoming an undead servant under Horace.

Just like the countless crew members on the surrounding ships.

Instead of replying, Isaac twirled the skull hanging from the Luadin Key and flung it toward Horace. The moment it touched Horace, the skull exploded with a bang.

Inside the skull were a handful of lightstones, common relics that even the Salt Council sailors could acquire. The lightstones, having absorbed the heat from the Luadin Key, burst into a fierce glow upon contact with the cold air, reacting violently.

Though Horace was momentarily engulfed in flames, he didn’t fall. Instead, he gazed down at Isaac from within the blazing inferno, his blue eyes glowing with a pitying look.

‘Not that I expected it to work, but still. A bit disappointing.’

In any case, the captain’s skull had been nothing more than bait to lure in more ghost ships. And it seemed Isaac’s response had been effective, as the surrounding ghost ships began to move in unison. The flames engulfing Horace were quickly extinguished by the surrounding cold, and a heavy command followed.

[Recruit the crew.]

***

Clang, clatter, clang!

Sharp sounds rang out from various parts of the ship. The crew heard the ghost ships’ sailors attaching grappling hooks to the railings as they closed in.

Although the enemy numbers were overwhelming, there was a silver lining: this small ship only had two narrow sides where they could attach. Since the undead lacked buoyancy, they couldn’t swim, so the crew didn’t need to worry about them climbing up from the sea.

The second bit of luck was that most of the enemy ships weren’t equipped with whaling harpoons.

Cannons didn’t exist during the time of the 7th Dawn Army, and harpoons were typically seen as tools for fishermen, not for war.

In other words, the undead could only capture the ship by shooting arrows or engaging in close combat.

“Cut the grappling hooks! Cut them off!”

The sailors rushed to sever the ropes attached to the hooks, but incoming arrows forced them to take cover behind the railings. Despite their best efforts, some sailors were unlucky enough to get hit. Trying to retaliate was difficult, as the undead archers held the advantage of higher ground.

That’s when Isaac stepped in.

Even the Orc archers of the Olkan Code, famous for their marksmanship, would struggle to hit Isaac. As he dashed along the deck, he swiftly cut every grappling hook attached to the ship. Skeletons trying to cross over fell helplessly into the deep sea.

A few fortunate skeletons managed to board the ship, but they were immediately met by the fierce and enraged sailors of the Salt Council.

The sailors quickly and ruthlessly dealt with the skeletal soldiers.

‘They’re trying to exhaust us,’ Isaac thought.

Although Eidan’s ship was putting up a decent resistance, they were at a significant disadvantage in terms of manpower, ship size, stamina, and time. Both Isaac and Horace knew that this fierce resistance was only temporary.

[Seize Captain Roan’s ship. Without a ship, they can’t escape.]

Without a ghost ship, attempting to escape Nightmare Strait would only result in being swept away by the storms.

Horace had decided there was no need to defeat Isaac head-on. It would be easier to simply capture the ghost ship.

And if Isaac had indeed garnered the favor of the Archangel, it could lead to a more troubling situation.

Thud, thud! Skeleton soldiers leaped onto the deck of the ghost ship Isaac had seized. They planned to make contact with the soul of the ship and take control. However, when they opened the ship’s hatch, what greeted them was a dark, otherworldly hue.

[What is this…?]

The Color Beyond, which Isaac had densely packed within the ship, swelled and exploded outward.

The color engulfed the skeleton soldiers, spilling out of the ship and replacing the surrounding fog.

Although the eerie illusions and sounds emitted by the Color Beyond didn’t shake the skeleton soldiers—who had long surpassed the fear of death—there was more lurking within that color than mere hallucinations.

Seeing that Horace had brought his ship close enough to board, Isaac twisted his hands into a strange shape.

In response to Isaac’s gesture, from outside the ghost ship, a mass of crimson-black tendrils surged up from the depths. The tendrils crushed Captain Roan’s ship, wrapping themselves around Horace’s ghost ship instead.

The nightmare that haunted sailors had arrived in these cursed waters.