The Final Boss Has Returned - Episode 53
Lawless Port!
The port city, surrounded by black walls and famous for its ultra-luxurious casinos, high-class hotels, and Black Mage job-changing office, was currently packed to the point where there was nowhere to step.
“Where do I need to go to receive a quest?”
“If you go to the admin NPC in front of the city hall over there or the plaza bulletin board, you can receive one.”
Of course, Lawless Port was a city with a sizeable floating population even on normal days.
This was because users who came to enjoy the casino’s gambling content and Black Mage users constantly frequented Lawless Port.
But right now, Lawless Port’s floating population had doubled, unlike usual.
They were all users who had come to participate in the Naval Decisive Battle.
Of course, many users had gathered during the Lawless Port Recapture Battle as well, but the number of users gathered for this Naval Decisive Battle was enormous to the point of being incomparable to the Recapture Battle!
It was the result of Jeil E&M’s streamers moving; their fandoms followed them, and as their fandoms moved, rumors spread on social media, raising the topic’s popularity and causing even more users to flock in.
“Ah, it’s Drakan!”
“Drakan!”
“Lord Drakan! A selfie, please!”
Looking at those users, some seemed to have recognized me as I walked through the crowd toward the Black Tower, pointing at me and whispering before requesting selfies.
“I’ll take as many as you want.”
I accepted all countless selfie requests.
This was because I had taken to heart the advice of Sin Hayeon and Team Leader Lee that fan service was the most important thing.
Unlike six years ago in the past when only celebrities worried about such things, in the present where fandoms had grown important and SNS had developed, this was an era where each and every trivial act of fan service accumulated to become favorable word-of-mouth and public opinion that spread rapidly, making it all the more important.
Looking at rankers with bad public opinion, the problem often started with fan service, so I tried my best to provide good fan service following such advice.
Because of that, quite some time had passed by the time I arrived at the Black Tower.
The meeting room on the upper floor of the Black Tower.
In this place overlooking Lawless Port clearly through floor-to-ceiling windows, there were Sin Hayeon and Ignis, whom I had frequently faced, but also unfamiliar faces.
They were the streamers affiliated with Jeil E&M who would be proceeding with the quest together this time.
“The protagonist has finally arrived.”
Ignis said this upon seeing me enter, and I sat in the highest seat at the conference table, beside Sin Hayeon.
“Then let us begin the strategy meeting.”
With Ignis’s words as the moderator, the strategy meeting began.
* * *
Pirate Archipelago.
An island at the center of the Eastern Sea trade route and the headquarters of the Pirate Alliance!
On the largest of the four islands made of barren rock, a small fortress built of bricks stood tall.
It was precisely the headquarters of the Pirate Alliance, the ‘Blade of the Tidal Wave’ castle where the Pirate King Drake resided.
The lavish meeting room inside the Blade of the Tidal Wave castle.
Right now, a meeting similar to the one in the Black Tower was taking place there.
“The 2nd Fleet has been annihilated, and Edward, who was like my right arm, is dead.”
A sorrowful voice flowed from the mouth of Drake, the middle-aged Pirate King wearing an eyepatch.
Edward, and Riac!
Having lost his loyal subordinates called his right arm and left arm respectively, Drake’s heart was filled with rage and sorrow.
Drakan, contractor of the Demon God!
And the one who inherited the legend of the Steel Tyrant, a legendary tyrant from over a thousand years ago!
Possessing such great titles and having occupied Lawless Port, Drake had highly valued Drakan’s abilities and extended a generous offer to join the alliance despite having killed Riac.
Pirate King Drake!
His such magnanimity and his foresight in recruiting outstanding talent even from among enemies was virtually what had created the massive organization called the Pirate Alliance today, so there was no one inside the Pirate Alliance who opposed Drake’s decision.
But Drakan not only kicked away Drake’s unprecedentedly generous offer but also annihilated the 2nd Fleet and even executed Edward, who had been his right arm.
This was something that could not be tolerated even by Pirate King Drake’s magnanimity, and it was virtually a challenge to the hegemony over the Eastern Sea that the Pirate King himself held.
And the Pirate King intended to gladly accept the challenge to his hegemony and then crush him miserably as an example.
“We must punish that so-called contractor of the Demon God right now and burn Lawless Port to set an example! Lord Drake! Please send me! I will lead the fleet immediately to burn Lawless Port and execute the one called Drakan!”
“They have mermen. The mermen who appear only in legends, freely swimming through the ocean depths and virtually invincible at sea! Furthermore, the legendary monster Kraken is also on their side! Fighting on the sea is—though I hate to admit it—unfavorable for us. We need a different strategy.”
Watching the Pirate Alliance executives debate, Drake scratched his cheek with a finger adorned with a fancy gold ring.
His now-absent left eye throbbed as if stinging.
To be at a disadvantage on the sea!
Who in the Pirate Alliance could have imagined that this unbelievable word would become reality?
But unfortunately, it was Drakan and Lawless Port, not the Pirate Alliance, who held the advantage at sea.
This was due to the existence of the mermen and the Kraken.
Even amidst this, the executives’ debate continued, and unable to watch that sight, Drake waved his hand.
“Enough.”
At the low but thick voice, the executives all shut their mouths at once.
This was because they were well aware that Drake’s authority in the Pirate Alliance was absolute and that going against his power would make them shark bait while still alive.
“Drakan, that outsider’s goal is clear. It is to eliminate me and seize the hegemony of the Eastern Sea.”
Everyone fell silent at Drake’s words.
“And he will definitely come to this archipelago to strike our Pirate Alliance.”
Just as two suns cannot rise in one sky, two hegemons cannot exist in one sea.
Drake thought that even just to determine the master of the Eastern Sea, Drakan would have no choice but to come to strike him down.
“But he lacks a fleet. So we still have time.”
Drakan!
He lacked a fleet.
Even combining Lawless Port’s forces with the fleet power captured from the defeated 2nd Fleet, it was lacking to the point of barely comparing to one-tenth of the total fleet possessed by the Pirate Alliance, so Drakan would not move for the time being in order to supplement his insufficient fleet!
“I will lead the fleet and turn them all into shark food!”
The moment Drake finished speaking, Cortes, an executive who had been consistently advocating for a preemptive strike from earlier and the captain of the Crystal Skull Pirates, one of the ten pirate crews—no, now nine pirate crews due to Zach’s death, anyway one of those pirate crews—impassionedly spoke.
“Even though they have mermen and the Kraken?”
“The fleet is what decides victory or defeat in naval warfare. The Kraken and mermen might unexpectedly be nothing to us, who have much experience hunting sea monsters. Furthermore, we also have suitable weapons to deal with them. As long as they cannot operate a proper fleet in this situation, victory is ours.”
Cortes’s eyes sparkled.
His words were correct.
The fleet!
That was precisely the overwhelming military superiority that the Pirate Alliance held over Drakan.
A fleet was absolutely not a force that could be built in a short time.
No matter what Drakan did, there was a limit to how much fleet power could be expanded immediately, and it was clear that Drakan would lead forces that had reached that limit and invade the Pirate Archipelago.
It made sense because he had mermen and Kraken to fill the gaps in his forces!
But on this side, there was a grand fleet several times larger than his limited fleet, experienced sea monster hunting skills, and secret weapons used when dealing with sea monsters.
And Cortes was now requesting to annihilate them by maximizing that strategic advantage.
“The fleet.”
Drake’s eyes sparkled.
If they lost this war anyway, the Eastern Sea trade routes they had painstakingly seized, the connections with high-ranking nobles of the Gasan Kingdom built through bribery, and his achievement of uniting the pirates would all undoubtedly disappear like bubbles.
Even if he committed half the fleet, he couldn’t guarantee victory against the army of one accompanied by mermen and the Kraken.
But even if they were defeated in naval battle, if they could gnaw away at the enemy’s forces that much, it would be a gain for them.
Even if they destroyed the fleet, if they couldn’t capture the Pirate Archipelago lurking behind it, victory would return to him.
Moreover, no matter how favorable mermen were at sea, half of the grand fleet boasted by the Pirate Alliance and their sea monster-specific armaments were by no means easy forces.
They would suffer quite a bit on the sea!
Drake smiled.
“Very well. I will give you seventy percent of the fleet and my flagship, the Invincible. Cortes. When they come, turn them all into shark food!”
“I accept your command.”
The Pirate King averted his gaze from Cortes, who respectfully bowed his head, and spoke again.
“And the rest, excluding Cortes, reinforce the coastal defense line and establish an amphibious landing deterrent strategy.”
The Pirate King knew well that Drakan needed an amphibious battle to secure victory.
This was because from the enemy’s standpoint, no matter how much they won at sea, true victory could only be secured after planting their flag in the headquarters.
And Drake knew better than anyone that an enormous expenditure of forces was needed to succeed in an amphibious operation.
An amphibious landing was a battlefield where the defending side was several times more advantageous than the attacking side, to the point where siege warfare seemed cute in comparison!
Furthermore, Drake suspected that while mermen displayed tremendous power at sea to the point of being called the strongest without exaggeration, their power would be halved on land.
So the real battlefield wasn’t the sea, but the Pirate Archipelago!
Drake made his decision accordingly.
“This Pirate Archipelago shall become their grave!”
Flames sparked from Drake’s eyes.
If they exhausted the enemy’s forces with Cortes’s grand fleet, then blocked their landing with the expanded coastal defense line!
The enemies’ blood would dye the sea red, and the world would know that the hegemon of the Eastern Sea was still the Pirate King!
The Pirate King smiled grimly, confident of victory.
* * *
Countless people flocked to Lawless Port and applied to participate in the Naval Decisive Battle, but that didn’t mean they could immediately depart on an expedition to the Pirate Archipelago.
It was precisely because of fleet construction.
Although they were advantageous in fights on the sea thanks to the existence of mermen and the Kraken, since it was clear they would have to wage an amphibious battle in the end, ships to transport the necessary troops were absolutely required.
Much time was spent purchasing, building, and refurbishing such ships, and finally, all fleet construction was finished.
I smiled as I looked at the fleet.
‘Now it finally begins!’