The Extra Strategist’s Royal Road Chapter 189.
The intended sea area is said to be a region where people rarely come and go.
The captain spoke about this.
“There are too many reefs. There’s no particular merit in passing through.”
How many reefs there were to say such a thing became immediately apparent on the second day of sailing.
The ship stops with a ‘Thud!’ sound of impact.
“Captain! I think we’ve hit a reef!”
“How annoying.”
Although precautions had been taken against reefs, so there was no water leakage or sinking, getting caught on a reef meant we had to stay in place for about an hour.
And two hours later, the ship stopped again, caught on another reef.
By that point, the sun had set, so we had no choice but to wait until tomorrow to sail again.
The captain clicked his tongue, came inside, and started drinking heavily.
“Is it okay to drink that much?”
“It’s fine. This is a place even pirates don’t approach. Even if there were any, we won’t be detected if we turn off the lights.”
The captain turned off all the lights that might leak outside, just in case.
“You should sleep too. We’ll depart at dawn.”
Since their experience on ships was overwhelmingly greater than mine, I had no choice but to obediently follow.
Although I had learned about naval warfare through war knowledge, I had hardly ever been on an actual ship.
I slept lightly and greeted the dawn.
As dawn broke and the sun rose, the captain examined the map and proceeded cautiously, mindful of the reefs.
This continued for a full half-day.
“It seems we’ve entered the intended sea area…”
The captain was tilting his head in confusion.
“Is there a problem?”
“…Hmm. It’s nothing to worry about. We should be able to start exploring tomorrow, so don’t worry.”
However, the next day, the frown on the captain’s face deepened.
Eventually, he started scolding the navigator.
“Are you sure we’ve been going in the right direction?”
“Yes, we have! Are you doubting my skills?”
“That’s not it, but… Then why are we going in circles? Look at that reef! We marked it this morning!”
Encountering a reef that we had marked this morning before sunset meant that we had indeed gone in a full circle, as the captain said.
“Good grief. Pay more attention tomorrow!”
However, the next day was the same. We circled the same spot all day. In the process, we hit reefs several times, increasing the crew’s fatigue.
Unable to stand by any longer, I said to the captain, “Captain, where exactly are we located now?”
“Well, I’m not sure anymore… Probably somewhere near the entrance of the sea area…”
“Are you saying we’ve been circling the entrance of the sea area for three days?”
“I don’t know either. What on earth is going on…”
“Perhaps… Could there be some kind of barrier?”
“Barrier? You mean a magic barrier?”
I was reminded of the barrier that the Kuravel Holy Nation had created to prevent foreign invasions. It was a barrier using terrain, which didn’t allow foreign invasions until that Juras guy broke it.
The captain thought for a moment and then nodded ambiguously.
“That would make sense, but why? Who would create a barrier in a place like this, and for what reason?”
“I’m not sure either… For example, maybe pirates created it to hide their location?”
“I’ve heard that barrier magic is very profound. That what’s-it-called. The Forest of Lament is something similar, they say. It’s hard to believe something of that level is spread out in these waters.”
The Forest of Lament was also a kind of barrier. A barrier that changes reality and prevents people inside from leaving.
In that sense, it seemed similar.
If the Forest of Lament prevented people from leaving, this barrier prevents people from entering.
‘How did I escape from the Forest of Lament again…?’
I tore through the barrier with force.
I thought I might be able to use the same method this time.
“Captain, how about we start firing cannons at certain points from today?”
“Cannons?”
“To confirm the existence of a barrier.”
“Well, alright. You’re the one who paid for this trip.”
Since the ship was a warship, it was equipped with cannons. They were cannons prepared in case we encountered pirates.
The next day, as we resumed sailing, we fired cannons to the left and right at 30-minute intervals.
The crew grumbled about what nonsense this was, but around noon,
Ping! The cannonball seemed to bounce off, blocked in mid-air.
“Captain! The cannonball…!”
“Fire again!”
At the captain’s order, concentrated fire was directed at the same spot.
As the cannonballs collided with each other and exploded, we could confirm the existence of the wall.
“A barrier…? Really…!?”
The captain’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then he said with a troubled expression,
“There are too many reefs ahead for this ship to enter. But going in with a small boat, who knows what might happen inside…!”
It seemed the time for a decision had come.
I said to the captain,
“Captain. Please give me a small boat. I’ll go alone. You come back to this point in two weeks.”
“Such recklessness…! Who knows what’s in there! The weather could suddenly change! You’ll die!”
“I’m not the kind of person who would die so easily.”
“Huh…!”
The reason I decided to take this risk was that I was convinced Eonia would be here.
An area not marked on maps. And a barrier spread out as if hiding it. There was definitely something here.
“Alright. I hope you return safely.”
The captain eventually nodded and started loading food onto the small boat. They loaded all the food they could spare, except for what they needed to return.
I was able to get enough food for about 20 days.
I boarded the small boat, received the oars, and headed towards where the barrier was spread.
I also took some shells I had obtained, held them in my palm, and infused them with magic power, adding aura.
After coating the shells with arcane magic power to shape them, I filled them with light magic power to cause explosions and threw them towards the barrier.
At the same time, the captain provided supporting fire.
“Fire all at once!”
Boom! The exploding shells and my magic bullets.
Thanks to pouring all my aura into it, the destructive power was beyond imagination.
As if a hole had been punctured, the inside of the barrier was exposed.
The small boat shook momentarily due to the waves caused by the explosion, but I quickly rowed and moved inside the barrier.
* * *
The sea inside the barrier was quiet.
Seeing only the horizon, it seemed I would have to travel quite far to reach an island.
I rowed hard, recalling the navigator’s advice.
Inside the barrier, there were hardly any waves, so movement wasn’t difficult.
I thought there was no need to rush since I had brought enough food, but….
Plop! Pitter-patter! Suddenly, raindrops began to fall.
“Oh, God…”
This small boat was quite large for its kind. It even had a room with a ceiling-like structure in the middle where one person could sleep.
I crammed the food into that room.
As the rain intensified, water started to fill the boat, so I had to frantically bail it out.
However, that was just a drop in the bucket.
When waves started to surge, it became uncontrollable.
‘This is a disaster?’
Bailing out water might somehow prevent the boat from sinking, but food getting soaked in seawater was fatal.
I decided to throw away what needed to be discarded.
I boldly threw away the food that had become useless after getting soaked in seawater and kept mostly the food and water that were still okay.
‘No, even this is uncertain.’
For some reason, I had an uneasy feeling that the boat might break apart.
I stuffed the minimum amount of food into my backpack and tied it tightly so it wouldn’t leak.
This choice was the best.
The storm was getting stronger.
‘This is…’
It felt artificial. A fierce storm as if saying it wouldn’t leave alone those who broke through the barrier and entered.
Whoosh! In the distance, waves rose high.
Overwhelming waves as tall as a 10-story apartment building.
‘I might really die here…’
I decided not to make dreamy observations about losing consciousness and luckily arriving at an island carried by the sea’s current.
If I lost the boat or lost consciousness, I would die right there.
Having judged so, I quickly tied a rope to a nearby reef.
Then I tied the rope to the boat, deliberately sank it by flipping it over, and pushed it under the surface. It looked like it would just break apart if hit directly by the waves.
Creak! The waves came crashing down as if to crush everything.
I held onto the reef and somehow endured.
After holding my breath for about 2 minutes, I was somehow able to stick my head out of the water.
“Puha! Haa! Haa!”
Fortunately, the storm was gradually subsiding. As if it really was artificial, after this one wave, it started to calm down like a lie.
As if confident that this one time would be enough to finish off any intruder.
“This is no joke…”
They say even if caught by a tiger, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.
I pulled up the boat that was submerged underwater, tied with a rope.
Although it was quite heavy, I somehow managed to drain the water and flip the boat over.
All the food that was on the boat was lost, and the ceiling-like room had blown away, probably due to the significant impact, but the foundation was still intact.
I still had the food I had packed in my backpack.
Since I had packed plenty of water, if I endured well, I could last a week.
After draining all the water from the boat, I cut the rope tied to the reef and started rowing forward again.
On the third day of rowing hard…
Just as the food was running out and only water remained, an island started to come into view.
“Phew! Have I finally arrived?”
Although I couldn’t be certain as there might be multiple islands, I thought there would be at least some clues on this island.
That’s because the size of the island was considerable.
Even if there were no clues, I had no choice as I could obtain food here.
Upon reaching the shore, I pulled the boat onto land so it wouldn’t be swept away by waves.
Afterwards, I piled up leaves that insects dislike to prevent them from eating the boat.
“If there’s still a problem, I’ll have to gather wood and repair it.”
I decided to start exploring the island in earnest.
The size of the island was about the size of Ulleungdo, perhaps? It boasted a considerable size.
The island seemed to be almost entirely covered in forest, as all I could see was green foliage.
‘The size of these trees is considerable.’
As I entered the forest, I headed towards the center of the island, looking for traces of people.
Then, I started to hear the sound of splashing water.
‘Is there a lake?’
An island of this size would have a lake or stream responsible for freshwater. And animals and people would use that place.
I listened carefully to the sound and headed towards where the water was.
As I got closer, the splashing sound became clearer. And I could also hear what sounded like human laughter.
‘Found it!’
Confident that I had found traces of people, I headed there without hesitation.
That might have been a bit… No, very careless.
“Ah…”
My vision was filled with pure white.
It was a dizzying sight for a moment.
Dozens of women bathing naked.
Seeing me suddenly appear, they momentarily couldn’t accept the reality and looked dumbfounded, but that was only for a moment.
“Kyaaaa──!”
“A human man!? Who are you and where did you come from!”
The lake became chaotic. Everyone was busy grabbing clothes to cover their bodies, and those who didn’t have time for that hurriedly submerged themselves in the lake.
“No, well, you see…”
I was just as flustered. I tried to calm them down somehow, but when an arrow aimed at my brow came flying in with a whoosh, there was no time for that.
“Ugh!?”
Just as I barely dodged the arrow, a naked woman came running at me with a sword.
“Die!”
She seemed to be feeling strong shame, but judging that it wouldn’t matter if she killed me anyway, there was no mercy in her movements.
Her skill was top-notch, so I tried to respond by drawing a weapon, but having lost my sword and spear while enduring the waves, the only suitable weapon I had was the dagger at my waist.
Whoosh! The sword brushed past above my head. The opponent was attacking, aiming for vital points.
“I have no choice…!”
I decided to counterattack by drawing the dagger from my waist.
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