In just a few hours three tracking teams, made up of Hermes Guild Thieves and Assassins, were completely wiped out.
"We've lost touch with them. Our latest report is that they were being attacked by a very strong warrior who is with Weed."
"They have to be nearby. We'll send troops to guard the Thieves and Assassins so stop the search until they can reinforce those teams."
Drinfeld was sure he was only a few days away from reaching his objective, He made sure his new wizards and paladins, the Hermes Guild reinforcements, were placed and ready to fight with his other troops.
The Navy, plus their Assassin's and Thieves. Then the Pirates, who were mostly made up of wanted men, were forced to work together as a group. Normally the navy and pirates are sworn enemies. They had decided to endure it for the sake of attacking their mutual enemy and the Guild's power to influence them.
The tracking teams had traced the footprints close to the Helium mining region but the track was hard to read because of the previous fights in the area.
"Look at these fresh footprints, It hasn't been long since they passed through here."
"Whose covering the other end of that passage?"
"Rutiel-nim and the others have sealed off that section."
"Those guys won't be beaten back so easily."
Rutiel, a Navy Knight of the Kingdom of Haven belonged to the top 30 group of the most powerful Knights in the game.
"I've heard that Rutiel-nim has gone through and crushed a huge number of dungeons, he should be able to quickly chase them down no matter how far they run."
In the first wave the Thieves had run ahead of the Knights. They have a high level agility, lots of speed, the drawback being they have a low endurance. They were no longer in a place to care about that now.
Seo Yoon.
Three Assassin's and one Thief had died by her hand.
If you include the escorting troops sent to guard the tracking teams, no fewer than 21 members were slaughtered.
This was all done by just a single person.
Roa: Stay sharp. This woman is so strong it's scary.
Travis: Don't worry about asking after Weed's location, just kill her on sight.
Alawin: Just hold out until the main troops arrive to support you.
The Hermes Guild users in the Jigolaths filled the private chat channels with endless talk.
The Guild users still back in Heaven found the reading exciting, the hunt was a popular hot topic.
Gochem: It's a fox hunt.
Strauss: She's quite the ferocious fox.
Jaigeo: It's too bad the Jigolaths is so far away, I'm starting to wish I'd gone.
*****
Seo Yoon's once pristine armor was now covered with large cracks and dents. Her vitality and strength was very low but she couldn't afford to stop moving.
Trackers were swarming everywhere as they narrowed their search net and gathered to build their siege.
Attack Force.
Berserkers fight until their very last thread of vitality is left.
The way they gain even small amounts of levels and skills is different from the other classes. Normally you gain less experience when hunting with a grouped party.
You can rest as needed within a party hunt, this makes for a slower paced monster hunt but you still gain some experience.
If however, you place yourself in a dangerous room filled with a large amounts of monsters or other enemies and fight until you feel your very life is danger…you will gain more experience. You will also see your associated battle stats and skills increase significantly.
It's a hunting style of constantly overcoming your limits and facing stronger opponents, fighting until you're down to your last drop of blood. This is the Berserker class style of combat and it undoubtedly makes you stronger than other classes.
From all the current signs Berserker Seo Yoon is in a very bad state.
'To hold on much longer will be hard.'
Up until now, Seo Yoon had defeated all of the enemies using her Berserker skills alone. However more Assassin's and Thieves were on their way and this time they were bringing the knights with them.
Various types of Assassin's poison were currently coursing through Seo Yoon's body, her ability to resist them was reaching it's limit.
"It's her!"
"Get her!"
Seo Yoon didn't know if she could afford the time to resist or escape.
Seeing her hesitate the enemies grew bold and came forward.
'A fight.'
In the end, Seo Yoon, doing her best to dodge the attacks, managed to kill 31 enemies with her sword. Knocking out these enemies Seo Yoon's strength and vitality went through the floor. For any other class the state of the injuries would have left them unable to fight let alone survive.
After the battle Seo Yoon was able to rest for while.
For a Berserker the aftermath of combat carries a terrible price, their whole body aches with impairments that leave them nearly crippled.
A day earlier, before the enemy trackers had appeared, Seo Yoon sent Weed a whisper.
He had sent back a reply.
-I'm on my way out. –
Seo Yoon felt it was good luck to have such timing.
After battling with the enemies for 10 hours Weed again sent a whisper.
– We're delayed, the loads very heavy. Should be there in 1 hour. –
Another 5 hours passed.
– We're almost there. –
2 more hours.
– Just a matter of seconds now. –
'We need to lure them away. We'll have to move.'
Golden Bird and Silver Bird were waiting inside the Helium mines. For the sake of Weed's safety, Seo Yoon decided to leave. Holding her sword Seo Yoon stared at the entrance of the mines, hoping to at last see Weed.
'Will we soon see each other again?'
Her feelings about Weed were not clear, showing her emotions was difficult and Weed himself didn't display many.
Feeling so at ease with Weed, Seo Yoon felt she wanted to tell him things but her fear got in the way.
Seo Yoon knew that Weed worked as hard as he did because he couldn't stand seeing other people die.
'We can't wait any longer. We've got to go. The pursuers must be drawn away before they get any closer.'
Seo Yoon turned and started to walk away…
Rattle…clatter…rattle.
Sounds could be heard coming closer to the Helium mine entrance.
Together, pulling a cart, came Yellowy, Weed, Golden Bird and Silver Bird. Showing up as part of the load was the sculpture, 'The Advent of Seven Angels'.
Seo Yoon's face is full of dirt and sweat, yet like a sun breaking through the clouds a piercing smile lights up her face. Seo Yoon was completely unaware of it.
'Weed you're here.'
In spite of her fears and current condition, Seo Yoon, at that moment, was feeling blissfully bright inside. Her brightness filled up her heart making her shine from an inner glow.
Weed's heart was empty.
On her forehead, showing up brightly in a neon red glow is her name and the diamond murder mark. She had once again been sentenced.
Just how many enemies did she have to fight for her armor to hang in shreds like moth eaten clothes. Even her thin leather worn under her armor was battered and torn, letting much of her slim form be exposed.
"We have to leave."
Thanks to Seo Yoon's killing off the tracking teams, the Hermes guild was still unable to pinpoint their exact location and as they were still some distance away it gave them a bit of extra time before they would arrive. They might be able to escape if they could use an opposite direction from the tracking teams.
Even then the risk of encountering a group of the Hermes Guild Knights or troops was high, it would only take a single encounter for them to be quickly found and overwhelmed.
Just one look at Seo Yoon's Berserker figure told you that it had reached it's limits a long time ago!
"I know you can't take anymore…so please, let's go…there is another place we can hide."
*****
Drinfeld along with Hermes Guild's military elite composed of Wizards, Priests, Knights and the crack troops all had finally arrived at the Helium mine entrance.
The tracking team now consisted of a Naval Engineer, an Excavator and one Thief who had survived. The Thief looking at the footprints left behind reported to Drinfeld.
"So far, the traces look like Weed's prints. Just keep in mind that he's extremely adept at erasing or changing these tracks."
Seo Yoon had been left in charge of misdirecting and trapping the knights and troops. Drinfeld knew this and felt he was prepared for that fight.
It was clearly a Helium mine, there was no doubt it was the correct location. However the fact that Weed had returned to the mine was highly suspicious.
"Somehow this bothers me, I certainly wouldn't have come back here… is he really still in there?"
"I don't know, they might not be in there. Yet with that cart slowing them down they couldn't have gotten too far away…still with monsters leaving trails that cover the marks it won't be easy to track them even with the wheel marks to follow."
Since they don't have a perfect map of the dungeon it would be impossible to block every passage and trap them inside.
In fact with the ant farm of connecting passes it would be very likely that he could slip past them.
"like a rat in a trap….but the trap itself is too damn big."
Their teams were exploring the many chambers of the Jigolaths dungeons and they were near to creating a full map.
They suffered many disadvantages in their pursuit. But once the map was complete, they could extend the range of their search and even send soldiers ahead to barricade important pathways.
"As you chase your quarries, they will often panic and even be willing to jump into the jaws of death just to avoid the trap. 'You never know', they think, 'there might be another way to escape."
There was also this, some members of the Hermes Guild began to lust after this legendary Helium or as they were starting to call it, 'the Sculptor's treasure'.
"Come on let's get inside. The first group will stay back and cover us… just in case."
Drinfeld together with half of his forces, entered. It was just as Weed predicted. The easy target was too tempting for the famous Guild to let go of the chase.
After struggling with being lost for a while they finally reached the end of the trail, the place with railway tracks and mining carts.
"Is riding this the only way to keep going forward?"
Carefully four users climbed up and boarded the mine cart."
Unknown to them was the fact that Weed had completely covered the mine cart wheels with sesame seed oil.
*****
========================================
The traps you installed have killed Three people and seriously injured One person.
Notoriety increased by 29!
========================================
Weed and Seo Yoon used the time it took their pursuers to enter the Helium mine to create as much distance as possible between them. By transforming themselves into their Avian humanoid forms, Gold Bird and Silver Bird were able to help Yellowy move the cart fast enough so he didn't fall behind.
"What happens next?"
Due to the aftereffects of Seo Yoon's Berserker mode, all of her current stats and skill levels were continuing to decrease.
Even walking was difficult for her right now.
Recovering from her injuries was a very painful process, like having swarms of bees constantly stinging, Seo Yoon didn't allow any of her pain to show on her face.
" We've gotten everything we came here for, now we just to need to escape Jigolaths."
Moooooo!
Yellowy let out a good loud cry as it helped him pull with all his strength since moving the heavy cart took everything his legs could muster.
Since coming to Jigolaths Yellowy had thought he was going to die many times, it had been like going to hell and back, hearing they were finally going to leave made him flatten his ears with the news!
He just wanted to graze on the early morning dew soaked grass that grew on the Versailles Continent. The kind hearted Yellowy also missed Bingryong and the other sculptural lifeforms.
"Once we leave here we are going to be surrounded by our enemies…we're going to have to kill them all."
Weed Often felt like he was just like some character who appeared in a romance action movie. In the film the hero and heroine get thrown together as they are forced to run for their lives. As they are chased, they have all kinds of bad things happen to them. Their situation was now safely passed that point in the movie, thus Weed was in a calm state of mind.
Still, it was never easy to be on a quest and have to do battle with a guild. Moreover, when Haven Kingdom's fleet had arrived Weed and his army of the undead had attacked them while their guard was down…well Weed basically ambushed them.
Mining Helium and luring the enemies into traps.
It was good for the bad guys to experience only the kind of hell Weed can teach them.
"I've got to do some reconnaissance. I'll go out alone. You need to wait for me in here and stay hidden."
"…Be… careful."
Seo Yoon and Yellowy will rest, stay hidden and leave it up to Weed.
Once they were away from the dangerous Helium mine dungeon, Weed had no worries about being seen by any of the groups from the Hermes Guild.
Well….In the Jigolaths he did have to worry about hunting plus keeping the Angel statue safe, really if you think about it, it's obvious that there's plenty to get nervous about!
Weed was nervous and couldn't keep from speaking aloud, of course it was spoken in such a small and soft mutter that only Weed could hear any of it.
"Shouldn't we write up a will before we go out there?"
"No, I should just get my items and get out of here."
"Of course I was hoping to go to the Versailles Continent to sell off my items. "
"With all that weight I don't think Yellowy can move another step though. "
Fhu fhu, I am not that much of a doubtful and narrow minded person."
Weeds mutterings had ended on a better and higher note, they had started dark and ended with a positive spin. Weed had lots of practice cheering himself up from his past of many long lonely hours of working in a factory.
"Still the sooner we get back the sooner I'll get paid."
He grabbed a block of black stone that was lying about and started to sculpt a crow.
"The art of sculpture transformation!"
Weed's body shrank as he changed into a crow.
Weed spoke with whispers to Golden Bird and Silver bird, who were resting quietly on Yellowy's broad pack laden back.
-You two guys, why don't you come with me.-
– I got it. Master.-
-You can't go like you are, you guys stand out too much, go ahead and get dirty.-
Using some coal powder Golden Bird and Silver Bird made themselves black, this was the disguise they had used once before… the 'crow' look.
Once they looked black enough, Weed directed them to grab backpacks from Yellowy's back with their beaks.
– Let's go.-
The two birds, Weed and with the backpacks in all their beaks, flew quickly down the dungeon passageway almost flying past the opening they needed.
Kayu!
Monsters did see them on their way out and waved their clubs about frantically but the 'crows' fast flight skills let them slip by easily.
All three of the completely fake crows were able to reach a small exit in a rock passage. Finally, Jigolaths dungeon exit!
For Weed it had been a long time since he had been able to see such a cool and crystal clear blue sky. Clear except for the smoky trails of ash blown out by the flowing lava, which extended in snaking trails out to the distant snow covered fields. You could see all the way to the Jigolaths snow line from this scenic bird point of view.
It gave you a real sense of freedom to be able to see so much clear open space around you after being confined for so long!
The bad feelings left over from having to work a pickaxe in a cramped dungeon completely disappeared. With all the force he could muster, Weed let out a huge cry.
Craww! Kriawww Krawww!!
-That was a very evil cry you just made.-
-Our luck must be turning bad.-
-I'm sure that everyone who hears it will become very angry.-
These complaining critics of Weed's roar were, of course, from the viewpoint of Golden Bird and Silver Bird. Weed feeling rather full of himself didn't even notice.
Weed's beady black crow eyes were scouring the landscape of the Jigolaths.
'Well, you have all that too.'
From his vantage point Weed can clearly see the Haven Kingdoms Fleet sailors and Griffith's pirates hunting for them on the land.
The Hermes's Guild reinforcement crews have arrived as one large force. Weed is going to have to deal with both Drinfeld and the new reinforcements though the sailors do lack combat experience.
As the unfreezing river came into view scores of warships and pirate ships could be seen at anchor. Weed's current advantage is that he alone can use the sculpture transformation, that's something he plans to exploit.
'It might work out if I was to get some help using Yurin's Picture Teleportation.'
Although one thing to kept in mind is that among his enemies are high level Wizards with skills that could easily overwhelm and distort Yurin's teleport level making that idea a very risky one to use.
Therefore getting rescued by Yurin might put her in danger.
Moreover there was no way to know if the teleport could move all of his loot, he absolutely had to hang on to that angel statue. He didn't like the idea of taking risks that might get his precious people taken hostage.
One way or another, getting a ship to take everything and everyone was the only good solution.
-Follow me.-
Flying through the sky Weed passed over the warships anchored there. Once they had passed the ships they then flew low over the river following it toward the ocean. The temperature difference between the river and the air created turbulence at the higher elevations so flying low, close to the river, was far easier than being higher up.
They took a brief rest on a rock outcropping and then flew on, they repeated this pattern many times!
Northeast of where the unfreezing river met the sea was a beach, they headed toward it.
"Cancel Sculptural Transformation!"
Returning to his human form Weed then opened one of his backpacks. Inside were glass bottles, filling the backpack to the brim. Snake Wine, Whiskey, herbs and more, Weed had many bottles filled with several different types of alcohol he had worked hard to prepare.
They would have to be dumped.
"It's like throwing money away, what a waste!"
Weed put small rolled up notes inside the glass bottle. If you've ever watched a movie about castaways on a deserted island you'll know that the one thing they all do is send out a note in a glass bottle. Weed was just making use of a clear and established procedure.
========================================
To all Undead,
Ye are hereby summoned.
Attend on me at once.
We will stain the world in shadow, the living will be forced to accept our invitation of death.
Heed my call my comrades.
– The Immortal Lich Warrior, Weed.
========================================
As a final touch he added a coal blackened stamp of his palm print as a way of creating a personal seal for the note.
"Just in case…"
Weed got to work looking for wood that he could cut up and use. He stumbled across wood from his old Ghost ship that had washed up on the beach. Some of the hull and a huge section of the main mast.
========================================
Old Reeking Mast : Durability 4/49
Made from a very strong tree.
Steeped in salt water after having spent a long time floating in the sea as a phantom ship. This wood is certain to bring bad luck. Inappropriate material to create anything with.
Options:
Luck: -15
Will make you constantly thirsty.
Reduces the chance for successful attacks on targets while at sea.
The longer it is kept close the more chance that you will gain a minor curse, like an itchy rash or boils.
========================================
With this old mast, Weed started carving small skeletons and a small sculpture of a Phantom Ship.
"Just like my old wooden sculptures that I used to sell."
Hundreds of bottles were filled like cookie jars with a skeleton sculpture and a note each, they were then tossed into the water so that they would drift far out to sea.
His tiny Phantom Ship was detailed right down to the black sails, once it was placed in the waves it sailed away quickly.
"Time for a new experiment with sculpting…"
Weed plunged both his hands into the seawater.
"Sculpture Material Comprehension."
Ting!
========================================
Unnamed Coastal Seawater.
The seawater has a very strong life force, it's nature is very tolerant.
========================================
Between Weed's cupped hands the seawater began to glow and shine like it had been somehow infused with an inner essence.
"Using the natural mana of water to sculpt with…it's good to sculpt without damaging anything for a change."
Collecting seawater without destroying it, as it was collected it still contained the power of it's original essence and could be manipulated into a sculpture.
"Nature Sculpting!"
From between his hands the seawater started rising into the air, Weed hadn't intended that to happen, the water seemed to lift itself into the sky.
Gushing water swirled and becomes a beautiful flowing sphere, silent and serene in it's watery colors of green-blue.
Weed let the water rise to the height where Yellowy could have taken a bath in it, he then took out Zahab's sculpting knife and started to trim the water.
"I will have to make a good sculpture."
He could have left it rough, but Weed wanted to perfect this technique.
Shown standing on the deck of his Ghost ship looking off into the far distant unknown, with a patch over his eye and a hook for a hand it's Weed's Lich form, the Lich Pirate Captain Dereol.
Ting!
========================================
A sculpture of a Phantom Ship
A phantom ship is captained by a Lich Pirate on the Open Sea!
Can safely be called a poorly done and quite evil sculpture by any standard. Carved using natural seawater
Artistic Merit: 179
Special Options:
Enhances all abilities of the Undead
Increases the top speed of Ghost Ships by 5%
Leadership skills increase by 2% while at sea.
========================================
Well, it was the best he could do for now.
"Cloud Sculpting!"
The sculptured water evaporated into the air.
========================================
-You used the Cloud Sculpting Technique.
Your affinity with nature level was used for your skill level with cloud sculpting.
Cloud skill level is too low, unable to set cloud rain properties.
========================================
High above them a dark cloud formed and began to draw in the other clouds nearby, growing larger and blacker as it absorbed the smaller clouds.
A phantom ship filled with ghost pirates looking almost perfectly real, it's as if Dereol and crew were sailing in the sky!
This enormous black ship made of clouds was Weeds first cloud sculpture. As it is must go where the wind pushes the massive cloud phantom ship was forced down into the sea.
*****
The Flying Dutchman, Calamity of the Planetes Sea. i
"Cap..tain! I.. pulled.. this… out. from… the sea."
The dirty, ragged dressed crew member brought the item to his captain.
The captain wore a frayed sideways hat, while below he had a single eye-patch leaving him just his single eye to read with.
"Ooh..early…the boss is calling us…sail…quickly….you…must…voyage."
On board the ship the ropes that bound the sails were untied as the ship was made ready to depart. It was then that the sad and bitter truth was revealed, these sails were black, tattered and full of holes, still, the phantom ship, the Flying Dutchman and her undead crew had to make do with what they had.
Nevertheless, this was the time of year that the northeast winds were at their peak and the Dutchman caught that fair wind and somehow sailed forth.
The infamous phantom ship the Flying Dutchman had received a nasty note in a glass bottle from Weed but they were not the only ship getting notes and setting their sails.
In the Neria Sea another phantom ship received a message in a bottle and they quickly changed course.
"Let's…Go…"
"Called us…a…Lich..it's….orders…..we…..dare…not..refuse."
"Mighty…chaos…warriors…honorable..fighters…we…must…..die.in.battle…"
After sending out the bottles Weed had once again revived his Lich, the higher grade Lich of course which came with the high level undead summoning skills. Carved from local rock on site…it looked worse than the last two, he didn't forget to add the hook.
The higher level summon skills had an unexpected effect on the notes in the glass bottles…they were all delivered to the phantom ships.
If you also add in the fame Weed had earned in the quest with the chaos warrior, the ring of fire and the skill levels he had gained while hunting as an undead Lich. It shouldn't be too surprising that with the passage of time Weed's name was very well known not only on the Versailles Continent but also to all of the Undead ranks.
Even for those humans and other races with no interest in the undead were talking about Weed as their main hot topic!
This vast amount of fame and gossip was having an effect.
Not only nearby but also in far away oceans phantom ship captains were moving.
"Faster....we.must.cut…..a…huge…wake..through..the..sea."
That year in the Planetes Sea, out of nowhere phantom ships started appearing there, where they had never been seen before.
In the Neria Sea a phantom ship was sucked into the vortex of a whirlpool. The phantom ship hull was damaged as you might have guessed but it was not destroyed.
This very same phantom ship, sucked down into the depths of the vortex, reappeared much later…. in the west.
"This…is not…where we…were."
Other phantom ships at the time of Weeds bottles were also being drawn into other vortex's. They'd be sucked in and the reappear…in the northeast, near the Jigolaths.
Things were Moving!
Elsewhere, in the calmest and deepest waters, sunken ships which had been lost and never seen again, started to rise up as new phantom ships.
These new phantom ships started sailing and the bodies aboard these ex-sunken ships began to wake up as Undead and recall their skills.
"Kee kee kee, we all know that to turn up like this…is to turn up for a fight."
Some 200 years ago there was the pirate ship 'Jabricha!', famous for it barbarity. The captain was dumped without mercy by his men onto a desert island, he held a big grudge and after dying of hunger became an Undead.
Onto this desert island's sandy shore a bottle was delivered but the undead captain had no way to travel and answer the call.
"Kill Kill, Kill Kill Kill!"
Driven mad by his odd urges he nevertheless, hung out on the beach. A passing phantom ship offered him a ride.
"Where..you..going?"
"To…Weed."
"That's..where..we're..going..too."
Through the rough waves and storms, these ships kept sailing on, the phantom ship pipeline was in full production.
Anything that would float would do, dugout, canoe, raft, they even clung to logs or jumped into barrels, as long as it could move the Undead towards their goal.
******
Pale and his friends were resting in the ancient city, Mordred, the former capital of the old Niflheim Empire after finishing the party's high difficulty quest.
"Whoa…that.was.one. really hard quest."
It had been a very difficult quest for Irene though she didn't want to say that out loud, what she'd really like at this moment is to have a chance to just sit down as it is all she can do to just remain standing.
"They didn't exaggerate when they said this was a monster paradise."
Hwaryeong was worn out too, still catching her breathe she couldn't speak even if she wanted to.
If she had done this in front of a large audience she would have had a great time. Someplace with a huge seating capacity where she could give her all in a passionate performance, yet even there she could take a break, unlike having to perform for endless monsters. That kind of performance really was something to try and avoid.
They had overcome many difficulties and were able to bring about getting the sword technology to come to Morata, the Biteoreu Clan had been the original creators of the Knights Sword.
========================================
– You have done great work in being able to complete the request from the house of the Great General.
The craftsmen Clan of Biteoreu will move to Morata as permanent residents and open up a shop there.
This will quickly increase Morata's level of weapon technology.
========================================
As part of the quest compensation they would be allowed to keep the Biteoreu jewelry that they had already been given.
"Later on I'll make your equipment in the clan workshop for you. My clans sword production level is really high, the protective gear isn't at the same level but even so it's still of very good quality."
It was really paying off to be able to bring the survivors back to the House of Biteoreu, killing all those monsters was worth the massive effort.
Mapan the merchant was acting as a gem trader for the group, he had sea trade routes and was getting a chance to make large sums of money. They were even speaking about him on the streets of the city.
"Merchant Mapan made a good amount of money out of exchanging jewels this time."
"…"
"Say, what's up with that broadcast?"
The whole group of Weed's friends had been taking a leisurely break when a big news event popped up all over the media channels.
"The reinforcements sent by the Hermes Guild to kill Weed, have arrived at the Jigolaths."
"Don't you think we should help him?"
Everyone was watching with interest all the programs associated with Royal Road not just the KMC channel, they decided that they didn't want to point this out to Maylon.
After the first fight, everyone had been following Weed and the progress of the Haven Fleet reinforcements since they had arrived at the Jigolaths. It was simple to see other video because the high level Hermes Guild users also were uploading video scenes from their game.
There was a lot of hot debate across the Versailles Continent due to all of that.
Since the quest that had ended the life of the Chaos Warchief Kubicha no one expected that the Guild would have an easy time of it, they did wonder why Weed had not been fighting as expected.
Anxious about these events Pale spoke up with his concerns.
"Weed's whisper channel is blocked…I'm not sure how he's holding up with all this going on."
"Should we ask Yurin?"
Hwaryeong decided to go ahead and talk with Weed's sister about the current conditions and find out directly if there was any trouble. She got in contact with a whisper.
-Yurin, where are you right now?-
-I'm in a painting-
-A painting?…er…I was wondering about your brother…Is Weed alright?-
-I think things are hard for older brother right now.-
-Hard?-
-Yes. When he ate at the house his face somehow looked tired and angry.-
At that time Weed had been in the middle of using a pickaxe all day long while looking for the Helium, not a great quality of life time for him. The outlook at that time had been pretty bleak since no matter what he did there had been no end in sight.
-I really don't think you need to worry, I'm taking care of things on my end so you can just do as you like.-
Even when his enemies were meddling with him, a firm belief that it would not matter was clear from Yurin's attitude.
From the earliest age to now the good older brother role had never been broken.
As a young girl, whenever she had wanted candy or toys, she had always been given them. Though, some of the young boys in their neighborhood might have had to do without. A deep trusting bond was built from such simple things and it had never been betrayed.
On rainy days an umbrella would show up, if the weather was hot an unopened package of ice cream was delivered.
The wild and young neighborhood boys who were always getting up to tricks like little devils, never came near her and if they did happen to see her they would turn away shivering.
Hwaryeong, who couldn't keep up with the rapid delivery of these stories finally had to speak up to the others who couldn't hear the whispers.
"What should I do? Yurin says things do look hard for Weed."
Her rich and vivid imagination built a lot of long faces and big problems.
"I think our Mr.Weed is going to need some help kicking that Hermes ass, we're going to join in."
"Weed does?"
Maylon was asking since she wasn't sure she believed this.
"Well yeah, think about it, there he is sad and alone, running for his life until his back is up against a wall. Then they kill him."
"Ehhh!"
This story was seen quite often in shows or movies like The Fugitive. A scenario where a hero needs to flee the country, suffering hardships along the way. not even able to find a moment of peace for a quiet drink of water.
Soft hearted Irene, could picture this easily, her eyes were already getting watery.
Either it was going to be Drinfeld or some pirate, it didn't really matter who, the chase was going to go on. It wasn't about any quest either, it was about running down a target and giving it no chance to rest.
"It's the Jigolaths, that's where we need to go and help Weed, and we need to go right now."
Hwaryeong made a strong case, the party headed to the harbor at a run. Once there, they looked for a boat that could sail to the Jigolaths.
"We're looking for a clipper ship, we need one quickly, do you have one you could show us?"
Halfway through looking at a ship Bellot suddenly spoke.
"I just thought of this, why not use use picture teleportation? that would be much faster, right?"
Even after Bellot finished saying this she stopped and shook her head.
"No, you didn't just hear that. I shouldn't have said anything."
That choice might lead to a fight with the enemy directly, it is much better to avoid that rather than try to use a method that could alert a powerful enemy like the Hermes Guild.
The high level wizards at the Jigolaths would have been careful, they would have put up magical barriers preventing anyone teleporting there. Especially since Weed is well known for his tricks, they would be on alert for any magic getting used.
The Hermes Guild is afraid of the Wargod Weed, for good reasons. Weed has earned a huge amount of fame and that kind of thing gets noticed. It might seem like just another minor detail but part of being a warrior is learning to not take risks when you don't have to.
So the reason for Bellot to swallow her words was simply part of using her head, calmly assessing the risk factor of using picture teleportation before committing her friends to a dangerous group tactic. A cool headed review is not the same as being callous.
Whatever a fellow's reputation only close friends get to know the real story behind the reputation. This was especially true for Weed.
Weed's systematic and steady approach to any job leaves him almost unable to give up, it's just not in him.
Hwaryeong and Zephyr could still vividly remember the nightmare hunt they had experienced with Weed in the Basara Lair Dungeon.
That hunt had run for almost 29 continuous hours, toward the end of that they had been on the point of welcoming death just to escape the flesh grinding hunt.
Keeping them alive by forceful applications of his bandage skills, Weed had not only healed the party, fixed their weapons but almost at the same time proceeded to slaughter every monster within reach.
The only time that they had a chance to take a break and try to recover was when Weed's backpack was too full of loot to continue and he was forced to go to town to sell it.
Even when everyone else took a break, Weed acted just like the construction worker he used to be in real life, always keeping busy. He was making sculptures nonstop even during the breaks.
Since Jigolaths has no merchants or towns, Weed's system of selling off full back packs had to be changed to one of storing the loot, It wasn't great but he was out of options.
"I couldn't even imagine giving up my hard earned loot."
"Without items to sell my life would have no meaning…"
"If I had to make their loss I'd be forced to hunt nonstop until I passed out."
The painting teleportation skill has severe limitations, the hunting loot that had been collected in the Jigolaths was piled as high as a small mountain. There was just no practical way to teleport that amount of loot.
You'd also have to factor in the need to have every single item drawn onto the painting with exact detail and shown in it's new location. No way would they have the time needed to complete that before the enemy tracked them down.
In the end this was the conclusion reached after much discussion. To reach Weed and eventually extract him and his loot from the Jigolaths nothing else would do the job except a medium sized clipper ship.
The party and the newly purchased ship set sail for the Jigolaths.
How much a burden Weed would have to travel under is an unknowable factor, on that basis the best tactic they can use to fool the enemy is to keep the rescue mission as secret as possible, not even letting Weed know.
It would take at the earliest a day or two before they could arrive in the Jigolaths area, at that time they could let him know.
Pale was no sailor but since he was the default leader of the group when Weed was absent. He had, a least, tried to learn a bit about the job when they had sailed on the phantom ship the 'Maria' with Weed, which was more than any other member of the party had been able to do.
"Heading off to the Jigolaths with no voyage navigation charts…"
"Weed has the only map I know about, I did look at it several times but I don't remember it well enough to have confidence that I can get us all the way there."
Mapan in his effort to be efficient had hired a fully qualified NPC Captain and crew to sail the ship, yet they were all worried about the Captain being skilled enough to handle a task like an unknown sea route.
After sailing to the best northeastern route marker they could, the party was shocked to encounter a huge procession of phantom ships on the water ahead of them.
These phantom ships were all sailing on the exact same course heading.
Quite erie to say the least and it was the last thing they expected to see.
Not only phantom ships, there were plenty of rafts, barrels, logs, and other odd broken bits of flotsam that could have been parts of old shipwrecks.
Sea Monsters too had gathered and were swimming along the same course as the motley phantom procession, almost like they were the guards or escorts.
It was a completely amazing scene!
If Pale and the rest of the party had not been there in person they would have never believed it had they heard such a crazy tale.
They had their ship turn to the northeast which wouldn't be too wrong a course since Pale and his party had seen the spectacle of the phantom ships using the same direction.
It was pretty safe bet that Jigolaths would be on that northeast heading.
This sight was so odd and yet important for Pale and the rest, clearly something momentous was being enacted right before their eyes. It was quite cold in this part of the world but that is not why they were all shivering.
"He did this…I don't how or why but it has to be him…"
"It's like a giant wave of destiny is getting ready to break on the Jigolaths shore."
The phantom ships piloted by a mix of ghost and the undead were also accompanied by huge birds.
Soaring along with the ships with a 300 cm [10ft] wingspan, evil looking and black as coal, dozens of Condorsii flew in the updrafts of the wind, drafting along without moving a feather.
A very evil and totally appropriate garnish to this unearthly scene.
The ship Pale was in, followed the phantom ships with a careful distance between their ship and the dreadful hodgepodge fleet.
From the sea, coming up to the stern of Pale's ship came a great watery swell, sailing up behind their ship was the first ship of a convoy of black warships.
Not an ordinary ship these multi-masted vessels towered over all other ships around them. It was the first ship in a line of warships that was cutting through the water with fearsome speed. It had sailed up to Pale's ship without hail or warning and now looked ready to ram them.
"Hard over to port!"
The hired ship's captain, spun the ship's wheel completely to the left, turning the ship quickly to avoid the collision.
The much smaller clipper ship barely managed to get out of the warships way.
They were missed by the narrowest of margins, so much so that Pale's ship was caught in the turbulence left behind in the battleships wake.
So close was the huge ship that the white foaming waves broke over the deck and caused Pale's ship to experience serious rolling.
The large dark warship was crowded to bursting, not just with undead but also with many Dark Knights, Witches and a full crew of phantom sailors.
The line of sailing warships never even gave Pale's ship a glance as they stayed on their course, not one inch did any of the line ships turn from their heading of reaching the Jigolaths.
"Christ!, we're damn lucky to be alive."
"It's like having a god damn near-death experience."
Everyone aboard Pale's ship breathed a huge sigh of relief at the sight of the military ships moving ahead of them.
Maylon pointed toward the flag of the speeding battleship.
"That flag… It seems really familiar, I can't be sure…where did I see that flag before?"
The flag rippling in the wind was black with a stylized skeleton's white skull, the skulls jawbone was hugely open with what looks like a pure scream of agony.
Without a doubt, they had all seen it before. The symbol on that flag gave each of them the feeling that it was very important.
"I think I've seen it before too"
"I also remember seeing it once."
Surka and Pale were certain they had seen that symbol before.
"Where did I see it?"
As they all racked their brains striving hard to remember, Mapan gave a tentative answer…
"Er..it seems to me.. wasn't it when Weed was transformed into that Orc Karichwi?iii"
"What?"
"As I remember it, that was the flag that the Serpa Witches and the Lich Shire used. Well..no..really those flags marched at the head of the Undead Legion iv. I believe it's the symbol of that black army of the Undead; The Undead Legion's Flag.
Mapan shuddered as he spoke.
Those were the days as a merchant that he faced near-death experience countless times.
Whenever the tactics of that war had changed, the saliva would dry in your mouth, you didn't dare look away for fear of missing a moment of that Battle!
Of the all videos posted in the Hall of Fame, the video showing the battle of the Orc armies of Karichwi, The Dark Elves and Humans has remained within the top 5 videos even today.
"Ah! That's right! It was the Undead Legion."
It was only then that Maylon clapped in recognition.
The flag that represents the Lord of the Undead Legion, the immortal Lord who commands all the Undead…
"Then, those warships, they came from the Undead Legion?"
The party all caught each others gaze at once.
"Let's go!"
"Go!"
"Captain! Make sail v!"
Even with sails spread to their maximum, the distance and speed of the warships ended up leaving Pale's normally much faster clipper ship lagging quite a distance.
The undead aboard the Legion ships had no need of sleep, which was not the case for Pale's crew and Captain. The taller ships could also gather more of the current winds. Under these adverse conditions even a fast clipper ship would eventually lose sight of them as the voyage went on.
They had no option but to lose sight of the convoy.