| 017 | A Greedy One's Call for Help

While the crew of Pinguis Arca was dumbfounded by the saddening failure of their escape, the esteemed magus's frown faded from his face as he giggled at their predicament. He slowly glanced at the fat captain of the merchant ship and remarked.

"Captain Crassus, it seems that our adversaries cannot be underestimated."

His words resounded amidst the silence that shrouded the medieval brig. With it, the sailors managed to step out of their tranced state and turned their gaze towards the captain.

Crassus noticed their gaze and awkwardly chuckled with helplessness.

"Do we have another way of escaping?" After chuckling for a moment, he asked the magus beside him an important question. If the answer was yes, then there was hope. 

If otherwise, he would have to pull his connections. And his connections were expensive to utilize. But for the sake of his cargo and life, he would have to accept more sacrifices.

"There is a long-range teleportation spell, but unfortunately, it can only have me as the object of spatial transfer. So sadly, all of you have no way of escaping." 

The magus was honest as he proudly implied that he could retreat from their circumstances with ease. They would all be left behind in Pinguis Arca, to be eaten by the predator behind them.

"I see… You! Give me the runic communicator!" Crassus wasn't offended by the arrogance of the magus since it was natural for them to be narcissistic bastards. 

He only ordered his subordinate to give him a runic communicator. An expensive device in his wealthy vault of precious artifacts. 

A runic communicator was an advanced device created by magi for long-range communication between large distances. They employ an engraving of runic spells which deploys transmission runes.

However, one would wonder. How could people who weren't magi use the runic communicator? Well, those who weren't magi can utilize the runic communicator through their innate mana capacity.

Every human in the foreign world has an innate mana capacity. But to become a magus, their innate mana capacity must be exceptional enough to affect the mana in their surroundings.

As such, amongst the populations of humans in the foreign world, only a percent could become magi. However, one mustn't underestimate the sole percent as they rule over the entirety of humanity.

The runic communicator was soon brought out of his cabin. It would have resembled a bar of silver if not for its runic language gleaming with inexplicable radiance. 

Crassus held the runic communicator tightly and took a deep breath. The esteemed magus simply observed him with interest, not bothering to do anything.

"Connect to the runic communicator of the Colonial Dominion of Terra." When he uttered such words, the luminescent marks of the runic communicator blinked rapidly. 

The Colonial Dominion of Terra was one of the seven great colonies in the Ferus Sea. It dwelled in the southwest of the Ferus Sea and was considered the trading hub that connected Europa to the New World. 

One could consider it a bridgehead between the old world and the new world. A sea where various opportunities lingered, waiting to be unveiled. 

But despite being considered the trading hub of the Ferus Sea, the sea surrounding the Colonial Dominion of Terra was rather empty because of its dangers that required escorts for every entry and exit.

Crassus patiently waited for the transmission to be received, and it did. 

*Crassus, to think you would call me while I am enjoying my day. I hope you have a fair reason for why you interrupted my leisure.*

*Otherwise, I will wait for you in my port along with my guards.* A weird-sounding voice left the runic communicator.

"Viceroy Vlakas, I humbly request for your escorts to guard me from an unfortunate situation. I am being chased by an unknown metallic ship, intending to steal my cargo."

"I desire your help in transporting the merchandise to your port," Crassus said with a respectful tone, but it soon threaten to disappear when he heard the next words of the viceroy.

*Favors aren't done for free, Crassus. I'm sure you understand that, correct? If you want the help of my escort ships, you must be willing to pay the price.*

The captain of Pinguis Arca could only grit his teeth as he stopped himself from cursing at the bastard on the other side.

"Naturally, Viceroy Vlakas. I am willing to give you a discount for my merchandise after I arrive at the port. I am also willing to pay a bit more through products, personally~" Crassus was an excellent negotiator and knew what the bastard wanted the most.

*It appears we are on the same page, Captain Crassus. I will be sending 4 escort ships that are near your location. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes for them to arrive.*

*As a gift, I'll also be reinforcing you with a squadron of my Wyvern riders. I'm sure there will be enough to handle the strange ship that has been pursuing you.*

The viceroy became favorable after hearing about the discounts and personal gifts of the greedy captain. He couldn't help but wonder about the things he would get.

"Thank you for your assistance, Viceroy Vlakas. I, Crassus, will never forget this favor." Crassus said with the nicest tone he could utter. 

*As should be.*

With that, the transmission between the two was cut off. The runic communicator slowly stopped blinking, and several seconds later, Crassus cursed.

"Damn that greedy bastard! How dare he!" As a wealthy businessman, Crassus was familiar with the politics of the Colonial Dominions. That bastard Vlakas was amongst the colonial governors with the lowest popularity in their home nations.

The Viceroy was practically a loser sent to handle the colonies of his respective nation. For someone like Crassus, who has connections to various nobles ranging from marquesses, and dukes, to even kings. 

Such bastards shouldn't be bothering him.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. He was trapped in a predicament that he must solve. And the solution was the entry of reinforcements.

"You don't look so good, Captain Crassus. The viceroy must have given a despicable price." The magus appeared to be enjoying the moment.

Crassus could only shake his head after hearing the magus's words. His allies seemed to be unreliable or greedy. Even a fat bastard like him was competent, or else, his business would have never grown this much.

"Please continue the activation of your great spell, Sir Magus. Reinforcements should arrive twenty minutes from now." Crassus uttered while the magus nodded with a grin on his face.

The captain of Pinguis Arca looked at his crewmen and yelled at them with his screeching voice.

"All of you! Make this ship sail faster! Throw whatever is useless! Even those goddamn garbage in the lower decks can be thrown overboard." Crassus returned to his cabin to have some drinks.

On the contrary, his men began following his orders. They threw everything that they considered useless and heavy into the sea. 

This also included some of their merchandise that were injured and sick. It was always a horrific sight to see others from young to old getting thrown into the harsh seas.

Nevertheless, such was the reality of the high seas.

――<● >――

Meanwhile… In the Combat Information Center of the UNS Light Bringer, the communication and intelligence personnel were gazing at the activated spell circle in amazement.

Fleet Admiral Abraham looked at it with the same eyes as the others but with a hint of cautiousness. The implications of magic had already echoed in his mind after he considered himself to be reincarnated into a foreign world.

To see it, with his own eyes, brought another feeling. That was interest and fear. Magic was a powerful and limitless mystical power of the natural world. 

Who knows what the limits were for those who wield it.

"It looks like they aren't open for our inspections, Captain Lux." Abraham coldly muttered to the captain of the UNS Light Bringer.

His words were clear. They must act against the merchant ship before them. But before the two could discuss it, something surprising was unveiled before their eyes.

Sailors of the giant medieval brig began throwing shadowy figures into the ocean. They could only describe such figures as humanoid, but nevertheless, it proved another thing to the United Navy.

The bastards were slave traders.

"I guess there is no need for a discussion. Captain Lux, debrief our Marines for a boarding action. Deploy them through our zodiacs. They will be rescuing hostages and dealing with hostiles on the ship. Tell them to subjugate the hostiles if possible."

"After all, regardless of the opponents' rotten brains, we need all the intelligence we can get."

The Fleet Admiral didn't appear to be in a good mood. His cold words signified his desire for the destruction of the slave traders. 

"Understood, Fleet Admiral. I'll be reporting your orders to the 2nd Lieutenant." Captain Lux saluted Abraham and accepted his orders without hesitation or delay. 

He swiftly stepped out of the CIC to meet with the marine platoon on the lower decks. They must be fast in deploying their marines, since the less time the enemy can react, the better.

Abraham was left behind in the Combat Information Center along with several of his naval personnel who were professionally operating their respective electronics.

While his subordinates did their duties, thoughts passed through his head.

He had just ordered the execution of men in a mere instant. He didn't even hesitate and immediately followed through with his resolution, which was their deaths.

It made him wonder if he was considering life as lesser than before. After all, his former self would never have deemed the death of others. Or perhaps, he was too confident of his morality.

The middle-aged man couldn't continue thinking about such complicated thoughts as a mechanical bell rang inside his mind. Systema was finally up.

*Ding!*

| Maritime Security Subtask Detected! |

●| Hostage Rescue(Sea Surveillance Sub-Mission) |

➤| A slave-trading ship has been detected sailing through the high seas. As the Fleet Admiral has promised maritime security in the region, it is standard for the United Navy to rescue the slaves. For each hostage rescued from the grasp of the slave traders, 10 Naval Points are promptly rewarded after the Sub-Mission Completion. |