The Water Magician

"Attach to the starboard of the Hirofune. We'll board from there!"

"Understood!"

The helmsman responds to Captain Gorik's instructions.

Both the Hirofune and the ghost ship are docked.

The ghost ship is large.

Its deck is significantly higher than that of the Rondark and the Hirofune.

Boarding from such a high deck is challenging.

Conversely, boarding from a lower deck is much easier.

You can simply throw a rope over and slide down.

The decks of the Rondark and the Hirofune are almost at the same height.

With perfect maneuvering, the Rondark has attached to the starboard of the Hirofune.

"Release the ropes!"

Ropes are thrown from the bow and stern toward the deck of the Hirofune.

The bow and stern are positioned significantly higher than the deck.

If you throw the ropes from there, it creates an incline.

Utilizing that incline...

"Board!"

Captain Gorik's command echoes.

Leading the charge is Lieutenant Rena.

She slides down the rope from the stern and lands gracefully on the Hirofune.

The crew of the Rondark follows suit.

By that time, the deck of the Hirofune was already on the brink of hell.

"We are the Sujay Kingdom Navy! We have come to help!"

As they board, the crew of the Rondark shouts.

They need to inform the crew of the Hirofune that they are friends and have come to assist.

The morale of the Hirofune's crew had already plummeted.

That equated to resignation.

But wait, reinforcements have arrived?

In this vast ocean?

Come to think of it, there was a ship that relayed a message to "run away" earlier...

"Navy?"

"That's right! The Sujay Kingdom Navy from the archipelago! Don't give up!"

The ones who boarded from the ghost ship were... skeletons.

They were skeletons.

Skeletons are not particularly strong.

Of course, there are some special individuals among them, but usually, they aren't that formidable.

However, they tend to appear in large numbers.

And some move as if they know that overwhelming through numbers is an effective strategy.

Moreover, those armed with weapons...

Every skeleton on the deck of the Hirofune was holding a knife.

"I don't think they are marines, but... they can board and get onto the enemy ship, right?"

"Of course. If the crew of a warship couldn't board, they'd be half-hearted."

Gunno, the chief engineer, answered Ryo's question.

This is on the deck of the Rondark.

Ryo and Abel, having never done anything like boarding with ropes, are staying behind.

Gunno has also become the temporary head of the Rondark as an executive.

In other words, the captain and lieutenant, who are his superiors, have boarded.

They are at the bow, but since they are currently boarding, they can see well what is happening on the deck of the Hirofune.

"They're skeletons..."

"With knives, they're a troublesome opponent."

Ryo says, and Abel nods in agreement.

To defeat skeletons, blunt weapons such as clubs or hammers are effective.

On the other hand, weapons with sharp blades like swords or spears can easily slide off the bones unless they are thrust with precision, failing to deal effective damage.

If it's a knife, that difficulty increases even further...

"For sailors whose primary weapon is a knife, this is a bothersome enemy."

"Ah, I see."

Ryo finally understands Abel's words.

The Hirofune, which has come to their aid, is supposedly a warship from a country called Bol.

Naturally, it is manned by military personnel.

Since the crew of the Rondark can fight, the crew of the Hirofune must be accustomed to fighting as well...

Given that boarding battles are the mainstream in this world.

While they didn't expect to board themselves, being boarded is common in battle.

So it was assumed that the crew could fight as well...

However, the situation for the Hirofune's crew is overwhelmingly disadvantageous.

Why, you might ask...

The weapon compatibility is the worst.

Weapon compatibility should not be underestimated.

The boarding crew of the Rondark primarily wields knives.

They should be using knives, but...

"Wollya!"

"Shatter!"

"Hit!"

They are shouting phrases while swinging something around.

"What is that...?"