Lord of Rot

The battle was over in an instant.

This shipping lane saw heavy traffic. When the shelling began, many nearby vessels heard the commotion. Some, having just passed the Tuna family’s three-masted ship, guessed the explosions were connected to them.

A small merchant ship from East Port kept its distance, with only a dozen or so guards on board.

Sensing trouble, the ship had already come to a halt.

”What’s that?”

Something was drifting toward them on the waves.

”It looks like the Tuna family’s flag!”

”Did the Tuna family’s ship capsize? Could they have run into a deep-sea monster?”

The captain acted decisively. ”Back to East Port!”

’It doesn’t matter what happened—waves, sea monsters, sirens, whatever. Turning back now is the safest option!’

Leech, controlling the Corpse Ghost, stood on the deck. He calmly watched the distant Tuna family sailors. As their ship sank, they screamed in terror, some even pleading for help from his direction.

The ship’s sailors were skilled swimmers. Aside from the unlucky few who were either stunned by the blasts or killed outright, the rest bobbed in the waves. Some of the more fortunate ones managed to grab onto pieces of wreckage, saving what little strength they had.

But survival was its own form of despair. The Porcupine had no intention of taking prisoners.

Scorched by the blazing sun, with no fresh water or food, the only thing that awaited them was death. The only question was whether it would be sooner or later.

Fortunately, the Porcupine didn’t intend to hunt down every last one of them. It left after sinking the ship. If another merchant vessel approached, they might have a chance of survival.

Leech’s campaign against the Tuna family had only just begun.

The other nobles had likely already heard about the cause of the conflict between the two families. But they were less concerned with who was right or wrong and more astonished by the power of the new weapon Baron Porcupine had unveiled. A warship had been torn to pieces by his terrifying cannons. In these waters, who could possibly stand in the way of the Porcupine’s rise?

However, some sharp-eyed individuals spotted an opportunity. Many of the great nobles had several times more scholars in their employ than Porcupine Territory. They figured that if they set their scholars to studying and imitating the design, they could quickly replicate a similar weapon.

Others set their sights on Porcupine Territory itself. If they could just get their hands on a single cannon, they could reverse-engineer it.

’The Porcupine’s dominance is only temporary. In the end, strength comes down to who has the deeper pockets.’

For now, no one dared to provoke the Baron. The ”Porcupine” was living up to his name, lashing out madly. No one wanted to get close and be pricked by his quills before his fury subsided.

Two merchant ships had been sunk in total.

’It’s a shame the Tuna family has caught on. Now they’ll just go into hiding.’

Leech didn’t have the resources for a protracted war with Monkey Island. But if he didn’t make them feel the pain, those ”water monkeys” wouldn’t learn to be afraid.

His initial plan was to destroy all their ships, trapping the Tuna family on Monkey Island to wither and die.

He was also counting on merchants like Deni and Claude not to pass up the chance to fleece a family cut off from outside trade.

Leech may have had fewer ships, but his were capable of precise artillery strikes.

His rivals, in contrast, were limited to methods like boarding actions and archery.

The range of a bow was nothing compared to that of a cannon.

Until one’s Magic abilities were fully developed, gunpowder weapons were still incredibly effective at overwhelming ordinary people.

Just moments ago, a Tuna family ship had spotted the Porcupine and immediately fled, not even waiting for it to get close.

Their ship was faster than the Porcupine, which could only watch helplessly as it sailed away.

The old Captain, Piri, stood to the right of the Corpse Ghost Leech was controlling.

”My Lord, our ship can’t catch up.”

”Stay and guard this area,” he said. ”I recall they have a few more ships transporting grain and wine. Those vessels are comparable to the Porcupine; they shouldn’t be able to escape.”

”Aye!” Old Captain Piri nodded.

’His only job was to follow orders. But after so many years as a Captain, this was the first time he’d ever seen a war fought like this. Men had muskets, and now ships had their own ”muskets” too. From this day forward, who could possibly stop Baron Porcupine’s expansion?’

”My Lord, we are ready,” a voice came from his left.

Leech turned his head to the left, and his consciousness instantly departed the deck, returning to his body in Porcupine Territory.

He was standing with his arms outstretched as his personal valet, Pitchfork, adjusted his attire.

The young lord in the mirror was handsome. After a period of recuperation—feasting on fine foods and various Magic Potions—he had recovered his health and was no longer rail-thin.

”Let’s go,” he nodded.

He was going to attend Red Rose’s birthday ball.

The development of Porcupine Territory was on the right track. Barring any new orders from its lord, its operations would continue to run smoothly.

The torrential rain had finally stopped the previous night. Water levels had risen, and some of the excavated pits had turned into small lakes.

’A perfect opportunity to start up the fishery.’

The rain, coming after such a long drought, was a relief to both body and soul.

Leech boarded the Iron Valley at the docks, accompanied by his retinue of guards and servants.

The journey from Pigtail Bay to East Port was peaceful.

But on the other shipping route, things were far from peaceful. The Porcupine had finally caught another opportunity, sinking one more of the Tuna family’s ships. That brought the total to three sunken vessels, including one three-masted ship.

In just a day or two, the Porcupine had become a terrifying legend on the high seas, its story even eclipsing tales of misty ghost ships and the like.

Other legends merely spoke of crews being wiped out or driven mad. But the Porcupine? It blew the entire ship to smithereens.

And most importantly, the Porcupine was real.

According to the few lucky sailors from the Tuna family who were rescued, they heard thunder crack across a clear blue sky. Then, their ship simply shattered, and all that remained were screams.