Shadowed Gaze: The Highserk War Saga - Chapter 106

A suffocating stench of death clung to the ship. The cause, the corpses of the monsters, had not yet been removed. The Kraken, even in death, remained entangled with the ship, becoming a rather grotesque ornament. The Sahagin corpses far outnumbered the crew, each displaying a diverse array of deaths.

It was like a macabre exhibition of what had once been Sahagins. One was impaled on a mast with a spear, another had its head crushed while tangled in a rope. Walm, with a sigh, kicked a Sahagin corpse hanging off the ship’s side into the sea. The unpleasant feast of the monsters had concluded, and the sailors, who had been part of it, quietly set about cleaning up. Walm went around informing the sea goblins, who were still in a festive mood, of their dismissal.

“Idiot, think about the direction you’re dragging it! The guts are spilling out.”

“Shut up! Don’t step on the eyeballs and dirty the deck, you moron.”

“Repairing the winch takes priority. We won’t be able to move on our own for a while anyway.”

“Pull out the arrows before you kick them off. Retrieve as many weapons as possible.”

There was no rest for the sailors who had engaged in the battle. Besides disposing of the Sahagin, there were countless repairs needed for the ship, which had been heavily damaged in the fierce battle. Moreover, they had to dismantle and salt the Kraken while covered in its foul-smelling slime. The desperate cries of the men smeared with the slime reached Walm as well.

“Ahhh, dammit, it stinks too much!!”

“Ugh, this is the worst. It’s even in my underwear.”

“Why, after protecting the ship, do we have to deal with this?”

“Stop complaining. We’ll get dismantling allowances. Stop whining and get to work—blergh.”

“Even the deck chief is throwing up. The smell is making my head hurt.”

It was a truly appalling scene. Among them was Sarshef, Walm’s guide and a sea mage. Even the sea mage, who could freely move over the water, found no mercy or rest here. Noticing Walm’s pitying gaze, Sarshef, dripping with slime, waved.

“Walm, are you joining in too? The captain’s giving out small gold coins. You like money, don’t you?”

“Don’t joke. Who would willingly jump into a bunch of slime-covered men?”

“That’s cold. We’ve fought side by side on this ship, haven’t we?”

“If there’s no slime, I’ll fight by your side again.”

Having fought in the battle, Walm had been promised a reward from the captain. He had no intention of being more involved. Besides, he had already cleaned up the mess he had made by throwing it into the sea.

“Oh, right. I need to retrieve the weapons I handed out. How’s it looking below deck?”

Walm considered using the hatch to the mid-deck but hesitated. Part of the stairs had been damaged in the battle, and the sailors were forcing their way through. Adding himself to the mix would only be a hindrance. Walm turned his eyes to the damaged deck. Fortunately, the large hole in the deck made a suitable new entrance.

After confirming his surroundings, Walm jumped down. His magically enhanced legs absorbed the shock of the landing completely. He landed near the partitioned-off sleeping area, which served as makeshift guest rooms. It was a shortcut, to say the least.

“Whoa, oooohhh?!”

The first thing Walm encountered upon quietly landing on the mid-deck was the screams of the passengers. Thankfully, their numbers hadn’t decreased, but they seemed very startled by Walm’s sudden appearance from above. They began to protest, nearly steaming with their anger.

“It’s you?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“I almost slashed at you!”

“Please, no more pranks.”

“The stairs are damaged. It was faster to come down this way. I meant no harm.”

“In that case, please give us a warning next time. It’s a battlefield down here, too, even if it’s less severe than the upper deck.”

Following the merchant’s gaze, Walm saw several Sahagins lying around, and remnants of the tentacle attacks. They seemed to have entered through a hole in the outer wall but were promptly turned into fresh mince by the passengers’ fierce counterattack. Walm felt a headache from the admiration.

“It seems so. You’ve made quite a fine mince out of them in your sleeping quarters. Are you planning to serve it for dinner?”

The partitioned area, supposedly for sleeping, was covered with beaten and minced Sahagin remains. Surprisingly, Walm’s own sleeping area was included. The sailors seemed to have a sense of equality.

“For that, we sincerely apologize. We didn’t have the luxury to avoid it.”

Looking at the exhausted passengers leaning against crates and barrels, Walm saw no falsehood in the merchant’s words. Walm didn’t intend to dwell on the matter further. He just wanted to lament a little.

“Well, let’s clean up and get it over with. The sailors can’t handle this as well. Unless you want to spend the night with this mess.”

“Ugh, we have to clean it up?”

“It can’t be helped. Better get rid of it before the smell sticks.”

The passengers grabbed the remnants of the Sahagins and began tossing them out through the hole in the wall.

“What about the hammocks?”

The hammocks were also covered with the results of the dismantling show. Mixed with intestines, undigested seafood clung tenaciously to them.

“We should wash them, but there’s a shortage of water due to the many injured.”

The peddler cast a meaningful glance at Walm.

“You know, I just finished roasting a Kraken and slicing up Sahagins on the upper deck.”

“Of course, we wouldn’t ask you to do it for free, would we?”

The passengers agreed with the merchant. Refusing at this point would be against his principles. Walm raised a white flag.

“Fine. Get some buckets ready. Anyone who wants water, speak up now. We don’t need anyone collapsing from dehydration.”

Everyone raised their hands and voices. Acting as a human water dispenser was something Walm was used to from his days in the Highserk Empire army. Considering he was being promised wages, the situation wasn’t so bad. He pulled an empty barrel over, sat down, and began filling the buckets with water, while also taking a sip to quench his own thirst.

“Return the weapons I lent you. You don’t need them anymore, right?”

Walm picked up the weapons piling up beside him and started cleaning them. His favorite longsword was soiled with slime, and he couldn’t put it back in its scabbard like that. He also wanted to clean his demon mask, but strangely, it was spotless. The mask, which he had received as a reward from the now-deceased military god, might indeed be cursed as his squadmates had speculated.

Even so, throwing it into the sea only to find it vibrating with anger by his bedside the next day would be unbearable. For now, it was the best face protection he had, and hanging it up, it could serve as a rather unique alarm clock.

Walm continued to wipe off the slime and applied a thin layer of vegetable oil to his sword before stowing it in his magic bag.

“Damn, the blade is chipped. Well, it can’t be helped.”

One of the hand axes had a chipped blade. Considering it was wielded by an amateur, it was understandable. Fortunately, it was a small chip, easily fixed with a whetstone, or it could be used as is without much issue. After all, it wasn’t something Walm used regularly and he planned to sell it off eventually.

Stowing the chipped hand axe into his magic bag, Walm spoke without turning around.

“What is it? Are you interested?”

“Well, it’s a rare item.”

Unashamedly, the merchant responded to Walm. That was understandable. For someone carrying large amounts of goods, a magic bag was a highly coveted item.

“I’m not selling it. Just so you know—”

“No need to say more. After seeing you in action on the deck, no one would be foolish enough to steal from you. Besides, facing those eyes is something I’d rather avoid.”

It seemed Walm was still on edge from the battle. Scratching his neck, he spoke.

“Sorry about that. I went too far.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing for chipping the blade of your hand axe.”

“…Tch, were you actually interested in my magic bag, or did you just want to use that to be forgiven? Whether you came forward out of a sense of duty or calculation, I wonder.”

Though he grumbled, Walm couldn’t muster any real anger toward the merchant. Looking around the middle deck, he saw the passengers, led by the merchant, cleaning their quarters and washing the hammocks. It was hard to believe they were mere passengers. They looked more like a group of servants or menial laborers.

Walm laughed heartily, finding the scene amusing rather than infuriating.

Translator – Lyxxna