Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero 73

Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero 73

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Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

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Under normal circumstances, attacking a warship at sea would be stupid, unless you had a warship of your own. I’d go as far as to say that attacking a warship at sea without two or three of your own backing you up would be stupid too.

That’s just my personal opinions on the matter though.

I’ll have you know that my personal opinion has taken me from being a slave to being a ruler of the most prime real estate on the continent, but that’s digressing from the point.

Anyhow, most of the tribes in the region primarily had canoes at their disposal. They were well crafted and staffed by Kindred, meaning that a lot more could be expected out of them. Though they were sluts, Kindred were still capable of killing most of the things that got in their way, so my initial plan was to cause to distraction so that my new allies could board the ship and deal with the crew, while we dealt with the dragon.

It was pretty much just a modified version of my old plan, which involved setting satchels against the underside of the boat via my amphibious allies. The original plan would’ve sunk the boat easily, since the concoction of violent magic burned and exploded just fine beneath the water. In fact, an underwater mine would’ve been a safer alternative, though it would’ve taken a while to monitor the ship and discern its usual routes.

In the end though, I went with none of those plans, because the chance of losing the ship was too high.

If the Lua’Kona couldn’t capture the ship in time, the Dragon would just return and burn them all to ash, while the original plans were outright designed to destroy the ship.

With my goal being the capture of the S.S. Hachiman I couldn’t risk either plan anymore… so ignored trying to confront the Dragon and the ship on open waters in the first place.

Yep.

I was using an old technique handed down to me by my ancestors.

If I can’t deal with a navy on the water, then I’ll be dealing with it while it’s docked.

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If I were a pirate raiding trade lane, I would have multiple, small bases and a contact or two with towns that will be willing to look away while my ship is repaired. The smaller bases would be where I could restock my ship, offload my wounded to get taken care of, and where I could keep my ill-gotten gains until my ship became to beat up to function properly without repairs.

Then, I’d go to one of my aforementioned, allied towns to get food, repairs, and ruthless people with nothing to lose.

Rinse and repeat, until I get enough treasure to buy myself an island, make a hideously big treasure with very, very vague rumors, and die on the lap of luxury knowing that people will be looking for a vault in the bottom of the ocean that can only be opened with the phrase “open sesame.”

In English and without me leaving any clue behind what English is.

But I wasn’t a pirate in another world, so I let those dreams die… but I could still use them to point out how fucking bad the Dragon I was chasing was at thinking ahead.

“One hideout. She has one fucking hideout. This bitch is an absolute moron.” I knew that Dragons were vain and prideful, unless they were working under someone who kicked their ass, but this took the cake. Even an average pirate should have the foresight to make a spare hideout, in case the original was found. It wasn’t that hard to make a log dock and a house filled with supplies that you could use, but that wasn’t the case for Ms. Pirate. She really had only one hideout, and apparently, she didn’t have a relationship with any town in the area, because she was that much of a bitch. “How is the ship even floating? This woman didn’t even make any deals with any ports.”

“Obscene amounts of magic are your answer, my Lord.” Henri spoke up while I continued to look through the spyglass. We were on the island that the dragon decided to make her own. Under the cover of darkness, we arrived with Wyvern’s carrying us and a few others. We expected to be found, or to have to deal with some patrols, but after a quick bout of reconnaissance we found that they didn’t exist. So, I was looking at the small pirate port with my entire, kitted-out expedition behind me without having to make any compromises. “With a Dragon’s magic powering such a venerable vessel, it can repair itself, as well as store power for its ballistae. All that it would require is a crew and food to feed it.”

Huh, so if I was willing to do as the Empire did and lobotomize Kindred and turn them into batteries, I wouldn’t need to help kickstart a port.

What a tempting suggestion.

Not.

“There are several farms in the area, as well as pigsties.” Ur spoke up while kneeling next to me. Her lieutenant was shadowing her as always and I offered them both a nod. Both the Amazons looked right at home in the small, uncleared tropical jungle portion of the small island. It was more than apparent they liked this region of the Continent a lot. The port will be a good place for them to go if things go sour, so that was another reason for me to support it being built up. “The Dragon askes and takes tribute from the Lua’Kona, yet she already has a place that produces food for her tribe.”

“Though it does not excuse her criminal actions, Dragons need much food, if their meals are not filled with magic. This amount of food, as well as the tributes… should only be enough for a fledgling, growing Dragon.” Henri closed one eye and looked through one of her Familiars flying over the town. Since her crows would’ve been noticeable, we’d hunted down and used a pelican’s carcass for the Lich’s newest familiar. She found it easier to glide with the larger wingspan of the create, so we were planning on hunting down a few more before returning to Ylstu. An incremental upgrade was still an upgrade. “Ur, you recall your practice bouts against the younger Dragons within the Royal Guard, yes? Consider this one to be more feral and less skilled than they.”

“Then, we will approach her with all the force that we can muster at once. We won’t allow her a singular moment of respite.” Ur’s eyes took on a sharper sheen with those words. She still recalled being beaten by the Royal Guard and being captured. My Amazons and Roseanne’s Dragons had a bit of a rivalry going on, especially after the Amazons were trained, gained magical skills, and continued to train thereafter. Cellphone-chan and Ur were about even in single combat… on the ground, on a ring, and both sides holding back from hurting one another. That won’t be applying here. “Since we intend to capture her alive, while she will aim to kill us, it will be foolish to commit anything less.”

With all the Amazons in the expedition set to attack the Dragon, that left a lot of work to Ashe.

The Hellhound perked up when I gave a slight whistle, and her tail wagged as she waited for orders.

“You, your Werewolves, the Harpies, and the Wyverns will be taking on the entire town. Be careful of burning it all down, and try not to kill anyone if you can.” I didn’t intend on overstepping my authority in this province. I could decide whether criminals lived or died within my territory, but not here. If I did anything more than do arrests, or have my troops protect themselves while under attack, this would be more than “assisting” my fellow noble of the Kindred. It would be declaring my authority greater than my fellow noble, which was a place solely reserved for the Demon Lord. I wasn’t interested in that shitty job. “Henri and I will stay back with a few guards, but most of this fight will be on you. Understood?”

“I am excellent understanding, my chieftain! Ashe won’t be of failures!” Ashe nodded decisively several times. It would’ve been cute, if not for the prospect of battle making her blood boil and a ferocious, fanged smile fill her mouth. Though I’d seen it many times, each time was as surprising as the last, because I could never get used to the hellfire that Ashe could just begin emitting and layering on her skin when she knew she was about to get into a big fight. “Please watch me fight very well!”

For an odd reason, I had the urge to tell her to stay back and not do that.

Not because I wanted her beside me keeping me safe, but because I didn’t want her out there fighting.

Despite all the time, money, and effort I put towards turning her into a weapon of mass destruction.

I pushed it aside and gave a single nod.

Thus, the attack on the small port began.

…

While Henri proved her loyalty over the last couple months, despite the fact I forcibly recruited her, I wasn’t stupid enough to be alone with her. I had two Amazons beside me, as well as several harpies specialized in relaying orders guarding me. The two Amazons alone were enough to deal with Henri, but even if she decided that she wanted to walk her own path in the middle of nowhere, my people back in Ylstu had access to her people.

And, of course, even though they were being very, very sneaky, I was sure there was a Kunoichi or two hanging around.

Oh.

As per usual, the moment I look for one, they notice and decide to provocatively flash me.

I hope those jungle vines give you a rash, pervert.

Anyway, I coordinated the assault from a secure position with the relay messengers, while Henri reported the situation to me from above. A command center without wirless communications was a pain to manage due to the severe delay in message speed, but I had good officers on the ground who could deal with problems on the field.

My job was more or less just updating their objectives, and making sure they weren’t flanked or blindsided.

Which was easy enough with eyes in the sky.

“Several pirates have reached the armory. They are arming themselves. The Amazons have engaged the Dragon and they have tackled her into the sea.”

Ur realized the dangers of having two forms of ridiculously powerful flames on a tiny island, so she took the fight to underwater with the Dragon. The Amazons couldn’t easily use their melee weapons beneath the sea, but since their objective was to knock her out and not dismember her, that wasn’t as large of a problem. Suffocating the Dragon with water was a good move, disabled her fire breath, and gave the Amazons the terrain advantage, especially if they did as I’d asked and learned the breathing charm like I did.

It would be stupid NOT to have the ability to avoid gaseous poisons, foul odors, and breathe underwater, even with my far-below-average reserves in magic, and the Amazons had plenty to spare.

Still, even if they didn’t learn it, they could tap out.

With Ur handling her situation well enough, I decided to focus on Ashe.

“Tell Ashe to gather up her troops, and focus on destroying armed resistance.” If I was out to just destroy this place, I would just have just dropped Ashe in and told her to run wild with her Hellfire, after turning most of it to rubble with satchels. However, since my goal wasn’t to cause an incident that would put pressure on myself and my allies, I had to hold back. “Tell her if she thinks any of hers are at risk, she can use her flames against the armed pirates.”

The Harpy gave a nod and took flight towards the burning port village.

Henri decided to speak up after that.

“You coddle your warriors too much. They swore their lives to you. They know the risks of battle, and that fate can make a mockery of even the best-prepared plan.”  Henri spoke much like a leader. Sacrificing soldiers was just something that she accepted when it came to battle. Even the best laid plans involved some form of cost, so she was raised al her life to be able to accept loss. Granted her words were very hypocritical, since she was Lich with a lot of undead friends, she was looking to give a second life, I understood what she was getting at and didn’t like it. “Sometimes, it is foolish to struggle, my Lord. Fate will have its due.”

The town in the distance was filled with the roar of clashing weapons, roars of challenge, and the beginnings of a fire that would wipe out all the wooden constructs.

The ship that I sought to take remained in the harbor like a weight ghost that mercilessly looked upon the battle.

I was really, really, really tempted to point out that a Lich was telling me that death couldn’t be cheated.

But, as per usual in arguments that mattered, I actually had to give a serious answer since I had responsibilities.

Man, it really sucked to be in charge.

“Fuck that, if I can fight, I’ll fight.” The statement was simple, but it was something that I believed in. Even when I was collared, put in the front line, and forced to fight rapist, corruptive monsters with a gun to my head held by megalomaniacal racists, I fought.  If I believed in what Henri said, I’d have just laid down, accepted my situation, and fucking died with the odds stacked against me. I wouldn’t be on the other side of the continent, with the Demon Lord’s ear, and making sure the Kindred can wipe the Empire out. “I don’t just accept the situation. If I can do something, if I can struggle, if I can do just one more little thing to get what I want, then I will no matter what, Henri.”

Fighting and killing for myself…

…saving an Amazon’s life…

…leading a few dozen slaves, a hundred, and then a thousand….

…seeing them die, but getting back up, and doing my best to keep the deaths low…

…going from a village to a growing city…

…all of that was me pushing myself to do more than just let the world decide to do what it would for me, regardless of how much I hurt, how much it knocked me down, and how much it wanted me dead.

None of that would’ve been possible, if I just accepted that “fate will have its due.”

Fuck that.

This is my life.

Now... what was the next thing that I needed to do to make sure this happens the way I wanted?