Upon the Deck

Boom!

It was a massive explosion that made even the deck tremble.

The suppression effort, which had been going smoothly, was forced to a halt.

Many slaves and beasts who had already been subdued took this chance to cause a commotion again.

“Roar roar roar!”

“Tsk!”

Before him, a long-bearded leopard he had just managed to subdue seized the opening.

This forced the Siren Brigadier to stop his thoughts.

He swung the blunt end of his trident to give the giant beast a heavy blow.

Thud!

After a dull impact, the giant beast let out a pained whimper.

It immediately slumped down and stopped moving.

‘That should make it obedient now.’

“Brigadier!”

A subordinate’s voice came from behind him.

“We found the person.”

The Brigadier flexed his massive muscles and flicked the residual blood off his trident.

He turned around with a sharp, fluid motion.

Despite having just wrestled with a terrifying monster, he showed no signs of fatigue.

His every movement radiated a sense of domineering power.

“Bring him over.”

At the command, the subordinate gave a harsh shove to the unfortunate guard.

“B-Brigadier…”

The captured Siren didn’t even dare to look up.

His tongue flicked incessantly and he was drenched in cold sweat.

He looked like a man facing his execution.

“Don’t you think you should start by explaining exactly what happened?”

The Brigadier gave him a cold glare that made the Siren shudder.

The guard practically fell to his knees as he spoke.

“Yes! The matter… it went like this.”

Without hiding anything, the Siren spilled the whole story.

He was just one of the guards on duty, and he was the cautious one.

Earlier today, the relief shift arrived early and brought along another friend.

He knew those two had designs on the cargo, but he chose to turn a blind eye.

He thought taking a bribe for an early shift was a safe bet.

He assumed responsibility for any missing goods would not fall on him.

But he never expected those two would mess up so badly.

He was napping in his room when the cargo hold fell into chaos.

Before he could even put on his gear, the Brigadier’s men had stormed in and seized him.

To make matters worse, the hold exploded before he could explain himself.

There was nothing left to do but tell the truth down to the last detail.

If he were caught in a lie during such a disaster, he would be killed instantly.

“…”

The Brigadier remained silent for a moment before turning to his subordinate.

“What is the situation below?”

“Brigadier, currently…”

The subordinate provided the intelligence immediately.

The Brigadier listened without a word, waiting for the report to finish.

He scanned the deck with his peripheral vision while he listened.

Although the sudden explosion caught everyone off guard, his men had recovered instantly.

They were resuming the suppression of the riot in an orderly manner.

“Although the fire is currently under control, however…”

The subordinate faltered because the Brigadier had narrowed his eyes.

The kneeling guard noticed the change in atmosphere even faster.

“B-Brigadier! I was blinded by greed… I will do anything!”

“Please, give me a chance to atone!”

The Brigadier did not even need a weapon to kill him.

With arms thicker than a man’s thigh, he could easily snap the guard’s neck.

The losses this time were too great to ignore.

Whether it was oversight or failure of duty, no one would escape responsibility.

The riot was one thing, but the explosion in the hold made everything worse.

It would not be surprising if the guard were executed right here.

The Siren’s body shook even more violently at the thought.

“Has the Captain given a reply yet?”

“Yes, the Captain is already on her way back, but…”

The subordinate hesitated, and the Brigadier understood his meaning.

They were not just watching common cargo.

The Vampires had visited today, and the human they selected was the top priority.

That was the true reason they were stationed here.

Yet that important merchandise was not among the rioters on the deck.

“Awaiting your instructions, Brigadier.”

The subordinate lowered his head, and the Brigadier frowned slightly.

He was not dissatisfied with his subordinates’ performance during the emergency.

However, he felt a trace of doubt about the current situation.

His heart had skipped a beat when he learned the human was missing from the deck.

It was clearly a diversion to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

The worst case was that the human had already been abducted.

But why would the cargo hold suddenly explode now?

Why cause such a loud explosion after successfully creating a distraction?

Was it a provocation?

No, it made no sense to do something so redundant if they wanted to escape.

Unless—

“…”

The Brigadier’s pupils dilated suddenly.

Logical suspicion led his thoughts to another possibility.

This voyage was successful because of his suggestion to go to the Sea of Mists.

Because capturing the human had been so easy, everyone assumed she was weak.

They thought she was just like the livestock raised by the Vampires.

But almost everyone had ignored one vital fact.

That human came from beyond the Mist, from the distant East.

“Have the first squad follow me into the ship to investigate.”

The Brigadier stowed his trident on his back with a deep frown.

“You stay here to receive the Captain and explain the situation.”

“But…”

The subordinate thought he should be the one to go inside.

He swallowed his words when he saw the Brigadier’s expression.

“Understood.”

“I’m leaving it to you.”

The Brigadier began to slither his serpentine body forward.

The kneeling Siren let out a deep sigh of relief.

He thought he had managed to keep his life—

“Hm?”

The Brigadier suddenly remembered something and spun around.

A cold light flashed through the air.

There was the sound of flesh being severed.

“…?”

The guard’s head remained frozen with a confused expression as it fell.

Thud!

Blood sprayed from the clean cut as the body hit the deck.

The deck was soaked in deep crimson.

The headless body and snake tail continued to twitch eerily.

“Dispose of it.”

The Brigadier gave the cold command and departed without looking back.