The Lord Just Wants to Have Fun

“Lord, my gun won’t fire.”
“Mine either….”

The guns, drenched in water while still loaded, had soaked the gunpowder, preventing ignition.
The only solution was to replace the gunpowder with fresh powder, but the problem was that the bullet and gunpowder stuck in the barrel wouldn’t come out easily.

To fix this, they would have to completely disassemble the rifles—but there was no time for that in the middle of battle.

‘Damn it, this is why muzzle-loading rifles are a problem!’

The only usable firearms were three rifles fired before getting wet and the pistol Philip had strapped behind his waist. Fortunately, the spare gunpowder and grenades were still intact, as they had been stored inside a waterproof leather bag.

‘At least we can treat the wounded quickly.’

If Liberta had been present, she could have tended to the injured even faster. But unfortunately, she had gone to the refugee village to care for patients there.

‘No matter what, we have to use whatever we can to take down these fish-heads!’

Since allies and enemies were tangled together, grenades were out of the question. Instead, Philip took the available guns and hurriedly performed tap-loading.

At that moment, Philip spotted Brigol, the leader of the Tritons, climbing onto the deck.

“Sir Terry, watch out!”

At Philip’s urgent shout, Terry turned his head—only to find Brigol lunging at him with a trident.

Thwack!

A chilling sound echoed as blood dripped onto the deck.

But Brigol had no reason to smile.

Terry had grabbed a nearby Triton and used it as a shield.

Having survived the attack, Terry immediately countered, aiming for Brigol’s throat.

Clang—!

‘……!’

Terry’s sword, coated with thick aura, bounced off.

Startled, Terry slashed at Brigol again and again, but none of his attacks landed a solid hit.

“Krrk! Useless, your attacks!”

Brigol was a powerhouse even among Tritons, with scales and hide much thicker than the rest.

Moreover, the Demon Trident he had received from Valgas emitted dark energy, further enhancing his defense.

“Brigol strong! Black Shark, strongest!”

Brigol bared his sharp teeth and roared like a beast, his crude speech starkly contrasting with his ferocious and relentless spear techniques.

His trident multiplied into a dozen blurred images, stabbing violently in rapid succession, then swinging with the force to cleave through the air itself.

‘Damn it, where the hell did this monster come from?!’

The Tritons had appeared out of nowhere in the once-quiet lake, and leading them was this shark-headed beast.

Blocking and dodging Brigol’s relentless attacks, Terry cursed inwardly.

He had already overused his aura while cutting down the other Tritons, but more than that, Brigol himself was simply too strong.

Was it an exaggeration to say this monster was nearly on par with Count Markel, the captain of the Royal Guard?

‘If I weren’t an advanced Expert, I’d already be dead.’

Just as Terry struggled to hold his ground, reinforcements arrived.

“Dryad! Bind my enemy!”

Srrrrr—!

A seed, thrown from Francesca’s sachet, sprouted instantly and turned into vines, coiling around Brigol’s body.

But Brigol tore through them with brute force, breaking free in an instant.

“Annoying! Spirit’s power! Kill elf woman!”

Brigol pointed his trident at Francesca, gathering dark energy at its tip.

The surrounding moisture rapidly condensed, forming a massive water sphere.

‘That’s the same attack that hit the ship earlier…!’

“You’re in danger, Master!”

The elven mercenaries quickly moved to shield Francesca.

Taking advantage of Brigol’s distraction, Terry launched a surprise attack.

But then—Brigol suddenly smirked and snapped his trident toward Terry instead.

“Caught you, human.”

‘Damn it, it was a trap!’

Brigol had never been aiming for Francesca in the first place—his real target was Terry, the strongest human fighter among them.

Terry had been too slippery, either dodging or defending too well, so Brigol had set a baited trap.

Boom—!

“Aaargh!”

The massive water sphere shot forward.

Terry instinctively crossed his arms to block it at the last second, but it felt like being smashed by a boulder.

His sword was knocked from his grip as he was hurled backward—

—crashing hard into a broken mast.

Brigol swiftly shifted his stance, gripping his trident in a throwing position.

At that moment, Philip, who had just finished reloading, saw the black trident hurtling toward Terry.

“No! Sir Terry!”

Thunk—!

Terry barely managed to move, dodging by the slimmest margin.

But there was no time for relief.

His right arm was pinned between the trident’s embedded blade and the mast, leaving him unable to move.

Terry struggled to pull the trident free, but it was lodged so deep that it wouldn’t budge.

“Damn fish bastard!”

Seeing Terry in danger, Andy loosed an arrow at Brigol.

But Brigol swung a hand axe from his belt and deflected it mid-air.

“W-What…?!”

“Kill all humans! Black Shark rules the sea!”

Brigol charged at Terry, his ferocity so overwhelming that no one nearby dared to intervene.

‘Is this where I die?’

In that instant, Terry experienced what people described as one’s life flashing before their eyes.

The childhood days when his father taught him swordsmanship, the moment he was knighted, the times when Helen and Siria quarreled over him…

And in the final moment, the last face he saw was his lord—Philip.

But Philip’s image was not just part of a fleeting memory.

“You die first, shark-head!”

‘M-My lord?!’

Philip came sliding across the wet deck, tackling Brigol’s legs.

Caught off guard by the unexpected assault, Brigol lost his balance and fell onto the slippery deck.

“Kugh! You dare…?”

“‘Dare’? You ugly freak, I wouldn’t even use you as food!”

Philip thrust his bayonet at Brigol’s eye.

But Brigol jerked his head aside and clamped his massive, tooth-filled jaws onto the bayonet.

Crunch! Crack!

His teeth bit down hard, as if trying to crush metal itself.

The sight was utterly terrifying.

But Philip simply smirked.

“Idiot.”

Bang!

The moment Philip pulled the trigger, a muzzle flash erupted inside Brigol’s mouth.

Terry, who had been watching, paled in shock when Brigol’s head snapped back—only to remain intact.

“Krrk…! Tooth broke! Painful! Brigol angry!”

‘What the hell are those teeth made of?!’

As Brigol turned his head back, he raised his hand axe high—causing everyone’s faces to turn pale.

“My lord, get away!”

Philip had already fired his only rifle shot. As a non-combatant, he was no match for Brigol in strength or skill.

It was a dire situation.

Yet Philip’s expression remained unnervingly calm.

“One shot left.”

Quoting a famous movie line, Philip drew his pistol from his waist—

—and shoved the barrel into Brigol’s broken teeth.

Bang!

The lead bullet blasted through the roof of Brigol’s mouth.

“Grrgh…!”

Brigol’s eyes rolled back.

Unlike his thick scales and hide, his soft oral cavity had no way to withstand the bullet’s impact.

The lead round tore into his brain, shattering inside and scattering fragments everywhere.

A moment later, Brigol’s body went limp, like a puppet with its strings cut.

“KIEEEEEK!”

“KIEEEK! KIEEEE!”

As their chieftain coughed up blood and died, the Tritons let out wretched screams.

With bloodshot eyes, they charged straight for Philip.

“Protect my lord!”

“Slaughter them all!”

Andy, Philip’s guards, and the sailors rallied together, blocking the Tritons’ charge.

The Tritons, facing a solid defensive line, snarled in frustration—before finally retreating into the water.

“We won!”

“Hooray! Long live our lord!”

Cheers erupted across the deck.

No one had expected this outcome.

A high-ranking Expert knight had struggled against Brigol, the Triton chieftain. And yet, a blacksmith lord had managed to take him down!

“That was reckless, Apostle.”

Mau appeared, frowning in disapproval.

‘It wasn’t luck—I aimed for it. But why isn’t the mission completion scroll appearing?’

Even Mau tilted his head in confusion.

Then—

Boom! Boom!

“Huh? What’s that sound?”

“My lord! The Tritons are trying to sink the ship!”

Francesca, who had been watching the water, cried out in alarm.

“What do you mean, Trade Master?” Philip asked.

“It’s a common tactic at sea.”

The Tritons were smarter and more vengeful than they seemed.

If they couldn’t overpower an enemy with force, they would use other means to attack.

“They know that humans can’t breathe underwater. So—”

Philip, realizing the danger, rushed to the hold to check for himself.

Sure enough, water was trickling in through the gaps in the hull’s lower panels.

The ship was sturdy enough that it wouldn’t sink immediately, but making it back to the port was another matter entirely.

‘The problem is, we don’t have a good way to stop their attacks underwater.’

Shooting bullets or arrows was ineffective, as visibility was poor, and even if they did land a shot, the water resistance would weaken the impact.

The only real solution would be to fight them in the water—but no matter how skilled a knight was, no human could defeat a Triton in its own domain.

“Trade Master, is there no way to deal with them?”

“Normally, mages use lightning magic on the water’s surface to drive them away. But right now…”

There were no mages on board.

Nor did they have any artifacts capable of generating electricity.

“What do we do now?”

“We could use grenades—”

“Idiot, gunpowder is useless when wet!”

Philip overheard his guards’ conversation and suddenly clapped his hands.

“Wait! I have a plan!”

“You do?”

Philip hurried to the deck and ordered the captain to bring up all the scrap metal on the ship.

Then, using his Golden Hammer skill, he forged the metal into a sealed drum barrel.

[2,000 points have been consumed to craft a sealed drum barrel.]

‘Ugh, why does a single barrel cost so many points?!’

It felt like a waste, but there was no time to hesitate.

Everyone was stunned as they watched Philip conjure a metal barrel out of thin air.

But more than the method, they were curious about its purpose.

“My lord, what are you going to do with that barrel…?”

“I’m going to wreck those fish bastards.”

Philip collected all the grenades from his guards and loaded them into the barrel.

Then, he lit a long fuse, sealed the lid, and—

“My lord, what… exactly is this?”

“It’s called a depth charge. You’ll see what happens. Now, throw it overboard!”

What Philip had created was a primitive depth charge—

A weapon designed to release shockwaves through underwater explosions, originally invented to hunt submarines.

‘It better work on these fish-heads too…’

BOOM!

SPLAAAASH!

A massive explosion erupted underwater, sending a towering column of water into the sky.

The crew instinctively flinched, then widened their eyes in shock.

Dozens of Tritons floated up to the surface, belly-up, completely knocked out by the blast.

And the sounds of them damaging the hull had ceased completely.

[Mission Completed: “Repel the Triton Race”]

[Reward: 12,000 points]

Seeing the mission confirmation, Philip turned to the dumbfounded captain and gave orders.

“Have the shipwrights repair the damage and start pumping out the water. And just in case, fish out those Triton bastards and make sure they’re dead.”

“Yes, my lord!”