Chapter 526
Chapter 526
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 526
Chapter Title: Deep Sea Witch (6)
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1.
Siwoo and Lurye rushed relentlessly to Akula's control room.
The control room could be described in one word: remarkably similar to a spaceship.
Numerous consoles, monitors displaying sonar readings and various gauges, and dials so dense you couldn't tell them apart crammed every inch of the cramped space.
The crew, who usually moved as sluggishly as corpses, were now operating at a blinding pace.
"Report the situation!"
Lurye arrived, threw a casual salute, and took her place at the command station.
"Submarine general quarters!"
"Bearing two-four-zero, estimated seven blades! Sonar pings incoming!"
The incoming reports from the crew were shockingly crisp, nothing like the usual drawn-out "...Su...b...marine... gen...eral... quar...ters..."
They carried the seasoned poise of battle-hardened soldiers, fully immersed in their roles.
After all, they were familiars created specifically to operate this submarine.
"Sonar, identify the enemy vessel's class ASAP. Maintain silent running and monitor developments! Evasion from detection is priority one!"
In the midst of the blaring alarms and flashing red lights filling the control room...
Siwoo was desperately trying to piece together what was happening.
The last thing Deneb had seen was him facing off against the furious Deep Sea Witch.
He never could have imagined their response would involve a submarine, but this attack was almost certainly a rescue op launched by the witches who believed he'd been kidnapped.
Siwoo grabbed Lurye's shoulder.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Get battle-ready. Don your gas mask. The sub's loaded with highly reactive chemicals—poison gas could spread at any moment."
"That's not—! We can't fight!"
He had to stop a fight from breaking out recklessly.
Lurye was a 23rd Hierarchy powerhouse, and this was her domain.
But if they'd gone to the extreme of deploying a submarine for his rescue, it could house Amelia—or even his master if things got dicey.
Three 23rd Hierarchy witches.
If a real battle kicked off, someone was bound to get seriously hurt.
At that moment, Sonar Chief Natalie shouted her report.
"Enemy torpedo launch detected!"
"Deck officer! Battle stations! Engine room, full power!"
"Enemy torpedoes inbound on bearings two-four-one and two-four-zero! Enemy position locked! Range three thousand eight hundred meters! Presumed U.S. Navy Seawolf-class!"
Torpedoes, out of nowhere.
Siwoo, who'd been frantically trying to talk Lurye down, could only stare in stunned disbelief.
Firing torpedoes at a submarine was one of the worst possible moves in a hostage rescue.
They didn't even know his condition...
"Helm! Flank speed starboard! Hard right rudder—evasive maneuvers! Launch noisemakers!"
Ignoring Siwoo's slack-jawed shock, Lurye barked crisp orders with machine-like precision—nothing like her usual sloppiness.
She handled it with the effortless skill of someone who'd done this a hundred times.
"Torpedo rooms one through four, flood! Open tube one!"
"Torpedoes ready to fire!"
"Weapons, launch on the enemy's detection point!"
In the tense flow of events, everyone held their breath, eyes glued to the monitors.
"Direct hit!"
"Don't get cocky! Enemy fish are still hot."
"Bearing two-eight-zero—enemy torpedoes chasing our noisemakers."
The atmosphere screamed for cheers, but Lurye never let her guard down.
"Detonate the enemy torpedoes on the noisemakers!"
"Brace for impact!"
The mermaids all grabbed hold of something, ducked their heads, and opened their mouths against the pressure wave.
"Combat concluded. Enemy vessel sunk. No remaining threats."
"WAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
In the euphoric victory, the crew embraced and cheered.
Siwoo felt nothing but profound awkwardness.
Water was a far better conductor of shock and sound than air.
A torpedo or enemy sub detonating should have sent shockwaves rippling kilometers away.
"Today, we claim victory once more! Under my rule, the Kingdom of Nukelavi knows no defeat!"
"Lurye... Your Majesty... loooong live...!"
"Loooong live...!"
Yet throughout the engagement, he'd only felt the sub's swift motion—no shockwaves, no nothing. Eerily quiet.
Now that things had calmed enough to review, the inconsistencies piled up.
Siwoo wasn't a sub warfare expert, but the Deep Sea Witch's endless chatter had drilled Akula's freakish specs into him.
A decades-old vessel enhanced by magic, outperforming cutting-edge tech.
It prowled depths unmanned drones couldn't touch, with dive speeds that outran torpedo sensors alone.
And yet... this knife-edge skirmish?
Siwoo pondered deeply as the crew shuffled out, reverting to their lazy gait.
"How was my command prowess?"
Glancing over, Lurye wore a smug, satisfied grin, clearly fishing for praise.
Now he knew for sure.
"Was this a drill?"
"......"
Lurye said nothing, but she didn't need to.
Her face screamed 'How did you figure it out?' in shocked footnotes.
Relief? Or lame?
Those mere five minutes had raced through every emotion imaginable. Tension drained, his legs went rubbery.
Obviously, Lurye had staged this farce just to show off her commanding presence to him.
The crew's polish suggested it wasn't a one-off.
His half-hearted, fatigue-tinged response must've stung, because Lurye bristled, eyebrows sharp.
"Mock battle or not, it's based on real acoustic recordings. Practically live combat."
Her pout and grumpy tone betrayed deep offense.
"...Return to your duties."
She turned on her heel in a huff and stormed off, leaving him behind.
2.
5:00 PM.
Today's duties concluded.
"Haa..."
The work itself was as easy as ever, but his heart felt unusually heavy today.
He'd clearly bruised Lurye's feelings, and that worried him.
Truth be told, it was usually best to play along with her whims.
He knew that, which was why he'd successfully buttered her up bit by bit, building favor.
But to sulk this hard over one tiny slip-up...
What a spoiled-queen personality.
She used to drop by every two or three hours—today, not once. Proof enough of her mood.
Click!
He switched off the warehouse lights and headed to the bedroom.
A ultra-luxury seafloor suite offering uninterrupted deep-sea views, unmatched anywhere.
In the center of the vast bed sat Lurye, flipping through a book.
She usually buzzed around her quarters nonstop, so her lounging with a book this early...
Did it even need explaining?
"...Hmph."
She'd clearly spotted him entering, yet pointedly whipped her head away.
Her cheeks puffed out indignantly, just like before.
From his twin-wrangling experience, walking away now would stretch a day's pout into a week.
In the end, he approached the bedside and spoke carefully.
"Your Majesty."
"Insolent wretch! How dare a mere slave address the sovereign ruler of the sacred Nukelavi Kingdom!"
She'd never nitpicked that before, but now she slammed her book shut like a declaration of war and erupted in fury.
"My apologies."
"No need. Begone from my sight at once."
She'd shown such a cool side for once, craving praise, only to get lukewarm vibes...
Still, that much?
"Just one thing to report."
"No. I won't hear it."
"I regret not marveling properly at your majestic display today."
"Too late. Such honeyed words won't sway me."
Yet she answered promptly, like she'd been waiting.
Easy—too easy, almost suspicious.
Honestly, this slave stint had been relatively cushy not just from his tact, but because Lurye herself wasn't that tough a mark.
"Even after losing the initiative, your mature maneuvers decoyed their mines and counter-sank the enemy—a tactical masterclass far beyond this lowly slave. I failed to recognize it on the spot."
"...Lying through your teeth, are you? I can still see that smug sneer when you called it a mock battle."
He didn't remember sneering...
"Not at all. As a fledgling witch, I've no experience with such grand naval combat."
"......"
"In that tense scenario mirroring live action, I gripped my seat sweating through your valor until my strength gave out—I couldn't fully admire it. I've been replaying the battle all shift, thrilling to it."
"......"
He knelt, voice thick with awe.
"Only now do I truly grasp that Your Majesty embodies the vast ocean itself."
"Raise your head."
Lurye had sat up on the bed at some point, beaming with satisfaction.
Not just pleased—she was grinning ear to ear, unreservedly.
"Well said, and fair enough. A green recruit thrown into battle panics by default; my failing for not accounting for it."
"I am deeply honored."
Even Lurye, admitting 'my failing' and offering forgiveness—what bliss.
"On your feet. It's the day of victory cries, so I've ordered a grand feast. Let's go!"
Her earlier sulk utterly forgotten, Lurye bolted toward the dining hall like a shot.