Chapter 61
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Hungry Slayer 61
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*Ding-ding-ding-ding!*
“Argh!”
“It’s on the stern too!!”—Boom!
“Prepare the harpoons!”
The deck was a scene of utter chaos.
The frantic bell clangs pierced through the patter of rain, followed immediately by Dink’s roar.
Sailors and mercenaries dashed about in every direction, shouting and screaming.
—Boom!!
An even louder crash swallowed the clamor.
The merchant ship wasn’t shaking from the current. It was the repeated impacts slamming into its side.
“What the…? Why is a monster attacking the ship?”
“Damn it, at this rate, we’re really gonna sink!”
Dane pushed through the sailors’ screams and approached Roland, who was barking orders at the mercenaries.
At his command, the mercenaries were repeatedly lowering and hauling up harpoons chained to thick cables.
Dane asked Roland.
“Is the situation dangerous?”
“……I warned you. Don’t get in over your head.”
His words were firm, but his expression showed no trace of ease. What was the point of talking to someone like that?
Dane turned to check the monster himself.
His comrades and the other hunters had scattered to both port and starboard, peering over the rails. Dane went to Priscilla’s side and stuck his head out.
It was too dark to see clearly, but between the waves, he could sense something sharp protruding, swimming alongside the ship. Its vague shape and fins brought a name to mind.
“Mosautor.”
The same word slipped from Dane and Priscilla’s lips at the same moment. Priscilla glanced at him in surprise, as if wondering how he knew the name.
There was no time or reason to explain.
Dane asked first.
“What kind is it?”
“Mid-to-large size. They travel in male-female pairs.”
Priscilla answered reflexively. The questions kept coming.
“Does it only live in water?”
“It can move on both land and water.”
“Dangerous?”
“If it keeps ramming, it’ll punch a hole in the hull.”
“Common?”
“Rare to see.”
“What to watch out for?”
“Sharp snout, powerful jaws. It bites and drags you underwater.”
That was enough. Reason to step in. Reason to hunt.
Dane headed toward a coiled rope in the corner.
“Bankers!!!”
Bankers came running at the shout. He glanced between Dane and the rope, quickly grasping the plan.
“You…….”
“Yeah. Let’s do some fishing.”
Dane hurriedly tied the rope around his ankle. As long as his foot didn’t get severed, it wouldn’t come loose.
“Use it as you like.”
With those words, Dane handed the end of the rope to Bankers and climbed onto the forecastle railing.
“Everyone, stop!!!”
Bankers shouted urgently.
His voice was so thunderous that the mercenaries, who had been frantically plunging harpoons into the river, froze for a moment and turned toward the source.
In their eyes was the sight of a naked Dane, cleavers in both hands, diving into the river.
* * *
Dangling from the rope and swept by the current, Dane thought.
‘From the vibe, this doesn’t seem common…… Either it’s because of me, or Dink.’
First things first: stop it from attacking the ship. He followed the plan from the start.
*Splash.*
He made a shallow cut on his forearm and dove. He figured his blood would provoke a reaction even in small amounts, and he was right.
The water below was clearer than on the surface.
In the brief moment submerged, he saw the monster turning from the stern toward him.
‘Glowing parts are the tail fins.’
Mid-to-large size. The head alone took up half its body, long and slender mouth included.
Its gaping maw charging at him was ferocious. But it wasn’t like the kabak shoes situation where he could slip right into its mouth.
And those shark-like, razor-sharp overlapping teeth sent chills just looking at them. One bite, and it was over.
‘I’ll need to fillet long strips on both sides from the spine.’
Even amid this, he pondered the bone structure. The teeth were now inches away.
‘Oh, damn…….’
Just as the beast’s teeth were about to chomp Dane’s head, his ankle jerked, yanking his body backward.
Bankers had reeled him in.
—Splash!
The Mosautor rose with Dane surging above the surface.
—Snap!
The taut rope snapped like a whip in the air. Dane’s body flew back again, and he couldn’t help shouting.
“Bankeeers!”
Like a whipcrack, Dane rocketed forward even faster. The Mosautor’s back was dropping right below him.
—Crunch!!
He plunged the two cleavers gripped reverse into both sides of its spine, slicing outward as momentum carried him.
A solid feel! One side deep, the other shallower.
But that wasn’t enough.
As if reading Dane’s mind.
Bankers yanked him up mercilessly once more, then slammed the rope downward with the backlash.
“Baaankersss!”
Dane shot downward like an arrow into the water, piercing the red blood cloud and clinging to the beast’s back.
Dane jammed a cleaver into the split back and applied force. The rope on his ankle pulled taut.
The beast dragged him deep underwater.
“Guh!”
The resistance on his ankle slackened. Bankers, sensing the situation, was letting out more rope.
Two minutes max to kill the monster.
He resisted the current, crawling along its body. He carved a handle beside its neck with a small cleaver, then spun a medium one to slice.
Vision turned blood-red.
The thrashing beast’s body stiffened and twisted for an instant.
Dane urgently tugged the ankle rope twice.
Dane’s body and the monster’s rose together above the water.
* * *
The rain had stopped.
After two rounds of that bizarre method and swiftly butchering, even the great Dane was exhausted.
He lay sprawled on the deck, panting heavily, repeating the same words.
“Fins, fins…….”
Beside him, River and Priscilla were busy preparing the two dismantled Mosautors for cooking.
Bankers squatted next to the now-stable Dane and asked.
“Ha ha, this is the first time you’ve called my name so much. Was I a bit too rough?”
Dane answered laboredly.
“No practice, and you still nailed it. The rain must’ve made it extra slick—you had great strength.”
“Excellent handfeel. First hunt this fun in ages.”
“……Next time, let’s think of another way if possible.”
“No better method than this, I reckon. Ha ha ha!”
Bankers seemed thrilled at having contributed so much to the hunt for once.
Dane’s butchering crew hadn’t yet noticed the stares around them.
As the murmurs grew, Dane turned and said to Roland.
“Definitely different hunting from a merchant ship than usual. Good thing I heeded the warning.”
Roland just twitched his lips, at a loss for words.
Cruise leaned in instead.
“Cases like this are rare…… But the ship and all these people owe their lives to Captain Dane. Thank you!”
“There’s prey around—how could I just sit still?”
What greater reason was there? If there’s meat, you hunt it. That was how Dane lived.
“Your body’s chilled. I’ll make you some warm fin soup.”
River said after finishing the meat prep. It sounded energizing just hearing it.
* * *
‘Tasteless, odorless ingredient…….’
Mosautor fins had almost no flavor on their own. Normally, River wouldn’t touch them, but with Dane chanting for fins in his exhaustion, she had to try.
‘Need a dish to restore his spent energy.’
She boiled a stock with ingredients from the carriage and premium ones from the ship’s galley, sparing none.
The stock and seasonings seeped fully into the fins.
“Done!”
[Rich ‘Mosautor Fin Soup’ packed with lavish premium ingredients for deep flavor]
Dane took a spoonful.
The hot soup spread a soothing warmth through him.
The fins had a jelly-like tenderness giving way to chewy tendon texture—fun to eat. The concentrated seasonings brought umami depth.
River said.
“It’s free. Dig in.”
She wasn’t selling. Everyone had worked hard, so she shared generously.
Sailors, mercenaries, hunters, and merchants all partook, exclaiming in delight.
“The umami is insane.”
“Feels like energy surging back.”
“Who knew aquatic monsters could taste this good…….”
Those stunned by the mid-to-large beast quickly calmed with River’s soup.
Curious about the other meat, some headed out to inspect the portioned chunks.
Dane’s butchering crew joined them.
“This…… Isn’t the meat already spoiled?”
Bankers asked. Sure enough, a nose-stinging stench wafted from the cut meat. Ammonia.
“Less spoiled, more like this species naturally has these compounds.”
Dane replied.
No point in the Yadus storage at this stage.
“Probably inedible. Best to discard.”
At River’s words, Dane pondered.
‘Some meat isn’t edible…… But with ammonia this strong, there might be a way to eat it.’
Rays and similar cartilaginous fish were fermented on purpose. Many pungent foods from memory were like that.
“If you’re tossing it…… Mind if I take some?”
One merchant standing by the butchered meat asked.
River tilted her head.
“What for?”
“In the Muhudu Sea, they ferment stinky fish like this, dry them, and eat. I’d like to try.”
The merchant’s words matched Dane’s thinking exactly.
Dane gave permission. Fins eaten—no regrets.
As merchants boxed and sealed the meat, Dane headed to his quarters and lay down.
The warm soup thawed him, and fatigue crashed in.
Dane drifted off, waking to find the ship stopped.
* * *
Yuka River’s first stop: ‘Drshyk’ village.
Deeper into the delta, it was hot and humid.
Dane’s butchering crew chatted with the Kreya Merchant Company’s Drshyk branch manager, gathering info on local monsters to hunt and planning their stay.
“I heard the news. You made a fine dish from Kreptonos. There’s a habitat southwest of here.”
Position-wise, not far from Conwell Village. If Conwell’s came from the delta, they crossed from here.
Useless before, now the situation changed. The accompanying hunters and merchants were more excited than Dane’s crew.
Large groups moved out, racing to hunt more.
Drshyk’s Kreptonos hadn’t built proper nests like Conwell’s. Even mothers stayed mid-size.
Some were paralyzed by antennae stings, but most hunters loaded carts and carriages full.
Delta-crossing hunters proved their skill.
Back in Drshyk, merchants showcased dishes everywhere, holding instant auctions. Most cooked and live Kreptonos sold in the village.
Merchants experienced monster meat profits firsthand. The Drshyk branch manager was deeply impressed.
He resolved to erect a giant Kreptonos statue at the docks, branding Drshyk as the prime Kreptonos source.