Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Hunters of the Deep Sea
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*
-Kwaaajijijik!
Elf ships didn’t break easily under the waves. Their light yet sturdy hulls rode the rough seas effortlessly, slicing through the currents with exquisitely fine-tuned craftsmanship.
However—
-Kwaaaaang!!
“Cannon fire?”
“No! That’s a harpoon!!”
Leya steadied herself in the cabin and glared out the porthole. Towering waves like mountain ranges surged around them, the elf vessels atop them tilting wildly before barely regaining balance.
The winter sea storm was ferocious, its open-ocean swells brutal. Fernandez reached out to Kirhas Hearttaker, who had lost her footing and tumbled.
“Kyaa!!”
“Hold on tight.”
“Y-yes, milord. I’m... not used to this...”
Beastkin were children of the earth. They weren’t suited for shipboard combat, nor familiar with it. Their innate instincts backfired here, making it hard to keep balance on the shaking deck.
Fernandez looked at Kirhas, who clung desperately to his arm, panting. Her turquoise eyes trembled.
-Dragons aren’t safe either.
‘Yeah, probably.’
Abel’s situation would be even worse. Unable to transform into a dragon, she was no different from any ordinary woman.
Even if skilled with a sword, her body was that of a human. In this maritime disaster, Kirhas would actually fare better.
Fernandez yanked his arm hard, hurling Kirhas out of the cabin into the corridor. As she planted her feet in surprise, he shouted.
“Help Abel, Kirhas! Protect her!”
“...Milord... I... I...”
Kirhas snapped to attention and stared at Fernandez. Did she still think she was useless? In this chaos, that must be why he was sending her to safety.
But Fernandez pressed against the porthole, gripping his sword hilt, and yelled.
“I trust you, Kirhas. Protect your comrade!”
If the enemy boarded for close combat, Abel wouldn’t lose. But if their bombardment destroyed the ship and it ran aground... Abel would surely transform into a dragon. To save him and Kirhas.
Someone needed to stop her then. Reading his intent, Kirhas nodded firmly.
‘Protect your comrades.’
Protect the people, the land, your comrades. It meant she was no longer a burden... And it stirred the soul within her, forged in the era of the undefeated, carrying those experiences and memories.
Kirhas nodded with resolute eyes and dashed off.
-Kwaaaaang!!
Outside the porthole, lightning flashed with each thunderclap, briefly illuminating the night sea where elf ships vanished one by one. Not wrecked by the storm. These explosions came from enemy attacks.
Sunken ships were visible, but no attacking vessels. Fernandez glanced at Leya. She stared intently at the ever-changing sea chart.
‘No enemy ships.’
Even without elvish fluency, the chart showed no foes. Leya bit her lip and muttered.
“It’s definitely not cannon fire. That’s the sound of harpoon cables snapping...”
-Kwaaaaang!
Another explosion. Another ship shattered and sank into the abyss. Fernandez eyed the chart, then blurted out.
“No reefs marked.”
“Open-ocean reefs aren’t charted. They’re too deep for port approaches. Reefs only show near islands or coastlines.”
“Or something ship-sized... Like a sea monster.”
“Sea monsters avoid elf fleets. They hate our unique scent.”
“What if the monster surfaces?”
“If it breaches the surface, even man-sized, it’d be...”
Leya trailed off and jerked her head up. Fernandez nodded slowly. They bolted from their seats into the corridor together.
“Damn it!! From underwater!!”
“No ship guns from down there. Powder gets wet... So that cable snap you heard...”
“Made solely for underwater use...”
Hunting harpoons! Specially forged to hunt ships!
“Any way to signal the fleet?!”
-Shoaaa!
-Kwaaaaang!
The closer to the deck, the louder the roaring waves and thunder demanded they shout. Fernandez felt the chilling air and bellowed.
“Of course! You think we’re lighting signal fires?!”
Leya shouted back, kicking open the door to the deck with all her might.
-Kwaaang!
-Kwaang!
The vast ocean stretched endlessly. Lightning crashed everywhere across the massive sea. Giant swells raced like the plains of galloping gods!
Even a single wave dwarfed the ships utterly. Fernandez felt the ship tilt sharply. Sky ahead, land receding behind—
“Grab anything! Fall off here and you’re dead!!”
Leya yelled, clutching a deck rope. But Fernandez kicked off and leaped upward.
“A-are you insane?!”
“Signal method!!”
“What?!”
“Give me the signal method, Queen Leya!!”
Leya’s eyes gleamed. She tossed a small wooden rod from her bosom. Fernandez snatched it midair and climbed the mast.
The ship crested a wave, tilting violently. From the mast top, he saw sailors gripping sail lines or the helm, screaming.
The massive wooden mast was slick with sleet and spray. Fernandez gripped tight and climbed. At last, the crow’s nest. He examined Leya’s wooden shard.
A bizarre horn trumpet carved from wood. Blow it in this storm...? Would the magic transmit? Strange mana pulsed from its base.
“Put it to your mouth!! Shout!!”
Leya yelled from the deck. Fernandez met her eyes briefly, pressed the mouthpiece to his lips, and bellowed.
[All fleet, fire on the depths!!]
*
The elf sailors were seasoned in open waters. Storms and swells were familiar disasters. Yet watching ships founder with each lightning strike in this ambush threw them into chaos inevitably.
“Grab it! Pull!”
“Hup—! Pull! Harder!”
Elf navigators yanked sail lines in unison, releasing the bulging sails before they tore. More wind meant foundering, ripped sails, or drifting from the fleet.
For the elf maritime kingdom, without their Serpent King’s flagship, drifting meant death. They gritted their teeth and eased the sails.
-Kwaaang!
Lightning struck again, shattering another ship in the gale. The keel precisely targeted, no time for emergency repairs.
Helmsman beside them clenched his teeth and spun the wheel. No shaking. Lose focus, swept by swells!
“Where are they attacking from?!”
Only fellow elves could strike in such seas. But no enemy ships. No cannon fire!
Their queen had an artifact map tracking foes always. Ambushes meant nothing to her. Ironically, that made them vulnerable to surprise.
“Damn it!”
-Kwaaaaaang!
This time, right beside them—a ship riding the waves exploded into the abyss. The shock widened eyes; sinking kin’s faces burned into navigators’ retinas.
They felt terror. Even reversal heroes charging dragons fearlessly if visible. Now: swells, storm, ambush, unknown foe.
Then, a stranger’s gruff voice boomed in their ears.
[All fleet! Fire on the depths!]
Iron discipline, years of sailing and battle. Experience kicked in—instinctual, learned reflex.
Amid panic, hands moved in unison: load guns, prime powder, ram shots.
Every ship did the same. Toward the depths, that devouring abyss swallowing kin...
[Fire!!]
North Sea’s mightiest fleet. Gaimeirn Dynasty’s golden armada. Cannons roared as one.
-Kwaaaaang!!
*
“Captains. Report damage.”
Drenched Leya dried her hair with a servant’s towel and spoke. Assembled captains looked equally sodden.
An elf with an eyepatch over one eye spoke slowly.
“Three line ships, two merchants, two supply ships, one civilian vessel.”
“Casualties?”
“Estimating sunk crews. Fifty-seven ships safe. No heavy injuries or falls among navigators. Civilians: about seventy dead.”
“Hmm...”
Leya tossed back her dripping hair and crossed her legs.
“Light damage for a storm ambush.”
“Low attack frequency. Unfamiliar with onboard guns... or harpoons...”
“Or lacked numbers.”
“Yes. First time for us, unfamiliar for them too.”
Leya sipped her tea slowly, then set it down.
“Deep-sea attack. Thoughts, Inquisitor?”
“Only one civilized race uses weapons from the depths, Queen Leya. Unless sea serpent legends stir.”
“Right. Vampires.”
Leya smirked at Fernandez. He’d pinpointed the first strike’s source, confirmed underwater ambush on the second, devised countermeasures by the third.
She smiled at him. Infermer, now—talented, witty, quick.
-Kkiiik.
A servant entered cautiously, saluted rigidly.
“Great Serpent Queen, Leya Fin Gaimeirn! Supreme of the five seas...”
“Enough. Business.”
“Drifter captured!”
“Ha. Drifter. Humanitarian aid? Repeat.”
“...We took a prisoner.”
“Bring him.”
Servant opened the door. Wildprinces in armor dragged a rope-bound man, dumping him on the floor.
“Cough!”
He spat seawater, coughing. White curly hair, gleaming red pupils, fangs bared. Vampire.
“Not dumb enough to surface for air. State your identity, vampire.”
“Message from Duskblood Archduke, Fang Lord. Elves.”
The vampire hissed.
“This sea is your tomb. Blood bags. Fear the night.”
“Tch.”
As the vampire chuckled whispers, Leya clicked her tongue. She glanced out the porthole. Calming sea, dawn breaking blue afar.
“Vampire funerals may not suit us. Hey. He looks cold. Soaked, poor thing.”
Leya sneered at the vampire’s face.
“Dry him in the sun.”
“You’ll all die!”
“If the afterlife exists for undead, hope yours has common ground. Your master’ll join you. Drag him off.”
“Fear every night!!”
Wildprinces hauled the screaming vampire away. Curses poured. Leya smirked, lifted her tea.
“Didn’t know our god was the Dawn Goddess?”
“They learned plenty at Infermer.”
Captains burst laughing at her jest.