Chapter 1029: High Waves, Higher Stakes (2)
Chapter 1029: High Waves, Higher Stakes (2)
However, it took little for the creature to appear again above water because the churning waves parted violently, revealing a massive fish form that rose from the depths.
Water cascaded off its scales as it briefly rose to the surface to attack. But even just that tiny part of the monster's back dwarfed even the tallest masts.
Chaos erupted on deck as the creature's sudden appearance troubled the Chimaeric Demons.
They, Erik, Mira, Amber, and Emily, never fought something like this, so they didn't even know what the best thing to do was.
"Attack!"
The ship's artillery flared, and with it, the attacks sent by the Chimaeric Demons.
However, the starlight fire brain crystal power Erik got from the Luminaclaw bear wasn't enough to kill the monster, even with the stars shining so brightly.
That must have been because the beast was within the water, and fire was useless against the monster within it.
As for the ship's weapons, it looked like the beast was used to them and avoided the attacks relatively easily.
"Fuck!"
Erik stood his ground, eyes locked on the beast before them. However, the creature disappeared again beneath the turbulent waves. For a second at least, because then, a vast chasm appeared in the water.
It wasn't because of the water itself, but for the creature's gaping maw, full of razor-sharp teeth, which opened and tried to bite at the ship.
The thaid's scales under the water shimmered with an array of blues and greens. It would have been beautiful if those lights weren't made by a thaid so big.
"Brace yourselves!" Erik said. "Aim for its eyes and gills! Don't let it get a grip on the ship!" The sea thaid let out an ear-splitting roar that shook the very air around them. It lunged forward, jaws snapping at the nearest portion of the ship. The ship resisted, but it got a huge indentation on its hull, and where the teeth landed, some holes appeared.
"Fuck! If we go on like this, we won't reach Hin if not by flying."
Erik and the crew would not die, that was for sure, but the ship served its purpose.
For starters, whatever the blackguards were doing in Mur meant they might end up meeting some flying thaids from that accursed place, and at that point, Erik could do nothing.
The second problem was that flying thaids could be easily seen from the shores, and if that was true, it meant Erik and the Chimaeric Demons would be in the same situation.
The third and last problem was that Erik didn't want the enemy to learn he went to Hin, and going there, on top of flying thaids, or better, his clones turned into them, would make that pretty obvious.
While that a ship had been stolen might have been clear to Hin, at least to those who were at the docks, if one of them arrived at Hin's shore, that wouldn't mean that was the ship in question.
So, there would be some moments while the enemy tried to understand where this ship had come from, in which Erik could act. Those precious moments could make the difference in an eventual battle.
Amber and Emily huddled together near the stern, their eyes wide with terror. Mira stood protectively in front of them; she was used to such situations much more than them.
"Didn't they say that sea thaids were weaker than flying ones?" The woman said.
"That's it if they don't come from the waters surrounding the Mur continent!" Erik said.
"Then does this thing come from there?"
"I don't know!"
The Chimaeric Demons kept firing at the monster. Bullets and energy blasts peppered the thaid's scales, but most seemed to glance off them.
Somehow, though, it looked like one of the attacks made it leave its grip on the ship.
"Can any of you copy this creature's form? If the ship sinks, we might need to copy it to traverse the sea."
"We will try, master!"
Erik's mind raced as he assessed the situation. The thaid's size and strength were too much for an average sea thaid, at least based on what people said, but there had to be a weakness.
He noticed the creature flinched when shots came close to its eyes and its gills.
<June!> Erik called out.
<Change course, and try to keep your distance! Push the ship's engines to the max!>
June nodded. The ship turned and tried to get its distance from the creature.
Erik turned to the nearest group of Chimaeric Demons.
"Concentrate your fire on its eyes! If we are lucky enough, we might make it retreat, or even better, blind it!"
The air crackled with energy as the Chimaeric Demons unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Beams of light and fire flashed in the night, converging on the thaid's face.
But the creature was used to such attacks, which weren't even that powerful given the pitiful amount of mana the clones had right now.
The sea thaid dove beneath the waves, its massive body disappearing into the murky depths. An eerie silence fell over the ship, broken only by the howling wind and crashing waves.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
"Where did it go?" Mira's voice trembled as she spoke.
Erik scanned the sea, searching for any sign of the monster. "Stay alert! It could surface anywhere! Call me when it does!"
The ship creaked and groaned, the damage to its hull clear in the way it listed to one side. Water sloshed across the deck as waves broke over the railings.
Suddenly, the thaid erupted from the water on the port side, its massive body jumping from the water like a shark hunting a seal.
Droplets of seawater rained down on the crew as the creature blotted out the stormy sky and jumped to the other side of the ship. The beast miscalculated the jump.
"Did you see it?" Many Chimaeric Demons did, and that meant all the others would soon be able to do the same.
However, as the beast reached the waters again, an enormous wave came crashing onto the
ship.
"Hold on tight!" Erik yelled, diving to the side.
The crew did, narrowly avoiding the water's crushing weight, bringing them outside the ship. However, the vessel tilted dangerously, threatening to capsize.
Erik rolled to his feet, his clothes soaked and his hair plastered to his forehead.
He saw Amber stumble, falling overboard as the deck shifted beneath her.
Without hesitation, he dashed forward, grabbing her arm and pulling her to safety. "Thanks," Amber said, her eyes wide with fear.