Chapter 112. A Display of Force
Three sailing ships that had departed from the Island of Boundaries cut through the waves as they moved forward.
Yul sat on the deck, listening to the sound of the wind.
Just looking at the vast horizon gave him a strangely calming feeling.
That thing called wave timber—when he saw it last ti, it hadn’t stood out much, but now the ship’s color had a faint green mixed into it. It was so subtle that only experienced eyes could distinguish it.
Shillenwe Arkatil approached Yul.
“Lord Yul.”
“Ah. Shillenwe. What is it?”
“Why do you need us?”
“Hm?”
“With your power, wouldn’t it be possible for you to wipe out the Rainini Archipelago alone?”
If he used the Sea-Sync Demon Eye, Yul could raise a massive tidal wave and sweep away all the Sea Succession Church’s sea monks in the Rainini Archipelago.
“How many people do you think even know about the Island of Boundaries right now?”
“Not many. Perhaps only so of the sea elves.”
“Right? Rather than going to the Rainini Archipelago and wiping out all the humans, it’s better to turn them into collaborators.”
“But will they really cooperate?”
“If they don’t, we’ll think about it then. Creatures called humans, despite appearing complicated, are actually a simple species.”
The ship pushed against the waves and arrived at the edge of the Rainini Archipelago.
Nearby, Yul sensed a strange presence.
“Hm?”
“Is sothing wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
There was an enormous beast beneath the sea. It seed to be targeting their sailing ships, but after circling for a bit, it disappeared.
‘What was that?’
Since it didn’t attack, he ignored it and looked around again.
A sailing ship of the Sea Succession Church, which had been navigating along the coast, ca into view. On the ship’s sail were characters clearly different from the writing used on the continent.
“Oh, is that a sailing ship of the Sea Succession Church?”
“Yes. They’re vessels ant for coastal navigation, so they probably won’t even think about fighting us.”
Just as Shillenwe said, the ships bolted away the mont they saw the sea elves’ vessel. It seed they intended to go report it.
Shillenwe deliberately slowed the voyage and docked their ship at their port. They did not attempt to stop the ship from entering.
The buildings inside the harbor were mostly two or three stories tall and made of wood, but their walls were thickly coated with white li, shining brilliantly under the sunlight.
Golden wind chis hung from the tiled roofs, producing clear, ringing sounds whenever the wind blew.
Buildings in a style decorated with concentric circle patterns imitating reincarnation—the symbol of the Sea Succession Church—were scattered everywhere.
Lowering his gaze, Yul saw a group gathered in front of the harbor.
They were people from the Sea Succession Church—monks with powerful muscles, and in front of them stood a man who appeared to be the person in charge, wearing wide-sleeved robes.
“Those are the Guardian Lions and the Temple Abbot.”
“The Guardian Lions represent military strength, I assu, but what’s the Abbot?”
“They’re the ones who manage the Sea Succession Church temples that exist on each island. Along with the temples, they handle the administration of the entire island.”
As soon as they disembarked, the Abbot spoke.
“So, sea elves. You look familiar. Aren’t you Admiral Shillenwe, who visited here not long ago?”
“Abbot Hanhen.”
“I clearly told you then not to set foot on this island again. We have no intention of accepting sea elves who have been rejected by the sea.”
“We have no intention of living on this island. Instead, we wish for cooperation in another way.”
“Cooperation?”
Abbot Hanhen pinched his shabby mustache between his thumb and forefinger and stroked it.
“What sort of cooperation could there be with those rejected by the sea?”
“As you can see, we can still sail.”
“I heard you can’t sail very far. That’s practically a curse, isn’t it? We do not cooperate with the cursed. Heh.”
Shillenwe made a disgusted face and then spoke to Yul in Elvish.
“As you can see, even though we have ship cannons, they aren’t paying much attention.”
“Are they that bold?”
“No. They trust the Sea Succession Church behind them. They probably also believe that three sailing ships couldn’t possibly subdue the entire Rainini Archipelago.”
“Hey, you there! What are you whispering about among yourselves? And what’s that human next to you? I’ve never seen that face before.”
Yul turned his gaze toward the Abbot. Since he had not revealed his presence, his outward appearance now was that of an ordinary human.
“? The lord of the northern island.”
“The northern island? There shouldn’t be any islands there.”
“There’s one.”
Abbot Hanhen narrowed his eyes and let out a mocking laugh.
“I’ve never heard of it, so it must be a very small island. So now you’re serving that human as your master, Admiral? How pitiful you’ve beco. Are you offering your body to him on his island?”
“What did you say?! How dare you say such a thing!”
When Shillenwe shouted in anger, the Guardian Lions standing beside them slamd their large spears against the ground.
Clang! Clang!
The sound of tal striking stone echoed throughout the harbor. Residents who had been watching the sea elves stepped back, murmuring among themselves.
Shillenwe already knew conversation would lead nowhere.
“Lord Yul, if you permit it, I will burn down their harbor right now.”
Yul raised his hand to stop her.
“Wait. Sothing’s coming.”
His gaze was fixed on the sea. At first glance, the surface looked calm, but strange ripples were spreading across it. From deep below, he could feel sothing rising upward.
Then, a scream erupted from the edge of the harbor.
“A monster! A monster has appeared!”
A gigantic shadow fell beneath the surface of the water. Soon after, a pillar of water shot up, and a vicious figure erged from the sea.
A mouth lined with jagged teeth as large as a person.
The monster flashed bizarre luminous organs across its dark, bluish skin and swallowed a ship in the harbor in a single bite.
The residents fled in panic, while the Guardian Lions raised their spears, but their hands trembled. The Abbot scread with a pale face.
“A Crocodile of Dale…?!”
What was that?
“It’s a sea crocodile capable of swallowing a small ship whole. One lives around this area, but I’ve never seen one this large before.”
Even as she said that, Shillenwe appeared calm.
The Crocodile of Dale chewed the ship it had swallowed and crawled up toward the pier.
“Guardians! Stop that monster!”
The Guardian Lions charged forward with shouts. They rushed toward the monster’s jaws, swinging thick spears and clubs.
The spears of the charging Guardian Lions struck the monster’s scales, but the thick armor didn’t suffer even a single wound.
The monster screeched and swung its tail.
In an instant, two or three monks were flung onto the harbor floor. Blood scattered along with their screams.
“Th-this—!”
Abbot Hanhen shrieked at the top of his lungs.
“What are you doing?! Bring the cannons here at once!”
“Abbot, that will take ti…”
“A monster is rampaging right now, and what are you doing?!”
Once the nearby Guardian Lions had been dealt with, the Crocodile of Dale moved to the next ship and swallowed the small vessel whole.
“No! My ship…!”
rchants wailed, and the residents filled the harbor road, screaming as they tried to flee farther away.
The Guardian Lions charged once more, only to et the sa kind of death. After that, their morale collapsed, and none of them even tried to move again.
The only one still shouting was the Abbot.
“What are you doing! Damn it! Not moving at all! Hey, you sea elf bastards! If you want to cooperate, kill that monster!”
Perhaps irritated by the Abbot shouting at the top of his lungs, the gigantic crocodile opened its mouth.
“Wh-what, what is—?!”
Chomp.
Authority was split in two inside the monster’s mouth. At that, the Guardian Lions also lost their fighting spirit and began to flee.
Shillenwe said from beside him,
“If we leave it like that, the entire harbor will be eaten by that monster. Shall I deal with it?”
Shillenwe drew a sword from her waist. Strangely enough, it was a wooden sword.
A wooden sword made from the sa wave timber used for ships. And in her left hand, a single flintlock pistol.
“Will that be enough?”
“Yes.”
“Alright. Go ahead.”
With Yul’s permission, Shillenwe stepped forward alone toward the giant crocodile.
Passing by the fallen Guardian Lions, Shillenwe charged in at trendous speed.
‘She’s circulating magic power through her whole body.’
Instead of releasing the aura typical of swordsn, she seed to be channeling it throughout her entire body.
When she struck with the wooden sword made of wave timber, the monster’s skin split open instantly. An enormous amount of blood burst out. She had cut through a place where a major blood vessel ran.
Kuaaaaaack!
The monster scread for the first ti. In extre pain, it lowered its gaze and opened its mouth toward Shillenwe.
A massive maw large enough to swallow a small fishing boat ca crashing down, but Shillenwe had already left that spot.
Leaping about five ters into the air, Shillenwe stepped on the monster’s shoulder and climbed up in an instant.
Without cutting through the thick back hide, Shillenwe ran across it, climbed to the top of its head, and brought her blade down.
It was shallow. Compared to the massive body of the monster, it was like poking it with a toothpick.
But perhaps it felt the pain, the Crocodile of Dale twisted its body wildly.
Shillenwe tightly gripped her wooden sword and drew her pistol.
A bullet fired straight toward its head.
‘Will that work?’
Could a flintlock pistol really take down a monster dozens of ters long? It didn’t seem likely.
Then, the monster’s movents stopped.
“Huh?”
“An encroachnt bullet?!”
“Hey, what’s an encroachnt bullet?”
When Yul asked an elf subordinate who seed to know sothing, the elf hesitated before answering.
“A giant seed is fired from the flintlock. When the seed splits, it grows instantly. It’s the sea elves’ tree growth magic.”
“Ah.”
Soon afterward, countless branches sprouted from the Crocodile of Dale’s eyes, nose, and mouth. That clearly ant it was dead.
“I’ve dealt with it.”
“Impressive.”
“It’s nothing. I just know how to handle a bit of magic and a sword.”
Though she spoke modestly, a faint blush spread across Shillenwe’s cheeks.
Shillenwe is weak to praise. Note taken.
Yul looked around the harbor, now turned into a complete ss. It looked very different from when they first arrived.
‘What should I do about this?’
While thinking that, he sensed another presence.
And this ti, it was a familiar one.
‘That one.’
From the sea, it almost looked as if a warship were rising up.
What erged with the swelling waves looked like a gigantic version of the crocodile that had appeared earlier, as if it had been copied and enlarged.
Then it let out a mad, shrieking roar. Everyone who saw it turned pale.
“So that one was the baby.”
“Th-th-th-that size is impossible.”
“I’ll handle it.”
Yul imdiately returned to his original form with Polymorph.
Six eyes. A body resembling an orca, with multiple fin-like arms.
As he rose proudly into the air, the monster’s form beca clearly visible.
‘Can a living creature really grow this large?’
-Did you co looking for your offspring?
He sent out a magic signal, but there was no response.
‘There have been more and more of these lately.’
The number of sea creatures that couldn’t communicate at all had increased. It was very different from before.
It advanced toward the island with an oppressive presence. Its length seed to exceed nearly eighty ters. Creatures this large were rare.
Yul noticed a gem on its forehead. Seeing the shining Ruby, it clearly didn’t follow the rules of the Deep Sea.
‘But if eating humans is its default, then it probably never established any Communion.’
It swam toward the place where its offspring had been.
When Yul floated in the air and blocked its path, it imdiately opened its mouth.
-Ugh!
It began spewing a breath filled with acidic liquid. A jet of pitch-black corrosive fluid sprayed toward Yul’s front.
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