104. Chapter 104
The seawater was pushed up by the overwhelming mass difference, and not long after, the sea surface exploded. The shadow under the water finally showed itself.
Walm, who grasped the whole picture of the huge shadow exposed under the sun, burst into laughter at the huge difference in scale, and the unbelievable spectacle.
A large amount of seawater spewed out from the funnel and hit the deck like heavy rain. What was surprising was the force. Walm’s eyes should be normal at this time, but the Kraken was flying higher than the ship’s mast.
“It jumped!!”
Perhaps in response to the Sailor’s roar, the Kraken rattled its numerous exposed teeth and spread its tentacles to cover the fifty-meter hull.
As the jet of seawater broke off, the Kraken lost its propulsion and began a free fall. It was a just simple push, but backed by that mass, it became a deadly blow.
“A, AAHH, it’s, it’s falling!”
With a sidelong glance at the confused sailor, Walm unleashed the spell he had already prepared.
An extra-large fireball manifested by the mana burned the rope extending from the mast and the rope of the hoisting machine, and flew high into the sky. Even Walm, who was used to playing with fire, had never shot a fireball overhead. Fortunately, the fireball slipped through the mast and was sucked into the Kraken’s mouth.
Flames instantly dyed the sky, and the impact shook the sails. The hoisted flag caught fire, and pieces of meat fell down, rolling on the deck. Walm cried out to the Sailors who held their breath and watched what was going on.
“Do you all like it rare?!!”
It was because the fire was losing its heat, but with that, Walm had ascertained the effectiveness of the fireball. Several of the tentacles turned to pieces, and the flames invaded a wide area of its head and mouth, but the Kraken survived the fierce flames with its unspecified durability and didn’t lose its life. Above all, the most important thing was that, the mass was only slightly reduced, and overall, the Kraken was still in quite good condition.
“Damn it, that’s still not enough. It can’t be stopped now.”
“mo, mooovveeEEE!!”
The Kraken’s fall prevention was just a faint wish, and that giant body approached the ship. Some tried to jump off the ship, others tried to hide in the poop. Walm also tried to turn his body to the stern of the ship’s direction, but he was stopped by a calm yet good voice. The owner of the voice was the Captain of the ship, Belim Beggar.
“The fall position isn’t exactly here. It won’t be a direct hit.”
Saying that, the veteran Captain walked leisurely to the center of the ship.
What a daring old man…
――Thinking so, Walm also hardened his resolve and kept his feet.
The closer the Kraken got, the clearer how big its size was. The gigantic body followed the course of falling to the surface of the sea while grazing the hull. The tentacles that were spread were probably for the purpose of adjusting the fall, and some were blown away by the fireball Walm shot, causing the fall position to go wrong.
Even so, the whole body didn’t fall to the sea surface. Some of the tentacles were stuck on the deck. The yard that hung the sail extending to the side of the mast broke one after another due to the weight of the tentacles, causing the sail and miscellaneous ropes to get entangled. Some were scraping off the edge of the hull and the ballista, causing the board of the upper deck to break while sending the wood pieces to the middle deck.
When the main body fell, a huge water column rose on the surface, and a large wave shook the hull. Still, there was no one that had frightened eyes. After all, the invisible culprit was now, laying bare between the sea surface and the ship.
While struggling with the unstable footing, Walm hit its head with a second blow.
A blast ran on the Kraken’s body and flames scorched its flesh.
“Don’t let it escape, kill it here!!”
Under the orders of the Deck Boss, sailors rushed to the starboard side, some fired arrows with the crossbows, and some bent their arms to then throw spears.
The Kraken which was now looking like a hedgehog due to countless arrows and spears, made its tentacles shrink and released them to the ship. The spring-like attacks crushed the outer wall, and the sailors, who were caught off guard, were mowed down.
“Uhh, m-my legs, I, I can’t stand.”
“We’re running out of spears. Bring more from the middle deck.”
“Why aren’t you dead already?!!!”
“Uh, damn it, the hull got gouged out again.”
The Kraken was so wounded, but the threat was in fact, still alive.
A large hole opened on the middle deck, and the sea magician who was gliding on the water received the tentacle attack and bounced on the surface of the sea.
The Kraken then spouted seawater from the funnel as if it was a dragon’s breath, to the poop deck. The sailor’s arm got hit by it and was ripped open, spurting out bright red blood.
“What about grilled squid?! Do you like it?!”
Tentacles approached Walm, who continued to shoot fireballs. Walm, who foresaw the behavior of the stretched tentacles, tried to take evasive action, but it ended in vain.
Saachef with a cutlass leaped while twisting his body. And with the momentum of the swing, his blade cut half of the tentacles approaching Walm.
Instead of applauding the acrobatic spinning slash, Walm had another idea. He immediately shot fireballs, making flame flowers bloom on the sea. The exploded pieces of meat were like an accent to the flowers.
Beautiful. The Kraken seemed to understand art better than expected, and thus responded to Walm’s gift with a thrilling emotion.
In an attempt to capture Saachef, a torn tentacle gouged out the surface of the sea, resulting in some waves, and as expected, Saarchef used the wave and dodged the approaching torn tentacle just in time.
“What’s going on with this monster? Uhh…”
Walm, who shot the sixth fireball, agreed with the sailor nearby.
The Kraken, which swung around its tentacles with no regard for torn, shortened, and scorched tentacles, could only be described as a tempest of flesh due to its size and physical strength.
“… disgusting”
The tentacles were disgusting, but they hadn’t given up.
One of the tentacles wrapped around the female statue, and while dripping mucus, it was thrust to the sailors. In response to the barbaric act against the woman statue, the Captain grabbed a spear hard as if he were going to crush it, and threw it at the Kraken’s head.
Through the wound by the fireball, one-third of the spear entered.
The fighting spirit of the sailors hadn’t yet been lost either. A defeat at the sea with no escape would mean, death. Surely that idea had been engraved in the body and the bottom of the heart.
Indeed, the sailors who supported the shipping network of the Archipelago were really strong. Even Walm couldn’t help but praise them for their dependability.
“Take as many as you want!!”
“Move, I’ll use the axe.”
“Spear. Give me the spear!”
The deck, where pulverized pieces of wood piled up, was stained with the blood and flesh of humans and the monster.
On such a deck, a sailor threw the weapons he took from the middle deck. The others immediately picked up the weapon and faced the Kraken once again. Even one with a broken leg, he leaned back against the mast, and with the remaining leg and arm, he loaded arrows and handed them to the others.
Mixed with them, Walm was about to shoot the seventh fireball.
However, at that moment, the tentacles that were rampaging stopped all at once. The Kraken, which had been wriggling, was now just floating on the surface of the sea.
Still, the pursuit attacks didn’t stop. Even Walm suspected a false death in the sudden absurd end.
In the end, the crazy assault on the Kraken continued until the Captain finally called it off.
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