The sailors who killed the Kraken, which boasted disgusting durability and physical strength backed by its gigantic body, didn’t have time to soak themselves in the afterglow of their victory, as instructions flew in rapid succession on the deck.
“Find where the damage is, now!”
“Lower the wounded to the middle deck, section leader, come and report how many are safe!!”
“Are the spare sails not ready yet?”
“What happened to the flooded bottom deck of the ship?”
“The influx of seawater has somehow been managed.”
“Don’t neglect your surveillance. ‘They’ are coming soon!!”
The Kraken was lifeless with no strength left, and the battle should’ve ended.
Even so, disturbing words that couldn’t be just ignored were mentioned. Walm who heard it approached the Deck Boss.
“What is it? After the odd octopus, will a shark or something come?”
Walm said with some sarcasm, remembering the overproduced disaster movies in the previous world.
“There’re no big sharks around here… it shouldn’t be. More importantly, the ‘Sea Goblins’ are coming.”
“Oi, sea goblins, you say…? Huff, I got it. Enough. I can see them already.”
Receiving a stranger’s words, Walm tried to get detailed information, but the army riding the waves as if rushing to the ship, jumped into his eyes.
Sea Goblins… had dark green skin similar to that normal goblin, but its mouth was lined with fangs reminiscent of carnivorous fish, and its back had a dorsal fin reaching the tailbone.
“Stop the work, stop it now, Sahuagins are coming.”
“Don’t let those dirty filth of the sea steal our hunt! You don’t want your labor to end without any rewards, ain’t you?!”
Surprisingly, it seemed that the sailors had no intention of giving even a piece of the Kraken that they had killed to the Sahuagins.
“This smelly lump, just give it to―― “
The stunned Deck Boss cut Walm’s words.
“Are you kidding? That corpse is a treasure trove. The tentacles are said to be a nourishing tonic, that even the ‘thing’ of the dead man can stand up. The aristocrats who lost the vigor will come with coin bags to buy them. The gall and teeth can also be used as materials for medicines and catalysts. No one will ever want to give even a piece of it.”
Hearing that, Walm couldn’t deny it. More so when the ship’s condition had become bad.
The mast was in good condition, but one side of the yard where the sails would be hung was all bent, and there were many holes in the deck and outer walls. How many gold coins would be needed to restore the ship to perfect condition? An amateur like Walm, couldn’t even imagine.
“Walm, if you can still use magic, reduce the number before letting them get close. Fighting them all in close combat is just tiring and troublesome.”
Saachef, who had been running around the sea, had returned to the deck. His smile was still there, but fatigue was clearly there.
The other sailors were also exhausted from the battle and work, and if they were to engage in close combat, the damage to the ship would increase significantly.
“Got it, I don’t want to swim back to the land after all.”
Walm, who had refined his mana, shot the manifested fireball. The lead of the flock that was surging in great numbers was swallowed up by the explosive flames, sprinkling blood droplets and dyeing the sea red. There were some who spat out their internal organs from the mouth due to the impact of the explosion, soiling the sea.
After repeating it several times, the Sahuagins disappeared into the sea.
“Oi, they’ve gone!!”
“Bastards, they’ve dived. Be careful! They’re coming all at once!”
Walm was standing back-to-back with Saachef and sharpened his five senses.
As the other was also doing the same, the ship went silent.
In the eerily silence, the bad-mannered demon mask began to vibrate loudly to welcome the flock of new visitors.
“I know, I know. I’ll put you on, so stop trembling.”
“Uhh, Walm, what… What’s with that disgusting mask?”
Saachef, who was sitting back-to-back with Walm, took a step away in disgust.
Walm would like to agree, but it would be unbearable to have it vibrate while he put it on his face. So, he didn’t say too many words.
After regaining the calmness, Walm exhaled lightly and kept his field of vision wide.
Water splashes rose to surround the ship without any warning. All of it was due to the Sahuagins jumping out of the water.
“They’re here, KILL THEM ALL!!!”
The Deck Boss roared and slammed his hatchet into the leaping Sahuagin. The Sahuagin was cut from its shoulders to the chest, letting out a raspy shriek before collapsing.
Walm followed the battle dance, by slashing a Sahuagin’s arm as he grabbed it, then flipped his wrist to send its head flying.
No one had trouble finding prey. The Sahuagins that were visible on the surface of the sea were only a part of the whole, and more were springing up from the sea one after another.
To the ‘second-rate merfolk’ who tried to deepen their friendship, Walm responded with a longsword stab. The tip of his sword was sucked into the Sahuagin throat, but it still didn’t stop walking. Truly an energetic and enthusiastic fella, but that extent wasn’t enough, there were many that showed fiercer enthusiasm at Dandurg Castle.
Twisted the wrists to gouge out the useless thing behind the skin, the Sahuagin finally fell asleep on deck.
Walm tried to swing the longsword that he had pulled back at another Sahuagin, but the mucus left on the deck made his feet slip.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, two Sahuagins closed the gap.
“That oddball bastard, even if after died, still causing trouble.”
Walm rotated around the left foot without letting the right foot that had started to slide, turning the momentum. When he turned around, a Sahuagin was within reach. As he had poured mana into the blade, he landed a 《Strike》to the Sahuagin, cutting and tearing the waist and shoulders.
The remaining Sahuagin’s arm grabbed Walm and seemed to want to hug him like a beloved lover. And as if also wanting to give a deep kiss, the jaws opened, exposing the ragged fangs to the air together with fishy breath.
Walm lowered his posture and flung up a board of the deck. Using his shoulder to press the board against the Sahuagin’s slimy belly, he escaped its fangs.
The Sahuagin’s ankle which was leaning forward, was cut off with the tip of Walm’s blade, resulting in it falling down as it was. Losing the support, the Sahuagin crawled on the deck helplessly, but when a longsword cracked its head, it twitched a little before becoming immobile.
More Sahuagins rushed in, trampling on the corpses of their brethren.
At the same time, Walm caught the crossbow arrows scattered on the deck in his field of vision, pierced his longsword into the board, and went to pick it up. Saachef, who had witnessed the barbaric act, voiced his complaints, but unfortunately, Walm was too busy to listen.
“Oh, there’s still some looking good.”
Walm lightly gripped one of the arrows and kneaded his mana around it.
” “Release” “
The arrow popped out due to air compressed by mana. The sharp arrow was sucked into between the Sahuagin’s eyes, sending the Sahuagin’s body to the deck as if its foot had slipped.
Fire-attribute magic surely would exhibit excellent firepower on the ground, but it couldn’t be denied that it had excessive power to use in close combat on a ship.
Wind-attribute magic that could be used on arrows and similar things to be shot like a projectile, had excellent power and was clearly a better action to use in shipboard battles.
Seeing a good result, Walm, who was in a good mood, shot the arrows without hesitation. Those arrows weren’t originally Walm’s belonging, but if it were to be handled roughly, surely in an emergency like this, it would be tolerated.
After firing arrows into four bodies, a Sahuagin approached the plank that had fallen off and used them as a shield. Two Sahuagins with a club and a captured spear followed behind. For Walm now, to be attacked by some Sahuagins without thinking about the damage, was enough to be a threat.
A plank used as a shield obstructed the field of vision of the Sahuagins. Walm took his longsword, slid out of a blind spot, and cut off a defenseless knee along with the fins. The Sahuagin, who lost the freedom of movement, stayed in place with its one leg, but then collided with the following brethren and fell together while tangling.
Walm wasn’t a gentleman enough to let go of the two that appeared in a loving position. Two slashes for two Sahuagins’ necks.
The last one left was the Sahuagin with a spear. A spear held at the waist was aimed at Walm.
The tip of the spear was deflected upwards by the blade, and their bodies crossed.
The Sahuagin turned around to confront Walm once again, but such a wish didn’t come true as blood oozed from its neck. In the end, it let out a thin watery breath, dropped the spear, and reached out into the air, but the sea goblin couldn’t grab anything other than death.
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