by Hyougetsu
I was downplaying the danger a bit. We had no idea what the true strength of our foe was. But I had to act confident to calm everyone’s nerves.
“Our foe is just some oversized octopus. He’s no match for our elite squad. Besides, if things go south, I’ve got three separate trump cards ready.”
That was a total lie. I only had one. But it was one hell of a trump card, so it wasn’t too much of an exaggeration to count it as three.
“And even if all my trump cards fail, we’ll be able to fit everyone on the five warships we’re bringing and row to safety. Don’t worry about failure and focus on hunting the enemy before us!”
Even if there was no wind or tide, so long as we had oars we’d be able to move.
“This will be the first-ever joint battle between humans and demons. Let’s show the world that together we’re unstoppable!”
“YEEEEEAAH!”
The kentauros banged on their metal quivers as they cheered.
“Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Their cheering got the canines fired up, and they started barking as well. Alright, let’s do this!
“Parker, if you’d be so kind.”
Parker’s undead skeletons would serve as the rowing crews for the five galleys. If we used human teams, there was a possibility they’d panic and abandon their posts if the battle went unfavorably, and that was something I wanted to avoid at all costs. The normally cheerful Parker chanted in a cold voice as he called forth spirits from the underworld.
“Arise from the dark Gates of Gevina, my sworn friends.”
The space around us warped, and skeletons popped into existence all around the harbor. Judging by their uniforms, they were sailors who’d died in Beluza.
“I grant thee the opportunity to sail the deep once more. Come, join me on our fateful voyage.”
The skeletons responded to Parker’s voice and clacked up the gangway onto the galley he was on. Beluza’s sailors watched the scene with mild apprehension.
“H-Holy shit...”
“So this is what a demon mage can do...”
Parker was one of the demon army’s best mages. After he was done commanding his undead army, Parker wiped a bead of nonexistent sweat off his skeletal brow and said in a bright voice, “Summoning undead sure gets the blood pumping.”
“Uh-huh. Thanks.”
“Not that I have any blood!”
I ignored his stale pun.
“Vampire squad, you’re in charge of controlling the undead on each ship.”
I’d borrowed ten vampire sorcerers from Melaine. They were Master’s disciples too, so that technically made us fellow students. I’d split them up to two a ship, and they were in charge of relaying the ship captain’s commands to the undead. Since the skeletons were utterly obedient, we wouldn’t have to worry too much about coordination.
“Now then.”
“Yeeees?”
“How come you’re here too, Melaine?”
Melaine, who was wearing a Beluzan-style dress, grinned.
“Why shouldn’t I be? Bernheinen’s functioning perfectly fine under the puppet viceroy’s rule. And I wouldn’t want to miss whatever fun adventure you’ve cooked up for us, Veight.”
“It’s not going to be some ‘fun adventure.’”
Why did everyone assume I was traipsing around the world enjoying myself? Well whatever, let’s just set sail. If I took any longer to set off, I’d probably get even more unwanted hanger-ons. Of the five warships, I’d designated the newest one to be our flagship. Or rather, Garsh had forced me to designate it our flagship. As a fleet’s flagship was usually put in the most secure spot, Garsh had probably wanted to keep his most expensive one safe. Unfortunately for him, I didn’t follow standard military theory.
“Welcome to the flagship Friedensrichter, admiral.”
Garsh, who was wearing a pirate’s outfit, greeted me with a grin. Incidentally, I’d insisted on being allowed to name the ship as part of our negotiations.
“Leave piloting the ship and fighting on deck to me and my mates. You just give commands safely from the backline, kid.”
“Thank you for your cooperation. You can leave slaughtering that octopus to us.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what ya got.”
All told, the combined demon army and Beluza fleet had 11 ships. The warship that served as its flagship was the Friedensrichter, as Garsh had mentioned earlier. I’d outfitted it with a single catapult. The other four warships served as transport vessels for the kentauros, as well as rescue ships in case anything went wrong. As for the six merchant vessels, I’d retrofitted them with weapons. They’d be using their ballistae to provide long-range support. I’d wanted to install more weapons onto the galleys as well, but between the soldiers they were carrying and the undead oarsmen, there was no space left. I’d had to move even the spare equipment to the cargo ships.
Beluza’s citizens cheered us as we set sail from the harbor and into the bay. We kept our bearing east, following the same sea lane traders did when they were heading to Lotz. Before long, we arrived at the rendezvous point. The sailor on watch looked down from the crow’s nest and shouted, “Admiral Veight! The mermaids are here!”
“Oh good, they came.”
I looked out to sea, and indeed mermaid heads were popping out of the waves. There were about 20 of them. I’d been worried they wouldn’t come.
“Hello, Mr. Veight. There may not be many of us, but we came to help.”
“Please, let us assist you on your endeavor.”
The human sailors on board were captivated by the pretty, young mermaids waving at us.
“No way, a real, living mermaid!”
“They’re all beauties... I wish I could be down there.”
“This is my first time seeing a mermaid...”
Garsh alone kept his gaze fixed firmly forward, and he rebuked his gawking men.
“Stop leering, you louts! If ya want to impress those lasses so badly, show your courage in battle!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Despite his words, I caught him sneaking a few glances at the mermaids later, when he thought no one was looking. You should just be more honest with yourself, old man.
Thanks to Parker’s persuasiveness, I now had a score of mermaids under my command as well. I had them act as our fleet’s scouts. If the Island Kraken attacked us from below, we’d need to retreat and regroup. So long as we could avoid that scenario though, I had confidence in my plan. I’d also asked them to help rescue any humans or demons who fell overboard. In other words, they were basically mermaid lifesavers. You know... I probably can’t blame anyone if they fall in on purpose just to get saved by a mermaid.
As luck would have it, both the tide and the winds were in our favor. Both our wind-powered merchant ships and our skeleton-powered warships made steady progress. I kept an eye on our progress as I doled out orders.
“Have the trading ships spread out up ahead and scout our surroundings. Our warships are our emergency rescue vessels, so I want to avoid getting them sunk at all costs.”
Each trading ship had at most 50 people on it, so even if all 6 of them sunk, we’d be able to pack everyone on them onto the remaining warships. Worst come to worst, we could dismiss some of the skeleton rowers to make space for more living people.
A few hours after our departure, around noon, we took a short break for lunch. The Sea of Solitude—the southern sea’s formal name—was surrounded on most sides by land and had relatively calm waters, hence its name. It reminded me of the Seto Sea which I’d visited back in my old life. The gentle waves and refreshing sea breeze helped calm my demons’ nerves before the fight... or would have, if they weren’t all getting seasick. Thanks to them, I was stuck running around curing everyone with magic. Guys, I’m not a ship’s doctor you know. Around the time I’d seen to the last puking patient, one of the men on watch shouted a warning, “Admiral Veight! There’s a fog up ahead!”
I pu
lled out my telescope and peered through. Far in the distance, I could see a dense fog. Bullseye. According to the sailors, the scope of the fog was unnaturally small. Around the fog, the wind was blowing normally, eroding its edges. However, if the reports were true, there would be no wind inside, meaning the sailing ships would be unmaneuverable. There was still quite a bit of distance between us and the fog. Now was the time to prepare.
“All hands, prepare for battle!”
The flagship hoisted a signal flag to alert the other ships, while Kurtz fired off a signal flare for the demons. The people aboard our warship sprang into action. Firnir held up her spear and rallied her kentauros.
“We will be the first kentauros warriors in history to fight atop the sea! Never again will such an honor be bestowed upon us! Fight well, so that your name is remembered for generations to come!”
“RAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
They were a noisy lot, but I was glad the kentauros had high morale despite the abnormality of the situation. They were the group that would take the most casualties, but I wanted as many of them to survive as possible. Praying for their safety, I gave the order to charge.
“Let’s do this! All ships, charge! Trading ships stay upwind of the fog and await my signal! Stick to the plan, everyone!”
“Show this monster what Beluza’s made off, you louts!”
“Charge, warriors! May the spirits of our ancestors bring victory to the demon army!”
“Woof! Woof!”
Human and demon cheers mingled together as the five warships plunged into the fog. The moment we entered the mists, the wind came to a halt.
“The hell is going on here!? This isn’t anything like the sea I know.”
Garsh’s confusion was understandable. The surface of the water was as flat as a mirror; it felt more like a lake than the sea. So far, everything was matching the reports I’d read.
“Mr. Veight. The sea is full of fish that normally live in the shallows,” one of the mermaids said as she swam close to the ship’s deck.
If there were shallow-water fish living here, that meant there had to be a reef nearby. However the fog limited visibility, and I couldn’t tell where that reef might be. And if we were up against an Island Kraken like I suspected, then that reef was actually the octopus in disguise. If we rowed into the reef, our ships would end up grounded, so I had the mermaids continue scouting the area around us.
“Report every minor detail you find! And let me know if you see a reef.”
“We’ve split up to search, but so far all we’ve seen is open sea.”
At the very least, this meant the Island Kraken was smaller than the radius of the fog it released. The fog was surprisingly thick though, and I couldn’t even see the ships to either side of us. I was expecting to be hit by a surprise attack at any moment. While I had absolutely no knowledge on medieval naval warfare, I’d read up a little on modern naval warfare. If this were a normal naval battle, now would be the time to send out fighter planes to pinpoint the enemy’s location.
“Kentauros squad, I want you to split up and search for the enemy. Do not, under any circumstances, stop moving. Make sure each squad takes a mermaid with them so you can be forewarned of any attacks coming from underwater.”
“You got it! Leave everything to us, Vaito!”
Firnir shouldered her two-handed spear and gave me a reassuring grin. Please don’t be too reckless... The 200 kentauros warriors filed out of their respective ships and formed a column behind Firnir. She brandished her massive spear and passed down my orders.
“Split up and look for the enemy! Do not under any circumstances engage if you find the target! Come back and report to me! Our mermaid comrades are keeping watch underwater for us, so don’t worry about an ambush!”
The kentauros nodded and unslung their weapons. I guess not cheering is their way of trying to be stealthy. The kentauros split up and cantered off in every which direction. I waited for their return with bated breath, every second feeling like an eternity. We were up against a monster feared as the Terror of the Deep. As much as I wanted everyone to make it out of this alive, I feared there might be casualties.
Finally, after what felt like ages, the kentauros returned. Firnir galloped up to the flagship and shouted in a panicked voice, “We’ve got trouble! There’s another ship out here!”
“What!? Did you find any reefs!?”
“Nothing yet, but we’re still looking!”
So there was another ship out here besides ours. There was still a slim possibility an Island Kraken wasn’t behind these attacks, so this was something that needed to be investigated thoroughly. At the same time though, we needed to be cautious.
“Call the kentauros back! We’ll be switching to decoys now!”
It was Lacy’s time to shine.
“Lacy, make us an illusory ship, please.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Lacy steeled her nerves and started focusing.
“My will becomes manifest, an incarnation of the imagination that deceives sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.”
She moved her hands through the air, as if sculpting an invisible statue. After a few seconds, a ship formed on the water’s surface in front of her. At first, it looked blurry, indistinct. But as time passed, it grew clearer, until eventually it resembled the real thing. Her ship was a magnificent, triple-masted sailing ship modeled after the ones she’d seen in Beluza’s harbor. It even had a fake crew manning the ropes. If I hadn’t known it was an illusion, I would have mistaken it for the real thing. There was a rather elaborate crest engraved onto the main mast, but that was a small enough detail that I was willing to overlook it.
“By the way, what is that?”
“It’s a wolf.”
That’s supposed to be a wolf crest? It looks more like a dog to me. Next to me, Garsh let out a sigh of wonder.
“That lass is one hell of a mage... Even a sailor like me can’t tell the difference between that and a real ship. It’s perfect.”
“It’s not just the part above water that’s perfect either. Lacy’s good enough to have reproduced the part that sits underwater too... I hope.”
That was the reason I’d had her dive underneath ships over these past weeks. In fact, she’d come complaining to me the other day: “I’ve been staring at the underside of ships for so long that I’ve started having nightmares about them. I’m chained to the bottom of one while everyone screams ‘Holy Priestess! Holy Priestess!’ and you’re just looking on and laughing the whole time, Mr. Veight. Though you do save me in the end.”
I wonder, what exactly does Lacy see me as? Maybe I should ask her.
Our fleet continued advancing, with Lacy’s illusory ship at the helm. She’d made sure to slow its speed and make it look like it was cruising on past inertia.
“You’re pretty good at filling in all these little details, Lacy.”
Lacy smiled bashfully as she adjusted the illusion with a wave of her fingers.
“A good imagination and strong observational skills are a requirement to becoming an illusionist. No matter how skilled you are at magic, you can’t create something you don’t understand, or can’t envision.”
That made sense. I had the feeling Lacy would make a good artist if she ever felt like going down that route. Now if only our octopus friend would oblige us by trying to eat this illusion, we’d be able to attack without suffering casualties. Octopuses normally used sight to hunt for prey, so this one should end up fooled by the illusion. Just as I’d thought that, one of the lookouts shouted, “I think I see a ship up ahead!”
That was probably the one the kentauros had spotted.
“What’s its make? Can you tell where it’s from?”
The lookout answered Garsh’s question immediately.
“I-I... think it’s the Eraanya Company’s Rainbow Clam, Captain!”
“What!? But that ship went missing months ago!”
That wasn’t a good sign. I watched as
the ship slowly came into view. It looked surprisingly normal, for all that it had been missing for months. One mast was tilted, but that was about it. Naturally, this meant we had to approach with utmost caution.
“A-Admiral, we have to rescue them! If they stay here much longer, they’ll be killed!”
The Beluzan sailors began to panic. I shook my head sadly in response. There was no way anyone could have survived this long in a monster’s territory.
“It’s too late for them. Don’t approach carelessly.”
Though it was faint, I could sense a malevolent flow of mana in the air. There was something nearby.
“Lacy, send your illusion closer to that ship. Make it look like it’s coming to help.”
Lacy skillfully manipulated her illusion. Despite changing course, the fake ship still moved slowly, as a sailing boat without wind should. The moment it grew close to the Rainbow Clam a massive tentacle rose up and tried to wrap itself around Lacy’s illusion. It was thicker than the mainmast, and many times longer than the ship. Countless suction cups dotted the tentacle’s surface. Normally the tentacle would have slipped right through the illusion, but Lacy was skilled enough to have given it substance. However, every time the octopus thought it had latched on, its tentacle slid right off the ship.
“Eeeek! Waaaaaah!”
Lacy, who had never seen an octopus in her life, was terrified by the tentacle’s grotesque shape. If she got any more freaked out, her illusion would shatter, so I grabbed her firmly by the shoulder and said in a steady voice, “Calm down, that’s just what octopuses look like. I know it looks disgusting, but it’s just an oversized fish.”
“B-But...”
“Trust me! We need your illusion to protect everyone, Lacy!”
My pep talk got through to her, and Lacy recovered from her panic.
“O-Okay! I’ll do my best!”
“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you. So just stay focused on keeping that illusion going.”
Lacy wasn’t the only one who’d been terrified by the tentacle’s appearance. Human sailors and demon warriors alike were trembling in fear. But if they lost to that fear, our fleet would be wiped out. Before the terror could seep too deeply into their soul, I ordered the attack.
