Kalavinka frowned.
The sea…
Something felt wrong.
Kalavinka continued staring at the sea for several more minutes. And finally, he was convinced of it. He was certain that ‘they’ were coming.
He knew that time was of the essence. Kalavinka ran out of his room and shouted, “Gather the commodore and the captain! Call big brother Zaask here! Now!”
The three soldiers tasked to guard his room flinched. This was the first time they’d seen the genius of the navy like this.
“Admiral Kalavinka! What’s wrong, sir?” asked one of the soldiers.
“I don’t have the time to explain! Please! Call the officers! Call my older brother Zaask here! Now!”
Under the desperate shouts of the boy, one of the soldiers ran outside to call for officers, while another one ran to call for Zaask, the second oldest son of Duke Kelvin, the man tasked to oversee Kalavinka.
A few minutes later, Zaask arrived at Kalavinka’s room. To his surprise, Kalavinka had already gathered the other officers of the navy inside. The normally-timid boy was already disseminating his commands.
“Commodore Lieson, make a tight net around the blue rock region. Be prepared to use the black fire under any conditions, at my command,” said Kalavinka in a heated voice. He’d already marked the spot with a circle on the map.
Commodore Lieson saluted. “Yes, Admiral!”
“Captain Halvar.”
“Admiral!”
“You shall provide support to the commodore’s fleet at the rear. The enemy numbers in tens of thousands. If by chance we are unable to suppress the enemy and they break through our tight net, retreat immediately. Your priority will be to secure the safety of the women, the children, and the elderly. Make sure they’re able to evacuate safely.”
Zaask, who’d been silent until now, finally spoke. “Retreat? Secure the safety of women, the children, and the elderly? Kalavinka, what’s the meaning of this?”
Kalavinka looked at his older brother, at the officers gathered in the room, then back. He said, “Big brother Zaask, they’re coming.”
Zaask closed the door and went to the table where everyone was gathered. Spread on top of the table was a large map of the western territory.
“This is unlike you, Kalavinka. What’s with that face? This is the first time I’ve seen you so terrified of mere pirates,” said Zaask.
Kalavinka shook his head. He found it hard to explain what he saw in words. “No. They’re not pirates, big brother.”
“Not pirates?” said Zaask.
What had this timid boy seen in the sea for him to freak out like this? Even now, Kalavinka’s shoulders were quivering.
“I’m not… really sure,” Kalavinka said hesitantly. “All of them are moving underwater. Tens of thousands of them.”
The room fell silent at those words.
Everyone knew of Kalavinka’s ability to read the flow of the water, his ability to predict the weather, and his ability to estimate the number of enemies—their positions and where they were hidden—during battle.
“I… I’m really scared,” Kalavinka said his honest thoughts. “I want to flee from here. Away from whatever is coming. But if I do that, what will happen to this port? To the citizens who believe in our protection?”
“Tens of thousands of unidentified creatures moving underwater,” muttered Zaask, frowning.
During the time he’d been tasked in monitoring his younger brother, Zaask learned of how fearsome Kalavinka could be during naval warfare. If he said that tens of thousands of underwater creatures were headed this way, then it must true.
“I trust your ability, Kalavinka,” said Zaask.
“Thank you, brother.” Kalavinka firmed his resolve upon hearing those words.
“So, what should we do? Just say the word. I can mobilize the Zaask Hussars for you.”
***
Under the orders of Kalavinka, they started preparing to evacuate all of the noncombatants to the Kelvin Duchy. Commodore Lieson and his fleet—consisting of thirty ships—formed a tight net at the blue rock region, ready to fire black fire the moment the admiral issued out his commands. Captain Halvar and his men were positioned nearest the port, at a perfect distance to either provide support for the commodore or to retreat and help with the evacuation. The Zaask Hussars—a light cavalry consisting of four hundred soldiers—had been summoned from the nearest garrison.
Just to be safe, the commodore insisted that both Kalavinka and Zaask stay at the port. Unlike their frequent skirmishes with the pirates, this event was unprecedented. They couldn’t risk the life of both Admiral Kalavinka and Zaask Kelvin.
For hours, they waited. None of the officers even doubted Kalavinka Kelvin’s judgment. After all, he’d never made a mistake before. They truly believed that tens of thousands of underwater creatures were approaching the port.
“O-Over there!” shouted one of Commodore Lieson’s men.
Innumerable creatures were moving underwater, forming a massive shadow under the sea.
“They really came!”
“T-There’s too many of them!”
“Commodore! Your orders!”
Commodore Lieson looked in the direction of the port. The moment a yellow flag was raised, he roared, “Ready the black fire!”
The crews of all thirty ships opened their barrel-like weapons. The viscous mixture invented by Kalavinka Kelvin was already contained inside. The tar capable of burning underwater.
“Fire!”
Loud explosions were heard as all thirty ships fired at the water. Black fire spewed out of the barrels and shot toward the creatures swimming underwater.
“Archers ready!”
Now that the sea was literally burning, they knew that those creatures would soon make their appearance.
The moment hundreds of them jumped out of the water onto the deck, Commodore Lieson issued out his commands.
“Fire!”
And the archers onboard the ship fired their arrows, piercing the bodies of the unwanted intruders before they could even get onboard.
“What… the hell is that?”
Commodore Lieson couldn’t believe his eyes. The creatures that had been swimming underwater were humans. No, they resembled humans.
They were monsters, Commodore Lieson was sure of it. He noticed the small tentacles squirming out of the human’s mouths. Moreover, there were also humanoid tentacle monsters among the bunch.
It was a truly disgusting sight. It was as though the dead had been parasitized and brought back to life.
“They’re monsters!” shouted Commodore Lieson. “Fire the arrows at will! Keep the black fire burning!”
Although the black fire killed thousands of the monsters, several dozen still managed to climb onto the ships’ decks. Soon, the fight broke into a melee.
The enemies which oddly resembled humans were surprisingly weak. Their movements were more sluggish than expected. The moment their heads were cut off, they fell onto the ground like stringless puppets. Even with their numbers, the soldiers stationed on the deck were capable of cutting them down.
The real problem was the humanoid tentacle monsters. Not only were they fast, they were also a bit stronger than an average human. Furthermore, they would not die even if you cut off all of their tentacles. The only way to defeat them was to cut off their heads—an extremely hard task, considering the tentacles protecting it.
“Aack! H-Help me!”
“Get off! Get off me!”
“Please! I don’t want to dieee!”
Cries of anguish, terror, and despair reverberated. One by one, the crew members were falling from battle.
And to their horror, some of them turned into monsters and started attacking their comrades.
“Commodore! They’re ignoring us! They’re heading directly to the port!” reported one of the sailors.
Commodore Lieson cut down the monster in front of him then looked in the direction of t
he port. Indeed, thousands of monsters were swimming toward the port.
Fortunately, Captain Halvar and his men were there to intercept them.
Had Admiral Kalavinka predicted this would happen just by reading the ebb and flow of the water?
He had accurately predicted that tens of thousands of underwater creatures were headed this way. He even went as far as proposing the noncombatants in the port evacuate. Truly an unseen-before genius.
“Marco.”
“Commodore!”
“I have an important task for you. You know how to send a coded message?”
“Yes, Commodore.”
“Good. Send a message to the port. Tell them to evacuate Admiral Kalavinka, along with the noncombatants, to the duchy. He should be safe there.”
Marco knew the implications of those words. It seemed that the commodore planned on taking the brunt of the attack, until everyone had successfully evacuated to the duchy. This full fleet would become bait to let everyone else live.
Despite knowing this, Marco saluted. He said with firm resolve, “Right away, Commodore!”
The commodore cut another humanoid tentacle monster. At their rear, he saw the ship of Captain Halvar capsize. Before half of its hull sank into the water, the ship blazed into flames and black fire spread deep underwater, scorching the monsters beneath the ship.
Even at his death, Captain Halvar decided to take down as many monsters as he could.
A valiant end befitting a captain.
Commodore Lieson tightened his grip on his cutlass’ hilt.
The captain must have realized it too—that this was not something even the admiral was capable of winning. A monster horde that could probably topple the entire kingdom itself. In a hopeless scenario like this, the only viable way for them to win the next battle was for the admiral to evacuate.
“Admiral Kalavinka… the boy can’t die here,” said Commodore Lieson.
The kingdom still needed him. He could not fall here, to monsters like these.
Commodore Lieson knew that he needed to buy enough time for the boy and the noncombatants to evacuate.
“Commodore!” said Marco. “I’ve sent them the message! They’ve agreed to forcefully evacuate the admiral to the duchy!”
It was good news. Now, there was only one thing left for them to do: buy as much time as possible for everyone at the port.
Commodore Lieson said, “Well done!” He roared, “Hard to starboard!”
“Hard to starboard!” echoed the other sailors.
The helmsman ran to the steering wheel and directed the ship toward the left, to the direction of the Mullgray Islands.
Hopefully the ships would be enough to serve as bait for all of the monsters.
As the surviving ships moved toward the Mullgray Islands, the sailors noticed the innumerable black dots in the sky. Screeches were heard as the black dots loomed closer.
Flying monsters. Tens of thousands of them.
Everyone despaired upon seeing the creatures.
Were those monsters coming toward their kingdom? Just the thought made everyone shudder with terror.
VOLUME 7: CHAPTER 20
The Kalavinka Navy, the so-called key to the golden age of sea exploration for the kingdom, was helpless against the demon horde.
From the sky.
From the sea.
Tens of thousands of demons continued attacking the port.
The moment the sky demons started swooping toward them from the sky, the hussars under Zaask Kelvin vanquished all thoughts of holding the front line. They knew that their spears would be useless against flying enemies. All that they could do right now was retreat.
“Fall back!” roared Zaask Kelvin. “We’re retreating!”
With trained movements, the hussars maneuvered their horses and skillfully evaded the attacks coming from the sky. They spurred their mounts forward, and under the leadership of Zaask, retreated toward the duchy.
“Wait, brother!” shouted Kalavinka, his arms wrapped around his brother’s back as he rode the same mount. He looked back at the commodore’s fleet that had been desperately fighting against the parasitic demons until now. “We can’t just leave like this! The port! What will happen to the port!”
The boy sounded so desperate. Zaask Kelvin had not expected his little brother to be this adamantly against their retreat.
“Kalavinka,” said Zaask. “In situations like these, it’s fine to be a coward. You read the message delivered by the commodore, didn’t you?”
“But, brother! We still have several hundred hussars under your command! If we escape—”
“Stop being stubborn!” snarled Zaask. As he’d thought, despite his skills in naval warfare, his little brother was still a kid. A naïve one at that. Zaask said firmly, “We can’t turn back now. If we do, we’ll be wasting those men’s sacrifice.”
Kalavinka couldn’t find the words to refute that statement. Deep inside, he knew that his brother was right. Those men—they stalled for time despite knowing the fate awaiting them. The very thought squeezed Kalavinka’s heart.
“Luckily, the Lancaster Army is currently stationed in the Kelvin Duchy, thanks to the previous decree of His Majesty to support the navy. The other nobles will send their soldiers soon, all we need to do is wait. We should be safe there,” said Zaask. “Hold on tight. Never let go, no matter what.”
Kalavinka tightened his embrace on his brother’s back. The horses galloped in the direction of the duchy. Behind them, the parasitic demons desperately chased after the retreating hussars. Although the humanoid tentacled monsters were surprisingly fast, their speed was still not enough to catch up to the hussars’ mounts. The only real threat was the demons flying in the sky.
Dozens of sky demons swooped toward the retreating army, one after another. Like a hawk hunting its prey, they grabbed the hussars using their talons and lifted them toward the sky, never to be seen again.
“Aaah! H-Help me!”
“Get off me!”
“Shit! There’s too many of them!”
“Commander, your orders, please!”
Despite their skills as horsemen, the hussars were unable to evade all of the sky demon attacks . Although the hussars were feared on land, they’d never been trained on how to deal with attacks from the sky.
Zaask gnashed his teeth. He knew that at this rate, their army would be annihilated before they could even reach the duchy.
Should they make a small detachment to serve as a rear guard for their retreating army?
No, that would be suicide. It would be impossible for them to attract the attention of the whole flock.
As he was contemplating on his next move, the boy tightly embracing his back spoke.
“Brother, we should take a detour,” said Kalavinka. He almost bit his tongue while talking. Their mount continued to gallop on uneven ground.
“A detour?” said Zaask. He removed one hand from the rein, unsheathed his sword, and stabbed the sky demon that tried grabbing him from above. The sky demon shrieked, flapped its wings, and retreated to the sky.
“Yes!” said Kalavinka. “Instead of heading straight to the duchy, it’d be better to go north, toward the Leonard School instead.”
Unlike Lancaster Kelvin, who treated Kalavinka as a puppet, Zaask believed in the abilities of his little brother. He asked, “Leonard School? The territory of that grumpy old man?”
Leonard School was a martial arts school located in the territory of the former Baron Zacharia. Along with the Military Academy and the Magic Academy, it was one of the three most popular schools of the kingdom.
“There’s nothing but grassland from here all the way to the duchy,” pointed out Kalavinka. “But it’s different if we head a bit north, toward Viscount Zacharia’s territory. Now that we’ve outrun the land monsters, the only threat to our survival are those monsters in the sky. A forest—we need to enter one.”
Zaask finally understood what Kalavinka was trying to ac
hieve from this detour. Indeed, they were extremely disadvantaged when dealing with the sky demons while running on grassland. They would be nothing but easy, moving targets until they arrived at the duchy. But things would be different if they entered a forest. Although the hussars would lose a lot of mobility if they entered the forest, the same could be said for the sky demons. This was definitely their best shot at survival.
Zaask smirked.
Who would have known that this boy was also well-versed in battle on land?
“Hussars! We’ll shake off these damn monsters!” roared Zaask. “To the north! We’ll be entering the nearest forest!”
“Yes, Commander!”
For two hours, the small army continued moving north. During that time, more than a hundred hussars were killed by the sky demons. Despite their desperate struggle to fend off the attacks from the sky, the Zaask Army still suffered terrible losses.
Finally, they arrived at the nearest forest. A sea of pine trees located a couple of days away from Viscount Zacharia’s territory.
The sky demons flew past them, circled the forest for quite some time, and eventually stopped their chase. They screeched then flew back in the direction of the port.
The soldiers sighed in relief.
“White,” said Zaask. “Report.”
The vice commander of the army said in a dispirited voice, “A hundred and seventy-four men, Commander. We lost almost half of our hussars to the flying monsters.”
Zaask looked up at the sky, as though asking the heavens why this had happened now, of all times. Although their army was a lot smaller than Lancaster Kelvin’s, each of their members were handpicked elites. Losing almost half their soldiers was a terrible blow to their army.
Kalavinka lowered his head. He was the one who requested for the Zaask Army to be called all the way here from the duchy. “Big brother, I… I’m sorry. This happened because of me. If you didn’t call the hussars here…”
“What are you talking about?” Zaask placed his hand on top of Kalavinka’s head. “We would probably have been annihilated if you hadn’t suggested this detour to the forest. We should be thanking you instead, Kalavinka.”
“But I was the one who asked you to call all of these soldiers here…”
Revelation Page 17
