As soon as I went out, I bumped into Nier, who was fully geared up and about to come in. She paused for a moment then She shoved me back inside: “Your Majesty, it might become very dangerous outside. You must remain inside your room from this moment onwards. I will protect you at your side. You don’t need to worry.”
“What about Lucia?”
“Lucia will soon be here, too. Don’t thoughtlessly come out. The battle that will take place outside isn’t one we can partake in. Only Queen Vyvyan and Her Majesty can handle it.”
“What about Ying?”
“They’re on another ship. They’re already prepared. The waves outside are gradually rising in magnitude. Your Majesty, you must pay attention to your own safety. Not only will you be of no assistance, but you will also distract Her Majesty. It’s best for us to just stay here. Leave it all to them. You just need to keep yourself safe.”
I looked at Nier’s stern expression and hopelessly nodded. True, I didn’t have any method to help them or the ability to. All I could do was hole up in my room; let them fight and wait for it to end. Nevertheless, I would be panic-stricken if I couldn’t watch the fight. I couldn’t help but conjure up all sorts of terrifying possible scenarios in my mind.
I wanted to watch. I’d feel reassured if I could watch them slay the wyrm. Our original plan was very good; but nonetheless, the violent waves and wild winds still instilled a terrifying sense of terror in me. The large ships we could be proud of were but mere toys in the face of the disaster. We were in the wyrm’s hunting grounds. It was the tiger; we were the rabbit it hunted, I would presume. Of course, I wasn’t referring to the rabbit that could beat me to death with its bare hands.
The furious waves assaulted our ship, rocking it. I didn’t know which ship the wyrm would attack, for Vyvyan and I were both considered food, and we were on separate ships. If it attacked Ying’s ship, then great, but if it attacked ours…
“Something’s there!! Something’s in the water!! They’re swimming toward our ship! They’re coming up!!” Lucia shouted from outside.
The flames on the deck were flickering unpredictably. Accompanying the flames was the sound of metal clashing and terrified screams. Nier aggressively drew her blade and adapted her fighting stance. She guarded the door. I hid behind her with my handgun drawn. I suddenly remembered that I didn’t have any spare ammunition; I only had six bullets. That meant I could only hit six enemies if I could hit every single shot.
The enemies were flood corpses. The sailors weren’t soldiers. They were only responsible for jobs on board. Although there were rifles aboard, using bayonets wasn’t their specialty. Untrained soldiers would throw down their weapons and flee at any hint of a soldier nearby screaming. The issue was there was nowhere to escape to on the ship.
Lucia yanked the door open with one hand and rushed in. In the same instant she shut the door tight the screams outside and smell of blood gushed in. I was no longer afraid of the violence, though. Nier turned to look at me. To reassure me, she said, “It’s all right, Your Majesty. There are Valkyries on board. These Flood Corpses are no match for us. You just need to stay here…”
As Nier spoke, she thrust her sword toward the wooden door and pierced straight through it. I heard the cry of a wild beast and a heavy thud on the wall. Nier pulled her sword back. A sticky green liquid ran off the blade. Cold gaze on the door, she stated, “Sorry, Your Majesty, it seems I was a little overconfident. The useless crew has probably split the Valkyries up. They’re likely fighting in small groups on deck now, and thereby have their hands too full to protect us.”
I blankly looked at the hole Nier made in the door. The flames and corpses lying in every direction clogged the deck. The sailors must’ve been swamped by the flood corpses already. The heavy footsteps and roars on deck obviously belonged to the amassed flood corpses.
I didn’t know if the wyrm showed up or not, but the flood corpses overran our ship already. The Valkyries could easily kill the flood corpses; but unfortunately, there were only a few of them. Meanwhile, the flood corpses were basically a crumbling island in the water that could sink at any moment. Furthermore, the crew fled helter skelter, thereby splitting up the Valkyries. The Valkyries, consequently, couldn’t concentrate their fighting power.
I reasoned, “What do I do? If we don’t leave this room, will Nier and Lucia, alone, be enough to hold on? No, that’s not what I should be asking. The question should be if this ship will last. If this continues, they’ll kill the Valkyries, too, within a matter of time!”
I looked around my room. There was nothing in the room. My bullets were all in the ocean. I only had six bullets, and I wasn’t certain I could land every single shot. If Nier and Lucia went out, they’d be no different to the Valkyries who were split up.
“What do I do?” I asked myself.
“It’s all right, Your Majesty. It’s not difficult for the two of us to guard a single door.”
Nier raised her sword and watched the door. She revealed a smile that was intended to reassure me. However, it instantly turned into a stern and confrontational look. Lucia stayed next to me and took hold of my hand. With a smile, she softly said, “It’s all right, Your Highness. We will be sure to protect you. I will be sure to protect you.”
“Uhm, but we can’t just stay here forever. I must take a stand. I must take this ship back.”
Nier sniffled. The sea of blood outside seeped into the air; it smelt as if I smelt corpses. The mountain of corpses outside blocked the door. The shadows of the flood corpses lingered by the door; they seemed to be aware of our existence but didn’t enter for some reason.
Nier tensely watched the door. We couldn’t get out if they didn’t get out of the way. I irritably fumbled through my bag. I poured everything out onto the bed. I looked at everything there.
I only had some meagre amount of coins left in my wallet, my chest pin as the Prince of humanity, Nier’s protective amulet and a few round bottles rolling around…I picked up a bottle and checked out the liquid inside. The liquid was the mana dissolving potion that I prepared and was the same thing that almost killed me. It was a poison that could melt an elf’s organs.
“Flood Corpses… They’re revived entities… Flood…” I mumbled in silence.
An idea abruptly hit me. Although I wasn’t certain the idea would work, it was plausible in theory. The wyrm created the flood corpses. Dead people couldn’t be revived, so they must’ve been mobile zombies possessing mana. Subsequently, the liquid in the bottle could reduce them to a puddle.
“Let’s head out,” I said. Nier looked at me with a startled look. I took in a deep breath and explained, “Let’s head out, Nier. Let’s head out. I want to try this. If it works, I’ll protect you two this time!”
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