The flood corpses shook the crew’s mental state. They were standing on the deck, but they all wanted to flee back into the cabin despite there no longer being any flood corpses in sight, and only the stormy waves remained. They were still extremely nervous. You couldn’t approach them from behind or they’d shriek.
The Valkyries didn’t get a chance to rest, for they had to stand behind the crew with their swords drawn. Sometimes, fear isn’t a negative emotion. In this situation, the Valkyries’ swords and the blood trickling off could prevent the crew from fleeing, and thereby ditching their posts, for fear of the sound of the wind. Something unknown was encroaching upon us. If the Valkyries didn’t have their swords drawn behind the crew, there was no way they would’ve headed towards the object.
“Prepare the side cannons! Prepare the side cannons!”
Regardless, if it was an enemy ship or not, my ship could put up a fight. The fact that the water hadn’t destroyed it was proof of how robust it was. Further, we had a total of twenty-four side cannons. It was a battleship with immense firepower; it wasn’t the type of cruise ship I came on.
I ordered the crew to head toward the dark shadow. If it was the wyrm, my Moms’ ship would definitely be close by. If it it was another ship carrying humans, we could ask for help. I was also confident in this ship’s battle abilities, so we could definitely put up a fight against another human ship.
We didn’t have anywhere we can run to, anyway. So naturally, we had to head toward the object we sighted to see what it was. Our battleship didn’t move fast, as the wind blew against us. The dark shadow came closer and closer, yet didn’t seem to advance towards us; it was an odd phenomenon, because there was no such thing as a sense of direction or distance in this darkness. All we could do was maintain silence and advance towards the object.
Nier drew her long sword. She didn’t care about a navy battle. She, indeed, put on a very impressive showing for the day. She was prone to sea sickness, but she was able to maintain her combat ability on the ship for the day. I wasn’t sure if she was forcing herself to keep it up or if the intense fighting and tension didn’t give her a chance to feel sea sick. Lucia, on the other hand, wrapped a rope around her waist a few more times.
My wives didn’t intend to watch from the deck; they prepared for comment upon contact. Of course, there was also the chance that the enemy we were about to face was the wyrm, which we prepared to fight the entire time. The two of them were ready for a fight on water.
I reached behind me. I didn’t plan to bring my handgun anymore. I still had three bottles of mana dissolving potion. If we ran into the wyrm, I’d have to find an opportunity to throw the potions at its weak point, which was a scale on its back that was a different colour. Nier and Lucia could take it out if, and only if, I scored.
I took out the mana dissolving potions and handed Nier one bottle: “You know the wyrm’s weakness. Nier, this one is for you. I don’t dare to give Lucia one, because she’ll be done for if she gets it on her wound, so whether or not we can kill the wyrm will be on you.”
“Have I ever let you down, Your Majesty?” rhetorically asked Nier, adding a nod.
Nier then gave me a hug. I touched her cheek and, in a soft voice, said, “It doesn’t matter if you let me down or not. Nier, I need you to return alive. I trust that you can return to my side. I can’t fight with you this time, so you need to reassure me.”
“Rest assured, Your Majesty. I still don’t want to leave you.”
Nier released me and then Lucia came over from the other side. She handed Nier a rope: “Affix yourself to the ship so that we can pull you up even if you fall into the water. If the wyrm has come to us instead of Her Highness, let us be the ones who enact the plan.”
I nodded. I rubbed Lucia’s head: “If it’s the wyrm, my moms will definitely come over. I won’t give the mana dissolving potion to you, Lucia. If you get wounded and inadvertently get the potion on yourself, I won’t be able to save you. You must help Nier find an opening. You two must work together this time.”
Lucia nodded: “I understand.”
Nier rolled her eyes: “Honestly speaking, trusting my life to somebody I defeated makes me feel very uneasy.”
Lucia clenched her teeth: “Your Highness, can you find somebody else? I’m worried that I’ll cut her rope off in the midst of saving her.”
Nier coldly snorted, and then went up to the rails on the deck. Our ship was gradually closing in on the dark shadow. The shadow appeared larger and larger as we closed the gap. The sound of the waves also grew louder. The waves were no longer purely waves the winds stirred but were a product of something instigating them.
We noticed that the dark shadow also detected us and was mobilising towards us. I didn’t know if we were fast or not compared to the wyrm, but I thought I heard horns.
Nier and Lucia were both ready for battle. The Valkyries left behind some members to watch over the quaking crew. I was very worried about the crews’ combat ability. I was afraid they’d turn tail after launching a shot. The remaining Valkyries were also ready for a battle on the waters. The Valkyries didn’t specialise in Navy battles. Having said that, if we could close in on them for them to jump onto the enemy ship, then they’d be in their home ground.
Eyes on the shadow, I pondered, “Under normal circumstances, the wyrm’s scales should be visible at this distance, shouldn’t it?”
All I could see in the moment, though, was the build of the shadow. Moreover, I felt it might not be the wyrm. A wyrm would resemble a snake; it couldn’t maintain a fixed posture for so long. I, therefore, assumed that it was a ship.
Nier and Lucia exchanged eye contact. Their expressions relaxed a little. It was easier for them to kill people than it was to kill the wyrm. Additionally, humans should be able to communicate. The ship noticed us, too.
I thought I saw a fire in the air. I assumed it was a fire torch. In saying that, I couldn’t see it clearly in the darkness. I felt excited. I wondered if I had a stroke of luck. I wondered if I found my moms. If it was them, I must’ve used up my lifetime of luck, because if it was Rosvenor Empire’s ship, the front of the ship would have a symbol of the Rosvenor Empire, specially an imposing twin-headed eagle.
After all my excitement, I realised luck was unreliable. Also, don’t entrust your hope to gods, demons, or whatever floats your boat, because they can’t realise your inner hope. At least they can’t change what has happened. By that, I mean that sometimes, humans can’t communicate, either. Whenever you can’t communicate with words, blades will always be the most appropriate tool… Perhaps that applied for elves, as well.
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