Chapter 196: Storm has arrived
Martin felt like asking Angel to eat the Shark Mermaid again for taking the situation so lightly. Sadly, that would not solve anything, and he did not want to give up this rare chance to explore a new dungeon.
This was a hidden Level 60 dungeon belonging to an entirely different academy. Few players had ever entered it, and fewer still had reached this area. Yet Martin and Rias were here now, and they owed that entirely to Angel.
"What now?! Don’t you have some useful skill that can tame this monster?" Martin shouted at the Shark Mermaid.
Shuri craned her neck toward him and stared at him like he was an idiot. "You think I can tame a monster?! Monsters are born from the Dark Force! They hate literally everything that has a shadow! Are you an idiot?!"
And she had the nerve to call him an idiot.
Martin clicked his tongue. "We ain’t surviving this! You’d better swim the fuck away from there. Angel, I’m sending you back to your pocket dimension! Rias, sorry, but I guess we’re dead."
"It’s a loss, but I don’t see anything we could use to survive this," Rias said with a calm nod.
Her reaction told Martin everything he needed to know. Rias was not panicking, complaining, or desperately searching through her skills for some forgotten solution. She had already accepted that the monster before them was far beyond anything they could handle.
Even Angel appeared tiny beside the Sea Dragon Monster. Its enormous body stretched through the dark water like a living mountain range, with thick scales overlapping across its hide and pale light pulsing beneath them whenever it drew breath. The slightest movement of its fins disturbed the ocean, creating currents strong enough to drag smaller creatures through the water.
There was no chance they could defeat something like that.
Just then, Shuri shouted, "Wait, wait, wait! The Storm Guild should be here soon! They’ve been raiding everything in this dungeon!"
Martin turned toward her. "And you waited until now to mention that?"
"You never asked!"
"You were too busy telling us we were all going to die!"
Shuri pointed at the enormous creature. "We are all going to die if they don’t come!"
Rias gave her a flat stare. "Your explanation is not helping."
"Thanks to them, I found a way outside and got to have some fun in different waters until I met the Dragon Turtle," Shuri continued, ignoring her. "I used to follow their ships around because their battles always left plenty of stunned fish behind."
Martin stared at her until the truth settled in. "So you survived by eating their leftovers."
"I prefer to call it taking advantage of the natural food chain."
"You were scavenging."
"I was being resourceful!"
Crack! Crack! Crack!
A sharp noise rolled across the water as something split apart high above Martin’s head. Thin lines of white light spread through the air and branched across the dark realm until they resembled cracks running through an enormous pane of glass.
For one terrible moment, Martin thought the Sea Dragon Monster had damaged the dungeon itself. Then he noticed the wild smile spreading across Shuri’s face.
"They’re here!"
The cracks widened, and light poured through them, illuminating the ocean below. Vast portals opened one after another as the bows of gigantic ships pushed through. Metal plating and magical runes covered their reinforced hulls, while long rows of sealed cannon ports stretched along their sides. Blue sails snapped open above the decks, each displaying the swirling emblem of the Storm Guild.
The first vessel plunged into the ocean with a thunderous crash. Water erupted around it, and the impact sent a massive wave rolling across the dungeon.
More ships followed until an entire fleet occupied the space between Angel and the monster. Martin had seen expensive guild equipment before, but nothing he had encountered came close to this.
Each vessel was large enough to carry dozens of players. Magical lights ran along their hulls, and reinforced towers rose above their decks. Several had enormous harpoons mounted on rotating platforms, while another displayed the skull of some massive sea creature across its bow.
The Storm Guild had brought an entire floating armada into the dungeon.
Angel narrowed her round sapphire eyes at the newcomers. Every ship was much larger than she was, and their enormous hulls cast dark shadows over her crystal shell. Even the smallest looked heavy enough to shove her aside without losing any speed.
She raised her head and stretched her neck as high as possible.
Martin immediately understood. The ships were bigger than her.
"Angel, don’t get angry at them. They’re the only thing we can cling to right now."
Angel harrumphed without lowering her head. Her cheeks puffed out, and she began paddling harder so she could keep pace with the fleet instead of falling behind.
One of the largest vessels passed beside them, and the waves rolling from its hull shoved Angel several feet to the side. She stopped dead in the water and glared after it.
"Angel," Martin warned.
She slapped the water with one foot and accelerated. Martin grabbed the edge of her shell before the sudden movement could throw him backward.
"We are not racing the warships!"
Angel released an indignant growl and paddled even harder.
Rias watched her fight against the waves. "She appears to have taken their existence personally."
"They’re bigger than her."
"That explains it."
Shuri eagerly waved both arms at the passing fleet. "Storm Guild! Over here! It’s me!"
Nobody reacted, so she swam higher and shouted again.
"The Shark Mermaid! I used to follow you around and eat all the fish you left behind!"
Several players standing near a railing glanced down at her. One of them pointed toward the water.
"Is that a dungeon mob?"
"Probably. Ignore it."
Shuri slowly lowered her arms as the ship continued past them. "They don’t remember me."
"I’m shocked," Rias said.
"You guys are so mean! You don’t take me seriously!"
"And you’re taking any of this seriously?" Martin shot back.
Before Shuri could respond, the Sea Dragon Monster shifted. Its massive head turned toward the newly arrived fleet, and the pale glow beneath its scales intensified as it climbed the creature’s neck. Within seconds, its entire throat burned with cold blue light.
The ocean around its mouth began to churn. Streams of water twisted through the dungeon and rushed toward the monster, gathering into a violent current. Debris, fish, and loose fragments of stone were dragged into a spinning vortex before its open jaws.
Laughter died across the fleet as the players rushed into position. Cannons rotated toward the creature, armored fighters lined the railings, and mages raised their staffs. Glowing circles appeared above the decks while defensive spells began to activate.
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