Chapter 323. Sea Warfare
As Charles neared the resurfaced sunken ship, he could make out even the writhing starfish that clung to its decrepit hull.
The smell of sulfur and gunpowder permeated the air; he had arrived at the fringe of the battlefield.
Swoosh!
A pair of green-webbed talons suddenly shot out from beneath the waters and gripped Charles' ankles tightly.
That was just the beginning. More and more of them emerged from the depths and clawed at Charles in an attempt to drag him underwater. Just as he was about to be overpowered by the number of green claws surrounding him, white electrical arcs danced across his skin and leaped onto the talons. Electrified, the creatures hiding beneath the waters convulsed incessantly as white wisps of smoke emitted from their claws.
With his Dark Blade in hand, Charles performed a sweeping cut around him and severed several of the claws that encircled him. Mists of blood painted the sea.
Nearby, a sixty-meter-long steamship spotted Charles and began to steer and advance toward him. Charles recognized it to be Feuerbach's ship, Waverazor. Feuerbach was stationed at the command center, so Charles wondered about who was in command of the man's ship.
Charles gestured to them in flag semaphore to stay back.
Just then, a murky black mass surged from the depths and crashed heavily into the stern of the Waverazor. A thunderous roar rang out as the vessel struggled to maintain its balance. Before it could even do anything, the steel plates on its hulls exploded and ignited into flames; the turbine chamber caught fire.
Soon, the Waverazor was reduced into a burning giant fireball on the dark waters. Its flames illuminated the inky dark expanse, and the sea within a kilometer radius started bubbling from the intense heat.
The intense heat reddened Charles' face.
At the same time, it also cast light upon his look of fury
He quickly located the culprit—a massive green sunken ship. Its towering mast indicated that it was a long, obsolete sailing ship. However, its wooden bow, which was supposed to be sealed, had opened up like a living creature. The uneven, splintered wooden planks within seemed to represent the ship's ghastly, jagged teeth.
Within the open bow, Charles spotted skinless sharks locked up in rusty iron cages. The sharks poured out incessantly from their confines and shot out of the gaping mouth, rapidly forming a dark mass in the water.
The sharks seemed to have marked Charles as their enemy and were swiftly closing in on him.
Without a hint of hesitation, Charles pushed himself off the water's surface and ran toward the ship; the distance between them speedily narrowed.
Just when Charles was just mere meters away from the sunken ship, the inky green sea beneath him suddenly darkened. A ferocious shark's maw erupted from the water and enveloped him in its jaws.
Just as the beast was about to snap its jaws shut, Charles' invisible tentacles shot out and wrapped around the sharp teeth on either side. Pulling himself back, he then catapulted himself like a slingshot out of the beast's maw.
With a low instinctual roar, Charles landed heavily onto the slimy, wet deck of the sunken ship.
With white electrical arcs surrounding him, Charles looked like an unleashed demon as he wielded various weapons with his invisible tentacles in a frenzied massacre of the naked Deep Dwellers.
The chaos escalated quickly. Not willing to stand by idly any long, a Deep Dweller with a skull-topped staff suddenly rose to his feet. With a wave of his staff, a mass of water was lifted from the sea and hurtled toward Charles.
Before the giant water orb could come into contact with Charles, he swiftly switched out the weapon in his right hand for the flesh revolver.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The bone bullets from the flesh revolver split apart the head of the Deep Dweller with a skull-topped staff. Dark red blood dripped down its revolting green scales, but the creature didn't die from the attack.
"How dare you oppose the servant of the Great One! I curse you!" the Deep Dweller, with only half a brain remaining, exclaimed as he smeared the blood on his face and rapidly started drawing on his abdomen.
However, Charles had no intention of staying idle and waiting for the creature to finish his curse. Like a ferocious tiger, he pounced at the Deep Dweller and beheaded him with a single slash of his Dark Blade.
At the sight of how Charles swiftly executed their leader, looks of extreme panic surfaced on the grotesque faces of the remaining Deep Dwellers. One after another, they abandoned the ship and jumped into the waters.
When Charles leaped into the rocking waters once more, the ship he had just conquered creaked and sank into the depths once again.
His gaze moved away from the ship, and he took in the chaotic scene around him. He knew that he had no time to waste. He swiftly moved toward his target, and it didn't take long for him to see it: the sunken ship that an Elder was on.
He didn't advance rashly. Even though he had absorbed two relics, he knew that confronting a Deep Dweller head-on without any strategy was tantamount to suicide.
He looked around and spotted a vessel that was swiftly making its rounds. Contrary to the other warships, this particular vessel didn't engage the Deep Dwellers. They would only participate in brief skirmishes before backing away.
Charles quickly ran through the information he had heard from the others and then dashed toward the vessel. As soon as it came within the vicinity, he plunged his Dark Blade into its bow and leaped aboard.
"Governor!" the people aboard the ship called out, clearly recognizing Charles. However, they didn't appear to be from the Navy. Judging from their tattoos and attire, they seemed more like a band of pirates.
"What is your mission here?" Charles asked.
"We are instructed to keep an eye on that octopus head and eliminate it as soon as it makes a move," a woman with a chilling demeanor responded. Her auburn hair cascaded down to conceal her right eye and most of her face, while the striking red scorpion tattoo on her neck drew immediate attention.
"Any findings from your observation so far?" Charles pressed for further information.
"Not yet. It doesn't seem to want to make a move. I personally feel that it's waiting for something."
Waiting? What can that thing be waiting for? Does it have reinforcements? Charles pondered. He leaned his lone hand on the railing, and his brows pressed together in deep thought.
Aliya cast a fleeting glance at Charles before she brushed her fiery red hair behind her ear and asked, "Governor, is it true that Chief Dipp has returned?"
Charles turned his gaze onto her. "How are you related to him?"
"I was his subordinate," Aliya replied, her voice rising a notch higher.
"Focus on the battle first. As for that brat, I have yet to settle matters with him. I'll deal with him thoroughly once this immediate trouble is over."
Before Aliya could respond, a naval sailor popped his head out from the command tower.
"Captain! The command center sent a message to say that we can't continue staying put. They ordered us to make a move and probe their strengths."
Aliya turned to look at Charles. Charles had the highest authority here.
"This is your ship and your crew. I won’t interfere with the command," Charles said.
Aliya nodded in response. She immediately turned and barked orders with an overpowering assertiveness rarely seen in women.
"Send a telegraph to get two warships to cover our advance! Start with artillery probing! District 3, get ready, it's our showtime!"
Cheers erupted among the crew as her words fell. It looked as though they were heading for a celebratory drink at a tavern rather than an extremely dangerous mission.
After the telegraph messages were sent out, two seventy-meter-long warships swiftly flanked the vessel Charles was on. Together, they advanced toward the Deep Dweller Elder.
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