Chapter Twenty-Seven: On the Sea (Part Two)

The enormous ice serpent stirred up waves and wind, blocking the path of the Feshi people. Their legion consisted of more than thirty giant sea bats and several hundred other medium and small sea beasts. According to rank, warriors of various clans rode atop these sea monsters—not because they couldn't move through the water themselves, but riding spared them energy and signified status. Low-ranking sea folk, such as the shrimp people, could only half-submerge themselves in the water and trail behind the beasts.

"Damn it," someone among the Feshi people cursed—a familiar voice to Kaplan, belonging to the robust Will clan commander, Lord Pompey.

They were about to catch up to the Celeste, only for its speed to suddenly increase, and for a massive ice serpent to be summoned and block their way. Could it be that the Far Eastern man from last time was still on their ship?

Helen's secret flight had thrown the Western Feshi Empire into chaos. Emperor Sargon, fearing for his daughter, was furious and ordered the crown prince Philip to bring her back, even if it meant war with humanity. Since the Feshi could not land en masse, if Helen had indeed escaped ashore, it would be troublesome; the sea folk had always been proud at sea and were unpopular on land—indeed, they disliked land dwellers as much as they were disliked in return.

Fortunately, a savior appeared: Sargon's only brother, the madman among sirens, Hermes, also worried for his niece. After much agonizing, he presented Philip with a ritual that shocked all. Hermes had spent years in his palace studying the magic arrays he'd learned on land. Philip had long thought his uncle mad; every siren was born a master of water, fearless at sea, so why study human sorcery?

But now, Philip had to admit his error. Hermes' magic array allowed even low-ranking sea folk to transform and gain legs like the high Will clan, meaning after this baptism, they could walk on land.

It was indeed a remarkable invention. Though the transformation required costly magic crystals, for the rulers of the ocean this posed no problem; the seabed was rich in crystal mines. Unlike Sargon, Philip coveted the land more. His father had once dreamed of conquest in his youth, but with age—and especially after Helen was born—his interest waned. Philip, still young and ambitious, wanted to accomplish what his forebears never had.

So, with Helen missing, Sargon was infuriated, willing to go to war with humans to find her. Philip, besides seeking his sister, seized the chance to use the magic array to grant amphibious abilities to many sea warriors, dividing them into two forces to pressure humanity. One, led by Pompey, who insisted Helen had gone to Goldfinch to find the Far Eastern man; Philip, meanwhile, attacked southern ports, hoping to seize one and use the search for Helen as leverage—of course, humans would have to pay more than that to reclaim their port.

When the ice serpent appeared, two sea bats quickly closed in, their riders hurling coral spears at it. Yet this level-seven divine beast was nothing like the tamed monsters of the Feshi. It unleashed a blast of pure white freezing breath, as powerful as fifth-tier ice magic; at least a dozen shrimp people were frozen into sculptures on the spot. Even when their comrades shattered the ice and freed them, they shivered uncontrollably.

"Don't think you can stop me!" Seeing the Celeste nervously trying to escape, Pompey was ever more convinced they were involved in Helen's disappearance.

More sea bats and various sea monsters, carrying Feshi warriors, surged in to attack, but the ice serpent was truly formidable. Here, at sea, it could absorb the water's elements like the sirens themselves. Its fifth-tier breath seemed inexhaustible. Kaplan was incredibly lucky; his limited wish spell had conjured such a creature. Had he summoned a fire beast at sea or an ice serpent on land, it might not even count as seventh-tier, perhaps even lower due to the environment. But here, the ice serpent’s power was enhanced, approaching ninth-tier.

Kaplan, of course, had no idea of the trouble he’d caused for Commander Pompey. When he bought the angel statue, the bishop had explained it could only grant wishes within a certain scope, not unlimited. Kaplan’s wish was merely for someone to help him block the pursuers.

On the largest sea bat, Pompey produced his weapon—a massive anchor, forged from metal and salvaged from a sunken ship, which he wielded as a weapon. No one was more suited to it—he was the strongest of the Feshi.

As his sea bat neared the serpent, despite the warriors’ attacks, they caused little real harm. The serpent was a semi-living beast formed in ice, its body made of crystalline frost, but with some intelligence. Its body was nearly impervious, with no sense of pain, save for a single spine-like structure running from head to tail—the core, protected by hard ice. Its physical defense rivaled the three-headed dog that Crow had encountered at the Rochester treasury, though its attack was inferior; fire magic was its bane, but among the Feshi, only Hermes could cast fire spells. The rest, including Emperor Sargon, were all born water controllers.

Thus, the fierce attacks only left scars on the serpent’s crystalline form, unable to truly kill it, and instead provoked its rage; streams of icy breath blasted out. Though not as potent as a dragon’s, it sufficed to encase the Feshi warriors’ limbs in thick ice, weighing them down.

Pompey’s sea bat drew closer. He hefted the giant anchor, spun it twice overhead, and hurled it, aiming to cleave the serpent in two. Sensing this, the ice serpent swept its tail in an attempt to deflect the anchor. The anchor was sent flying, but the serpent’s tail was severed, exposing the "bones" that controlled its body—a strange substance, different from the crystalline flesh, leaking thick fluid like blood, but pure white.

Wracked with pain, the serpent thrashed about, knocking nearby Feshi into the sea.

"Keep attacking, aim for the wound!" Pompey had identified the serpent’s weakness and ordered his men to press the assault, while he retrieved his anchor and readied it again.

If Pompey were fighting the serpent one-on-one, he would not fare well. Although he could inflict fatal blows, the serpent would not give him time to gather strength, nor remain stationary like a target. But, unfortunately for the creature, it faced not just Pompey but an entire force.

With repeated attacks, after only four or five more strikes, Pompey finally dismembered the serpent with his anchor.

The Celeste slipped away swiftly, but Kaplan was not yet at ease. He stayed at the stern, instructing the lookout to watch their rear closely, and frequently scanned with his monocular. Only when he saw no sign of pursuit did he feel reassured—the angel statue had proven its worth after all.

"Looks like we've shaken them?" Andersen came up to the deck to ask.

"We can't relax yet," Kaplan replied thoughtfully. "This cargo won't go to Victoria. The Feshi saw us there, who knows if they'll chase us to that port?"

"Then where to?"

"Any other eastern port will do. The black ivory aboard is rumored to come from the New World, and we can fetch a good price anywhere, though we’re just middlemen. Next time, I’ll bring in some cigars—might as well try one myself; they say it’s a luxury for nobles." Kaplan, seeing the Feshi had not caught up, finally allowed himself a bit of humor.

But in the next moment, his cautious nature resurfaced. He ordered a change of course away from Victoria, then descended from the deck and quietly entered the Celeste’s most mysterious little cabin. He opened the door, placed a prepared magic crystal into the ritual created by the Far Eastern man.

The crystal’s energy was drawn out and transmitted through the runes to the wheel beneath the cabin.

The Celeste received an extra boost, slicing through the sea at greater speed, veering from its planned course towards the distant horizon.