Sailor

Castello Island, the largest island in the Cradle of the Sea.

Nineteen Flao Aether Masters clad in purple-gold robes led over three thousand warriors in an assault against the primitive walls constructed of stone and timber.

The front line of the Flao offensive was concentrated with ten psykers and one thousand warriors.

Standing atop the wall, facing the firepower of the ten Aether Masters, was a woman holding a wooden staff topped with the skull of a skeletal sea beast.

Her features were sharp yet soft, her forehead broad and smooth, and her eyebrows thick yet delicate, like two exquisite lines of ink.

Fury flickered in her tea-brown pupils as she raised her fair, delicate left arm, and a bolt of blue lightning tore through the sky, coiling around three of the psykers.

Countless tiny arcs of electricity burrowed into the bodies of the Flao like living creatures, erupting with a crackling sound.

Amidst the flashing blue light, the Aether Masters coughed blood from their noses and mouths, their white hair turning to charcoal and falling away as their bodies convulsed.

The remaining seven psykers each raised their staves to attack the wall, their cunning nature as space pirates driving them to target weaker islanders to wear down the formidable enemy.

Flames rose, ruthlessly consuming several islanders who were firing Vostonia Lasguns.

Several islanders who were wielding Chainswords to fend off Flao warriors were tossed into the air by an invisible force, crashing into the islanders rushing up the wall.

The violent attacks of the psykers instantly left dozens of islanders severely wounded.

The female psyker bit her full, supple lips, aiming her staff at the commander beside her who had lost half his body.

As biochemical psychic energy was injected, his bronze-colored torso began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The commander propped himself up with his hands and climbed to his feet, noticing the female Shaman beside him.

"Shaman Malena, you must leave; we cannot hold them off."

"No," Malena said, her straight nose held high as she lifted her chin with firm resolve, "I have seen it. The Mother of the Sea showed me the arrival of a giant descending from the heavens; he will save our home."

The commander hacked a Flao warrior who had crested the wall to death with his sword, then kicked him hard, sending him tumbling down from the eleven-meter-high rampart.

He looked up at the azure sky, where three Elifa with orange-yellow bellies flew past on azure wings.

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of his mouth; he was certain that the Shaman, who had predicted the alien invasion and that the Vostonians would not arrive in time to help, was wrong this time.

She is merely trying to boost morale.

Just as he was about to look away, he suddenly saw a red speck in the sky gradually growing larger.

The commander rubbed his eyes, then let out a frantic shout.

"They're here! The reinforcements are here!"

Malena's lips curled upward as she raised her staff high, channeling all the power within her body.

Within a radius of several dozen meters in front of her, the hearts of all the Flao began to beat rapidly, their blood churning and surging, their skin color instantly deepening.

With a roar, they lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground, stumbling.

The seven surviving Aether Masters also felt their strength drain away, falling to the ground.

Malena's body swayed, and she had to lean on her staff to keep from collapsing.

She looked up and saw a figure occupying the sky, a giant identical to the one she had seen in the Coral Sea.

Malena strained her neck, following that figure.

He slammed heavily into the midst of the aliens, the earth shaking and the walls trembling.

Hundreds of aliens were instantly crushed to death, and hundreds of raiders were knocked over.

The Aether Masters had just struggled to stand from the "boiling blood" effect when another immense force surged from behind, tossing them into the air.

They strained to turn their heads, but their wide field of vision meant that they had barely turned halfway before they saw a giant arrive before them, and then they lost consciousness.

The commander watched as the seven powerful aliens had their heads instantly shorn off, deep purple blood spraying the ground, and he opened his mouth, only to have kicked-up mud pour in.

By the time he spat out the silt, the ground before him was filled with the severed limbs of aliens.

Nimrod did not pause, leading Maria and the others as he slaughtered the Flao.

Earlier, while overlooking Castello Island from the air, he had already seen that large areas of the island had been looted and destroyed by aliens, with only this largest city and three smaller ones still struggling to hold on.

Just as Nimrod was slaughtering the aliens, Szczesny jumped excitedly from the Assault Boat, plunging into the azure sea.

The moment his body entered the water, he felt as comfortable as a fish returned to the wild.

An Aether Master, drawn by the noise, hurried to the beach and used telekinesis to support his body, hovering temporarily above the water.

On the Assault Boat, two soldiers of the Vostonia 4th Regiment raised their Lasguns, beams of light lashing out at the Flao psyker.

The Aether Master raised a hand, casting a "Force Field."

The beams struck the force field, sending invisible aetheric ripples across it.

The Flao psyker had just blocked the attack when he suddenly felt his ankles being grabbed.

Before the Aether Master could even channel his aetheric energy, he was dragged downward by a massive force and fell into the sea with a splash.

He struggled to channel his aetheric energy, wanting to use telekinesis to force Szczesny away.

Szczesny felt the alien's struggle, and phantom fish scales emerged on the backs of his hands as his five fingers tightened with frantic force.

The Aether Master opened his mouth in pain, and seawater poured into his throat.

Although he possessed a head resembling a shark, the Flao was not a fish; like any other drowning creature, the more he struggled, the faster he sank.

"Sailor," however, remained completely unaffected; he had long since tested his limits and could easily dive for over seventeen minutes without any equipment.

The xenos was dragged down rapidly. Despite being an Aether Master, he was not skilled in biochemical Aether arts and could not generate oxygen for himself, which was fatal for a Flao who required breath.

Szczesny felt the resistance growing weaker. He gave a violent tug, wrapped his arms around the xenos's neck, and twisted with all his might.

Even underwater, "Sailor" could exert his superior strength perfectly, and the Flao's head was snapped clean off by Szczesny.

He kicked the Aether Master's corpse deeper into the water and began to swim upward.

Szczesny ascended over a hundred meters in mere seconds, when he suddenly felt the seawater beneath his feet ripple strangely.

He immediately drew his waterproofed Chainsword, pressed his finger against the activation button, and stared downward with vigilance.

[The xenos's corpse is gone.]

Szczesny grew increasingly wary, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

A moment later, having discovered nothing, he had no choice but to continue his ascent; he still had to command his men to attack Trinio, the second-largest island of the Cradle of the Sea.

Five hours after landing on Castello Island, Nimrod had cleared the entire island of xenos.

He encountered the female psyker he had noticed while looking down from above. His gaze met her tea-brown pupils, and he was surprised to find that while her pupils constricted, she showed no expression of agony.

[Her will is very firm. Though she felt discomfort when meeting my gaze, it could hardly be called torment.

She is even stronger than Howard and Maria, the strongest person I have seen since I crashed into Vostonia.]

Just as Nimrod was deep in thought, the Shaman bowed and spoke in Vostonian Low Gothic.

"Malena Scala offers you her greetings and thanks you for your rescue."