Small Species: Ramming Conch

Opening the silver flip cover, in the center of the complex mechanical dial, a pointer made of green gemstone slowly rotated with a continuous clicking sound, then gradually stopped in the three o'clock direction.

"Level one alert, three o'clock direction, artillery ready!" Gell's command echoed throughout the ship.

Although Evan didn't understand what was happening, he didn't dare to speak carelessly at this moment. On a ship during wartime, there were no relatives, only superiors and subordinates. If he caused a delay in battle by speaking, even if Gell didn't punish him, Evan would never forgive himself.

Evan didn't understand, but that didn't mean the other officers didn't.

"It's actually a Sea Monster! Why would a Sea Monster be willing to come this close to shore?" the Navigator wondered aloud.

"The Sea Monster Pointer isn't very accurate; it can only confirm their existence based on the unique sound waves of Sea Monsters, making it impossible to distinguish their class," the Helmsman said, gripping the helm and carefully adjusting the Silver Wing's course, complaining.

"In a place like the nearshore, encountering a Small Species Sea Monster around thirty meters in size would already be considered lucky. How could there be a Large Species? Not to mention a Giant Species, which is rare even in the deep sea.

And thanks to us having been a Fourth-Rate Battleship, we wouldn't even be issued a Sea Monster Pointer of this precision. We should be content!" The First Mate was the most pragmatic. As the one in charge of the ship's logistics, he naturally knew how rare a Sea Monster Pointer was.

The First Mate, Navigator, and Helmsman stood beside Captain Gell, all having seen the prompt from the peculiar device in Gell's hand. They began to discuss amongst themselves.

The officers had clearly weathered many storms and were not nervous, merely curious as to why a Sea Monster that lived in the deep sea would appear in a nearshore shipping lane.

Evan listened with fascination. Sea Monster legends were still in the realm of stories for him; he hadn't even encountered them during basic training.

What he didn't understand was that various mysticism knowledge related to the hidden world was forbidden knowledge, jointly restricted from widespread dissemination by secular nations and churches.

This was because mysticism knowledge often involved power. Just like the Knight training method, without the corresponding foundational knowledge and guidance from a mentor, the consequences of arbitrarily exploring the unknown were often catastrophic.

The Knight training method wasn't that dangerous; the worst outcome was completely losing one's sanity during a knight's advancement and being controlled by a savage, beast-like body.

While it harmed oneself, it didn't harm too many others.

Among other strange and difficult-to-distinguish mysticism knowledge, it wasn't uncommon for it to hide the lurking of terrifying Evil Gods. One could imagine that if such power got out of control, leading to an irresistible terror, it wouldn't be impossible for it to drag an entire city down with it.

With his family lineage broken, Evan hadn't received much of the hidden mysticism knowledge of the world's depths beyond the core knightly inheritance. Steward Leo wouldn't have taught him such temporarily useless knowledge at the time.

This was also not something new recruits should be exposed to in the Navy training camp. By the time they truly needed to face mysticism of this level, most of them would already be crew members or even officers of a Fourth-Rate Battleship, with plenty of time to learn from their seniors.

Therefore, since transmigrating to this world, besides the tangible power of an Extraordinary Knight, Evan hadn't seen much in terms of seafaring technology and science that surpassed the era he came from.

Only now did he feel a bit like he was in a fantastical, alien world.

Then his first thought was:

"Wow! My first battle at sea as a recruit is against a Sea Monster. I'm so awesome!"

"It's here!"

Ignoring the discussion behind him, Gell was the first to spot the Sea Monster's trace, as the colossal creature made no effort to hide itself.

Accompanied by a huge splash, a giant conch shell, taller than a house, broke through the sea mist and appeared within everyone's sight.

Its black shell, hard and with a metallic sheen, had long, deep blue tentacles waving beneath the water, churning the sea. Combined with its size, which defied common sense, it was simply astonishing!

As soon as it appeared.

The sea monster, resembling a giant conch, spewed forth an endless stream of seawater from behind it, accelerating instantly. It charged forward at high speed like an indestructible battering ram, with the momentum to shatter the Silver Wing!

Stunned into silence, Evan now imagined what that merchant ship had encountered. He could also understand the despair they must have felt being struck by a "battering ram" larger than a house on the sea!

"Confirmed Sea Monster type: Small Species 'Ramming Conch'. Gunner, concentrate fire on the starboard side! Fire!" Gell, worthy of being a seasoned former battleship captain, quickly identified the Sea Monster's type and calmly ordered the artillery attack. The powerful lung capacity of his Knight class allowed his commands to resonate like thunder, echoing throughout the entire warship.

"Received! Distance 0.5 nautical miles, target directly ahead, Ramming Conch, fire!" The Gunner's shout followed immediately. The crew of the artillery team didn't need to think; they just had to execute the orders of their superior.

Perhaps this Sea Monster had no experience fighting human warships. The angle of attack it chose was precisely in front of one of the ship's broadsides, a direction that would maximize the firepower of the ship's cannons.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...

Amidst the continuous roar of artillery fire, orange-red flames cut across the sea. The first volley of twenty cannons fired simultaneously. Most of the whistling solid shot landed in the seawater beside it, with only a mere three hitting its conch shell, emitting a tremendous clang like metal striking metal!

Evan saw small fragments of its shell fall from the Sea Monster, and its speed also decreased.

The bombardment was effective! The Sea Monster wasn't impervious to damage!

Gell remained calm and composed; he had experienced similar scenes countless times. Although Sea Monsters were the true rulers of the deep sea, that referred to "Giant Species" or even "Children of the Sea God." This Small Species could still be dealt with using the warship's cannons.

As long as the order wasn't rescinded, the bombardment would continue.

After another volley, as if divinely aided, five cannonballs struck the Sea Monster simultaneously. Even its thick shell was damaged in one spot, injuring its main body. The Sea Monster let out a piercing, infant-like shriek from a hidden mouth.

"Yeee--"

Even though it was less than five hundred meters from the Silver Wing, as if it could shatter it in the next moment, the Sea Monster no longer dared to charge recklessly. After letting out another cry filled with hatred, it submerged into the sea.

"Did it escape?" Evan looked around. Only he didn't understand the Sea Monster's behavior and couldn't predict its next move.

The habits of animals in nature were diverse. Some would choose to retreat and find other prey after a slight setback, while others were vengeful and impossible to shake off once they latched on. Evan didn't know which category this Sea Monster belonged to.

"Gunner, prepare Alchemy Bombs, be ready for underwater attacks!"

"Yes, sir! Alchemy Bombs ready, first batch of ten sets, Bombardier ready!"

After issuing new orders, Gell turned back to explain to Evan:

"The Ramming Conch is a relatively common Small Species Sea Monster. Its most common attack method is to churn the water on the sea's surface and charge at ships, but it is also very cunning. You cannot judge its absolute strength solely by its size.

The Sea Monsters in the Black Sea are all Retinue of the Sea Monster Mother Ecto. They attack human ships not for food, but out of hatred for land creatures ingrained in their bloodline, viewing land creatures as traitors to the sea!"

Gell's tone became very serious as he said this:

"Encountering them in the ocean usually ends with one side falling forever. Remember! As long as you don't see its corpse, you can never let your guard down."

The existence of sea monsters falls under more basic mysticism knowledge, which can be spread to frontline combat personnel with limitations.

However, what Gell just said strictly speaking involved core knowledge pertaining to the Source of Mysticism. Some mystics can even gain bestowed power through rituals by using the names of divine beings.

This was only because he was facing Evan. If it were anyone else, even a young officer he valued highly, Gell wouldn't have gratuitously explained such a level of extraordinary knowledge.

Even if Extraordinary Knights couldn't directly use this knowledge to gain power, its value was undeniable. In the eyes of wild extraordinary individuals lacking systematic inheritance, this was an priceless treasure!

The officers around Gell exchanged glances. Based on their understanding of Gell, they instantly seemed to grasp something, and their gazes towards Evan became even more amiable.

"Click, click, click..." The Sea Monster Pointer's sound grew more urgent. The green jewel pointer spun round and round, as if out of control.

"Order! Gunner, deploy ordnance, target directly below the battleship!"

"Bombardier, first wave, target directly below, deploy!"

Following the Gunner's loud command, the sound of heavy objects falling into the water, "plop," came from both port and starboard sides of the ship.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"...

Muffled explosions sounded continuously from underwater. It was unclear whether they had hit their target or landed on the seabed. This era lacked underwater detection equipment, especially when facing an opponent as extraordinary as a sea monster. All that could be relied upon was the commander's experience.

Although Gell was confident in defeating a Small Species, it was still the opponent's home turf in the vast ocean. Any misjudgment could plunge him into immense danger.

Glancing at the still erratically spinning Sea Monster Pointer, Gell decisively issued an order:

"Sail Master, hoist the sails! We're leaving this area."

Since this sea monster wanted to play hide-and-seek, they would find a way to provoke it, making it reveal itself.

"Aye aye, sir! Hoist sails, full sail speed!"

"Heave ho-- Heave ho--"

As the Sail Master's order was given, accompanied by the sailors' chants, the sails on the three main masts were raised in an orderly fashion, then filled by the sea breeze.

But Evan immediately felt something was wrong!

Although the fog was quite thick and the wind wasn't strong, it also meant the waves weren't high, allowing all sails to be hoisted – what's commonly known as sailing at full sail. Yet, the warship's speed hadn't noticeably increased. It felt...

As if it were being held back by something!