Deep blue waves shattered the meter-thick ice and swept inland with the broken shards. In the frigid seawater, lighter-colored currents wound through the deep blue.
Hidden within the currents were Sea Monsters beyond the power of words to describe. Each current contained a giant snail-like ammonite, its shell pitch-black except for a few cracks that glowed a dark red.
These Fire-Pattern Ammonites kept the surrounding Sea Monsters warm enough to cast spells and move quickly in water near freezing.
With magic to empower them, the Sea Monsters had been able to enter the largest lake north of the Gallop Plains after winter set in, following several fjords into Moonfall Lake.
On the 30th, the blood of the Sea Beastmen had stained the largest estuary in the northern part of Moonfall Lake dark red.
Underwater, hundreds of Merfolk warriors clashed with Sea Lion Clan Beastmen. The coral knives commonly used by the Merfolk were not very effective against the Sea Lion Clan, and they would fare even worse against the Walrus-folk's enormous tusks.
But the Sea Beastmen had a weakness of their own: they couldn't breathe underwater for very long. Keep them fighting hard underwater to use up their oxygen, then pin them down so they couldn't surface for air, and they would drown.
The two sides' corpses piled up along the riverbank. Behind the front line, Sea Monsters in the depths faced off against Dragon Beasts in the sky. If the Sea Monsters joined the fight between the Merfolk and the Sea Beastmen, the Dragon Beasts would dive in without hesitation, seize them, and carry them aloft to devour them. Conversely, if the Dragon Beasts dared to dive in and fish, the Sea Monsters would use their tentacles to make sure they never left the water.
Watching the bloody scene