Before Luke had even finished speaking, Madam Tasia's momentum deflated.
As a sea people, the ocean was like pastureland to the Naga. For a very, very long time, sailing ships built by land-dwellers had been the prey of the Naga.
Back then... they could easily chase down sailboats relying on the wind.
They could evade cannon and crossbow fire beneath the waves, then attack the fragile hulls. If those aboard did not want their ships to sink, they had no choice but to pay tribute to the Naga.
Throughout those long years, the Naga controlled the sea routes and lived exceedingly well.
But over the past century, the continent had entered an era of cultural renaissance and industrial revolution.
Every year, the volume of ocean trade broke the previous year's records. Wealth had made every nation on the continent realize the importance of naval power.
Competition over the oceans had been especially fierce in recent decades.
New types of ships were launched into the water, setting off another tide of great voyages.
The Naga, who considered themselves the masters of the sea, discovered at this time...
Chasing ships powered by steam engines was no longer as easy as before.
Even if they caught up, they could not simply dive beneath the hull. The current would sweep them into the propellers and mince them into chunks of flesh.
Even if the bold and highly skilled managed to reach the bottom of a ship, they could do nothing against its metal hull.
Meanwhile, land-dwellers sailed their new ships into waters inhabited by the Naga, using fishing nets and harpoon guns to capture them at will, slaughtering or selling them.
Fishbone Island was the settlement where Madam Tasia ruled her Naga tribe. The harsh living conditions had made their lives increasingly difficult.
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