Killing Mermen

The deep sea.

It was not safe here.

In the bottomless waters, there were enormous sea beasts and all kinds of Merman tribes.

These Merman tribes were like bandits of the deep sea, plundering every passing ship.

Even ships guarded by wizards had to let these Mermen test their mettle.

Wizards were powerful, but there were powerful Mermen too—and in even greater numbers. If a real battle broke out, the Mermen were not afraid of wizards.

They raided ships escorted by wizards not merely for food, but also to reproduce.

The humans aboard these ships all had the potential to become wizards and possessed talent for casting spells.

To Mermen, that was an excellent talent as well. They captured humans not to mate with them and produce mixed-blood offspring.

They did so to eat those humans, or use special methods to seize part of their talent.

In the upper cabins, wizard apprentices and wizards had already engaged the attacking Mermen.

The battle was extremely fierce. In terms of combat power, the wizards were certainly stronger, but the Mermen were numerous and fearless of death.

To protect the more gifted wizard apprentices, these wizards had no way to withdraw.

There were too many Mermen. They clung to the ship and climbed upward.

These ships all bore sorcery runes. Their hulls and outer walls were extremely sturdy, not something ordinary Mermen could break through.

Yet there were still powerful Mermen who smashed several large holes directly into the ship, allowing swarms of Mermen to enter.

At once, shrill screams from boys and girls rang out from the areas near the Merman intrusion inside the ship.

As the rustling sounds of Mermen crawling nearby and their gurgling cries drew closer and closer,

Molly's body shook even more violently.

Charles gripped his knight's sword and took two deep breaths, calming himself.

Judging from all the signs, the Mermen were vast in number and could hold their own against the wizards above.

They had huge numbers yet could not swiftly end the fight. That meant most of the Mermen were not very strong.

Thinking of that, Charles felt much calmer.

Outside the door, the sounds of Mermen crawling grew closer. Every so often came the sounds of doors being smashed open.

Hearing the Mermen rushing closer through the passage, Charles and Molly both held their breath.

Molly slowly climbed down from the bed, wearing ill-fitting leather armor and holding a dagger.

Charles glanced back at her but said nothing.

At a time like this, any extra strength meant a little more safety.

Gurgling Merman cries sounded outside again, accompanied by the increasingly close sounds of doors being smashed. Charles and Molly both tensed up.

Bang! Bang!

The pounding echoed through the room. The Mermen had arrived at Charles's door.

Just as Charles swallowed hard and prepared for battle,

a group of people suddenly screamed somewhere nearby.

Molly's eyes flew wide. Amid those screams, she had heard familiar voices.

Trembling, Molly removed the strip of cloth gagging her mouth, leaned close to Charles's ear, and whispered, "They... that team's room was broken into!"

Molly's voice trembled, her warm breath brushing against Charles's ear.

But Charles had no time to care about the intimate atmosphere.

He reached out, covered Molly's mouth, and shot her a cold glare.

The Mermen outside were drawn by the screams from the room whose door had been smashed open. Several of them surged away.

Before long, cries of agony and the sounds of fighting came from that direction.

Eventually, the sounds grew more distant. Clearly, those unlucky people had all been taken away by the Mermen.

Only two Mermen remained outside Charles's door, and they continued smashing against it.

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

Listening to the impacts against the door, Charles tightened his grip on his sword, then loosened it again.

He knew that if they kept striking it like this, the wooden door would give way sooner or later.

The Mermen smashed open nearly every door to check inside,

but not every room in the middle cabins was occupied. Many people had formed teams, leaving quite a few rooms empty.

With only two Mermen at the door, once they broke it open, Molly and Charles would be trapped inside with nowhere to escape.

So Charles made a bold decision.

He leaned close to Molly's ear and said, "I'll move the clutter aside. You open the door."

"I'm going to kill the two Mermen outside. Otherwise, once they break down the door, we'll die anyway!"

"This is our chance. The other Mermen have been drawn away."

At his words, Molly's eyes widened round, almost unable to believe what Charles had said.

When Charles removed his hand, she shook her head repeatedly in fright.

Charles drew his sword, wrapped an arm around Molly's shoulders, pulled her into his embrace, and gently patted her back as he soothed her. "Don't be afraid. Trust me!"

"Once you open the door, hide behind it. Don't worry. You'll be safe."

Feeling Charles's presence, Molly finally calmed down a little.

Charles released Molly, then slowly moved the clutter aside. After signaling to Molly with his eyes,

Molly gritted her teeth and suddenly pulled open the door bolt.

The two Mermen pounding on the door had no time to react. Still following their previous rhythm, they slammed into the door. As it abruptly opened, their momentum carried them crashing straight into Charles's room.

The two Mermen fell in a daze. One of them saw a pair of deerskin boots before him.

"Gurgle?"

He called out in confusion. Raising his head, he saw a snow-bright blade beneath the candlelight.

Charles gripped his sword tightly, unleashing all his strength. The Knight Seed activated, power flooding into both his hands.

"Die!"

Charles's voice seemed to squeeze out through clenched teeth as his sword drove straight into the Merman's neck.

The sharp blade instantly sliced open the Merman's throat. A great spray of Merman blood burst forth, giving the Merman opposite him a bloody face mask.

The other Merman gurgled in horror.

He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, gripping a fork fashioned from coral.

"Hiss!"

The Merman hunched over and let out a hissing roar at Charles, watching him warily, ready to thrust his fork at any moment.

To this Merman, his companion's death had not frightened him. Most ordinary Mermen were clearly not very intelligent and simply did not know fear.

The Merman suddenly thrust out his fork, but Charles was prepared and swung his sword to block.

When their strength collided, the fork was knocked backward at once. One of the coral fork's prongs nearly snapped off.

At that moment, Charles had a clear measure of him. This Merman was weak too. One or two of them were no match at all for a knight like him.

The Merman was forced back, hunching over and hissing.

Behind the door, Molly gritted her teeth, drew her dagger, and plunged it fiercely into the Merman's back.

"Hiss!!"

The Merman howled in pain and quickly turned around. His savage, twisted face gave Molly a terrible fright.

Charles seized the chance and swung his sword, cleaving through the Merman's neck and shoulder together.

The Merman fell to the floor trembling, blood spraying wildly.