The parchment trembled slightly in Kolsh's hands.
Not because of the current, but because the line written on it filled him with suspicion.
[Large deep-sea creature discovered. Abnormal behavior, apparently frightened. It has fled.]
"That's all?" Kolsh stared at the scout captain before him.
"Captain, it really was just a big, brainless brute." The scout captain waved his tentacles dismissively.
"It looked like a Storm Colossal Squid, only bigger. As soon as we approached, it panicked and started crashing into everything. It even knocked down half an undersea hill."
Kolsh set down the report.
"Where did it go after knocking down the hill?"
"Toward the deep sea."
"Would a frightened beast choose the deepest channel to escape?"
The scout captain froze. "Well... maybe it's smarter than most?"
Kolsh said nothing more and waved the scout away.
He dug out an earlier report-traces of a large creature had been discovered in the deep-sea region during the harassment operations against the harbor.
Two reports, two sightings.
Three days apart and ten nautical miles away from each other, but both on the fringes of the Many-Armed Folk's operational range.
Kolsh marked the positions on the nautical chart with a tentacle.
A patrol route emerged.
"Damn it."
He swam toward the Vanguard General's quarters.
Glash was roaring, while several adjutants cowered in a corner.
"The harbor defenses were stronger than expected? Those spineless landlubbers actually dared to fight back! We lost three assault teams without a single worthwhile result!"
Glash slammed his tentacles onto the table, sending spiderweb cracks through its stone surface.
Kolsh waited for the roaring to stop before swimming forward.
"General, a suspicious target has appeared in the outer waters."
"It's just a beast!" Glash gave the report a cursory glance and waved impatiently.
"Our enemies are those spineless