"Emergency announcement! Emergency announcement! Passengers, we are under attack by a Sea King, but please remain calm! Do not panic!"
"We have sent a request for help to the Navy, and they will be here soon. There is no need to panic! Our passenger ship is sturdy enough to hold out until the Navy arrives. Please remain calm, do not wander around, and wait in your cabins!"
"Emergency announcement..."
Listening to the emergency announcement playing over and over on the broadcast, Ages raised an eyebrow. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he spoke.
"I knew it was a Sea King, heh heh. Just when I was worried I couldn't find anyone to spar with... one comes right to my door."
With that, Ages hurried off to the dining room, intending to fill his stomach before going to meet the Sea King.
Outside the passenger ship.
Roar!
A Sea King with a turtle's head and a fish's body was ramming the passenger ship. After every collision, it threw back its head and roared, as if challenging the people aboard and proclaiming its own strength.
Bang!
Roar!
Another impact rocked the passenger ship once again.
"Captain, hurry and give the order to fire! If it keeps ramming us like this, the ship will sink before the Navy gets here. The side planking has already been caved in. If this goes on, the stringers will break!"
(Stringers are longitudinal structural members on both sides of a ship's hull.)
Hearing the first mate's anxious voice, the passenger ship's captain struggled with the decision for a moment before turning to give the crew behind him their orders.
"Fire! Open fire on that Sea King! Do everything you can to hold it off until the Navy arrives!"
"Yes, sir!" the crew answered. They immediately rushed to the gun emplacements and picked up rifles, preparing to fight back.
Watching the crew rush to make preparations, the captain sighed. A look of worry crossed his aged face as he spoke softly.
"I hope this doesn't enrage the Sea King... Navy, please hurry..."
"Fire!!" the first mate shouted at the top of his lungs.
Bang! Bang! Bang...
Boom! Boom...
Whoosh!
A series of sharp whistles tore through the air as several cannonballs blasted toward the Sea King.
The rest of the crew also raised their rifles and opened fire on the Sea King!
Boom! Boom! Boom...
Boom! Boom...
The cannonballs and bullets struck the Sea King, which was as large as the passenger ship, with unerring accuracy.
Roar!!
The exploding cannonballs produced thick black smoke that billowed around the Sea King, hiding it from view.
But hearing the turtle-shaped Sea King's roars from within the smoke, the first mate and the others were delighted.
"Hahahaha... We hit it! Let's see if you dare act so cocky now, you turtle! Hahaha!" the first mate laughed heartily.
The captain, however, did not laugh. On the contrary, he frowned deeply and murmured.
"That roar doesn't sound like a cry of pain..."
The captain turned out to be right. Just as he muttered in puzzlement, the sound came.
An utterly furious bellow erupted from the black smoke!
Roar-roar!!!
The roar instantly dispersed the black smoke...
"H-how... is that... possible...? We... definitely... h-hit... it!"
The first mate stared dumbfounded at the Sea King revealed as the smoke cleared. It bore not a single sign of injury. He stammered in terror.
Looking at the furiously roaring Sea King, the captain's mouth twisted bitterly.
"Alas... we really did enrage it..."
After sighing, the captain raised his head, his expression grave.
"Prepare for a full bombardment! Since we've enraged it, do everything you can to stop it while we wait for rescue!"
As the captain directed the all-out effort to hold it off,
the turtle-shaped Sea King had not been injured by the cannonballs, but the force of their explosions had caused it pain.
This enraged the turtle-shaped Sea King. Humans so much smaller than itself had dared to look down on it.
Feeling the pain where the cannonballs had struck, the turtle-shaped Sea King threw back its head and roared!
Roar-roar!!!
It then ignored the hail of gunfire and cannonballs raining down on it and rammed the passenger ship madly.
Boom! Boom... boom!
Bang!! Bang!!
Crack!
Amid the sounds of the turtle-shaped Sea King's collisions, a cracking noise rang out.
"Captain, this is bad! The side planking has been smashed through, and water's getting into the hold! Captain, what do we do?! Are we going to die?!"
A crewman in the hold reported to the captain in a panic through a Den Den Mushi.
"Don't panic! Hurry and make emergency repairs, plug the breach, and open the drainage valves. Order the crew in the passenger cabins to evacuate the passengers quickly!"
"We'll do our best to draw the Sea King's attention with cannon fire. Have the others take the passengers away in lifeboats from the other side of the ship."
The captain wiped away the sweat streaming down his forehead. As he continued giving orders in an orderly fashion, he pulled a pocket watch containing a photograph from his breast and looked at it.
Gazing at the photograph in the watch, showing his grandson's lively, innocent smile, he spoke in his heart, feeling somewhat desperate.
Xiaodouzi, Grandpa might not be able to come back for your birthday...
After grieving in his heart for a moment, the elderly captain clenched the pocket watch in his hand and spoke into the Den Den Mushi.
"Attention, all hands! Do everything you can to stop the Sea King! We must make sure the passengers get away unharmed!"
Hearing the captain's solemn words, the first mate was filled with regret. His lips trembled as he spoke.
"Captain... I'm sorry!... I shouldn't have enraged the Sea King..."
The elderly captain patted the first mate on the shoulder and comforted him.
"It's not your fault. I'm partly responsible too. I'm the captain, after all. How could you have attacked the Sea King without my permission?"
"All right... don't regret it anymore. Once the crew has evacuated the passengers, hurry and leave too."
Hearing the captain's tone, the first mate turned pale with shock.
"What about you, Captain?"
The elderly captain forced a smile.
"Heh... I'm the captain. How could I leave first without regard for the safety of the passengers and crew?"
"Captain..."
The first mate looked at the elderly captain, who had forced a resolute smile onto his wrinkled face, and tears streamed down his cheeks.
The first mate prayed in his heart.
God! Save us... Can you really bear to let such a good captain go...?