With the grand-elders being informed on the current situation and all that Akira had learned recently, new plans were put in place to begin the production of a massive order for new models of medium and large sea-worthy sailing ships.
The shipbuilders who spent most of the winter months doing small carpentry jobs to fill the lull until the warm months were now full of joy when they learned how many ships had been ordered. At least this winter and for the foreseeable future there would not be any hard months where they could barely scrape by.
The dockworkers only took a day to fully load up the few ships along with its sailors and marines for the planned excursion to the north with the mermaids.
Akira had already bid Mileena, Sylvie, and Wyt goodbye before boarding the newest and largest ship of Kodria’s small fleet the [K.S. Wulfric] named in honor of his grandfather. [K.S. Wulfric] and its sister ship [K.S SeaSurfer] were the only large man-o-war ships in Kodria’s navy currently. The remaining 4 sea-worthy ships were all frigates which included a refit [K.S. Pointy]and [K.S. Hail].
The six ships were well-armed and manned for the dangerous seas. With the four frigates now carrying 9 medium-sized ballistas on each broadside of the ship while also carrying over 400 sailors and marines. The two large Man-o’-war ships had three decks and were able to carry over 20 medium-sized ballistas on each broadside of the ship with 500 to 700 sailors and marines. They both had large fore and aft castles to protect and allow the archers to have the high ground (Reeeeee!) on the open sea.
The two large Man-O’-war were far more spacious than the smaller frigates but that was not saying much as they were all crammed together on the ship with nowhere else to go.
The planned future ships for Kodria’s navy would be similar to [K.S. Wulfric].
Kodria’s navy had just enough sailors and marines to fully man each of the ships to their maximum capacity. This was not a simple patrolling mission and they were expecting to engage in a fierce battle with the legendary sea creature.
Since all of this was going to happen out at sea, Kodria’s army would not be participating in this battle and would be focused on protecting the new kingdom as well as helping continue to root out the remaining demigods that had not been pushed out of the continent.
Akira stood in the Aft castle allowing him to see everything clearly as they sailed down the river behind ‘little blue’ the medium-sized whale that was plowing through the middle of the river causing the waters to become muddy as it cleared the bottom of the river and its sides.
He watched in amazement at the sight as long undisturbed fallen trees, sunken ships, and other obstructions were pushed out of the way creating a deeper and clearer path for all ships now and in the future. This unusual way of dredging the river would greatly help Kodria’s transportation and the merchants that would want to sail to the capital with ships filled with even more merchandise to sell.
Behind Kodria’s 6 ships was Captain Pegleg’s own ship, but for some reason Captain Pegleg had decided to join Akira on [K.S. Wulfric] instead of his own.
“You really do have some nice smips! Better than many of the ones I have managed to capture. But they are not enough!”
“We’re working on that. Hopefully, by the time we are back we will have one or two new ships ready to sail depending on how long this voyage will take,” said Akira patting Captain Wulcot’s shoulder. “I’ll have to promote you to admiral with all the new ships being added under your command.”
“It would be nice to get some new larger ships like these. Then we could really rain a lot of pain down on the enemy ships and land targets! With ships like these we could carry a whole army of marines for shore raids,” said Captain Wulcot.
As he was talking with Captain Pegleg and Wulcot, one of the war chariots pulled up beside the ship holding Cora and a few guards. The Quilins pulling the chariot to keep pace with the ship looked like they were galloping through the water as they rose and fell along with the waves.
“When we reach the large island near the end of the river we will be waiting for the other warriors from the other demon race sea clans. If they are already there, then we can head directly to the forbidden zone,” shouted Cora so that Akira could hear her.
“That sounds fine. We are just coming along to provide any help you need. From what you have told me about this legendary creature this issue can not be brushed off or ignored,” said Akira.
“We can catch up on other stuff later when we arrive at the meeting place!” said Cora waving at Akira before her chariot bolted forward heading towards the cabin on ‘little blue’.
With such a large force of naval power, there were no issues as they traveled down the river and reached the island that Captain Pegleg had claimed as his own.
There were half a dozen crudely built wooden docks jutting out far into the deeper waters where several ships of various sizes were tied to each side of the docks. Both the docks and ships were packed with skeletal sailors walking about doing who knows what.
Most of the ships tied to the docks had so many holes from the battles they were in that Akira was amazed they were still able to float. he knew that Captain Pegleg had some sort of secret skill that supported such ships to sail even in such conditions but no living human would voluntarily step onto them for fear of it sinking.
A short distance behind the docks atop a decent-sized hill there were several crudely built stone and dirt fortresses that had been built to guard the left and right flank of the docks. Behind the forts was a walled-off city that was teaming with the undead skeletons.
It was a rather odd if not creepy thing to see. If they were not allies he would be more freaked out about all of this. The population of skeletal sailors and warriors was far greater than when Akira had first met Captain Pegleg. Some of the skeletons looked to be sentient as they were watching the new ships arrive. He guessed that these were the demigods that had changed their race and joined Captain Pegleg.
“Well what do you think?” asked Captain Pegleg while watching the different expressions on Akira’s face as he stared at everything.
“It’s, uh, really something,” said Akira.
“If you like, I can have some of my sailors show you around the coastline. I know a few choice spots that I don’t want. When you pick the spot you want to build your base, I can have my men start clearing and building everything for you!” said the ever so generous captain Pegleg.
“That would be much appreciated but you only need to work on the most basic things as Kodria will bring its own builders to work on the major facilities and other structures needed. Right now I will let one of the naval officers more knowledgeable on this matter take the tour.”
Before leaving the ship Akira issued a few orders for a team to head out along the coastline of the island and scout for a decent build suit. Several other smaller scouting parties were sent farther inland to see what food, water, and other materials were on the island. It would be a real help if they could stock up on water and food before starting the voyage ahead of them.
Akira did not go far away from the ships as he stayed close to the shore so that he could talk with Cora and Shaarla catching up on events that happened with each other since the last time they had seen each other while they waited for the other sea clans to arrive.
Within a half hour, the first of the three sea clans they were waiting for arrived. They were the Jellymuns, a humanoid jellyfish demon race with tentacle hair and different shades of blue or pink skin.
A short time after them warriors with shark-heads full of sharp teeth arrived followed by a scaly humanoid demon race that had no hair or nose only two eyes and a mouth.
Akira was rather surprised to see several of the gathered demon races as he knew that they did not get along most of the time due to the deep grudges with each other over the many centuries worth of fighting.
This issue seemed to be severe enough that they were able to put down such grudges and fight alongside each other… at least for now.
Still, even with them working together they did not want to talk, and seeing that everyone had arrived they set out to the forbidden zone without saying a word.
There wasn’t much to write home about the trip since everything looked the same and Akira could only tell the time by the sun and moon. They had already been sailing for over a week and he was told that they had just reached the edges of the guarded area.
Near the latter half of the week, Akira was looking through a long collapsible telescope and saw a group of 9 small black ships in the distance.
“Awooooo!” The lookout in the crow’s nest also spotted them and sounded the alarm repeatedly howling.
Sailors and marines all put down what they were doing and immediately went to their battle stations.
As Akira scanned the distant targets for several minutes he finally let out a sigh.
The ships were not headed towards them or the forbidden zone, but deeper into the ocean. From what he could see, they did not seem to be demigod ships.
“Everyone as you were! Stand down!” shouted Akira, not sure what terminology to use with the sailors and marines.
Cora and Shaarla came over to their ships to chat with Akira.
“We also saw the ships, but they seem to be heading somewhere else. They’re most likely merchant ships since similar ships pass by here all the time. We are only a few days away from our destination. We’ll need your ships to take control of the waters above us and keep away both human and sea creatures that may come to interfere,” said Cora.
“You never know what might happen. We can not allow others to interfere with this battle. If you have warriors that are skilled at swimming we can take them with us to help fight any minions that may be lurking around the area. The demon sea races will be the ones to fight the legendary sea monster as we are the most skilled in such fights,” said Shaarla.
“All of the sailors and marines can swim and fight so you can take as many as you want. The only problem as you probably know is they can not breathe underwater.”
“Not to worry we have enough enchanted breathing scales that they can use.”
***
When the allied expeditionary force reached the forbidden zone, a small group of guards in charge of guarding the area came up to the sea level to greet them.
They led the ships even deeper into the forbidden zone where they pointed out spots for the ships to anchor in a safe enough area while also forming a screening circle around pitch black center which Cora called the abyss pit.
“I can take you down if you want to help fight?” said Cora offering Akira a hand that was not even close to reaching him so high above the water.
“Yap!” said Fluffball who did not like the look of the dark hole below them.
Akira rubbed Fluffball’s head and turned to the marines who had volunteered to swim down and provide support, “Let’s not waste any time. Throw the rope nets over and let’s get in!”
A few splashes were heard as the rope nets were thrown over allowing the marines to climb down into the water.
Akira was one of the last to enter the water and… he was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not freezing cold like the waters near Kodria.
Cora and Shaarla both agily swam over to Akira making sure that he and the marines were not going to drown.
“Well… I guess we could have worse helpers…” said Shaarla as she looked at the floating marines whose swimming skills were little more than that of a baby mermaid.
“Follow us!” said an energetic Cora before diving under the water.
Akira and the marines followed the two princesses down deep under water and as they swam farther the light from the sun grew dim and the water grew colder and colder.
The chariots pulled by the Quilin had light stones embedded in them and were bright enough to light up the entire area around each one so that no one got lost and were able to follow the princesses closer and closer to the pit.
Akira and the marines all gave a sigh of relief when they reached a large cliff that surrounded the huge pit that had a width that was even larger than Kodria’s lake. They were not entering the pit but joining the guards at a fortified watch post that had been set up on the cliff.
Shaarla escorted the marines to one of the buildings that had been built in a way that no water entered them allowing people to stay relatively dry and warm while sleeping or eating if they wanted.
Akira stared with Cora at the edge of the pit and looked into the silent darkness not seeing anything of interest. The only thing he noticed that was off was the water around the pit moving differently from the water everywhere else.
“That’s from its breathing,” explained Cora seeing Akira focus on the different currents. “It will wake up anytime now. All we have to do is wait. If it wakes up and decides to go on a rampage we must stop it at all costs.”
Akira spent the next few hours standing near the pit but nothing happened so he returned to the dry building with the marines and spent a day doing nothing but waiting inside.
On the second day as Akira and the marines were finishing breakfast the fortified watchtowers’ silent alarms began to ring, warning everyone of movement from deep within the abyss!
“Everyone stick together! If we get lost in the darkness that will be the fastest way to be picked off! Do not leave the fortified area,” said Akira before hopping into the pool underneath the dry house and swimming out to join the gathering sea clans.
Everyone was on pins and needles holding their breath as they watched a dark shadow approach the surface.
The first thing that came to Akira’s mind as he saw the outline was, ‘Looks smaller than I expected.’
As it got closer he was able to see more details. A long black scaly neck, sharp silver teeth, and three stubby horns on its head in the shape of a crown. It had a chubby little body with four small scaly flippers and a hard spiky shell covering its back.
Everyone was on guard ready to fight as they stared at the legendary beast.
“Uh…are you sure this is the monstrous legendary beast?” asked Akira, as he stared at it for a while but nothing showed up above its head making him even more confused.
“I’m not sure… We have never seen it before, only heard stories about it…” said Shaarla.
The legendary beast did not attack them and instead ignored them as it chased some fish around, managing to catch a few and eat them after a few minutes of wild swimming.
“It’s… so cute!” said Cora pointing at the legendary creature.
That was when the creature first took notice of them and swam back towards the pit as it squeaked out something unknown language.
Akira had to admit it was rather cute. He could not think this was the menace that he had been hearing about for the past several weeks.
A deep aquatic voice similar to the squeak escaped from deep below in the abyss. The voice caused the ground below, their bodies, and the ships far above them to vibrate.
For the first time, Akira could see something appear in the abyss. Two enormous gold eyes were staring out at them. The young legendary beast looked at them one last time before returning to the pit and quickly swimming back toward the large unblinking yellow eyes.
Swooosh! In only seconds a head as big as a hill with a neck taller than the tallest tree that Akira had ever seen shot out of the abyss pit. Its mouth was filled with two rows of silver sword-length teeth. On its armored back, the smallest of the spikes were all taller than a 6ft human and just as wide if not wider at the base.
As Akira took in all this it finally dawned on him! The legendary beast was a mother now?
“Was she in the past protecting herself and her territory while pregnant?” asked Akira as he watched the legendary beast stare at them.
“There were too many reports about the destruction that was brought to coastal lands, sea cities, and ships being chased and sunk just for her to be protecting her territory…” said Shaarla.
The legendary beast was having a silent staring contest with them not moving or blinking.
The princesses who were able to speak with all sea creatures decided to break the ice and communicate with it using the odd echoing voice.
The conversation lasted for several minutes, and the looks on the two’s faces were quite comical as they listened and talked to the legendary beast.
“Well?” asked Akira.
“She’s uh… not that nice. She told us to not bother her,” said Cora.
“She said she only allowed us to stay here since we kept people from bothering her. Otherwise, she had no problem with coming out and eating us. We have unwittingly been her royal guards for centuries…,” said Shaarla.
“…and her past?”
“Well… she claims that she was just playing around with them and when she was bored with them, she just smacked them away with her tail and left,” said Cora.
“So… what are we supposed to do? We can’t have such a creature causing havoc like that for us!”
“I think we should leave her be! If she is not going to attack or go on a rampage,” said Cora.
The sea clans all argued for over ten minutes with the legendary beast watching them the entire time.
For what it was worth Akira sided with the princesses not wanting to anger such a fierce-looking creature that looked to be even more powerful than Balue.
With the clans coming to an agreement the two princesses offered their terms to the legendary creature who thought for a few moments before nodding its head and returning to the deep abyss.
They had formed a mutual understanding with the legendary creature. Not exactly an alliance but now they were not enemies or food…
Ding!
-
The awakening legend secret option was completed!
Level up!
‘That was far simpler than I expected….’ thought Akira.
With there being no need to stay any longer they all returned to the surface and climbed back onto the waiting ships.
Akira looked to the distant sky and saw a storm was brewing.
“That looks like a rather nasty storm being cooked up. We better head back to the island as fast as we can. We wouldn’t want to get caught by it,” said Captain Wulcot.
“Indeed,” said Akira as he dried off and hugged an energetic Fluffball that had not seen him for two days.
