Chapter 317

At that moment, *thud!* The deck swayed momentarily with a heavy reverberation. Simultaneously, a shockwave began spreading across the deck, and as it reached the barnacles densely covering the deck, they fell off as if they never had the ability to cling in the first place.

“Don’t lose hope, everyone! Fight to the end! Don’t let your arms rest! A warrior doesn’t live on their knees—they rise to die! Hahahaha!”

At the source of the shockwave was a Lizardman, his bulging muscles tirelessly swinging a spear.

“…Mr. Kurt?”

No. It wasn’t him.

A menacing snake skull helmet covered his entire face. Though similarly massive, his pumped-up silhouette contrasted with Kurt’s leaner frame. His aggressive and boisterous shouts confirmed it—this wasn’t Kurt but Kirsh, one of the reinforcements Kurt had called.

With a single strike, Kirsh’s shockwave dislodged the barnacles clinging to distant soldiers. Not only that, but he also effortlessly cleaved through the shells of the Man-eating Crabs with his crimson-tinged spear.

“To cut through the shells of Man-eating Crabs so easily…?”

But that wasn’t all.

“Regina, watch out!”

A blue trajectory shot toward Regina, who had been staring blankly at Kirsh’s one-man-army performance. The arrow narrowly missed her and pierced the head of a Man-eating Crab behind her.

“M-Mari…?”

Mari, who had imbued the arrow with aura—a feat requiring immense skill and concentration—casually drew another arrow from her quiver, ready to save others in peril.

*Thwack!*

Beside her, Karina swung a Battle Axe, splitting a Man-eating Crab from head to belly in one strike. Her axe faintly glowed with a blue aura.

“K-Karina too…?”

Regina, stunned by the unexpected prowess of Kurt’s party, watched in disbelief. But the unexpected variables didn’t end there.

“How dare you, a sacred form, cause harm to civilians and disgrace the Black Tentacle! Disappear, vile monster!”

Elsewhere on the deck, Aila, a nun of the Black Tentacle Cult, imbued her shield with aura and sent a Man-eating Crab flying off the deck.

“…Be careful.”

Meanwhile, Arisa, a Dark Elf, nimbly moved across the deck, targeting the joints of Man-eating Crabs before swiftly moving to her next target.

“Bran! Behind you!”

“Got it! Thanks, Finn!”

Bran’s party from Astram moved as one, seamlessly taking down Man-eating Crabs.

Before anyone realized it, the once-desperate situation on the deck was improving, thanks to the efforts of numerous adventurers.

“Don’t give up! If we keep our wits, we can definitely defeat them!”

Mari, while continuously firing arrows, encouraged the soldiers and adventurers teetering on despair.

“That’s right! We can’t die here!”

“Even if we die, we’re taking at least one monster with us!”

“Exactly! I promised my fiancée in Lakia I’d return alive! After this battle, I’ll retire from soldiering and open a shop with her! I can’t die here, leaving my mother alone in my hometown!”

Amidst Mari and her party’s efforts, the despairing soldiers began to see a glimmer of hope.

But not everyone found hope in that situation.

“But even if we defeat these Man-eating Crabs, they’re just the Kraken’s minions! If the Kraken truly attacks, we’re done for!”

“That’s…!”

“You fool…!”

“Hahaha! It’s over! We’re all doomed!”

A soldier, spouting despair, tried to crush the morale of the troops. Regina, furious, turned to face him mid-battle. The soldier, recently freed from barnacles, was clearly not in his right mind. Though Kirsh’s quick intervention saved him from becoming a barnacle host, the whispers of madness from the barnacles had taken their toll.

The barnacles’ ability to drive their hosts to madness was well-known. Though the soldier’s exposure was brief, his delirium was enough to spread despair.

“But even if the Kraken moves, it’s over! Look, the Kraken’s legs holding the warship are just a few! If it swings the rest, we’re finished! Doomed! Hahahaha!”

Regina, torn between maintaining morale and punishing the soldier, hesitated. But in that moment, she realized something.

“…Wait, he’s right?”

“Hahaha! …Huh?”

“If the Kraken truly wanted to dominate, why hasn’t it moved yet? Why is it just watching its minions fall?”

“….What?”

────!!

As Regina pondered this, the Kraken, without a sound, writhed as if in pain. The warship, protected by the mages’ spells, lurched as if about to capsize. The Kraken’s legs, which had been gripping the ship, suddenly loosened.

Man-eating Crabs using the legs as a bridge fell into the sea, but the Kraken, seemingly desperate, released its grip entirely.

“Look! The Kraken’s legs…!”

Someone shouted, drawing the attention of the exhausted soldiers. To their shock, the Kraken’s legs were mostly severed, leaving only a few intact.

Regina and the soldiers were stunned. Just moments ago, they had been fighting in despair, but now the Kraken was crippled.

“But… how?”

As the Kraken prepared to flee, a voice reached Regina’s ears.

“No. You’re not getting away.”

Regina turned toward the voice. At the top of the mast, crouched with feet gripping the edge, was a figure staring down at the Kraken.

Squinting against the sun, Regina recognized the silhouette.

“If we let it escape now, it’ll only grow more cunning. Lakia, ready?”

“Yep. Ready.”

The voice was familiar, as was the long tail and lizard-like head.

“Then let’s begin.”

“Got it. ‘Freeze.’”

Before Regina could fully open her eyes, a bone-chilling cold swept over her, freezing her in place.

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