Chapter 341 - 334: Behemoth Fleet

Chapter 341: Chapter 334: Behemoth Fleet

Far beneath the deep sea, a colossal dark shadow swept across the seabed, startling countless crabs buried in the sand.

Inside Leviathan One’s cavity, Velin sat with his eyes closed.

His consciousness was linked to the giant beast.

The cold seawater pressed against its shell, and every subtle fluctuation was converted into a vibrational signal through its skin.

Ocean currents were no longer abstract concepts in its perception, but "roads" that were either warm or cold.

He could feel Leviathan One’s stomach twitching slightly.

’Father, hungry...’

A thought entered Velin’s mind.

’Be patient. The supplies have been loaded. We’ll be able to produce your favorite food soon.’

The response he received was a more intense feeling of hunger, along with a hint of grievance.

Just then, Leviathan One’s biological radar detected a slow-moving biological signal.

It changed course.

Velin thought for a moment but didn’t stop it.

For a Deep Sea Giant Beast of this size, replenishing its energy on its own was a necessary part of a long voyage.

Soon, the giant beast’s shadow fell over the unfortunate fish. Dozens of thick tentacles extended from beneath its hull, ensnaring the massive, vaguely-shaped creature.

It was a giant sunfish.

Before the Deep Sea Giant Beast, its size seemed almost comical.

Leviathan One didn’t stop its journey. Its tentacles coiled around the sunfish, delivering it to the hidden mouthparts beneath its hull.

Coarse, bland, and with a heavy, fishy taste.

’Doesn’t taste good...’

Leviathan One sent a complaining thought.

’If you don’t like it, don’t eat it.’

Velin’s response was simple and direct.

The giant beast fell silent for a moment, then continued to eat.

If there was no other choice, this big piece of meat would have to do.

’Once we arrive, I’ll make you some "noodles" as soon as I can.’

Velin promised.

’"Noodles!" Is that the stuff Father fed me before?’

’Yes.’

Leviathan One was overjoyed, and the anxiety brought on by its hunger subsided significantly.

It quickened its pace of eating, devouring the sunfish as it swam, as if consuming a less-than-tasty snack.

The fleet continued its high-speed voyage through the darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, Velin perceived a significant change in the surrounding aetheric environment.

If the aether in the Duchy’s waters was a calm stream, then the aether in this sea was a chaotic, active, roiling vortex.

Aether of different elemental affinities collided, annihilated, and regenerated, forming an extremely unstable dynamic equilibrium.

「They had reached the Southern Islands.」

’Three hundred meters ahead, upper water level. A vessel is passing through.’

The helmsman reported to Velin.

Velin immediately focused his attention on the water surface above.

A patrol boat was on the move. The blood-red sail emblem painted on its hull was particularly glaring in the dim light.

’Dive to fifty meters and maintain silent running.’

Velin issued the command.

Three massive shadows sank into the deeper waters.

The Bloodsail Brotherhood’s patrol boat sailed past on the surface. Onboard, pirates drank cheap rum and cursed their mission, completely unaware of the deadly shadows lurking below.

After passing through the patrol zone, the fleet began to surface.

Velin took a bone disc from his coat; it was the other half of the "resonance device" he had given to Kael.

At that moment, the disc was emitting faint pulses, pointing toward an inconspicuous reef island ahead.

’That’s the place.’

Leviathan One’s enormous head broke the surface without creating much of a wave.

Seawater slid off its hard skin.

The night was deep, and the moonlight spread like a thin veil over the rolling waves of the Southern Islands.

In a hidden cove encircled by black reefs, Kael was waiting anxiously with the resistance fighters and several Knight representatives.

A persistent tension filled the air, and everyone was on edge.

Although Kael had told them that reinforcements were coming, he himself wasn’t sure how many people his Lord could bring in such a short time.

"Look! What is that?"

A Namiya Warrior on lookout cried out in alarm, pointing to the sea in the distance.

Everyone whipped their heads around to look.

At first, they were just a few shadows under the moonlight, a few black spots darker than the night itself.

An old fisherman squinted and muttered, "Doesn’t look like a ship..."

The black spots quickly grew at an unnatural speed, maintaining some kind of formation as they silently approached the coast.

They had no sails, no oars, and they barely kicked up any waves.

As they drew closer, these three small, moving islands blocked the waves, their shadows merging into one that covered half the cove.

"By the Sea God..."

A young Namiya Warrior gasped in awe.

The men instinctively tightened their grips on their fishing spears and machetes, forming a defensive line whose purpose even they couldn’t fathom.

One man felt his palms drenched in cold sweat. He even thought the weapon in his hand wasn’t even fit to scrape barnacles off that monster.

Even the warriors who dared to fight pirates in close-quarters combat now looked pale, swallowing hard as their legs felt as heavy as lead.

"Don’t panic! They’re allies!" Kael rushed to the front of the crowd, spreading his arms to stop them. "These aren’t hostile Magical Beasts! The Lord has arrived!"

His voice calmed the commotion slightly, but it was immediately replaced by a profound sense of confusion and absurdity.

The Lord? Where?

There were only those three behemoths on the sea.

Surely the Lord wasn’t in the belly of one of those monsters?

The one in the center was the largest, flanked by two slightly smaller ones.

Suddenly, a smooth fissure split open on the head of the central beast. Light shot out from within, dispelling the shadow of dread that had fallen over the people’s hearts.

A long, narrow assault boat was lowered. Then, squad after squad of soldiers in black armor waded through the chest-deep water and onto the shore—a hundred men in all!

They were equipped with standard-issue weapons and marched in unison, a world apart from the tattered resistance fighters on the beach.

Velin walked at the head of the formation. The soft crunch of his military boots on the sand was clearly audible in the silence.

He scanned his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over the awed and curious faces of the locals, over an emotional Kael, and finally settling on a few men in the crowd wearing damaged Knight’s armor.

When those Knights saw the Klein Clan crest on the armor of Velin and the soldiers behind him, they first froze, then a wave of shock washed over them.

The lead Knight, a man named Gideon, was overcome with excitement.

He had imagined what the reinforcements would look like many times—perhaps a few sailing warships, or maybe a formidable Knight Order.

But he had never imagined a fleet of powerful Magical Beasts arriving with such a majestic, world-conquering presence.

The next second, shock rapidly turned to elation.

He pushed aside the person next to him and rushed toward Velin, dropping to one knee and bowing his head low.

"Gideon Valerius of the Raging Waves Knight Order salutes you, Lord Baron Klein!"

His voice trembled with emotion. "We... we’ve waited so long, and you’ve finally come!"