Ch.234234. Shark Bite (1)

The beginning of what might one day be called the Battle of Iztel Workshop was marked by the exchange of artillery fire between mages—a type of artillery in their own right—and actual artillery units.

Typically, when comparing coastal defense batteries to ship-mounted cannons, those fired from stable ground—the coastline—have greater range and power than those fired from ships rocking on the sea.

To put it bluntly, firing overly powerful cannons at sea risks capsizing the ship from the recoil.

But orcs are different.

The shamans who operate their cannons boast almost mystical accuracy thanks to their precognitive abilities. Occasionally, a shaman’s head might explode when their precognition goes awry, but since artillery shamans are low-ranking, they’re easily replaced.

Their cannons are characterized by extreme firepower built with complete disregard for consequences—essentially oversized steel tubes made with brute simplicity.

Not only do a significant number explode during firing, but their sloppy gunpowder management frequently causes misfires.

Nevertheless… the orcs persisted with their bizarre artillery techniques to return fire.

In the end, the bombardments from both sides were defended against by magic users.

[Embracing Hands of the Atmosphere!]

[My noble spiritual lord, block their bombardment!]

[Waves, stop their attack!]

Countless magic users deployed various spells to block enemy attacks, and this appeared no different on the orc side. Orc shamans utilized their magic to form wave barriers and windshield defenses while simultaneously launching attacks by pushing these waves toward our position.

‘…Oh.’

The moment I saw that wave—an artificially created tsunami—and realized that an exploration ship was anchored in its path, I could hesitate no longer…

‘Cretinus! Let’s go!’

[Yes, mooooo—!!!]

I summoned the soul of Cretinus, the divine beast of Neptune, god of the sea, to the surface while proudly drawing out the trident that had been dormant in one part of my soul.

And simultaneously, I unleashed the superior aura I had been subtly concealing until now.

“T-that is…!!”

“A trident! A-although it must be a replica…!”

“…Why do you have that?”

The moment I suddenly manifested my presence as a superior being with the trident, everyone’s attention focused on me.

The followers of Neptune—inevitable in a port city—looked at me with uncomfortable gazes, while the priests of Neptune assisting in coastal defense regarded me with something approaching religious fervor or fanaticism.

To put it metaphorically, they were looking at me with “blasphemous” eyes as if I were some divine apostle, but I had absolutely no time to address this misunderstanding.

‘…Well, this is awkward.’

To stop that large and beautiful approaching wave—presumably the work of their superior, Grum Sharkbite—it seemed necessary to employ extraordinary measures.

So I established resonance with Cretinus’s soul, which had risen from my depths to the surface.

Curved bull-like horns grew from the upper parts of both my ears. My neatly kept brown hair transformed into an unmistakably shaggy white, and sea-like energy flowed around my body.

Additionally, the scales of my Forest Dragon equipment turned blue, and the trident, responding to the divine sea element within me, became wrapped in something resembling flowing waves.

‘…I can’t deny it looking like this.’

As I raised my hand to stop the surrounding sailors from bowing or kneeling in reverence, I imagined how I must appear to them now and gave a bitter smile.

Separately, I summoned my most reliable servant in preparation for the battle ahead.

[Come here, Korin!]

Rather than summoning him with a silent incantation as usual, I called Korin by mixing Cretinus’s enlargement ability into the spell.

A mass like a dark cloud emerged from within me, rapidly ascending into the sky while growing to an insane size…

-KUGUUGUGUNG—!!!

With a thunderous roar, the dark cloud mass scattered in all directions, revealing Korin, who had grown to a wingspan of at least several dozen meters.

‘…D■namax Thun■er?’

The image of that cursed electric-roasted chicken suddenly crossed my mind, making me feel quite strange, but regardless, Korin was the strongest aerial magical beast I could summon right now.

Particularly, the enlargement ability using about 20% of my remaining magical power had temporarily elevated Korin to the superior realm, allowing him to easily block the wave.

-KUGUUGUGUNG!!!

He disrupted the wave with thunderous shockwaves generated by his wingbeats. Flashing his eyes, he summoned storm clouds and struck down several junk ships with lightning, erasing them without a trace.

Having made such an impressive display shortly after appearing, Korin naturally drew their attention—or crudely put, “aggro”—while simultaneously relieving the burden on the mages and soldiers fighting at the port.

Taking advantage of the gaps created as they dealt with Korin’s attacks, we were able to inflict even greater damage on them.

And while Korin was diligently buying time…

[O sea, beseech your master earnestly. Form the image of your lord and follow his will to manifest his authority on this earth.]

With Sophia’s magical support from the rear, I began swinging the trident while reciting a lengthy incantation at the level of a magical ritual.

[…Beseech! And thus shall your beard foam as waves, shining and coloring!]

As the incantation reached its climax, I expressed gratitude to Neptune’s priests who naturally helped by singing hymns around me according to the incantation’s condition. Then, resonating with Cretinus’s soul, I threw my body into the sea…

-SPLASH!

A wave that crashed at that exact moment swallowed my form. Inside the wave, I awkwardly—though outwardly with great dignity—moved my enlarged body.

Flowing garments like cascading waves wrapped around a muscular physique. My abundant beard and hair resembled the foam created when waves crash against land, and I wore an orichalcum crown on my head.

Standing about 5 meters tall with a fish-like lower body similar to a mermaid, the trident in my hand had become even closer to the original…

‘Form of NEPTUNUS.’ The effect of this magic—a combination of Cretinus’s sea mysteries, arcane magic aptitude, and my druid magic—was truly remarkable.

[…Sea God, I wish to show your authority to your servants here. Please forgive my rudeness.]

【I have no issue with it. If anything, I’m grateful that you’re performing so well without my direct intervention.】

With my concerns about potential blasphemy directly refuted by Him, I could now move without the slightest hesitation.

“””OOOOOOH—!!!”””

“Blessed, blessed, BLESSED!!!”

“Sea God! Great Ruler of the Seas—!!!”

Elevating Neptune’s followers… in gaming terms, it would be like providing a buff to physical abilities and morale, along with special skills like “Will Not Retreat.”

Regardless, believing that their god Neptune had sent me to save them in this desperate situation, they continued their fierce battle with shouts that could only be described as manic…

‘…Well then, shall we go?’

After taking a moment to adapt to this body that had grown almost 2.5 times larger, once I felt somewhat accustomed to controlling it, I moved the trident with the intention to advance—

[—Fire.]

My power responded to that will, manipulating the surrounding currents to launch me like a projectile.

-KWAAAANG—!!!

My solid 5-meter body was itself a projectile, and the junk ships that were hit naturally couldn’t survive.

Most were split in half or shattered into pieces.

Moreover, even if they somehow blocked my physical attack, the waves following me would destroy their ships. After instantly destroying seven large junk ships, I was about to target the next one when…

‘…Ah. That must be it.’

Suddenly, I instinctively knew that Grum Sharkbite was on that junk ship I was now looking at.