Chương 39: War.

Nythera stood aboard Sea Queen, a ship someone had decided to name without her input. Damien's fleet rapidly approached from the horizon. Not mere fishing ships, but a fleet of a dozen frigates.

"Well he's nothing if not productive." Nythera said to herself, looking back over Grandport. There was no fleet, just her. Producing a fleet of frigates in this place? He must have drained his land's resources to do it. I'm not sure Grandport could produce a frigate even if it wanted to, let alone a dozen. A single ship, somewhat longer than the rest, had pulled ahead, on a course straight for her. Nythera waited at the river to Mirrorwake, anchored in place to preserve mana.

A voice thundered across the water, carried by empowered flux.

"GIVE UP THE CORE OR DIE." Well he seems to know exactly what he wants at least. This should make my job easier. As they passed the horizon, the fleet split, half the ships following the bigger ship and the other half gunning straight for Grandport.

"That should be good enough, they'll just have to deal with those ones themselves." She muttered. Pulling on just a thread of Synchronized Thunder, she swiveled one of the ballistas, aimed, and fired it in the direction of the approaching ships. The bolt flew far and fell into the water harmlessly. She heard a whistle and barely had a chance to dodge. An arrow thudded into the wood next to her head. Time to get moving!

She cranked Synchronized Thunder to full power, the anchor hoisted itself up out of the depths and the sails unfurled, jumping the ship to a start. She began her trek upriver. Thats right Damien, just follow me, I've got some fun things ready for you. She kept her head low, in case another arrow followed. A whistle. She hit the ground fast. Another arrow thunked into the upper deck, this time well away from her. Some fancy fucking bowman thinks he can just pick me off? If they could hit her, she could hit them.

Probably. Sadly her ballistas were side and fore mounted and lacked the ability to shoot behind the ship. Nythera however, did not have such weaknesses. She glared back at her enemy from just over the stern (the rear wall of a ship) as the Aether Culverin materialized. They are catching up, fast, how are they so fast? By this point two ships had pulled in front of the bigger ship, its size slowing it down. She pointed the Culverin straight at the nearest ship and manually loaded a regular quartz shell.

These are so heavy, I want an autoloading skill… Time to find out what happens when they aren't lobbed… I'm kinda curious.

"FIRE" She bellowed, her heart swelling in anticipation of her first shot. The cannon roared and the shell slammed into the frigates prow in the blink of an eye. Chunks of wood flew out of the hull at random, screaming ensued. Holes punched out at random, one after another, as the undirected energy discharged. [System Notifications] Later, I don't have time for you right now. She reloaded her cannon, finding it much more agreeable now that she didn't need to wait for the entire shell to form.

I really need to get someone making these shells fulltime… can I hire some errand boy to load them too? She ducked behind the stern, ensuring none of the now-numerous arrows would find her.

"FIRE!" She commanded once again. Another shell smashed through the bow and exploded mid-deck. The ship now sagged, sinking slowly into the water from far too many holes. The other ships were forced to swerve around it, slowing down drastically in the process while Nythera continued straight ahead. Ok step one, maintain distance, done. I think it's time I hit them with something bigger… Several ships that had been on course for Grandport switched to following her.

Nythera did her best to ensure the Heavy Quartz Ordinance would appear near the barrel as she removed it from Boxy. She could barely even move it herself. A few more points in Strength? nah. I need to shock them enough to reduce incoming fire and then… She pushed the shell into the barrel with her entire body, barely managing to get it loaded. This ought to be fun. She aimed carefully, the flagship was still middle of the pack, but she could take out another frigate or two before they reached Halsbury.

"FIRE!" She yelled and ducked back beneath the stern as three more arrows thunked into it. One broke through and slammed into the flooring… by way of her leg. OUCCCCCCCCH. She grit her teeth and suppressed a scream. A distance roar shook the deck. She struggled to get her eyes over the wall, careful to not move her leg. The ship was no longer a ship. The shell had detonated somewhere in the middle and due to the angle, the pulses ran perpendicular to the hull. It was now three pieces of a ship.

All sinking into the depths. That ought to wake some up. Time for the next plan. She pulled on [Synchronized Thunder] and opened part of her ship, allowing barrels to roll off the side and into the river. Upon hitting the water the dozen or so barrels instantly sunk into the depths. Now for this… problem. She turned back to address the nasty arrow pinning her to her own ship. The arrowhead was stuck well within the wood. Her leg would have to come off the end.

She gently lifted her leg, bit by bit the arrow shaft past through her leg, but the fletchings were still waiting. She grit her teeth, clenched her teeth, and yanked with force. Her leg slid off the arrow, dripping blood all over the deck.

"OWWWW." She frowned looking down on the wound. Health should handle it… if it doesn't, I die. This wasn't poisoned right? She glanced back at the pursuers to find they had largely fallen off. Scared them, good. The System pushed back again. [System Notifications]"Fuck off." she brushed it off again, pushing it deeper into her mind. She allowed a regular flux shell to load into the chamber.

"FIRE" she whispered. Maybe if I stop screaming it they won't find me? The cannon roared and an unexpected shot flew into the midst of the boats, crowded as densely as they were, missing was unlikely. Part of a deck exploded into fire and energy, but the ship kept up pursuit. Come on, Come on, Come on, there's 8 fucking ships behind me, Plan B better work. She loaded and fired another shell in short repetition, watching closely with Precision-sight. The shell headed straight for Damien's flagship in the rear. YES!

And he's RIGHT THERE ON THE DECK! GO SHELL! With a flick of the arm, her shell was deflected into the water, leaving nothing but bubbles to mark its passage. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. WHAT THE FUCK? Ok so he can deflect my shells with his hands. Lovely. Alright fine, you can stop one shell, how about THIS?

Nythera watched with careful apprehension as Cascading Fire took effect for the first time, a barrage of all the domain's loaded artillery raining down on the flagship. A dozen ballista bolts materialized in mid-air at full speed. Several thunked straight into the wood, and one was caught in a burst of fire. Not a single man was so much as injured. That was disappointing, almost embarrassing honestly. I am not using that again until I get way more artillery on Myrraval.

She heard a strange sound building up and slowly competing with the voices of alarmed sailors. Idly she loaded yet another flux shell into the cannon. Peering over the port gunwale, a spot with churning bubbles under the water appeared, big enough to rock the ships. YES YES YES. Prepare to have shit rain down on you, Karavethian Bastards. To top it off, Nythera decided to add some more fun.

"FIRE" she yelled, dragging attention back to her vessel. The explosion occurred on deck, on the same frigate she had just hit a minute ago. This time smashing straight through the mast and blowing up on deck. The sound of snapping wood sounded as they tried to stop the falling mast. Woodmancers worked to reattach it but the damage to the superstructure kept it at a steep angle. Come on, Come on! Go deal with Damien for me!

Halsbury was closing in fast, and while she still had shells, what she didn't have was time, time to keep peppering them under an endless barrage. A giant red claw emerged from the water followed by a second. And a face. The face of a massive lobster, its plated armor emerging as momentum carried up past the surface. A man stood atop, clad in bright red crab chitin, with a raised sword in one hand.

"AVAST! KRAVIN HAS COME FOR JUSTICE! CRUSTACEANS ATTACK!" he shouted to all who watched. The lobster barreled straight into the vessel Nythera had been assaulting, its claws wrapping around the deck. And squeezed. The ship shattered into three large pieces. The ships following up tried to swerve around Kravin, but more crustaceans, giant crabs and lobsters mostly, surfaced in his wake.

"It's Kravin! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!" A voice rang like thunder from the deck of a frigate. A giant crab with long spindly white legs clambered over the deck onto a frigate trying to bypass Kravin and snapped the mast in two with one pinch of its claws. Screaming and chaos ensued, spells launched, but more often than not seemed to simply bounce or roll off the shelled monsters. I get it now… Kravin is a monster from the sea, not a person. She stared in shock.

"CRUSTACEANS, WE SHALL SAVE THE DAY, SLAY THE EVIL KRAKENS!" Kravin's voice bellowed. Krakens? What? The ship trying to bypass Kravin on the river's edge, near the bank, was engulfed by giant tentacles scraping up from the depths. The beak of the monster rose above the water and fed on the many sailors wrapped in its grip, one after another. Tentacles slid around the wreckage of the ship Kravin had slaughtered but moments ago. The plan… the bait… it worked! But WHY, WHY NOW KRAVIN?

She watched flabbergasted as Kravin raised his sword into the air. Pointed it towards the kraken assaulting a frigate.

"ATTACK!" and bellowed an order. Crabs tripped over themselves, claws snapping as they attacked the Anchorbreakers, the waters churning with the arrival of yet more. Nythera's vessel had nearly arrived at Halsbury, the town and reconstructed dock clearly visible. If Damien gets through that mess, he'll be in hot pursuit. I shouldn't assume he falls here. Especially when Kravin decided to attack my krakens. She looked over the Sea Queen, a hint of sadness in her face. Shame I didn't really get to use the ballistas.

Peering precariously over the stern she saw the sleek flagship passing the crabs on the inner river. None dared to board it. A kraken, mindless creature as it was, snaked its tentacles up the sides, raising its beak above the water, ready to snack on the deliciously high-strata crew of the flagship. Damien strode over to the open maw casually, and punched. The blow reverberated through the terror, blowing its brains out into a bloody deluge.

Tentacles went slack, and the vessel continued its pursuit, no worse for wear. Meanwhile Kravin had, in the blink of an eye, already bisected two krakens and turned to watch the passing Damien.

"You're a lucky bugger, Damien, these krakens need to die RIGHT NOW! Otherwise I'd be fighting you… Do you remember those pleasant days on the sea, breaking ships?." A note of nostalgia entered his voice.

"I remember you smashing every frigate I tried to build for a month. Kravin, mark my words, you will pay for this disruption." Damien proclaimed from his ship. Nythera watched the strange scene with confusion. What is their relationship? Kravin seems almost friendly? She had barely a second to react. Ducking behind the stern she rolled her body to the right as fast as possible. A person-sized hole opened in the stern, where she had sat just a moment ago, as a massive fist of earth crashed through it.

"YEAH! Take my fists!" A voice called out from Damien's flagship.

"You're about to die to my FISTS!" The last word was hollered.

"Why are all of them so insane, can I go back to… somewhere else?" she muttered, peering back over the stern. A robed man stood at the very tip of the prow, weaving together flux skills at a rapid cadence. A giant fiery fist took form in the air above their ship while a robed lunatic cackled beneath it.

"Fists! This fist is a great fist! You're gonna feel my FIST".

"By Kronan, he's mad." she cranked on Synchronized Thunder hard, they were close enough to Halsbury that she could disembark, dock or no dock. The Sea Queen pivoted straight for the shore. Nythera sprinted up to the front of the prow, her leg having largely recovered by draining her [Health]. Regardless, she took care, hiding behind whatever she could find on deck, mast or gunwale.

"GIDEON'S FISTS OF JUSTICE" preceded a massive fist-shaped fireball slamming into the back of her ship, nearly knocking her off her feet. It propelled the boat straight into the bank. Thanks Gideon. She jumped down and looked back one more time, a frown painting her face. Bye bye, Sea Queen. Talvik flew off the mast and glided well above her, she could only make him out due to the silvery glint against the clear blue sky.

Nythera bolted down the dirt roads, straight for the mountains, the tiny sliver of black flux with the yellow streak guided her, just as Kravin had said it would. Time for the next part but there's way too many of them left and this wasn't the planned route. Welp, guess that's just life. When she could barely see the shore, she stopped and summoned Aether Culverin, allowing a regular flux shell to load into the chamber. Aiming as best she could for the shoreline she waited.

Damien's flagship soon pulled up beside her ruined Sea Queen and soldiers disembarked.

"Fire" she whispered. The cannon roared far louder, sending a shell for the shore. She was already running when it hit. That should get their attention, can't have them pillaging my countryside. Several more times she brought forth the culverin and fired shells in their vague direction. Once an incredibly dissipated fist of lightning slammed into a tree next to her, bringing it down on the spot. She learned to keep her distance. Adrenaline carried her to the cave entrance, she was there long before she expected.

Clambering up the slope, she sat down above the entrance and brought forth yet another Culverin. This time she disrupted the shell-formation. And loaded it with Hyper-flux. The mucus-like energy resisted her pull, but she had long since learned how to pit her Wisdom against it. They had to approach the cavern entrance through open fields of already-harvested grain and empty roads. Zero cover. The more I kill now the less I have to deal with later.

Scanning the horizon voraciously she eventually caught sight of them. Oh wait… they had a pretty good archer didn't they? She pulled several branches over her, hoping she wouldn't be impaled by an arrow and waited. The construct sat below at the cavern entrance. Still too far to guarantee any decent hit… The anticipation was killing her. Just a bit more, just a bit more. They group had advanced to just a few hundred meters away, oblivious to her plot.

"FIST FIST FIST, don't worry a thing Damien, I'll annihilate her." Gideon called out.

"Fire" she whispered. The hyper-flux shell flew out of the barrel straight at the approaching group, well within range now. Watching them with Precision-Sight, Nythera did not take her eye off Damien.

"She's over there!" someone shouted. Damien stopped walking and pulled back his arm. The shell detonated just in front of them, sending up a massive cloud of dust and dirt. The swirling mass of concentrated flux ripped through the group, she looked away, the flux blinding her. THUNK Beside her head, a huge iron spear stuck out of the ground. BY THE BLAZES, THAT WAS DAMIEN, FUCK. Sliding down off the hill, she landed in front of the cave, took one last look back and then ducked into its passages.

I really really want to watch and see what it does. That would also be suicide.

"Time for the fun part" She murmured. Will Talvik enter the cave to watch? She reached the first turn in the tunnel and brought forth yet another Culverin Flux: 7, 054/10, 527 Hyper-flux: 65/105 Got one more Hyper shot left then… She brought her will down onto the formation process, shredding the half-formed flux shell and then pushed in one of her new creations. And waited.

"Wait, you go in first." A gruff voice said near the entrance.

"Yessir." She heard the shuffling of men coming down the tunnel. Just a bit more. She tasted blood in her mouth. She had bit her lip. Relax… Loosening up a bit, she waited. A man in a loose soldier's uniform brandishing a sword turned the corner.

"FIRE" she screamed. The shell barreled straight into the wall behind him and exploded, white mist flooded the chamber.

"What in…." and the voice cut out, as if strangled. She fled deeper into the caverns before it could reach her. That ought to slow them down. Nythera launched Thanaphyte shells at them twice more before reaching the end of the twisting tunnels. At no point did she catch sight of Damien. She had exercised the utmost caution to avoid pulling any rock down onto them, a cave in would destroy both of them. She entered a wider cavern, the ceiling was still low, but the interior was spacious, clear of obstructions.

Nowhere left to run… Nythera sat down on the far end of the cavern and waited.