Ark - Volume 20 Chapter 7

ACT 7 Conqueror of the Sea

‘It appeared!’

Ark looked at the sea snakes with bright eyes. The sea monsters had appeared! The armed fleet scattered around were forced into a position where they had to fight the sea monsters.

“Master, it’s moving!”

Chwa chwa chwa chwa, chwa chwa chwa chwa!

The five sea snakes had started moving their bodies when he heard Racard’s voice. They opened their mouths and something dark bubbled inside.

‘An attack!’

His instincts warned him. Ark turned his head and looked at Wagner on the flagship. When the Leviathans started moving, the armed fleet was plunged into a combat situation. And the current admiral of the fleet was Wagner. The captains of the other ships had fallen into a state of panic and contacted Wagner for orders. But when Ark looked at Wagner’s face, it looked somewhat strange.

“Waaahhhh……”

The sound continuously emerged from the bat phone. Wagner had collapsed on the deck of the flagship and was moaning. He looked pitiful to Ark. Wasn’t he just telling Ark about how he cleaned up thousands of pirates and rescued the kingdom from a hopeless crisis? Of course, Ark knew it was a pile of nonsense after talking to the captains of the other ships. The captain and crew from the merchant’s guild knew that Wagner had received the position of being in charge of the next generation battleships through his family background. But no matter what, he was still the admiral. If Wagner who was the Admiral of the armed fleet shook with fear then the crew would also panic.

‘That fool!’

Curses rose in his throat. Before the curses could emerge from his mouth, something similar to an arrow shot from the Leviathan’s mouths.

Syu syuk, syu syuk, syu syuk, syu syuk, syu syuk!

There was an intense explosion sound. Something like a black line had shot from their mouths. The result couldn’t be ignored. When the black line hit, the outer wall of a battleship was smashed like tofu. It also pierced through the hull that it touched. It was to the extent that the steel which padded the hull was cut in half.

“What on earth?”

The soldiers stared with shock. Ark used Skill Penetration and the information rose in front of him.

The Leviathan draws in a huge amount of water. Using its long body, it is able to create a high pressure spray. The enormous pressure turns the water into a sharp sword.

‘Water Pressure Gun!’

Ark now figured out the identity of the Leviathan’s black line attack. That line wasn’t an arrow or an explosive. It was simple saltwater. The problem was the enormous pressure that the Leviathan had placed on the saltwater. When spraying water with thousands of tons of pressure on it, it was like a laser. The high pressure of the water was enough to cut steel. Anyway, the Leviathan’s Water Pressure Gun was no joke. It was rare for any equipment in New World to have more than 500 durability. Even the metal armour of warriors only had around 200~300 durability. However, the Water Pressure Gun had a 100% cutting effect which decrease durability by 500. If either a user or NPC was hit by the Water Pressure Gun then they would have severed arms or legs. The ship was also the same. There was little damage thanks to the hardiness of the steel plates but the Water Pressure Guns still cut the sails and other parts of the ship. The sails of five battleships and dozens of sailors were severed.

“What is this type of ridiculous attack…..?”

But what was the point of complaining about the monster?

-Grrrrr!

Then the Leviathans cried out and raised their body. The bottom was swollen like a balloon and that swollen part was gradually being pushed up. In order to use Water Pressure Gun, they needed to pull a lot of water into their mouths. The battleships that had been hit directly by the Water Pressure Gun were defenseless so another hit would destroy it.

“Battleship magic engine! Quickly use the power to escape!”

Ark shouted into the ears of the bat.

“Did you hear? Deploy the magic engine!”

The captains of the ships repeated the order to their sailors. In fact, the captains and crew of the ships didn’t like listening to Wagner. Now Admiral Wagner had fallen into a state of panic from the Leviathans’ attacks. Since Admiral Wagner couldn’t perform his duties, the captain and crews of the ships couldn’t do anything when they were being attacked. When Ark gave an order, the captains of each ship instantly gave him the authority of 2nd commander. The evidence was that they obeyed his order and used the magic engine. Anyway, five Water Pressure Guns roughly flew out at the same time. The high pressure jets of water crossed the ocean. It tore through the ocean like a laser and rushed towards the battleships.

“Quickly use the magic engine to avoid it!”

It was at that moment. There was a mechanical sound as the mast was folded automatically and disappeared into the deck. Then something that looked like a long tube popped out on both sides of the hull. At the same time, there was a roaring sound and the battleships raced through the ocean like a speedboat.

“Huk, what is this?”

The users on the deck stumbled from the quick acceleration. That’s right. This was the magic engine of the next generation battleships. When the magic engine was used, the battleships moved at a ship that couldn’t be compared to when there was wind in the sails. The speed was like riding a motorcycle on the ocean!

“The Water Pressure Guns are coming! Battleship starboard, all sailors prepare for the impact.

Ark commanded as the battleship suddenly turned. When the huge battleship turned sharply, a large amount of water was sprayed. Some of the sailors lost their balance and fell into the ocean. Even with that evasive movement, the ships couldn’t completely avoid the pursuit of the Water Pressure Guns. The Leviathans could control the Water Pressure Guns by simply moving their heads.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

The Water Pressure Gun skimmed past the stern of the ship. At the same time, the part of the deck that had been hit fell off. However, that wasn’t the end of the Water Pressure Gun’s attack. The Leviathan that was attacking Ark’s ship once again turned its head and the Water Pressure Gun started heading towards the centre of the ship.

“It’s the end if we get hit by that!”

Ark felt a sense of urgency. Only a part of the stern had fallen so it didn’t really matter. But the ship would be destroyed if the Water Pressure Gun hit the centre. Of course, the exterior walls of the battleship were padded with iron so it wouldn’t break in half. However, the wooden deck would have no choice but to be cut in half. Even the magic engine below the deck was likely to receive damage.

“But it isn’t possible to avoid the attack. Then……!”

Ark clenched his teeth tightly and shouted.

“Keep moving forward at full speed away from the Water Pressure Gun!”

“Huh? It is aiming for the centre of the ship…..”

“Does the captain have to explain the reason for all his commands?”

“Ah, no. Full speed ahead!”

The magic engine let out a roar and increased its speed. The Water Pressure Gun was approaching! Even if the Water Pressure Gun only passed through the deck for a few seconds, the magic engine would be severed. When the Water Pressure Gun was halfway to the ship…Ark opened his bag and shouted.

“Demonic Manifestations!”

After he used the skill, an information window appeared.

“Shield. Shield. Shield. Shield. Shield!”

Shields soared out from the bag at Ark’s scream. 5 shields flew into the sky. Black sparks flew from the shields and formed a pentagram in the sky. Then the shields exploded and a massive shield insignia appeared on the battleship.

The effect exercised by this combination is ‘Physical Shield.’

[Physical Shield]: When Physical Shield is exercised, the centre of a 100 metre space will have its defense increased by 500. The defense shield will have a durability of 1,000. The effect of the shield lasts for 10 minutes or until the 1,000 durability is consumed. However, the defense shield doesn’t move. It also isn’t possible to make the same effect overlap.

It was the new skill he learnt after a seal of Eternal Soul was released. Ark had learnt the secrets behind Demonic Manifestations while hunting the monsters while climbing back up the secret dungeon. It was a new skill so he wanted to test it immediately. He realised that Demonic Manifestations was different from the other skills learnt from Eternal Soul.

When Demonic Manifestations was triggered, the effect depending on the type of equipment sacrificed. The first combination Ark tried was ‘sword, sword, sword, sword, and sword.’ It gave the effect ‘Braid Blade’ which increased attack by +20%. If only shoes were sacrificed then it increased movement speed while gloves increased attack speed.

…….That was the simplest example of such a combination. Sometimes the different combinations of ‘swords, shields, armour, shoes or gloves’ didn’t even give an effect. The good point about Demonic Manifestations was that it had a wide effect. The accessories offered automatically flew over everyone and a strong special effect was applied to his allies. Anyway, Physical shield now made a transparent shield around the battleship.

“Everybody prepare for impact!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa, kwa kwa kwa kwa!

At almost the same time, the Water Pressure Gun hit the centre of the ship. To be exact, it hit the surface of the transparent shield. There was a huge impact and the shield had its durability drained.

-The durability of the ‘Physical Shield’ fell to 800…….

The durability of the Physical Shield fell to 500 in seconds. If this continues the Water Pressure Gun will pierce through and hit the ship. But because Ark had already ordered for the ship to move forward at full speed, they already managed to get out of range of the attack.

‘Even the Physical Shield won’t be able to hold up for 30 seconds……’

It really was enormous damage. After avoiding the Leviathan’s attacks twice, the attacks stopped. With the amount of water the Leviathan can hold, the Water Pressure Gun could only be used 2~3 times. However, those 2~3 attacks were enough to cause the armed fleet to be in total chaos. Since the attacks only grazed the ships thanks to the magic engine, there were ships with railings and sterns split apart while some players had fallen into the ocean. The armed fleet had been seriously damaged with just one blow.

‘But there is a way to defeat them!’

Ark looked at the Leviathans floating on the ocean. The Leviathan’s attacks caused immense havoc. However Ark had discovered a weakness in the Leviathan’s attack. Once the Leviathans’ Water Pressure Gun was used, it took a long time to inhale the required amount of water. And when the Water Pressure Gun was used, it couldn’t be stopped until the water ran out.

‘I don’t know why but the Leviathans haven’t moved from the spot where they first appeared. If the Leviathans had moved then the battleships would be completely devastated right now. Something must be keeping it immobile.’

They couldn’t move. In other words, they were a good target to attack.

‘In addition, the Water Pressure Gun follows the movement of their mouth. If they just turn their head lightly then the Water Pressure Gun can chase after the battleship that has moved dozens of metres. It is impossible for the speed of the battleships to escape from the gun. It is an attack that is 100% impossible to escape. Then……

“Battleships use your magic engines to stabilize the hull!”

“What? What does that mean?”

The captains of the battleships asked Ark in an amazed voice. They had seen the incredibly power of the Water Pressure Gun so all they wanted to do was run away. If they didn’t then wouldn’t the next attack by the Water Pressure Gun smash the ships to pieces? Then Ark answered through the bat phone.

“If we use the magic engine then the hull won’t shake and we can directly counterattack.”

“Of course. But if we can’t avoid the attack then how will we counterattack…….?”

“This plan will allow us to counterattack.”

Ark smiled and explained the way he devised to defeat the Leviathans. The Leviathans inflated their bodies to suck in seawater and condense it to a high pressure.

“This is the only way to stop their onslaught. Believe in me and follow my commands.”

“…….Understood. There is no other way since the Admiral is currently soulless.”

“All battleships, use the magic engine to stabilize the hull!”

“Prepare the cannons for precise shooting!”

The armed fleet finished all their preparations according to Ark’s commands. The Leviathans had also finished condensing the water and opened their mouths.

“Now. Shoot precisely!”

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

At the same time, the armed fleet fire simultaneously after hearing Ark’s order. It was the basic ‘Salvo’ of an ordinary naval battle. The attacks would be concentrated on one opponent in order to decrease the enemies and the damage. So the basic tactics was to concentrate all attacks on point and use the maximum amount of attacks in a short time. However, Ark had chosen the opposite strategy. The eight battleships attacked all five Leviathans. Furthermore, not all the cannons were mobilized. It was separated into two or three attacks at a time. The reason why……

-Kiaaaack!

-Kueeeeeh!

The shells crossed the space and hit the Leviathans’ heads. Thus the attack from the Water Pressure Guns flew into the sky. The shot flew a few kilometres into the air before falling back to the sea with all its power lost. That’s right. It was the reason why Ark chose this method. The Water Pressure Gun was an attack while flew like a laser form the mouth of the Leviathan. Thus their heads became Ark’s target. Instead of running away, couldn’t he use this method to make them waste the water guns?

‘If we keep this up for 2~3 minutes then the Water Pressure Guns will be used up during that time!’

That was Ark’s thought. It didn’t matter how big the sea snake was. In addition, the long body stretched over the sea.

It was easy for dozens of shells to hit such a large target. If they hit the target then it was enough to change the direction of the Leviathans’ jaw. So there was no worry about the Water Pressure Gun hitting the battleships! Ark used the magic engines to stabilize the hull and the cannons for a precise bombardment.

“It is a success. Their attacks have been blocked!”

Ark’s operation was a great success. The battleships continuously attacked the Leviathans using 2~3 shots at a time. It was only 2~3 attacks but the health of the Leviathans decreased little by little.

“The battle is in progress and it is only a matter of time until we beat them. But……”

Ark looked at the Leviathan and tilted his head to one side. Ark was certain that this area was where Gold Dream had been swallowed by a sea monster. And the message window said that the Leviathan was the boss monster of this area so there couldn’t be another one. But he couldn’t imagine that the Leviathans were the ones that swallowed Gold Dream. The Leviathan was huge but it was only 20 metres in diameter. There was no way they could swallow Gold Dream. Ark’s question was soon settled within a few minutes.

“Keep on attacking!”

“Continue hitting those guys!”

“There’s no time for a break. Reload as quickly as possible after the artillery is launched!”

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

-Kuaaaa!

The cannons continually fired with no breaks and one Leviathan shrieked before shrinking.

“We did it!”

“We defeated a sea monster!”

“Okay, concentrate the attacks on the other four!”

The morale of the sailors increased even more after a Leviathan fell. They once again concentrated the precision shooting on the remaining Leviathans.

“Hahaha! The huge opponent is no match for my strategy! Okay, continue attacking like I commanded. Victory will be ours!”

Wagner’s laughter flowed from the bat on Ark’s shoulder. The Admiral who had fallen into a panic when the Leviathans first appeared now showed his face when the situation seemed to improve. He was a shameless person. The crew were stunned but fortunately they concentrated on firing the cannons……a Leviathan had just been knocked down.

“Don’t worry about it and continue to attack!”

“We can’t be careless! Don’t give them any room!”

The captains of the battleships ignored Wagner and just kept attacking. It continued for another 10 minutes. Under the continuous bombardment, another two Leviathans sank under the water. Four of them had fallen and now there was only one left.

“Now, it’s almost finished. Concentrate all the attacks!”

Kwaaaaaaah-!

Then the water underneath the Leviathan started to become unstable. The water shook like an earthquake was happening. Then the sea suddenly divided and a huge sleeping form could be seen.

“Huk! What the, that is?”

“Wait? That…..that huge sea snake……”

“Such a thing! It isn’t five sea snakes……”

The sailors who had been preparing for the bombardment suddenly opened their mouths absent-mindedly. The form underneath the Leviathan was a huge monster which exceeded several kilometres. It was a huge monster resembling a fish! Ark finally answered his question after seeing the huge fish. Ark and all the sailors had thought there were five Leviathans. They were mistaken. This was the reason why the Leviathans didn’t move at all. It was because the sea snakes were attached to the giant fish underneath. No, to be exact the sea snakes were attached to the Leviathan but seemed to be the Leviathan’s tentacles. The Leviathan’s true identity was a giant fish several kilometres long. It had been impossible to discover in the black ocean. In the end, the attacks of the armed fleet hadn’t dealt any damage to the Leviathan.

“Fish! That is the fish I tried to eat!”

Racard shouted as he pointed to a part of the Leviathan’s body. The Leviathan had something growing like hair on its forehead. And various things were dangling from the hair. There was the fish that Racard had discovered, a small box, the corpse of a mermaid and even a human body. Ark noticed all that with one glance. Lure…..yes! The Leviathans used the lures on its forehead to draw in food to eat. And a huge mouth that could completely swallow the battleship was right underneath the lures. Its mouth opened and the surrounding seawater seemed to drag everybody in.

“I-it is trying to swallow the battleship!”

“Deploy the magic engine!”

Screams rose form the ships as the battleships were being dragged. But the Leviathan didn’t seem to want to swallow the battleships. The crew sighed with relief when they realized this but they were consumed by fear again in one second.

“Hik, what is that?”

“Something is coming out of that guy’s mouth?”

“Huck! It’s different from the Water Pressure Gun!”

“M-monsters! Thousands of monsters are emerging!”

A sailor said in a trembling voice as he checked it with the telescope. After a while, the other sailors were able to confirm the identities of the things spilling from the mouth.

-Kuruk, kuruk, kuruk!

The things which emerged from the Leviathan’s mouth looked like black worms. The size was approximately 2~3 metres. It was a level 300 monster called ‘Parasite.’ A level 300 opponent wasn’t difficult when considering the average level of the users who participated in the armed fleet. The problem was the numbers! There were tens of thousands of Parasites that exited from the Leviathan! It was to the extent that a few kilometres of the ocean was covered by them.

“Unbelievable…..!”

Ark also felt overwhelmed by the huge number of monsters. But Ark had no choice.

“Battleships, maintain a horizontal battle formation and attack!”

“Everybody brace themselves!”

The battleships started to steadily line up after Ark’s command. The ships lined up and simultaneously fired. Hundreds of shells flew towards the monster! However, hundreds of pillars of water soared up and the Parasites overturned the ship. The Parasites had used human wave tactics to cause a tidal wave like surge. They instantly surrounded the battleships and crawled onto the deck. Dozens of Parasites also crept onto the deck of Ark’s no. 8 battleship.

“Ugh, dammit! Dark Blade!”

Ark wielded his sword tirelessly while holding onto a rope hanging from the sails. The Parasites were sea monsters so they were quick while swimming but extremely slow on land. But they had a lot of defense. Despite Ark’s continuous attacks, the Parasite only lost 20% health.

“Don’t kill them, just push them back into the sea!”

They couldn’t endure the number of monsters creeping onto the ship so Ark changed strategies. The crew of the battleship ran around the outskirts and pushed them back into the water.

“That’s it, now! Drop a bomb!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!

When the bomb exploded, there was a pillar of flames in the vicinity of the battleship. A number of Parasites were engulfed by the flames and fell into the water. Although the explosion occurred on the ship, the steel acted as a barrier and the battleship only received a little damage. Anyway, now wasn’t the time to worry about the damage to the battleship.

If the thousands of Parasites attacked at once then the armed fleet would be smashed to pieces. The other battleships also used the same bomb tactic as Ark on the Parasites. After an intense 3~4 minute battle, the area was covered in black corpses. Then a black line suddenly crossed the sea. It was the Water Pressure Gun from the mouth of the remaining sea snake. It quickly tore through the no. 5 battleship. The two ships had already received considerable damage from the bombs so it collapsed like tofu and the sailors fell into the sea. The Parasites then swarmed around the sailors like cockroaches.

“P-Parasites!”

“Ugh! Help!”

The mercenaries and sailors screamed as they fell into the water. It was impossible to properly fight the level 300 Parasites in the water. Sailors who fell into the water were encircled by hundreds of Parasites and eaten. The sailors on the armed fleet could only watch in horror. There was pure silence on the deck of the armed fleet. The fear they imagined was occurring in reality.

“Hiiiik! It’s the end! They don’t stop no matter how many times we step on them. It’s either being swallowed in one bite by that big fish or be eaten slowly by those worms. Kuaaak!”

Wagner’s voice came from the mouth of the bat. He already withdrew with fear when the sea snakes appeared and left the command to Ark, and now he was decreasing the morale of the sailors?

“Damn! Racard, shut that guy up!”

“Got it!”

At Ark’s command, Racard shot down like a lightning bolt and struck the back of Wagner’s head. Wagner had a huge lump on the back of his head but unfortunately he didn’t faint.

“Ack! I can see stars…..is this guy’s head made of stone?”

Racard staggered back and Wagner turned his head. Then he turned and rushed at Racard.

“What, what the? This guy. Do you want to try me?”

“Yes, I do! Please make me faint!”

Wagner shouted towards Racard.

“I’ll rather be stunned than eaten by those guys!”

“W-wait a minute! Uwak!”

Pakak, pakak, pakak, pakak.

Wagner then repeatedly slammed his forehead into Racard. After a while, both Wagner and Racard were covered in large lumps. However, the one who fainted wasn’t Wagner but Racard. When Racard fainted, Wagner screamed before crashing into the mast. He had completely gone crazy from fear. Anyway, slamming against the mast worked this time as Wagner got a nosebleed and fainted. However, no one cared about Wagner anymore.

“Ugh, damn! That stupid snake……!

Ark glared at the sea snake.

“They’re preventing the cannon attacks!”

“It can’t be. Those worms are blocking the muzzle of the cannons and we can’t fire!”

“What?”

Ark ran to the railing and looked down. Like the sailors said, the Parasites were blocking the muzzle of the cannons. If the cannons were just fired like this then it would damage the battleship.

“Captain-nim, the Water Pressure Gun is heading towards our battleship!”

Ark heard the voice from behind him and turned his head. The Water Pressure Gun was flying in a straight line towards the no. 8 battleship. With the Parasites blocking the ship, they couldn’t even use the magic engine!

“Ah, no…..Demonic…..”

Ark hastily used Demonic Manifestations to form the Physical Shield. But the Water Pressure Gun was quicker and hit the centre of a battleship. The deck split apart like it was cut by a knife. The Water Pressure Gun didn’t completely pull the hull apart. But more than 2/3rds of the hull was cut, throwing off the balance of the battleship and it gradually began to sink into the ocean.

“If this sinks then it is dangerous. Jump into the sea!”

In the end, Ark was forced to escape from the battleship.

<The abilities of all players within the sphere of influence will decrease by 10%. On the other hand, all monsters with the Demonic attribute will have their stats increase by 10%>

That warning message appeared when he fell into the sea. That’s right. The water had turned black thanks to the demonic influence of the Leviathan. The Leviathan was a sea monster so its effect was limited to the water. But Ark still didn’t give up on the battle. If he gave him then his Gold Dream which was worth 40,000 gold would just become excrement.

‘The Water Pressure Gun only comes from the Leviathan’s tentacle. If we deal with the sea snake then we can somehow deal with the Leviathan!’

Of course, the thousands of Parasites are still a problem……

“I have no choice but to try!”

Ark blew the Flute of the Merpeople and called dozens of dolphins. Ark and the other sailors got on the back of the dolphins and headed towards the Parasites that were blocking the no 2, 4 and 7 battleship.

“Okay, defeat the Parasites blocking the flagship and the other battleships! It should then be possible to handle the remaining sea snake!”

However, penetrating through thousands of Parasites on the dolphins wasn’t easy. The Parasites had flocked around the sailors after they fell into the only so only Ark and less than one hundreds users were trying to penetrate the Parasites.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

Meanwhile another two ships were hit by the Water Pressure Gun and split in half.

“Damn, is it going to end here……?”

Despair entered Ark’s eyes. There were only two battleships left. Even if they wiped out the Parasite, they wouldn’t have the power to deal with the Leviathan. Even if the remaining tentacle was destroyed, decreasing the enormous life of the Leviathan with two ships was nonsense! Even with the Admiral unconscious, the remaining sailors on the two ships determined that there was no hope left.

“Ack! Then it is time for a plan of desperation! Let’s show our commitment as we go to hell!”

The captains of the ship commanded as they dropped bombs. A chain explosion occurred on the exterior wall of the hull and the attached Parasites were engulfed in flames. It was damage the battleship couldn’t recovery from but luckily several cannons survived. The captains of the two ships chose to throw away their battleships to fire artillery at the Parasites.

“Aim the muzzle of the gun, fire!”

Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!

There was a ringing sound and the sea started shaking.

“Eh?

Ara?”

Both Ark and the crew of the no. 2 battleship looked confused. The ringing sound didn’t come from the cannons. The cannons of the no. 2 battleship hadn’t been launched yet. The rocking and ringing sound was coming from underneath the water. After a while, an explosion occurred and several hundred columns of water shot upwards. The Parasites that were at the site of the explosion were blown away.

“W-what is this…..?”

“M-Master! Over there!”

Racard who had recovered pointed to one side.

Chwa chwa chwa chwa! Chwa chwa chwa chwa!

When he turned around, there was a spray of water coming from the sea. At first it was just a small spray but it gradually became larger as it approached. After a while, a huge object comparable to the size of the Leviathan appeared.

“M-monster…..it is another monster……!”

“Hahaha! I’m not even afraid anymore.”

“Damn, I never expected to see two of these monsters……”

The crew of the flagship and the no. 2 ship murmured to each other. But only Ark’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the new sea monster.

“Surely that is…..there’s no doubt! It is definitely Gallic!”

That’s right. It was a giant sea monster. The monster was the patron guardian of the merpeople that Ark had met a long time ago. It was the white whale Gallic.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

Gallic crossed the water and rammed into Leviathan. The Leviathan who was about to use the Water Pressure Gun on the no. 2 battleship wobbled and was pushed back several metres. When the two bodies collided, it seemed like a tsunami had occurred.

“How did Gallic get here? No, why is Gallic here?”

Pepepepeng, pepepepeng!

Then dozens of water pillars shot up again. The Parasites that were blocking the ship turned white.

“Go down….something is helping us at the bottom of the sea!”

Ark commanded and quickly dove into the water. The water was dark so it was difficult to see anything underwater. But after looking for a long time, he started to distinguish vague shapes. They looked like shadows at first. But the shadows started to increase to a huge number around Ark.

Ark’s eyes then widened.

“That…..the merpeople!”

That’s right. The shadows approaching underwater were the merpeople. Thousands of them were approaching. The whole group of merpeople swam to where Ark was located. There were thousands of merpeople warriors! And leading them was the Mermaid Queen wearing splendid armour.

“Brave warriors of the sea, exterminate the parasites that are dirtying these waters!”

The Mermaid Queen shouted as she raised a jewel encrusted stick. It was a trident like weapon with three prongs. When she moved it, a shock wave emerged from the trident and shot towards the Parasites. An explosion instantly occurred around Ark. Then 1,000 merpeople attack the Parasites around Ark.

“Q-queen?”

Ark stared at the reinforcements with a stupid expression. Then the Mermaid Queen laughed and greeted him.

“Fortunately we made it in time.”

“Why are you here? Didn’t you leave for another ocean?”

“We can talk about the details later.”

The Mermaid Queen muttered as she looked at the Leviathan.

“Anyway, I’ll now take care of the devil in the water.”

-Kuruk, kuruk, kuruk!

The Parasites started to be pushed back. The Mermaid Queen looked around with cold eyes and brandished her trident.

“Bah, filthy parasites! Great sea goddess…….wave!”

The environment suddenly became dark and the shape of a giant goddess floated in the air. The beautiful goddess was wrapped in a shiny veil. But the goddess looked angry and the sea started to vibrate. In the next moment, dozens of tornados appeared at sea and swept up the Parasites.

“Enemies of the clan, kill all of the Leviathan’s followers!”

“Waaaaahhhhh!”

The merpeople also wielded their tridents and cornered the Parasites.

“Okay. This is a chance. Let’s get revenge along with the merpeople!”

Ark led the dolphin unit and began attacking the Parasites. With thousands of merpeople and Ark’s group violently attacking, the number of Parasites quickly reduced. The wide area magic of the Mermaid Queen reduced dozens of Parasites to a critical condition. With the merpeople lending their help, the situation quickly tilted to their advantage.

Meanwhile, there was an unimaginable battle occurring several hundred metres away.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Ku ku ku ku! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!

It was the fight between Leviathan and Gallic! When the two ocean monsters collided, constant tidal waves occurred. Whirlpools would also appear here and there every time a wave occurred. But in the battle, Gallic was slightly losing. Leviathan was a combat monster while Gallic was just an NPC. Furthermore, Gallic didn’t have any weapons like the Leviathan’s Water Pressure Gun. Therefore he had many bleeding wounds after the long battle.

‘But if this continues then we can beat the Leviathan!’

Ark stopped attacking the Parasites and looked around at the situation. Gallic might be losing to Leviathan but the merpeople were dominating the Parasites. If this kept up for 20~30 minutes then all the Parasites would be wiped out. With only two battleships left, it wouldn’t be difficult to defeat the Leviathan.

‘But my purpose isn’t to kill the Leviathan.’

That’s right. Ark’s goal was to recover the Gold Dream that Leviathan swallowed.

‘The problem is that it will be difficult to rescue Gold Dream if the Leviathan is killed. Judging from previous experience……’

When the monster was killed, the body would just become chunks of flesh. It would be impossible to obtain anything except for the loot the monster dropped. There was a high chance that Gold Dream would be destroyed when Leviathan was killed. So Ark made a separate plan to rescue Gold Dream. But that plan would be insignificant if the Leviathan was killed in the middle of it.

‘This is my last chance to execute the plan!’

If the battle proceeded then the Leviathan would disappear in 20~30 minutes. In other words, he only had 20~30 minutes to rescue Gold Dream.

“Mermaid Queen, please listen to my request!”

Ark explained his decision to the Mermaid Queen. He requested what was needed to rescue Gold Dream. The Mermaid Queen couldn’t understand Ark’s request but she just nodded and accepted.

“I don’t understand but if it is a favour for Ark-nim……”

The Mermaid Queen nodded and closed her eyes. It was in order to mentally communicate with Gallic. Gallic avoided Leviathan’s attack and swung his tail. Leviathan who had been trying to bite Gallic shrieked. The open mouth was inundated with spray from the water. That was the moment Ark aimed for.

“That’s it, let’s go!”

Ark shouted after seeing the chance. Then the dolphin carrying Ark rushed through the sea at an enormous pace.

“Huh? This……?”

The Mermaid Queen, merpeople and sailors were all confused at Ark’s action. Ark had rushed into Leviathan’s open mouth.

When he rushed in the mouth was like a huge cave with a horrible smell. Ark avoided the fangs as he entered the mouth. By the time he arrived at the enormous tongue, Leviathan’s mouth had started closing. Ark stepped on the back of the dolphin, pushed off and threw his body.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang! Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

There was a roaring sound and the huge mouth closed. At the same time, Ark was sucked down Leviathan’s oesophagus along with the saltwater.