Chapter 142: The Nautilus

The nautilus was a cephalopod, the same class as octopuses and squids.

A mollusk with multiple tentacles attached near its head.

However, the creature that appeared near the One-Shot only resembled one in its vibrant colors and hard shell.

It was far from a real nautilus.

For one thing, its size was absurdly massive, and dozens of tentacles lined with suckers wrapped around the ship.

At first glance it felt exactly like a kraken attack.

Anyway, this is definitely big trouble.

Just the helmsman’s deathly pale face told me everything.

If a veteran sailor reacted like that, the creature had to be an absolute monster.

“C-Captain! We must escape immediately! The ship will split in two in an instant!”

The helmsman was already turning the winch for the escape boat.

He seemed to have judged there was no hope once the Nautilus had approached this close.

But my thoughts were different.

The One-Shot had not been destroyed yet, and the knights had long since prepared for battle.

Look at them right now.

They were slicing off the tentacles climbing onto the deck with blue aura.

If things continued like this a little longer, there was a high chance the Nautilus would give up.

“Th-those tentacles regenerate infinitely! So you must not think we are winning!”

“Ah? Is that so?”

I had thought something felt off.

Even though the tentacles were being chopped apart, the helmsman’s expression remained grim.

“How can we defeat it?”

“Its only weak point is the head, but it is covered by an extremely hard shell.”

“Then doesn’t that mean it basically has no weak point?”

“There is a way to enter through its mouth and tear apart its internals…… but no one who has tried has ever survived. They dissolve in the digestive fluids.”

“Quite a troublesome creature.”

“It is far more difficult than a kraken. If you get caught, the only correct answer is to escape immediately!”

Even while the conversation continued, the helmsman’s hands never stopped.

The escape boat had already reached close to the water surface.

Regardless, I climbed onto the side railing.

The ship was shaking madly, but maintaining my balance was not difficult.

It was thanks to the superhuman physical abilities granted by Beast’s Heart.

I advanced like I was walking a tightrope and looked down at the surface where the tentacles had emerged.

Something round with white and red patterns was slightly protruding.

Is that the head?

Just as the helmsman said, the shell looked incredibly hard.

The anchor had dropped onto the deck during the battle, yet it seemed completely unaffected.

“Shall I show off my skills for the first time in a while?”

I took out Hector Punisher and focused my mind.

The opportunity would probably come only once.

If it hid back underwater, there would be no way to pursue it.

So I decided to unleash the maximum power I could.

Vrrrrm!

「Choice ‘Attack Power’」

「Glass Body state will be applied.」

Extreme Choice activated.

First I massively boosted my attack power, then it was time for the direct attack skill.

Shwaaa!

Destructive Retribution activated.

A blue flash wrapped around Hector Punisher shot straight up into the air.

When enormous energy condensed, such a phenomenon usually occurred.

But this time I intentionally controlled the direction.

I had no idea how much longer we would have to sail—I could not let our One-Shot take damage.

I handled Destructive Retribution as delicately as possible.

Huh? It actually works like this?

Until now I had focused solely on firing the skill as fast as possible and hitting the target.

Like a power pitcher with poor control.

The power was tremendous, but there was no guarantee of accuracy.

Still, had not my accuracy been 100 percent so far?

Most targets had been huge, and even a slight miss was acceptable because the skill’s attack range was quite wide.

But now, adjusting the direction felt extremely easy.

It seemed the function had improved thanks to the positive influence I had accumulated so far.

No, the damn system should at least show details like this.

Of course this cursed system would never consider user convenience.

It had always been like this anyway.

In any case, I was able to launch Destructive Retribution with relatively good accuracy.

“Go!”

Boom—!

A massive beam of light drew a parabola as it shot downward.

The Nautilus’s horizontally slit eyes widened.

It had clearly sensed the killing intent directed at it.

The bundle of tentacles sweeping the deck quickly moved to the ship’s side.

It intended to solidify its defense with them.

According to the helmsman, its tentacles regenerated infinitely.

It was confident it could quickly regenerate even if they were cut or destroyed.

But this will be different, you brat.

I kept Hector Punisher aimed at the Nautilus until the very end despite the heavy shaking.

I gripped my arm tightly so the skill would not miss.

Destructive Retribution pierced through the bundle of tentacles and struck its target.

Craaaaaack!

—Kiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

An ear-splitting shriek rang out, as if a massive lump of malice was vibrating the air.

The knights standing on the deck staggered simultaneously.

Even though the ship barely rocked.

“Th-this is!”

“Ugh! Impossible. Materialization of will is something only drakes or higher can do!”

“Is that sea monster really that strong?”

“It seems it was not just taking advantage of the sea’s terrain.”

Drakes were monsters so powerful they were called dragon subspecies.

Of course they only earned the nickname because of their similar appearance; they were not actually closely related.

They were completely different species with an enormous gap in power level.

If someone said something like that in front of a real dragon, they might end up as subjects of magical experiments for thousands of years.

In any case, the Nautilus was extremely powerful even without the sea terrain advantage.

Yet such a creature was now writhing and spurting pink liquid.

It hit perfectly.

Destructive Retribution had completely shattered its head.

Even though the shell looked at least a meter thick.

Truly tremendous power.

The knights hanging on the railing could not close their gaping mouths.

“If a person took that technique……!”

“Oh! Just imagining it is horrifying.”

“I heard the northern nomads wet themselves just hearing Duke Carius’s name. It was not an exaggerated rumor.”

“There were stories that he crushed one tribe a day. And that was supposedly the minimum figure.”

“Now that I think about it, the members of the Imperial Assembly have incredibly strong hearts, do they not? What kind of guts did they have to pick a fight with Duke Carius?”

“People who only fight with words and writing know nothing about real combat.”

“That is why the self-defense rulings always come out strangely.”

“Exactly.”

The knights’ murmuring was relatively clear to me.

They spoke softly and the sound of waves overlapped, but my hearing was exceptionally good.

Now that I think about it, they have a point. What exactly were those old men relying on when they challenged me?

Did they think the Carius Duchy’s forces were small enough that they could win?

Or perhaps they believed I would not be able to use force because the Emperor was watching with sharp eyes.

Knights tended to be ignorant about politics, so they probably tried to win with words.

In any case, thanks to my actions the One-Shot had escaped the crisis.

“Your Grace?”

I was looking at the Nautilus with a faint smile when the helmsman suddenly spoke.

The escape boat had already been pulled back up.

It seemed he had been vigorously turning the winch the moment the battle ended.

“What is it?”

“Let us quickly haul up the Nautilus’s corpse. If we hook it to the capstan we can lift it right away.”

The capstan was a fixed tool used to pull anchors or nets.

A round metal cylinder with bars inserted, operated by three or four people pushing.

I looked at the Nautilus’s corpse and fell into thought.

“Is that valuable?”

“The flesh tastes bad so we discard it, but the shell sells for a very high price. I heard mages like it as a material.”

“Ah?”

“Moreover a top-grade monster like this will definitely have a magic stone inside its body.”

“Then we should take it. Retrieve it quickly.”

“Yes!”

The helmsman ran onto the deck and shouted loudly.

“What are you all doing! Hook the bars into the capstan!”

But no one responded to his words.

All the crew on the One-Shot had been replaced by knights.

Large men frowning and tilting their heads.

With bulging muscles, fierce eyes, and swords soaked in Nautilus blood.

The atmosphere suggested that speaking carelessly would result in instant dismemberment.

“Uh, um?”

The helmsman realized something was wrong.

He had gotten too excited and spoken out of old habit, which was his mistake.

However, even if the sky falls there is always a way out.

The helmsman who had been racking his brain furiously came up with an excuse.

“Um…… it is His Grace the Duke’s order.”

The knights’ gazes turned to me.

I smiled gently and nodded.

It meant to follow the helmsman’s instructions.

The tense atmosphere reversed instantly.

“Ah! If that’s the case you should have said so earlier.”

“I almost misunderstood. I was about to slice you up like those tentacles. Hahaha!”

“Ha. Haha. Hahaha.”

The helmsman’s awkward laughter from behind looked somewhat pitiful.

Soon they threw the useless tentacles into the sea and gathered around the capstan.

When the strong knights began turning the device, the Nautilus corpse was quickly hauled up.

“It’s much bigger than I thought?”

Its size was so large it not only filled the entire deck but also protruded over the side of the ship.

In terms of length alone it easily exceeded two One-Shot ships.

Following the helmsman’s instructions, the knights cut off the useless parts and threw them into the sea.

As I quietly watched, one knight approached me.

“Your Grace.”

“What is it?”

“A magic stone was found inside the Nautilus.”

“Oh!”

The magic stone looked to be of very high quality.

I could feel tremendous energy condensed within that dark blue stone.

“I will hold onto it for now. Since we caught it together, I will settle the shares later.”

“Huh? We only cut the tentacles. Wasn’t the decisive blow delivered by Your Grace?”

“You all fought at the front, which created the opportunity. Thanks to you we were also able to protect the ship.”

“Th-that……”

Of course the knight knew it well.

Without me the probability of defeat would have been far higher.

The tentacles regenerated almost infinitely and the knights lacked the power to break the shell.

Still, I attributed the achievement to everyone.

Selling a magic stone like this would not bring much money anyway.

Moreover in terms of military exploits no one could compare to me.

Adding the fame of defeating a Nautilus would not change much.

But for them it is significant.

Since we would be together for quite a long time, it was worth building up this much goodwill.

I smiled brightly.

“You all worked hard. Clean up quickly and get some rest.”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

The knight gave a respectful salute and withdrew with a smiling face.

He then returned to his comrades and shared the good news.

“Waaaaah!”

“Thank you, Your Grace!”

Cheers suddenly erupted across the deck.

Knights already had decent income, but side income was always welcome.

I smiled awkwardly and waved my hand.

Then the helmsman came running in a panic.

“Y-Your Grace!”

“What is it?”

I wondered why the man busy dismantling the Nautilus was acting like this.

But as soon as I heard the report I shot to my feet.

“Pirate ship sighted on the starboard side!”

Finally, what we had been waiting for had arrived.