Even from afar, one could smell the overpowering stench of blood in the ocean.
Schools of sharks loitered around the outskirts, lured in by their predatory instincts. The smell of fresh blood interfered with their judgement and drove them to hastily rush to the shallows. And yet after a fierce battle, they could only flee the area, leaving behind a dozen or so bodies in their flurried retreat.
Giant spider crabs covered the shoal rocks and filled the water near the shore. They seemed to be resting there, but the moment their protruding eyes caught sight of prey, they instantly swam over. They were naturals at sneak attacks, born to be savage killersâ they first stabbed their claws into their targetsâ bodies, then attacked the vital spots with their pincers.
Though sharks were strong and agile when they swam in the sea, they were no match for tens of spider crabs ganging up on them at once.
This unexpected snack slightly slowed the spider crabsâ migration as they stopped to feast. At the bottom of the ocean, Thaumas was on the brink of suffocation; its back was laden with these crabs, which pushed out every last ounce of its strength. In its dizzied state, Thaumas tried its best to shuffle forward, not realising that the spider crabs were purposely driving it away from the rocks. A number of these creatures were already buried in the sand ahead, lying in wait for the sea turtle to walk into their trap, thereby allowing them to rip open its stomach.
Although spider crabs didnât possess a complete, independent thought process, this didnât mean they were stupid. On the contrary, they were exceptional at cooperating and understanding one another in hunts. Together, they plundered as a means of propagating their species. When there wasnât enough food, they dove into the deep sea, though they soon discovered that land was where food lay in abundance. Humans were much weaker than marine lifeâ they didnât have sharp teeth like sharks, nor were they as stubbornly difficult as sea turtles.
The spider crabsâ migration proceeded in an orderly fashion along the shoreline.
Stained with red, the ocean was dirtied and littered with broken bones and hair⌠It looked just like Hell on Earth.
ăNo, thereâs too many. Weâll get tangled if we charge in!ă
Abyss, who had especially good eyesight, pushed the escaping sharks aside and glanced at the scene before turning and reporting to Siren.
The wavelength of this infrasonic wave wasnât suited for long-distance transmission, yet strangely enough, many of the larger spider crabs with blackish-red shells began emitting a raucous noise. The merman was the most sensitive to sound; he immediately stopped the sea monsters from moving closer.
ăWe have been discovered.ă
ăHuh?ă
Frankly speaking, the âdeep seaâ and the âshallow seaâ regions of the ocean werenât too far apart. They were precisely where the continental shelf connected with the continental slope. This thus allowed the two parties to still see each otherâs shadows even with the distance and a 50m difference in depth between them.
ăThose cunning bastardsâ theyâre staying at where itâs at most 30 metres deep! Thereâs no way I can go over!ăAbyss was at least 10m in height; including its eight tentacles, the octopus was about half as tall as the Thalassa Goddess . There was no way it could stretch itself out in the shallow water, much less fight in it.
ăAnd so, not even the sharks could put up a fight there!ă
Sirenâs sound waves were equally cold and furious.
Splash!
The merman broke through the surface.
The sky was still blue and the weather was lovely. One could see the beach and dyke a distance away. A gentle breeze was blowing from land.
Except⌠it carried nothing but the smell of blood.
The clusters of spider crabs began to grow restless; those on the periphery had seen the sea monsters already. While they didnât have an official leader, like many other creatures in nature, those who were stronger and older were the ones to lead the group.
Now, an ineffable air of nervousness permeated the atmosphere.
This was the issue with colonies: they might seem strong, but they were also more likely to be jointly ignorant.
ăThe water is too shallowâŚă
Siren stared at the crimson sea in front of him. Given this depth, it had been determined that Eurybia â who was physically the strongest â and Abyss â who was the smartest â would not be able to go.
ăHeâŚlp⌠SirenâŚă
Thaumas had already heard the voices of its companions, but sadly, it could barely find the air to talk. It was lucky that infrasonic waves didnât need to be spoken by mouth, or else the sea turtle wouldnât be able to even open said mouth with so many spider crabs on its head.
ăDonât move, Thaumas!ă
Using infrasonic waves, Siren was able to locate the sea turtleâs position and stop it from moving. This allowed Thaumas to halt right before the ambush and ensured it would now stay where it was.
His light silver tail cut through the water in a beautiful arc, shooting him out like a flying arrow.
âSirenââ
Having followed the merman, Xia Yi also floated to the surface. Seeing the distinct rippling in the water, he was both shocked into crying aloud and yet simultaneously so tense that barely a single word came out.
The water was filled with spider crabs waving their sharp claws, barely any space left between them. Also seeing the ripples, the spider crabs madly pounced, only to crash into one another.
The merman was too fast.
Just how fast could a merman, who spent his days floating about the deep sea, be once he was at the surface where water pressure was practically non-existent? At the very least, he would have a much better sense of direction than an oarfish who only knew how to slam its way through. In a split second, the merman had glided past.
Going towards Thaumasâ direction, Siren approached in an oddly complicated swerve. Meanwhile, in every direction were spider crabs that crashed into a jumbled mess due to having miscalculated the mermanâs positioning. As a result, the water began tossing and turning in an obviously unnatural way.
At the centre of the currents, Siren dragged in a spider crab that was knocked over. Without a pause in his advancement, the merman used his sharp nails to slice into the joints of the crabâs limbs, and with a firm pull, its long and flexible claws fell limp.
In comparison to many others, crustaceans did not have very quick sensory nerves. By the time it was struggling in pain, half of its eight legs were rendered immobile.
Though its pincers were powerful, the spider crab couldnât do much with only one when Siren was grasping the other. It couldnât get used to this high speed that involved surprising turns at every angle.
What was even worse for the crab was that its pincers were now weapons while its shell became a shield. Siren thrashed it behind him and more spider crabs crashed into each other.
When crabs swam in the water, they werenât as agile as they would be on the ocean floor or beach. At the same time, they needed something to prop themselves up.
Siren had taken advantage of this, and when they were unprepared, the merman had already swum hundreds of metres down. As he dove, Siren was causing growing waves on the surface. With such a commotion, how could the ability users, who were using binoculars and observing all this time from a building by the beach, not notice?
âCaptain Hao, look!â
âItâs the sea monsters! Theyâre here!â
Binoculars hadnât lost their efficacy with the arrival of the apocalypse, their lenses working just as well as before.
They were using high-powered binoculars employed by the military. This allowed them to see that in the water far away, a tentacle broke through the surfaceâ that was Eurybia getting excited after seeing how intense the fight was.
âAccording to the information available, these sea monsters are primarily here to save something called Thaumas⌠At least eight out of ten countries think itâs a sea turtle, so letâs just call it that for now! For a sea turtle that hasnât breathed for a whole day and night, Thaumas must be at its limits. I thought we arrived early, but who knew⌠these sea monsters are so fast. Did they really go from the Mariana Trench in the tropics to the Bohai Sea in such a short amount of time?â
âWait, Captain Hao, that sea monster doesnât seem like the octopus!â
The image of Abyssâ blue-ringed body had made a very deep impression on the special ability users.
âWhatever it is⌠there might already be a battle going on hereâŚâ
The ocean was churning as waves slammed against the surface; the terrifying spider crabs could vaguely be seen in its depth.
âPerhaps the larger sea monsters canât come close because itâs too shallow here.â The ability usersâ captain, who had the title of second lieutenant, was quick to analyse the reasons. The three other ability wielders were also moved; clenching their fist, one of them punched the window frame of the abandoned building.
âCome on! Kill all these monsters!â
Theyâd had enough of the pain of seeing people wail and flee, yet not being able to do anything.
â Shh , quiet. Though there might not be long-distance infrasonic waves, Professor Lin has speculated that we should be able to hear the infrasonic waves that are projected over a shorter distance!â
Siren was currently caught up in a strange agitation.
For the merman, this place was not only enshrouded in the stench of blood, but there was also a lot of lingering malice from humans who had died in pain and devastation. Mental waves were an extremely powerful force that severely influenced Sirenâs judgement. He couldnât help but want to stop and take a deep breath of these hopeless scents. Even if there wasnât anything to eat, it was nice to be able to smell the flavours.
Nevertheless, the ocean was packed and the sheer number of spider crabs provided them great advantages in such a restricted environment. There was not a moment to lose. Siren had since spotted Thaumas, the turtle already completely covered with spider crabs.
No!
The closer he was to the ocean floor, the less room he had to work with, thus offering a growing level of risk.
Despite the poor crab heâd used to cover his back, a number of scales had been ripped off by sharp pincers, and at one place, he was even stabbed by a claw. Though Siren had dodged at the last second, the claw had still cut deep; heâd only managed to keep it from piercing straight through. But the crimson droplets that seeped out into the water stimulated the nearby spider crabs.
The blood of merfolk⌠As food, it was an extreme temptation.
Also catching a whiff of the scent, Thaumas struggled and shouted, ăSiren⌠go first and catch a dozen or so electric eels⌠Iâll wait⌠for youâŚă
The ability users on land were still a bit far away and couldnât hear what the sea turtle had said. However, Xia Yi had understood that â given Thaumasâ request â Siren was clearly unable to save the sea turtle.
Having no way to know what had happened over there, Xia Yi could only anxiously call out.
ăSiren!ă
The ability users who were holding their high-powered binoculars jolted up.
After all, Xia Yi was a human, and the frequencies of his infrasonic waves were easier for other ability wielders to hear.
The ocean churned ever so intensely, a few spider crabs dizzily spinning about in the waves with their stomachs upturned. Though there were some dark red streaks amidst the white sea foam, those couldnât be from the spider crabs because the blood of arthropods was colourless.
âIs Siren really the sea monster that sank ships during storms? We have to see what kindââ
Before Captain Hao could finish his sentence, a jet of water shot above the waves.
Midair, a gracefully strong figure arced backwards; long, silver hair cut through the air with droplets at its tips. Seawater flowed down from a light silver tail that was stained with red, and when he was at the highest point of his leap, the mermanâs appearance was completely revealed following the descent of water.
Bang!
One of the ability usersâ toes were smashed by fallen binoculars.
Unable to break through the spider crabsâ encirclement, Siren chose to leap out of the water. As long as he had enough height, he would land much further than where he began.
Holding a half-dead spider crab as a shield, Siren pushed his way through the ones waiting to attack him the instant he landed. He then used the force of the resisting crabs, and slapping his tail hard, Siren once again leaped out of water.
A few spider crabs were unwilling to give up. Stepping on the backs of their companions, they too jumped up.
While flying through the air, Siren saw the claws that tried to stab him. Using the strength in his waist, Siren turned agilely out of harmâs way and then reached out, his five fingers scratching down in the blink of an eye. He was so fast that it was almost invisible against the tossing waves. From afar, nothing seemed to have happened, when in reality, at least half of the crabs up in the air had had their eyes gouged out.
Another splash . This time, Siren used these crabsâ bodies as a source of power to leap out.
Amongst the churning waves, a sucker-covered tentacle ripped through the surface, flinging away several spider crabs in the process. Catching Siren with precision, the owner of the tentacle then floated up. When the round head appeared, another series of waves sent the ocean into a boundless chaos.
Appearing like a prehistoric monster⌠It had to be the squid, Eurybia.
âMer-mer⌠merman⌠Captain, did you see that?!â
That shout snapped the captain with the rank of second lieutenant back from his trance.
Through the high-powered binoculars, the calculated and vigorous movements spoke of both strength and beauty, making one unable to tear their gaze away.
ăEurybia? How are you here?!ăAccording to Sirenâs calculation, he needed to leap at least one more time before reaching the safe zone that the other sea monsters were waiting in.
ăAh, the water is too shallow, so we must need more water!ăThe crab, Gululu, arrogantly crawled onto Eurybiaâs head. Waving its non-matching pincers, it yelled, ăFirst, create a tsunami and blow them apart!ă
Siren was confused for a moment before feeling the sea level gradually rising. Then he understood.