Chapter 80: A New Eldritch
When Celula heard Raphael’s lecture, the happy look on her face faded and turned into annoyance.
But before she could say anything, Nova reached out and stopped her. She smiled and said, "Captain Raphael, we have our own way of dealing with this crisis. You don’t need to worry about giving us advice."
"Also, let me remind you of something. Your own companions might not be as trustworthy as you think." Nova didn’t stay any longer. She took Celula’s hand and walked back to the dinner table.
Raphael watched the two of them walk away and sighed. "We’ve only met a few times, and she can already tell that Valentina isn’t on the same page as us?"
Toti frowned when he heard this. "That woman is way too smart. But if she’s so smart, why isn’t she properly preparing for the fight tonight?"
He slapped his thigh in frustration. "Those piles of rocks and wooden frames? That’s just kids playing house."
Disappointed and angry, Toti waved his hand and turned around, heading back to their own base.
Raphael glanced at Nova and Celula one more time. She wanted to say something else, but soon the look on her face turned to disappointment, and she followed Toti away.
Not long after they left, not too far away, behind a slope.
Valentina had gathered three other Captains in secret.
"Did you all see clearly?" Valentina stared at the Captains, her face cold.
One of the Captains nodded and lowered his voice. "Yeah. We saw everything. Nova and Celula were just moving rocks around randomly. They stacked them into little piles no higher than their knees. It was like they were playing house."
Valentina let out a sarcastic laugh. "And I thought they were strong. Looks like when it comes to building defenses, they don’t even have the most basic clue."
As she finished speaking, Valentina took out several bottles and handed them to the Captains.
"This is the blood of Elite-level Eldritch Entities." Valentina tightened the caps and warned them carefully. "When evening comes, find a chance to sneak over and pour this blood around the Two-Masted Sloop. Since they look down on us, there’s no reason for us to be nice to them. Tonight, I want them to take the full force of every Eldritch Entity attack."
Night fell.
Kevin slowly opened his eyes.
He rubbed his forehead, took out a bottle of [Holy Spring], and drank it.
At that moment, Nova walked over with the other members. "Everything’s done, just like you asked."
Celula stood to the side, hands on her hips, looking unhappy. "Captain Kevin, what exactly are those piles of rocks and wooden frames for? They’re so embarrassing. Several groups came by today to check us out, but when they saw us stacking rocks like we were playing house, they all shook their heads and walked away. It’s so frustrating."
Monchhichi chuckled when she heard Celula’s complaint, and Luna and Amelia joined in laughing.
Nova gently patted Celula’s hair and said softly, "I know you wouldn’t make us do something useless. How confident are you for tonight?"
Kevin grinned when he heard this. "Don’t worry. After tonight, we’ll be the number one crew on this terrifying sea."
Monchhichi wanted to say something, but Kevin gently raised his hand. "I’m not bragging. And I’ve prepared more than one backup plan. All you need to do is stay on the ship and hold off the Normal and Elite-level Eldritch Entities."
Nova frowned. "Are you saying there will be Commander-level Eldritch Entities tonight?"
Kevin nodded. "Those giant monsters are at least Commander-level. But compared to a Commander-level Eldritch Entity like the Mist Phantom King, the giant monsters have one big weakness. They’re huge. No matter where they go, they become easy targets for Survivors."
As he said this, Kevin thought back to his past life.
He had been through dozens of battles against the giant monsters. He went from feeling hopeless at first to being confident now.
That was mainly because Kevin had figured out how to deal with them. And that method was something countless Survivors had paid for with their lives.
Thinking about this, Kevin reminded them again, "During the fight, I might not be able to watch out for you. Remember, if you run into an enemy you can’t handle, retreat first. Keep yourselves alive."
Kevin pulled out a large number of Tears of the Goddess, Fish Fiend Holy Spring, and Eldritch Eyes Holy Spring, and handed them all to the girls.
At the same time, Kevin handed each of the girls a Restoration Potion.
Stephanie walked up nervously and whispered, "Captain Kevin, is there anything I can do?"
Kevin glanced at Stephanie and said coldly, "Hide in the helm and stay there. You don’t need to fight. And of course, you won’t get any of the loot."
Stephanie let out a quiet "Oh," her face full of disappointment.
"Wait." Kevin stopped her. "Where’s Keston?"
Stephanie froze mid-step, turned around, and explained, "I... I’m not in touch with him anymore."
Kevin’s eyes turned cold. "You’re not in touch with him? Then what use are you to me?"
Stephanie looked panicked. "I’ll go find him right now. What do you want me to ask him?"
Kevin’s voice was icy. "Stephanie, the only reason you’re on this ship is to help me find Bella and Joseph. Understand?"
Stephanie nodded quickly, but her hands were clenched tightly.
She turned and walked into the cabin. The moment she stepped inside the helm, she let out a low, hysterical growl. "Bella, Bella, so he’s never let go of his sister. Damn it. Why? Why does he still care about that bitch?"
Just as Stephanie was letting off steam, a three-meter wave suddenly surged on the sea.
The wave slammed into the Two-Masted Sloop, and the ship shook.
Kevin and Nova grabbed the rails and turned their eyes toward the distant horizon. "The appetizer is here. I’m going to prepare. You handle the fighting for now."
Kevin leaped off the Two-Masted Sloop.
Under the cover of night, he quietly made his way to the beach. He silently took out cannons, Vulcan Cannons, and RPG Launchers from his mechanical kingdom and set them up on top of the rock piles.
No one noticed Kevin.
At this moment, whether it was Raphael, Richard, or Oliver, almost everyone’s attention was on the sea.
The moment the last wave receded, a dense crowd of Eldritch Entities flooded onto the beach.
They were huge, most of them over five meters long.
Some had giant claws and walked like lobsters.
Others had twisted bodies and crawled like Slime.
Some had jellyfish-like heads, floating in the air like ghosts, glowing with a faint blue light.
Seeing this, all the Captains, including Raphael, pulled out their Pistols at the same time.
After a series of gunshots, the battle had officially begun.
In an instant, the dark coastline lit up with flashes of gunfire.
Thanks to the weapons and ammo Kevin had provided, Raphael and Oliver’s groups quickly held back the Eldritch Entities’ attack.
Toti held a Vulcan Cannon in one hand and an RPG Launcher in the other.
Bright flashes of fire burst from his front again and again. He was like a walking human cannon—wherever he went, firepower followed.
He didn’t forget to remind Raphael, "Take it easy. Don’t use that damn Eldritch Artifact unless you have to."
Raphael nodded.
She didn’t use her ability to summon tornadoes. Instead, she pulled out a long sword from her waist and charged into the Eldritch Entities.
Raphael moved very fast. Every strike she made hit the weak points of the Eldritch Entities with perfect accuracy.
Valentina and the other Captains watched and clapped in admiration. "No wonder she’s the leader of eighteen ships. Captain Raphael is also amazing with a sword."
Toti snorted and spat on the ground. "You little brats, there’s plenty you haven’t seen. Before the Eldritch came, Raphael was a fencing prodigy who could have made it to the Olympics."
Hearing this, Valentina and the others all turned their eyes to Raphael.
At that moment, Raphael was like a dancer moving among the Eldritch Entities.
Her footwork, her rhythm, and her timing were breathtaking.
Especially the long sword in her hand. It seemed to have a kind of magic. Every Eldritch Entity she stabbed would quickly twitch and lose its ability to fight.
Valentina stared hard at the long sword in Raphael’s hand and whispered to the Captains beside her, "That sword is at least C-Tier. Damn it. Raphael has so many tricks and powerful gear. Let’s watch closely. If Raphael falls in battle, we grab that sword first."
While Valentina and the others were plotting against Raphael, on another part of the coastline...
Oliver, Robin, and Tom were already fighting hard.
Because Oliver insisted, no one in this battle was using modern weapons like Pistols, Grenades, or RPG Launchers.
"Stay sharp! Don’t fight like you haven’t eaten. These are just Normal-level Eldritch Entities. They’re not worth wasting our Bullets on. Put in the work, and I’ll back you up," Oliver shouted, swinging his walking stick.
His stick seemed to have a kind of magic. Every time it touched the ground, it let out a sharp, piercing sound wave.
The sound waves vibrated in a steady rhythm. Any Eldritch Entity that entered the sound wave’s range would quickly lose its balance, its limbs acting out of control. Some of the worse-off ones would collapse to the ground, completely paralyzed.
Seeing this, the other crew members quickly took the chance to stab them.
Thanks to Oliver’s ability, the Normal crew members managed to kill quite a few Eldritch Entities.
On the other side, Robin and Tom had already merged.
After merging, they were like superhumans. They took on the giant claws of an Eldritch lobster head-on and actually managed to break the lobster’s head off.
But when they ran into three Eldritch jellyfish, they started to struggle.
"Damn it! These things are like rubber. Our strength can’t hurt them at all," Robin and Tom growled.