Chapter 193 - 192: Fun
"The scenery here really is nice... If it weren’t for the Demons, it’d be a great spot for fishing."
"Fishing? That’s a hobby for old men who’ve lost their vigor," Gray scoffed.
"Who told you that?" Marcus shot Gray a sidelong glance.
"My dad’s like that. He lost interest in women."
Gray shrugged.
"When most Nobility go hunting, it’s a display of martial prowess. They take Strong Bows and hounds, and if they don’t come back with a deer or two, the trip is considered a waste."
"But when my dad ’goes hunting,’ he just brings a fishing rod to the lake, sits there quietly for hours, and then comes home empty-handed."
"I just don’t get it. Propping up a fishing rod by a lake and waiting for hours, doing nothing... It’s a complete waste of a life."
The wait was long.
For a long time, the surface of the water remained still. Only a few water birds occasionally skimmed past, leaving circles of ripples in their wake.
"Maybe there’s something wrong with the bait?"
Maki finally lost his patience. "Perhaps the Blood-Handed Demon Fish doesn’t like mutton?"
"So what should we do? Should I jump in and offer myself as bait? Maybe it prefers the taste of human flesh?" Gray said.
"That’s not a bad idea..." Maki stroked his chin, starting to seriously consider the plan’s feasibility.
Zelir just shook his head, looking rather regretful.
’If we can’t lure out the Blood-Handed Demon Fish, does that mean we bought these two little sheep for nothing?’
Suddenly, Gray, who had been staring intently at the lake, let out a low, "Shhh!"
"We’ve got movement!"
He gestured with his eyes toward the hemp rope in his hands.
Everyone looked over.
Sure enough, the hemp rope had begun to tremble slightly, showing signs of being pulled out into the lake.
Something in the water was eating the sheep.
The group quietly looked up and peered out at the lake.
Ripples spread across the once-calm surface of the water.
As the pull on the rope grew stronger, the ripples widened.
"The Blood-Handed Demon Fish is here?" Maki asked, a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Probably not..."
Valles shook his head gently. "These are probably just Sharp-Toothed Fish. They’re also drawn to fresh meat."
Just as he said, an ugly fish-like Demon leaped from the water with a large chunk of mutton in its mouth.
It tumbled in mid-air before falling back into the lake with a loud SPLASH.
Sharp-Toothed Fish, a [Tier Twelve] Demon with a [Simple] rating.
An adult Sharp-Toothed Fish can grow to nearly a meter in length. Its body isn’t covered in smooth scales, but in disgusting, tuberous growths. Its teeth are also exceptionally sharp.
Compared to a Sharp-Toothed Fish, the feared piranha seems as gentle and harmless as a fluffy little rabbit.
Sharp-Toothed Fish are incredibly ferocious, and their diet includes a variety of large animals—humans included.
What’s even stranger is that this Demon’s pectoral fins have evolved to be incredibly powerful—they’re less like fins and more like fleshy wings.
They can use these fins as supports to walk on land for short periods, much like a seal uses its flippers.
There’s a story about a fisherman who cast his net and found a Sharp-Toothed Fish mixed in with his catch when he hauled it in.
It immediately leaped up and bit the fisherman’s head off, then slaughtered the other people on the boat before they could react, turning the scene into a massacre.
Everyone focused intently.
Soon, more and more Sharp-Toothed Fish, drawn by the scent of mutton and blood, swarmed the area. That section of the lake began to churn as if boiling, the fish tumbling over one another like carp fighting for feed.
Every so often, a fresh blossom of blood would bloom on the surface—likely one of the Sharp-Toothed Fish killed by its own kind in the frenzy.
"Should we have brought more bait?"
Gray couldn’t help but ask as he watched the two sheep being devoured.
"At this rate, the Sharp-Toothed Fish will have picked the carcasses clean before the Blood-Handed Demon Fish even shows up. It’s like we came all this way just to feed them."
"Be patient..."
Marcus gently patted Gray’s arm. "Start pulling the rope back, little by little. Not too fast, or you’ll spook them."
Gray understood and began to slowly reel in the hemp rope.
As the sheep carcasses—their dinner plate—moved slowly, the frenzied school of Sharp-Toothed Fish followed, moving toward the shallows.
Now, everyone could see these bloodthirsty Demons more clearly.
Their massive, tooth-filled mouths tore at the sheep carcasses, swallowing huge chunks of bloody flesh whole.
They were so crowded that they would get knocked aside by others of their kind. The feeding frenzy was a primitive, ugly sight.
Suddenly, a Sharp-Toothed Fish that was tearing at a sheep’s leg stopped moving.
It actually released its grip and swam to the side.
Then, more and more Sharp-Toothed Fish stopped fighting over the mutton.
One after another, they released their bites and swam aside, as if clearing a path for some approaching presence.
"What is...?" Gray froze.
"The Blood-Handed Demon Fish is coming!"
Valles’s tone grew excited.
Sure enough, the words had barely left his lips when a massive shadow materialized beneath the surface of the lake, like a dark cloud.
Zelir made a rough estimate: it was at least five or six meters long.
It approached with incredible speed, its target perfectly clear: the two sheep carcasses!
"Well now... I think I’m starting to see the appeal of fishing." Seeing the big one about to take the bait, Gray unconsciously licked his lips.
But the Blood-Handed Demon Fish’s speed underwater was far greater than any of them had anticipated.
In the blink of an eye, it had already crossed most of the lake and was about to reach the bait.
"We can’t let it get the bait while it’s still in the water!"
Marcus’s voice was clipped and sharp. "Gray! Now! Yank the carcasses out of the water!"
Gray gritted his teeth, gripped the hemp rope with both hands, and pulled back with all his might!
The rope went taut.
But Gray’s Power clearly wasn’t enough.
"Move! I’ve got this!"
Maki, beside him, immediately snatched the rope and gave it a mighty heave!
SPLASH!!!
The two sheep carcasses were yanked from the water by the immense force, flying through the air in a wide arc.
But in that same instant, the Blood-Handed Demon Fish leaped out of the water after them.
And now, the group finally saw its true form.
It was a bizarrely-shaped, ugly, grayish-black demon fish.
Its upper body was covered in dark scales as thick as flagstones, with green moss and weeds clinging to the crevices between them.
From its huge, malformed head, sharp fangs jutted out of a massive jaw that couldn’t fully close.
Its upper half might be described as a monstrous giant fish, but its lower half was shaped exactly like an enormous octopus.
There was no tail. In its place were dozens of thick, slick, massive tentacles that looked like blood-red arms!
The tentacles writhed madly, the suckers on their tips clearly visible!
In mid-air, the Blood-Handed Demon Fish’s mouth snapped open.
Its gaping, bloody maw swallowed both flying sheep carcasses in a single gulp!