Reborn as a Hated Noble Family, We Start an Industrial Revolution

BOOM... BOOM... BOOM!

Gigantic waves battered the steel hull of the NRS Orion mercilessly.

A light drizzle swept across the deck. The mana-lamps flickered, dying out. The ship’s engines down below shrieked, roaring loudly as they pushed against an invisible pressure creeping up from the seabed.

That night, the Sea of Mist lost its fragile peace.

On the aft deck, Rumina Sudrath pressed herself tightly against the iron railing. Her dark gray work gown was drenched by splashing saltwater and freezing rain. Her neat hair bun had completely fallen apart.

Rumina’s fingers gripped the railing until her knuckles turned deadly white. Tears leaked out silently, blending with the pouring rain. There were no sobs. Just a body trembling violently, enduring an ancient terror.

Beside her, Riven stood as tall and firm as a stone tower.

His black military shirt and Wolf mantle absorbed the water, becoming times heavier. Yet, the Grand General’s right hand was already tightly gripping the hilt of his sword. The veins on his arm bulged with tension.

"Don’t run, Rumina," Riven’s voice hummed low, cutting through the howling storm. Unshakable. "Step back slowly. Press your back against the cabin wall."

"Brother Riven..." Rumina squeaked, her voice nearly swallowed by the roaring waves. "I-I..."

"Fear is normal." Riven cut in sharply. His eyes swept across the black, unnaturally churning seawater. "Fear is a biological instinct that keeps us alive. Accept the feeling, but do not let it control your legs."

"I... I’m scared to death, Brother..." Rumina confessed, her emotional defenses crumbling into a hoarse whisper.

"Good," Riven replied deadpan. "That means you’re still breathing."

Red lights on the ship’s masts flashed rapidly. The silent alarm blinked without a sound, awakening every corner of the ship into a combat-ready state.

Infantry soldiers sprinted in a low crouch, taking up combat positions behind steel barricades. There were no panicked screams. Northreach’s military discipline was truly being tested at the brink of crisis.

Main Navigation Room.

The crystal radar screens glowed a deep, solid red.

A gigantic sonar signal dot expanded to an absurd size, nearly covering the entire coordinate grid of the NRS Orion.

Captain Thorne stood firmly behind the radar operator. The veteran officer’s face was extraordinarily calm, yet his eyes radiated absolute seriousness.

"Fully charge all four 120mm mana-cannons," Thorne commanded. "Aim all searchlights at the water’s surface. Hold your fire! Nobody pulls the trigger until I give the order."

On the upper deck, Borch and five members of the Ghost Squad had dispersed to the highest elevation points. Vwuuunggg... The magnetic circuits of their long-barreled Gauss Rifles hummed softly, charging up power.

Thorne reached for the Aero-Link Radio on his belt. "Lord Roland, Lady Selene. A massive-scale threat is manifesting right beneath us. Secure the foredeck."

"Copy that, Captain," Roland replied, followed by radio static. "We are in position."

At the ship’s bow, Selene stepped up to the frontline.

Her sea-blue Water Arcanum robes clung wetly to her body. Her silver hair gleamed, reflecting the searchlights. Ten Luminara mages formed up tightly, conjuring a magical barrier behind the goddess of water.

Selene closed her eyes.

She didn’t chant a spell. She let her consciousness seep into the seawater molecules, sensing the vibrations, the pressure, and the massive displacement of mass down below.

Three seconds later, her eyes snapped open.

"This isn’t a current or a storm," Selene whispered sharply. "There is a very, very large living entity right beneath us."

Selene raised both hands. Swoosh!

The water vapor on the sea’s surface was instantly pulled up by magic, freezing and condensing into an extraordinarily thick white fog. Visibility to the ocean was completely blocked off.

Roland leaned his body against the bow’s structural wall. His eyes remained locked on the fog. Seeing Selene taking control of the water, Roland decided to fall back to the mid-deck to check on Rianor’s condition.

"Use that fog to stall for time, Selene," Roland said calmly. "We have no idea what we’re up against."

CRASH!!

Roland’s prediction was answered that very second.

The seawater at the aft deck exploded violently! From the darkness of the waves, a massive, glistening black tentacle—as thick as a pine tree trunk—rocketed up, piercing through the fog!

BAM!

The tentacle, coated in slick skin, slammed into the stern. The thick steel railing warped brutally like toy wire. Two infantry soldiers were hurled through the air, crashing hard against the wooden deck.

"FALL BACK TO THE MID-DECK! NOW!" Riven roared.

The Grand General leaped forward. Shwing! His broadsword was drawn. A dense blue Aura erupted, enveloping the steel blade. Riven swung a lethal vertical slash straight at the tentacle.

SLASH!

Riven’s strike landed true. However, the beast’s skin was way too thick and rubbery. The Aura-coated sword only managed to slice a few centimeters deep, spewing out pungent, foul-smelling black slime.

THUD!

The wounded tentacle thrashed in a panic, striking back at the port side hull of the NRS Orion!

The destroyer suddenly tilted to an extreme angle! Creeeak! The steel structure shrieked as it bore the tremendous weight.

Logistics crates slid freely across the deck. A soldier slipped on the wet planks, nearly plunging into the sea. From atop the watchtower, Naya saw the soldier slip. She instantly vaulted down, landing gracefully on the wet deck, and grabbed the soldier’s collar right before his body fell into the ocean.

In the middle of the deck, Rumina pressed herself against the cabin wall with all her might. Her shoulders trembled, but her eyes were wide open, recording every single detail of the insane battle unfolding before her.

Roland, having just regained his balance, immediately rushed to the passenger cabin door.

From within the darkness of the cabin, Rianor dragged himself out.

The genius architect’s face was as pale as a sheet. His glasses were crooked. His right hand clutched his fiercely nauseous stomach. However, the Arcanotech Bracer on his left arm glowed brightly. Whirrr... clank! The Adamantite circuits stabilized the mana circulation within his body.

"This rocking... ugh... is utterly illogical," Rianor cursed hoarsely.

"Hold your lunch, Brother," Roland threw an arm around his shoulder to keep him standing. "Our enemy has boarded."

SPLASH!

Two new, even more horrifying tentacles slithered up from the port side hull! The appendages coiled around the ship’s smokestack, crushing it until the thick steel groaned and caved in!

"FIRE!" Thorne shouted through the Aero-Link.

BOOM! BOOM!

The two mana-cannons at the bow unleashed their payload. Blasts of blue energy slammed into the base of the tentacles at the waterline. BOOOM! The monster’s flesh was ripped open, spraying black sap into the air.

VWUUUNGGGGG!

An answering roar echoed from the depths.

Without vocal cords. Without vowels. It was a pure, gargantuan infrasonic vibration that penetrated the steel, rattling the brains of every human on board. Over a dozen soldiers instantly fell to their knees, clutching their heads.

Rianor immediately collapsed to his knees. Huurk! He hurled his stomach fluids onto the wooden planks once again.

Wiping his mouth roughly, Rianor narrowed his eyes. His brain suddenly matched ancient data with the vibration he just heard.

"A Kraken..." Rianor whispered.

Roland snapped his head around in shock. "The mythical creature of the southern seas?!"

"It’s not a demonic monster!" Rianor shouted hoarsely over the storm. "It’s a territorial, ancient beast! Its roar is pure biological resonance!"

Rianor grabbed the Aero-Link on Roland’s collar, pressing the general transmission button.

"Thorne! Borch! Don’t waste ammo on the tips of its tentacles!" Rianor called out. "It’s attacking because it thinks this ship’s hull has invaded its territory!"

Rianor pushed his glasses up his nose. "Hit the base below the waterline! We don’t need to kill it—we just need to make the pain exceed its territorial tolerance threshold!"

At the stern, Riven severed the remaining coils of a tentacle on the railing and turned to his sister.

"Did you hear that, Rumina?" Riven said sharply. "This creature is just a wild beast defending its nest. Not a mindless demon!"

Rumina took a deep breath. Her instinct for efficiency suddenly hijacked her terror.

"Brother Riven!" Rumina yelled back, her voice finally steady. "Give it a reason to believe this ship isn’t worth the pain!"

At the bow, Selene executed that exact theory.

She threw her arms wide. CRACK! The seawater temperature on the starboard side plummeted to absolute zero. The churning surface instantly morphed into a three-meter-thick ice wall, blocking a tentacle preparing to strike.

Selene twisted her wrists. The water flow beneath the ship’s smokestack reversed violently like a hydro-jet turbine. SWOOSH! The high-pressure vortex sliced into the tentacle’s surface like thousands of meat cleavers, forcing it to release its grip on the steel.

SPLASH! A torrential deluge swept across the deck.

Atop the watchtower mast, Borch found his opening. His Gauss Rifle locked onto the base of the main tentacle.

THUMP! THUMP!

Hypersonic electromagnetic rounds fired, slicing through the freezing rain and piercing straight into the deep flesh of the Kraken underwater. The seawater instantly grew thick with black blood.

VWUUUUUNGGGGG!

The Kraken unleashed a piercing wail. Its pain threshold was completely shattered by the combination of Riven’s slash, Selene’s ice, and Borch’s bullets.

Its colossal body spun wildly in the depths. The ship shuddered violently one last time as the ocean lord’s grip was fully released.

"BOW CANNONS! WARNING SHOTS! FIRE!" Thorne commanded.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Rather than meant for destruction, the mana-cannons unleashed shockwaves into the water, creating hydro-acoustic blasts that burned through the monster’s biological hearing.

Selene summoned a three-meter wave, physically pushing the massive bulk of the Kraken away from the ship’s perimeter.

The Kraken finally surrendered. The giant black silhouette turned around, diving back into the abyssal darkness of the ocean trench.

On the radar screen, the giant red dot shrank, moving out of the detection zone. The rocking stopped. The NRS Orion returned to floating steadily.

Silence. Only the remnants of the freezing rain continued to fall.

Captain Thorne stepped out onto the deck, sweeping his gaze across the damage.

The aft railing was destroyed. Two cannons were jammed. The hull was dented, but there were no compartment leaks.

"Casualty report!"

"Thirteen soldiers wounded, Sir!" the medical team reported. "Four broken bones. Zero fatalities!"

Thorne let out a long sigh. "Take the wounded to the infirmary. This ship is still one hundred percent seaworthy."

On the aft deck, Rumina slumped weakly onto the wet floor. She hugged her knees, shivering.

Step.

Riven crouched in front of her. He checked her carefully. No injuries. Just a ruined gown and a pale face.

"You held up remarkably well," Riven said softly.

Rumina looked up. Her bluish lips trembled.

"I... I really was scared to death back there, Brother..." Rumina whispered. Her mask of pure rationality crumbled.

Riven carved a thin smile. An acknowledging smile from a veteran to a newly forged warrior.

"Your fear is absolute proof that you are still human, little sister." Riven stood up, extending a hand. "Welcome to the real battlefield."

Rumina stared at that rough hand, then accepted it. She stood tall, defying the night wind. Something shifted within her soul; a newly forged resolve tempered by the terrors of the deep.

Far below the pitch-black seabed... the sonar dot was still blinking faintly.

The Kraken no longer attacked. The ancient monster simply swam slowly in the depths of the trench, escorting the NRS Orion’s voyage from afar. A silent acknowledgment from the lord of the sea... to the steel vessel worthy of traversing its territory.