Chapter 431: Kraken (2)
A torrent of profanity burst forth like a machine gun.
“Uh, uh…”
Lothain gaped like a goldfish.
Who dared to speak to the esteemed Deputy Commander of the Holy Cross Knights with such crude language?
He was a man backed by the Papacy and respected by countless noble families across Europe. Even those families couldn’t act against him.
And yet, the one before him was merely a commoner before the Tower’s appearance.
If this man weren’t the famous Kang Jinhyuk, Lothain would have already ordered an attack.
“Kang… Jinhyuk, no matter how incredible you may be, this is a family matter. It’s not something you should interfere with,” Lothain said.
“Sorry, but Teresa has one foot in our camp now. And if a daughter suffers in a dysfunctional family, isn’t it only natural to want to save her?” Jinhyuk replied.
“D-dysfunctional family? Are you saying the Papacy and the Holy Cross Knights are dysfunctional?” Lothain’s voice trembled.
“Oh, my apologies.”
Jinhyuk bowed his head in mock sincerity.
“If you think an apology will make this right—”
“No, I was apologizing to dysfunctional families everywhere.”
What an insult to food scraps that couldn’t even be sorted for recycling.
“You bastard!”
“Deputy Commander, please control yourself. Many are watching.”
Despite Lothain’s fury, he couldn’t act recklessly.
The Kraken had started its rampage, its appetite growing after acquiring a multitude of prey.
“Graaaa!”
Tentacles shot up from the water, wrapping around the ships.
Unlike the nimble White Pearl, ordinary ships were helpless, easy prey for the Kraken.
“Ahhh!”
“Save us!”
A massive ship broke in half, disappearing into the sea. The whirlpool created by the sinking vessel consumed even the few survivors.
[The Kraken is using its passive skill, ‘Fleet Devourer.’]
With its attack power increasing, the Kraken grew even larger.
‘Crackle!’
Red lightning flashed from the sky, and various marine creatures darted through the sea, growing stronger as well.
For the Kraken, the ocean was nothing less than a lavish buffet.
“Stand your ground and fight! Running won’t save you!” someone shouted.
“Pass all mana potions to the mages. We need to prepare magic that can harm this thing while the other guilds distract it!”
Some competent raid leaders encouraged their teams, trying to seize any chance to retaliate. They reformed their formations amidst the raging currents, searching for openings.
But their opponent was overwhelmingly strong.
‘Thud! Boom!’
Harpoons bounced off harmlessly.
They crafted whale-hunting harpoons, overlaid them with fire magic, and sped them up with overlapping acceleration spells from over thirty mages.
Even so…
“Not even a scratch?”
Finding a strategy seemed meaningless.
Was the Kraken even something that could be conquered?
‘Rumble!’
A catastrophe of unprecedented scale spread across the sea.
Seeing a six-star-rated large vessel sink in a single blow drained all hope.
‘Crunch! Crack!’
Players who fell into the ocean were devoured by great white sharks or entangled by jellyfish and drowned.
The water turned an even darker red.
“It’s hopeless…”
“Run! Anywhere—just get the ship moving!”
Overwhelmed by terror, panicked ships zigzagged erratically, some colliding with whirlpools.
One by one, ships vanished. In less than 30 minutes, a third of the fleet was gone.
The remaining ships were merely delaying their inevitable demise.
Forced by the circumstances, the surviving fleet huddled together.
“Kang Jinhyuk…”
“Don’t you have a solution?”
“We’ll do whatever you say. Just please help us!”
Raid leaders, deputy leaders, and high-ranking guild members frantically opened communication windows with Jinhyuk.
‘They ran like cowards before, and now they beg for help?’
Jinhyuk chuckled in disbelief.
He despised those who had exploited Teresa. He was equally annoyed by those who stood by and did nothing.
But…
‘If I leave them to die, the Kraken will only grow stronger.’
The Kraken was already almost invincible. Letting it become even more powerful would lead to an irreversible disaster.
Assessing each guild’s capabilities and high-ranking players, Jinhyuk quickly made up his mind.
“From now on, you will do exactly as I say.”
Jinhyuk’s voice was calm and resolute.
—
The fleet’s formation was reorganized.
Following Jinhyuk’s instructions, the ships spread out widely. The adjustments were made swiftly as the Kraken focused on eliminating fleeing ships.
“Can we really trust him?” a ranker from the Holy Cross Knights asked cautiously.
The speaker was Jayna, the main ranged attacker for their raid team. Her wavy brown hair reached her waist.
The Holy Cross Knights were positioned in what seemed like a safe zone in the rear, but trusting Jinhyuk felt risky. Given their strained relationship, why would he offer them safety?
Their only mission was to destroy any reefs that might appear—a seemingly minor role with no further instructions.
“He’s definitely up to something. He probably wants to use us as bait,” Lothain muttered.
“Fred, are the currents mapped out yet?”
“They are… and as you suspected, it’s just as you thought.”
Fred, a player specialized in reading ocean currents and skilled in ‘Navigation,’ had been closely observing the flow of water, salt concentration, and wind strength.
Minute changes were beginning to appear.
“Looks like the tide will shift soon.”
“Yes. Our position will end up being the closest to the Kraken in about 15 minutes.”
As expected. They’ve set this up to use the Holy Cross Knights’ fleet as bait.
But there’s no way they would suspect that their plan had already been uncovered.
“What should we do?” Jayna asked.
Lothain smirked slyly. “For now, we’ll play along. And when the tide shifts, we’ll turn their plan against them.”
Lothain, who had spent over a decade in the military before joining the Holy Cross Knights, could clearly see the general outline of the strategy.
And he had an ace up his sleeve, courtesy of Eden. If push came to shove, he could deploy it.
At that moment, the Kraken, having finished its hunt, began rushing toward the fleet.
The water split, revealing a massive shadow beneath the surface.
Every second stretched on endlessly.
‘Damn it. The deeper we go into the Tower, the more it feels like hell,’ Lothain thought, clenching his teeth so hard it seemed they might shatter.
Even positioned toward the rear, he didn’t feel even the slightest sense of safety. His only thought was to escape this living nightmare as soon as possible.
—
‘Boom!’
‘Bang!’
The leading fleet fired their cannons.
The target wasn’t the Kraken, but the whirlpools.
The shots weren’t concentrated but spaced apart, like rhythmically timed hits in a rhythm game, each aimed at different whirlpools.
To an observer, it might look like yet another futile attack, but then…
“Grooooo!”
Something unexpected happened.
The Kraken, charging head-on, was suddenly pulled toward one of the nearby whirlpools.
For the first time, its mouth was exposed.
Now!
[Maria activates Lv16 ‘Hellfire.’]
[Oh Ji-won triggers Lv15 ‘Venom of the Black Mamba.’]
[Yoshio uses Lv16 ‘Yume Kaze.’]
[Bae Hyunjae…]
Rankers across the fleet simultaneously unleashed their skills.
A myriad of magical attacks struck the Kraken’s exposed mouth.
“Kiiieeeeek!”
A cry of pain echoed.
Although its wounds began to heal as quickly as ever, they had landed their first effective hit.
“Yes!”
“We did it!”
“This is how we’ll take it down! Keep pushing!”
Cheers of hope erupted throughout the fleet.
However…
Through ‘Sanctuary’ and ‘Eyes of Gluttony,’ Jinhyuk could see the Kraken’s total health.
[1,889,983,555 / 1,980,000,000]
Even after expending so much, the damage they had inflicted was barely noticeable.
A decisive move was necessary.
At that moment, the currents shifted.
The awaited timing had finally arrived.
‘Whoosh!’
Underwater reefs emerged from the sea.
Each reef bore distinct patterns and could deal critical damage to the Kraken if destroyed with specific attacks.
Simultaneously, the positions of the vanguard and middle fleets were rearranged.
The Holy Cross Knights’ fleet moved to the very front, while the other fleets were distanced from the Kraken.
Isolated and left as bait.
“I knew it! That bastard!” Lothain clenched his fist tightly.
He had been waiting for this.
For the moment to turn the tables on his opponent.
[Condition met. The relic ‘Abel’s Skull’ has been activated.]
Cain and Abel.
A tragic myth born of jealousy and resentment.
The relic, crafted from the skull of Abel, who was killed by Cain, had a unique ability.
[When subjected to a fatal betrayal, the positions of the betrayer and the betrayed are reversed.]
Under Eden’s blessing, space and matter were rearranged.
‘Buzz!’
The White Pearl and the Holy Cross Knights’ ship swapped positions once again.
The situation had completely reversed.
“Ha! You fool. Did you really think you could outmaneuver me? You never realized I was always a few steps ahead!” Lothain laughed maniacally.
Confident in his ability to predict Jinhyuk’s tactics against the Kraken, Lothain felt no need to worry further.
“The reefs have been analyzed!”
“We’ve identified the combination of elemental magic and divine power needed to destroy them!”
Fred and Jayna shouted simultaneously.
This would increase the critical damage rate and weaken the Kraken’s defenses.
If they used another relic, ‘Cain’s Stone Dagger,’ at the right time, they were certain to achieve their desired outcome.
‘Even if we can’t kill the Kraken, we’ll at least secure a route to escape to the mainland.’
That would be enough.
More than enough.
“So go ahead and serve as sacrifices for us.”
Kang Jinhyuk, the Veteran Corporation, and even the useless saintess who refused to obey orders—this was the perfect chance to eliminate all of them at once.