Chapter 8: Emperor crab

The rest of the voyage went by smoothly well expect for a little situation they met halfway through the great sea. Their vessel was attacked by a mighty sea creature, an emperor crab easily 50 metres tall. Many of the passengers and rookie sailors panicked when it attacked but Henry and his veterans kept their cool and deployed the ships defences.

"Activate the mana barrier, Kelso! Jaheed! Get on the cannons!" Henry gave his orders throughout the ship, calming everyone down. He was no stranger to confronting sea monsters on his many voyages.

One emperor crab although a big one, was no match for the mighty 'Damocles'. This ship was outfitted with grade 3 mana cannons purchased from the Zoroba empire. It'd cost a few extra mana crystal in fuel and likely drain Kelso and Jaheed of their mana reserves but they'd punch holes in this crab.

Henry licked his lips as his eyes glowed with excitement. "It's been a long time since I've had emperor crab meat hahahaha." He started to laugh out loud as did his trusted veterans throughout the ship. To them this wasn't a danger but a rare delicacy that decided to deliver itself on a silver platter.

With the Captain's orders another sailor on the bridge turned a dial kicking the mana engines into overdrive. In response a blue barrier constructed of mana covered the entire ship, protecting them from the crab's onslaught.

"Sreeeeeeeeeech" the Emperor crab screeched in anger, feeling insulted that its prey fought back. It brought down its oversized claws upon the barrier but was fiercely rebuffed.

Kelso and Jaheed made their way to the ship's mana cannons and were prepared to fire. These cannons would launch a dense ball of condensed mana that would explode with a vengeance upon striking a target.

In the Princess's cabin, Jade was awoken from a restful sleep by the rocky movements of the ship. She'd been up for the past 24 hours fiddling with some new piece of magicitech; bits of raw materials dotted the office.

"Ughhhh" she groaned as she came to.

Suddenly Collin barged into her chamber without knocking, a mixture of worry and excitement on his face.

"Princess! We're being attacked by a large emperor crab!" Collin loudly shouted; his voice full of excitement. He'd only heard of such creatures in passing yet now they were face to face with one. Monsters that dwelled within the ocean were usually far larger and deadly than those of the land. Emperor crab was also considered a rare delicacy in Muterra, Collin only had the chance to taste its flesh once and it was truly divine.

With Collin's rude exclamation Jade instantly perked up, excitement filled her eyes as well. Given her strength as well as Collin's even if the ship was unable to defend itself, they could be dispatched. Hell, Jade once had the opportunity to fight a Dragon and survive what's a mere crab compared to that. But nevertheless, it was something new and interesting. Luckily, she was still dressed so with a quick casting of clean up magic to correct her bed hair she bolted out the cabin leaving Collin in the dust.

"What are you waiting for Collin, let's go!" She shouted behind as she continued to run. She was heading to the deck, where the action would be most clear.

Jade made it passed multiple sailors advising her to head back to her cabin and out onto the deck of the ship the moment Henry was ordering them to go on the offensive. Unfortunately, even with their advanced mana engine they couldn't outrun such a monster but even if they could they probably wouldn't.

Bang!

The emperor crab smashed its claws against the mana barrier for the umpteenth time and was once again repelled without leaving a single scratch.

"Lower the shields! Kelso, Jaheed you better not miss!"

"Aye aye Captain," the shield operator lowered the shields temporarily to allow the mana cannons to fire, otherwise they'd explode on contact with the barrier, cooking everyone on the deck.

"Eat mana, crab meat!" Kelso smiled as aimed his cannon right at the crab's face and fired without mercy as did Jaheed. A dense blue ball of condensed mana fired out of the cannons, faster than any arrow.

Howwwwwlll!

The air screamed as the mana ball flew through the air, it generated a fierce amount of wind, far denser and heavier than it appeared.

Boom! Boom!

With perfect aim the two shots met their target heavily damaging the massive crab but not killing it in a single strike as intended. Dense blue blood poured down from the creature and onto the deck, an ungodly screamed came from the beast, it was in serious pain.

Jade was there to see it all and she was smiling ear to ear. In front of her she didn't just see a tasty meal but a wealth of resources. Emperor crab shell was great for making armour and their rich blue blood was a great mana conductor. Ignoring the dangerous situation, she bolted over to a large puddle of crab blood and started siphoning litres of the stuff into a special container. She was running low on such high quality materials.

The crab either brave or foolish chose not to run but attack once again with its severe injuries. It raised its one good claw up and aimed for the mana cannon controlled by Kelso.

"Raise the shields quickly!" Henry gave his orders; he was surprised that the thing continued to stand after receiving two shots from a grade 3 mana cannon. It didn't appear as though Jaheed, and Kelso held back either, so this crab was tougher than it looked. Underestimating a foe can have disastrous consequences.

The shield operator panicked slightly but followed orders and activated the shield with rapid speed. Having to repeatedly put up and remove the mana barrier was not the most efficient method but it was the extent of the technology placed upon the Damocles. They needed the mana barrier up otherwise the emperor crab could easily crush the cannons as well as their users.

The barrier started to come to life but part way through, it encountered a problem stopping halfway, malfunctioning. Jaheed and Kelso were now sitting ducks but more importantly the cannons were as well. It wasn't cheap to replace such a high grade cannon.

"Dammit not now!" Captain Henry slammed his fist upon his dashboard before running from the bridge as fast as he could. He was the strongest fighter on the crew, he could at least hold it off while Jaheed and Kelso fired off another round. Pity that the cannons rate of fire wasn't the best. But would he be fast enough?

"Shit!" Kelso panicked; he could see the massive crab claw coming right for him, but he knew what he had to do. This cannon was unfortunately more valuable than he was, they still had nearly half the great sea to cross, this cannon couldn't be lost. Kelso wasn't a bad fighter, and his mana control was pretty good, in Muterra his strength would rival that of sergeant in the army but that wouldn't be much against a 50 metre tall crab. That's why they had these expensive cannons, so they wouldn't have to fight in close combat, risking many lives.

"Tsk!" Kelso clicked his tongue as he removed himself from the firing chair and used his mana to float in the air in front of the cannon. With every fibre of his being he channelled his entire reserves of mana.

"[Mana shield]" with his voice a barrier of mana similar to the one that protected the ship appeared before him like a wall. It was a last ditch effort but hopefully it'd either redirect the crab's claw and or delay it enough for the Captain to arrive. Kelso's eyes were filled with resolve, his body tense and his teeth clenched.

"Bring it on you oversized crustacean Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Kelso roared aloud to give himself strength as the claw loomed ever closer, it'd be striking his shield in less than a second.

Crack!

Kelso's barrier only lasted half a second before shattering. The crab's claw wasn't redirected in the slightest, he was going to be crushed.

Kelso's entire vision was obscured by the massive claw that dwarfed him in size. His life flashed before his eyes, images of his childhood, his friends, his wife, and daughter yet he had no regrets. He'd do the same thing again; it was his duty and honour to protect his colleagues and passengers. He closed his eyes and allowed death to take him, he'd already done all he good.

"Kelso!" Jaheed as well as the Captain who had just made it to the deck screamed out in anguish, but they were powerless to help. They were too far away and weren't fast enough with their mana to generate any spells in time. They were going to lose a colleague, a good man, a friend.