Chapter 9: Emperor crab (2)

"[Mana shield]," suddenly in the nick of time the voice of a young woman could be heard, and a thick purple barrier of mana was rapidly constructed before Kelso.

Bang!

The emperor crab's claw slammed against the new mana shield but unlike Kelso's this shield stayed strong, in fact there wasn't even a single fracture or blemish. Just like with the ships mana barrier, the claw was sent reeling backwards, a few cracks even appeared on its shell as it fell backwards screeching in pain.

"Eh?" Kelso opened up his eyes, confused as to why he still lived. Before him a strong powerful purple shield floated giving him an air of power.

Tap tap tap

Footsteps could be heard from his left, he turned to face the sound.

There walking his way was Princess Jade, dressed in a tight fitting garb, her long blue hair waving behind her, and a highly advanced magic rod wielded in her right hand. She looked like a war goddess as she encroached.

Jade acted quickly when she noticed that the mana barrier failed to activate properly. She summoned her own mana shield before Kelso, right before the crab's claw crushed him. She didn't even feel much of a strain. Her abilities were more than enough for her to fight such a monster one on one.

"Princess!" Collin arrived a moment later, he shouted out while frowning. His Princess was walking straight into danger like usual while leaving him behind.

"Collin stay back this one's mine!" Jade replied with force as she broke into a run, heading straight for the giant crab. She hadn't exactly had much opportunity to let loose in the past two weeks, so this was the perfect chance. She smiled wildly, jumping upwards and used her mana to fly.

Swinging her rod, it elongated into a magnificent long staff perfect for a mana battle. Jade's magic rod was made by her and could transform into multiple forms. The simple rod form for quick casting and light movements, the staff for aiding large magic spells as well as a sword for close combat battle. Jade was a master of all.

"Haaaaaaa" Collin sighed and shook his head, his Princess already made her stance clear. If he interrupted, he'd only get yelled at. Collin moved towards the Captain to explain.

"Are you serious?" Henry questioned the royal guard before him.

'Isn't it his job to make sure the princess never has to face danger?' Henry of course knew that the princess was a strong mage, but this was an emperor crab, a monster of the sea in its home terrain.

"Very, the Princess hates being interrupted when she's having fun…don't worry she can handle herself." Collin sadly smiled as he looked up at his flying Princess, she was even more powerful than him, a Captain of the royal guard.

"….." Henry was speechless, following Collin's gaze he watched Jade in amazement. He was truly grateful for her stepping in to save Kelso, but he couldn't handle it if something happened to the Princess on his vessel. Henry was about to intervene when Collin harshly placed a hand on his shoulder, it was incredibly heavy, and he couldn't move.

"I would really advise against that."

Boom!

As if to confirm his warning Jade and the emperor crab began their grand battle. The crab once again slammed with its claw aiming now for Jade.

"Hmph!" Jade summoned multiple mana shields that not only blocked the crab's strike but held it in place.

"Try this one on for size." She held her staff with both hands and channelled her mana.

"[Lightning bolt,]" a storm suddenly formed above the giant crab and a thick bolt of lightning struck down onto its carapace.

"Screeeeeeeeeeee," the crab screeched in pain as its body was cooked, the smell was tantalising. But that wasn't enough to kill only aggravate it. Another shot from a mana cannon would be enough but even with Jade's abilities creating an attack of such power would be beyond her. Her rate of fire however was far superior.

"[Lightning bolt]"

"[Lightning bolt]" Jade continued to repeatedly cast lightning magic on the emperor crab, cooking it alive. It wasn't the most destructive attack given the crab's size and tough carapace, but it was certainly the best for preserving the corpse. They wouldn't even need to cook the meat.

The crab was powerless to resist, it just had to sit there and take it. Paralysed while its body was cooked. Eventually after the fifth strike the emperor crab reached its limit, the light faded from its eyes and its massive body slumped onto the deck of the ship never to rise again.

Boom!

The large body smashed upon the wooden deck, tipping the ship slightly due to its weight, the battle was over.

"Hahaha that was a lot of fun, shame it was already injured otherwise it would've been an even better fight." Jade laughed as she cleaned up drops of blue blood that dotted her robes. She then looked towards her staff.

"Cdo with a few more tweaks, its efficiency and casting speed could be improved." Jade then ordered the staff to change back into its small rod form before placing it back into one of her storage rings. She'd work on her weapon back in her cabin, this battle was the prefect field test, generating a lot of useful data.

She floated over towards Collin and captain Henry.

"Sorry about stepping in, I just couldn't resist Captain, hopefully you'll forgive me." She spoke with a regal aura.

"….Ugh no problem Princess, thank you for saving one of my men." Henry was still in shock regarding the Princess's capabilities.

"It was the least I could do but if you truly wish to thank me, I could do with a few items from this crab." She gestured at the corpse behind her.

"Ah! Of course, you can Princess it was after all your kill." Henry sighed and relaxed.

"Great I'll have Collin here tell you what I need, anything that you find over the top I can pay for." Jade smiled before winking towards Collin and heading back to her cabin. She had a lot of work to do after all.

"Haaaaaa" Collin sighed and shrugged, he knew exactly what parts the Princess would want and prepared to enter negotiations with Captain Henry on her behalf. He'd make sure to get some crab meat for himself to eat and just put it on her tab.

After this little event which turned out to be a blessing in disguise wherein everyone on the ship was given a tasty meal of emperor crab, the rest of the journey was pretty generic. No more run ins with sea monsters well any that was worthy of mentioning.

After 3 long weeks on the sea, they'd finally reached the western continent. The Damocles pulled into the docks of Banuun a vassal country of Zoroba. They were a fair bit more north than Muterra, so the temperature was several degrees colder.

Zoroba was still around 2 days ride away, an escort should be waiting for them when they alight from the Damocles. Jade found her first boat ride incredibly enjoyable. She got to experience new sights, meet new people, fought an emperor crab, and managed to get a little bit of work done on her weapon and other devices. Now hopefully Zoroba would be as interesting.

"Thank you for such a pleasant journey Captain Henry. This was my first time leaving Muterra and I'm glad I shared this journey with you and your crew." Jade was garbed in her royal get up, a beautiful red dress that accentuated her curves well and a crystal tiara symbolising her position as royalty. It wasn't exactly Jade's favourite style, but she had to admit that she did look good in it.

"The pleasure has been all mine Princess; you made this journey far more lovely and exciting it's a shame it was over so soon." Henry spoke his honest thoughts. He greatly enjoyed Jade's company over the past few weeks, his sailors included. She was a breath of fresh air, full of curiosity and always willing to make friends with everyone on the ship. She even tinkered with the mana barrier, repairing it for free as long as she could examine and study the grade 3 mana cannons, they got from Zoroba. Henry believed it was a great trade especially considering her actions with the emperor crab.

"All good things come to an end Captain but hopefully we'll be able to meet again." Jade curtsied with respect to Henry, her servants and guards bowed to him as well, grateful for such a pleasant voyage.

Henry accepted this bow before bowing even lower considering her difference in status.

"Good luck Princess, I wish you a pleasant journey to Zoroba." Henry waved to Jade and her entourage as they alighted from the ship and made their way to Banuun's docks where an escort of heavily armed guards were ready and waiting for them.