Ottoia

The calming sound of waves and seagulls screeching over their heads was disrupted by a tremendously loud blast. Clouds of smoke showed the position of two warships from the Empire. The sky ripping sound they just heard came from the heavy artillery cannons on the vessels. Luckily the ship they were on was the fast and agile type so that they could barely evade the first incoming shots. Pillars of water rose in the air left and right of the ship where the shells hit the water causing the whole ship to shake. But the enemy didn't stop at that as more blasts and clouds signalized an incoming heavy bombardment from their side. One shell came flying straight towards them, quickly Aymon started to concentrate his Mana on one point and put up a barrier around the ship. The impact forced him to his knees and nearly depleted all his Mana, despite that he quickly got back up on his feet. Through the explosion over their heads, the whole ship and its surroundings were covered in smoke giving them visible cover.

"I want immediately five of the best magicians responding fire with artillery magic. Try to aim for their cannons if possible! Ten men shall create the explosive bullets for them to continue firing, the rest will wor off their asses to repair any holes we'll get!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Then go go go to your positions we don't have much time until they realise that we weren't hit."

The soldiers immediately moved under his command and prepared the counterattack as the smoke was slowly blown away by a light breeze.

"Incoming!"

Multiple cannon roars echoed through the open space between the enemy and them. With a whistling sound, the shells rained down on them.

"Bring the engine to its fullest power and get us out of here!"

Using its entire capacity the vessel multiplied its speed by several times catapulting it forward in the direction of the Elfen Union. Following Aymon's orders, the soldiers of the Eagle Unit immediately started shooting towards the target at starboard. Even though their firepower was not as high as the cannons they could shoot more accurately allowing them to land three hits on the enemy ships.

"Keep them under suppressive fire so that they hold their distance towards us!"

A second shell came flowing towards them and landed near the rear of the ship disabling the steering rod with a loud crash.

"Lieutenant, I can't control the ship anymore, the steering rod has been damaged. We can only get forward at this point!"

"Keep going at full power, if we halt now we are done for! I will think of something in the meantime."

But the damage was more than just a broken steering wheel. A hole slowly filled the ship with water as they continued to go forward. The squad assigned to repair the ship immediately started taking care of it.

"Cliffs ahead!"

"Dammit even this now"

Aymon grabbed his new double-barreled rifle and aimed at the rock formation in front of them. With his last Mana, he fired two artillery bullets simultaneously creating a huge blast that destroyed the cliff. They barely passed with a scranch on the flank. A big tremor shook the sea as a gigantic silhouette passed underneath them. The quake caused the enemy ships to hold fire for a brief moment.

"Quickly! Stop the engine and don't move. Pass on the information to neither move nor speak loudly." Aymon's instincts told him to hold a low profile.

With the ship barely gliding over the waters surface the enemy ships quickly cathed up the distance between them. But ignoring the quake and silhouette beneath them would prove fatal to them. Before any other cannons could be fired a snake-like monster pierced through one of the vessels. Its head rose out of a hole in the middle of the deck with its mouth wide open and released a loud screech that made everyone hold their ears. The smell of thousands of corpses was perceptible even on Aymon's position. With its deadly teeth, it tried to take a bite of everyone who was in the immediate distance while the spikes on its body were preventing anyone to come near.

"It's an Ottoia! AAAgh abandoned the ship.. aaaa"

The screams and sound of crashing metal echoed throughout the sea surface. Witnessing the havoc caused by the monster the other vessel decided to flee in the other direction at full speed diverting the Ottoia's attention towards them. Not wanting to let its prey get away it immediately started to chase them. Without the monster plugging the hole, its created the water instantly filled the ship causing it to sink into the depths of the ocean. The ship that frantically tried to get away had never a possibility of escape, to begin with, it was attacked and sunk in a similar method as the first one. Aymon's men were trembling in fear but they could still keep their cool despite the terrifying monstrosity before them.

No human being was left after the Ottoia was finished leaving only the wreckage of the sunken ships behind. Even though they were spared or rather ignored from being eaten. Aymon decided to remain still for several intense hours. Without moving the muscles of everyone started to tense up until finally, someone spoke up.

"For fucks sake when can we move again? I'm getting a cramp in my ass lying still here."

With an angry look, Aymon signalized him to hold his mouth and took the risk to look over the rail. Nothing was in sight neither a dark silhouette underwater nor any monster sticking out of the waters.

"Repair the ship so that we can steer again and try not to make any sudden movements, we're going home!"