Just two hours after the checkpoint, the competing clans had come to the island. Dozens of foreign ships. What was most unpleasant — while the enemy’s ships had already reached the finish line, the last cargo ships of Sleepless had only entered the mouth of the bay. Tomorrow they would have to start simultaneously with the enemies. And there was little hope that we would be allowed to go quietly. We would be attacked by fire in the first minutes of the new day’s passage.
The lagging of the leading clans was decreased. Significantly tightened. The “garland” of ships that stretched across the ocean expanses was condensed by a certain higher order, which was tired of the fact that everything was going on too peacefully and that ships rarely collided.
This evening the BB and her closest assistants did not enjoy any wine, music or dance. They were not on the shore at all. Like swift shadows, they rushed along the coastal jungle, cutting through the vines, speaking quick words to each other.
Today’s race had confused all the cards — and no one knew what to expect from tomorrow. But if we assumed the worst — tomorrow we would have a very bloody day…
Chapter Twenty-Seven.
Blood on the waves.
I guessed correctly.
It was not the first time for our long and exhausting journey that I was right. And again, I predicted not peace, but trouble.
The morning was grim. The sky was covered with low hanging clouds, beloved by all flying creatures — a beautiful natural disguise. The sea was restless. Small wars were carried out by flocks of them, breaking about the ships with an unpleasant, cutting hiss. Foamy water dripped along the sides, leaving unsettling dark red streaks on all boats — we seemed to float in cold blood. It had already been determined that this kind of water was red plankton, but still. A constant crunching sound rose from the waves. And this added nerves to the picture — our ships were like shoes stomping down on insects with a loud crunch, letting the scarlet blood flow… we swam in it.
The first alarming messages reached our ears a few hours after the departure from the dotted line and they were received with a joy— the bloody ocean was acting strongly on our morals. The rear ships were subjected to an enemy attack. From the Archs. They struck openly and accurately, overtaking five ships at once and hitting four more casually. They were finished off by the dragons swooping from heaven. The Architects had long persuaded the Sleepless to create an alliance, but the ambitious Sleepless gave no answer at all, except mocking silence. Had the time come for reckoning?
The offended monster grasped at our heels and clung to them with the primitive fury of the cave bear. And this was nothing… the real fun began a little later when a selected few ships broke into the rear order like a pack of wolf-hungry wolves. The ships exploded in deadly fire, ignoring the back-to-back smashing blows. They obviously got the order to fight to the end … meanwhile, underwater scouts howled from the horror, reporting on some incredibly huge monster swiftly walking near the bottom. We were being approached by a nightmare … I was convinced of this
“Hold on!” Klest’s cry was not the first. Several more players repeated it, but it was simply impossible to warn about it — a bright red fire fell from the sky…
“Well …” I gasped, raising a thick shield over my head. “Perhaps this is the time.”
Hit…
The upper deck of the flagship was flooded with liquid fiery death. Tongues of flame spread out in all directions, and there were shimmering magic shields within it. One dome went out and five of the screaming mages were covered with fire. They were immediately hit by a water shaft, generating thick steam.
“Curses, curses,” growled Bloopy the Wise, hastily establishing a dome in the middle of the command bridge. “Fucking Archs! Fucking Archs! Naughty ship! B-bitches!”
“Another volley!” came from one of the masts, the top of which was covered by a magic defense bubble. Inside was the figure of the sentinel, who was the first to notice the flashes of enemy ships.
Standing up, I removed the shield for a time and looked back to see the depressing picture — there were hundreds of ships behind us. And this time, not allies. Multicolored flags fluttered in the wind. Many of these burned, or were covered with lots of holes from acid and fire.
By order of the Baroness, the flagship slowed down and began to “fall through” backwards, passing through the diverging orders of the ships. Together with a hundred armored heavyweights. The rest of the ships, especially the cargo ships, went ahead, hurrying to hide behind us from the spiteful enemy who was tearing them to pieces. I was ordered to wait for a special order from the BB and immediately execute it at the first chance. I confirmed. I had been hired — I obeyed. Stoically, I continued to stand on watch and fulfill my duties. And I was eager to watch what was happening — the pursuers gave their best, using many spells and artifacts to reach us with claws and fangs. And this moment had come. The naval war had begun.
This time we not hit only with fire. They played it differently. They used stone and iron shrapnel, poisonous spikes, fire, acid, huge stone balls, huge spears quietly piercing the stone with their sparkling tips. The dome over the bridge sustained it — the reserve artifact was not needed.
“Oh, what the devil!” Klest exhaled. “It is not enough!”
It seems that the Archs had a huge and powerful throwing machine. Giant furious ants, whom I had already met, gushed out onto the deck. So recently. Or has it been that long?
“Fight off the attack!” Commanded a gnome unknown to me, who was wearing a three-horned helmet.
The ants were attacked by soldiers operating with axes and spears, oblivious to the flames raging around them.
“Lagras! Bloody Lagras!” One of the remaining advisors of the BB remained on the bridge.
“Lagras are not Lugrs,” I said mechanically, “And thank God!”
“What?”
“Eh, nothing ...”
“Ros! Teleport! Jump to the frigate “Lightning of Anger! “.
And here was the long-awaited order from the Baroness. I was ordered to leave the ship.
I did not answer anything. You must execute the order first. I took a few wide steps and entered a dense cloud of fog hanging in one of the corners of the bridge. I said:
Lightning of Anger.
The verbal instruction was heard and understood. A rainbow whirlwind enclosed me, a light flash eclipsed before my eyes. And then I saw a tall bridge under the sails of a handsome ship. It fully justified its name — angry lightning, cutting through the waves of blood. Unfamiliar players briefly greeted me, staring. There was no one ahead of us. Only the waves of the boundless ocean and the distant unattainable horizon covered with gloomy clouds, promising torrential downpour — or even a storm.
“It is done.” I reported, seeing the familiar inscription:
Navigator on board!
The ship “Lightning Anger” is declared the flagship!
The ship “Lightning Anger” receives a special flagship flag!
I did not receive an answer from the Baroness, and then I forgot about her, after hearing the next formidable words:
“It is going in,” quietly said one of the people on board.
I looked back. And I saw how the giant stone island slowly entered the enemy orders. The dreadnought had decided to give a brave fight. Without me, the flagship was not as quick. But it could fight. The ship was covered with thick smoke. The tongues of multicolored flame danced, the pools of white vapor. The charred remains of sails hung in the wind. And here came another underwater monster. A living creature?
It was good that Orbit and Roska were on the new flagship. They were fishing. Kolyvan was also here, hardly fitting between two masts.
Kirea, Bom, Cray, Doc and Kaylen stayed. They fought for the vitality of the Queen, repelling the enemy’s attacks and shooting down the flames. I was proud of them. Roska was out of danger. And the elf thought fighting was boring.
“Th-he monster!” The captain of this
ship spoke slowly.
The monster was coming …
The battle was coming …
Because of the Queen’s gigantic size, the impression was that we were moving at full speed from a burning island lost in the ocean’s expanses.
And, quite controversial was calling the thing a creature. It was an underwater warship. It had a nightmarish mouth, sharp fins, thorns sticking out in all directions, and a thick skin resembling a gigantic sandpaper. And the eyes were so tiny that it was almost impossible to notice them. Still, when the fanged yawn opened at the stern of the ship, the eyes of the creature would not be seen --all attention would be on the sharp teeth.
“C-coming!” The alarming cry was repeated unnecessarily.
The monster emerged directly from the flagship’s gun platform. At the same time, the Queen was covered with a lot of smoke— there was a roar, and magical flashes were seen on deck. The ship heroically covered the entire armada, playing the role of an iron gate not allowing fire to escape from the blazing furnace. But the gates often burn down too … and the frozen faces of the players directly showed that this would be the case. Almost every sailor died and we all looked at the smoke becoming thicker and more impenetrable. Dragons collided in the smoky sky. Our creatures were entwined in a fierce dance, many crashing onto the ship, tearing up sails and becoming entangled in the rigging.
Billows of black and gray smoke finally concealed the giant ship, and a fierce battle sounded, but we saw almost nothing. In any case, I certainly did not see — I did not have a magic telescope capable of cutting through the smoke. I subconsciously expected to hear an indescribable cacophony, to see a lot of special effects. But instead, suddenly and instantly, there was complete silence — and the mysterious primordial darkness around us made us feel a chilling and inexplicable fear.
I did not ask questions. All seemed to be in order, but the sharp change of leader would affect the armada. Therefore, I stood silently in the corner of the bridge, disturbing no one and looking at the smoky wall.
And so I did not miss a moment when all the smoke suddenly dissipated. No … I did not exaggerate. It was like a huge and invisible vacuum cleaner. And this opened us to see the most striking picture — an ocean giant raised an ugly head, spread its fins, and its tiny eyes lit with scarlet fire.
The ship and the creature exchanged their blows. Broken and shredded parts of the ships flew in all directions. But no one was looking at the battle of titans anymore. General attention was focused on the plasma ball which had settled in the mouth of the underwater creature, and began to rotate so quickly that its black and white color turned solid gray.
And the prehistoric horror lifted its evil giant head, trying to spit out the plasma ball from its mouth. But the fish had no hands and no tentacles.
- You covered that thing too? – I asked with a hint of a little-deserved pride, standing beside the captain, who suddenly appeared and solidified.
- S so … - squeezed he out being stunned.
- What do you mean?
- Why is it in her mouth?! Why so close to the Queen? It is about to explode soon…
- Means?! Was not it planned?
“It is a mine! An atomic mine, you could say! You leave it on the waves, then you flee a couple of nautical miles and you blast it!” Answered a girl running up to the captain, clinging to his shoulder. -
“Why our nuclear charge is being eaten by this worm?”
After this shocking revelation, everything turned upside down. And the plasma ball burning in the jaws of the monster no longer looked like a sign of the Sleepless’ next inexorably approaching victory. Several more players ran up and communicated the unpleasant news.
The Black Queen had to have activated a mighty artifact — the ball of death, so to speak — and then dropped it into the water. They had to have paralyzed the giant creature for at least ten seconds, then raised up powerful protective fields behind the stern. They would have to go as far as possible and then, from a decent distance, admire the enchanting “bang”.
That was the plan. In theory. And the plan moved forward successfully, paragraph was followed by the paragraph. Everything went well. Until the partially paralyzed monster rushed forward and grabbed the “bomb”, clutching it in the mouth.
Silence, and then it happened — the activation of a terrible spell, which turned a clot of magical energy into a deadly rush. I had misunderstood. When I saw a creature shaking its head, I thought that she was trying to get rid of it. But no …
The biggest problem was that the damned fish clung to the lower decks of the Queen. It was a tough fight, and the defenders tried to throw hundreds of enemies and monsters back.
An atomic bomb! And where to run?
The Sleepless made a mistake. Such a huge blunder.
This time the wolves had a nuke.
Why? Well … the answer was obvious — a queen for a queen. A floating stone island loaded with hundreds of tons of various cargo, hung with many guns … it was quite a worthy exchange. If I were a chess player — I would agree to swap the dinosaur for the Queen without hesitation. Maybe I would have made a mistake with such a choice, but still — after what I saw at the checkpoint, I would have agreed.
Wait … what was the fish doing now?
The giant leapt forward. Just like a camel, the monster was going to spit … aiming the atomic bomb at the center of the upper deck. The enemy tried to save the fish.
“Order from the BB! Open fire on the creature! Disruptive and armor-piercing blows!” Shouted a player panting from excitement.“Execute immediately! Everyone who has a sixty and over chance of hitting the target!”
“Gunners! Forecast?!” instantly reacted the captain, turning to a gnome with a tattooed, bald head.
“Seventy and then some,” the gnome reported slowly. “Misses would be required. And according to the law of universal means, the blows would hit some of ours.”
“We had received the order. Shoot!”
“Done, cap. But this is in vain. All as in the books about the war. Those who fire on themselves do not live long. Awards are usually posthumously awarded. A careless gesture…”
“Ready fire!”
“Done…”
“Ugh,” I said, realizing the problem.
The Baroness made a mistake. A tactical miscalculation turned strategic failure. But she took the decision quickly — and I was convinced that it was her order to beat the flagship with friendly fire. No one else would have dared to did this. I am sure that Klest and Bloopy were now roaring in anger and horror. Their favorite toy had already been crippled, but now they were going to break it down …
We were not the first to fire. The ships closer to the Queen struck faster. The blanket of smoke reappeared. The misses did not keep us waiting. Fires began.
And exactly as stated in the gloomy prophecy of the gnome, the shots did not go into the sea, but hit the giant stone carcass. The dinosaur recoiled from a direct hit, rose above the ship, and bellowed. The plasma ball in his throat, which had become gray, began to flash frequently. Just about to burst… an atomic explosion. Well … if nothing could be done — they would not die alone, but in the company of enemies. And along with that, they would drag kill the underwater giant.
For the next few minutes, we stared blankly into the smoky veil. I was sure that the TV viewers sitting in front of millions of screens who watched the attack on the flagship, did not experience the slightest difficulties. If rare plumes of smoke appeared on their TVs, it was briefly. The Valdira administration was not that crazy — they would not deprive millions of viewers of the opportunity to enjoy such an incredible catastrophe.
We, the direct participants, had to spend artifacts in order to see something in the smoky chaos, in which the blinded dragons and birds collided every second, blinded players fell overboard, and archers and wizards missed their target, or worse — they jabbed arrows and lightning at the Allies.
It was not fair. But it was benef
icial, in part — the Sleepless’ observers were not only here, not just inside the game world. Several “sentinels” were now in the real world, clinging to the huge screens of their TVs of amazing image quality. And these “sentinels of the perishable world” were constantly in touch with Valdira, reporting even the smallest observations.
And I was very sorry that now I could not sit in front of the TV screen with a glass of something refreshing in my hand, lazily watching the sea battles. I really wanted to see. What a cruel twist of fate … I am sure that even the Sleepless, who were hitting their own flagship at point-blank range, were experiencing some pleasure — it is not every day that you see such a grandiose battle. The same thing would have been experienced by pilots of Star Wars, attacking the Death Star … awe, some kind of fear and anticipation. What if it is because of my well-aimed shot that this terrible military machine is shattered?
Something had pulled me back to strange thoughts and reflections. This was all due to the lack of reliable information about what was happening. We heard only the wild cacophony of explosion, a roar, a clatter, the crackle of fire.
“At last!” The Captain barked with relief, slamming his green fist on the railing of the bridge. “Thank you!”
There was something to be thankful for: the rising storm wind hit with such force and at such an intelligent angle that all the damned veils were immediately carried away, revealing a monstrous spectacle.
Some were gleefully shouting and joyfully shaking their weapons. They were far from us — I saw them only on the magic screens, although their cries could easily be heard without any aid. It was the enemies rejoicing.
The second sound was much closer and much more loud.
A deep groan, almost a sob — a lingering, very emotional expression of feeling.
The Black Queen was burning.
No, not even burning — that word could not describe that huge chaotic fire. I could not see the flagship. I saw a flaming funeral wreath. The tongues of fire rose into the blackest clouds! The hurricane tried to bend the flames, but it did not work, except to blow off the coals and soot from the decaying fire. A sort of scarf of soot stretched over the waves for a mile back. The ocean around turned black, and the coal-colored waves swayed with all the burning garbage that poured and poured from the decks …
The Way of the Clan 9 Page 19