Chapter 319 - 314: Depth Charge

Chapter 319: Chapter 314: Depth Charge

In the command pod of the Leviathan, Velin closed his eyes, his consciousness merging with the giant beast.

He could feel the viscous liquid on the organic walls pulsating slowly, like a giant heart.

The immense pressure of the deep sea seeped through the thick bio-armor, a heavy, cold weight.

His Spiritual Power reached out, condensing into a single beam to find the six restless minds within the troop bay.

An image formed in his mind.

Ola and his five most elite Knights were crammed into the tight space. Lightweight chainmail clung to their skin, and the bulging packs on their backs made muffled thumps.

"Ola."

Velin spoke to him, "Remember, you’re a demolition team, not an army of conquest. Create chaos, then disappear."

Ola grinned, his fan-sized hand patting his pack.

"Got it. Smash and run."

Velin projected two flashing red dots into their minds. They appeared on a crude map composed of sonar and geological sensor data.

"Two Deep Rock Shatterers in each pack. The Master worked through the night testing and rushing to produce these high-compression alchemical explosives. An underwater detonation will be enough to put that tunnel to sleep for a while."

He magnified the marker, showing the entrance to the underwater tunnel.

"We’re not sure about the tunnel’s structure, so you’ll need to find suitable crevices on-site. Shove them in, then get back here as fast as possible."

"Received."

The connection cut.

Velin could sense the troop bay door slowly opening.

Icy seawater flooded in, quickly filling the entire space.

The ship’s Mages uttered their final syllable, and six invisible bubbles enveloped the Knights, shielding them from the sea.

Another glimmer of light swept over them. Their forms distorted and faded in the water until they nearly merged with the shadows of the surrounding reef.

"Move out!"

Ola’s command echoed across the channel. He was the first one out of the bay, his feet sinking into the soft seabed.

The others followed closely behind.

The six Ghosts began their trek across the seafloor.

This place was not silent.

Bioluminescent algae cast eerie patches of light. Schools of coastal fish, oblivious to the intruders, slid leisurely past them.

Ola lowered his center of gravity, holding his battle-axe at his side. Its blade occasionally scraped against the sand, serving as a probe.

A Dwarf’s keen intuition for what lies underground was proving surprisingly useful.

The psychic channel fell silent.

On the tactical map Velin shared, a red dot representing a patrol team was closing in fast.

Ola jerked his left fist up.

The squad froze, pressing themselves into the shadows of a coral grove as if they were part of the reef.

A squad of Multi-Armed Race Warriors swam past, less than fifty meters away.

The lead Warrior rode a menacing, eel-like Sea Beast. Its tentacles churned the water, stirring up clouds of murky silt.

Ola could even make out the uneven parasites clinging to its carapace.

Suddenly, the eel-like Sea Beast stopped. Its massive head swiveled toward the coral where they were hiding, an anxious rumble gurgling in its throat. It seemed to have caught a scent.

The patrol’s lead Warrior reined in his mount, scanning the surroundings with a puzzled look.

Ola’s heart was in his throat.

He silently pulled a fingernail-sized lump of oily clay from his belt. It was something Dwarf miners often used, a mixture containing the bodily fluids of a certain Underground Worm, giving it a distinctive odor.

He flicked it away with his thumb.

The clay lump sailed through the water, landing in a distant patch of seagrass.

The eel-like Sea Beast whipped its head in that direction, its tail thrashing restlessly.

The patrol leader, clearly unwilling to waste time on trivial matters, barked a command and spurred his mount onward.

Crisis averted.

Once the patrol was a safe distance away, Ola gave the signal to move on.

They had two more close calls like that over the next half hour.

THUD... THUD... THUD...

The muffled thuds of digging grew clearer, and the water became increasingly murky.

They pushed aside a final curtain of tall seagrass, and the sight before them took their breath away.

A massive cavern yawned open on the seafloor, like an ugly scar on the face of the earth.

Vast quantities of rubble and silt were being expelled from within the cavern, piling up at the entrance to form an ever-expanding mound.

Several Rock-Breaking Giant Crabs, each the size of a siege engine, were swinging their massive pincers, acting as the main labor force. They pushed the excavated rock into a distant trench.

Ola’s eyes quickly scanned the area, memorizing the patrol routes and rotation schedules of the scattered soldiers.

"Get ready," he ordered over the psychic channel.

The Knights silently unslung their packs, retrieving metal spheres the size of basketballs.

The spheres’ surfaces were covered in arcane alchemical Runes, which pulsed with an ominous, faint light in the deep-sea gloom.

They waited.

One of the giant crabs finished its task, turned ponderously, and crawled toward a trench on the other side to rest.

Its replacement was still in the distance.

An opening appeared.

"Now!" Ola commanded.

Like arrows loosed from a bow, the six Knights shot out from the shadows, making a beeline for the pitch-black cavern entrance.

They split into pairs, fanning out to the rock walls on either side of the tunnel entrance.

Ola led the charge. He grabbed a protruding rock with his fan-sized hand and, with a great heave, ripped it clean off, revealing a deep fissure beneath. He quickly grabbed a Deep Rock Shatterer from his pack and brutally shoved it in until the metal sphere was completely swallowed by the rock wall.

The other Knights moved with equal speed. Some used their daggers to pry open seams in the rock, while others used sheer brute force. One by one, they planted the remaining ten explosives at the weak points they had identified earlier.

The alchemical Runes on the spheres flashed once in the darkness and then went still, as if devoured by the rock.

Without a moment’s pause.

"Withdraw!"

Ola spun around and fled, moving several times faster than he had on the way in.

The moment they turned, a commotion erupted from deep within the tunnel.

A piercing shriek, distorted and drawn out by the water, echoed through the entire area—a long, muffled cry.

The distant patrols charged madly toward the cavern entrance.

Every step of their retreat felt like walking on a knife’s edge.

Though the invisibility Magic still held, their pursuers were hot on their heels.

Ola could feel their murderous intent practically biting at his heels.

When the silhouette of Leviathan Three finally came into view, the nearest pursuer was less than thirty meters behind.

A Multi-Armed Race Warrior lunged forward, the tip of its bone spear cutting an arc through the water as it tried to locate the invisible enemy.

It was about to strike home when—

An inconspicuous orifice on the side of Leviathan Three suddenly blasted out a high-pressure jet of water!

The force of the blast created a brief, chaotic vortex in the deep water, sending the pursuer tumbling away.

"Get in the bay!"

As their pursuers’ formation fell into disarray, the Knights scrambled toward the bay door.

Ola covered the retreat. He spun around, drew his handaxe, and hurled it with all his might. The Dwarven axe spun through the water, and though the current robbed it of much of its force, it still managed to drive back another enemy attempting to close in.

Only then did he turn and dive into the troop bay, the last one in. The door slammed shut behind him.

He leaned against the chamber wall, his chest heaving. Bubbles streamed from the edges of his helm.

"My Lord, the gift has been delivered."

In the command pod, Velin watched the red dots on his map swarm frantically around the tunnel entrance. He gave the order.

"Detonate."

A series of deep, muffled booms echoed up from the seabed, the sound penetrating layers of water and rock.

Leviathan Three’s body shuddered violently, and the veins on the cabin walls constricted.

A moment later, Sarah’s report came into Velin’s mind.

"Father, the vibration source is gone! There’s been a massive structural collapse in the target area. Based on the seismic feedback, the entrance is blocked by at least fifty meters of rock and silt!"

...

「Minas Tirith, the Lord’s Mansion council chamber.」

When Tristan announced the news, the grim atmosphere that had hung over them for days finally lifted.

"Success!"

Baron Kroo slammed his fist on the table, his flesh jiggling as a look of pure ecstasy spread across his face.

"I knew that damn Dwarf Ola could do it! Well done!"

It was as if a great weight had been lifted from everyone’s shoulders.

A brief cheer erupted through the hall. Nobles slapped each other on the back and laughed with abandon.

The insidious underground attack seemed to have been thwarted in the most satisfying way possible.

They had bought themselves precious time.

But the peace lasted less than half a day.

Velin was standing before a sand table with Tristan, replanning the construction of the defensive walls.

The door to the council chamber was ajar, and the boisterous conversation of nobles in the hallway outside could still be heard.

Suddenly, Velin put down the wooden model in his hand.

An extremely faint vibration traveled up from the stone floor beneath his feet.

Tristan noticed it too. He stopped speaking, and they exchanged a look.

Then, a silver goblet on the table began to buzz.

In that instant, every sound inside and outside the council chamber vanished.

Everyone froze, their eyes fixed on the vibrating goblet.

In the silence.

THUD.

A muffled, powerful impact—clearer than any that had come before—resounded from deep within the earth, striking at everyone’s heart like a hammer blow.

Sarah’s warning came right on cue.

"Father!"

"The tremors... they’re starting again!"