NOVEL NEXT Chapter 679: -127- Ocean Giant Kraken
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
Count Stafford once more advised against it.
Charlotte sighed, saying,
"I know you are concerned for my safety, but... since you are willing to acknowledge me as the Falling Star Queen, then... naturally, I cannot abandon my loyal subjects in a critical moment."
"After all, providing protection for followers is a Lord's duty."
Watching Charlotte's righteous demeanor, Count Stafford had a complex expression on his face.
He too sighed and said,
"Your Majesty, I appreciate your concern, but... now is not the time to act tough."
"You hold the title of the Holy Royal Court's Saintess, blessed by the Gods, but the Kraken is also a deity's Favored."
"The Kraken is a genuine Legendary Demon Beast, no... it is even more terrifying than legends suggest, it is said to have even devoured Gods!"
"Pardon my bluntness, but it is invincible in the sea, and in the sea, attacks from Divine Arts are almost ineffective against it!"
"Your Transcendent power… hmm… has great potential, and should not be wasted here, and you shouldn't expose yourself to danger. Please evacuate as soon as possible!"
Charlotte: ...
In fact, you could just plainly say you think my Transcendent power is insufficient.
She muttered in her heart.
But, she could understand.
Indeed, she had exhibited Blazing Sun level power in front of Count Stafford, but he completely attributed her power to the holy force of a Saintess.
Usually, Charlotte always kept a low profile, suppressing her aura, and if she did not burst out with power, she still appeared merely as a Silver Moon.
From this perspective, if the holy power was ineffective against the Legendary Sea Beast, then ostensibly, Charlotte did indeed seem like a liability.
"Even if it is ineffective against it, can't I still provide assistance? Moreover... how will we know unless we try?"
Charlotte stated.
Having said this, she walked past Count Stafford and headed toward the deck.
"Your... Your Majesty!"
Count Stafford hurriedly followed after her.
...
Charlotte reached the deck.
On the deck, sailors and soldiers had already plunged into utter chaos, not even noticing Charlotte's arrival.
The bright sky cast a vast and menacing shadow, enveloping the entire battleship as though emerging from an abyss.
Charlotte looked up, and what entered her sight were numerous horrifying and enormous tentacles.
These tentacles were purple-black in color, each one at least half a meter thick at its thinnest point, and perhaps several dozen meters in length protruding out of the water, covered in densely packed suckers carrying the distinctive stench of marine life.
They continuously entwined and climbed around the ship, writhing and tearing, dragging one soldier or sailor after another and pulling them into the abyss of the ocean amidst the screams.
Soldiers let out cries of alarm, clenched their teeth, trembling as mist rose up, wielding their swords and slashing at the tentacles.
The mages were pale as they urgently chanted spells, casting Magic Barriers around the battleship while swinging their Magic Wands, unleashing various offensive magics.
Swords and offensive magic landed on those wet and massive tentacles but failed to leave even a scratch.
More tentacles surfaced, winding around the hull and masts, causing the entire battleship to emit unbearable creaking noises.
Suddenly, a tentacle, seemingly having sensed Charlotte's presence, rapidly surged towards her from behind.
Count Stafford, who had caught up, just emerged when he saw this scene and was utterly horrified:
"No, protect the Queen!"
Saying so, he himself took the lead, bursting forth with the power of the Blazing Sun, charging towards Charlotte.
But perhaps Count Stafford's power was too strong.
The moment he appeared, several tentacles changed direction and rushed towards him, directly blocking his path to protect her.
Count Stafford quickly drew his sword and struggled against the fearsome tentacles, yet he also found it difficult to escape.
"Protect her! Protect the Queen!"
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
He could only watch helplessly as the tentacle rushed towards Charlotte, roaring orders to his soldiers while warning Charlotte.
However, Charlotte seemed oblivious to the tentacle behind her, and she didn't even turn her head.
Count Stafford could only watch in despair as the hideous tentacle surged towards the young Queen, and he felt as if he could already see the scene of the Queen being wrapped up by the tentacle and dragged into the abyss.
However, in the next moment, a golden sword light flashed, the hideous tentacle trembled slightly and then snapped into two halves.
The severed tentacle crashed onto the deck, spewing purple-black blood, while the girl who had her back to the tentacle was already out of danger.
A golden elfin rapier circled around Charlotte, and then disdainfully shook its blade, emitting a childlike voice:
"Ew! This guy's blood stinks! So dirty, so dirty, so dirty!"
Upon seeing this, Count Stafford was stunned for a moment and then suddenly filled with joy:
"Roman Sword!"
Roman Sword!
The personal sword of the half-elf hero Romannus!
How could he forget this, with this Divine Artifact, Queen's fighting ability should not be underestimated!
But soon, he looked worried again.
Although the Roman Sword was powerful, the legendary sea beast Kraken also had a tremendous healing ability, and unless it could be killed in one strike, it would not be defeated.
Clearly, relying just on a Divine Sword sealed for who knows how many years was probably not enough.
Furthermore, the Queen's attack not only failed to cause severe damage, but it might also drive it into a complete frenzy.
And a frenzied Kraken was absolutely a nightmare for any creature!
As if confirming Count Stafford's concerns, when one of the tentacles was severed, all other tentacles wrapped around the ship hesitated slightly.
Then, everyone on the battleship heard a deep roar coming from underneath the sea.
The vibration of the battleship intensified, the writhing tentacles became even more ferocious, and a suffocating aura of brutality and oppression instantly swept across the entire deck.
Feeling the terrifying pressure far beyond legendary, Count Stafford's face turned pale:
"Not good! It's gone berserk! It wants to destroy the battleship!"
More tentacles stretched out from the sea, and along with the tentacles rising to the surface was an enormous head.
That was a head resembling an octopus, and in front of it, the Falling Star Kingdom's most advanced Carack Battleship seemed like a toy in a child's hand.
A pair of deep-red eyes, as large as sails, looked over, like the abyssal sea, filled with brutality, anger, and madness.
Just making eye contact could plunge one into endless fear and despair.
"Kr ... Kraken!"
Count Stafford turned pale.
In front of such a legendary terrifying sea beast, even he, as the Blazing Sun, could not help but tremble and feel weak in the knees.
That wasn't just from fear but also from the horrifying oppressive force.
As a marine beast, older than a pure-blooded giant dragon, and a favored one of the Sea King Oceanus, even a grown pure-blooded giant dragon would only be food in front of it!
The massive Kraken unfurled its huge body, almost covering the entire sky.
Staring at the terrifying form, the soldiers and sailors looked dazed, their faces filled with horror and despair.
The sea beast appeared, and tentacle after tentacle abandoned other targets and charged directly towards Charlotte.
"Queen ... Your Majesty!"
Count Stafford was startled again.
However, just when everyone thought Charlotte was about to be torn apart by those tentacles, the hideous tentacles stopped abruptly.
The enormous octopus slightly trembled, the tentacles slowly retracting, while the two dark red eyes stared fixedly at Charlotte, seemingly on alert.
Even the fierce roars unknowingly turned into deep growls.
Seeing the beast that suddenly stopped its attack and swiftly retracted, Count Stafford was stunned.
It felt like...
the Kraken was afraid?
——————
Making up for yesterday, more to come this evening.