Her Majesty’s Swarm - Volume 3 - Chapter 5

Sea Serpent Subjugation 

After deciding to join the extermination party, we returned to Schtraut to gather the units we’d need for the upcoming battle. 

“Ready, everyone?” I asked the units through the collective consciousness. 

“Yes, we are all gathered, Your Majesty.” 

“Good job. Get on board.” 

I loaded my new units onto the one large vessel we had. They would be our key to killing the sea serpent. 

“All right. Lysa and Sérignan, you two join me on the medium-sized ship. Roland, you take command of the larger vessel.” 

“Understood, Your Majesty.” 

This time we were going all out, and I was part of the strike force. I seriously doubted I was going to be of any use, but I couldn’t give the pirates the impression that I was a coward. Frightened as I was, I had survived a handful of battles already (by hiding behind Sérignan’s back). 

“All right, once we raise anchor, we should sail here and regroup with Isabelle’s forces,” I declared, pointing to a spot on the pirates’ sea charts. 

Our rendezvous point was the spot along Doris’ coastline where we’d run into the sea serpent before. Once we met up with them, we would prepare to attract the beast. The pirates planned to lure it in by towing cattle behind one of their ships. A simple solution, and I could only hope it would work. 

“Let’s get going.” 

Soon, we left the Dukedom behind us. I was worried about our borders; we were still building walls and Eyeball Spires, but enemy forces could break through if they put their minds to it. On top of that, I had brought Sérignan and our precious new units with me to slay the sea serpent, so our defenses were much thinner than I would’ve liked. 

We need to kill that thing, and fast. 

“I can see the pirate ships!” Lysa said. 

Looking ahead with a pair of binoculars, I also spotted the pirates’ flag. Lysa had seen it with the naked eye, however; her vision was truly impressive. There were nine pirate ships ahead of us. Atlantica had more, but only nine had shown up. The other captains were likely too afraid of the sea serpent and thus had refused to join. 

I can’t really blame them. Their lives are on the line. 

One ship broke formation and approached us. 

“Ahoy there, Queenie! You all set?” 

It was Isabelle’s ship, the Albatross. 

“Yeah, we’re ready. How about you?” 

“We’re good to go whenever. Don’t worry, we’ve got this.” She smirked. “All right, let’s get fishin’! Brace yourselves, okay?” 

“Roger that. We’ve got your back.” I nodded. 

Apparently, the Albatross itself would be towing the bait. The pirates had chucked two whole dead cows into the water. 

This sea serpent’s a real glutton, huh? 

“Sérignan, Lysa, get ready in case something happens. And Roland, make sure your ship follows the Albatross so they’re ready to fight.” 

“By your will, Your Majesty.” 

Sérignan drew her sword and glared into the water. Lysa held up her longbow and nocked an arrow, which was laced with paralyzing venom. Roland steered his ship, which was loaded with Ripper Swarms and our new units, to follow the Albatross. 

Isabelle’s ship cruised slowly through the water, the meat drifting along behind it. The sea remained calm, but there was no telling when the monster might suddenly burst out from underwater. From what Sérignan had told me, the thing was over 50 meters long. 

“Your Majesty, I can feel its presence. It’s coming,” Sérignan said. 

“Yeah, I know. I feel what you feel.” 

She was sensing something rapidly rising through the water, and this feeling had been transmitted to me through the collective consciousness. 

“It’s here,” I whispered. 

At that very moment, a long pillar of water surged up next to the Albatross. A massive monster that looked much like a sea snake emerged from within, and true to Sérignan’s report, the thing was easily over 50 meters in length. It leapt above the surface of the water and gobbled up the two cattle. 

Oh, what a monster indeed. The fact that such a massive beast lurked in these waters stood as testament to the terrors the beautiful ocean could hide in its depths. A certain horror author who’d written multiple works about horrific sea monsters came to mind. 

Intimidated as I was, I could feel Sérignan’s courage through the collective consciousness, and it served to soothe my fear. 

“It’s here! Fire the harpoons!” 

“Lysa, attack!” 

Isabelle and I gave our orders at the same time. The pirate ships fired whaling harpoons, which pierced the sea serpent’s flesh, and Lysa shot it with her paralyzing arrow. This arrow had been dipped in concentrated Ripper Swarm venom, and being hit by it was the equivalent of being stung by ten Ripper Swarms. 

“Skreeeeaaah!” 

The sea serpent screeched in pain and charged at one of the ships. Isabelle’s pirates weren’t going to go down without a fight; they tried to evade the sea serpent’s attack but failed to dodge it in time. 

As the beast rammed its body into the ship, the vessel capsized altogether, sending its crew flying toward the sea. The serpent then sank its fangs into the wooden frame, turning the ship into scraps as the pirates drifted down to a watery grave. Naturally, the serpent’s rampage was far from over. 

Oh, crap. 

It had all happened in the blink of an eye. Could we really handle this thing? Just as that thought crossed my mind, however, the sea serpent lunged toward the Albatross and my medium-sized ship. We were clearly next on its list. 

Crap. Crap, crap, crap. 

“Uh, Roland, you ready?!” I shouted. 

“Not yet! It’s moving too fast! We can’t catch up!” 

Oh, goodie. 

Our only hope was the new units riding aboard Roland’s ship. 

“Lysa, Sérignan, get ready,” I said, steeling my nerves. “We need to intercept that thing.” 

“By your will, Your Majesty.” 

We maneuvered our ship between the Albatross and the sea serpent and prepared to attack. It would be hopeless if the serpent attacked us underwater, but if it were to rise above sea level... 

“Hey, don’t do anythin’ reckless! Fall back if you have to!” Isabelle shouted at us from the Albatross’ deck. 

“You guys can’t escape, though!” I yelled back to her. “I mean, you have it hooked with your bait!” 

“Forget us!” she cried, shaking her head violently. “Prepare to get the hell outta here if you have to!” 

Such a brave pirate. Even the fear of death didn’t faze her. 

“Look! It’s comin’ up outta the water!” 

Bingo. 

I knew the monster would resurface; it was no fluke. According to Isabelle, sea serpents had excellent long-term memory. Essentially, this one remembered how Sérignan had repelled it using this ship. Perhaps Sérignan’s voice had traveled underwater. 

Come on, big boy. Now’s your chance to get even. 

I watched as the sea serpent rose from the water, revealing its full form. It certainly looked like a snake, but it had four eyes instead of two. All four of them were fixed on our ship. Sérignan met the beast’s powerful glare, prompting it to howl in anger. Its cry rippled the water, jolted the ship, and struck fear into the hearts of all who heard it. The creature’s deafening voice was a deadly weapon in its own right. 

“Sérignan! Can you keep it in check?!” I shouted, hoping I’d be heard over the animalistic scream. 

“Worry not, Your Majesty!” Sérignan yelled back. 

The sea serpent menacingly bared its fangs, and Sérignan held up her sword as if to rise to the challenge... Then came a terrible clash. The serpent lashed out, trying to bite her. She pushed back against one fang with her blade, desperately trying to deflect the attack. It looked poised to swallow Sérignan whole, but she was just barely able to keep its jaws open. 

“Lysa, cover for her!” 

“Roger that!” 

Lysa nocked three venom-laced arrows and fired them all at once at the sea serpent. Her archery skills were as astounding as ever. 

“Skreeeaaah!” The serpent screeched in pain as the arrows sank into flesh. 

And as the creature became more sluggish from the venom, Sérignan made her next move. 

“Haaaah!” 

Her sword slashed through its jaw, and its head slammed against the ship’s deck. That was all she could manage, but she’d still dealt massive damage to the creature. It was down, thanks to their combined efforts, but it wasn’t yet out. 

“Goddamn. It’s still alive after takin’ this much of a beatin’. What a monster...” Isabelle muttered. 

“Don’t worry, Isabelle. We’ll take this thing down for sure.” 

“I sure hope so.” She nodded grimly. “I think I’m startin’ to see why my boys were so scared of this thing. It could probably kill us fifty times over.” 

“And you’re still fighting it?” I cocked an eyebrow. 

“That’s the pirate way.” She grinned. 

The sea serpent twitched a few times as it prepared to crane its neck once again. 

Hurry up, Roland... 

“Your Majesty! We’re ready!” 

Ah, there they are. 

Our new units would be invaluable for defeating sea monsters. Roland’s ship was chock-full of them. While they lacked the Ripper Swarms’ scythes, they were several times the Ripper Swarms’ size and had long, scorpion-like tails. The tips of their tails were dripping with a black, viscous fluid. 

Toxic Swarms. One of the Arachnea’s long-range units. 

Once we had gathered enough souls, I had finally been able to unlock them. The Toxic Swarms were capable of something the Ripper Swarms, Digger Swarms, Parasite Swarms, and Masquerade Swarms were not: attacking from a distance. 

“Toxic Swarms! Fire!” I shouted. 

The Toxic Swarms obediently swung their large tails and fired what looked like arrows from the tips. Those arrows pierced into the downed sea serpent, which screeched in pain and attempted to flee underwater. 

“What the hell’re those?” Isabelle asked, mouth agape. 

“Those are Toxic Swarms, the Arachnea’s long-range units. Legend has it that the poison in their tails is capable of downing a dragon. Not sure if that’s true, but it’s still a pretty powerful toxin. I doubt anything that takes the brunt of it would get away unscathed.” 

The Toxic Swarms were my ace in the hole. Sea serpents lived in the ocean, so getting up close and personal to cut this one down wasn’t exactly feasible. I couldn’t send the Ripper Swarms after it, so instead I had decided to pelt it with long-range attacks the moment it surfaced. Now we’d be able to kill this thing before it could lash out again. 

Suddenly, the sea serpent resurfaced, writhing and twisting in agony. 

“What, back for more? Toxic Swarms, fire your second volley.” 

“By your will, Your Majesty.” 

At my command, the Toxic Swarms fired more projectiles at the suffering beast. Without mercy, without so much as a hint of pity, they fired their venomous barbs into the sea serpent. Blood began to flow from its mouth. 

Following that, the sea serpent started melting. The flesh and skin of its abdomen were the first to melt away, exposing its entrails and bones. A few moments later, even those disappeared, leaving nothing behind. 

“Incredible...” Isabelle whispered as she watched the sea serpent disintegrate into the now-still water. 

I wasn’t nearly as shocked. In the game, enemies afflicted with the Toxic Swarms’ toxin always melted away. Synthetic or highly defensive units could block the projectiles altogether, but anything else became a fleshy soup within seconds. The sea serpent had actually lasted longer than most; generally, the disintegration was immediate. 

“Looks like your little sea serpent problem is taken care of, eh?” I said, turning to Isabelle. 

“Yeah, now we can sail all over without havin’ to worry about this thing!” she said with a toothy grin. 

The pirates let out celebratory hoots and hollers. 

Phew... That’s a relief. 

Now all that was left was for the pirates to provoke the Popedom of Frantz and keep its navy occupied... Assuming everything would go smoothly. Still, I decided to remain optimistic. Worrying over things like that would just tire me out, and now was not the time for any errors in judgment.