Four rays of light sped across the landscape of the fishmen village, traveling across the ocean and eventually reaching one of the ships of the Empire's fleet.
These four rays were the antiheroes.
The group changed back into their elven forms upon arrival in their cabin, and Samantha turned to the others to speak.
"That confirms what we thought before, that the current leader of the fishmen is simply too much of an idiot to negotiate with. Whether others are weaker or stronger than him, he doesn't seem to budge an inch. He has no respect for anyone but himself, and yet seems to believe that he is doing what is right by some delusional mentality. He's beyond sick.", she said with clear disgust.
"There is only one way to deal with idiots like him. Through force. We tried to negotiate, we really did. Sorry, Determined. We have no choice here. Heh heh...", Garett chuckled.
"Well, for now we will simply view things as they progress from behind. If Kota seems to be having a little too much success then it is our job to cut off that hope. Have patience for now.", Trevor lectured.
Ashley simply laughed to herself quietly.
The four were raring for a fight, however they understood that the second they took part, that it would be over.
Trevor understood that doing that would not be as effective... or as interesting... as the alternative.
The ships of the fleet continued to press forward, and eventually a horn was sounded. It seemed to be coming from the beach.
It was the signal of the fishmen that they were under attack.
"It seems that they have spotted the fleet. Will Kota really just send all his soldiers out, or will they bolster the underwater cave?", Garett asked.
"I think we already know the answer to that. He doesn't even intend to evacuate the civilians.", Ashley replied.
Suddenly, a soldier ran through the halls, banging on the doors of each cabin and shouting out.
"We've arrived!! All troops, head to the upper deck! Prepare to set out and attack at any given moment!! Archers and long ranged magicians in particular, take positions!!"
The antiheroes opened their door, and stepped out into the hallways where there were many other mercenaries walking through and heading up.
The group immediately ran into Lance and his group, and they headed up together.
Trevor shifted over to Lance and whispered into his ear.
"Don't stand out. Just fight as usual. We will be behind you, even if you can't see us, and we will notify you if any changes in our plans occur."
"Got it."
The two groups made it to the upper deck, and headed to where many archers and magicians seemed to be preparing to fire. The fishmen had started rushing out of the underwater cave from what Trevor could sense, and were gathering on the beach. Soldiers were also conscripted from the men who were working aboveground, and the women and children didn't seem to be making any movements aside from going inside. They truly didn't even intend to evacuate them.
Before long, about 1000 fishmen had gathered and were lined up, and behind them stood Kota, with a number of his direct subordinates at his side.
This was the entire force of the fishmen.
It was a small force. Too small to be able to take on the 13,000 men of the Empire. Despite the fact that the fishmen were excessively strong in direct comparison to the humans- ranging from the lower 4th to upper 5th tiers, as compared to the soldiers of the military, the strongest of which were upper 3rd tier, and the mercenaries, the strongest of which were mid 4th tier, the numbers would be able to make up for this difference- however it wouldn't be a crushing defeat for either side.
It would have been a crushing defeat for the Empire, however, if the fishmen had properly prepared and used strategic tactics.
But they didn't. And as a result of this, a direct confrontation would lead them to defeat.
Yet Kota stood their proudly, shouting out to his troops. Trevor listened in from where he was, and heard some blasphemous words.
"There is no enemy you cannot defeat if you just believe in yourselves!!! I am behind you, and I want you all to act as my sword and my shield!! No matter how small the chance of victory, we will emerge victorious!!! Why!?!? Because we are the proud fishmen, warriors of justice who will drive back these evil invaders!!!! Now, to the naval unit, charge!!!"
At this, around 300 fishmen who were stationed in the front dived into the ocean, and began swimming rapidly towards the approaching fleet.
'I won't even need to do anything to prevent the fishmen from being wiped out... however, it would be troublesome if they attacked this ship and killed the people I've chosen to ally with. I suppose I will lend these people my bow.'
The fishmen were so far off at this point that while many magicians and archers had gathered at the deck, none of them were firing, as the fishmen were completely out of range.
The mercenary ships were in front of the actual Legion ships, and the ship which the antiheroes were on was one which was at the very front- in row with a number of other ships.
At this moment, Trevor casually nocked an arrow.
He did not use any skills, nor did he need to. His dexterity and perception skills were enough.
Trevor pulled the arrow all the way back so that the string was excessively taut, and let it fly off into the distance.
"Oi, what are you doing there mercenary!? Wasting ammo like that when there aren't even any enemies within range!", one of the soldiers who was stationed to oversee the mercenaries shouted, after seeing Trevor shoot off the arrow.
"I didn't waste anything. What are you talking about?"
The arrow struck true to the target of a fishman who was about to dive into the ocean, piercing his heart. The fishman dropped dead, and many around him who were not in the naval unit flinched in surprise.
'How did an arrow come flying from all the way over there!?'
'Do the humans have an extremely skilled archer on their side!?'
'It must have been a fluke! We are all standing so close to each other, so if an arrow happened to make it this far, of course it would hit someone!'
'But how did they shoot an arrow this far in the first place!?!'
However, the disturbance was too far in the distance for the soldier who was reprimanding Trevor to even notice what had happened.
"Is this insubordination I hear?! And from a mercenary? I'll have you reported and get your pay docked!"
"Go right ahead. What makes you think I am doing this for something as trivial as the pay? There are many ways to make money, and this is one of the most inefficient ones to do so, given that regardless of how well I perform, I will be paid the same. If I wanted to make money, I would never go about it in this manner."
"What are you talking about!?!? Due to the Emperor's generosity, you are being paid an entire gold coin per day!! What kind of job could you possibly do to make so much money!?! Nothing!! There is no way you could make so much in a single day!!"
Trevor merely laughed this statement off.
He had determined that a single copper coin was worth somewhere around 2 dollars.
This meant that a single gold coin would be worth around 20,000 dollars.
"You, my friend, do not understand the art of business, if you believe that such a meager sum is worth so much."
"That's it!! What is your registration number!?! I will have this reported to the higher-ups and your pay is going to be decreased!!!"
Trevor simply smiled and showed the man his documentation.
"Satisfied? Why don't you dock the entire pay while you're at it? Now that I am working for free, I have no further reason to follow your orders. Am I wrong? No. I'm not."
Trevor knocked three arrows at a time.
[Arrow Volley]
The arrows flew off into the distance, picking off three more targets who were closest to the line of ships, and then piercing through the bodies of the targets, with enough momentum to continue on, piercing through the heads of three more- killing a total of 12 fishmen. However, they were still too far off for anyone to see that they had been eliminated.
"Bullseye.", Ashley stated while watching the action with an evil eye that she had floating above the fishmen army.
"What bullseye!?! Are you aiming at the water or something!?! Maybe trying to hit the fishes instead of the fishmen?! Good grief!! Whatever! Do what you want!"
The soldier stormed away, satisfied that he had at least obtained Trevor's information.
'He was just bluffing. There's no way he could make so much money, and I'm sure he will regret talking back to me when he doesn't get paid. What an idiot. What kind of mercenary doesn't want to get paid?', the man thought.
Charlotte looked over to Trevor.
"Was that really alright? Even if you have some sort of other goal, is it fine to not get paid?"
"We never planned on receiving our pay in the first place. We have better things to do than to wait around in some queue for some money that isn't even guaranteed. It isn't easy running a nation, you know."
"Ah right... I suppose you don't need money if you already run an entire country on your own..."
Ashley however, looked somewhat concerned.
"Ehh??? We're not going to take the money???"
"We don't have time for that."
"Ehh... I wanted to buy some pastries or something..."
"We just obtained a new chef. We can have her cook you something when we get back."
"Oh yeah. Ok.", she said with absolutely no emotion in her voice.
Pierre laughed.
"You all certainly must be living in completely different worlds from us. Being able to just hire a new chef and all like it's nothing."
"You're exactly right.", Garett stated.
The ships started to get closer to the shore, and many more fishmen were now in range.
"I suppose I won't take all the prey. You four should save your strength for now, let the others take care of these ones. Specifically you, Melody. Save your mana for later.", Trevor ordered.
Many of the mercenaries who were archers began to knock arrows.
"Ready!! Fire!!!"
A volley was fired into the water, however on closer inspection...
The arrows simply bounced off the hard scales of the fishmen, as if they were made of stone or metal.
Only a few arrows which had hit the fishmen in soft locations such as the eyes or inside the mouths of the ones who were shouting war cries had actually pierced, however less than 1% of the fishmen sustained any form of injury.
Many of the fishmen were regular- that is, there were barely any odd fishmen such as the ones who participated in the tournament with irregular abilities or body types. The current fishmen force consisted primarily of standard fish, with a few aside.
"Arrows don't work!! Their scales are too hard!!! Magicians, move up!", someone shouted.
The archers moved back, concerned and defeated that their shots were completely useless.
'If we can't even damage them, then aren't we just dead weight in this fight!?!'
'I trained so hard.... but my arrow didn't even pierce...'
'So these are monsters... this is my first time fighting out here, but they are way stronger than I thought! Even with all these troops, can we win if nobody can damage them!?!'
The fishmen seemed to be violently swimming towards the fleet at a breakneck pace.
At this rate, if the magicians couldn't do something about them, the ships would be boarded.
Melody stood forward to attack, but Trevor held her back.
"I said to save your MP. There won't be any issues."
Melody looked at Trevor and nodded with a devious smile that said 'Ah... I understand exactly what you mean.'
Trevor once more looked over at Kota.
Kota seemed to be celebrating his victory already. After seeing his soldiers so easily shake off the attack, he was certain that there was nothing which the humans could do to defeat his soldiers.
"Those with bravery who devote their lives to a greater cause will always end up on top in the end!!!", he shouted.
Many cheers could be heard from the land unit of fishmen, however none of the people on the boats could hear them from this distance.
"Magicians! Bombard them with your spells!!", a soldier shouted.
Some magicians shot off fireballs, others propagated blades of wind, and others balls of poison. One in particular seemed to shoot off a bolt of lightning from his hands.
On viewing the aftermath, the water had become chaotic. Waves splashed up and down from the magic, and the fishmen were doing their best to maintain their balance and not be swept away- however, they had only suffered light wounds from the magic.
The ones caught in the fire had light singes. Those who had encountered acid seemed to have a few scales which dissolved off before they were able to negate the effects. The wind blades had shattered a few scales, but not cut through the flesh of the fishmen.
The lightning had propagated throughout the water, electrocuting many fishmen in a large area, however these fishmen only suffered light shock from this, and after being temporarily stunned, all they suffered was minor stings and burns.
"Even our magic unit wasn't effective!! How are we supposed to beat these monsters!?!"
"Don't panic!!! If we can get to land, then surely we can take them on with numbers!!"
"But how do we get to land in the first place!?! They're about to reach the ships!!!"
"They're going to board soon!! Warriors, get up to the front!!"
The magicians switched out with the warriors, and many muscular men with armor and weapons took the front row. There were also some dwarven and elven mercenaries, however not many of the elves were warriors.
Garett walked over to Ashley and whispered to her.
"If this continues, the fishmen will take out the mercenaries by sea, and it will be extremely suspicious if our allies are the only ones on this ship to survive. Covertly take care of the fishmen."
"With pleasure. Hehehe...."
Ashley did a few hand motions, and before anyone could realized what was happening, a vortex had formed in the ocean, completely engulfing the fishmen.
"AGH!!!"
"What is this!!!"
"Blub blub blub!!!"
The fishmen swirled violently about, and even the boat itself started to be pulled in towards the whirlpool.
"What is this!?! Is this a natural disaster!?!"
"There don't exist any magicians who can do something like that!!! It has to be!! We have to stop this ship!!"
Garett felt the excessive urge to facepalm.
'I said covertly, didn't I?'
Well, at least everyone mistook it for a natural disaster. This was actually likely the best solution.
Almost all of the fishmen were caught up in the whirlpool, and they were frantically trying to escape.
However, Ashley then formed a ball of fire at the bottom of the vortex.
BOOM!!!!
An explosion of magic made the water form what looked like a mushroom cloud, and mist covered the landscape as far as the eye could see.
The boat, which was previously being sucked into the vortex, was instead pushed back with a great amount of force.
Many of the boats of the fleet started to fly backwards with great speeds, spinning around and crashing into each others. People did all they could to grab onto roped or ledges, and some fell off.
Ashley held still herself and her comrades with her magic, as well as Lance and his group.
As the waves calmed down, many dead fishmen floated to the top of the ocean, their bodies completely fried. If one were to take a look at the situation from above, it would look like a massive car wreck, with boats blocking each other and facing all different directions.
All the boats which had been involved were mercenary ships, and Caspus, who was at the head of the main fleet, looked forward at the ensuing chaos.
'Just what is going on up there!?! Everything is out of order!!'
"All fleets, halt movement!!!", Caspus shouted, and the order was relayed from ship to ship until the entire fleet came to a complete stop.
On the ships at the front line, which had been completely disorganized, chaos ensued.
"What was that!?!", someone shouted.
"It had to have been some sort of underwater eruption!"
"Look, all the fishmen are dead!"
"My comrades!! They fell off!!!"
"Help!! Somebody help me!!! My arm!!"
"We don't have time to worry about the dead!! Get these ships back in order!!!"
Kota, who was watching from the distance, was stunned.
'How... they should not hold such massive firepower... the humans are weak... I didn't see those demons with them... but they are far away, so I can't tell for sure... ah... what disappointments my soldiers are!!! Not even being able to withstand such simple attacks!!! They clearly lacked the courage they needed!!! It must be because they didn't believe in themselves enough!!!'
Kota turned to his brethren though, and shouted out even louder than before.
"My brothers!!! Our comrades have now sacrificed their very lives for this noble cause!!! It is up to us to avenge them, and ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain!!! Remain diligent, and we will fight these filthy humans when they land!!!"
"Yes, Chief Kota!!!"
Many fishmen began to shout a new war cry, and they were even more pumped than before to fight.
Meanwhile, Ploritan looked on from a position hidden among most of the foot-soldiers.
'That couldn't have just been a natural disaster... just what was that? Was that the antiheroes? Or maybe it was a human? If a human holds that much power, then perhaps we are in much more trouble than I could have imagined...'
Many ships were heavily damaged from ramming into each other, and some were even beginning to fill with water at this point. Planks were being used to connect ships and move people over to the less damaged ones.
Sails were being retracted, and the entire army came to a full stop to regroup before landing.
Caspus barked out an order as he looked forward into the chaos ahead of him.
"The mercenary squadrons are to regroup and engage the fishmen on land as soon as possible!!! Main unit, we are to head around and search for the underwater cave system!! Move!!!"
With this, the gears of war began to churn.
Many mercenaries had finished recuperating and filling up the less damaged ships, and orders were put out to begin rowing.
"Anyone strong enough, get below deck and begin rowing to the surface!!! We can't waste any more time here!!"
A number of muscular warriors flooded down into the lower chambers of each ship.
One by one, the cluster of ships were untangled, and the ones remaining were making their way to the shore, where Kota waited.
The antiheroes and Lance's group were filled with a bunch of scrawny magicians and archers, so none of them were forced to go below deck. They all stood on the top, watching and waiting for the real battle to begin.
Samantha looked around at the other mercenaries surrounding her, while reading their minds.
They were all scared.
They all knew that they stood no chance against the fishmen, and that they had defeated the group through pure luck- something which was out of their control.
A natural disaster.
Or so they thought.
No, perhaps in a sense it was a natural disaster that killed the fishmen.
The antiheroes themselves.
They WERE a natural disaster.