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Not a minute went by and the next wave of Nagas made their appearances. This time, there were a few times more and only more were coming.

The first three Nagas of this wave that hopped onto the ship were instantaneously cut apart by Amyra with a single swing of her cleaver sword. The guts and blood scattered across the deck.

Another three climbed aboard the ship from the other side but they were made quick work off by Nivia and Siv.

They were quick in dispatching the Nagas but these river humanoid creatures were just as quick in their entrance. One nearly pulled Nivia off the ship but Aedan chopped the Naga’s arm with a woodcutting axe that was thrice the usual size.

“T-thanks,” Nivia said as she calmed herself. She thought that was the end of her when the Naga grabbed hold of her.

“You can thank me later in bed.”

“You—”

Aedan didn’t wait for the Elf’s response and went off to chop down the next Naga.

Meanwhile, Aera was doing her best to fend off the Nagas using a mace. It was the best weapon for her as it didn’t require any convoluted techniques on her part for it to be effective. She needed only to swing around and crush her enemies’ skulls, which she was more than capable of doing so.

At present, Aera was physically stronger than Lyra, Siv, Nivia, and Lilian. The main flaw of hers was that she was much too reserved in taking a life except when she entered her Wrathmonger state, which she wished to avoid as much as possible.

On Lyra’s side, she climbed up the mast the moment she realised they were under attack. From atop the mast, she fired arrows after arrows on the Nagas that were climbing up the ship. Since the Nagas had no ranged weapons, she held a relatively safe role in this battle.

All the while the group was slaying the Nagas with an optimistic view, only one person was looking at the scene with a bleak expression, and that was Riki. It wasn’t that he feared they would lose. Rather, he dreaded the state of his ship after the battle.

Body matters of dead Nagas had dyed nearly the entire deck in red.

“Ah… my ship…” Riki stammered in despair. Stains on a ship needed to be cleaned off as soon as possible or else the integrity of the ship would deteriorate faster than normal. However, cleaning the stains off the wooden planks was easier said than done.

Of course, no one paid the boy any mind as they were all focused on the Nagas who seemed endless in numbers.

Taking care of these incessant and relentless Nagas would be as easy as breathing for the group but only if they were on solid ground. They were on a ship and though it wasn’t fragile, it still couldn’t withstand a single blow from any of their skills or spells, especially from Amyra or Erin.

The restriction made this battle longer than it needed to.

Still, they were not losing.

At some point, Erin dispelled her sword and fought the Nagas using her tails. Now was the best opportunity for her to test the skills she had acquired after she obtained her sixth and seventh tail.

She needed only a single strike from her tails to fell one Naga. Her strikes were precise and swift. The Nagas didn’t even see it coming. They couldn’t believe their eyes even if they saw it. Bundles of fluff shot towards them. It was only normal for one to expect nothing from these furry bundles but the Nagas were dead wrong, literally.

After Erin got used to using her tails, she re-manifested her sword and struck the Nagas along with her sword and her tails.

At some point, the Nagas’ numbers began to dwindle. Erin spared a glance at the water and saw the multiple ripples on the surface. The Nagas still had plenty to spare, so their dwindling numbers were odd.

“Mistress!” Siv shouted.

At the same time, Erin felt the shivers too. “I’m aware!” she shouted back.

A threat that would lay waste to them was imminent.

Aedab stowed away his axe and brought out a bomb from his infinite pouch. Everyone instantly realised the severity of the imminent threat.’

Lightning crackled and whirled around in Erin’s palm.

Fire swirled in Amyra’s palm.

Four tentacles erupted from the depths, bursting through the river's surface. Each of these tentacles was more than capable of destroying the ship by itself.

Aedan lit the short fuse on the bomb and tossed it at one of the tentacles. The target tentacles reacted to the bomb and tried to batter it away. However, the bomb exploded as soon as the tentacle touched it.

The immense shockwave from the explosion caused a few cracks on the mast pole of the ship, to the terror of Riki.

Amyra unleashed the flame she held in her hand at one of the tentacles. The flame charred the tentacle black before it could do anything to repel the fire.

For the remaining two tentacles, they were dealt with by Erin using Lightning Barrage.

The four tentacles retreated back into the water. Or rather, the beast below retracted its limbs after its failed assault.

The group waited for the next wave of tentacles or the appearance of the main body, but neither of those two came to pass. Instead, the Nagas resumed their assault.

The battle went on for nearly half an hour before coming to an end. The Nagas finally stopped coming at them.

From what Erin could tell by the water ripples distancing themselves from the ship, the Nagas still had plenty to their numbers.

The ship continued in its course, sailing upstream along the river. Siv noticed the despair on Riki’s face and immediately asked the three Fae to help clean the ship. Erin’s presence was a big help in the cleaning. With all the Spirits she drew in, they were able to easily clean the deck using Spirit Magic while also fixing the ship in the process.

As much as they tried to be delicate, there was bound to be a few damages.

After that, they all sat down and began to discuss the attack of the Nagas just now.

“There were no Nagas in these waters last I heard and knew,” Siv said. “And there’s certainly no monsters with tentacles in this part of the kingdom.”

“There weren’t,” Riki answered. “There was no sighting of any Nagas in these waters or tentacle creatures… until just now. What the hell is happening around here?”

“Hmm… those Nagas don’t look starved,” Amyra pointed out. “They certainly didn’t migrate due to food shortage. And for the tentacles… I don’t believe the waters are deep enough for their liking.”

“There is something else,” Erin said.

Everyone turned their eyes to her.

“Their scent does not blend in with this river’s scent. Which means, they had only just arrived and they had travelled far.”

“If that’s the case… then that means they came all the way here from their home just to attack us?” Lyra asked.

“That is the most likely possibility.”

“But why?”

Aedan chuckled. “Was it not obvious enough?”

Erin sighed. “Aedan, now’s not the time to be melodramatic. Just state your discovery.”’

“Astranis.”

Erin furrowed her brows. “And who’s that?”

“The Lady of the Depth,” Aera answered. “The divine who governs all those that are unseen in the depths of the waters.”

“You’re saying those Nagas are her followers?” Nivia blurted out.

“Familiars, maybe?” Aedan shrugged. “But it is without doubt, the faith surrounding her are the ones responsible for the Nagas and the tentacle monster attacking us. The Apostles and Acolytes can’t attack us by themselves, so they send proxies. Clever, won’t you say?”

“Cowardly,” Lyra scoffed.

“Better cowardly than getting the royal family’s attention.”

“Speaking of them, why aren’t the armies doing anything about all of the recent strange occurrences happening on this river?” Erin asked.

Amyra broke into laughter. “Because they do not know how to. They aren’t exactly the naval forces. Some might say the army is not responsible for the waters, at least until the threat comes onto land.”

“And do they have any naval forces in this area in case of… unforeseen circumstances.”

“It will be too costly and difficult for them to place their naval forces here. Their battleships are not designed to traverse narrow and shallow waters. They will need new ships of new designs.”

“So the kingdom does nothing?”

“That’s what adventurers are for, to clean up the mess that the kingdom can’t be bothered with. I reckon there are already quests regarding this river being issued as we speak.”

“Never mind the kingdom, how do we deal with the next wave?” Nivia asked. “I doubt they would just give up.”

“They’ll come at night,” Erin said. “They will wait until we put all the lights out. They might even come with a stronger and larger force on the next assault.”

“Then… should we lay the anchor near the land?” Riki asked.

“No,” came Erin’s swift response. “We will be impeached by the patrolling soldiers the moment we do.”

“Why would we?” Nivia asked with a scowl. “We’re not hindering them or anything.”

“Nivia, dear, there's no reasoning with soldiers,” said Lilian. “They are just following orders even if the orders are unreasonable.”

“Still, wouldn’t it be better to face those zealots with more people on our side?”

“If I were them, I would retreat and wait, rather risking conflict with the royal army. Meanwhile, we will be escorted into a holding compound for intruding.”

“That is absurd.”

Lilian could only smile wryly in response.

“Regardless, laying the anchor is out of the question,” Erin said.

“Then what will be our move?” Nivia huffed with her arms crossed in front of her paltry bosom.

“I will fortify this ship as much as I can and as much as this ship can handle. By nightfall, we will repel anything or anyone that attacks us.”

“What about the tentacle monster?” Riki asked worriedly. “What if there’s more of them?”

“That thing will not be a problem. Just focus on steering the ship. Everyone else, get as much rest as you can. Worst comes to worst, we might not be able to sleep tonight.”

Aedan let out a short snicker.

Erin rolled her eyes. “Are you a child?”

“A child? No. Immature? Yes.”

Hearing his answer, Erin shot him a glare. “Be serious.”

“A joke or two does not belittle my sobriety.” Aedan smiled. “Besides, when have I let you down?”

Erin tutted and looked away. “You’re insufferable.”

Suddenly, Lyra slumped forward and collapsed onto Erin’s lap. This act of hers came as a surprise to everyone except Aedan and Lilian.

“Lyra, what are you doing?”

Lyra tittered and wrapped her arms around Erin’s neck. “Getting my fill of Erinium.”

Erin frowned with utter confusion. “And what is this ‘Erinium’?”

“Your affection.”

Erin didn’t need to be told and she looked towards the culprit that corrupted Lyra’s mind.

Aedan feigned ignorance and slowly turned away from Erin’s glare.

“You know, you have been paying attention to Aedan more than any of us recently,” Lyra said with a pout that didn’t fit someone of her tenor.

Siv nodded. “She speaks truthfully, Mistress.”

“I agree too,” Lilian said. “In fact, you haven’t bedded me since our first time together.”

At this point, Erin was baffled by the drastic change in the discussion’s topic.

“M-me too…” Aera also chimed in, albeit hesitantly.

Nivia was flabbergasted, much more than Erin, especially towards Erin.

“I-I’ll leave you all to your business!” Riki squealed and quickly scampered off into his quarters. Being a cherry boy without ever knowing a woman’s touch, the current topic was too much for him to handle.

“What’s got into you, ladies?” Erin asked.

Amyra burst into laughter. “Can’t you tell, milady? They are starved for your love. You have been neglecting them.”