28 Takoyaki (1/2)
Ed and Captain Fang climbed a rope ladder to board the ship. Sailors were scrubbing the deck. Three large pipes were positioned in the front, center, and back of the ship. No steam was released from the pipes since the ship was currently stationary.
Ed followed behind the captain. He looked at the large cannons throughout the deck with curiosity. They came in various sizes. What was odd was that the cannons weren't all positioned on the edges of the ship. The top deck of the ship slowly elevated in height by steps as you got closer to the center. There were cannons positioned every few steps higher.
Fang noticed him staring and smiled. ”You're curious about the odd setup, right? Sea mutants are far more dangerous than ordinary ones. They get past the first layer of defense sometimes. When they do, we just fall back to a new row of cannons and keep firing. Works like a charm.”
”Wouldn't that damage the deck?” he questioned.
”Not if you aim properly. Even if they miss and hit the deck, it would only cause a small dent at best. This ship is solid steel after all.”
The two walked towards a staircase near the center of the ship and headed below deck. This entire floor was covered with cannons sticking out of gun ports on both sides of the ship hull. They walked towards the back end of the ship and went down another staircase. Several hallways appeared with rooms lining each side. They headed for a door that had a sign with a red cross on it.
Fang opened the door and spoke, ”Hey doc. I need you to take a look at his arm. Poor bastard got shot by a stray bullet.”
Ed glared at him angrily before turning to the doctor. ”Right. The captain really needs to work on his aim, haha! First time I've ever been shot by a stray bullet.”
The doctor looked back and forth between the two men. He was an old man with a whiteish-gray beard and mustache. He wore thick glasses and an ordinary doctors coat. He grinned, ”You shot another one, captain?”
”Another one?!” Ed yelled in surprise. ”How many people has he shot?”
”Mm. Let's see.” The doctor rose his trembling old hands and began to fold one finger at a time as he counted to himself. ”1, 2, 3… Right. I think you're the 6th one.”
Ed looked at the captain. ”You've shot 5 other people like me before?”
”No, no!” Fang waved his hands in front of him defensively. ”The circumstances were different each time. I wouldn't make the same mistake twice.”
”I can't believe you haven't been demoted yet.” Ed sighed.
”I think you're misunderstanding something, boy.” The doctor grinned. ”I meant the 6th time this week. I stopped keeping track of the total a long time ago. Still, he gets good work done for Sinless. I doubt we'll see any demotions in the future over some minor gunshot wounds. Not like it was fatal.”
”I see…” He replied with a blank look on his face. 'Is Sinless that laid back? Or is the captain so amazing that they overlook his odd tendencies? Maybe I should have started a sinner organization instead…'
”Now then. Let's take a look.” The doctor removed Ed's long sleeve shirt. A small hole could be seen in his shoulder. The doctor used a pair of tweezers to pull the bullet out. He poured some kind of liquid into a gauze and applied it to the wound. Then he quickly sewed it shut. The whole process only lasted a minute.
”Fast as always doc.” Fang commented.
”Haha, I'm just that good!” He grinned. ”This lad had some really strong muscle density. The wound wasn't even that bad. Well, I'm taking a nap. Shoo off now.”
The duo left the room and continued down the hallway before reaching another staircase. Fang spoke, ”We'll be leaving most of my men here to maintain the ship. However, I plan on bringing the doctor to take a look at your people. I'll also be bringing some mechanics, engineers, and machinery. It's all on the bottom floor. Follow me.”
The bottom floor was divided into three sections. The back of the ship had a large steam engine for running the ship. The middle section had several forges and men working at them. The front section, where they were now, had a large amount of cargo.
”Attention!” The captain yelled. The men who were working stopped and lined up in front of him. ”Get topside. We're moving all the cargo to shore. Those on the shore team will be coming to the local base with me.”
”Yes!” The men saluted. The men climbed into dozens of nearby mechs. These mechs were 3 meters tall just like the ones Ed's men used. However, they were not geared towards combat. The bodies were thicker and lower to the ground. They had little to no combat capability. The mechs began to carry large boxes of cargo upstairs one at a time.
”Let's go back.” Fang said. ”They should finish soon.”
Suddenly, the ship began rocking back and forth heavily. A loud siren sounded throughout the ship. A small mana-radio on a nearby wall had a voice come through. ”A mutant flood has appeared. All men report to deck. I repeat. All men report to deck.”
The nearby mechs set down the cargo and opened their hatches. The men climbed out and began running upstairs. Ed and the captain followed behind them.
”Captain, why aren't they bringing the mechs?” Ed questioned.
”They aren't good for naval battles. Besides, they're noncombat mechs. They're practically useless on land as well.” He grinned. ”Trust me. We won't need them anyways.”
They reached the top deck and hundreds of men were already firing the cannons. Large blasts of fire, electricity, and wind slammed into the mutants climbing aboard. The mutants varied in size, but each one looked like some type of octopus. Some were only 1 meter tall, while others were over 5 meters. They were blue and their tentacles easily climbed the ship. Blood exploded in the air as they failed to even breach the 1st line of defense.
Ed winced as he watched this. 'How much mana-powder are they burning through? They must have already used 10 times as much as I've ever owned…'
A bright white light suddenly appeared underneath the water. The light steadily grew bigger until it was over 25 meters in circumference. Large white tentacles sprung from the water and wrapped around the ship.
”LIGHT KRAKEN!” Somebody yelled.
”All men. Dark grenades overboard.” Fang ordered.