Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 567: Chaotic Clash

Boom!

A thunderous roar echoed as a cannonball exploded at the stern of the Narwhale. A violent jerk coursed through the ship, causing the bow to thrust skyward and everyone on deck, including Margaret and Charles, to be flung into the air.

Mid-air, Margaret was vulnerable without any footing. It was the perfect chance that Charles wouldn't let slip by.

A thirty-centimeter-long black spike materialized out of thin air and aimed straight for the gap under Margaret's third rib. The spot was dangerously close to her heart, so she would die if she took the hit.

Acquired as loot from the surface, the black spike was extraordinarily sharp and had proved its mettle for being capable of piercing Charles' own reinforced skin.

Screech!

With a hiss like nails scraping against a chalkboard, the spike halted abruptly, unable to penetrate any further. The air around Margaret seemed to have solidified and formed an invisible barrier that thwarted Charles' advance.

Clearly, Margaret had come fully prepared for this ambush mission. She even had her defenses ready to counter his offensive.

"Got you!" Margaret's voice sounded as she swung her right leg toward Charles with ferocious speed.

A gruesome sound of tearing flesh rang out in the air as three invisible tentacles, each coiled around a black spike, were severed. Fortunately, Charles had used his tentacles in place of his arms, or else it would his limbs would have been severed.

After the deadly dance in the air, Charles and Margaret crashed to the deck and engaged each other in another fight. As they grappled, Audric seized the moment to assist his captain. He raised the rifle in his hand and opened fire.

Although the bullets couldn't penetrate Margaret's tough skin, they pelted her face and served as a distraction to her line of sight.

Suddenly, the vampire's expression stiffened; part of his neck had been gruesomely split open. Blood spurted out from the wound and showered upon the assailant, revealing a transparent humanoid silhouette.

At Lily's command, the mice engaged in combat across the deck swiftly rallied. They scurried over to the cloaked figure and furiously gnawed at his blood vessels.

The remaining flying insects descended and targeted Lily's mice. It was pandemonium as the two sides clashed fiercely, with sounds of explosions and screams of agony filling the air.

White arcs of electricity leaped onto Margaret, but despite twitching from the electricity that ran across her figure, the murderous intent that had filled her gaze remained unwavering.

She charged forward and slammed into Charles with devastating force. Then, her hand clamped around his neck like iron vices.

Hearing the grating noise filling his ears, Charles felt his spine threatening to snap under her grasp.

With a swift flick of his right hand, a sharp black spike extended from the palm of his prosthetic, and Charles thrust it toward her right eye.

Margaret dodged just in time, barely saving her eye. Like a razor, the black spike drew a line from the corner of her eye up to her temple and tore away a swath of flesh.

As soon as Margaret's grip weakened, Charles seized control of the momentum, unleashing seven or eight black spikes from all directions toward her.

Instantly, Margaret was stuck in a dire predicament. However, an unexpected event turned the tide again.

A cannonball plummeted from the sky and exploded next to the duo. The massive aftershock flung them both through the air.

Charles crashed heavily into the smokestack, leaving a dent in the tall chimney. With blood dripping from his mouth, he clutched his bruised, darkened neck and rose to his feet with a solemn expression.

He hadn't been the target of the projectile. Right before his very eyes, another shell struck a massive insect spanning several dozen meters long, causing it to explode in a grotesque fireworks display of flesh and innards. It seemed the distant assailants were attacking indiscriminately.

Witnessing the scene, 134's face contorted into fury. She yelled toward the distant warships, "Stop the bombardment! Can't you see we're still here? Everyone, come over! Attack them together!!"

Hearing 134's command, the ships in the distance ceased their bombing and started a tactical maneuver to encircle the Narwhale.

Charles gasped for breath as the cogs in his mind turned with urgency. He had to think of a way to stop them; if the Narwhale was caught in an encirclement, that would spell deep trouble.

Charles kicked off against the ground and dashed toward the bug-hull ship that was clinging desperately to the Narwhale.

Just then, Margaret reappeared in his path, blocking his advance. Her previously thrown daggers were now back in her hands.

"Forget about taking another step! You're dying here!" Margaret declared as blood trickled down her wound and dyed her eyes a haunting shade of red. Coupled with her expression of madness, she looked extremely terrifying.

Now, she looked like a demon that had crawled out from the depths of hell. All traces of her innocence from her younger days were nowhere to be seen.

Charles reached into his coat and pulled out his journal. The pages fluttered open rapidly, and Anna fell out. Wrapped in only a white bath towel, Anna's brows were furrowed in irritation.

"What's the matter? I'm swamped with work down there, you know? Oh? Isn't this Margaret?" Anna flashed a warm smile at the woman before her.

"Hi darling, long time no see!" Anna greeted Margaret with great enthusiasm.

"No time to explain! Kill her!" Charles commanded before swiftly transforming into a monstrous bat and soaring into the air.

Margaret moved in pursuit, but Anna materialized before her and obstructed her path. "Sorry, darling, but I can't let you leave. My man has asked me to kill you; you know, I've always wondered what your flesh tastes like. I guess I can finally find out today."

As soon as Anna's words left her mouth, horror filled Margaret's gaze. Against her own will, Margaret watched her own hands lifting the daggers and aiming them toward her own throat.

Ignoring the chaos behind him, Charles had already positioned himself above "King." Bandages' plant tendrils had ensnared all of the creature's bulky flesh. As "King" thrashed and rolled, the tendrils burrowed deeper.

Even as "King" continuously roared in pain, his mantis-like forelimbs clung stubbornly to the bow of the Narwhale and refused to let go.

Charles retracted his wings and dove directly toward "King," the monstrous figurehead at the ship's prow. Even if he couldn't kill the creature, he could attempt to decapitate him and sever his control over his "body," which could allow the Narwhale to pick up her pace and escape her current predicament.

Charles was about to clash into "King" when he caught a blur of green in his peripheral vision, latching onto him. It was the elongated creature next to 134 earlier. With astonishing speed and strength, the creature's centipede-like arms furiously clawed at Charles in a blur of motion.

Flesh and blood flew in all directions. It took just a mere second for one side of Charles' body to become mangled and bloody.

Meanwhile, 134 rushed toward Charles in mid-air. Charles was just about to be sandwiched between two foes when his figure vanished before them and reappeared atop the broad back of "King."

The moment Charles landed on the ground, he crouched and began to vomit. The relic he had extracted from Alice before had come in handy, but the side effect was too much of a hassle to deal with.