Capítulo 135: Chapter 135: The Monster Below
The passengers and crew of the ship did not know what was happening, but upon seeing the drawn swords, they shouted and scattered, leaving a clear area around Lann's group and the Redania soldiers.
The leader of the soldiers, believing himself victorious, said arrogantly: "Do not be afraid, Count of Cintra. But it would be better if you came with us, to avoid injury."
Lann smiled slightly and tilted his head to indicate to House.
A deep horn sound suddenly rang out, capturing everyone's attention. Forty heavily armed soldiers emerged from the ship's cabins and hold, filling the deck.
They marched in formation, with cold gazes and shining swords, everyone focused their gaze on the leader who spoke arrogantly.
"I'm not afraid, but there are only eight of you, so you should be afraid."
The leader of the soldiers gaped, looking at Lann, he gulped. Before he could say anything, a hand glowing with white light appeared before his eyes.
[Axii Sign]
"Are you real Redanian soldiers? Are you looking for a witcher? Why?"
The leader suddenly became confused, his eyes were dull, and he muttered unconsciously: "We are Redanian soldiers, and a sorcerer gave us a sum of money to capture a witcher on this ship."
Lann sneered. "Do you think you can catch me with so few men?"
The soldier continued to answer: "We only knew he was a witcher."
Hehe, it seemed that they had been tricked. Furthermore, Lann estimated that the people who asked them to act did not know him well, and that letting these soldiers come was more of a test than anything. They didn't expect Lann to have so many soldiers with him.
This practically ruled out the intelligence agencies of several kings, as they knew Lann too well to do something so stupid. Since this Redania soldier mentioned a 'sorcerer', Lann couldn't help but make a guess.
Seeing Lann act, the other Redania soldiers looked at each other, especially when the leader began to reveal all the details. They panicked and shouted: "Magic, it's magic, this witcher can use magic!"
Lann had not used much magic power on the Axii Sign, so the leader regained consciousness after a few seconds. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. The leader was pale, feeling like he had been on the verge of death.
Lann did not want to spill blood unnecessarily, so he instructed the Cintra soldiers to tie up the Redania soldiers.
"I don't want to kill Redania soldiers on their own territory. That would be very problematic to explain." Lann said lightly. "So you'd better not make unnecessary resistance..."
But before Lann could finish speaking, the ship shook violently, as if it had collided with something.
The carts and goods brought by many merchants began to shake violently as the deck tilted, some even falling into the water.
On the lower deck, the area filled with cows, sheep, and pigs was filled with chaotic and terrifying noises. But a loud, clear neigh from a horse silenced them again.
"What's wrong? Did we hit something?" A frightened passenger shouted. The captain, sweating, pushed the helmsman and took the helm himself, but soon realized that things were not so simple.
The ship had not changed course. This was a route I had navigated dozens of times, there could be no rocks.
And while people on the deck fell to the ground, the soldiers of Redania, accustomed to sailing in the delta, handled themselves better than the soldiers of Cintra.
The Redanian leader looked around with a stern look and suddenly saw Shani standing among the Cintra soldiers.
She was one of two women in the group, but the only one not wearing armor or weapons, a civilian.
He made a few concealed gestures towards his men, quietly waiting for the opportunity.
Suddenly, taking advantage of an oversight by a Cintra soldier who was guarding him, the leader of the Redania soldiers spat in his face and, using the inclination of the deck, pushed him hard, causing the soldier to fall. The Cintra soldier rolled across the deck and almost fell into the river.
The leader, while rushing towards Shani, shouted: "If the commander finds out what we are doing, we will be hanged. If we seize the hostages, we can live!"
At that moment, all the soldiers of Redania stood up suddenly, surprising the soldiers of Cintra who, unprepared, let them free themselves. Luckily, the swords had already been confiscated, avoiding possible casualties.
The leader of the Redania soldiers, with red eyes, rushed towards Shani, seeing her as his last hope.
Shani, frightened and dizzy by the rocking of the boat, fell to the ground.
But before he could shout, an arrow came out of nowhere and stuck into the leader's waist. The archer had aimed for the neck, but the rocking of the ship deflected the shot.
But it didn't matter, the leader was already on the ground, groaning, with enough time for the archer to fire a second and a third arrow.
"Help!" The leader shouted, looking at his companions in despair, but he only saw the backs of the seven soldiers.
All of Redania's soldiers had decided to jump overboard, relying on their swimming skills to escape.
Unlike the leader, they had no property or privileges. They were just common soldiers and now in times of war, in the worst case scenario they could start over somewhere else instead of dying surrounded by swords.
Shani was still on the ground, unresponsive, until a strong hand lifted her up. In her peripheral vision, she saw a lion emblem. Looking up, she saw golden hair brighter than the sun.
"I told you that the soldiers of Cintra would protect you, and I never break my promises."
Behind Shani, Milva lowered her bow with a grimace. She hadn't put in so much effort just to see this scene.
The leader looked at all this with resentful eyes, knowing that nothing could be done. He gritted his teeth and broke the shaft of the arrow stuck in his waist. He was about to escape by swimming like his men, but suddenly he heard a series of familiar voices shouting.
"Ah! There's a monster in the water!" The sailors on the deck suddenly shouted.
Lann left Shani and walked to the edge of the deck.
The river, previously green and murky, was now dyed red. A Redania soldier was struggling in the water but was pulled beneath the surface by something unknown.
The terrified Redania soldiers tried to return to the ship, clinging to ropes and anchors, begging for help.
But the monster under the water seemed not satisfied after eating a soldier, and its eyes were fixed on these noisy prey.
The water burst and a bumpy and rough-skinned water creature appeared, four yards in length and resembling a stump overgrown with algae, with ten paws and jaws like cut-saws.
The creature extended two long, spiny claws, capturing a soldier climbing the rope, dragging him underwater in the blink of an eye.
Those who witnessed this screamed in terror. It was this creature that had crashed into the ship. They couldn't imagine that they were in the same waters as this monster.
Shani, however, found safety in Lann, and instead of fear, her eyes shone with fascination. "It's an arthropod! An insect! It could be a giant Amphibioda!"
Lanen, with a serious face, said: "It's an Aeschna."
The leader of the Redania soldiers, pale with fear, tried to approach the Cintra soldiers to pretend to be a prisoner again, but was hit in the face by an iron-gauntlet fist, breaking his nose and bleeding all over.
Shani clung to Lann's firm arm, preventing herself from swaying with the movement of the ship, while she craned her neck to continue watching the Aeschna.
"Is it really a mutant created by environmental pollution? It's huge and nothing about its form looks 'natural'."
"It has four pairs of pincer-shaped limbs... Its two front claws are very sharp, and its head appendages are perfect for grabbing..."
The Aeschna spun in the water and immediately leapt, using its head appendages to grab another Redania soldier.
At the same time, the surface of the water shook violently and more Aeschna appeared.
"One two three four." Lann said in a deep voice. "This is a small group. These Redania soldiers will not be enough to satisfy their hunger."
Four insectoid monsters, each over four meters in length, surrounded the cargo ship, causing the people on the deck to begin crying and screaming desperately.
"Don't worry, they will never hit this ship." The captain shouted: "All sailors, pick up your weapons, I want more ropes and harpoons!"
Then the captain staggered to Lann's side and whispered: "Lord Lannister, Zoltan is my best friend, and I am honored that you chose my ship based on his recommendation. But now I need your help, please."
When the captain finished speaking, a system notification timely echoed in Lann's mind.
[Mission Discovered - Pleasurable Journey: Rampant chemical pollution and environmental destruction have created monsters in the depths. Humans created them and now they want humans to continue feeding them. Although you are a passing witcher, you have been dragged into this situation. Save the passengers on the ship, and by doing so, you will also save yourself.]
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