Chapter 279: Prince Aesril: Journey, V

Zealots were the ants of the sea. These magical creatures lurk under the deeps of the ocean. They moved in a group of not less than a dozen. Each group consists of one higher ranked. Their mandibles were able to chew wood if left unchecked, and their pincer-like limbs were used to crash their unfortunate prey. And since they lived underwater, where the light was barely a luxury, they were blind. Aside from their sensitive and slimy scales, they used their whiskers, attached under their jaws, to locate their prey. The closest resemblance to these beasts was cuttlefish's head and a body of an old and wrinkled frog ( spotted with black). They used their pincer limbs to climb the rope.

They built their nest near the Under Current. It might be their predator's instinct since ships, if not properly maintained, would have no chance at all to survive the bombarding pressure of the Current. Which leaves them with a wrecked ship and dead bodies floating in the sea.

Most of them were graded E. Their commanders were Graded C or D. Alone, they weren't a treat. But clamp them together, they were able to sink a ship as big as adult whales.

And it so happens that Dacota was a little less small than an adult whale.

After the bells sounded, a warning came from the rook's nest above the mast, Edok ran to the end side of the ship to fulfill his duty.

Although they weren't properly organized. The crew, Captain Creft hired, were able to stand their ground against the Zealots. Arrows swooshed, sweat leaked as the bowmen aimed at the Zealots.

They weren't bad for human standards, but they weren't precise either. No fashion in shooting arrows. For elves, an arrow, along with magic, was their life. An arrow saves a life, and an arrow takes life. No room for mistakes.

Prince Aesril took down his fourteenth Zealot without breaking a sweat. It wasn't that elves were born as hunters with their precise control of bows, but because the elven race was able to harness and control freely the mana in the surroundings without someone to teach them. Having to freely and precisely control their mana leads the elves to use bows and arrows with much accuracy.

"That was my sixth," Edok said after killing a Zealot right through its head.

"You are ended worthy of the title Rookeye, Edok-xi," said one of the crewmates, trying to impress him.

"Stop that," Edok said, but it seemed that he was happy from the crew's praise. He smirked and shot another arrow. The praise might have boosted him since his arrow killed two by piercing them.

Prince Aesril didn't mind them at all. It has been days after he last touched a bow, so he was ecstatic to shoot. But he didn't expect that he was so entranced his kill count was increasing, and faster.

It doesn't matter what the angle, or his position, or the kind of enemy. When his aim was precisely under the Zealot's eyes, the arrows hits under the Zealot's eyes.

Even though Zealots could sense their prey and their surrounding from the whiskers they have, they simply couldn't evade something that was much faster.

Although a merchant ship, Dacota has its armory of weapons. There, Prince Aesril got a wooden bow, not something to flex about, but sturdy enough to nock an arrow. As for the arrows, they were lying on the ground ready to be picked up. It seemed that Dacota wasn't kin of using bows. Perhaps, they intend to fight pirates ship, and magical creatures, with their swords and shields alone.

Prince Aesril wondered how the crew survives without support from behind.

Out of a hundred crew, not including the passengers, there was only a handful that could use a bow. Prince Aesril sensed their presence, and they were not giving their complete focus to the enemy below them.

Prince Aesril's eyes narrowed, sighting the nearest Zealot as it grabbed the rope and hurl its body up, and climbed. But not long after, this same beast fell deep underwater with an arrow stuck to the side of its neck. Another arrow swooshed, then another, and another. Clearing the end of the ship from the Zealots.

Waves splattered as the ship was forced to sail which took a toll on the trailing Zealots.

The crew, eleven of them to be exact, stopped shooting after Prince Aesril killed the emerging beasts. Not letting others nock arrows and shoot. Even Edok, his mouth gaping as he turned his head to his right.

All eyes to the new kid on board. But it seemed that calling him a kid wasn't going to be heard soon.

The sky was clear, for now. The beast gurgled as they fell dying from arrows they couldn't perceive. The crew below bickering as they work in a team to increase the speed of the ship. And the new kid on board nock another arrow.

This made the onlookers tilted a head. Zealots were gone from their relentless shooting. But why would he nock another arrow?

Questions were answered as Prince Aesril let loose the arrow, hitting nothing but the surface of the water.

Or so they thought. From the prince's kin eyesight, he could see the Zealots swimming underwater.

From the onlooker's point of view, without the proper angle, and sunlight, all they could see were a string of black which they thought of nothing but shadows.

Soon after Prince Aesril released the arrow, the Zealot's body emerges from the bottom, dead with the arrow stuck precisely between the beast's head.

"H-how?" Edok said the silver necklace produced a reflection from the high noon sun.

Edok was hired by merchant Jack to be both his guard and the guard of the sealed room where Gele was sent off.

To give more time to Gele, Prince Aesril must lure back the fleeing Zealots. If only he could enrage them, this would confuse the crew and perhaps send more to assist them. Giving ample time to Gele. Oh, well, if everything goes not according to plan, Gele knows what to do.

Prince Aesril hates to admit it, but, in his mind, he felt no remorse if Gele would slaughter the humans on board. That was why Prince Aesril chose to board a merchant ship since there were zero human infants and children on board. Unless the ship was run by a family. But it seemed that Captain Creft was a loner, he doesn't seem to have any family.

Prince Aesril shot them with precise control and speed that he didn't expect them to retreat so easily. Now he must find another way to lure them.

The Prince of Elves nock another arrow, this time, his aim was not to kill. His eyes determining the commander's position. But it seemed that they were hiding deeper that Prince Aesril couldn't attain a shot. He expanded the invisible barrier that he constantly conjured. It then stopped the moment he could feel a bigger and mana enhanced beast almost 40 meters below sea level.

He angled his hands to where this bigger beast was and let go of the arrow and hit the side of the bigger Zealot.

His goal was to injure the commander Zealot to lure the smaller ones, and hopefully, they were enraged.

Once enraged, the magical beast would lose its reason and attack anyone that was not their kin.

The prince let loose another arrow hitting the back of the commander Zealot as they swam away from the ship, defeated.

All eyes turned to Prince Aesril as he keeps on shooting arrows on the surface of the ocean. Some smirked and grinned seeing that he was hitting nothing.

"Oi," Edok said. He walked and moved beside Prince Aesril. Mask of Caree couldn't hide, nor increase or shorten someone's height.

Being an Elf, Prince Aesril was towering Edok by almost a foot. But this doesn't stop Edok from looking up at Prince Aesril with annoyance.

"You waisting arrow," he said, resting his hand to his side.

For Prince Aesril, human's voices were insignificant and were all the same. But even so, Prince Aesril assumed that Edok was somewhere in far land with his accent different from the other. He was almost resembling merchant Jack with their throaty voices. What could be their relation?

"I am not," Prince Aesril responded.

Red liquid then tainted the clear ocean as the commander Zealot floated above the surface. Then was followed by another bigger Zealot, then another. Until six commander Zealot emerges and was followed by the normal ones.

Prince Aesril smirked as his plan was now in action. Black slimy liquid oozes out from their scales as they went enraged. Their pincer limbs extended even further, and their eyes, although blind, turned red.

Prince Aesril released another but missed as it only grazes the cheek of the Zealot.

"Opps," Prince Aesril said, trying to imitate humans. " Looks like I missed?"

He then smirked. What comes next was the enraged Zealots jumped as though the ocean surface was a ground.

One after the other, these enraged Zealots sprung upward and landed on the deck behind the captain's cabin.

"Looks like they want us dead."

Prince Aesril pulled another arrow from the quiver slung behind his back and shot the Zealot that was about to land.

"I never saw Zealots attack this way," Edok said and grabbed the silver necklace and rubbed them. "I'm a Hunter. I'm a Hunter. I trained for this."

Looks like the Silver rank hunter was having a good life as a guard that he rarely encounters magical beast attacking their ship.

But now that they were being boarded by the beasts, he spun and ran as he pulled knives under his coat and threw them one by one. Some missed but mostly hit his target.

Prince Aesril did his part, now he must wait for Gele to do his. He left the crew as though afraid and ran towards the middle of the ship where other crew approaches the increasing number of Zealots boarding the ship.

Prince Aesril hid his smile as the crew fought the Zealots. Although prime in number, the Zealots were still a low-grade beast and so the crew was not having a hard time battling them.

As Prince Aesril watched the swords and pincers clashed with each other, behind him, the clear blue sky crackles of thunders.