Free Web NovelNight tides surged, and shadows loomed heavily at the edge of the dam.
A team of Knights held their breath, lurking in the shadows, cloaked in gray.
But the surroundings were eerily quiet, with no sign of war.
“Will they really come?” a young Knight finally couldn’t help but ask.
Elliot frowned: “Quiet. Lord Louis said they would, so they will.”
Then he turned and whispered to the adjutant behind him: “Have the timber and oil barrels here been moved?”
“They’ve all been moved. Only some dilapidated wooden frames are left; it’s fine if they burn those.”
Elliot nodded, feeling relieved, and continued to stare at the dark water.
A moment later, a loud “boom” tore through the night.
Following that, a deep-sea giant fish, over ten meters long, was driven by a group of merfolk and slammed into the dam.
The wooden stakes vibrated, mud shot into the sky, and splashing water fell like an arrow shower.
The camp at Dawn Harbor immediately fell into chaos, with a cacophony of noise, and the laborers disguised as soldiers fled in all directions.
The leader of the merfolk in the shadows subtly curled his lips: Plan successful.
At the same time, in the shadows of the dam on the other side, dozens of merfolk were quietly climbing up.
The merfolk’s scales emitted an eerie glow, their bone spears were coated with venom, and the pouches on their backs were bulging, subtly giving off the smell of lamp oil.
Not all merfolk were mindless monsters; a small portion retained their intelligence, even surpassing that of ordinary humans.
So they devised a feint, attempting to destroy these suddenly appearing human camps and reclaim their backyard.
Of course, they didn’t realize that the cunning humans possessed the ability to foresee the future.
“Now!” Elliot roared, his body erupting with crimson battle aura, and he charged towards the merfolk.
As Elliot charged, Knights continuously emerged from the shadows of the wooden stakes, their battle aura leaping between their sword blades.
A young Knight charged at the forefront, blue battle aura sweeping out with his sword, cleaving a ferocious merman in two with a single strike.
On the other side, an Elite Knight swung his greatsword in a spin, knocking a group of merfolk, along with their oil pouches, onto the muddy ground.
Immediately, comrades stepped forward to finish them off, one by one.
However, these merfolk were not entirely without order.
Aside from the initial surprise, they quickly formed battle formations, attempting to delay time and wait for their companions to set fires.
They roared, wielding long spears on the narrow dam, engaging in skirmishes with the humans.
But the Knights pressed on in waves, forcing the merfolk to retreat step by step, blood and muddy water mixing and splashing onto the wooden stakes.
Merfolk fell one after another, their oil pouches shattered on the ground, yet not an inch of the camp was ignited.
More than half of the merfolk were slain on the dam, their blood dripping into the sea through the unsealed wooden gaps.
The remaining few plunged frantically into the waves, swallowed by the night tide. Just then, a burly dark figure emerged from the distant waves.
With a strange bone crown growing from its brow, it was the leader of this merfolk group.
Its eyes glowed with an eerie ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ blue light, and it let out a hoarse, piercing shriek, seemingly cursing its failed subordinates.
Then it abruptly sank into the dark currents, vanishing without a trace.
Elliot slowly sheathed his sword, looking at the dark, heavy horizon of the sea.
The camp was still in turmoil, yet not a single part had been burned; the human camp was safe and sound.
As the news reached the main camp, the residents’ fear gradually turned into excitement.
The previously tense defenders now realized that no matter how cunning the merfolk were, the Lord was always one step ahead of them.
“The night raid has ceased, and the main assault has been intercepted. There are no casualties, and the storerooms and supplies are intact. After counting, there are over eighty corpses on site, and the remaining escaped merfolk have been swallowed by the tide.”
Elliot reported the results of the battle to Louis in detail.
Louis listened, then smiled and nodded in approval: “Very good, you handled it cleanly and efficiently.”
“It’s all thanks to your meticulous planning, Lord. Without your arrangements, it would have been difficult to ensure the camp’s safety today,” Elliot said with unadorned admiration in his voice.
Louis smiled and waved his hand, interrupting: “Enough flattery.”
He looked at the calm sea and said in a deep voice: “But this is only a temporary solution. As long as the merfolk leader is still in its cave stronghold and it remains undestroyed, merely defending on shore will always keep us on a leash.
One day, there will be a lapse, leading to immeasurable consequences. Therefore, we must take the initiative, completely destroy their lair, and eliminate future troubles.”
Elliot nodded, but still hesitated slightly before speaking: “Lord is right, but we don’t have enough ships right now, and our capabilities for an expedition into the sea are insufficient. Moreover, we don’t know the exact location of the merfolk stronghold.”
Louis pulled out a notebook, flipped to a few sketch pages, and said: “I’ve already had people scout out the exact location. I have some ideas for the plan; listen and see if they’re feasible.”
Then, instead of immediately stating his ideas, he called Silco over.
After resolving the Despair Witch crisis, Louis brought him to Dawn Harbor, assigning him to handle work related to demolitions.
He would return with them next time they went back to Red Tide City, and now he could be put to good use.
Once Silco arrived, Louis directly said to him: “Please explain the two types of Magic Bombs I had you make in Red Tide City beforehand, in the simplest terms.”
Silco immediately held up the prepared items, shaking them in his hand, as if displaying a dangerous toy to Elliot and Louis:
“Hmm, simply put, we have two new types of Magic Bombs. The first is a floating mud block. You throw it into a cave crevice, and it expands like dough when it meets water, then hardens after a few tens of minutes, sealing the opening.
The other is called a directional Magic Bomb. Don’t let its small size fool you; it’s quite powerful. When you fix it to a rock and ignite it, that specific spot will immediately collapse.”
Louis nodded, but didn’t overlook the details: “Will the tide wash these Magic Bombs away?”
Silco’s expression became serious: “We put the floating mud blocks in shells with anchor hooks. After throwing them in, we first hook the anchors onto rock crevices or debris, then pull them tight with a short rope, so the tide can’t dislodge them.
The directional Magic Bomb has a splash-proof outer layer, and inside it has a small timing fuse and a slow-burning core, giving you ample time to retreat. Simply put, first secure the items firmly, then leave.”
He explained it very carefully, and not only Louis but also Elliot beside him nodded repeatedly.
Louis turned his gaze to Elliot: “Elliot, take thirty men, infiltrate the merfolk’s lair, and use these two types of Magic Bombs to deal with these merfolk. Can you do it?”
Elliot looked at the two items in Silco’s hand and said firmly: “Yes, Lord, I can do it.”
Then he began to ponder the tactical details and spoke them aloud: “One hundred Knights would be more than enough.
The first team for reconnaissance and pathfinding; the second team for carrying and deploying the floating mud blocks and directional Magic Bombs; the third team for cover and emergency retreat support.
Each person carries a floating mud block and three directional bombs, as well as ropes, anchor hooks, and diving gear.
The time chosen will be when the fish schools are thinnest. The first team will conduct near-shore reconnaissance to confirm safety. The second team will simultaneously enter the water from both sides to deploy and secure. The third team will provide cover on the outer side.
If there’s a counterattack from inside the cave, the third team will use fire tubes and signal flares to attract attention, ensuring the retreat path is open. The mud must solidify within the scheduled time, and the directional bombs will be handled by experienced Knights; new recruits will absolutely not operate them alone.”
Louis interjected: “What if the backflow blocks the path or small boats are obstructed from landing?”
Elliot blurted out: “There are three safeguards: the tidal window, shore-based firepower and smoke screen cover, and emergency demolition to induce a collapse of the side walls as a last resort to buy retreat time. Of course, that’s a last-ditch effort.”
“What about casualties?” Louis pressed.
“The goal is zero casualties, but we prepare for the worst-case scenario. Wounded will be immediately taken back to the near-shore medical station by small boat; if trapped, the team will provide cover and shore-based firepower will prioritize rescue.”
Louis closed his notebook, looked out at the horizon, and calmly ordered: “First, conduct two rounds of drills nearby: near-shore deployment and securing practical tests, and a full retreat drill. Once everything meets standards, proceed with the attack as planned.
Remember, the attack must be clean and swift, and the retreat must be even cleaner and swifter. It is imperative that everyone returns safely.”
Elliot nodded, his voice steady: “Please rest assured, Lord.”
Phosphorescence flickered on the damp walls of the cave, reflecting distorted faces.
This was the merfolk’s night feast, or perhaps some kind of ritual.
Several strong adults jabbed at each other with bone spears, as if testing their strength, sometimes even drawing blood.
Nearby, some strung freshly torn sea beast entrails into chains, offering them to others to sniff, as if exchanging compliments.
The older ones smashed captured seashells into fragments, singing short bursts of laughter to a certain rhythm.
For them, such revelry was both entertainment and a way to maintain group order.
And in the center of the feast, on a stone throne, the merfolk leader sat alone, looking up at the stone wall, as if contemplating something.
On the other side of the shore, a group of humans had suddenly appeared. They erected wooden stakes on the beach, piled up wooden fences, and treated the beach they had long controlled as their backyard.
It had tried to attack them, wanting to regain control.
But several attacks had been ineffective; once, their largest-scale offensive was ambushed and intercepted by humans, forcing them to leave behind nearly half of their warriors.
However, this did not make him disheartened, only angry.
He was determined to block all these invaders on the shore, no longer allowing them to place their minions on the shallows.
Of course, previous failures also made him realize that he could no longer charge in so easily as before; he had to employ more cunning tactics.
If a head-on confrontation wouldn’t work, he would use trickery to lure them into the depths and then capture them all.
A slight smile played on its lips as it calculated how the next attack could be more secretive, more deadly.
Of course, he didn’t know that at this moment, on the other side of Sunken Reef, a group of figures was moving slowly but orderly.
Rocks were drenched, and seaweed swayed.
The Red Tide Knights, clad in black diving suits, moved in multiple columns, stealthily navigating between the reefs and sea fog, every movement striving for silence.
Elliot stood on a small boat. His swimming skills were not strong, but for this operation, he still came to the front line as the overall commander.
He wore a gray cloak, with various signal flares prepared by his side, just in case.
“Forty-five minutes into the ebb tide, current speed entering the slack period,” a Knight knowledgeable about the water reported in a low voice.
Elliot exhaled a chilly breath and quietly gave the order: “First team, move out.”
As the order was given, tiny ripples spread across the water.
The first team slipped into the night sea like fish; these were carefully selected Red Tide Knights who knew how to swim.
Their diving suits clung to their skin, their Magic Bombs were pressed into special backpacks, floating mud blocks were tied to their waists, and anchor hooks were wrapped between their finger bones, as they swam towards the various parts of Sunken Reef.
Their mission was to thoroughly understand the topography of this reef and the location of the merfolk.
“Gurgle. Gurgle.”
Three stealth Knights slowly swam to the edge of a crevice. The leader pressed a hand on a comrade’s shoulder, signaling a pause.
Then they quietly approached the cave wall, cautiously peering out with their upper bodies.
“I see them.”
They had never seen such a close-up scene of merfolk revelry.
The cave was arch-shaped, with a sunken stone slab in the center, covered in torn sea beast remains.
Dozens of merfolk, some scratching each other with bone spears, some flinging their arms to throw fish bone spikes at the cave ceiling, some even fighting over a string of slimy entrails, biting at each other.
The scene was bloody and eerie, with a mist of blood slowly spreading in the water.
The Red Tide Knights watched this scene motionless.
Even a single bubble from one of them could trigger a frenzied riot from these monsters.
Silent gazes met.
The leader slowly raised his hand, making a gesture: “Withdraw.” freeweɓnovel.cøm
The other two nodded, without the slightest hesitation, and quickly turned to dive back.
They vanished into the deep shadows, not even disturbing the water flow behind them in the slightest, leaving as silently as if they had never been there.
Returning to the near shore, they quickly climbed back onto the main command boat.
The leader sketched symbols on a slate with water: “Target confirmed. Most merfolk are gathered in the cave for a feast; patrols are sparse.”
Elliot took the slate, his heart filled with joy.
He quietly ordered: “Second team, enter the water.”
The second team quietly slipped into the sea, splitting into left and right routes, diving towards the merfolk lair from both flanks of Sunken Reef.
They were like silent shadows, moving slowly along the rock face, but very orderly and quietly.
In pairs, one person held the dispenser casing, while the other protected the flank, blocking any potential turbulent currents.
The floating mud blocks were wrapped in oilcloth, their casings wound with anti-slip layers and waterproof short ropes, with the claw hooks at the ends gleaming faintly.
The Knight reached a rock crevice, pushed the casing into the recess, quickly pulled out the rope with his fingertips, secured the anchor hook deep into the rock face, pulled the rope tight, tied a knot, and then folded it back for stability.
The cover person took out a directional Magic Bomb from a waterproof bag and inserted it into a hollow on the side wall of the rock crevice.
The fuse was wound in circles around the rock opening, the slow-burning core was placed into the pre-reserved slot, and finally, a safety pin clicked into place.
From the deployment of the first floating mud block to the final securing of the last directional bomb, exactly ten minutes passed, without any error.
By the twenty-fifth minute, under the escort and reception of the third team, all deployers had quietly withdrawn to the rallying point, not a single person missing, their movements clean and efficient, as they had already rehearsed a dozen times.
Elliot squatted on the small boat, one hand clutching his pocket watch, his gaze fixed on the waves.
He counted silently in his mind: “—Twenty-six—. Twenty-seven—·”
