Chapter 307

307th Episode

Strength of Monsters 307 ? Strength of Monsters #7

In the middle of the beach stood a lone rock protrusion. On top of this rock sat a man whose figure was notably tall and slender. The length of his arms and legs, similar to mine, were long and lithe.

One might even say he looked as sleek as a barracuda.

Indeed, the strange suit or armor covering his body, which shimmered like the tiny scales of a silver barracuda, was impossible to categorize precisely.

His face was that of a lazy yet handsome man. His wet hair, shimmering with a blue hue as it dripped water, had the sort of charm that could have driven countless women wild, though it also had an unsettling mischievousness.

This man carrying a surfboard looked like he could charm all the beachgoers at any moment — my first impression was a cocky playboy.

He spoke.

“You must be the ones who were scheduled to meet with Eariol today.”

The moment he spoke, I knew exactly who this man was. He was none other than Triton, the only son of Neptune who reigns as the master of the seas, and the legendary Strength of Monsters.

Is this guy really the owner of a harem consisting of thirty women?

Though impressed, I couldn’t help but think how incredibly underwhelming this son of a god appeared. I had expected something like an otherworldly being, covered in fins, scales, and tentacles like a Cthulhu.

Perhaps the only thing I guessed correctly was that his teeth were pointed like a shark’s, and looked downright scary.

But otherwise, he looked like any ordinary human.

Of course, appearances can be deceiving.

Swishhh…

Hippolyte was already prepared, her hand resting on her sword hilt ready to draw it at any moment.

Her posture, lowered into a fighting stance, suggested she was ready to release a wave of sword energy at a moment’s notice, showing us that the man in front of her was a skilled and formidable opponent.

Ziiit, Ziiit…

A palpable sense of wariness and hostility emanated from Hippolyte.

“Hassan, wasn’t the one we were supposed to meet here a mermaid?”

Even I, standing beside her, felt somewhat intimidated, but the man in front of her was grinning shamelessly, revealing his sharp shark-like teeth.

“Even in my presence, you don’t bow your head? Quite the feisty lass. They say flowers of the land have thorns. Guess there’s some truth to that.”

“I just have one question. Are you Triton?”

“That’s right, I am Triton, the legitimate heir to the great ocean. All the streams and waterways in the world are prepared for me!”

The man’s confidence overflowed.

He seemed to be someone who had never experienced anything not going his way since birth — a typical successful young man around my age, slick and irritating, with a touch of narcissism that made you want to hit him.

“All the treasures and precious secrets buried in the sea will one day all belong to me. I was chosen to rule from the moment I was born, the victorious one — that’s me, Triton. Girl of the land, it’s okay to fall for me. I could even offer you a spot in my harem if you’d like.”

“Boring nonsense.”

Instead of being flattered by Triton’s flirtation, Hippolyte frowned deeply.

“Your smugness reminds me of a snake. You’re exactly the kind of man I dislike the most.”

Not only did she denounce him directly, but she did it without hesitation. “You’re the kind of man I like the least.”

If I had heard such a comment from Hippolyte, I might have been so embarrassed by it for days that my hands would shake. However, this Triton simply laughed, amused by it.

“There’s no greater feeling than taming a feisty woman. Now that I look at you all more carefully, there are quite a number of beautiful ladies. Are they all part of your harem?”

At that moment, his deep blue eyes turned towards me.

“Who? Me?”

“Yeah, you, furry savage. The dark eyes, the white beast fur — I’ve heard of warriors like you. The greatest among those of the sky king Jupiter’s creations, right?”

“To hell with that nonsense.”

“Not pretending doesn’t become you. The fact that you’re Jupiter’s illegitimate child is common knowledge even in the depths of the ocean. And… ”

Swishhh.

Triton picked up something long that was strapped to his back. It was a long spear.

More accurately, the spear was more akin to a harpoon designed to pierce whales or large fish.

Shoom.

As he gripped it and prepared his stance, Triton leapt up high into the air.

“I’ve also heard rumors that you’re unmatched in strength, apart from your connection to the high Hypos! Let me see if that’s true!”

At the same time, he drove the harpoon down at me, falling rapidly.

Suddenly attacking like that?

I recalled Paranoi’s earlier critique of Triton as a reckless brat, and I now had to agree.

The guy was insane.

“!”

If I didn’t move, there was a real possibility my body could get skewered from my head down to my b*tt.

Should I dodge? As I pondered that and prepared to step back quickly, I quickly visualized what might happen if his harpoon struck our ship.

There’s no doubt it would create a hole, likely causing the ship to sink immediately.

This area of the sea is far from the docks — about half a day’s journey. If the ship sinks here, some among us might not survive.

Elpride, for instance, can’t swim properly. She’s more like a beer barrel than a sailor.

“sh*t!”

Therefore, instead of dodging, I lifted my hand.

Paaahht!

With that, I reached out and caught the needle-sharp tip of the harpoon heading towards my head.

My palm split open from the sharp edge, but I managed to prevent it from piercing my forehead or stomach.

Drip, drip.

bl**d trickled down from the tip of the harpoon, which had stopped just above my forehead, splashing on my face.

“Ho, you blocked my attack? I aimed to pierce your brain, but you didn’t yield at all! It hurts my pride!”

“What the hell is your problem, moron!”

I wrung every ounce of strength from my body and swung my right leg upward.

A kick devoid of any finesse or technical sophistication. My front foot collided fiercely with Triton’s chest, who was pressuring me.

“Urghkk!”

Struck by my fatal blow, Triton spat out bl**d and flew backwards, disappearing beneath the waves.

Splash.

The guy probably hadn’t anticipated a counter-attack from someone whom he thought was under attack.

“d*mn, he got what was coming to him!”

“Hassan, are you alright?!”

At that moment, Luna approached me. However, I quickly showed my bloodied palm to the group and urgently called out.

“It’s not over yet! Let’s head back to land quickly! Captain, turn the ship around!”

In response to my frantic cries, Captain Gorgor, who up until a moment ago seemed half-dead, came to life and began trying to turn the ship around.

Though I managed to kick him hard, the strange scale armor on his body reduced the impact significantly. He’ll recover quickly, no doubt.

Even if he drowns, as something akin to a merman, I don’t think he’ll d*e so easily.

“We need to get back to the mainland!”

“Although it seems insane, did I just see the prince of the sea Triton? By the world, I can’t believe what I just witnessed! I have been on this sea since I was a child, but never have I seen something this astonishing! By the gods, I saw Triton!”

“d*mn it, can you hurry up?”

“Nay, if the one we just met was truly Triton, we stand no chance of escaping him with this ship! We might as well be dead! Our only chance to survive is to offer a woman as tribute!”

“Sacrifice a woman?!”

I suddenly understood how his numerous harems came to be.

The captain continued.

“I’ve heard that Triton causes storms and then calms them in exchange for earthly women as gifts. Perhaps, perhaps–”

The captain could not finish his sentence. He, like the rest of us, had noticed the massive wave approaching us.

Whooshhhaaaa…

It was truly an enormous wave. It easily towered over our heads — one might even call it a building made of water. You could refer to it as a tsunami.

If struck directly by something like this, our ship might completely vanish into the depths of the sea without any trace.

Even if by some miracle we managed to turn the ship and avoid this wave, the following turbulent storms could still capsize us.

“What do we do?!”

Shouting in despair was our captain Gorgor. I had no idea what to do either. At that moment, Hippolyte, with her hand on her sword sheath, shouted.

“Keep moving forward!”

“Are you crazy?”

“Keep going without stopping! If this ship stops, I’ll cut off your head first!”

Hippolyte’s threat was terrifying and unparalleled, leaving Captain Gorgor wavering between the approaching wave and Hippolyte’s sword. Eventually, he cried out, “Ah, d*mn it!” And continued steering forward.

Apparently, the threat of the sword that was close at hand frightened him more than the wave that was distant.

Whooshhhaaaa…

Finally, our ship headed directly toward the massive incoming wave without any hesitation. As the terrifying wave approached within dozens of meters in front of us, someone commanded.

“Full speed ahead!”

“Neptune, oh my god! I can’t handle this! You all deal with this yourselves!”

The pressure was too much for Captain Gorgor, who jumped into the sea, abandoning his ship. He was indeed a bad guy without any sense of responsibility.

“Hassan-sama! Please do something!”

At that moment, Paranoi began violently shaking my leg. It was clear everyone was in panic mode. When the shadow of the wave finally loomed over us.

“Is your heart there?”

Hippolyte, crouched low with her hand on the hilt of her sword, finally drew her long blade and quickly slashed the air.

Shiiingh!

The sword-cut wind she generated flew powerfully towards the wave, which resembled the wrath of nature. It eventually struck the center of the wave and split it in two from top to bottom.

“GRAHHHH!”

What was even more astonishing was what followed.

From the center of the wave came a roar like thunder. I realized it was the scream of Triton, who had attacked me earlier.

So, Triton was inside that wave? Hippolyte must have hit him right on point.

Whooshhhaaaa…

Thanks to Hippolyte’s attack, the wave heading towards us lost its power and collapsed.

Of course, the after-effects were quite intense, and we all had to take a low stance, clinging to railings or anything we could to prevent ourselves from falling.

Thud, thud.

The stormy sea roiled from all sides, and I felt as if the world was turning upside down. d*mn it, I’m having one of those moments of clarity where I might actually faint from seasickness.

As the violently rocking ship gradually stabilized once again, we finally had the courage to lift our heads.

“We’ve… we’ve survived! Paranoi must have controlled the sea!”

“Hassan, Elpride can’t open her eyes! She’s probably fainted!”

While the sea somewhat calmed down, chaos reigned on the ship. Fish that we had never seen before flopped around everywhere, pushed onto the deck by the remnants of the wave.

“Is it over?”

I asked Hipolyte, wiping my knees.

She sheathed her sword again with a disdainful click of her tongue.

“I can feel the effects of my cut, but it’s not as impressive as I expected. His armor isn’t ordinary. The damage I dealt will be slight.”

Just as she finished speaking, something happened.

Plop!

An object suddenly burst upward through the water and landed on our ship.

That object turned out to be our ship’s captain, Gorgor, who had jumped into the sea, now being carried over the shoulders of none other than Triton.

“You’ve got some real skills. For a moment there, I thought I would d*e. Making me drink water not once but twice is something I’ve never experienced in my fifty years of life.”

Swisshh.

Across his body from his left shoulder to the right hip was an enormous wound.

It looked incredibly severe. However, after splashing it with seawater, the injury was enveloped in a strange foam-like substance, healing alongside his armor.

“If only I’d been attacked on land, I might have died.”

“d*mn it, are you going to attack again? This time, I won’t take it lying down.”

As I prepared my cudgel from behind, Triton’s dark-blue eyes flickered oddly for a moment when he saw my weapon.

“Ah, if we fight here on this ship, surely one of us will d*e. Anyway, I’ve learned that you’re stronger than I anticipated.”

“As if you were testing us.”

As I heightened my guard, Hippolyte spoke.

At that, Triton casually dropped Gorgor onto the floor.

“Correct. The dark seas you are heading toward aren’t a place just anyone can enter. Thanks to you, I’ve determined whether or not you have the qualifications.”

Triton narrowed his brow in confusion. Then his gaze turned toward me.

“And while I was pondering underwater, I remembered that the righteous warrior of Juno I had heard of was said to be a woman. But you’re a man. So apparently, you’re someone different from Jupiter’s masterpiece.”

Swishhh.

Triton circled me, scanning me from head to toe. It was becoming clear that his intentions were no longer hostile.

However, an intense gaze from a man can sometimes be more terrifying than hostility.

At that time, Triton spoke.

“Strange karma. You’re so similar to Juno’s daughter that I mistook you for her. Let me borrow your attention for a moment. While I usually don’t like touching male bodies—”

He dabbed the bl**d flowing from my palm with his index finger.

Although my wound was healing, it still hurt like hell, but he proceeded to sniff the bl**d as though he was conducting an investigation.

“Water holds most of the answers. It’s water that knows the truths of this world. And bl**d is water too, packed with information.”

Answers in the water?

I felt a chill run down my spine considering the pseudo-scientific mystical talk.

A friend of mine once firmly believed in the mysterious properties of water. He was convinced that when you cursed at water, the particles or something formed very aggressive shapes, but when you spoke kindly to it, the shapes turned beautiful.

So, this friend never forgot to compliment the water each time he drank it from his cup.

He was an entirely strange individual.

For some reason, this long-forgotten memory of my buddy resurfaced now.

Of course, the guy standing in front of me was even stranger.

So, just as I was about to ask what he intended to do, Triton’s expression changed as if he had reached some conclusion.

“Ah, I understand now. You’re one of Saturn’s children, like me. It makes sense if you can match my strength. It’s less embarrassing for me this way.”

As he said this, a brief silence fell over the ship. A silence so complete, not even the sound of the waves reached us.

It was then that Hippolyte, ready to draw her sword in attack stance any second, spoke first.

“…Hassan is of Saturn? As in Saturn, the king of the Titans?”

“Oh? Was this meant to be a secret? But there’s nothing I can do. I may be able to contain spilled water, but I can’t take back spoken words.”

[Author Notes] Friday’s already gone…

I also want to express my gratitude to the readers who have accompanied me this week!

Thanks to your many comments, recommendations, and coupons, I will cast the slow flow of time spell for Saturday and Sunday…

Heeyaa!

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