In the midst of this cacophony, one Coralborn ship unleashed a bizarre ritual. Its deck glowed with runic symbols, a circle of mages chanting. Their combined power birthed a gigantic shrimp-like monster, covered in pinkish chitin dotted with flickering runes. Slime dripped from a hulking claw that clacked menacingly, echoing across the sea. The shrimp began a shrill, melancholic melody that pounded in the air like a bad dirge, unnerving even the Presidroids.
From that monstrous pistol-claw came magic-boosted bursts of compressed air. The first blast struck the Nightshatter's starboard side, jarring it so violently that Lutrian nearly flew off the edge. Warrex, spotting the prince's silhouette hurtling backward, sprang into action. He tackled Lutrian midair, slamming them both into the railing and keeping him aboard by sheer force of will.
A second devastating shot landed seconds later, tilting the Nightshatter so far the rails of the deck dipped beneath the waves, sending spumes of saltwater over the ship. Lights across the bridge flickered as half the consoles sparked at the sudden, unnatural shift.
The shrimp's unholy tune rose in pitch. A third thunderous shot rolled the Nightshatter again, letting half a dozen Coralborn pirates swim right up and climb the listing rail. They clung to the side and vaulted onto the deck as the ship rolled back, swords and spears glinting. Warrex spun, face grim, and Lutrian conjured swirling arcs of light around his arms. Together, they leapt into the fray. Coral scimitars clashed with Warrex's twin axes, while Lutrian's shining barrier deflected bursts of magic from a crablike mage. One pirate lunged for Roy's vantage point up in the bridge, but Warrex slammed him aside, snapping the intruder and his weapon weapon in two.
Seeing the monstrous shrimp winding up for another shot, Roy barked into the comm, "Eryndra! Take out that... Stupid! Singing! Shrimp!"
Immediately, Eryndra pivoted from her own clash and flung open the vents along her armor, releasing steam and small arc lightning-like flickers. With a single explosive kick, she vaulted off the deck and skated across the stormy water, each footstep sending up a burst of spray.
The shrimp, continuing its unnerving song, angled its battered claw to fire again. Eryndra dove headlong into the mouth of that claw just as it snapped shut in a blur. She braced both hands against the chitin walls, and with a metallic shriek, the claw splintered. Chunks of shell flew outward, scattering across the waves.
The shrimp's second, much larger claw rose from beneath the surface, primed with swirling water magic. It snapped shut and blasted a hyper-pressurized jet of water that sheared the remains of the first claw clean off and hurled Eryndra hundreds of feet away in a violent arc. She crashed into the sea with a tremendous splash, but quickly regained control.
Arcs of energy danced along her fists as she darted back, dodging volley after volley of whirling spells the mages launched. Some soared overhead in crackling arcs, others splashed around her legs, but she wove and batted them aside as if they were toys.
Seeing her unstoppable approach, the shrimp submerged half its surviving claw to gather an even larger water blast. The snap as it shut sent shockwaves into the nearby boat and shattered half of it. The resulting wave of water towered over Eryndra, but she blasted straight through it, punching out columns of foam. In one final leap, she landed on the shrimp's back, tore at its shell plating with savage strikes, and hammered it into a twitching ruin.
Disturbingly, the shrimp kept up its warbling tune the entire time, even as Eryndra ripped its carapace apart. Standing ankle-deep in the monster's gore, she seethed, vents hissing furiously.
Observing from the Nightshatter's deck, Warrex gulped. He wondered if he'd been insane to ask her to fight seriously and vowed never to do so again.
With the shrimp silenced, the conjuring mages lost their biggest weapon. Eryndra, no longer pinned by the shrimp's assault, spun to face their ship. While Warrex and Lutrian finished dispatching the boarders who'd taken advantage of the listing deck, she launched herself across the surface again, ramming the coral-studded hull where the mages huddled, landing among them like an iron meteor. The resulting shockwave sent the entire vessel rocking.
One by one, she tore through the shrieking mages, flinging them into the sea. The ship's battered structure cracked under her final leap back toward the Nightshatter. Her jump alone was enough to crush the coral covered ship's last buoyancy, drawing it under.
Just when it looked like the Coralborn Covenant had lost their will to fight, the Brinebreaker reappeared. Its coral plating still somehow masked it from all detection. It surged from below the Nightshatter like a rising leviathan. Churning water lifted Roy's warship out of the waves, tilting half the guns skyward.
The sudden shift knocked a few Presidroids off their feet. Warrex rushed to the rail, scanning for a chance to strike at the hidden vessel, but it submerged again, trying to roll the Nightshatter onto its side.
Roy grit his teeth and snapped orders for a final gambit. "Drop depth charges! We'll chase them out or rip them open."
Boom after boom jolted the sea. Billowing plumes of water shot into the air as strings of high-explosive canisters detonated beneath the surface. The Brinebreaker couldn't remain hidden, forced to break cover and maneuver away from the blasts. That was exactly what Roy had been waiting for—he steered the Nightshatter to line up with the Brinebreaker's newly revealed position, engines roaring. The iron warship aimed to ram the enemy flagship head-on.
All across the waves, smoldering wrecks and half-sunken coral ships drifted. The dreaded singing shrimp lay silent, broken in the tide. Eryndra, Warrex, Lutrian, Teddy, and Lincoln regrouped on the deck, battered but unbowed, bracing for the next maneuver. The swirling air stank of salt and burned coral. Roy, standing by the command console with Takara, kept watch on the swirling water below, refusing to let the Brinebreaker slip away.
Roy jammed an earpiece in frustration, hearing the swirl of battle reports from Teddy, Lincoln, and Serenity.
Finally, The Brinebreaker closed in, heavy coral spines bristling. Roy seized the PA mic. "Full speed ahead! Ram them before they can regroup. Let's end this."
Engines roared, driving the warship forward. The collision of metal on coral screeched like nails on a chalkboard. The entire deck shook as the Nightshatter locked hulls with The Brinebreaker. Coral shattered, scattering shards across the waves. Beastfolk pirates roared in alarm.
Roy gripped the mic tighter. "Boarding team, go!"
Eryndra, Warrex, Teddy, Lincoln, and Lutrian vaulted across the narrow gap between decks. Takara remained at Roy's side—her job was to protect the captain and the crucial controls if something went wrong, but he also didn't want her in such an intense battle.
Eryndra landed in a crouch, a crater forming under her feet. A squad of sharkfolk immediately charged, brandishing tridents crackling with watery enchantments. With a smirk, Eryndra braced, segmented armor lifting slightly to vent steam. She rushed them first. Two felt the brunt of a palm strike, slammed to the deck in a dented heap. Another leapt overhead, trying to drive a trident into her back, but she spun, metal gauntlets sparking, and broke his weapon in half. He hit the coral-plated boards with a painful grunt, consciousness fleeing.
A wave of fishlike beastfolk emerged, chanting some brine-infused incantation that hurled spinning jets of water. Eryndra squared her shoulders, letting the blasts roll off her fortified armor. She roared, fists hammering in short, brutal arcs, pummeling any who dared stand in her path. Shark-teeth and broken coral littered the deck by the time she moved on.
Lutrian advanced in measured steps, cloak fluttering around his ankles. A crablike beastfolk scuttled forward, unleashing a swirling torrent of ocean magic. Lutrian answered with a flicker of light along his forearm, forming a translucent shield that deflected the watery surge. Rolling to the side, he conjured a blade of pure luminescence. With surgical precision, he dismantled the crabman's shell-like armor, forcing the pirate to drop his staff and collapse, panting.
More Coralborn swarmed. Lutrian's eyes glowed with faint arcs of magic as he pivoted, slicing bolts of watery spells out of the air. One of the pirates lunged, striking from behind. Lutrian ducked, letting the blow whistle overhead, then drove his radiant sword upward. The pirate staggered back, weapon sizzling from contact with the light. Lutrian exhaled, refusing to let them breathe. Step after step, parry after parry, he pressed through their ranks like a living beacon.
Meanwhile, Warrex reveled in the chaos. Dual axes whirled around him, each slash packing monstrous force. A walrus-like beastfolk tried to barrel into him with a thick wooden shield. Warrex sprang sideways, hooking an axe into the shield edge, then ripped it free with a vicious yank that nearly dislocated the walrus-man's arm. A second pirate—some eelfolk mage—attempted to coil watery tendrils around his legs. Warrex flexed, letting half-bearfolk strength snap the tendrils, then hurled an axe straight into the mage's chest.
"C'mon!" Warrex shouted, a wild grin flashing on his face. "I've seen scarier skeletons!" Another wave of beastfolk lunged. Warrex blasted them back in a frenzy of spinning blades, unstoppable once he built momentum. Blood and saltwater sprayed the deck. For a fleeting second, he glanced skyward, remembering how far he'd come in such a short time—from hated half-blood merc to a warrior forging his own redemption.
Teddy and Lincoln advanced side by side, their approach unnervingly calm. One sharkman aimed a harpoon. Lincoln raised an arm, plating shifting aside to reveal a built-in muzzle. A beam of concentrated energy blasted the harpoon aside, sending it spinning into the ocean.
Teddy reared back and hammered a lobsterlike foe so hard that the deck planks underfoot cracked. Another bold pirate attempted a flanking maneuver, conjuring swirling water to blind them. Lincoln spun, metal fists smashing watery illusions, while Teddy calmly pivoted to end the real threat in a single fluid strike.
Their synergy was flawless. When Teddy swung wide, Lincoln guarded overhead. When Lincoln fired a payload of micro-munitions, Teddy used his frame to shield from magical backlash. Step by step, they battered a path deeper into The Brinebreaker, unstoppable in tandem.
All around them, the Coralborn tried rallying with fresh spells and reinforcements. Eryndra's unstoppable fists tore through barricades. Lutrian's radiant blade carved holes in magical wards. Warrex's axes chopped down monstrous foes. Teddy and Lincoln obliterated entire squads with mechanical precision. The deck became a battleground of swirling salt air, broken coral shards, and seething water runes.
On the Nightshatter's bridge, Roy gripped the console, face taut. He could see glimpses of the fierce melee through the external cams. Takara stood beside him, gauntlets humming softly with runic energy. She tried to hold his arm but he quickly shook her off.
Roy whispered into the radio link, "Everyone, watch each others backs… No casualties today." Tension knotted his stomach. If this was the Abyssforged Alliance's might, he couldn't afford mistakes.
But the crew kept pressing, unstoppable. The Coralborn hadn't faced a warship of such advanced firepower, nor a boarding team this powerful, not in a long time. One by one, beastfolk pirates dropped their weapons or fell unconscious.
Eryndra leapt onto the quarterdeck, cracking a coral-tipped staff in half with her bare hands. Teddy and Lincoln squared off with an immense orca-man champion, whose final blow fizzled uselessly against their joint assault. Lutrian calmly pinned a raging seahorse mage, light blade pointed at the pirate's throat.