Battle Between Two Battleships And The Kraken

“Damn it, the Noma Empire’s battleship has been caught by the Kraken’s tentacles!”

At the executive officer’s report, Ian, who had been watching through his binoculars as well, bit his lip and spoke.

“They won’t go down that easily.”

Just as he said, gunshots and cannon blasts erupted from the Noma ship. Although the shells didn’t strike the tentacles directly, they weren’t ineffective. The limbs suddenly loosened their grip and retreated back beneath the waves.

“Smart tactic. Since it’s likely the Doicheun battleship fought back too, it’s probably sensitive to gunfire now.”

Ian nodded—his officer had a point. Still, just because the creature had retreated didn’t mean it was over. It could come after them next. He kept his senses fully open.

“Even so, it won’t be easy to escape.”

“Yes. The Doicheun ship couldn’t outrun it either, which means it’s fast enough to catch up. Without a decoy, it’d be hard to get away…”

The executive officer trailed off at the end. Ian immediately understood—he meant that while the Noma ship drew the Kraken’s attention, their own vessel might escape. It was cold, but tactically sound.

‘Still, it doesn’t sit right to abandon Prince Alexei, especially after all he’s done for me…’

“…Change course. We’re heading toward the Noma ship.”

“Huh? Captain?!”

His aide looked shocked and protested, but Ian simply shook his head.

“There’s no guarantee it’ll keep chasing them. For all we know, it’s already coming our way. If it can catch us no matter what, we’re better off fighting it together.”

“You might be right.”

With the exec officer’s change in stance, the aide gave in as well and sighed.

“Fighting a mythical Kraken… If this gets reported back home, we’ll become legends.”

Ian quietly replied, “Then let’s become legends.”

He still believed his psychic power could help even the odds. For now, the Kraken seemed focused solely on the Noma ship—it may have judged taking both targets was too difficult.

‘If that’s true, it’s got intelligence…’

The ship turned and began heading toward the Noma Empire’s battleship. Meanwhile, aboard the Bolanus-class ship, chaos had broken out.

“No further signs of the Kraken’s movement!”

“Damage assessments are underway!”

“Some crew members have fallen overboard!”

“Main and secondary guns fully loaded!”

As reports flooded in, Prince Alexei stood stiff with a grim expression. The Kraken—once thought to exist only in legend—had attacked them.

‘It recoiled from the gunfire, but it’ll come back…’

The image of the shattered Doicheun ship flashed through his mind. If it came back, they wouldn’t survive alone. Maybe if someone else fired from the side—but one ship alone couldn’t shake it off.

‘If only Prince Ian lends a hand…’

He had genuinely taken a liking to Ian and had treated him well. But tactically, letting his ship serve as bait so Ian could escape would be the smarter move. That’s what he would have done.

“Captain! The Polia Kingdom ship is slowing and changing course toward us!”

“What? Are you sure?!”

“Yes, sir! They’re sending signal flashes—translating now!”

‘They’re coming to help?’

He was surprised. Maybe Ian was more sentimental than he’d thought. They had grown close over drinks, but still, he hadn’t expected this.

‘Or maybe he thinks we have a shot at winning.’

If they moved together and maintained the right formation, they could cover each other’s blind spots. Then came the urgent report:

“New sighting—Kraken’s tentacles spotted aft!”

“Signal decoded—Battleship Luda suggests moving together and targeting the Kraken!”

Hearing the reports, Alexei clenched his fist and shouted:

“The Polia ship will support us! Ready the secondary guns!”

For precise targeting, the smaller secondary cannons would work best. They lacked firepower but could be deadly with accuracy. Just then, the entire ship jolted.

Screeeeech—!

The ship groaned as its speed dropped sharply. The Kraken’s limbs had grabbed them again. Gunfire erupted—and then came two powerful thuds:

“Shells landing in the water astern!”

“Fired from the battleship Luda!”

“Tentacles retreating!”

The shockwaves from the impact must’ve startled the Kraken. It loosened its grip and disappeared. Alexei exhaled in relief and cracked a grin.

‘That should buy us time.’

But the Luda might get attacked next—they had to support it now. Ian, meanwhile, sensed the Kraken approaching.

‘It’s coming.’

He activated his psychic power. Bzzzt—his power flared to life, grabbing at the Kraken’s massive form. The resistance he felt was staggering.

‘Damn… it’s nothing like diverting a shell. This thing’s strength…’

He’d trained to move ocean currents, but this was different. It was the first time he’d hit such a massive wall since reincarnation.

‘I can’t restrain the whole body—but what about just the tentacles?’

Then came the executive officer’s shout:

“Tentacles emerging!”

“Open fire!”

Ian’s order was followed by a barrage of machine gun fire from turrets across the ship. Of course, the bullets couldn’t pierce the monster’s thick limbs—but then Ian raised his hand.

Bzzzt—the tentacles halted mid-air. He’d stopped them.

Not the whole creature, but the limbs—that was manageable. On the opposite side, more tentacles rose toward the hull.

He focused again—he would stop those too.

‘I can’t let my ship take even a scratch.’

Ian pushed his telekinesis harder. But the strength of the Kraken’s limbs was no joke. They were inching closer, looking like they might seize the ship at any moment. Thankfully, they hadn’t made contact with the hull yet.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

Just then, cannon fire erupted. The limbs had entered the range of the secondary guns and were hit directly. The 100mm shells had enough firepower to inflict real damage. At the same time, massive splashes erupted around them—shells from the Noma Empire’s main guns were pounding the surrounding sea.

The limbs attacking the Mythos were forced back, slipping beneath the waves. Ian, who had been straining to hold them off, finally released his telekinetic grip and let out a breath of relief.

“The Kraken’s limbs have withdrawn.”

“Stay alert—we don’t know when it might return.”

“Yes, sir!”

With no more presence detected, Ian knew the Kraken had completely disengaged. But the strength he had just encountered… It had surpassed his limits. If it had kept pressing, it might have broken through his psychic hold.

‘I’m not invincible after all…’

He had grown confident after surpassing the power of his past life, but this was a sobering reminder. The Kraken wasn’t just strong—it was absurdly so, a creature of myth described as one of the worst monsters ever to exist. Its power was beyond comprehension.

‘A single living creature smashing a battleship to bits—that’s something even I can’t do.’

The only fortunate thing was that Ian wasn’t alone. With the Noma battleship at their side, they had a fighting chance. As strong as the Kraken was, sinking two massive ships quickly wasn’t easy.

‘It’ll probably shift focus to the Noma ship now.’

Especially after encountering Ian’s telekinesis, the Kraken would likely seek the easier target. As the ships drew closer—less than a kilometer apart—they could now strike more precisely at any emerging limbs.

It had been 15 minutes since the last attack.

‘Did it really leave? Maybe it moved on to another target?’

Just as that thought crossed his mind, a cry rang out:

“The Kraken is going for the Noma ship again!”

Ian snapped his head in that direction—tentacles were rising again. He immediately ordered focused fire. The executive officer relayed the command:

“Fire!”

Boom! Boom boom! Boom boom!

The ship’s starboard secondary guns opened up in a volley. Shells struck the Kraken’s limbs, which twitched violently before recoiling into the sea. The strategy of close-range precision fire was working.

More importantly, none of the shells hit the Noma ship, a sign of how carefully the crew had aimed. As the limbs sank again, cheers erupted from the deck.

“Waaaah—!”

“It’s retreating again!”

“Nice shot!”

‘Now what will it do?’

If the Kraken had any intelligence, it would realize these attacks were too much. Sure enough, no further attacks came. For the next 20 minutes, the two ships moved side by side, unmolested.

‘Maybe it really left…’

Then—suddenly—his senses flared. Something was moving fast beneath the water—blazing through the sea like a torpedo.

‘It’s going to ram us with its body?!’

There was no time to warn anyone. Ian unleashed his telekinesis to slow the Kraken. He managed to reduce its momentum, but not enough.

Boom—!!

A tremendous impact reverberated through the ship. It felt like they were lifted off the water for a moment.

Everyone on the bridge lost their balance and was thrown violently.

‘Guh!’

Ian’s forehead slammed into something as he hit the ground. Dazed, he reached up and found blood running down his face. His nose was bleeding too.

‘You made me bleed. I’ll kill you for that.’

The ship rocked before slowly stabilizing. It was still afloat—barely. Without Ian’s intervention, they might have capsized.

“Captain! Are you okay?!”

“Are you all okay?”

“You’re bleeding! Medic!”

Ian looked at his aide, who was yelling for help—and noticed his arm was bent unnaturally. He must have broken it in the fall. Several others were injured too.

‘There might even be fatalities…’

They’d gotten off light, all things considered. If that attack had struck Alexei’s ship instead, it might not have survived. That ship was now weaving erratically, trying to dodge similar ramming attempts. Ian’s ship did the same, shifting direction randomly.

After an hour of these evasive maneuvers, the Kraken didn’t reappear. Even after three… five hours—nothing. Only then did they finally begin to believe they were safe.