Multinational Fleet And The Kraken

After staying alert throughout the return voyage, they could finally relax only after reaching the island. Once back, they informed the yet-to-depart fleet from the Bain Kingdom about the situation and warned them not to set sail.

Unsurprisingly, the Bain Kingdom officers were flustered. Having just returned after leaving earlier, only to say now not to venture out to sea, it seemed bizarre. And the mention of a Kraken? It sounded utterly absurd to them.

But when Prince Alexei presented the remains of the damaged battleship and showed them the photos and videos that had been taken, they finally grasped the severity of the situation. Especially upon realizing that a battleship from the Doicheun Empire had been destroyed, fear gripped them.

If two battleships barely returned alive, how could their cruiser possibly survive? In light of this, the decision was made not to keep the information secret, but to inform the entire island. Many fishing vessels were still preparing to head out to sea.

When Prince Alexei publicly announced the truth, no one believed it at first. To them, it sounded completely ludicrous. But again, once the footage was shown, the assembled ship captains were left in shock.

The Kraken, a monster out of myth, had truly appeared. Some even raised their hands to comment that less than half of the fishing boats that had left earlier had returned. They had simply assumed delays in fishing, but given this new context, it was clear what had happened.

The fishing boats that had returned had mostly operated in waters closer to the island—meaning anyone who ventured out farther was in danger. The mood on the island quickly became one of fear.

The sea had always been a place full of superstition—and this was no different. The Kraken, a creature from legend, had revealed itself to be real. That alone was enough to send everyone into a panic.

With no way to contact the mainland, Ian had no choice but to remain on the island, waiting anxiously for the return of the other ships. He couldn’t help but wonder whether many of them had already fallen victim to the Kraken’s attacks.

After a week of such uncertainty, a ship was finally spotted approaching the island. A closer look revealed the flag of the Moria Empire. Evidently, they had been lucky enough to arrive without encountering the Kraken.

Regardless, having even one more ship present was a massive relief, and they were welcomed enthusiastically. Confused by the warm welcome, the Moria officers were soon shown the same footage and photographs. Like the others, they were horrified.

They felt fortunate not to have run into the Kraken. But this also made it clear that the creature’s range was broader than expected. Perhaps it had been drawn to the wreckage—intentionally exploded by the Bain Kingdom to destroy evidence—and thus had been attracted to the area.

With their arrival, there were now four ships stationed at the island. The rest had gone too far out to be located. They could only wait and hope for their return.

Another week passed, and it was now November 15. Since they had first arrived in the Abyssal Sea around October 16, they had been here for over a month already.

After more than two weeks, it seemed likely that some of the other nations’ ships would return soon. Two days later, a cruiser belching black smoke appeared—one of the Iris Kingdom’s ships that had departed earlier.

They, too, were baffled by the warm reception. But after hearing the situation and reviewing the photographic evidence, they were shocked to learn that the sea monster they had long sought was the legendary Kraken.

The Iris crew expressed immense relief that they hadn’t encountered it. Every nation reacted similarly upon arrival.

Meanwhile, concern began to rise on the island over dwindling supplies. The regular cargo ships had failed to arrive—even though the sea had entered a calmer period, which was usually when supply runs were made. People began to wonder if the cargo vessels had also been attacked by the Kraken.

The fear was understandable.

A breakdown in supply lines meant the collapse of civilization. They could manage food through seafood for now, but coal was a different story. Without it, no machines could run, including the fish-processing plants. If they stopped, the entire island could descend into chaos.

Knowing this, they did their best to keep the population calm. Five more days passed before another ship finally arrived.

This time it was a battleship from the Magnia Empire. But its condition was poor—parts of it were shattered, and two of its main guns had been completely destroyed. Clearly, it had survived a Kraken attack.

The fact that it made it back at all was admirable. To fend off a Kraken alone and still return was an incredible feat.

After docking, the Magnia officers came ashore and confirmed what had happened.

“The creature known as the Kraken attacked us! It’s real and incredibly dangerous!”

Inside the now-familiar tavern, the captain from Magnia looked shaken, his expression twisted in remembered horror. Prince Alexei raised his hand calmly and spoke.

“We’re already well aware of the Kraken’s danger. We were attacked too.”

“You were?”

“Yes. Fortunately, we had two battleships working together and managed to drive it off.”

“I see. Fighting alongside the Polia Kingdom must’ve made it easier.”

The Magnia captain’s face showed a trace of regret. If only they hadn’t gone alone, perhaps they wouldn’t have suffered so badly. He clearly wished he hadn’t chosen to act independently.

“Also, the Doicheun battleship was destroyed.”

“What? Is that true?”

“It is. We have photos and video. It looks like it encountered the Kraken before us.”

“If our luck had been worse, we might’ve suffered the same fate…”

The Magnia captain clenched his fists. He trembled, something no imperial officer should do—but the fear of facing the Kraken had been carved into his very bones.

“So what do you plan to do next?”

“There are two choices,”

Alexei replied.

“We either band together and kill the Kraken—or retreat, escape the Abyssal Sea, and return later with a larger fleet.”

With coal supplies dwindling and resupply no longer guaranteed, bold action was required. Upon hearing this, the Magnia captain bit his lip and answered.

“As a soldier of the Magnia Empire, I won’t run. Let’s fight!”

Alexei looked unsurprised—as if he had expected that answer. Then, his gaze turned toward Ian, signaling that it was his turn to respond.

“After hearing that, there’s no way we could refuse. The Polia Kingdom will fight as well.”

Ian’s declaration earned a nod from Alexei, who then turned to the Moria captain. The unspoken message was clear—and the captain understood.

“We will stand with you.”

“Thank you.”

Alexei said gratefully.

After asking for the positions of the Bain and Iris Kingdoms, Prince Alexei soon received their replies—they too would join the cause. From their perspective, there wasn’t much choice to begin with. With everyone else declaring their intent to fight, backing out now would’ve meant international disgrace—and they would have been branded cowards.

They also understood that if the others failed, they themselves would never be able to leave the Abyssal Sea. Thus, the Kraken Subjugation Force was formed, composed of four battleships and two cruisers.

With a total of six warships, this was a formidable force by any measure. Especially with four battleships, their firepower could rival that of a major fleet. This asymmetrical strength made them a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, others on the island were documenting the alliance of the nations. Perhaps these very images would one day be shown in theaters across the world and become the stuff of legend.

Thus began what came to be known as the Kraken Conference, and soon after, they started drafting battle strategies.

Nearly a week passed before they returned to sea. The delay was due to the damage sustained by the Magnia Empire’s battleship, which required urgent repairs. Technicians from other ships pitched in, and thanks to their efforts, the ship was restored quickly.

On November 29, with the final month of the year just around the corner, the fleet set sail in unison. After reaching the open sea, their first objective was to lure out the Kraken.

Boom! Boom boom! Boom boom boom! Boom! Boom!

Thunderous blasts echoed as the warships fired their guns into the sea. Shells rained down on a designated area, churning the ocean into towering spray. Six ships fired simultaneously, creating a spectacular display.

“It would be nice if it showed up already.”

“That would be a problem in itself, wouldn’t it?”

“True. It’s not exactly something easy to deal with.”

Ian, speaking with his executive officer, had a resolute glint in his eyes. This time, he was determined to fight properly. Last time, he’d relied too much on telekinesis and hadn’t considered using his mental manipulation abilities at all.

‘It must be because I’ve never actually used mental manipulation in combat before.’

Given the Kraken’s apparent intelligence, it likely had some degree of mental resistance. But if he could pierce through that, it would give them a significant advantage.

‘We also failed to utilize our equipment to its fullest. If we had used depth charges back then, it might’ve gone better.’

Depth charges had been developed with submarines in mind, and they had been installed on their ship. But in the chaos, no one had thought to use them. Reportedly, the Magnia Empire had survived in part thanks to deploying their depth charges.

While they may not cause fatal damage, they were certainly effective as deterrents. Lieutenant Colonel Derian Dico, Ian’s executive officer, had also expressed regret over not using them during their first encounter. Underwater warfare was still unfamiliar territory, even to seasoned officers.

In any case, the fleet—four battleships and two cruisers—continued firing their main guns at intervals, trying to provoke the Kraken. They spent the entire day like this, but the Kraken never appeared. As nighttime battles were deemed too dangerous, the multinational fleet withdrew to the island.

The same strategy was employed again the next day, and again the day after that—three days in a row. It was now December, and Ian found himself thinking that even if they returned now, they wouldn’t reach the mainland until next year.

‘I wonder what’s happening back on the mainland. Hopefully, Father isn’t dead or anything…’

His mind swirled with thoughts as 11:30 AM approached on the third day—when finally, the bait was taken.

“The Kraken has surfaced!”

“It’s targeting the Iris Kingdom’s cruiser!”

“It’s aiming for the weakest first.”

By now, the Kraken had likely grown more experienced fighting ships. Perhaps it deliberately went for the cruiser, the most vulnerable target. In response, they immediately began firing around the cruiser.

‘Hmm, it’s not retreating immediately. Has it learned these shots aren’t aimed at it?’

Ian sensed that the Kraken had grown craftier. The fight would not be easy. Meanwhile, the fleet ships gradually began to close the distance between them. Once close enough, precision fire would become possible.

Boom! Boom boom! Boom! Boom boom!

Explosions erupted from every side as shells rained down on the Kraken’s emerging tentacles. Finally, the creature withdrew its limbs and slipped back beneath the surface. Ian suspected it would choose a new target—and prepared to use mental manipulation if it approached.

“It’s approaching the Moria Empire battleship—Ah! Massive explosion! Looks like they deployed depth charges!”

With a deafening roar, plumes of seawater shot into the air. Apparently, even the Kraken couldn’t ignore such force—it submerged once more, pulling back its limbs. Ian immediately gave the order to deploy their own depth charges.

“Deploy the depth charges!”

They had already planned for this scenario. In no time, the depth charges aboard their ship began dropping into the ocean.

Boom! Boom!

Massive underwater explosions erupted in succession. The same was happening across the fleet: the Magnia, Moria, and Noma battleships were all releasing their depth charges in coordinated volleys.

“It must be completely disoriented now.”

“Yes, as long as the explosions continue, it won’t be able to get close.”

“Hopefully at least one of them lands a direct hit.”

Ian shared his subordinates’ sentiments. But although the attacks continued, the Kraken had stopped attacking. Ian felt a pang of regret.

‘If it had gotten close, I could’ve used mental manipulation. Is it avoiding our ship on purpose?’

He began to suspect that the Kraken was deliberately steering clear of their ship after being hit by his telekinesis last time.