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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 75
At those words, Beren's expression twisted.
However, Leon casually pushed away the sword pointed at his neck with a flick of his finger.
Then, he walked forward.
Nonsense.
The Kraken hasn't lost its intelligence, so why would it willingly come ashore and put itself at a disadvantage?
If it were in a berserk state like before, that might be possible, but with all the cultists eradicated, there’s no reason for the Kraken to act that way.
Besides, as long as it stays in the sea, there's nothing we can do about it.
"I'll brief you in detail when we get there."
* * *
Inside a tent filled with many people, I calmly scanned the map while under everyone's scrutiny.
No one responded.
Most of them looked at me with distrust, and the only one displaying a peculiar expression was Osberg Mielephon, who believed in me.
"I assume many of you are dissatisfied with the fact that I did nothing for the past three days."
"Then how could someone aware of that put the entire subjugation force in danger?"
A knight sneered as he asked.
From their perspective, because of my words, they had to stand guard without rest in a situation where supplies were already lacking.
Even though I told them to get some rest, that wasn’t something they could just accept.
"The Kraken has been rampaging for exactly 72 hours. Now, we will hunt it down."
A few people chuckled in disbelief.
"You’re spouting nonsense. The ships for deployment haven’t even been repaired, yet you’re saying we’re going out to sea to hunt that thing?"
The Kraken is a sea king-class creature, and it is extremely rare for it to come ashore.
In other words, unlike when it rampaged before, we would now have to go into the ocean to fight it.
"No. We’re not going out to sea."
"Then how exactly do you plan to capture it?"
"How? We’ll capture it right here."
I pointed to the ruins of a village, already devastated by the tidal waves and the Kraken’s rampage.
"The subjugation force will be divided into three units. First, the main attack unit. Those who are confident in their abilities, including the elder, will join the attack team."
My words were met with indifferent reactions as if they were waiting for me to keep talking.
"Second, those with mid-to-low expert-level skills will be in charge of disruption and eliminating lesser monsters. Lastly, the support unit. All the mages will be assigned here."
Beren frowned and questioned me.
"None of this makes sense from the beginning. You need to convince us why you’re so certain that thing will come ashore."
"I’d like you to listen first before making a decision. The moment it comes ashore, the operation begins, and we won’t have time to debate anymore. But since combat could start at any moment, just remember three things."
I raised three fingers.
Then, I folded my ring finger.
"First, the battle must be fought within a designated area the moment it sets foot on land. If you step outside the area, its mental attacks will completely ruin the subjugation effort—never forget that."
Some looked puzzled, but I continued without pause.
"Second, the Kraken is extremely fatigued, meaning it will likely bring more lesser monsters as shields than we initially expected. In that case, the disruption team must swiftly eliminate them. Lady Isna is well-informed about this, so follow her lead."
"Lesser monsters? The Kraken does bring a few with it, but usually only a small number—"
"At this point, the fact that it's even coming ashore is already abnormal. Lastly, third."
I turned to the mages and spoke.
"Outside, you will find five devices that my summoned skeletons have placed. Red, orange, yellow, green, and blue—in that order. I will handle the red one, and the support team must pour all their mana into the devices starting from the orange one. Luna will explain the details."
"What is that supposed to mean...?"
"And remember this. Once the battle begins, do not use any magic other than channeling mana into the devices. The disruption team and my skeletons will protect you, so you must stay in position no matter what."
With those words, I gestured, and the tent flaps were pulled back, revealing five massive, color-coded devices—each twice the height of a person.
These were one-time-use, large-scale artifacts, created solely to capture the Kraken.
They were made by transforming the materials that Misha, the head maid, had acquired, using the Heart of the Machine God to reshape, restructure, and alter their molecular composition.
Originally, I hadn’t planned to make such equipment, but due to the situation, I revised my plans, even using up the remaining supplies of the subjugation force.
At first glance, these devices didn’t look like something that could be built in such a short time.
But the Heart of the Machine God ignored the entire manufacturing process and simply converted raw materials into finished products.
A heart that possessed an immense authority comparable to vast amounts of mana.
The only requirement was extensive knowledge and information—but I had studied the Kraken to the point of exhaustion, so that was no issue.
"What in the world is that...?"
"When did he make something like that...?"
"It’s hard to explain in detail right now. Alright, everyone, what are you waiting for? Let’s welcome our guest."
Fwoooosh!
A dense wave of necromantic mana surged outward, causing the knights' faces to twist in shock and confusion, their eyes saying, What kind of person is this?!
And soon, the effects became apparent.
"The... The Kraken!!! The Kraken is coming ashore!!!"
At that moment, someone shouted from afar.
"It begins."
I swiftly moved my necromantic mana.
An overwhelming amount of necromantic mana spread out, shaking the surroundings and draining the color from people's faces.
“Guh?! What is this…?”
“How can necromantic mana be this dense…?”
It was impossible to believe that such an immense amount of necromantic mana had been released by a mere teenage boy.
All around, people recoiled in shock.
Without stopping, I poured all the surging necromantic mana into the crimson device.
At the same time, the device began to glow and activate.
The two spheres protruding from its center started spinning fiercely, like a centrifuge, rapidly emitting a wild green light as they operated.
Yes, back at the Hall of Sages, I had used these devices to hunt the Kraken.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Back then, I lacked mana and had to find alternative means.
But here, I had an abundance of both mages and mana.
A massive, translucent green mana sphere began forming over the entire battlefield, from the beach where the Kraken had surfaced.
"Remember this. The moment you step outside that boundary, the entire subjugation effort could collapse, so do not—under any circumstances—leave the area."
The Kraken had gone three days without rest or food.
That alone was enough to leave it in a severe state of exhaustion.
And sure enough, as evidence of this, its once-black skin had turned an unnaturally deep red.
“What are you all waiting for? Let’s begin the hunt. Lunch may have been disappointing, but for dinner, you’d better be having fresh octopus sashimi.”
* * *
It all started with the falling raindrops.
What began as a few light taps soon turned into a torrential downpour.
Across the sea, thunder and lightning roared, and the clouds churned violently like a hurricane.
The Kraken, now bright red, no longer bore its usual appearance—it looked like an octopus that had been boiled for far too long.
Its unnatural color was proof of extreme maternal instincts, intense stress, and severe malnutrition.
Of course, the overwhelming pressure from its massive body, large enough to coil around an entire ship with its tentacles, had not diminished in the slightest.
“My god. The Kraken actually came onto land by itself?”
Its behavioral pattern was obvious.
For three days, the magic formations I had planted in its habitat had tormented it relentlessly.
Utterly exhausted, it had been unable to properly hunt, focusing entirely on guarding the eggs it had laid.
Normally, it would leave its eggs behind to hunt and replenish its strength.
But unable to do so, the creature had made a final decision.
It realized that, to keep its eggs safe, it had to eliminate the land-dwelling humans—the ones responsible for this entire situation.
Even with only its primal instincts remaining, it was intelligent enough to understand this.
To make up for its weakened state, it had used its psychic abilities to control a horde of sea monsters and bring them onto land.
Even in its deteriorated condition, the Kraken's mental attacks were still its signature weapon.
It knew it was a powerful predator, yet it also understood that it was not in peak condition.
Coming onto land was an act of desperation—normally, it would never make such a reckless choice.
But in the end, it had no other option.
WOOOOOM!!
Even knowing this could be a trap, the Kraken had no alternatives.
A massive, green, dome-shaped barrier enclosed the creature.
Now faced with the Kraken in person, I could see just how massive it was—it was as large as a mansion.
Each of its eight legs was as thick as a giant pillar, and the suckers on its tentacles were lined with razor-sharp barbs coated in deadly venom.
Its red skin was a sign that its body’s endurance had drastically weakened.
Yet even in its weakened state, the creature’s flesh looked so tough that ordinary sword strikes wouldn’t even scratch it.
A single attack from its massive frame and colossal limbs could easily shatter an entire ship.
Indeed, encountering a Kraken at sea was a death sentence.
It would emerge from the depths alongside a raging storm, its eight limbs coiling around ships and crushing them into splinters.
Even a sword master would struggle to fight it underwater, making Kraken hunts among the most difficult of all monster subjugations.
However…
If you stripped the Kraken of its greatest advantages—the ocean storms and the water itself—then the difficulty of the hunt changed completely.
Had it not been for its breeding season, things would never have played out so conveniently.
In fact, I wouldn’t have even considered attempting a hunt under normal circumstances.
Now, the enraged Kraken, having spotted humans, let out a thunderous roar—a psychic attack aimed at shattering the minds of everyone present.
Ordinarily, this kind of attack would rip through human consciousness, overwhelming and destroying their minds.
But for some reason, the Kraken’s scream did not reach anyone.
Why?
That thought must have flashed through its mind.
Meanwhile, the humans, weapons in hand, were already rushing toward it.
Tiny prey, daring to challenge it!
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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