Chapter 176: Chapter 175: The Bloody Deck
Everyone on deck jumped back in shock at the sight of the Mermaid, subconsciously backing away, while Richard’s eyes narrowed slightly.
In modern Earth, the term “Mermaid” referred to a fish-tailed monster with a human upper body from Greek Mythology, a particular version of a mermaid. According to legend, they often appeared as beautiful women, wandering between reefs and isolated islands, captivating sailors with their enchanting voices and leading ships to wreck and sink before devouring the castaway sailors.
However, the creature before them bore little resemblance to a mermaid, at least not in terms of beauty. Although it had a humanoid shape, it looked more like a fish or somewhat like a sea lion or seal.
The creature was about two meters long, with extremely thick forelimbs ending in sharp claws, slightly shorter hind limbs resembling a caudal fin that could stand upright.
In general, the Mermaids of this world seemed to be a new species under the subphylum Vertebrata, combining characteristics of both fish and mammals.
Mermaids class? Fishmen class?
In any case, it was a type of mermaid without “beauty.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed into slits as the Mermaid on deck roared and lunged at the people.
Everyone scattered, ducking to the sides, but one unlucky apprentice was a step too slow and was immediately knocked down by the Mermaid. The Mermaid swiped with its claw, ripping open the apprentice’s abdomen, and blood spurt out crazily, turning the deck crimson red under the rain.
After witnessing this, everyone’s faces turned pale, shivering uncontrollably from the cold or perhaps from fright, amidst the torrential rain.
While everyone was stunned, more Mermaids climbed aboard, taking up nearly half the deck space, and began attacking the people. Looking at the Mermaids – strong, ugly, and vicious – the crowd was overwhelmed with fear, too scared to fight back. Even if someone did attack, the Mermaids easily blocked and slapped them to the ground before biting off their necks to kill them.
Screams rang out incessantly as the people continued to retreat.
A Mermaid suddenly lunged at Gro, whose eyes bulged and legs went weak. He almost collapsed, but Richard swung his longsword, stabbing the Mermaid’s body.
“Roar!” The Mermaid voiced its anger, looking at Richard with rage.
Richard, unafraid, watched calmly as blood flowed from the Mermaid’s wound, pondering the creature’s anatomy and where its vitals might be.
The Mermaid, enraged by Richard’s demeanor, opened its mouth and roared again, charging at him with its claw swinging viciously.
Richard’s eyes narrowed as he nimbly dodged the Mermaid’s attack, then took the opportunity to slash his sword across the Mermaid’s back.
The Mermaid howled in pain, its eyes reddening as it launched a second attack on Richard, who dodged effortlessly again before slicing at its lower limb, testing the creature’s defensive power.
Fresh blood stained the Mermaid and a large area of the deck red, but the Mermaid didn’t seem to be seriously injured and continued its furious assault.
Richard dodged, slashed, dodged, slashed, dodged, slashed…
Eventually, facing a Mermaid covered in wounds but still vigilant, Richard’s eyes twinkled. He had a clearer understanding of its defensive capabilities – they were extremely strong.
Thick skin and a layer of blubber gave warmth and, more importantly, a defensive power stronger than the usual leather armor. The Mermaid before him was like a brawny man armored in rhino hide, enduring many attacks without serious harm, while a single blow from it would be hard for Richard to withstand.
Indeed, it was proving to be a tough opponent.
Richard thought to himself.
Glancing to the side, Richard saw that Nancy was also entangled with a mermaid, trying to bleed it with her speed, but the effect wasn’t very good.
Richard’s eyebrows shot up.
In the distance, the other mermaids continued slaughtering everyone. Dempsey spoke with some seriousness, “If you don’t put more effort, the mermaids will soon board the ship, and then your situation will be even worse.”
“This…” Everyone looked at the fierce mermaids, willing to kill them but couldn’t muster the courage.
“Spurt, spurt, spurt,” the mermaid attack immediately resulted in several unlucky students killed.
Dempsey’s brows deeply furrowed, seeing that the situation for everyone was unbearable. If this continued, they might truly be wiped out. A bit helplessly, he turned to the side and issued an order to the standing wizard apprentices, “You all take action too. Consider it a trial, and help these rookies out.”
“Yes,” responded nearly ten wizard apprentices, launching their attack.
Each wizard apprentice had considerable strength. Although they couldn’t compare to a full-fledged wizard, dealing with mermaids wasn’t a problem.
They rushed to the frontline and waved their hands to release various attack spells.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!”
A continuous barrage of water arrows struck the mermaids’ bodies, like bullets, tearing their skin.
“Swish, swish, swish!”
Ice cones formed in the pouring rain, piercing the mermaids’ bodies and leaving them riddled with bloody holes.
“Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle!”
Wind Blades flew out like blades, slicing every inch of the mermaids’ bodies, causing them to bleed profusely and scream relentlessly.
Under the barrage of spells, half of the mermaids were held back by the wizard apprentices. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, then mustered their courage to surround and attack the outnumbered mermaids with all their might. Although people continued to fall to the mermaids, the creatures’ wounds were slowly multiplying…
The entire deck was engaged in a grisly battle…
Richard’s eyes flickered, and he withdrew his gaze, looking at the mermaid before him. Taking a deep breath, he lifted his longsword, pointing it at the creature in a provocative gesture.
Although not considered beings of wisdom, the mermaid clearly understood the meaning behind this action. It was initially on alert, ready to lick its wounds, but Richard’s provocation elicited an ungracious response as it opened its jaws wide and rushed over, viciously biting at Richard. If the bite landed, Richard would lose a good portion of his body.
Richard faced the onslaught with calmness. Watching the mermaid, he stepped back, avoiding the attack.
The mermaid’s bite missed, but it didn’t give up and moved to swipe with its claws.
Richard stepped back again, evading the attack.
The mermaid’s claw swung through the air, and the next moment, it lunged at Richard, aiming to pin him to the ground.
Richard’s eyes sparkled, retreating for the third time with a “snap” sound as he stepped on the edge of the deck. The mermaid, continuing its charge, covered his body from above.
At that moment, the huge ship swayed slightly, a wave rose and crashed down, seemingly ready to engulf both Richard and the mermaid.
Gro and Nancy saw this and almost simultaneously called out a warning, “Be careful!”
The expression on Richard’s face didn’t change, his back to the wave, sword in hand, aimed at the mermaid.