After Being Sold Out By The Empire, I Decide To Assist The Demon King
Chapter 179 - 48: Good Food is the Motivation

Chapter 179: Chapter 48: Good Food is the Motivation

Voyaging was quite boring; there was almost nothing to do on the open sea, so the fleet on the Empire’s side would keep some small animals to alleviate boredom.

There was an unwritten rule... only high-ranking individuals were allowed to keep flying creatures or highly intelligent magic beasts, while lower-ranking sailors could only keep animals that ran on the ground or couldn’t move much.

The former mainly kept parrot magic beasts, while the latter mostly kept monkeys and fish.

The fleet in the Demon King Territory seemed different, as there was one significant difference... women couldn’t be brought on board the Empire’s fleet, and this rule wasn’t just "unwritten"; it was explicitly stated.

This time, the fleet of five trade ships, which could be referred to as a "trial trade," was obviously much more pleasant to *look at*... the scenery here was much better than that on the Empire’s fleet.

The Empire’s side was busy with burly men in vests.

This side was busy with sea demons in vests.

...

Yila wasn’t quite sure about the gender ratio of the sea demons, but it seemed to be similar to the harpies, with an absurdly high number of females compared to males... among the five ships, Yila was the only male.

So, for the continuation of the species, the sea demons probably needed to rely on other races... just like the succubi, whose female-to-male ratio was an "unknown massive number" to "one."

(Tipcapu: ...)

Yila didn’t know why the sea demons were so chatty, but it seemed like a gender thing. Even if they didn’t do anything else, just chatting would keep them from getting bored.

But actually, Yila didn’t care much. Even listening to the sea demons chat kept him entertained... After all, for him, the topics they talked about were still quite novel.

It was mostly gossip... like which country’s prince was saved by sea demons after falling overboard and such.

Yila listened just for fun—

"Have you heard? A super giant octopus magic beast has been discovered in some part of the sea."

"Eh? How big?"

"Huge, enormous... as big as a mountain."

"Really?"

"Really, and there’s even a cult that worships the big octopus."

"They really have nothing else to worship, huh... could it be the theocratic country?"

"Probably, over there, besides God, they can worship anything."

"We won’t encounter a big octopus, will we?"

"No, no, the route is very safe..."

"..."

"Yawn~"

Yila let out a casual yawn, half-closing his eyes to enjoy the current relaxation... Since arriving in the Demon King Territory, he had become lazier. The smooth sailing of his work made him feel unprecedentedly good, and he had become more indolent.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Yila opened his eyes, getting up from the edge of the deck where he had been leaning, feeling something... At this moment, the swordfish also began to issue sharp warnings.

"Eee!"

"Eee eee!"

"Eee!"

Though he couldn’t understand their language at all, the merfolk seemed to understand what the swordfish were saying. They immediately activated the warning bells on the side of the ship, shouting, "Magic beast! Magic beast attack!!!"

The five ships simultaneously became alert, and the shouts began to echo across the once-peaceful sea.

Hilena had mentioned earlier that the probability of encountering a giant sea beast was very small... but it wasn’t impossible.

As if to contradict Hilena specifically, a massive shadow approached the ships from below as everyone, including Hilena, Satan Ye, the elf girl, and the other sea demons, hurriedly rushed out from the cabins.

A very large shadow... one enough to cause thalassophobia or fear of large objects.

However, the Naga Leader remained unflustered, issuing orders—

"Prepare to engage the sea beast!"

"Swordfish, attack!"

"Start the chant!"

"..."

The magic armors designed for the swordfish earlier immediately came into play. The swordfish swiftly disengaged from the towing harnesses, donned the magic armors quickly, and launched into action.

Yila stared at the sea, through the shimmering waves. He realized that the huge marine magic beast had countless tentacles... So, it really was a giant octopus magic beast?

"Hear the hymn♪~, echo the reefs♪~"

"Feel the ocean and freedom♪~, embrace the miracle♪~"

The mysterious and enchanting song from the mermaids resonated, as if singing a magical prelude. Under their hymn, clusters of water flew into the sky from the sea, coagulating into sharp water spikes mid-air, which mercilessly shot towards the shadow beneath the sea.

At the same time, the swordfish in their magic armors relentlessly jabbed at the giant sea beast... mainly targeting the tentacles reaching up towards the ship.

From this perspective, the battle configuration of the sea demons was quite reasonable... attack, magic, and summon—the iron triangle.

"Roar!!!!!!"

With an angry roar, the sea beast, unable to endure the continuous attacks, finally rose from the ocean. The massive white and blue squid emerged from the sea beside the ship, glaring at the vessel with its cross-like eyes.

This was an enormous giant magic beast. As it emerged from the sea, it created turbulent waves, causing the fleet to sway continuously. Its tentacles tried to lift the ship but were mercilessly repelled by the swordfish.

"It’s really a big sea monster!" Satan Ye shouted excitedly, while Hilena beside her was in more pain; the ship’s rocking caused by the waves made her feel like dying, and she immediately vomited on the squid’s tentacle.

However, neither the sea demons nor they showed any signs of panic due to the appearance of the giant squid... Although they had been marveling at the "Big Sea Beast" earlier, they had encountered similar situations many times before.

In this still-undeveloped oceanic world, the existence of giant sea beasts wasn’t that unusual. Even Yila, who didn’t live by the sea, had seen quite gigantic marine magic beasts.

He remembered one that was similar to a snake-necked dragon.

Moreover, although in the squid’s own food chain, size largely equated to combat power, this rule didn’t apply to intelligent creatures.

Perhaps it was more like... a big, dumb target.

...

"Do you need me to step in?"

Yila asked, looking at the giant sea monster that was in a state of "incompetent fury" because Jana and the others were effortlessly cutting off its lashing tentacles. He then looked at Satan Ye and said, "Satan Ye, why don’t you give it a try..."

Unexpectedly, Satan Ye hesitated at Yila’s sudden suggestion but still grabbed her scythe and charged forward. However... it was clear that, since this was her first time battling such a large monster, she was somewhat holding back.

"Shall we have charcoal-grilled squid afterwards?"

Yila said.

"..."

Satan Ye: Char... Charcoal-grilled squid tentacles?

"Roar!!!"

Screaming maniacally, Satan Ye rushed to the front. Yila watched her dodge each attack, ready to step in at any moment if needed, but...

Wasn’t it you who was hesitating earlier?