"Hey! Why are all those hunting boats heading toward us?!" Serl's face filled with panic as he watched the large and small hunting boats approaching them in droves.
In his eyes, the Hunting Fleet had been lured in by the massive, tide-like school of Delex surging behind them. They had forgotten the risk of the Jhen Mohran lurking in the center of the school, their minds filled with nothing but catching more fish and making more money.
"Relax, they know the danger," said Asa. As the son of a fisherman who had participated in The Desert Feast before, he explained, "But they have to stop the school of Delex. Otherwise, we won't even need the Jhen Mohran to attack; the swarming Delex alone will be enough to capsize our small Sandships.
"Those Delex will even jump onto the ships to bite people. It's too dangerous if we let too many through. We won't be able to fight properly at all."
"But they..."
"You're worried a hunting boat will be gored and flipped by the Jhen Mohran, right?" Asa cut in again. "Don't worry about it, because it's almost guaranteed to happen.
"So, have you noticed? All the hunting boats are spread far apart. That's to avoid their own ship being affected when some unlucky soul next to them gets hit."
"You're saying they're choosing to risk hunting, knowing full well that some boats will be attacked?!" Serl asked in disbelief.
Gripping the ship's rudder, Asa grinned at him. "Of course. There's no such thing as risk-free fishing on the sand sea."
"That's why the theme of the Autumn Harvest Fest has never been just 'Harvest,' but also 'Valor,'" Altaïr added, continuing the explanation. "Loc Lac's prosperity is a recent development, only taking hold in the last few decades.
"The Great Desert has scarce resources. For its inhabitants, risking their lives to obtain food is a matter of course."
A large hunting boat swept past them, no more than twenty or thirty meters away. Onboard, bare-chested harpooners holding sharp harpoons shouted and whistled at them in greeting.
On those men's faces, Serl could see not a trace of fear or unease, only a joy like that of a farmer facing a bountiful harvest.
He also saw many small, fragmented things being poured out from the hunting boats, basin by basin. The air instantly filled with a pungent, foul stench, and the school of Delex swimming in the sand sea began to boil with excitement.
Before Serl could ask, Asa explained, "That's bait for the school of Delex. Beast blood, animal entrails, rotten fruits and vegetables, even kitchen scraps, anything goes. Delex aren't picky.
"This bait will keep the large school of Delex that follows the Jhen Mohran to feed in one place, making it easier for the fishermen to hunt them and preventing too many from heading toward the fleet's defensive line."
Bwommm...
A low rumble, impossible to distinguish from a muffled roar or the trembling of the earth itself, drowned out all other sounds.
The sand sea shuddered. A colossal beast, like a savage deity, burst forth from the depths of the endless yellow sand. Its two giant tusks, each over twenty meters long, thrust upward, smashing a hunting boat to smithereens.
Serl's eyes widened as he stared blankly at the scene.
If he wasn't mistaken, the boat that had just been shattered was the very one that had passed by them only a minute ago.
He could even still recall the faces of several of the fishermen on its deck.
"Shouldn't we go save them?!" Serl, having come to his senses, couldn't help but ask Asa loudly.
Altaïr looked at Asa at the same time. Although he was full of anticipation for the metal ores on the Jhen Mohran's back, he would absolutely support his companions if they decided to turn back and rescue the fishermen.
"The fishermen know how to protect themselves, and the other fishing boats will help with the rescue. There's no need for us to meddle!"
Asa's hands, steering the helm, gripped it tighter. "Our mission is to return to the Hozan-maru's side as quickly as possible and intercept the Jhen Mohran with the Sandship fleet!"
Serl took a deep breath. The Jhen Mohran hadn't scared him, but the sand sea fishermen, who seemed to view life and death with such indifference, had shattered his perception of the word 'civilian,' causing him to momentarily lose his composure.
"You're right." Serl forcefully tightened the straps of the arm shield on his right arm. The slight, biting pain brought his mind back into focus. "Intercepting the Jhen Mohran is the top priority."
CLANG!!
A metallic sound, though still over a thousand meters away, rang out, as piercing as if it had exploded right next to their ears.
It was the sound of the giant bronze gong on the Hozan-maru being struck.
It was said that the tremendous noise from the gong could shock a Jhen Mohran out from beneath the sand. Altaïr had been skeptical at first, but now he was a believer.
To make such a racket from one or two thousand meters away... if it were struck up close, wouldn't it deafen a person?
The Jhen Mohran, which had crawled out from under the sand and was now prostrate on the surface, brandishing its magnificent pair of giant tusks and preparing to capsize a few more fishing boats, had its attention drawn by the sound of the gong.
It turned slowly, its eyes, which were somewhat too small for its astonishing hundred-meter-plus frame, staring in the direction of the Dragonship.
—--
Aboard the Hozan-maru, over a thousand meters away, the fleet's captain also raised his spyglass, meeting the Jhen Mohran's gaze.
They were old adversaries.
The captain lowered his spyglass. "Fire two warning shots into the air to say hello to that fellow."
The Gunner in charge of the cannons chuckled and yanked hard on the firing cord.
BOOM! BOOM!
The roar of the cannons, which it associated with pain, traveled through the air for several seconds before reaching the Jhen Mohran's ears. It opened its massive maw and let out a series of deep bellows in response.
"Rooaaar!"
"That fellow is coming!" The captain grinned, walked over to the helm, pushed the helmsman aside, and took the wheel himself.
"Full sail! Full speed! This guy loves to attack from underground, so don't let it flip the ship!"
"Aye!"
Amidst a chorus of shouts, the Hozan-maru began to turn and accelerate. In just a few dozen seconds, it reached a top speed that the surrounding small Sandships had to struggle to match just to keep from being left behind.
At the same time, the Jhen Mohran lowered its head and began digging into the sand with its giant tusks and forelimbs, burrowing beneath the surface.
—--
Meanwhile, Altaïr and the others, who were rushing full-tilt toward the fleet, suddenly felt the small Sandship they were on rise several meters into the air, as if a moving sand dune had inexplicably risen beneath their feet.
The three of them were stunned for a second before it dawned on them: they had been lifted onto the back of the Jhen Mohran as it tunneled through the sand.
"Get off!" For the first time, Altaïr heard his own voice crack.
Asa yanked the helm and sail, managing to slide them off to the side just before the 'sand dune' could rise any higher.
Due to the excessively sharp turn and loss of speed, their Sandship tipped over onto its side.
Fortunately, none of the three were injured, and the Jhen Mohran couldn't be bothered with them at all. Remaining half-submerged in the sand, it chased after its old rival in the distance.
"Hurry, hurry! Get the ship upright!"
The three of them hurriedly righted the overturned small Sandship. Asa jumped aboard and readjusted the sail, while Altaïr and Serl pushed from behind. Only after the ship slowly picked up speed and its hull stabilized did they vault aboard.
In the short time it took them to deal with the capsized ship, the Jhen Mohran had already charged into the center of the Sandship fleet's formation.
Its tusks, like lances piercing the heavens, broke through the sand, stabbing straight toward the sky. But the fleet's captain, having anticipated the moment the Jhen Mohran would burst from the surface, had already cranked the helm hard over to make a sharp turn and evade.
At the last possible moment, he dodged the Jhen Mohran's surprise attack from beneath the sand.
The undulating sand waves threw the surrounding small Sandships' formation into disarray, but the Hozan-maru, with its wide hull and stabilizers on both sides, remained steady.
"Fire!"
Amid the rumbling roar of cannons, several bursts of fire and light exploded upon the Jhen Mohran's mountain-like, undulating back.