BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

Chapter 1027: Thaids and Tides



With the enemy harbour engulfed in chaos and flames behind them, Erik and his group found themselves aboard the stolen warship's deck.

For everyone on board, being at sea felt strange. None of them had been on a ship before this week, or seen the wide ocean before, unless it was in a picture, and the experience was clearly different.

The endless horizon and the moving waves were both amazing and confusing, but for sure scary. Not because of how dangerous the waves were, or could be, but because of what lurked deep within them.

Not much was known about the sea and its inhabitants. People said that the thaids living within it were weaker, but that depended on the definition of weak. When comparing the sea thaids, to the flying ones, people generally feared the latter more, but that was because they were fast, and most importantly, they were harder to kill because they were in the sky.

That didn't mean they were weaker. It could be that fighting against them was just simpler.

Erik wasn't keen on trusting other people's words, because every time he did it, he got problems.

The initial euphoria of their successful takeover gave way to the realization that operating the ship would not be simple.

When Erik left the harbor, there wasn't much to do. Since he was on the steering wheel, he did most of the job, aside from the Chimaeric Demons undocking the ship itself. Most of the other stuff was automated, anyway. But now that they were going to travel, he couldn't do so indefinitely.

He needed to rest, like everyone else, and the ship had defensive weapons that had to be manned.

As the ship cut through the waves, Erik gathered his crew in the pilot's cabin. He left the steering wheel to June, after he explained to him how to control the vessel.

However, Erik didn't go on deck, because June never drove a ship, and Erik needed to be there in case problems arose. Hence why he called everyone in the pilot's cabin.

"Alright, everyone," Erik said. "I know this is unfamiliar territory for all of us, but we need to adapt quickly. This warship is equipped with advanced systems and weapons, and each of you will have to learn how to use them. We also need to learn how to move the ship, just in case something bad happens. The best thing would be to be sure there is always a pilot around."

He turned to June. "June, you'll be our navigator. If you want, or don't trust the systems, you can turn into a flying thaid to see how the situation in front of us is. There is something else you also need to do. You must choose some of the Chimaeric Demons to help you with this task. You must chart our course, monitor weather patterns, and ensure we stay on track. The navigation systems are highly sophisticated, but see things first hand will still be better than relying on systems that might fail us anytime. Regardless, I'll guide you through them. All of you also pay attention."

June nodded. "I won't let you down, Master."

Erik then turned to the Chimaeric Demons. "You'll maintain the ship's various systems- propulsion, weapons, and defensive measures. I'll provide you with the knowledge to keep everything running smoothly."

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Erik spent the next few hours familiarizing the crew with the ship's intricate controls and mechanisms.

He shared his knowledge of the enemy's technology, explaining the functions of each console and instrument. The crew listened, not having trouble remembering everything. Yet Erik might have forgotten to say something.

As the training session concluded, Erik turned to June to plot their course to Hin. They didn't really have to do much; they needed to head north. Though there were many dangerous currents in this part of the sea, and thaids littered it.

The problem was that they couldn't stop the ship since the blackguards might find a way to chase them. Erik was sure the communication devices at the docks were still malfunctioning, but the blackguards, and even Hin, would not let this stop them.

They needed to explain what happened to the others and, since the communication system didn't work, they were likely going to send a team to some outpost to share the news with the rest of the army.

As Erik and June got around the navigation console, studying the holographic charts and maps while considering various routes, they tried to understand how to avoid the thaids the ship had information about.

The sea creatures were a tremendous problem, and they could easily sink the warship if they caught it off guard.

"According to the intelligence I gathered from the enemy systems, Hin's troops have encountered some seriously dangerous thaids in these waters," Erik said, pointing at this part of the map. "They've marked them on their maps as a warning to their own ships."

June leaned in closer. "What kind of thaids are we talking about here, Master?"

Erik swiped his hand across the display, bringing up detailed profiles of the creatures.

"First, there is a weird thaid they didn't know about. It looked like it appeared just recently." "Meaning after the blackguards went on, Mur."

"Yes. They called it Leviathan Serpent," he said, pointing to an image of a massive, serpentine creature.

"Based on the few encounters Hin's fleets had with the creature, it looks like it wraps itself around ships and crushes them like tin cans. This thing doesn't even need to use its brain crystal power given how big it is.

As much as Hin's troops wrote in the reports, it looks like its scales are as tough as Larnox ore. You can understand how hard those scales are. Hin thinks this comes from the Mur continent's area."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"That's not something we want to tangle with," June said.

Erik nodded and moved on to the next profile. "Then there's the Shadowmaw Behemoth," he said, gesturing to a monstrous cephalopod with tentacles.

"It apparently lurks in the depths, waiting for ships to pass overhead. When it strikes, it wraps its tentacles around the ship and drags it down. It's similar to the Leviathan Serpent in this regard, but the creature its not as big."

"It clearly has many more ways to grab a ship, given the tentacles."

"Indeed. Hin said the creature is not as dangerous as the Leviathan Serpent, though. Regardless, we'll need to steer well clear of its hunting grounds," Erik said.

For a second, there was silence. The fact that Hin marked two spots as dangerous because of two creatures was bad. The problem was, there weren't only two places with these titanic thaids around. There was one more that Hin was aware of.

"That's not all," Erik said. June's eyes fell.

"There's also the Skylance Harpy." Erik pointed to an image of a sleek, winged creature. "It may not look as imposing as the others, but it's incredibly fast. It's also snatched crew members right off the deck and carried them away. The problem is, that this is a flying thaid. Based on Hin's intelligence, it should have its nest in an island nearby, but there are several of them in that area, and Hin wasn't keen on getting close enough to learn where the nest was. This makes the monster more problematic for us."

"Master, these thaids... they sound like they are too powerful."

Erik nodded. "That's why Hin's troops have marked them on their maps. Even their own ships aren't equipped to handle these monsters, and as much as how strong they depict them, I'm not even sure the Chimaeric Demons can fight them. We're going to have to navigate around their territories as best we can."

"I wasn't talking about that..."

"Ah... Right, you are saying that you think these monsters comes from Mur?"

"Yes, master. Based on what we knew of the sea thaids, they shouldn't be this powerful."

"Don't trust other people's words," Erik said. "The sea thaids people were used to, might just be the tip of the iceberg. What if they were the ones who escaped the depth from the thaids

that lurk there?"

"Yeah. It would be we underestimated how dangerous sea thaids are."

"Exactly. That's not something I want to do. For now, we will consider sea thaids more

dangerous of the flying ones."

"All right, master."

June studied the map. "It won't be easy to avoid these guys, though. They seem to be scattered across key chokepoints and shipping lanes. We'll have to take a more circuitous

route to avoid them."

"It'll add time to our journey," Erik said, acknowledging the problem, "but it's a necessary precaution. We can't risk a direct confrontation, especially not with our limited experience in

naval combat."

"But we also can't afford to take too long a detour. If we waste too much time, Hin might tell about the stolen ship to the rest of the army. We might find ourselves not only faring against

the thaids, but even against humans," June said.

"I know that." June gave a look at the map again. It looked like he got an idea.

"What about this route?" the clone pointed to a sort of narrow corridor between two of the

thaids' areas. "It's riskier, and the currents are strong, but it would save us a lot of time, while allowing us to avoid the thaids."