Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 413: Toads

Splash!

Clad in a diving suit, Charles plunged into the sea and quickly descended toward the island beneath.

The depth was relatively shallow; the Narwhale's keel was 5.5 meters deep, and there was still another 1.5 meters to the sea floor. That meant that the island was roughly 8 meters below sea level.

Compared to islands fully engulfed by the deep waters, this island's depth was modest. Yet, such a depth had transformed what was a habitable land for humans into a useless sandbank in the endless ocean.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The other sailors donned their heavy diving gear and followed after Charles, sinking to the bottom of the sea. Their gear's weight counteracted the water's buoyancy, allowing them to descend smoothly.

The light from their helmet-mounted torches pierced through the darkness of the sea bed and illuminated the surroundings

Landing on a sandbank that was encircled by towering seaweeds, they felt as though they had entered the heart of a dense forest.

A thick carpet of algae blanketed the sea floor, and it was so slippery that they couldn't walk steadily.

"Our ship will reposition every twenty minutes. Fan out and look for clues. Signal at once if you find something," Charles gestured in flag semaphore to the team of five divers.

Turning toward the other two crew members in the water, Charles continued, "Dipp, Feuerbach, stay on perimeter watch. Ensure nothing disrupts our carpet search."

The two acknowledged with a nod before darting off in separate directions.

If the key had indeed been on the island and its size as large as they had imagined it to be, spotting it shouldn't be difficult. However, considering the Foundation's operations, things wouldn't be that simple.

If Charles were to put himself in their shoes, he wouldn't just hide an important item like the key to the surface; he would also make sure that it was well camouflaged and hard to locate.

As such, the search demanded not speed but rather a diligent and thorough approach.

While Charles was consumed by his thoughts, a recurring tapping noise broke his train of concentration. He swiftly turned around to see an otter using his metal helmet to pry open the shell in its grip.

Charles tried to ward it off with a dismissive wave, yet the otter seemed reluctant to leave. However, the moment it noticed the sparks of white electric arcs dancing around Charles, it quickly swam away.

Have these creatures not come across anything hard? There is an abundance of rocks here; can't they just pick any? Must they really use my helmet?

Charles then scanned the area, and much to his surprise, there were indeed no small rocks for the otter to use.

Ahem, I may have wrongly accused them. But why isn't there even a single pebble in sight?

Just then, he suddenly noticed that the previous otter that had swam away into the distance had disappeared without a trace.

Something's amiss!

Charles tensed up and was on high alert. He then swiftly scouted his vicinity. Finally, he stumbled upon a giant toad that was behind a dense cluster of seaweed.

Its skin was a stark contrast of black and red, and its massive mouth, seemingly as wide as its body, appeared to be munching on something.

The moment Charles spotted the toad, the creature had also noticed him.

Underwater, the toad took a different stance from its surface counterparts. The colossal toad immediately lunged at Charles, its tongue the size of a battering ram shooting directly toward him.

Despite the two hundred pounds diving suit on him, Charles remained agile. He effortlessly sliced the spindle-shaped tongue into two halves.

At the same time, realization dawned upon him. It didn't go after us earlier because we were stationary. It only targets things that move!

Of course, Charles knew he couldn't afford to let the toad flee. It would be troublesome if it escaped and got reinforcements. He decisively raised his steel prosthetic and aimed it at the giant toad. The grappling hook shot out with a trail of bubbles and embedded itself into the creature's wrinkled back.

With a series of clicks, Charles was rapidly pulled toward the giant toad.

The toad spread its limbs wide and opened its gaping mouth before lunging at Charles as if intending to engulf him entirely.

However, Charles had no intention of fulfilling its wish. Crackling sounds echoed as white electrical arcs danced along the chain to the toad's body.

The creature's bulky, bloated form started convulsing under the intense electrical discharge.

Die!

Charles landed in front of the monster and raised his Dark Blade, driving it deep into the brain with a powerful thrust.

He didn't stop even when the dagger was fully embedded. He applied more pressure until his entire arm up to the elbow was buried into the toad's brain.

With a forceful twist and turn of his arm, the toad's monstrous form began to slacken and ultimately became a lifeless corpse.

Charles pulled his arm back out to find it covered with a disgusting layer of white substance.

Suddenly, a series of splashing underwater sounds traveled into Charles' ears.

To his shock, what he had thought were white eyeballs on the toad's back began to squirm out of their positions. They were not eyes but rather hordes of large, grotesque tadpoles, and each was armed with sharp, serrated teeth.

The tadpoles, measuring over thirty to forty centimeters in length, aggressively swarmed toward Charles the moment they left their dwelling.

The relentless biting of the tadpoles made even the sturdy steel of Charles's diving suit creak. He could almost imagine the increasing damage they were leaving on his suit.

However, if the parent toad didn't stand a chance against Charles, neither did its offspring. With a burst of white light, the tadpoles instantly turned belly-up and started ascending to the water's surface.

Charles began his ascent as well. While he could get rid of the toad monster, he couldn't say the same for his crew. They needed to change their strategy.

Charles broke through the water's surface, and in his diving suit, he climbed aboard a massive lotus leaf. Just as he was about to remove his helmet, he halted.

The Narwhale was nowhere to be seen!

Charles turned around in bewilderment and found himself surrounded by endless lotus leaves and dense clusters of seaweed. There was nothing else in sight; he had been isolated.

"What happened? I had only been underwater for a short while, and my oxygen tube was still connected to the ship," Charles mused to himself as he hastily reeled in his oxygen tube.

To his dismay, he found its end neatly severed.

"The oxygen was still flowing through when I was fighting that giant toad earlier. Does that mean that the ship vanished while I was ascending to the water's surface?

"This doesn't add up! It happened too quickly!"

Standing on the lotus leaf, Charles pondered for a moment before he decided to remain where he was. He reasoned that his crew would initiate a search for him upon noticing his absence.

Without any coordinates or markings in sight, venturing about in this vast jungle of seaweed might throw him off course even further.

That had been Charles' resolution and plan, but the local inhabitants had plans of their own.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Soft, rapid footsteps echoed and swiftly closed in on him. Charles spun around but couldn't see anything.

The sound of the footsteps continued to intensify as it neared him rapidly until it seemed to overlap with his location.

He looked down in astonishment to find the sound coming from beneath the lotus leaf. Something was standing right under him, inverted.

Cosyjuhye's Thoughts

I don't like toads or frogs, and this chapter has successfully deepened my dislike toward them.