Chronicles of Arya

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Isaac should create a list of the unbelievable monsters he'd seen in the last year.

He peeked through Eiko's spyglass to see the Leviathan charging toward them.

The size of the Leviathan was almost unfathomable as it jumped and dived in between the surface of the water. From what Isaac could see, the Serpent could wrap itself around this ship five times over.

It had blue scaly skin that glistened and shimmered under the sunlight. A long stretch of dark blue dorsal fin followed its body up to its tail, which was the most fish-like thing about it.

Its head was similar to the ship's figurehead, which was appropriately named the Leviathan. It had a long snout, decorated with hundreds of fangs in its maw. Its two whiskers on each side gently blew around, as if they were still underwater. The monster regarded the ship with its red beady eyes.

"To arms!" Eiko shouted. "All men to arms!"

The whole ship was in chaos as they scrambled to get their weapons ready. "Signal the merchant ships to slow down. We'll be charging in towards the Leviathan first. If we are defeated, they are to retreat."

"Yes, Captain!" A sailor shouted as he made his way to the rear of the ship where the merchants could see him.

"Meng!" Eiko shouted. "I trust you on the helm. Follow my command, understand?"

"Loud and clear!" Meng shouted back as she gripped the wheel.

"Good. Now bring us port side, full sail!" Eiko said.

Meng didn't argue. She spun the wheel so much that the boat jerked to the left and the wind brought them up faster. The only one who was thrown off balance seemed to be Isaac as he tumbled onto the wooden floor.

"The beast beckons!" The sailor from the crow's nest shouted. "Three hundred meters!"

Eiko rushed to the stairs that led to the cargo hold below deck, where their cannons were lined up. "Cannons at the ready! On my signal!"

Isaac found himself staring at Eiko in amazement. There's something about watching a Captain being in control that mesmerized him.

"If you're not gonna do anything, I suggest you go below deck," Meng said as she gritted her teeth. "We can't afford to fight the Serpent and save your ass at the same time."

Isaac felt like kicking himself in the head. He'd just been standing still watching his friends do all the work while he's done nothing.

Not wanting to be a burden, Isaac went over and helped a few of the crew who were struggling to pull a rope to hoist a cannon above deck.

"She's within our range!" The crow nest sailor shouted. Isaac looked over the railing to see the Leviathan was close by.

"Should we slow down?" Meng asked.

"No!" Eiko shouted as she climbed the main mast using the rope ladder. "Full speed! We're going to ram this thing back into the depths!"

"She's gonna ram her, Captain!" The crow nest sailor shouted.

"Everybody brace!" Eiko shouted. Everyone crouched, steadied their footing, and held onto something to avoid being thrown overboard by the impact.

It was probably just five seconds, but Isaac felt like it was longer than that as he waited for the impact to come with every beat of his heart.

He held tight onto the railing and closed his eyes. At first, there was nothing.

Then it all came crashing at once.