Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 152: Crush Them!

Under the sea.

The Fishmen resembled swollen, twisted frogs.

Their upper bodies had ugly fish heads with massive mouths, while their limbs were thin and frail.

If they stood on land, they would struggle to stay upright.

But in the water, they used the webbing between their claws to swim swiftly.

For some reason, despite being called Fishmen, they did not have tails like fish.

Instead, they had four limbs, and their bodies were covered in scales.

The group of Fishmen gathered in a crude camp, where many Fishmen miners were busy digging with pickaxes.

Their thin arms and legs were clearly not suited for wielding pickaxes, and the tools themselves seemed too large for them.

Yet, the Fishmen tirelessly dug into the seabed with enthusiasm, even though there was no overseer present.

From within the distant coral thickets, pairs of cold eyes watched these busy Fishmen.

"They’re still the same, inexplicably busy, fanatically mining," Nini muttered to herself.

"Should we collect some ores while we’re at it?"

"There’s no need," Ash said in a flat tone, though the fire of vengeance burned in her eyes.

"Our target this time is those black serpents, don’t get distracted."

"Where are those serpents? I don’t see them."

Ash did not respond.

She simply stretched out her hand and pointed toward the distant seabed.

"Huh?!"

At first glance, the seabed appeared to be nothing but ordinary sand and rocks.

But upon closer inspection, there was a barely noticeable ridge, like the roots of a plant pushing up the earth.

In a few places, sand and gravel had fallen away, revealing a slow, wriggling corruption beneath.

It was indeed like a series of long serpents, serpents that had grown within the seabed, sinking their fangs into the ground, with their tails stretching off to unknown depths.

"Hiss... Why are they so huge? I thought they’d be at most the size of a whale, but I can’t even see where they end! Can something this long even be considered a creature?"

Ash cast Nini a glance.

"Do you remember the entity pollution we stockpiled? It instinctively clumps together.

These should be similar."

After speaking, Ash raised her hand, signaling for the others to quiet down.

『Alright, everyone sees the polluted serpents, right? The closest spot to us is... there.』

She pointed toward the nearby mining site.

Two teams of Fishmen were stationed there, one mining, the other patrolling with crude weapons.

『We charge in that direction. First, we eliminate these two Fishmen squads together, then we each complete our assigned tasks. Understood?』

『Understood!』

The Sirens prepared themselves.

With the help of the others, Una finished donning her armor and secured her pack.

Ash stood at the front, the other Sirens following behind, surrounding Una in the center.

The Sirens gripped their weapons tightly.

Most of the Castel Sirens wielded spears, human-sized spears, which in their hands were merely short spears.

The shafts were a bit too thin, so they wrapped cloth around the grips for better handling.

But Ash was different.

She wielded six long blades, each perfectly sized for her grip.

Hughes had commissioned a blacksmith to forge them specifically for her.

Since Nini was constantly building steam engines, production capacity was stretched thin, so they had to make do with traditional craftsmanship for now.

『Prepare.』

The Sirens coiled their serpentine tails against the ground, gathering their strength.

Ash crossed her arms, shifting all six blades to one side of her body, this was the optimal stance for slashing attacks.

The coral reef where Ash and the others stood was at a higher elevation, with the mining site below them.

The water here was not deep.

Dappled sunlight streamed through the surface, casting rippling patterns onto the seabed.

Beneath this clear light, the Fishmen swung their pickaxes.

Suddenly, the light was blocked.

Huge shadows fell upon the sandy floor.

『Crush them!』

The Fishmen looked up and were met with blinding sunlight and the glint of cold steel!

The Castel Sirens descended from above like meteors plummeting toward the ground.

By the time the Fishmen noticed, the Sirens had already filled their entire field of vision.

Their tails lashed out with explosive force, propelling them forward with the strength of steel.

At the forefront, Ash channeled power from the tip of her tail, through her waist, driving her body into a spinning motion.

The momentum surged into her six arms, sending her blades slashing forward.

A flash of cold steel.

The Fishmen was neatly sliced into pieces.

Sirens descended like divine beings, plowing through the stunned Fishmen.

The Fishmen had no time to resist, not even time to react.

As they stood frozen in shock, Ash’s blades had already cleaved through them.

The Sirens that followed behind shattered their remains, scattering chunks of flesh into the sand, where they were crushed beneath serpentine tails.

From the coral reef to the mining site, the entire seabed was plowed through.

Blood mixed with disturbed sand, forming a murky cloud.

The Sirens moved so swiftly that the turbulent water behind them seemed like a storm propelling them forward.

Wherever they charged, space was cleared.

It wasn’t that the Fishmen dodged, but that their bodies had been chopped to pieces.

Sirens, embodiments of death and destruction, towered over the Fishmen, their massive figures reflected in their prey’s eyes, only to be shattered by flashing blades the next instant.

In mere moments, the Sirens reached the side of the Polluted Serpent.

Ash spun half a circle in the water, rising above the Sirens and Fishmen.

She flicked the blood and flesh from her blades, six arms holding swords that pointed in all directions.

Against the sunlight, the Fishmen couldn’t see her expression.

The cold gleam of her blades stung their eyes.

"Kill."

Ash uttered a single word.

Her voice wasn’t loud, yet it exploded like thunder in the hearts of the Fishmen.

Five towering Sirens responded instantly, sweeping out in all directions.

With the swing of six arms, neither the Fishmen, the coral, nor their camp could withstand the rampage of these terrifying reapers for even a moment.

Nini stretched out her arms, with spells forming in each hand.

Like an elegant dancer, she wove an intricate symphony of magic with her six arms.

The Fishmen’ will to resist lasted only a moment.

As the Sirens reached them, they threw down their weapons and scrambled desperately to escape, flinging their own kin behind them to clear a path.

『Una!』

『Collecting now!』

A ripple surged around Una as she activated her Flesh Barrier.

She pulled out a dagger with two hands and stabbed at the Polluted Serpent, while her remaining hands opened her box and retrieved containers.

The serpent’s skin was thick and tough.

Even as Una used all her strength, her dagger barely left a dent.

No matter how she slashed or cut, she couldn’t pierce its defense.

『Move aside.』

Without hesitation, Una sidestepped.

Ash’s long blade came crashing down from above.

With a sudden burst of force, her sword sliced through the air past Una’s ear, carving a gash into the serpent’s flesh.

Immediately, several spears were thrust into the wound.

A few Sirens shouted in unison, tearing it wider.

Una dug into the wound with her dagger, carving out a chunk of black, writhing flesh.

She felt no fear, her Flesh Magic shielded her.

Without hesitation, she pressed her hands against the pulsating mass and shoved it into a bag.

Two hands secured it, while the other two swiftly tied the bag shut.

Then, she tossed it into the container on her back.

『Ash, I got it.』

Una looked up, only to find Ash frowning, gazing into the distance.

The surrounding Sirens also had grim expressions.

Following their gaze, Una saw massive black whirlpools of pollution rapidly expanding.

『Everyone, regroup! Prepare to break through!』