Welcome to Hell!

Chapter 165: Offshore battleship Assault – Sea Demons

Three days have passed since we received the mission briefing, and finally, the day has arrived for us to launch an offensive against the Republic battleship at sea. During this period, Imperial battleships had been steadily advancing northward from the south, heading for the port of Niuglo. It seemed like the Empire was concentrating its naval forces, preparing for a major assault.

To be honest, those battleships of the Empire left much to be desired compared to the Republic’s counterparts. While they had lavish decorations, their hulls were mostly made of wood. Only a small portion seemed reinforced with metal plates inscribed with spiritual circuits, but it fell far short in terms of size and defensive capabilities.

However, when it came to defense, it appeared that the Imperial spiritualist units were tasked with most of the responsibility. The reinforcement part seemed to serve as a precaution in case their defenses were breached.

“Is the Majin Regiment all ready?”

“””Yes!”””

Right now, not only was that man standing before us, but also the commanders of the other Demon units, including Decius and Marcellus. They too were armed and seemed intent on taking command on the front lines, just as Marcellus had mentioned.

Commanders accustomed to being on the front lines, like Marcellus, seemed composed as usual. However, some other commanders, including that man, appeared restless. It was a stark contrast to how he had issued orders to us before.

Perhaps he himself didn’t know until just before that he would be on the front lines too. After tossing us to the front lines with little regard and lounging in the rear, it seemed like he was now facing the consequences, huh? Quite fitting, I think.

Here, not only the commanders but also all the members of the Demon Regiment had gathered. While there were old demons, such as the crocodile demon and leech demon, with whom we had been involved in a brawl before, there were far more unfamiliar faces. This starkly illustrated the high casualty rate among demons.

“From here, the Demon Regiment will approach the enemy battleship from underwater and launch a surprise attack. The objective of the operation is to disrupt the enemy battleship’s attacks and, if possible, neutralize it.”

It appeared that, like us, the other demons had heard the details of the operation beforehand, as their reactions were subdued. Those who did react strongly seemed like rookies marching through their first battle; they exhibited not just surprise but also fear and apprehension.

Those who didn’t react could be broadly divided into two categories. First, there were those who were accustomed to battle and remained composed. The other group stared into the void with eyes that seemed to have given up on everything.

The former mostly consisted of older demons, including us, and it was clear that casualties often resulted from those who had given up. In that regard, I knew that I would never reach a point of giving up; after all, I bore the mission of surviving for a hundred years. This mission definitely increased my chances of survival.

“It’s not realistic for us alone to neutralize the battleship. Concentrate solely on destroying the enemy’s weapons, like cannons. Now, let’s move out. Anyone other than the aerial squad, follow me.”

Here, we temporarily separated from Farl and the others who could fly among us. She was the most skilled among those who could fly and would lead the special operations aerial squad. Before parting, she and her husband Gora briefly but firmly clasped each other’s hands.

Led by Marcellus, the Demon Regiment arrived at a corner of the Niuglo Port. There was something long and black that was floating. At first, I thought it might be a whale or something like that, but upon closer inspection of the faintly visible wood grain, it became clear that it was a wooden construct.

I strained my compound eyes and observed the black structure. Its overall shape resembled that of a toad, and its size was about one-third that of an imperial battleship. There were four door-like openings on top of it. It seemed like one could enter from there. Apart from that, there was nothing else attached to it, giving off a not-so-simple as meager impression.

“This submarine will be the key to our operation this time. One has been provided for each unit. Board this and…”

“Hahaha! Look who’s here, the clumsy bunch who can’t swim!”

Just as Marcellus was about to give orders, pointing to the vehicle he called a submarine, the sea’s surface began to bubble and churn. Right after that, something emerged from the depths of the sea.

What emerged was a demon of roughly the same build as Tigar. He appeared to be a shark demon, with his distinctively large mouth and a triangular cone-shaped head. There were webbed fins between his fingers and toes and a large triangular fin on his back.

As the shark demon burst out of the sea with great force, he landed on the submarine and grinned slyly. Following suit, about twenty different demons of various kinds leaped out. These seemed to be the former pirate sea demons.

Most of them appeared to be synthesized with fish, but some were mixed with octopus or squid creatures. Many of the demons found the sea demons’ slimy bodies, covered in suckers, and their wriggling limbs to be eerie, judging by the tense expressions on the faces of both men and women.

Originally, I was just a scorpion, so I didn’t find them particularly eerie. However, it seemed that these sea demons looked repulsive to those who had once been humans. Lappy and the other children averted their eyes and pressed their faces against my tail. Did the sea demons bother them that much?

What I cared about most was their strength, rather than their appearance. Unless they were concealing it cleverly, honestly, I didn’t sense any exceptional strength in the sea demons. Their abilities appeared to be easily within the reach of individuals in the middle ranks, let alone top-tier demons like Tigar and me.

At least the shark demon that leaped out initially seemed slightly stronger. However, even that was only a marginal difference. I felt like Julius, who was currently undergoing rigorous training, could probably defeat him. Unless they were in a situation that allowed them to fully utilize their underwater abilities, they were easy opponents. There was absolutely no need to fear them.

“Hahaha! Are you scared of us?”

“Well, well, are you frightened? Gyahaha!”

Perhaps aware of their generally repulsive appearance, the sea demons opened their mouths, bared their teeth, and moved their tentacles. It seemed like they enjoyed seeing others fear them, as they laughed heartily.

Following their antics, Marcellus let out an exasperated sigh, clapped his hands, and ordered them to be quiet.

“Enough of that. You guys are going too far. The guest spiritualist has asked us to overlook your antics, but excessive behavior won’t be tolerated,” Marcellus said.

“Hah! The Imperial soldiers, who wouldn’t stand a chance against a battleship if it weren’t for us, are lecturing us?”

“Isn’t it true that this operation wouldn’t even be possible without us? Why don’t you try begging on your hands and knees? Gyahaha!”

There was a reason why the sea demons could brazenly hurl insults at Marcellus. Apparently, Marcellus has been told by Kalervo to give the sea demons some special treatment because of their accomplishments in sinking many battleships.

Yesterday, Decius secretly told me that the reason Karelvo wanted to give them special treatment was because he was conscious of our existence. Apparently, Karelvo wanted his demons to achieve feats surpassing ours.

The special operation members created by Orvo were marked as failures by Karelvo and received the worst treatment. However, we were the ones who had achieved the most significant successes and survived. As a result, many had questioned whether we were truly failures from the beginning, and it seemed that the number of doubters was increasing with each passing year.

Karelvo didn’t take kindly to that, and everyone knew he consistently lobbied the Imperial Army’s high command to send us into dangerous battlefields. He probably looked at us, who survived every battlefield, with a mix of frustration and annoyance.

During those times, he heard about the sea demons achieving significant military feats, and he was pleased. Although the person who proposed the sea demons’ creation was different, what Kalervo focused on was the manufacturing method. What was crucial was that the sea demons, created through “his method” had played a significant role on the battlefield.

Subsequently, it seemed that the sea demons themselves began boasting that they were the most outstanding unit in the demon regiment. They requested better treatment than the other demons, and Marcellus received orders in that regard as well. Decius started grumbling that the difficult part about being a soldier is that you can’t disobey orders even if you weren’t subjected to enslaving spiritual arts.

Thanks to the preferential treatment and the person responsible for turning them into sea demons spreading the word, the sea demons seemed to be getting carried away. Even though they didn’t have abilities as exaggerated as what was being promoted… I think being overconfident is more dangerous than giving up on life, right?

“Oh? We’ve got a rather seductive lady for a demon.”

“We’ve got normal women too! And they’re all top-notch!”

At this time, the sea demons set their sights on us. They were eyeing Asumi and Sharl and the other female demons in our unit with a lustful gaze as if they were licking them. Their gaze was so intense that even I could discern the flames of desire flickering in their eyes.

The Special Operations unit instinctively shifted into combat formation, and the men, including myself, stepped forward to shield the women. Leading the charge were Zald and me, with Tigar and Linardo ready to intervene should the need arise.

“Tryna’ act all noble by protectin’ the ladies, huh? That’s rich… I wonder what they’d say if we took them right in front of you!?”

“Endure. Listen, bear with it.”

“Grrrr…!”

“Shhh…!”

Facing the sea demons, who were making vulgar remarks and laughing loudly, Tigar and Linardo seemed on the verge of launching an attack at any moment. I might have to resort to using the stinger on my tail to make them sleep if push comes to shove.

While the sea demons had been laughing for a while, they suddenly froze in their tracks. The reason for this was Marcellus. He had his palm outstretched toward the sea demons, his forehead showing a visible vein. Ah, so he was the type to go into a rage as well.

“I’ve told you before, enough is enough. I just mentioned that going overboard won’t be forgiven.”

“Grrooooh…!”

“Don’t get too cocky, you pirate-looking bunch. You were originally condemned criminals, and now you think you’re something just because you’ve achieved a little in battle.”

“You…!”

“Until the operation is over, I forbid any remarks from you lot. Also, any actions outside of my orders are prohibited. I won’t force compliance, but… rejoice; I’ll give you special treatment. Now, hurry up and get into position.”

It seemed Marcellus was genuinely angry, as he used his authority as the regiment commander to both silence their voices and restrict their movements. Turning my attention to Decius, I could hear him quietly lamenting about the trouble this might cause.

The reason for his concern was quite clear. There was a high likelihood of protests from Kalervo regarding how the sea demons were being treated. However, worrying about such matters could wait until we returned alive. With these thoughts in mind, we entered the submarine.

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TN: To the sea demons, Sharl and the other female demons of the spec ops unit appeared as normal women because they can transform back and forth so they had their normal form that made them look like humans. If you forgot, all the other demons made by Karelvo can’t transform; so they look like demons permanently.