Headed by a Snake

Chapter 648 Stolen Valor

?Ishmael picked up a Tyrion pilum and casually hurled it, spearing the offending Titanblood through the mouth.

Not even granted a chance to scream, the body collapsed onto the sands.

"Nicely done," Tycondrius nodded.

The shadow waved as if to say it wasn't anything worthy of praise.

Tycon looked on in amusement as the lime-green Coral Boy began to drag his body towards the ship.

"Sea god's... socks," Krysaos cursed. "What the hells is that guy doing?"

"Refusing to die," Tycon answered. "Respectable."

Another of the creatures, shirtless and with dozens of holes pockmarking his rocky, peach-colored skin was running towards them. He flailed his arms, carrying an axe and a military pick-- "MOVE OUTTA DA WAYYYYY!!!"

Tycon and his companions obediently moved, allowing the screaming monstrosity to run past. The fellow ran over the injured gentleman, stomping his back as he ran with unnecessary cruelty.

"WE'Z NEED A BOOOOST!!!!" The runner screamed-- assumedly to his companions.

One of his peers immediately dropped to his knees. The running Coral Boy bounded off of the kneeling gentleman's shoulder... and crashed into a group of half-a-dozen Titanbloods, hacking, smashing, and cursing.

The display was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Tycon turned back to the injured Coral Boy.

Undeterred, he was continuing his long and arduous crawl to the ship.

Krysaos jogged over, "Hey guy... need some help?"

"NAH!!" The Coral Boy shouted, "WE'Z GOT IT!!"

Pushing himself forward, he splashed into the shallows.

...and grew still.

Krysaos turned back with a frown, "He looks like he offed himself, didn't he?"

Tycon pursed his lips. He had a sinking feeling that there was a better reason for the Coral Boy seeking to submerge himself.

After a few seconds, the Coral Boy stood up... and wrenched his own head to face it forward.

"WE'Z GONNA GIVE IT ANUVVER GO!!!!" He screamed-- his volume drowning out the horrified, slightly feminine scream of Captain Krysaos.

...Ishmael picked up a fallen weapon.

It wasn't a sword. It was... a flat hunk of steel, leathers wrapped at the bottom for a grip. It looked like it was designed to have an edge... but with the way the Coral Boys swung their weapons so haphazardly, that was largely unnecessary.

The shadow handed it to Krysaos. Krysaos offered the hilt to the Coral Boy. The Coral Boy took it and sprinted full speed back towards where the fighting was.

"He didn't answer your initial question," Tycon mused.

"These guys... are immortal," Krysaos muttered.

"It appears each 'Coral Boy' has increased regenerative abilities when directly exposed to sea water."

Tycon had seen a similar effect... one shared by cultivators of the Sea Wolf Hidden Sect.

It was very plausible that these creatures... also... belonged to that organization?

They weren't cursed humans that could transform into Abyssal Sea Wolves... but High-Captain Langhai was open to recruiting non-human seafolk-- especially ones with regenerative abilities.

Ishmael pointed at another injured Coral Boy attempting to move towards the waters.

"Ooh, yeah," Krysaos whistled. "That guy's f*cked up."

The blade of an axe stuck in its back, the haft broken off... and somehow both of its arms were broken. It was digging the tips of its feet into the sands, and pushing forward-- making distance at a pathetic pace.

"That one should be able to answer your questions, Captain," Tycon offered, while Ishmael nodded eagerly.

"Oh, right."

Krysaos jogged half-heartedly towards the critically injured Coral Boy. As he maneuvered around the battlefield, he had to dodge two Coral Boys that ran past him holding what appeared to be a loaded ballista... and he had to dispatch a greatsword-wielding Titanblood with the help of Tycon's ?Commander's Strike.?

Finally, he made it... "Hey, you!"

"If... if'n ye wanna get yer cunt kicked in," The Coral Boy grunted... "Ya'll hafta wait in a queue!! ...but only after we'z get new set o' armor."

"Wow," Krysaos recoiled his head. "F*ckin' rude, guy."

Tycon cupped a hand over his mouth to shout across the distance, "Ask him who's in charge!"

"Oh, right," Krysaos gently tapped the Coral Boy with his foot, "Who's in charge o' ya's?"

"In charj've us?!" The Coral Boy snorted... and spat... what appeared to be a small jellyfish, "Dat'd be TWELVE O' TWELVE!!"

Tycon took a deep breath.

The name was... very familiar. One of the Sea Wolf Lieutenants under High-Captain Lang Hai was named Eleven of Seven.

They were introduced as a sentient Coral Golem that wore a skin of metal armor... but it seemed more likely that he was the same species as the Coral Boys.

With the naming sense, they could have been related?

...Tycon vaguely remembered hearing that Eleven of Seven had relations with a sea parasite that had attached itself to the hull of The Unfortunate.

Had that coupling produced... offspring?

He shook his head. He'd ask later.

"Captain," Tycon shouted, "Let us board the Neptunia!"

...

It did not take long for the trio to find the Captain of the Neptunia... or former Captain, anyroad.

The corpse was showing advanced signs of decay-- though with the undead magic about the island, Tycon could not discern when exactly he perished.

The young gentleman had been run through by a spear, a thick, curved blade was stuck in his shoulder, and he had been disemboweled by a bladed weapon.

It was just enough to kill a Sea Wolf.

As a credit to his training, he still tightly held onto the hilt of a heavy saber-- its blade snapped near its base.

Unless Tycon was proved otherwise, he would assume he died well.

"Requiescere in pacem," He whispered a prayer in the Holy Country's old tongue as he thumbed the Marine Officer's eyes closed.

"Nice," Krysaos propped the body up and began to remove his clothing, "Gonna wear this-- gotta find the hat, though."

For a second, Tycon was taken aback at the Captain's callousness... then he realized that the dead man's thick military coat would provide the man better protection than his current attire.

"Have you heard of the concept of 'stolen valor,' Captain?" He asked.

"Nah, what's that?"

"No, nevermind," Tycon smirked.

To that end, he removed the insignias that would have marked Krysaos as a Sea Wolf Lieutenant.

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