Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

Chapter 259: Chapter 254: Deep Sea Expert

Minas Tirith Port, at the crack of dawn.

Tristan strode down the long corridor, the parchment scroll in his hand rustling softly.

He pushed open the door to the study in the Lord’s Mansion. Velin was standing at the window, observing the distant sea.

"My lord, an urgent report."

Velin turned and took the document.

Tristan’s handwriting was neat, but the edges of the paper were clearly stained with sweat.

"Production in Mi Port has ground to a halt," Tristan said, getting straight to the point. "Even for jobs far from the coast, workers are starting to refuse to work. For the past five days, the enemy’s methods of sabotage have become increasingly varied. Last night, they used some kind of creature to ram the port’s bedrock. The entire city could hear the low thudding."

Velin flipped through the report.

The list of losses was long: three cargo ships sunk, two cranes destroyed, cracks in the breakwater, and the water supply pipe severed in seven places.

"What about the rumors?"

"They can’t be suppressed." Tristan’s tone, however, was not as heavy as it was at the beginning of his report. Instead, it carried a hint of admiration.

"The story about the ’lord angering the Sea God’ has spread throughout the city. But... strangely, only two stonemasons left this morning. That’s far fewer than I expected."

He paused before speaking from the heart.

"My lord, only now do I understand your foresight. If we had followed my idea and used a lie to cover up the truth, the moment that trust collapsed, ten times as many people would have left. Your honesty has instead made most people choose to stay and see what happens."

Velin set the report down and walked to the sea chart on the wall, paying no mind to Tristan’s praise.

His gaze fell upon the dense red marks, each one representing an attack.

Stabilizing public morale was just the first step. The real threat still lurked beneath the waves.

"What’s the word from Barrett?"

"He’s about to lose his mind," Tristan said with a wry smile. "After five consecutive nights on high alert, the garrison’s morale has hit rock bottom. Yesterday, Barrett requested to take a suicide squad out to sea and use alchemical explosives to lure them out."

"Absurd," Velin rejected the idea without hesitation. "That’s not bravery. It’s a suicide mission."

Just then, there was a knock on the study door.

It was Barrett, his face a mask of exhaustion and anger.

"My lord! We can’t just keep taking these hits!"

Barrett’s eyes were bloodshot.

The consecutive nightly patrols had pushed the experienced veteran to his limit.

"Even with rotating shifts, the garrison hasn’t had a decent night’s sleep in five days! Those damn things come every night, but we can’t even catch a glimpse of them!"

Velin watched him calmly.

"So you want to lead men out to sea to die?"

"It’s not a suicide mission, my lord." Barrett shot to his feet, planting his hands on the desk and leaning forward, struggling to suppress his agitation and exhaustion.

"This is about morale! My men aren’t afraid of dying. They’re afraid of this torture—of an enemy they can’t see and can’t fight back against! Rather than let fear and exhaustion crush them one by one, let us meet the enemy head-on with honor and courage!"

He took a deep breath, his tone becoming pleading.

"We need to counter-attack. Even if it’s just to show those villains hiding in the deep sea, and to show all the panicking people of Minas Tirith—that their garrison hasn’t been intimidated! We are still fighting!"

"A sacrifice like that would be more meaningful than being worn down to death at our posts!"

"Sit down, Barrett." Velin’s tone was firm, but there was no reprimand in his eyes.

Barrett’s chest heaved. He met Velin’s gaze for a moment before slowly sinking back into his chair, but his clenched fists betrayed his lingering defiance.

"We will strike, but not now."

Barrett’s expression grew solemn.

"Then what should we do now?"

Velin turned to face the two men.

"What we need now isn’t a warrior, but someone who understands the ocean."

As soon as he finished speaking, urgent footsteps were heard outside. A guard knocked and entered.

"My lord, someone from the Golden Sail Commerce Association has arrived by land."

A glint flashed in Velin’s eyes.

A moment later, Sea Wolf was brought into the council hall.

The veteran captain of the Golden Sail Commerce Association had shed his usual rough, pirate-like demeanor and gave Velin a formal crewman’s salute.

He was a tall, burly man, the scar on his face particularly conspicuous in the sunlight, but his expression was one of respect.

"Lord Velin."

"Miss Caroline sent me to confirm your safety. It seems... things are indeed not looking good."

He glanced around at the grim-faced Barrett and Tristan in the council hall.

"I didn’t see a single worker outside. That’s not like you."

Velin didn’t deny it. He pointed to a piece of rubble on the table.

"Do you know what we’re up against?"

Sea Wolf didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he walked over and picked up the piece of rubble, which had been brought back from the damaged breakwater.

He held it to his nose and sniffed it carefully, even lightly licking the stone’s surface.

A moment later, his expression turned grave.

"This is the scent of the ’Ship-Breaker’ Unas Tribe."

Sea Wolf put the stone down and dusted off his hands.

"My lord, you’ve provoked the most troublesome pack of mad dogs in the North Sea."

Back in the Lord’s Mansion, Sea Wolf sat at the long table in the council hall with a mug of ale in front of him.

Barrett and Tristan sat on either side, with Velin at the head of the table.

"The Multi-Armed Race."

Sea Wolf began, his expression grave.

"They’re an ancient deep-sea race that originally lived in the ten-thousand-meter trenches. Over the past decade or so, they’ve started harassing ocean-going ships with increasing frequency."

He took a sip of ale and continued.

"Their technological system is completely different from ours. They don’t use fire or metal. Everything relies on biological symbiosis."

"Biological symbiosis?"

Tristan asked.

"They can train sea creatures to be their tools and weapons. The destruction you saw earlier was likely caused by giant sea worms they’ve domesticated."

Barrett frowned.

"Then how do we fight them?"

Sea Wolf sneered.

"Fight them? My friend, do you have any idea what deep-sea warfare entails?"

"Three thousand meters underwater, the pressure can crush steel into a pancake. Even if you’re wearing the best diving gear, you wouldn’t last fifteen minutes."

"But them?"

Sea Wolf gestured toward the sea outside the window.

"That’s their home. They can stay on the seabed for months and then pop up right in front of you."

"The Unas Tribe is the most fanatical and stubborn branch of the Multi-Armed Race."

"Other tribes might compromise for various reasons, but not the Unas. Once they lock onto a target, they don’t care about the cost."

"For them to so stubbornly attack your territory, it can only mean one thing."

Sea Wolf looked directly at Velin.

"Beneath your domain lies something they are determined to have."

Barrett asked, unconvinced.

"There has to be a countermeasure, right?"

Sea Wolf spread his hands, his tone laced with helplessness.

"A solution? Either drain the North Sea or have a fleet capable of fighting in the deep sea."

He looked at Barrett.

"My lord, do you have one?"

Silence fell over the council hall.

Sea Wolf’s words made everyone realize the gravity of the situation.

This was a contest where the rules were completely unequal.

The enemy held absolute initiative on the battlefield, while they couldn’t even reach their opponent.

Just as despair began to set in, Velin, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.

"Excellent."

He looked Sea Wolf straight in the eye and asked a question no one had expected.

"Then what is it, in the deep sea, that even the Multi-Armed Race finds troublesome?"

Sea Wolf was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up with admiration.

"Ha! I knew you wouldn’t ask ’how should we fight them’."

He sat up straight again, his eyes flashing with excitement.

"My lord, now we can talk about the real ’deep-sea business’."

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