The northern beach was quiet, the only sound the crash of the waves against the sand. Lex Thorne's fifty thousand warriors lay hidden in the dunes, their weapons drawn, their eyes blazing with rage.
They'd been cooped up for weeks, getting hit from the shadows by the moles, unable to hit back. They'd had enough. Finally, they had a target they could see. A target they could hit.
When the first of the Tide Pact's ships came into view, the signal went up. The warriors roared, charging out of the dunes, arrows and fireballs and lightning bolts flying toward the ships. Mermen and merfolk surged out of the water, tridents in hand, screaming as they charged the land warriors.
The battle erupted. For the first time in months, the Conquest Legion's warriors got to fight. They cut through the merfolk, they burned the ships, they blew apart the archers on the decks. The Tide Pact's vanguard was falling apart fast, their forces retreating back into the water.
The Conquest Legion's general laughed, wiping blood off his sword. "That's it! That's all they've got! Those sea rats are nothing! We're gonna wipe them out in an hour!"
The merman leading the vanguard watched from the water, a small, amused smile on his face. These land lubbers. They thought this was a real fight. They thought they were winning. They had no idea what was coming.
He shook his head. These idiots only knew how to charge in with brute force. No strategy, no planning. This was too easy.
But then, he heard a roar. A deep, earth-shaking roar that made the water vibrate. He froze, his head snapping toward the sound.
Wait. That wasn't his roar. That was…
Three massive storm dragons descended from the sky, their scales crackling with lightning. The merman's eyes went wide. He knew what that meant. Salt water conducted lightning. If those dragons hit the water, every single one of his men under the waves would be dead in ten seconds.
He turned to run, but it was too late. The dragons roared, and the sky turned black with storm clouds. Lightning rained down, slamming into the water, the electricity spreading through the waves, frying every merfolk in the water. The ships caught fire, the wood burning to ash, and within a minute, the entire vanguard was gone. Bodies floated to the surface, charred and still.
The Conquest Legion's warriors cheered, raising their weapons. Victory! They'd won!
Then, the ocean exploded.
A massive, mountain-sized claw burst out of the water, slamming into the beach, crushing three hundred warriors in an instant. Then another claw, then the rest of the beast. A giant terror crab, its shell glinting with gemstone light, its eyes blazing with rage, its body so big it blocked out the sun.
It roared, a deafening sound that shook the ground, and charged.
In the monitoring spire, one of the examiners stared at the screen, his mouth hanging open. "Wait. That's a Terror Crab! That thing's Rank 5! How? The strongest follower any of these gods have is Lex, and he's only Rank 4! Where did a Rank 5 follower come from?!"
Headmaster Valerius leaned back in his chair, a small smile on his face. "Finn Marrick. The leader of the Tide Pact. He gambled. He brought a Rank 3 peak Terror Crab into the tournament, along with a horde of support followers. The rules don't cap follower power below Rank 9, remember? So when he got in, he fed the crab all his other followers. Forced it to break through to Rank 5."
The examiner blinked, frowning. "Wait. He fed his own followers to a crab? That's insane! That's a suicide move! He threw away almost all his followers just to make one strong one?"
Valerius chuckled. "He guessed the tournament would turn into a free-for-all. He bet everything on this. He brought gem fish, too—their bodies boost resistance and power when eaten. And sound bubbles, to stabilize the crab's energy while it evolved. He spent the last six months feeding the crab, letting it grow, hiding it under the waves. Now he's got a Rank 5 beast that no one can touch. Rank 3 attacks don't even scratch its shell. Even Rank 4 can barely hurt it."
He shook his head, smiling. "That kid's got guts. He bet everything on this. If it works, he wins the whole tournament, gets to apprentice to the War God, moves his family up to the top tier. If it fails? He loses everything. It's a hell of a gamble."
The other examiners stared at the screen, watching the crab tear through the Conquest Legion's warriors, its claws swiping, killing hundreds with every blow. The warriors were running, screaming, trying to get away, but the crab was too fast. It was unstoppable.
Lex Thorne got the report ten minutes later. He froze, staring at the messenger, his eyes wide.
A Rank 5 crab.
He'd heard of the moles, he'd dealt with the moles, he'd thought that was the worst thing that could happen to him. But this? A giant, unstoppable crab that no one could hurt?
He rubbed his temples, his head throbbing. This was just perfect. First the moles, now this.
He knew how this worked. That crab's shell was immune to anything below Rank 3. His Rank 2 followers couldn't even scratch it. His best Rank 4 followers could barely do any damage, and even if they could, the crab could just run away into the water if it got hurt. He had no control spells, no way to trap it. No way to stop it.
He sighed. There was only one way to deal with this.
"Send the order," he said, his voice tired. "We don't fight the crab. We ignore it. All units, focus on killing the rest of the Tide Pact's followers. If you see the crab? Run. Got it? Just run."
His men nodded, rushing to relay the order. Lex slumped back in his chair, staring at the map. This was a disaster. His alliance was falling apart, the moles were hitting him from the shadows, now there was a giant crab running around killing everyone. He couldn't catch a break.
---
Thirty miles away, in the underground fortress, the three clan leaders were staring at the report, their eyes wide.
A Rank 5 giant crab.
Korg's mouth started watering. "Dude. That's a giant crab. Like, mountain-sized. How long do you think that would feed us?"
Gromm nodded, leaning forward, his eyes glinting. "Man, that's perfect. We haven't had seafood in months. We could do half steamed, half spicy hot pot. That'd be amazing."
Lirael held up a hand, frowning. "Wait, hold on. Don't get too excited. I heard that thing ate gem fish to get that strong. Its shell is fire and ice resistant. It's a real Rank 5. We can't just charge in there, we need a plan."
The room went quiet for a second. Everyone stared at him, then nodded.
Right. He was right. They couldn't be careless. Even if it was just a crab, it was a Rank 5 crab. They needed to be careful.
Then Lirael grinned, his eyes lighting up. "But you're right. Steamed crab is the best way to eat it. Fresh from the sea, you know? If we leave it on the beach too long, it'll get tough. The meat'll go bad. We need to go get it now, before it dries out. Grab the pots! Grab the spices! Tonight, we're having seafood dinner!"
The whole fortress erupted into cheers. Warriors dropped their tools, grabbed their cooking pots, grabbed their knives, cheering. They'd been eating grain and bread for months. A giant crab? That was a feast.
Gromm laughed, slamming his fist on the table. "Hell yeah! Let's go! I call the first leg! The legs are the best part!"
Korg roared, grabbing his axe. "No way! I call the claws! The claw meat is the juiciest!"
Lirael rolled his eyes, grinning. "Quit fighting over it. There's enough for everyone. It's a mountain-sized crab. We've got enough meat to last us a month. Now move! Before the crab gets away!"
They rushed out of the fortress, their men following, cheering, already talking about how to cook the crab, what spices to use, how to split the meat. They didn't care that it was a Rank 5 beast. They didn't care that it was unstoppable to everyone else. To them, it was just dinner.
---
In her private viewing box, Laia Hayes stared at the scrying screen, watching her followers rushing toward the beach, their cooking pots in hand, and groaned.
She'd just heard about the giant crab. She'd been worried, at first. Worried that the crab would attack her followers, that they'd get hurt.
But no. Of course not. They were going to go fight the crab. To eat it.
"Are you kidding me?!" She moaned, slumping back in her chair. "I told you guys to lay low! I told you to stay out of trouble! And now you're going to go fight a Rank 5 giant crab! Just to eat it! What is wrong with you guys! Now Finn's gonna be mad! Now he's gonna come after me! I just wanted to open a sandwich shop! Why does everything have to turn into a war over food?!"
She buried her face in her hands, groaning. She really should have seen this coming. Her followers were always doing this. They'd start a war over bread, they'd attack a giant crab just to eat it. They were like a bunch of hungry toddlers with superpowers.
In the monitoring spire, Headmaster Valerius watched the three clan leaders rushing toward the beach, their cooking pots in hand, and chuckled.
He'd been wondering what they'd do about the crab. He'd wondered if they'd avoid it, if they'd work with Lex to take it down.
But no. Of course not. They were going to eat it.
He shook his head, smiling. That girl's followers. They were always hungry. They'd fought a war over bread, now they were going to take down a Rank 5 beast just to have a seafood feast.
He leaned back in his chair, watching the screen. This was going to be fun. He couldn't wait to see what happened next.