Chapter 96: The Carcass City

  Murkwater did not look like a standard pirate haven or a generic, rotting swamp town. The sheer, overwhelming reality of the city hit their senses long before the skiff even touched the docks.

  The air was entirely thick and suffocating, absolutely heavy with the aggressive, nauseating stench of boiling blubber, rendering vats of monster oil, and highly concentrated saltwater decay.

  As the yellow fog parted, the architecture of the sprawling port revealed itself. The city wasn't built from simple rotting wood or stone; it was constructed entirely from the colossal, butchered remains of massive oceanic apex predators.

  Huge, multi-story taverns were built directly into the hollowed-out, heavily bleached shells of gargantuan Sea-Turtles. The main protective walls of the port were formed from the towering, jagged ribs of ancient, deep-sea Leviathans, driven completely deep into the thick black mud like an ivory palisade. Even the treacherous, winding roads beneath their boots weren't cobblestone; they were heavily paved with thousands of overlapping, iridescent, highly durable aquatic dragon scales that slicked dangerously in the damp air.

  "This is not a pirate town," Lyra whispered, her tactical mind entirely adjusting to the brutal, industrial environment as they stepped off the skiff. "This is a massive, unregulated Monster Whaling hub. They don't raid merchant ships; they hunt the absolute largest, most terrifying beasts in the Southern Ocean, drag them back here, and boil them down for their alchemical oils and enchanted bones."

  They navigated the treacherous, scale-paved boardwalks, actively avoiding the massive, dripping vats of boiling monster fat. Zeno walked with a heavy, completely unyielding, highly confident stride. His massive, incredibly dense, heavily spiked Rock Serpent gauntlets entirely fit the brutal, primal aesthetic of the city, effectively serving as an absolute, undeniable deterrent to any casual scavengers who eyed Lyra's silver pouch.

  Their primary objective was to entirely bypass the local processing gangs and directly secure passage on a vessel capable of surviving the treacherous, monster-infested Southern Ocean.

  They approached the massive, incredibly loud, heavily populated primary deep-water docks located at the absolute southern edge of the sprawling carcass city.

  The docks were completely dominated by a single, absolutely colossal vessel.

  It wasn't a sleek, fast-moving River-Skiff or a standard, heavy merchant galley. It was an incredibly massive, heavily fortified, brutal hunting galleon. The entire hull of the ship was constructed from incredibly dark, highly resilient iron-wood, reinforced heavily with thick plates of rusted, salt-stained steel to withstand massive kinetic impacts. Huge, heavy iron harpoon cannons lined the broad sides of the ship, completely loaded and ready to unleash absolute devastation.

  But the most striking, entirely terrifying feature of the massive vessel was its figurehead. It wasn't a beautifully carved wooden mermaid. Completely bolted to the front of the heavy iron prow was the massive, entirely real, deeply jagged, razor-sharp skull of a juvenile Sea-Drake.

  "That is a very angry boat," Zeno observed softly, staring entirely up at the terrifying, bone-white skull. "It looks exactly like it wants to bite the ocean."

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  Lyra’s emerald eyes completely narrowed, rapidly scanning the heavily armed, highly disciplined, heavily scarred crew moving across the massive decks.

  "It's a deep-sea Hunter-Killer," Lyra analyzed quickly. "It's exactly what we need. It's the only type of ship heavily armored enough to safely reach the Sirena archipelago without being instantly ripped apart by the local sea monsters."

  They walked confidently up the heavy, entirely reinforced wooden gangplank leading directly to the main deck.

  A massive, incredibly broad-shouldered man entirely blocked their path. He wore thick, salt-stained leather armor heavily reinforced with Kraken hide, and carried a massive, incredibly thick, solid iron harpoon casually over his shoulder. His entire face was completely covered in thick, twisting nautical tattoos.

  "The Leviathan's Rib is absolutely not a passenger ferry, land-dwellers," the massive harpooner grunted, his voice deep and entirely aggressive. "Turn around and go find a little fishing boat before I decide to test my aim on your skulls."

  Lyra didn't flinch. She completely engaged her street-smart, highly combative negotiation tactics. She didn't offer silver; she offered raw, lethal utility.

  "We aren't completely useless passengers," Lyra stated entirely firmly, her voice radiating absolute, unyielding ice. "We are highly trained, elite Vanguard contractors. We are entirely seeking passage to Sirena. We can absolutely pay our way in silver, or we can entirely act as heavy assault specialists for whatever massive beast your captain is currently trying to harpoon."

  The harpooner laughed, a harsh, completely mocking sound that echoed entirely over the loud, bloody docks. He looked incredibly down at the small, lean scout, entirely dismissing her speed. He then looked entirely at Zeno.

  "A tiny girl with toothpicks and a boy who thinks he's entirely made of rock?" the harpooner sneered heavily. "You'd both be completely instantly swallowed by a trench-crawler before we even cleared the delta. Get off my ship."

  He violently shoved Lyra entirely backward with his massive, calloused hand.

  Lyra stumbled, but Zeno instantly stepped forward, completely catching her safely.

  Zeno didn't roar or draw his blinding blue Tena. He didn't smile. His amber eyes entirely darkened into an incredibly cold, utterly terrifying, completely unyielding stare.

  "You completely shoved the needle," Zeno stated softly, his voice entirely devoid of its usual cheerful bounce, radiating a dense, heavy gravity.

  Before the massive harpooner could even begin to react to the shift in tone, Zeno acted.

  He absolutely didn't try to punch the man, and he didn't try to theatrically snap the thick, solid iron shaft of the harpoon like a brittle twig. He knew exactly how dense the metal was.

  Zeno simply reached out with incredible, highly explosive, entirely flawless speed. He grabbed the thick, solid iron shaft of the man's heavy weapon directly between his two massive, spiked Rock Serpent gauntlets, exactly where the guard was holding it.

  The harpooner grunted, actively trying to violently rip his weapon free, but Zeno’s monstrous Strength stat of 26 rendered him completely, entirely immovable.

  Zeno didn't let go, and he didn't bend it. He simply entirely squeezed. He applied absolute, terrifying, raw physical grip-strength directly into the center of the solid iron pole.

  The incredibly thick, forged iron didn't snap. It shrieked in mechanical agony as it actively crushed and flattened entirely under the overwhelming pressure of Zeno's grasp. When Zeno casually released his hold a second later, the perfectly round, solid iron shaft had been completely mangled into a flat, ruined ribbon of metal in the center.

  Deeply, flawlessly etched into the flattened iron were the exact, terrifying imprints of Zeno's massive, obsidian-spiked fingers. The weapon's balance was completely, utterly destroyed, ruined beyond repair by a simple squeeze.

  The harpooner completely froze, staring down at the deep finger-grooves physically crushed directly into his solid iron weapon. His mocking arrogance instantly evaporated, completely replaced by sheer, unadulterated primal terror. He slowly looked up at the massive boy.

  "I am the sledgehammer," Zeno stated entirely softly, stepping completely forward until he was entirely towering over the stunned, trembling monster-hunter. "And we are going to talk to your captain right now. Please entirely lead the way."