Chapter 155.2

It was hard to guess exactly how strong the creatures were now that they were dead, but just by looking at their massive size, it was clear they were monsters comparable to mythical beasts.

All the wizards gathered here were among the more powerful ones even within Parsha, but dealing effective damage to that monster alone would not have been easy.

"Could it be, the successor of Carmine? Seeing how he was brought along even before Meisa, just because the battle was in the water."

"He looks young too. It might really be true."

"At this rate, I wonder if all the heirs of the Great Houses will gather here in Parsha."

Ignoring the murmuring voices coming from behind, Turan reported the recent developments to Meisa.

Since he had been chasing after them almost all day, a heavy fatigue was evident in his voice.

If it were about confronting them head-on, it would have been a different story, but pursuing and killing the fleeing Great Sea Serpents was truly not an easy task.

"They’re not on the same level as the one we fought before, and they’re a bit weaker than Armania, but they're still annoying. In the sea, it would feel like fighting an average Family Head-level wizard."

"I see......."

"Especially for you, since you have poor compatibility with the sea."

In the past battle with the undead Great Sea Serpent, they had been able to fight it at the shoreline because the beast had lost half its sanity and was rampaging like a natural disaster. But against a Great Sea Serpent that deliberately hid itself underwater, there would not be much Meisa could do.

Electricity disperses meaninglessly in water, and there is no wind under the sea.

After sharing this information, Turan turned his gaze toward the nobles Meisa had brought.

"Everyone, thank you for coming so quickly in this urgent situation."

"It was nothing!"

"Glory to Parsha!"

Though they had always shown enough respect to their Family Head, the sight of two dead Great Sea Serpents lying behind him elevated their admiration even further, beyond what they thought was the limit.

Pointing at the Great Sea Serpents, Turan explained the situation to them.

"These were originally mermaids. Recently, they have acquired the ability to transform into giant sea serpents and have been harming humans. I am sure you all have heard the story that Carmine has been greatly suffering because of them."

"Ah, that was......"

"I just heard it was because of sea magical beasts."

While everyone was surprised to learn that those giant sea serpents were originally mermaids, they focused even more intently on Turan's next words.

Their Family Head would not reveal such secrets without a good reason.

"This time, I pursued them and managed to kill a few, but there are still many creatures with similar powers left in the North Sea. Therefore, I am issuing a ban on maritime activities around Ophen for the time being."

A maritime ban.

Although Kalamaf was a considerable trade center even by land routes, blocking sea routes could potentially cause significant economic damage.

However, none of the nobles gathered here dared to voice any opposition.

Who would have the guts to request the reconstruction of the harbor when such gigantic monsters could swarm in at any moment?

After confirming that everyone showed their obedience, Turan nodded and said,

"First, let’s clean up this area. Push aside the collapsed buildings and start by collecting the corpses."

"Uh, Family Head. There is something I wish to ask."

"Hmm?"

A noble from the northern Falen family cautiously raised his hand to request permission to speak.

"What should we do with the body of the magical beast... the sea serpent? Should we perhaps process it into a magic artifact, and thus preserve it......?"

"Just leave it be. It will be difficult to process by conventional methods, and it would be of no use anyway."

At Turan's words, all the nobles of Parsha wore puzzled expressions.

It was common knowledge that the corpses of powerful magical beasts retained some strength even after death.

Of course, they were weaker than in life since the magic power had drained out, but even so, they were vastly superior to ordinary materials.

Seeing their confusion, Turan decided not to explain in words but to show them through action.

He drew his longsword and cut off one of the Great Sea Serpent's teeth lying right beside him.

"Here."

"Eh? Um......."

The noble who had caught the tooth that Turan had thrown in surprise let out a groan as he soon saw the tooth melt away and disappear.

"As you can see, these creatures' bodies are not real. Once separated from their main body, they disintegrate and vanish. I only brought this to show what had attacked this city."

Turan did not bother to add further, but in truth, even killing these things would not allow them to absorb their power in the form of magic.

It was just like killing a powerful Dark Elf necromancer would not yield any significant strength from its corpse.

The same was true for the dwarves and most other non-human races; killing them usually did not provide much benefit.

"Now, let's get moving."

After a while, the nobles of Parsha, who had arrived expecting a grand battle, found themselves beginning the clean-up work that was usually reserved for knights or commoners.

They completely demolished half-collapsed buildings and recovered the bodies that had been crushed or scattered all around.

"We didn’t come here for this kind of work......."

"Shh, the Family Head is working too. Be quiet."

Just as said, although Turan was exhausted from chasing and killing the Great Sea Serpents all day, he did not hold back from working.

Using Telekinesis Magic, he extracted dozens of corpses at once and laid them in a neat line on the open ground, eliciting gasps of admiration from some.

Such a feat was not possible merely through strong magic power; it required superior mastery over the magic itself.

Meisa focused on demolishing and clearing the damaged buildings that Turan had extracted the corpses from.

With a few sweeps of the Wind Blade through the twisted columns of the half-collapsed structures, the buildings fell in an instant. Thanks to her perfect control of the surrounding air, not even a speck of dust was raised during the collapse.

Seeing this, the other nobles also did their best, projecting whatever magical ability they had, and by midday, the ravaged Ophen was somewhat tidied up.

"The one ruling this place was House Jerojen, correct?"

"Yes, Family Head."

"Identify a close relative with succession rights and ask if they have any intention of taking over the city. Not now, but after we have completely eradicated the Great Sea Serpents, we will need someone to rebuild and govern it."

No one expressed opposition to his decision.

After all, the prospect of ruling a city that might not be rebuilt for who knows how long, starting entirely from zero, was too distant and uncertain.

Once the clean-up had finished to a certain extent, Turan addressed his subordinates in a solemn tone before departing.

"All of you, remember the sight of this place. It is the spot where the enemies from the sea massacred our families."

Using Earth Shaping Magic to construct graves, Turan learned that exactly 6,217 bodies were buried beneath the ground.

Considering the original size of the city, the number that had been crushed beyond recognition or sucked into the sea to become fish food would have been several times that.

That was the blood price Parsha needed to remember from this battle.

*

The sudden assault by the Great Sea Serpents and the story of the Family Head who repelled them brought two emotions to the vassals belonging to House Parsha.

A fear that giant enemies could trample their cities at any time, and a sense of reassurance that a mighty protector could repel them.

Because of this, families that had previously sent weaker, near-branch-line nobles to Parsha began sending more powerful heirs closer to being successors, leading to a farcical situation.

They judged that it was safer to remain under Turan’s command in Kalamaf than to stay within their own family estates.

Travelers passing near the now gigantic grave that was Ophen City would gaze at the massive corpses of the Great Sea Serpents laid along the outer walls and spread tales of their terrifying grandeur everywhere they went.

Some pathetic wizards ignored the rumors that the corpses were useless and came searching for anything they could possibly salvage, but they only ended up realizing the miserable truth that with their feeble strength, they could not even pry off a single scale.

As Parsha, having suffered a severe blow, began to solidify its sense of community more firmly, an unexpected guest arrived from the north.

It was none other than the House Carmine, who had recently been defeated by the Great Sea Serpents and had retreated inland.

"I have come to see the Family Head of Parsha."

"Welcome."

Turan, seeing the envoy who came on behalf of Carmine, felt a complicated tangle of emotions within.

Jemel Carmine.

The father of Onil, whom Turan had once killed and impersonated, and one of the vessels for the gods ruling over Carmine, smiled gently as he spoke.

"I have heard that your great prestige has spread widely across the world. Especially against those powerful and wicked Great Sea Serpents, we must shamefully admit that they forced us to temporarily abandon Avacha and retreat."

The image of him sternly scolding Onil with a solemn face still lingered clearly in Turan’s mind, but now seeing him bowing and flattering like a sycophant made Turan wonder if he was even the same person.

Was there no hesitation in bowing his head to someone far younger, who was not even a divine being but merely a human?

Perhaps, as Renaud had once done, the god had temporarily handed over the body’s movements to the human shell.

Unaware of Turan’s thoughts, Jemel continued to flatter diligently and then brought up the main point.

"The head of House Carmine wishes to propose an alliance with the Family Head of House Parsha. To stand together against those wicked sea serpents."