Chapter 52 - A Desperate Rescue

  I'd been too slow to act. There was nothing I could do for the hapless victim they'd already killed, but there were still four more people there in immediate danger. Them, I could still save. These creeps had kept five of their prisoners out of lockup and already killed one of them, so I had to assume they intended to do the same to the others.

  I flew forward through the water, but my Flight spell wasn't fast enough. It let me glide through liquid in a way that was very stealthy, which was a plus, but the time for sneaking around was past. I needed speed, not secrecy. I kicked my legs as hard as I could and startled myself with how fast I shot forward. Two more kicks, and I was doing a decent impression of a submarine, churning up the water behind me into an angry froth.

  The power generated by each swimming stroke or kick was directly proportional to the amount of effort put into the movement. The more work I put in, the faster I went. With all the Strength crystals I had socketed, I could put enormous power behind each movement of my body. I gave it everything I had.

  I was about a hundred meters away, but once I got moving, I crossed the gap in seconds. The water behind me filled with bubbles and turbulence. Every lobster in the camp knew something was headed their way. They all dropped what they were doing and turned to face me, spears at the ready. As I crossed the final dozen meters, four of the giant crabs erupted from the sand. They had been hidden there, subtle defensive measures. The lobsters had taken steps to ensure this place remained under their control.

  It wasn't going to be enough.

  When I hit their ranks, it was with the force of a thunderbolt. The impact of my arrival smashed through their fighting line, sending lobsters flying in all directions like bowling pins. I skidded to a stop, my boots slipping along the sandy bottom as I engaged my Flight power to slow me down. The lobsters recovered fast and turned to face me.

  I dug my feet into the sea floor and brought my hands together in an enormous clap. The sweeping motion sent a shockwave of compressed water rushing toward the creatures, bowling them over a second time. One of them had dropped his weapon, so I snatched the spear up and went to work.

  The crustaceans were faster underwater than they had been on land, but I was swifter than the last time we'd fought, too. I stabbed the spear straight through the first, then whipped it back out and struck a second. Two more were closing from my left side, so I fired off a Gust of Wind in their direction. The spell actually created a pocket of air underwater and then sent that bubble flying straight into the lobster's faces at great speed, knocking them backwards.

  Now they were all around me. More of the creatures had stormed out of some of the smaller structures and raced to join the fight. The giant crabs were only a few seconds behind them. I jumped off the seabed and spun myself in a tight circle, whipping the spear around me. It broke the first three crustaceans in half before it finally gave up under the abuse I was putting it through and snapped.

  "Well, that was nice while it lasted. Time to switch tactics!" I said.

  I rushed in and attacked them at close quarters, using my fists to smash the first one in the chest so hard it shattered the thing's carapace. It collapsed backward. Two of the things tried to grab each of my arms. I swung them together hard enough that both of them simply crumpled under the impact.

  Then the giant crabs were there. I couldn't just fly them up and drop them, this time. I was going to have to deal with the creatures the hard way. One of them rushed me, both of its large claws extended. I stepped into the charge and grabbed each of the claws. The crab kept coming, trying to push me over. I shoved back. The thing's eye stalks shot straight up when I was able to drive it backwards several feet across the sand.

  Then I switched my grip, moving both hands to a single claw, and pivoted hard. With a swift, jerking motion I lifted the monster above my head and dropped it like a battle axe directly on top of a second crab. The noise was crazy and the impact sent sand spinning up into the water clouding things, but I saw shattered bits of shell floating clear, too.

  Those two weren't dead, but they were out of the fight, at least for the moment. That still left two more crabs, not to mention a couple dozen additional lobster warriors.

  Some of the lobsters were making for the human prisoners, probably intending to use them as hostages, and I couldn't allow that. I jumped and engaged my Flight again, landing directly between the creatures and their would-be prey.

  "No fair, going after the unarmed targets," I called out. I doubted they could understand me, but making a few jokes during the fight was helping me keep my shit together. I turned to the prisoners. "You need to run. Head to the building where they lock the others up. Don't worry, I'm going to get you all out of here."

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  "Who are you?" one of the captives asked, her eyes showing a flicker of desperate hope.

  "My name's Castle. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish these critters off."

  I knocked back the oncoming lobster warriors with another Gust of Wind, but I needed to be careful about using that spell. Between it and my Flight power, I was burning mana faster than I liked.

  Thankfully, there was no shortage of loose weapons, now. I'd killed over a dozen of the lobsters. Their spears drifted along the seabed, slowly shifting as the current moved them. I snatched two of the weapons up, sending them plunging toward each of the giant crabs. Those were still the major threat, so I wanted to take them down fast. Both spears embedded themselves more than three feet into the crabs bodies. The creatures staggered back, badly wounded but not killed.

  With the bigger threats all critically injured, I returned my attention to the lobsters. They were the ones in charge. The crabs were some sort of servant animals. It was the lobsters running the show. Take them down, and this battle would be all but over.

  I rushed a cluster of six of them, snatching the spear right out of the hand of one and stabbing it through the heart of another. With a combination of my fists and the spear, I decimated the rest of that band, then turned to find more approaching.

  Finishing the broken remnants of the crustacean defensive force only took a few more minutes. When it was done, every lobster and crab guarding this horrible place was slain. I looked at the half-devoured body of one of the human prisoners where it lay on the seafloor and grimaced. I hadn't been fast enough to save him. But I'd helped a lot of others. That was something.

  Impossible fury filled me. I flew forward through the water directly at the nearest of the shell-topped structures. I needed to make sure there were no more enemies around before I tried bringing their prisoners back to land. But when I ripped the door off its hinges, there was nothing living inside. The building was some sort of barracks, with a dozen nests made of seaweed and shell that I suppose were probably the creatures' beds. Channeling some of my rage, I ripped the roof off the building and sent it skidding across the seabed, then shattered the walls as well. I did the same to each of the smaller buildings in turn. There were no enemies waiting inside any of them, but I tore the structures apart anyway.

  I wanted to ensure this place was never used for anything like this ever again.

  Finally, I turned to the three long structures, the only buildings left. I paddled my way over to the four I'd rescued.

  "The danger's over, for now. I'm going to make sure we've pulled every prisoner out of this place, but then we're going to get all of you back to land," I said.

  The four of them look shell-shocked, and I couldn't blame them. They'd seen magic and monsters arrive on Earth, been captured by giant crustaceans, hauled into an ocean as prisoners, and then watched one of their fellow captives be eaten in front of their eyes. And they had to be having the worst day ever. Two of them were openly crying. One just stood there dazed.

  The woman who’d asked me my name before came up to me. “Thank you. I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

  “You can help me get these people out of here,” I replied. “Come on. Let’s check the buildings, see who’s inside.”

  There was a metal lock on the door. I ripped it off, then opened the door to peer inside. It…wasn’t pretty. There were over two hundred humans crammed into the space. It looked like all the worst images I’d seen on YouTube about chicken farming. You know, the videos showing animals practically living on top of each other? Yeah, that’s what I found.

  These captives were stashed in a space that might have comfortably held fifty people, packed in so tight they could barely move. It was easily one of the worst things I’d ever seen.

  “Hey, folks. My name’s Castle. The lobsters are dead. I’m here to get you to safety.”

  At first, they didn’t want to believe me. They didn’t want to leave the building. Word had spread about what it meant when their captors took someone out; there were enough cracks and gaps in the walls that they’d seen the fate in store for them.

  The woman I’d asked for help stepped up, though. She told them it was safe, helped ease the first few out of that dark hole and onto the sand. While she did her thing, I went and opened the other two long tents. Each of them were packed with similar numbers of humans, all of them equally terrorized.

  I felt sick, seeing it, but the folks I’d rescued were sobbing with relief. That took a lot of the horror away.

  Other people from the other prison buildings took over organizing their people, getting them into groups, counting everyone, and got them ready to move out. While they did that, I went through the battlefield and grabbed the crystals from the monsters I’d slain. The crabs were all tier five, and dropped two Natural Armor stones, a Strength, and an Agility. Those were the big find of the day, because those two Natural Armor stones merged into a single tier six, which combined with my other tier six to make a tier seven, which in turn merged with the tier seven to create a single tier eight crystal—my first one!

  I stuffed the remaining stones into a pocket with my other ones and returned to the crowd of prisoners. They were milling about, and I cupped my hands to my mouth and raised my voice to be heard as I flew up a few feet for better visibility.

  “Folks, I’m Cameron Castle. I’m going to guide you all out of here, but we need to move fast. I killed the lobsters guarding this place, but there will be more here before long. We can’t stay. If you are sure we have everyone, it’s time to go.”

  The idea that more bad guys might be coming was just the ticket to galvanize them into action. I showed them which way was north, and the whole convoy moved out, slowly marching their way along the seabed. It turned out the lobsters made them all carry rocks to keep them from floating back to the surface, and it was decided they’d hang onto the things, at least for now. With the crowd on the sea floor, I could swim above them and keep an eye out for predators. If they were all shooting to the surface, I’d have a much more difficult time protecting them all.

  There was one final thing to do. As the freed prisoners set out toward the north, I went back into the camp and shattered the tents, destroying them entirely. Now, there was truly nothing left of this camp. I felt a small sense of satisfaction in knowing I’d ended this disgusting place, at least for the time being.