In the days following the octopus’ attack, the ocean changed color to an eerie red. The attacks in the south intensified, so no additional backup could be spared in the north.

Since the octopus was not particularly aggressive and retreated soon after its arrival, it was considered a one-time incident, and the matter was put aside.

As for the mercenaries in the north, they grew more paranoid by the day. Their forces had already dwindled by around 30 people, but after the ocean turned red, many more ran for their lives.

‘We should’ve left too.’ Finn waited for a clownfish to land while contemplating his choices. ‘Even the director told us to run.’

The fish fell in front of him, and before it could snap its tail and retreat, Finn shot an arrow into one of its eyes.

‘Something is bound to happen soon.’

The clownfish wriggled back and forth until Tommy and a dozen other warriors encircled and finished it off.

“Is this edible?” asked Tommy while poking the dead fish. Despite its size and serrated teeth, the flesh looked quite normal.

“If you boil it, the water will turn purple,” explained the one-armed mercenary. “Eat it, and you’ll have diarrhea for a month.”

“Stop wasting time!” Junior shouted. “I have to do everything myself!”

The now buff dwarf ran towards a three-headed snake along with his second in command. He lifted his crystal above his head and released torrents of fire on the unsuspecting monster. Soon, the snake went limp, and the grinning dwarf rushed towards his next target.

Since their boss was doing the work for them, Finn’s group of twenty gathered around and simply watched the show.

“What’s the likelihood now?” asked Natalie.

“60%.”

Finn turned towards the two teams of archers and mages that Dominic had once led. They were now acting independently and helping out the various teams.

“Move your arses you lazy bastards!” Junior shouted while attacking a giant crab. “It’s kill or be killed!”

The boy’s excitement was definitely not contagious, but the teens started moving nonetheless.

“We can talk about this later,” said Finn. “Right now, we have a job to do.”

After their combat shift ended, the teens washed up, grabbed some food and regrouped in their tent. As always, Tommy stood up and presented his findings.

“We have good news and bad news, so I’ll start with the good: Marquis Flintbender is actually capable.”

“No shit. He’s the mayor,” one of Luca's warriors shrugged.

“No, I mean combat wise. He used to be the right-hand man of general Cyrus Goldbeard who is currently fighting in the north-west.

The general is guarding the border where the mountain range behind Trident ends, so he put his former second in command to guard the pass.”

“So, we aren’t necessarily doomed,” Michael nodded with the air of a sage giving his approval. “That’s good. So, what’s the bad news?” the sage asked with his mouth full of bread.

“We must kill Junior,” said Luca. “If we let him grow any stronger, then he will kill us.”

The room became silent, and the elf’s own teammates dropped their jaws.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Trent looked at his leader with furrowed brows and said “I know he messed up with the octopus, but that’s no reason to kill him, right?”

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Luca gave him a look while shaking his head.

“Junior is mutating into a monster,” Tommy explained.

“What? How? When?” The archer’s questions made his leader slap his own forehead.

‘Goddamn it Trent,’ Luca muttered before speaking out loud. “How do you think he got so strong and buff in a mere month? With the power of pushups and friendship!?”

“Ever since the clam incident, he has become increasingly powerful and unstable,” said Tommy. “To protect the lives within Trident, we must stop him now.”

“He’s backed up by the count,” Michael furrowed his brows.

“Then, we’ll have to do it in secret.” Finn stood up next to Tommy. “We’ve gathered here today to figure out a solution, and nobody is leaving until we do.”

“What about the officer that’s always with him?” asked Natalie.

Finn shrugged. “We’re going to have to get creative.”

“What if we fail?” asked Trent.

“Then, we’ll get killed by Dominic senior instead of junior,” Luca smirked. “If you ask me, that’s a win.”

When their shift came, the teens gathered with the mercenaries like normal. The beach was still wet and the ocean was red. An appropriate smell of iron permeated the air, but that was part for the course regardless of anyone’s plans.

That day, they fought a couple of single-headed snakes, a clownfish, and four crabs. Then, an oversized swordfish jumped through the bubble and embedded itself into the sand so deep it got stuck. Michael looked at it with such longing that one would think he’d try to eat it raw.

“There are fewer monsters than normal,” Luca whispered.

“Be patient,” said Finn.

Junior launched a huge ball of fire at the swordfish, roasting it on the spot. The ball was not quite at the size he used against the octopus, but it was close, and he did not seem tired afterwards in the least.

There were so few attacks on this particular day that Natalie and Annie had nothing to do but to stay back and give the creatures names.

“That’s an urchin murchin,” said Annie before the ball of spikes was roasted into oblivion.

“I’ll call that,” Natalie's snake suddenly burst into flames, “a shishkebab… snake? Finn, can you tell Junior to calm the f down?”

Because he was doing all the work, nothing was left for everyone else. Now, there were more than 150 witnesses who could mess up the plan.

“Hey, dumb dumb,” Luca tapped Finn’s shoulder and whispered “I say we call it a day.”

“Not yet.”

There was still time. Finn couldn’t remember a day when less than 50 monsters had showed up.

“Isn’t this too quiet?” asked Tommy.

As if to contradict his words, around twenty monsters attacked all at once. Tunas and other fish fell from the sky, several snakes marched from various points out of the bubble, and there was even a stingray with weird purple patterns floating above everyone's heads.

“Get in positions!” Finn shouted to his group of twenty. “Warriors, handle the snakes on the right. Archers and mages, shoot down the stingray.”

Natalie and Tommy left with a group of melee fighters each. In the meantime, the archers and mages shot towards the sky. Unfortunately, the stingray was fast, and all of their attacks missed.

“Mages, go assist the group on the left,” Finn adjusted the strategy. “Archers, shoot down the clownfish. Luca and I will go after the stingray.”

It was rare but not unheard of for groups to split up. It usually happened when there were too many monsters, and this could definitely be interpreted as one such situation.

After moving a few dozen feet away from the mercenaries, Finn and Luca shot arrow after arrow at the elusive stingray. Mercenaries from other groups were also aiming at the beast, but not one arrow or fireball had managed to hit it thus far.

“Now?” Luca whispered, and they both sharpened their senses.

“Now.”

The two archers armed their bows. Luca shot one arrow and Finn did the same.

Luca’s arrow twisted in midair and chased after the stingray. Finn’s arrow cut off its exit and the monster was hit.

“Another,” said Finn, and Luca shot one more. The arrow was somehow lost on the way, so he shot a third.

As much as the creature tried to evade, it could not do so forever. The third arrow struck its tail, and the fourth arrow pierced its head.

“It’s done,” said Luca and Finn answered “Good.”

They seemed to be looking at the falling monster, but that was not exactly the case. Beneath the bluish semi-transparent bubble which covered the city, there was now another bluish object flying from left to right.

It was as small as a pebble and was slowly turning purple. Despite Annie’s best efforts to drain the crystal of mana, it was of such high quality that it was recovering mid-flight.

Of course, Luca did not know magic, but he could exploit it all the same. Once an arrow left his bow, he could sense its location. The arrow was filled with mana or life force as he called it, and until that was extinguished, he could somehow control it to an impressive degree.

But what happened when his projectile kept absorbing mana? What if the second lost arrow he had supposedly lost was out there, and it would never lose its steam?

“Hey, Finn,” the elf whispered while they ran back towards their comrades. “Thank Annie for me.”

“Sure,” Finn nodded. “Will you teach me how to sense arrows?”

“No. Also, you should address me as Sir from now on. Or perhaps master? I’ll settle for genius. Yes, great genius Luca should be enough.”