“Enemies?”

Watching the ugly fish ahead, the Monoceros school remained on high alert.

“Prepare to attack!”

The opposition was charging without hesitation, making it clear they weren't there for peace.

“Not even a dove of peace among them.” —

So, retreat was not an option. Though it seemed this was their first time facing an opponent with numbers as high as or slightly more than their own, Gar recalled how he'd typically mobbed prey.

...

Not long ago, Monoceros led the school in search of electric stone mines near the continent, while hunting for nutrition.

Land was now within reach—a thrilling conclusion Monoceros reached after several leaps above the water’s surface. The land sighted had transformed from a thin black line, to a noodle, and just recently, to a visible beach.

Given the Monoceros' speed, they'd likely reach the shore before the next sunset.

The distribution of electric stone mines was satisfactory, meeting the Monoceros' needs, even though the visible parts of vein concentrations were situated in hidden areas.

“What’s that?”

A dark shadow loomed from the left, charging towards the Monoceros school.

“Alert!”

Whether the Monoceros could hear it or not, in his mind, Monoceros supplemented his order with speech—a memory technique Gar used to prevent forgetting the past, though its effectiveness was uncertain.

The school dutifully followed Monoceros' command, forming a rudimentary defensive formation centered on Monoceros with its spearhead pointed towards the shadow.

As the shadow approached, its concealed elements began to reveal themselves.

Fish.

A lot of fish.

So many different fish.

Faced with this immense school of fish, Monoceros knew better than to confront them directly.

“All Monoceros dive to avoid the incoming school.”

The order received, the fish rapidly twisted their fins and tails, diving towards the seabed.

A dense mix of marine fish flashed above Monoceros as they reached the seabed. Various fish, along with other swift creatures Monoceros had never seen before. Yet, they all shared a common trait—panic.

They wouldn’t be rushing mindlessly unless spurred by great threats. Sometimes slower ones blocking faster creatures led to brief scuffles.

“What could have caused such panic?”

Curiosity piqued Monoceros, but...

“Best not to be too curious, lest I get dragged into something.”

Gradually, the number of fish overhead diminished, but the mysterious threat didn’t appear. Soon the biological group vanished beyond the distant water curtain, leaving faint traces of blood scent in its wake.

“Frustrating, why didn’t anything show up? Maybe it's a natural disaster. Common animals seem to have disaster prediction abilities—why haven’t I discovered such a skill?”

Bored and idle at the seabed, Monoceros slowly resurfaced after some time had passed since the creatures moved through. Seeing the main consciousness emerging, the other Monoceros began surrounding him protectively.

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Then...

“I’m an idiot.”

Monoceros turned to see a mass of ugly fish charging from where the others had come from. Clearly spotted, hiding was no longer an option.

“Seriously, why didn’t I wait a little longer? So annoying.”

Unable to hide, the Monoceros, given their military organization rating, prepared to fight (because they had no choice in hiding). Having undergone countless battles, they formed a formation most suited to their main attack skill—electric chain attacks.

There they were.

Monoceros could clearly see the enemy's densely packed, deadly mouths filled with teeth, easily gauging their attack power. Monoceros' mouths were not weak themselves, yet Monoceros focused mainly on electric attack adjustments, driven a bit by personal preference. Thus, Monoceros’ mouths excelled more in sharing and chewing large food chunks, rather than in attack—essentially omnivorous mouths.

And the others,

Piranhas.

This closest comparison came from Gar's limited human memory.

“In human memory, piranhas were extremely dangerous. I wonder who's stronger now, the Monoceros or them?”

As a fish, Monoceros considered things from their perspective.

A quick comparison revealed that piranhas excelled in speed and sharp teeth, while Monoceros matched in speed and held a decent electric attack. It seemed they were evenly matched, though Monoceros worried if the creatures had any special attacks.

Yet there was no more time to ponder, as the piranha school closed in. Both schools were hundreds, near a thousand strong. Piranhas were slightly more numerous, and while they had recently scattered many creatures into panic, they bore injuries, evidenced by the blood spreading through the water.

“Got to end this quickly before the blood scent draws more predators.” Monoceros gave a bittersweet smile. “But who can control the tide of war? This isn’t a battle of intelligent beings.”

Unlike Monoceros, the enemy wasted no time in thought. Smelling their blood scent diluted by the school’s rush, the piranhas charged the obstacles boldly blocking their path.

“Prepare for battle…”

Facing the piranhas' undisciplined but vigorous charge, the Monoceros were slightly agitated but thankfully not in disarray.

Contact ensued. Before the leading piranhas could bite the Monoceros, over a hundred Monoceros unleashed an electric burst, halting the piranhas' charge.

Then, the Monoceros from the rear swiftly slipped into the piranha ranks, embedding themselves like large nets.

After a brief electrocution, the piranha school began attacking the Monoceros around them.

Casualties mounted. One-on-one, Monoceros lagged slightly in attack power against piranhas. Despite the power of electric bursts, their frequency was too limited, and ordinary electric attacks inflicted minimal damage on piranhas.

“Damn, the electric capability still needs refining.” Seeing Monoceros struggling against piranhas in one-on-one engagements, Monoceros had to act. “All Monoceros, chain electric burst!”

A moment later, the Monoceros’ marine-decisive electric net emerged. Piranhas, who had dominated one-on-one fights, were paralyzed instantly.

But with the enemy density high, several still evaded the net.

Yet unlike most creatures who would flee facing such overwhelming electric strikes, the remaining piranhas, showing no fear, fiercely attacked the slightly drained Monoceros nearby.

“Damn, didn’t expect them to be this tough.”

...

After several cycles of pale blue flashes, the battle concluded, victory seemingly belonging to the surviving Monoceros.

Gazing at the few remaining Monoceros after the battle, Monoceros felt an immense sorrow. Who would’ve imagined that the accidental piranha encounter would prove so challenging? Most significantly, the enemy fought unafraid until the last fish.

Though pooling all surviving Monoceros to unleash a total energy-driven electric chain decimated almost all remaining piranhas, and the rest were dispatched collectively, only a few dozen Monoceros survived, all with injuries. Monoceros himself, aided by omnidirectional mental sensing, emerged unscathed but felt starving.

“Damn, I was careless.”

Victory was Monoceros’s, but at what cost? No useful components gained, just evolution points—dimmed by their losses.

“Hurry up and eat, then leave this place.”

Despite mourning the loss of hundreds of Monoceros, Monoceros had to ensure the remaining ones’ survival, ordering them to quickly satiate before leaving the dangerous waters.

“The battle’s root was curiosity—I hastily surfaced from the seabed, and had I waited to observe, the piranha school might’ve followed the blood scent after the other creatures.”

Guarding the surroundings, Monoceros replayed the battle in his mind.

“Then, assuming the piranhas would retreat like normal predators after such a heavy blow—an error of experience, leading the school into that charge formation. I should’ve known better.”

Rapidly chewing on piranha meat, Monoceros noted several predators kept at bay by the earlier electric network now cautiously advancing. Among them, a few emitted internal electric currents, approaching carefully.

Yet Monoceros wasn’t in the mood to ponder familial ties.

“Eat fast, damn it.”

“But, seems intimidation isn’t without effect; otherwise, these outsiders would’ve rushed in.”

He chuckled bitterly inside.

“A loss.”

The satiated Monoceros gathered around Monoceros, while the outer predators, drawn by the fish carcasses, began moving in. Some were part of the biological group previously chased into panic by the piranhas.

“Tch, we’re just gifting them with bounty.”

“Let’s go.”

With several dozen surviving Monoceros remaining, the shrunken school moved towards the nearby beach, behind them a growing throng rushing to the battleground.

A battlefield to seize fish carcasses.