"Neven!" exclaimed a mage, and before the people could react, he and his companions had already summoned a water elemental at a rapid pace, and the next moment, with the agility rarely seen among mages, they jumped out of the ship and landed on the huge elemental creature shaped like a drop of water, and then drove the docile creature into the distance.

The mages fled without a fight than expected, but when they realized what that meant, almost all of them felt a visceral fear - they knew very well that the power of these two mages, an existence that would make the latter unable to even raise the courage to fight, would be a great disaster for the fleet.

"Crossbow bolts ready!" Despite foreseeing their possible end, the people decided to fight for their fate, and the commanders of all the ships invariably chose the only weapon that could pose a threat to the enemy in the air, and under their command, dozens of crossbow arrows, enough to penetrate a medium sea ship, flew out of the string and flew towards their targets.

That creature was of course not the real Naven, after merging with the shadows, Rhaegar unexpectedly discovered that in addition to maintaining the original strength, Cato's body with shadows and no fixed form characteristics could be transformed into any shape, this simple change in appearance could not hide from those who had keen insight, but it was enough to convince those mages who were only seventh-order.

Cato's conjured monster vibrated its wings and nimbly dodged the bolts fired into the air, an attack that seemed to enrage it, and with a roar that shook the sky, it began to fight back even more violently.

Blazing flames burst out of Cato's body in an instant, enveloping its body, and the next moment, the monster swooped down like an arrow, piercing through three ships in a matter of seconds, and then flew into the sky again, and behind it, a raging fire ignited on the attacked ships, and the sea water continued to pour in from the large hole that had been knocked open, dragging its prey to the bottom of the sea little by little.

"We can't defeat it," Baron Sock gasped at the flagship of the escort fleet. The aged fleet commander quickly made a decision, "order all the ships to stay, and be sure to entangle this monster," he commanded, "tell the merchant ships to flee separately, and hope that good luck will follow them." ”

A few minutes after this order was given, a fireball hit the flagship's command module, and the baron, along with his loyal men, was reduced to ashes in the fire.

It was an easy warm-up for Cato and the Rhaegar who controlled him, but for the fleet of the Kingdom of Solai, it was a true massacre, and when the two surviving merchant ships escaped the sight of the terrible monster with bruises, the caravan had no other life left.

With the sun shining on the deck and the warm sea breeze blowing the sails, the sailors were in the same good mood on such a beautiful afternoon: after a few months at sea, one day they would be able to return to their hometowns, reunite with their families, and enjoy the feeling of being on the ground. For these explorers who have been on the seas for many years, never knowing if they will be able to return after leaving, there is nothing more appealing than this. Some of them were already thinking about what they would do back - the deal was going well, everyone had made a fortune, and with the ship full of precious goods from another continent that they had snatched along the way, they could get rid of the high-risk industry they were now in.

This sentiment of the sailors infected even the commanders of the ship, neither the captain nor the first mate, who were less stern than they had been before, and no longer shouted orders to the sailors to go to work, as before, but allowed the latter to lie lazily on the side of the ship or lie on the deck, which seemed to them to be in no danger in a place less than a day's voyage from the coast.

- They were wrong.

As the captain of the pilot ship stretched his waist and prepared to return to his cabin, a huge figure covered in raging flames crashed into his ship against the surface of the sea, and as the sea frantically poured into the ship, which could accommodate a hundred and fifty sailors, the figure had already passed through all the ships that followed it, and then flapped its wings and flew high into the air.

At sunset, five ships burning and slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea, they will become one of the many ships that have sunk in this area, and in a few years, no one will remember them except for those who are interested in archaeology or trying to dig up treasures, just like the ships that were ransacked by their manipulators and sunk to the bottom of the sea.

In the space of a month, the once peaceful and peaceful Sea of Coriano had been transformed into a terrible grave for passing ships, with hundreds of ships, thousands of sailors, and the loss of property enough to cover the tax revenue of any coastal country, all of which plunged the kingdoms and city-states around the Sea of Corieno into deep unease. To their horror even more, it seemed as if the sea was just the beginning, and that very day after the last fleet was attacked, the monster that had attacked the fleet—now, as it was known, was called Neven—openly broke into a harbor, sank several ships, destroyed several houses, and swaggered out in front of the mages who had arrived.

This act of near-blatant provocation angered and terrified the king and lords. From the information of their ancestors, they fully understood how terrible this monster was, and if it had not been for the agreement made with it to pay it a tribute of treasures and send a large amount of food every year, so that it would not actively attack passing ships, the surrounding area of the Coriano Sea would never have developed to the prosperity it has today, and now, obviously, for some reason, this agreement can no longer restrain this monster.

Salence closed his eyes slightly, leaning back on the bed in his luxurious cabin, recuperating for the upcoming negotiations. His long diplomatic career has given him a good temperament that is indescribable to emotions and moods, and no one can tell what is going on in his heart from his face. "Salence statue" was the name given to him by his peers, but the nickname was not just a reference to his face, which had never had a single expression, but more to his character: no matter what the situation, Soley's chief diplomat never lost his cool.

In spite of the fact that the coastal city-states and states of Coriano had always regarded each other as rivals because of trade and territorial conflicts, they sat together for the first time in the face of a common threat to discuss solutions to the immediate crisis, and it was the result of this discussion that led to the action of Salenste, who had been chosen by the king and lords to be the negotiator for a new agreement with Neven, who seemed to them to be no one up to the task.

However, only Saranst himself knew how terrified he was at the moment of his appointment. He can calmly face the bloodthirsty savages, he can laugh and laugh with enemies who share the hatred of his country, and he can bargain with the most difficult opponents, but all on the premise that he is negotiating with intelligent beings who share his desires and sanity, not a monster who cannot communicate.

"Here we are. A mage said from outside the door of Saranst's cabin, the sound of magic coming to his ears clearly. It was the leader of several mages sent by the kings, and the most powerful spellcaster they could muster, but he and his companions were not tasked with destroying Neven, whose ancestors had written a history in their blood, to the rulers of Coriano from thinking about it—but to protect Saranst and summon the monster.

When Salence walked out of the cabin in high spirits, he seemed to be the calm and confident foreign secretary he had once again, but if one looked closely at his eyes, one would find a faint panic and uneasiness in it.

On the bow deck, the mages had completed their preparations for summoning, and they were surrounded by a strange pattern composed of dense magic symbols, which was designed according to the agreement between the rulers' ancestors and Nevin, in this magic array, several sheep were firmly tied to the hooves of the sailors and fell to the ground, bleating restlessly.

"Let's get started. Taking a deep breath, Salencher said to the leader of the mages - if he fled back like this, he would be greeted by the gallows of the angry kings, and there might be a chance of life in dealing with that terrible monster.

The instructed mages formed a circle along the magic circle, and at the signal of the mage leader, a sailor slit the throats of the sheep with a sharp knife, put the blood flowing out into pre-prepared containers, and then delivered them to each mage.

Led by the leader, the mages holding the container full of blood began a long and obscure chant as they slowly and evenly poured the blood from the container in their hands into the magic circle. Driven by the spell, the gurgling blood crawled towards the symbols as if they had come to life, and attached to the symbols painted with special magical materials, and after ten minutes, all the symbols were already covered in blood, and the next moment, the blood-red light rose from the magic symbols and went straight to the sky.

By this time the ancient summoning ritual had come to an end, and the mages silently stepped aside, their mission accomplished, and it was time for Saransd to perform.