Master Of None

The orders from Leon and Scylla went out to rest up and begin to prepare. The previous night no one had to worry about the monsters underwater. They were nothing to worry about and the merfolk and demi-humans underwater could scare them off without fighting. But the river snappers were different.

They liked to live in water that came back and turned on itself which was exactly where the ship was headed. There were no rapids, the water had long worn away the stone of the earth to become deep at this point. But there were twists and turns left from many years of traveling the path of least resistance.

This lets the waters form wells of slow moving water ideal for large schools of snappers to make nests and breed. The monsters were known for their sharp teeth and willingness to eat whatever came near them. Adding in the nighttime, they would go in to a frenzy where they would try to eat as much as possible before they would go back to the deepest parts of the slow water during the day.

"So you want us to use fire magic to heat the water? Will the ship be fine?" Scylla had told the water mages that they were more or less useless here since the biggest problem was the monsters that would live in the water and easily resist their attacks. But she had gathered the leaders of the fire mage groups and anyone else that could use fire elemental attacks.

"Hey, don't go trying to make it sound like it won't work. I have fire to punch these things to pieces to let me roast some fish." Remey was understandably annoyed that Walker was trying to make it seem that fire was not the answer. But it was mostly him wondering why Scylla wanted to take this route.

"There will be many of the river snappers here. They are an important, but dangerous, food source. If we were to harm the nesting beds then it would cause a lot of issues. The other generals in charge of the other ships will be in the same position. We have this area marked." Scylla pointed out the three major bends in the river on the map she had been following.

"This place here should be where the most have made their nests. It is the largest bend and it is where the most food for them will get trapped or try to hunt for their own food. Don't think that you can easily beast them in the water, they are great swimmers and easily prey on their own predators." Leon ensured that this warning came across before Scylla continued.

"They eat the fisherman that fishes them up but the fisherman can still eat them. It's a monster that fits prey and predator. If I fought them in a war it would be very hard to counter them at all times. But they have more value." Scylla looked annoyed.

"I know that you are not as used to focusing on the extra issues and prefer battle. Let me take that in to account." Leon was going to step up. He had to focus on his people more than he was on the battle aspect of things. This was the perfect compliment to Scylla's battle forward personality.

"The portion of river we are on can become a great place for us to provide Genesis with fresh monster meat all year long. It will be a place where the merfolk can make a solid business home. Most of the sentries at any outpost would be merfolk here." Hearing Leon's plan for this section of river was exactly what Scylla had wanted to get at. She was sure that this would be the ideal for this situation. She also would have preferred to just eradicate the monster dangers if she didn't need to worry about these things.

"I understand, it has a better purpose to leave the monster nests there than to beat them and completely get rid of the danger. That being said, we will take some so that we can create some dried river snapper. Then we will head toward the next bend." Scylla put the plan flat. She looked at the fire mage and Walker closely.

"I will need you to create flames that spread out over the top of the water and force them to swim lower. They can not damage the metal of the ship but will definitely attack it if the water is not too warm for their liking."

"So what would I do? Just stand around with my knuckles on fire?" From what Remey saw, she would be useless.

"No, river snappers can jump. That's why the dragonkin are choosing places to stand around the ship. We want you on the very front. When they jump we want you to burn them to a crisp before they can even yet close. It will be where the most of them jump out of the water." Scylla grinned like a devil while explaining this. It was a simple way to say that she was going to make Remey fight the most out of anyone.

"Pfft, fine. I'll do it if it's that important. Better me than him since he has to heat bathwater." Walker wasn't sure what he had done to be brought in to it but could only look at Remey bewildered.

"I can use my fire arrows but I would lose a lot of them. I think it will be the best for archers to focus on the larger river snappers. We can defeat them and use them to distract the smaller ones with some food." Scylla nodded to Gil who immediately left to let the other archers know. Eh was not going to alter this path.

"Otherwise, we will need the healers ready to heal burns. The dragonkin may resist the fire and so can the mages, but there will not be an absence of injuries." This was aimed at Su and Alice. Leon could tell that Su was going to be unable to defend everyone. However, Su had made her knowledge of healing clear to the world. She could supply the proper guidance and materials to whoever needed to wrap or begin protecting their wounds. Mixing this with Remey's potions, Su was like a dedicated doctor.

"We can heal as we go or we could focus on a position for the injured to return to." Alice was much more relaxed while speaking here. She had taken on a serious role as the main leader of any healing effort. Walker could only be proud of how she spoke out easily. Her courage had only grown by the day since she had found that she actually held a different bloodline and a bond with a grand elemental spirit. She realized she had strength and that she would more than catch up with those she cared for. She was not a weak link.

"Good, we will allow a separate space at the center of the top deck for that. I want those with light wounds to move to healers as soon as they happen. It will be a potion intensive process but it will be worthwhile to prevent larger injuries." Leon let Alice and Su leave to take this over.

"Now, go and found your positions. Walker, you will remain with Remey. The two of you are the leading team that will keep the front safe. She will remove the jumping river snappers and you will start a path." Having the two of them work together with the fire elemental mana was also the best method to ensure that things went better.

When  Remey used her body with a grand fire elemental spirit to enhance her flames, Walker could piggyback off that. From there, the waters would heat faster allowing for the few fire mages to do even more work with less effort. It was a mana saving plan that could be used during the longest of battles. And seeing that Scylla wanted everyone to fight through the night, she didn't even have to say why she chose this method.

"Then we move in to place. The sun is nearly set and we are on the cusp of the bends." Walker glanced at the sun as it sank below the riverbank. He knew that the night would be long and that everyone would be very tired afterwards.

"Oh, and have Midnight partner up with those that have to switch out because of injuries. I want her to be a roaming attacker. She can heat the water and deal with those that jump. It will be better to have her moving. Onyx can assist as well since he will have a longer reach with his tail to defend the ship." Scylla gave this last instruction before moving to ensure everyone made it to their positions.

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