The Giant Claw

At this moment, Li Guanglong’s fleet was sailing through the fog belt in the depths of the Eastern Sea.

The leaden-gray clouds pressed low overhead, and even the salty sea breeze carried a metallic, rust-like stench.

He stood on the main deck of the Surging Wave, rolling a white jade chess piece between his fingers, staring at the horizon swallowed by mist. Three escort ships that had gone ahead to scout the route had been out of contact for half an hour, and the “safe channel” marked on the sea chart now lay as silent as a bottomless well.

“Your Highness, the water patterns are wrong.” The old helmsman beside him suddenly pressed down on the compass. The copper needle trembled violently, a layer of white frost forming on the rim. “This fog… it’s alive.”

Before his words faded, a harsh splintering sound came from the west.

From within the thick mist, a column of water shot upward. Through it, the half-wrecked hull of a ship could be glimpsed tumbling in the waves. Lanterns on its deck flickered twice like dying fireflies before being swallowed by the dark green sea.

“It’s Sea Patrol No. 3!” The lookout’s cry was tinged with terror. “It’s gone under!”

Li Guanglong clenched the chess piece so tightly that the sharp jade edges bit into his palm. He was about to order them to approach when the fog curtain to the east suddenly tore open, revealing the slanted underside of an escort ship. A gaping hole, more than three meters wide, marred its side --- the edges of the wooden planks twisted like wrung rope, as if crushed by an immense force. Seawater gurgled into the breach.

“There’s something in the mist!” The cry rose from the deck.

A flash of bluish-gray darted past in the fog, swift as lightning.

Then came the death cries of the second and third escort ships. The splintering crack of breaking hulls mingled with the soldiers’ screams, echoing through the fog-bound sea.

Li Guanglong suddenly noticed that the waters around the vanishing wreckage were slowly bulging upward --- as if a black mountain was rising from the depths.

“Launch flares!” He drew his sword, pointing toward the mist, his black battle robe billowing in the wind and revealing a silver-embroidered dragon motif.

Three sulfur flares shot skyward in streaks of sparks, the burst of intense light instantly piercing the fog.

In that brief illumination, all aboard drew a sharp breath. The sea surface was littered with dozens of broken planks --- each with edges so smooth they looked sliced by a giant blade. Even more chilling were the corpses floating among them: soldiers cut cleanly in half, armor and flesh severed alike, the cross-sections polished smooth like mirrors.

“What is that?” someone stammered, pointing at the rising swell.

In the bright glare, the bluish-gray “mountain” finally revealed its form.

It was covered in countless knobby protrusions, each the size of a fist, gleaming with a metallic sheen. Eight thick jointed limbs extended from beneath the “mountain” into the sea, their strokes raising waves three meters high, the barbed tips glinting an eerie blue.

Then, the “mountain” moved.

A black shape lashed out from the mist with a slicing whistle, slamming into the Surging Wave’s starboard side.

With a deafening bang, the three-inch-thick planking caved inward. Splinters flew, and in that moment everyone saw it clearly --- a massive claw sheathed in a hardened shell. The pincer gaped nearly seven meters wide, its inner serrations sharper than long sabers, opening and closing slowly, with fragments of shattered armor still caught between its teeth.

“It’s… it’s a crab!” The old helmsman collapsed at the wheel, pupils blown wide in fear. “A crab bigger than the ship!”

At that moment, the fog quietly thinned, revealing the full body of the giant beast. It was half the length of the Surging Wave, its blue-black carapace thick with barnacles like natural armor. Two bulging compound eyes, perched atop stalks, swiveled in place, glowing a bloody red.

Most terrifying of all were its two massive claws --- the right one’s edge shone with a dark golden luster, polished by years of crushing hard objects, while the left claw bristled with backward-pointing spines, dripping with viscous dark green fluid.

It slowly turned its massive body, beads of water rolling off its carapace to splash into the sea below. When those crimson compound eyes fixed on the Surging Wave, it felt as though an invisible giant hand had seized the entire ship. Even the wind stilled.

Li Guanglong’s grip tightened on his sword, knuckles whitening. Now he understood how the other ships had sunk — this crab demon hadn’t smashed them with brute force, but had sheared through their hulls like cutting tin with a pair of blades.

The monster seemed to sense his gaze. Suddenly, it raised its right claw and brought it down toward the Surging Wave’s mainmast.

As the air split with a shrill tear, Li Guanglong’s pupils contracted sharply. - Ton

For AUD discussions, to read novel from the start and get automatically notified of updates, we invite you all to join our Discord. Also, for those wanting to keep us awake while waiting for updates, you can buy us some Kofi. Links on upper right of our Blog Home page. Thanks and see you!

Also, even without update posts on FB, readers can check for updates thru the Blog's Table of Contents.