?On the lake beside the capital, half of John's fleet was still battling the Frogman's pirate fleet while the other half continued bombarding Dritzuut's wall.
Nogg led players from Everlasting Heavenly Legends and their merfolk companions as they traveled underwater.?Those players had Underwater Propeller Magic Scrolls, so they had no problem keeping up with the merfolk.
Nogg activated a skill that emitted an aura that caused all aquatic monsters below his level and grade to move away from his vicinity. This allowed his company of merfolk and players to move unhindered.
The water vibration carried the sound of explosions happening above the water. They also saw occasional flashes from above which were also caused by those explosions. John's fleet was firing blindly into the fog so most of the shots missed and hit the water instead.
Nogg shouldn't have trouble identifying the frogman's flagship. Their two races were ancient enemies so they understood one another. Frogman's flagship was not only the largest but it was also connected to several smaller ships that made it unique compared to other ships. The weird shape of that flagship should be easily identified even from under the water.
The players who followed Nogg also sent John the coordinates of the enemy ships they passed through. This allowed John to direct the fleet to fire at these coordinates. The ships at these coordinates would surely move away once they were hit so it wasn't a permanent solution, but it was better than nothing.
The players underwater also constantly updated their coordinates to Water Lily who was guiding the guild navy. This way, Cipher Flight's guild navy didn't get lost in the fog.
As they were advancing, Nogg's underwater eyes perceived a group heading toward them. With his sea dominance aura still active, he could be sure that this group was not aquatic monsters of the lake.
The group revealed themselves to be a large number of frogmen. Some of these frogmen carried guns and harpoons. These frogmen immediately fired their ranged weapons once Nogg's team came into range. Several others started casting spells. The remaining which held melee weapons continued onward.
"Spread out!" Nogg ordered. The team of merfolk and players followed his command.
The frogmen outnumbered them five to one. It wasn't wise to engage the enemy. Their objective was to locate the enemy's flagship. Nogg hadn't found the one he suspected to be the Frogman's flagship. The other merfolk could also identify the flagship so he ordered the merfolk to split up. Each player followed their merfolk companion. Will followed Nogg.
The frogmen who were expecting a battle were dumbfounded by the enemy's action. The lead frogman, whose name was Hasman, cursed loudly. Like the merfolk, they possessed the ability to speak underwater.
"What cowards! It has been a while since our two races come into confrontation but it seems these merfolk have lost their spines. Everyone, hunt this gutless merfolk down! We will catch them and have ourselves merfolk delicacies tonight!"
The frogmen also spread and chased the merfolk closest to them. Although merfolk were great swimmers, the frogmen didn't lose to them. If it was a test of endurance, then the merfolk would win. Merfolk could maintain a high swimming speed longer than a frogman. The frogmen dogged after the merfolk with savage persistence.
However, these frogmen were rowdy and disorganized. Having them freely chase their targets resulted in one merfolk getting chased by more than ten frogmen while another had only one pursuer. Luckily for Nogg and Will, their case was the latter. Seeing only one frogman was chasing after them, Nogg swam back.
The chasing frogman was surprised the prey he was chasing abruptly reversed and came at him. His surprise turned to concern when he noticed Nogg was a level 82 rare elite. He himself was only a level 73 special elite. He tried stopping his advance while at the same time shooting at Nogg frantically using his gun.
Nogg parried the shots using his trident. He called his pet, the blood shark. The red shark burst forward with open jaws. Its large mouth seemed capable of swallowing the frogman whole.
The frogman kicked the water and his body was propelled out of harm's way. But when he thought he was safe, green eels suddenly appeared around him and entangled him. With the eels binding him, he was unable to do anything as the blood shark returned and bit him.
Nogg left his pet to deal with that frogman while he swam away to continue looking for the flagship.
The frogman was not the only one surprised when Nogg did a U-turn, Will was taken aback as well. When he was ready to support Nogg in fighting the frogman using his music and sonic darts, Nogg swam away. He hurriedly followed Nogg.
'Can't you give a signal or something?!' Will wanted to curse but he couldn't talk underwater. He regretted not bringing an underwater communication potion.
With no frogmen on their tails, they had more freedom. After swimming a while, Nogg finally found the enemy flagship. Will was also sure about their finding even when he was not familiar with Frogman's fleet. This was because the flagship was extremely distinct.
From underwater, what they saw was an almost circular center island with branches of five islands. From above the water, if the fog didn't obscure the flagship, they would see a large round ship with a tall tower at its center. Five other smaller ships were connected by bridges to this towered ship. This composition made the flagship appear as if a floating fortress on the water. On top of the tower of the center flagship was a glowing orb. It was this orb that produced the magical fog that shrouded the frogmen's ships.
"Found it!" Will sent John a message complete with the flagship's coordinates. He also sent Water Lily with the same information.
"Great job!" John praised.
John sent his command to the ships that were fighting the frogmen's vessels. Almost every ship that had the coordinates within its firing range fired at once. The cannon shells flew into the fog and a large number of them hit the target.
Will and Nogg saw from under the water the enemy flagship getting lit up by multiple explosions.
