That's right, this fierce-looking fish was actually no bigger than an adult's finger. Right now, it was clamped onto Max Easton's finger, its tail flapping wildly.
Max Easton calmed down, squeezed the fish's gills, and sure enough, its mouth loosened. "Go to hell!" Max grumbled as he hurled the fish away, but it arced through the air and splashed right back into the sea.
Jill Young, ever sharp-eyed, noticed the fish had flying fins along its sides, letting it glide above the water just like a flying fish.
"Phew, that was close," Max said, patting his chest in relief. "Good thing my finger was next to my little buddy and not on it, or my little buddy would've been toast. Ha! These tiny punks dared to attack me? Take that!" Max shouted at the waves, as if he'd just defeated a monster.
But Jill Young narrowed her eyes and yanked him back. Right in front of Max, another vicious Stormdart Barracuda—looking just as nasty—launched itself out of the water, jaws wide, aiming for his face.
The key issue: this fish was over a foot long! Its gaping mouth was as big as half his face!
Wham! Jill swung the paddle like a baseball bat, sending the big fish flying. She barked at the still-shaken Max, "On your feet! The big guys are coming—get ready for battle!"
In the distance, the sea was boiling. Countless Stormdart Barracudas slapped their flying fins and burst from the waves, charging toward them in a furious swarm.
"Oh—my—god!" Max's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
A massive school of Stormdart Barracudas, whistling through the air, swept toward the little raft like flying torpedoes skimming the waves.
"I'm good!" Max swatted away a fish that tried to bite him, yelling, "I think these fish aren't actually trying to attack us—they're just passing through, like migrating birds!"
"Then steer us clear! We need to get off their migration route!" A fish chomped down hard on Jill's wooden spear—she kicked it away, eyeing the deep bite marks left behind. "If we don't get out of here soon, I can't guarantee I'll keep blocking them!"
"Alright, hang tight—here comes the horsepower!" Max grabbed the sail rope and let it loose. The sail shot up like a kite, catching the wind. In an instant, a gust slammed into them, and the raft took off like it was hitched to a racecar.
"Yeehaw!" Max hollered like a rodeo cowboy, clutching the ropes with wild pride. "I am the king of the world!"
At the stern, Jill Young dodged one of the fish, but a particularly beefy one flopped straight for Max and sank its teeth right into his butt.
Hearing the screams behind her, Jill replied with zero sincerity, "Sorry, world king, you're on your own."
Boom—a thunderclap split the sky, a streak of lightning flashing overhead. This wasn't just rocks cracking, it was the real deal: lightning.
"Didn't you say there wouldn't be any thunderstorms here?" The waves grew wilder, the sky darkened like night. Jill fought off the swarm, struggling to keep her footing.
"I only said I'd never seen one!" Max yanked the fish off his butt and slammed it to the deck, shouting, "But judging by the air currents and the charge buildup, lightning's totally normal! And I bet we've got another show coming up!"
"What show?" Jill kicked a flopping fish off the raft. "Hope it's a good one!"
"With our luck, when have we ever gotten a good show?" Max laughed nervously. "It's a storm!"
Boom—another lightning bolt lit up the darkness. The wind howled and, in a flash, rain poured down, pelting them like marbles. The little raft bobbed like a leaf, helpless and ridiculous.
"Bad news! Water's coming into the side boats—we've got to bail it out!" Max yelled through the storm. "Too heavy and we'll sink!"
Jill Young's wooden spear finally snapped with a loud crack. She elbowed a fish away, grabbed both broken pieces, and switched to dual-wielding. "You handle it! I can't keep up with these fish!"
"Bad news! The raft ropes are straining—we've got to reinforce the raft!" Max kept shouting. "If it falls apart, we're sunk!"
"I told you to handle it!" A fish lunged and bit Jill's arm; she gritted her teeth and jammed a stick into its mouth, holding its jaws apart. "I'm busy here!"
A flash of gold in her right hand—now a big knife. One swing, and the fish finally let go, flopping to the deck. Jill tossed aside the ruined sticks, ripped off her sleeve, and tied a tight knot around her wound with her teeth.
Shield in left, knife in right, Jill Young stood at the stern: "Come on, come on, bring it on! Let me go wild!"
Suddenly, the school of fish scattered like they'd seen a ghost, darting everywhere. The pressure eased, and Max laughed, "See? Even the fish are scared of my boss!"
Jill Young squinted at the chaos. If the fish were this spooked, their natural enemy must've shown up. But with a school this big—what could possibly hunt them?
Boom—lightning flashed, and something huge moved under the waves. Before Jill could get a good look, a massive head burst from the water, snatching a fish mid-air and crunching it to bits without chewing.
"Wh-what the heck is that?!" Max trembled. "Is that a super-sized ribbonfish? Or maybe a giant snake?"
The monster's face was half as big as a person, but the head was long and thin. Its body stretched behind, just the part above water was nearly three meters tall—and that was just the tip.
"No, not a snake—snakes don't have that many teeth," Max muttered as he recognized the beast. "That's—a Plesiosaur!"
"What?!" Jill Young shouted, stunned. "There are dinosaurs in here?!"
"I have no idea—I've only seen one today!" Max remembered something and gave his classic exclamation: "Oh my cake, Plesiosaurs are—pack animals!"
"Oh my god, we're surrounded by these fish out here—it's curtains for us! We're toast!" The wind howled, waves crashed, and Max Easton clutched his head and knelt on the raft, screaming at the top of his lungs.
"If you keep screaming like that, I'm tossing you overboard to feed the fish!" Jill Young stood at the stern, barking at Max. "Hurry, raise the sail all the way up! The wind's stronger up there, we need more horsepower!"
The bizarre fish closed in fast, and even the sky seemed to darken. The glowing threads overhead turned blood red, like a storm brewing.
"How do I raise it?" Max scrambled up, shouting to be heard over the roaring wind.
"Like flying a kite, hurry!" The school of fish was right in front of them!
Snowfall Perception—activate!
Jill Young snapped, her arms swinging hard as she swept the wooden spear sideways. With a loud thud, one of the freaky fish was smacked flying, tumbling back into the sea.
One down, a horde to go! Countless fish surged forward, their razor-sharp teeth glinting coldly. "Hyaa!" Jill swung her spear left and right, focusing more on not getting bitten than on racking up kills!
Jill Young wasn't exactly invincible—one fish grazed her arm as it shot past, tearing a huge hole in her sleeve with a vicious snap.
"Max, how you holding up?"