Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ripjaws' heavy footsteps echoed ominously through the yacht's lower deck as he approached the unconscious Jonah Melville. Bending down, he extended his powerful, webbed hand and grasped the poacher's collar, effortlessly lifting the man's limp form like a piece of luggage.
The sound of his devastating Fish-Man Karate assault from moments before, combined with the fact that Melville and his crew hadn't emerged from below deck, had created anxiety among the remaining guards topside.
Half of the crew stayed on the upper deck as ordered, while the other half prepared to descend with submachine guns to investigate the disturbance.
They never got the chance!
SPLASH!
A creature covered in water droplets, with something clutched in his powerful jaws, emerged from the breach in the lower deck carrying their unconscious boss!
Ripjaws was a Piscciss Volann who required water to maintain his physical strength and very life force. He had taken a mouthful of lake water and held it without swallowing, constantly absorbing moisture to sustain himself on land!
"What... what is that thing?!"
"Why did another inexplicable monster appear?"
"The boss is in its hands!"
In an instant, more than thirty subordinates raised their submachine guns and aimed at Ripjaws without hesitation! Muzzles from all directions converged on the aquatic alien, ready to turn him into swiss cheese at a moment's notice!
But Ripjaws' expression remained fiercely determined!
Without saying a word, he raised Melville's unconscious body with his right hand while spreading his left claws menacingly near the poacher's throat. His entire form radiated deadly intent, like a demon from the depths!
"He's got the boss by the neck!!"
"The boss is in danger! What should we do? What should we do?"
The crew members all hesitated nervously.
If they opened fire, their leader would surely die too!
Ripjaws surveyed the line of armed men surrounding him with blade-sharp eyes, his murderous gaze making everyone lower their heads, unable to meet his terrifying stare!
It was like sheep encountering a hungry wolf, or even a tiger. The innate sense of fear was inescapable!
"Let go! Let me go!!"
Melville, who had been unconscious, awakened with a surge of suffocation. He immediately felt the pressure on his neck, and when he looked down to see Ripjaws' steel-cutting claws positioned near his throat, he begged for mercy with desperate pleading, his earlier arrogance completely vanished.
Ripjaws didn't respond to Melville's words. Instead, he raised his free hand and pointed directly at the submachine guns surrounding them.
"You! What are you doing? Hurry up and put down those guns! Do you want to kill me?!"
While gasping for breath, Melville frantically reprimanded his subordinates, trying his best to appease the terrifying aquatic creature holding him hostage.
"Yes, boss!"
All the crew members hesitated for several tense seconds before lowering their weapons.
At this moment, the power dynamic had completely reversed.
It wasn't the armed humans threatening Ripjaws, it was Ripjaws using their leader as leverage to control them!
Ripjaws loosened his grip slightly, which relieved the flush in Melville's face considerably as the poacher breathed like someone given new life.
Maintaining his hostage, Ripjaws walked deliberately toward the sealed wooden crate on deck, his intention crystal clear.
Even though the subordinates were reluctant and unhappy, none dared disobey the Piscciss Volann, their boss was completely at his mercy!
After all, this was the same alien hero who had defeated Vilgax's mechanical army in head-to-head combat. Did this gang of human mercenaries really think they could handle someone like that?
"My Krakken eggs..."
When Ripjaws reached the sealed wooden container, Melville's voice was filled with reluctance and anguish.
"So you did steal Krakken eggs. Why don't you try denying it now?" Ripjaws swallowed the water in his mouth and looked down mockingly at the captured poacher.
"I... I was just curious..." Melville replied weakly with a pathetic smile.
CRASH!
Ripjaws hurled Melville toward his gang of subordinates, then forcefully pushed the wooden crate, sending the entire container tumbling into the lake! Without hesitation, he immediately dove in after it!
"Boss!"
"I'll catch you!"
The group of crew members rushed forward, dropping their submachine guns as they raised their arms to catch their flying leader, completely ignoring Ripjaws as he entered the water.
"You idiots!!" Melville's furious scolding was all that remained on deck.
Splash!
After entering the water, Ripjaws swam toward the floating wooden crate. He clenched his fist and struck the bottom of the container with tremendous force, shattering the wooden boards with a single punch. Several Krakken eggs that had been stored inside fell free and began sinking toward the lake bottom.
"Fortunately, I didn't use too much force. If I had accidentally damaged the Krakken eggs, that would have been embarrassing," Ripjaws thought with relief. He carefully supported the sinking eggs with both palms and began swimming quickly toward the deeper waters where the creature waited.
His transformation time was limited, he had to hurry to find the Krakken and return her stolen children!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
When Ripjaws swam to a depth of more than thirty feet, another burst of gunfire swept across the lake's surface. The bullets penetrated the water but posed no threat to the speeding alien, they couldn't even keep pace with his incredible aquatic velocity, let alone track him with any accuracy.
The result was frustration.
Melville stood on the deck in absolute fury, stomping his feet constantly while roaring at the top of his lungs, "I have never been so humiliated in my entire life! Bring me all the heavy weapons now! I want those two alien freaks dead, blast them so thoroughly that not even scraps remain!!"
At that moment, his eyes blazed with murderous intent and genuine killing rage!
He was going to obliterate this sharp-toothed fish monster and that tall, thin speedster with rocket launchers, let's see how those freaks resist military-grade explosives! Even that Krakken wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of firepower!