Star Rank Hunter SRH Chapter 143

Translator’s Notes: First things first, much thanks to R.V. for sponsoring this chapter!

Next, the Patreon page has been updated, and the short version is that tiers have been updated so people can choose to enjoy early access, or even the stash in our translation folder (unedited, of course). There will also be 5 releases per week instead of the usual 3 now, so hurray!

Original and most up to date translations are posted at volaretranslations.

Chapter 143: The Riot Begins

When the gray cat said this, Warsaw’s expression also changed inside the spaceplane above the coastal waters. She told Kirk, “Large schools of fishes are headed this way, surrounding us from three different directions. There are at least 300 of them!”

The sea defense system obviously detected the activity as well, but because there had never been a case where schools of fishes attacked them en masse, the program did not consider it as much of a threat. Kirk thought that he was absolutely going to reconfigure the threat level of attacking shoals once this incident was over.

That was then, this is now. One could not help but ponder at the huge number of fishes that showed up at the exact moment they were transporting the echo conches beneath the sea.

Why did this happen? Excluding natural causes and other factors, the only one left was human.

Kirk mobilised his men to defend against the assault, and the spaceplanes’ weapons had all been readied as well.

A black marlin was on average ten meters or longer. Their sides and back were almost as black as ink, and they had dorsal fins that were as big as sails. They moved much faster than a normal marlin, and at top speed they swam just as fast as a bullet. Moreover, their front jaw and nasal bone that formed their sharp, boney bill could easily pierce through a steel plate.

Black marlins normally lived in remote oceans, and no one had ever seen them near the coastal waters. However, these big, remote ocean, well trained marlins were now splitting into three different groups and flanking them, and it was obvious they were old hands judging from the speed and reaction in which they dodged the bullets. It was as if they had practiced this for hundreds and thousands of times. This meant that the black marlins had all been trained before!

“There are more shoals coming from the back; these black marlins are just the vanguard. Mr. Kirk, I believe this is the act of Wiesen Family’s mysterious tamer.” Warsaw said.

Warsaw had heard about tamers from the elders of her family. There were now very few true tamers in Sector H. As new technology arise and other advanced civilisations spread, the ancient tradition where one swam with fishes gradually walked towards its decline. The so-called reputable tamers these days were simply people who performed vaudevilles for the entertainment and amusement of audiences. A true tamer could command hundreds and thousands of ocean fishes or other greater sea organisms for their own use single-handedly.

That being said, ancient tamers were practically unknown entities in this developed Sector these days. There were two such tamers that Warsaw knew of. One of them was in the Binger Family. This person normally kept a very low profile, and there were many within the Binger Family who weren’t even aware of his existence. The other one was Wiesen Family’s tamer, who similarly kept a low profile and was unknown to most people. But now that the Wiesen Family was pressured by both the Feniers Family and the Binger Family, this tamer had finally risen to the occasion.

Warsaw’s elders also told her that there was in fact still many ancient tamers in Sector H. It’s just that nobody knew where they were right now. They could be living away from the world, or they could have joined them and became a normal part of the society. They could’ve walked right past her once upon a time, and they could have been a human waiter or waitress at a certain restaurant or a high official at a certain Sector administrative. Nobody knew.

As a New European, Warsaw could communicate with some greater fishes*, but her abilities were absolutely incomparable to an actual tamer. This was the first time in her life she saw a tamer at work.

*As in bigger and smarter fishes

One might rate this tamer’s work as a result of perfect training!

Right now, over three hundred black marlins were causing problems for the defenders while dodging shots coming at them from above and beneath the sea. Since the defenders were carrying the echo conches, the defenders’ hands were tied, and they could not fully deploy some of their weapons. Adding that to the black marlins’ speed, dodging ability and difficulty in stopping them due to an underwater environment, Kirk had the distinct feeling that they were being pushed around as the enemy pleased. This was without mentioning the waves of assault that would soon follow the back of these three hundred or so fishes.

“Where are the men at the underwater base? Why haven’t they responded?!” Kirk roared angrily at the person beside him. He had attempted to contact the underwater base earlier so that they would coordinate their attacks with them, but he didn’t think that there would be no reaction at all after a few minutes had passed.

“Boss, the underwater base is under attack. They are unable to reinforce us in time!” a subordinate of Kirk’s summoned a comm image and passed it to Kirk.

There were more than three underwater bases in this area, but not one of them had arrived to assist them. They were all under attack by shoals right now. These shoals were all aggressive fishes from remote sea regions, so it was understandable that they could not afford to help them for the moment.

Kirk did not plan to transfer any more men from the manor. He was afraid that the Wiesen Family would play a diversion tactic.

While the defenders were busy defending themselves, an explosion had happened at a certain location inside the manor. It was rather far from Tobo and the kids’ lodgings, but the three little fellows were caught off guard by the explosion.

After the trio had been brought back to the manor, they had received a so-called ‘sterilisation’ treatment from Castella. Although they did not know what the medicine sprayed on them and the light rays shone on them was all about, the treatment was a compulsory request from both Castella and Kirk. Not even Tobo could go against the decision.

After the three little fellows were ‘sterilised’ to the point they were completely drained and very sleepy, they were just about to take a nap when the loud explosion had woken them all. The bodyguard came in to tell them it was just a small accident and that they had nothing to worry about. They would be guarding right outside the premise.

Meanwhile, Tang Qiuqiu had gotten even more excited after the explosion. Setting her game aside, she began to pay full attention to her surroundings. Cillin told her that these enemies were targeting Tobo, so they would definitely think of a way to bypass the bodyguards and attack Tobo. Therefore, the moment the riot began, Tang Qiuqiu should pay attention to the surroundings. Even in this room protected by many circles of bodyguards and defense systems, Tang Qiuqiu would not let down her guard. Cillin told her that her target might not necessarily be a human being.

Right now, Castella was commanding the guards inside the manor. Since the explosion had happened outside the manor, it meant that the attackers who had sneaked their way to the manor were unable to approach the heart of the manor at all and by extension, Tobo. Therefore, they could only create a confusion outside the manor and attract their attention in order to seek out an opportunity to slip into the heart of the manor. This was why Castella had not loosened the defense at the heart of the manor. He instructed the guards to keep their eyes wide open, and guard and observe through the monitoring system every bit of activity inside the manor.

“The riot has begun.” inside the guest room, the gray cat crouching on the window sill appeared to be incredibly excited. While narrowing its eyes, it sucked in a deep breath and said, “Wah, it’s the smell of fishes, Cillin! When are we going to act?” the gray cat looked eager to get started.

“Let’s wait a bit longer. The key players haven’t shown up yet.” Cillin said while looking outside the window.

“Alright. I feel like something’s special about to come.” the cat’s ears were fully straightened, and if someone was to look at them closely they would realise that the hair inside its ears were shivering lightly. The cat was receiving all kinds of information in the form of tiny sound waves inaudible to the average person.

At the coastal waters, Kirk finally heard the news he wanted to hear after defending against wave after wave of shoal attacks and interruptions.

“Boss, the echo conches have all been transported into the spaceplanes!” a subordinate reported.

“Alright, we’ll do as we planned earlier and blow them up in space!”

“Roger that!”

It was only when he watched the spaceplanes ascending into the air and leaving the planet’s atmosphere that Kirk finally felt the heart at his throat relax.

“Mr. Kirk!” Warsaw’s voice appeared to be very urgent.

“What is it?” Kirk’s heart rose to his throat once more.

“Those deep sea big fellows are probably about to show up…”

Chapter end