Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

Out of the thick of the fog came out many ships. These vessels all held lizardmen of slightly different looks and dialects. They were all hard at work moving the ammunition and aiming and firing cannons. It was hard work, but they all had a united cause and didn't feel the drain.

The hydra.

As far as deities went, this one had to rank near the bottom in terms of member benefits. Yet, there was something about tradition that couldn't be beaten. One could argue it was brainwashing, but by this point, it was more than that.

The lizardmen no longer believed in the hydra, Lernaean. The majority didn't, most lizardmen were now believers of the mushroom god, Edwa&!. Why bother about the hydra's well-being?

There were two main reasons. One was that Lernaean was not just a deity, Lernaean was a guardian. That was the knowledge that was traditionally passed down onto them. This meant that Lernaean had become a symbol of strength and an icon for the lizardmen. They couldn't let this icon die.

The second reason was far less superficial. The Mensch tribe was attacking the hydra. This was the perfect opportunity to get revenge against them. If they could intervene in the battle... revenge was a given!

Out of everyone in the fleet, apart from Var Agus, only a few could claim they came with genuine feelings of concern.

"ROOOARRR!!!" Shells flew through the air and landed on the Mensch boats. The hydra found newfound strength. This was the power of friendship! Or so the hydra would come to assume.

But its enthusiasm was doused, or at least, water had been spilled on its resurging flames of enthusiasm. The shells that came flying out of the deep fog arbitrarily exploded in the air.

Though this seemed to come out of nowhere, to be exact, they exploded on a spatial wall Eon had summoned. The non-explosive shells broke into pieces, and some pebbles even rained back down on allied ships.

The sage of space spurted out a mouthful of blood. It wasn't known whether this was due to his sickly condition or his visible anger.

<"You- It's you, isn't it!?!"> Eon shouted before breaking into a maddened coughing fit.

The person in question, Ed, could not hear this shout. But if he could, he would certainly believe he had become rather popular. He made an image for himself that was recognizable at the first surprise attack.

Currently, Ed was thinking about the more pressing matter.

'The shots have been blocked' A's transmission told Ed informing him about what was happening outside the cage. The latter had no choice but to try and come up with an immediate countermeasure.

Since A had to observe the battlefield and could control a flexible body, it was more convenient for Ed to act as the brain.

Var Agus himself was not for show, though. He made sure to bring his staff for the occasion and raised it high up in the air.

"Scatter! Find an opening and better angles!" Var instructed. As long as Eon hadn't separated the space into a cube, there would have to be an opening.

In the event that Eon did not previously separate the space into a cube, but decided to in response to their movements… there was nothing to worry about. This would put a strain on his magical capabilities, all while he was locked in with a monster.

The hydra's enthusiasm was not put out. In fact, the hydra was shooting out relentless attacks. Its energy reserves appeared almost boundless and although Eon knew it couldn't be the case, he was becoming more and more uneasy.

The battle was starting to drag on!

A beam of high-pressure water shout towards him. But it was also electrified by powerful purple lightning. The attack collided with his spatial shield as per usual and formed a blinding light.

The water from the attack rained down on the ships below. It was as though a full-out storm had blown by.

"Kurgher!" Var Agus shouted from his ship amidst the seemingly chaotic weather. With the situation of the hydra, Eon could not afford to separate the space into a cube.

This allowed Ed's group of lizardmen to disperse. Eon figured that, at least as individuals, their power seemed more limited. This meant the morale of the Mensch lizardmen would not be easily extinguished.

"VAR AGUS!!!" Kurgher shouted back angrily. He was beyond angered thanks to hearing his old shaman's voice.

They were originally friends that grew up together. But now, Kurgher's number one enemy was definitely Var Agus. The funny part was, if he had not seen this rebellious display, Kurgher would have never registered Var as a threat.

His current anger came not from betrayal, since he was if anything the traitor, but his inability to accept that Var Agus was somehow dealt a better hand. That in spite of him making things tough for him, his ships were much better than theirs!

"Attack! Attack!" Kurgher shouted to some lizardmen on board the flagship. This ship could comfortably hold up to about 7 lizardmen. Including Kurgher himself, the lizardmen all lifted their arms and readied themselves to throw spears overboard.

"Hah!" One of the lizardmen shouted. Their spear breezed through the air as if it were one with its surroundings and came to hit Var Agus' ship.

Surprisingly, a light metallic clang resounded in the ears of the friendly lizardmen. A was able to feel the vibrations from this attack and couldn't help but gloat inwardly.

'Those spears won't even leave a dent-' It was then that the boat shook wildly. Many of the lizardmen aboard nearly fell on their butt.

Kurgher's spear had bored a hole into the hull of the ship. The spear had streaked across the sky like a shooting star, and with its fire-infusion, made easy work of the wood and metal ship material.

'Damn!' Not to mention that since Ed chose a metal with good plant affinity, it had a lower melting point. With the coldness of the water and the rainy atmosphere, a fire should not have been a worry. Yet... 

'We need to patch it!' A informed Ed, who nodded.

'Take me to the hull!' Ed transmitted. The vessel he was in was one of the larger vessels. It had two floors, the deck, and the bottom with a rather low ceiling.

Fortunately, A was actually pretty small. Ed, who was just a caged mushroom, was also rather small.

The sudden collision had many of the lizardmen onboard panicking.

"We are going to sink! What will we do!?" Someone asked worriedly, seeing that Kurgher and the others were readying more dizzyingly bright flaming spears.

But Var Agus was focused on something else. He was following the mushroom god!

The three, well two, of them, headed down to the basement of the ship where small streams of water started to flood the ship.

'This is actually such a small problem' The flaming spear bore into the hole, but its shaft actually ended up partially blocking the hole the tip had created. For most, this would be a problem. But for Ed, this had a self-presented solution.

'Wait no! I am mushroom!' Ed's plan had been to use the system flame to weld the hole shut. The spears themselves would provide the material. What was he supposed to do now?

It was then that the sound of spears cutting through the air sounded out anew, more holes were made in the ship's hull. The ship was starting to look like a porcupine on one side. They couldn't hesitate anymore! New streams of water were made and the water level was now rapidly surging.

"Woah!" "Ah!" The lizardmen above were trying their best to retaliate using the spears crafted by the orcs, but… Their skills weren't as good as the Mensch tribe men. Most of their shots missed or lacked the power to destroy the enemy ship.

Ed should have expected this, but he didn't. He failed to account for the fact that he assembled a group of losers. On one hand, they were lizardmen that managed to outrun the Mensch conquest force, but on the other hand, that didn't necessarily mean they were skilled. When running for one's life, you only needed to outrun anyone that might also be running alongside you.

With not many choices, Ed decided to start bringing things out. His storeroom had all sorts of things. There was bound to be something helpful!

But although the water level was now high enough to drown a regular mushroom, Ed could not…!

"Argh!" Var Agus suddenly exclaimed. Another blinding flash of light, an infernal boom also rang in his ears. Ed didn't notice this aftershock and was still immersed in finding a solution.

'I can't find anything' Ed couldn't find anything useful in the storeroom.

'Ed, try using link!' A who was reminded of Var Agus' presence, transmitted to Ed.

'Use link-? That's a good idea!' Ed managed to realize what A meant after only a moment of pondering.

'Var Agus, approach one of the spears and be prepared to melt them into place!' Ed transmitted to Var who was surprised but acted on the orders almost immediately. He approached a spear. He placed his hand by the stream of water trying to block it when suddenly, a flame appeared in his hands. But not just any flame, Ed's forge flame.

The spear was only beginning to melt and though some of it ended up spilling on the ground, Var Agus understood what he had to do. He remembered Ed's words and started to move the fluid material to block the streams of water.

He then proactively melded the other holes on the hull shut. New spears rained down on them at this moment, but fortunately, they bounced back or were shut soon after dealing their damage.

"Kurgher! They armored it! What's going on!?" The spear shafts were visibly stuck on the side of the ship, but the procedural sinking had stopped. The new spears could not make any more holes in the hull either. At least not near spots where they already had previously.

"Prepare-" An intense shockwave rocked the boat.

"Prepare to board their ship! Get the rocket charge!" Kurgher commanded, looking ahead with fierce eyes. He would kill that Var Agus at all costs!