Headed by a Snake

High-Captain Lang Hai vomited the contents of his stomach as he knelt in the waters. Viscous tears dripped down his abyssal black eyes and he wheezed through his broken sword-length teeth.

"You... thrice-damned old man. Your business is finished. Why won\'t you die peacefully!?"

Qiang stood arrogantly on the water\'s surface with his fists held behind his back, "All of the Kingdom\'s Admirals must be strong enough to defend their fleet alone. How dare you pretend to be strong, Li Hai."

Hai splashed his torn-scaled face with seawater, "All the Old Monsters are dead-- you killed them, yourself."

"Bah." Qiang narrowed his eyes in disgust, "I had a right to self-defense, Li. They had it coming."

Hai stood up, "Is that why you killed Admiral De la Croix?"

The transformed Lang Hai snapped his neck to the side from Liang Qiang\'s round kick. His body flew, rotating in the air, pulverizing a sea rock.

Qiang stood atop him, fist reared back, "I\'ve always tolerated your filthy mouth, Li Hai. But I will not allow you to speak lies."

The transformed Lang Hai stared defiantly at the old phantom, unafraid, "Then tell me the truth, old man."

Qiang hesitated, "As much shite as I gave Guillaume... I respected him. Probably the only gods-damned sailor I\'ve ever respected."

"You died a traitor to the Kingdom."

Qiang scoffed, "As if the words of the Council are worth more than whale-shite! They framed me for Guillaume\'s murder. I felt no remorse for killing the bastards they sent after me-- I was only killed because I got bored."

Hai thrummed a sigh, "That\'s how I feel, old man..."

The old phantom raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

Hai thrust an arm forward-- not the massive Sea Wolf arm, but the quick, thin arm of a 14-year old boy. He grabbed onto the dagger in Liang Qiang\'s eye and twisted it, "--yeah, bored of your gods-damned talk!!"

Qiang roared in pain as he grabbed onto Hai\'s wrist, the boy-Captain\'s flesh sizzling from the corrosive touch.

​ Wings of flame lit up the battlefield, as bright as the sun, as Shao Ran flew towards Liang Qiang. With a guisarme of molten steel, he stabbed at the phantom. Qiang, barely able to block, was launched away with the force, skidding along the surface of the water.

Tycon was ready, lashing out with a whip, accurately entangling one of the old man\'s arms, "Sea Wolves! BLOOD AND THUNDER!!"

Hai charged forward, sprinting on the water\'s surface. Sea Wolf Sect: Careful Stride-- something he was only able to do in his natural form. His Abyssal Sea Wolf form was too slow against former Admiral Liang Qiang, but it didn\'t mean Hai was useless.

"Victory at SEA!!" Hai reached old Qiang and launched a powered kick at the side of the man\'s head. The old man blocked, but Hai clearly saw the man\'s ghostly arm fracture, hanging loosely at his side.

Descending with flaming wings, Shao Ran brought two fists sheathed in flame upon old Qiang. The old man countered with two quick snap kicks, extinguishing Ran\'s fire.

Undeterred, Ran made half-a-dozen quick hand gestures, "Golden Crow\'s Wrathful Midday Sun!! BURN FOR ME!!"

The golden wings on Ran\'s back surged blindingly bright. The flames in his hands focused into a sphere and burst forward. The phantom screamed a ghastly wail of pain as the concentrated beam bored a hole through his chest.

"Shadowfang strike," Tycon burst out of the shadowy waters with an upward slash from his enchanted sword. The terrifying old man was fast enough to block with his unbroken arm... but the sword that could cut through rock easily cut into the old man\'s ghostly flesh to the bone.

Tycon sighed and held out a hand, snapping his fingers.

With a surge of inhuman strength, Lang Hai stabbed his stolen dagger horizontally into old man Qiang\'s spine. The man\'s back spasmed as he snarled in a dark and seething rage.

"High-Captain Liang Qiang..." Lang Hai growled, "Please go back peacefully… Father."

...

Hai leapt back, away from the undead Marine\'s crazed thrashing.

Ran\'s eyes shone with empathy and respect. He cupped his fists in a salute, "Out of respect for my Captain and you as his father, I will send you back into the reincarnation cycle with my greatest move."

"Any f*cking bell, Shao Ran!" Hai yelled. He held fast to the dagger embedded in the old man\'s back.

Ran raised his guisarme to shoulder height-- its blade glowing with flames. The weapon would not survive the attack. Flames began to slowly engulf the weapon, so thick to almost drip like blood. Heat pulsated from the weapon, the waters evaporating, and the sand glowing and moving like ocean waves.

"Now, Senior... receive my Golden Crows Mournful Sunset."

The flame around his weapon died down to a single white dot at the tip of the blade. Shao Ran thrust the weapon forward... releasing the power of his bloodline.

The ghost of Liang Qiang kicked and wailed. Reaching out his fractured arm, he summoned a ghostly cutlass and stabbed Hai deep in the stomach. Hai winced in pain, only releasing the dagger and rolling away at the last moment.

Liang Qiang looked down at Ran\'s oncoming weapon. The pain had left his face, replaced by an eerie calm. He looked to Lang Hai... "Blood and thunder."

...

"Piss off, ghost," Hai muttered.

Lieutenant Shao\'s powerful radiant attack destroyed a good half of Liang Qiang\'s form, phantasmal guts and bone torn apart.

Hai waved his hand, dispersing whatever ectoplasmic scum holding his cursed father together. In a quick motion, he snatched the corporeal dagger that was jammed in the old man\'s eye.

The sea grew calm, and the night\'s fatigue quickly set in. The wound on Hai\'s abdomen began to quickly mend...

Howls resounded from the north and south beaches. The enemy had sounded a retreat. The other platoons had successfully defended their beaches.

Hai looked over to his Lieutenants, Shao and Tycon. Those bastards were slightly more useful than he\'d estimated.

Not bad. Not bad, at all.

"Good work, you two. Our casualties have been kept to a minimum thanks to your hard work."

Shao Ran grinned like an easily excitable idiot. Tycon frowned like a pompous idiot.

"It\'s what, nearly 3 right now?" Hai asked.

Tycon grimaced, "About 5 minutes past. Why?"

Hai smirked, "Go take a break. Morning training starts at 4."