The answer was obvious. He would pour pure hatred upon the man wielding it. That way, Talon could shape the battlefield in his favor.
That four-armed monstrosity had to weigh over a ton, and its powerful attacks would certainly destroy the small galleon.
Talon's eyes widened when he saw one of those damn towers being hurled at him.
"What kind of monstrous strength is that?" Talon had little time to react, but he managed to jump high enough to grab another branch of the corals above.
But that's exactly what the damn creature wanted.
It must've had a life of battles, wars and more wars, until it became the leader of its species.
Talon might be good with tactics, but only because of the theory he was forced to absorb in his naval training, and out of sheer curiosity.
But this monster? It knew how to fight, and how to use the corals way better than Talon.
The tip of the spiral spear went straight for the young captain's chest. The chill of death crept up his spine and he only had time to raise the blade of the limestone halberd, hoping to dissipate some of the impact.
Pain exploded in the sailor's chest. The sound of bones breaking was almost tangible, and then a second impact hit his back. Followed by a third... fourth... fifth... Only after more than seven corals shattered behind Talon did the kinetic force finally fade.
Blood dripped from the young captain's mouth. His chest was a deep purple, and his body hung between two larger corals. His eyes were nearly lifeless, but for a few seconds, a faint orange glow reflected in them.
And in that moment, Talon knew phase two of his plan had begun.
Hundreds of meters away, a galleon was being bombarded by a swarm of fish-men. Twins swung from side to side using ropes, slicing massive gashes into the crowd attacking them.
A massive old man swung a spear bigger than himself, skewering several creatures at once. Still, they kept pouring in from the ship's edges, increasing the weight the galleon already struggled to bear.
A nerd split his focus between steering the helm and pulling off sharp turns to fling dozens of creatures back into the sea. His analytical mind made it relatively easy, but even that wasn't enough.
Their devil captain had lured the leader of those monsters beyond the corals for some insane plan, but before that, he had ordered them to never stop following the route.
How he planned to return to the ship, the nerd had no idea.
"You think it's time already?!" Simon shouted at the old sailor.
"He's either way deep in the Coral Sea by now, or fish food. And I can't hold on any longer, it's time!" the old man shouted between heavy breaths and dead bodies at his feet.
"Valen, Viktor! Hoist the sails! ALL of them!" The twins froze for just a second, confused by the purpose of that move, but quickly obeyed.
As soon as the ship reached a wider area, Simon spun the helm starboard with all his strength and the ship began to spin.
Everything on deck started flying! Fish-men, rope fragments, dropped weapons, the twins.
The crew had to hold on, and the boys only avoided falling into the sea because they caught a rope at the last second. The deck found peace only after half the ship dipped into the water and then rose back to the surface.
The sea washed away the blood and everything on the deck, but also swept up a few things from below. Like one of those coral sharks, now flailing on the upper deck.
The old man didn't waste a second. He knew that crazy move had only bought them a little time. And if that young devil was still alive, he was probably on the verge of death.
Climbing the wet steps, the old man saw the nerd, his face pale, looking back at him, and growing even paler, realizing what was about to happen.
The sound of metal clashing echoed right as one of the fish-men managed to climb back onto the deck.
Before it could even steady itself, the hiss of burning fuse spread across the ship.
Followed by the explosion.
BOOOOM!
All four cannons fired at once, lit by a twisted fuse.
Talon knew this plan would depend crucially on two of his crew.
The nerd would have to time the perfect moment to turn the stern toward the side where Talon had led the fish-man leader.
The old man had to find a way to synchronize all four cannons to hit their mark dead on.
The cannonballs had been soaked in the fat of the giant sea lion they had once fought, along with scraps of old cloth.
Four fireballs shot over the Coral Sea and the flames lit up the surroundings in a flash impossible to miss.
But their target wasn't the fish-man leader. Nor any enemy.
It was a place.
The four fireballs struck a massive crimson pillar Arkhand'Zul had named the Demon's Pillar.
BOOOOOM!
During the entire crossing, not a single demonic bird had shown up to ambush them. Talon had been theorizing about that.
All the creatures wore armor made from something in the environment, but their scales seemed strong enough that they could manage without it.
And for some reason, they never used colors too different from the corals. Maybe it was coincidence.
But considering a creature over five meters tall was still using guerrilla tactics... they must have had a predator.
And Talon had bet his life it was whatever lived inside the Demon's Pillar.
KRAAAAAAWWWW!
A single cry made the faces of all the fish-men tremble, and the sound of wings flapping was enough to make every one of those monsters flee in terror.
Then, Talon saw it.
A massive crimson beak smashed into the creature over five meters tall.
Its wings were dark as the night, with scattered crimson feathers.
And finally...
Three eyes in a row stared directly at Talon.