Con Rit: The Centipede of the Sea

The Leviathan of Vietnam

The ocean is full of soft things. Jellyfish, squid, sharks. But the Con Rit is hard. Known to the locals as the "Water Centipede," it does not undulate like a snake. It marches through the water. Eyewitness accounts describe a creature sixty feet long, covered in hexagonal, armored plates. These plates are chitinous and metallic, ringing like copper when struck. Along its entire body, it has hundreds of flipper-like legs that churn the water, propelling it at terrifying speeds.

The Tonkin Sighting

The most famous account comes from Along Bay. a headless carcass of a mysterious sea creature washed ashore. Locals identified it as a Con Rit. It was sixty feet long and three feet wide. The body consisted of regular, jointed segments. The stench was so overpowering that the locals eventually towed it back out to sea, losing the proof forever.

The Hunter

The Con Rit is an ambush predator. It hunts whales, sharks, and small boats. Its attack method is constriction. It wraps its armored body around its prey. The sharp, articulated plates act like a saw. As it squeezes, the armor cuts into the flesh (or the wood of a hull), sawing the victim in half.

The Ancient One

What could it be? Some say it is a surviving remnant of the ancient oceans, a primordial beast that never stopped growing. There are no whales with armor. There are no sharks with legs. The Con Rit is something else entirely.

Keeper's Log: The Sound

Fishermen in the Gulf of Tonkin listen for a specific sound at night. Not a splash. Not a blowhole. But a rhythmic clack-clack-clack. The sound of plates grinding together. Like a roll of coins being shuffled.

The Final Warning

If you hear that sound approaching your sampan in the fog, do not wait to see the armor. Cut your nets and raise the sail, for the tank is coming.