Chapter 456: The Calm
The second part of their battle was over, Northern knew it won't be long before anther monster came gunning for them.
And who knows what ferociousness of the ocean it would be. He focused on the speed of the tower.
The colossal ship moved swiftly on the sea, drawing subtle, smooth lines on the surface of the ocean as it swam forward with a gentle speed.
Northern had been enjoying the peace, while he wanted to experiment to feel the potency of black flames he had seen before but he was too tired to try.
'Black flame and black lance would definitely have improved exponentially since the change of the void inside me. I can feel the scale tilting..'
Northern's mind delved deeper, at the same time he could the fatigue buried deep in his soul starting to seep out slowly.
For another moment, he thought about Jeci and how she was doing, he didn't mean to disrupt her fight but he honestly didn't think she was going to win eventually.
'It's a maelstrom rank monster, even Annette will have a hard time defeating it while she was a master'
Northern was unlike every other drifter out there, when one focused so much on him, it was easy to forget that these monsters are actually strong, others would probably die fighting them.
His mind drifted more away as he tried to understand that he is strong without calling every other person weak.
Soon, Northern subtly began to snore, and this time around, he didn't go to the Limitless Void. He was having a deep and refreshing sleep.
Meanwhile Jeci stayed in another room, Northern had helped apply bandage and first aid to her wounds.
She stood with her sword in one hand staring at the wooden pole in front her. The room was like a hall, filled with bricked walls, a warm hair and an almost acrid smell of moisture.
She stood there for a couple of minutes, obviously lost in her own thoughts as she reflected on the battle from the beginning till Northern joined, and how she was unable to handle it anymore then had no choice but to leave it to Northern.
It was quite sad, she felt so ashamed of herself, at the same time she felt furious at herself.
At the end of the day, it wasn't her fault that the Luinngard Epire trained their knights to be combatants of men when monsters are the true enemies.
But her decision going forward from this point was going to be her responsibility. Which was why she decided, that she was going to change that going forward.
She didn't care if she had to drop the spear to do that, she didn't care if she had to change her combat style also.
At this point, all she wanted was growth.
Jeci breathed in and breathed out steadily, she closed her eyes and shifted her legs apart, drifting across the ground.
Then she tried to picture the way the fight between her and the monster had gone. Immediately she could get a good grasp on the image, she moved.
Flashing across the distance and leaping into the air, she lunged her spear like a vicious whip, picturing the exact manner that the monster had whipped its tail at her.
Right now, she was not trying to have a rematch with the monster in her head, what she was trying to do however was fight the way the monster fought.
Enbroaden her combat style in the way that she was intelligent enough to do.
And as she continued fighting the air, trying to copy the way the monster moved to the best of her ability she felt a subtle joy rise in her.
Soon, it felt like she was losing herself, time passed and pearls of sweat formed all over her face, her tongue stuck out and eyes widened with focus and ecstasy as she darted from area to area, plunged her spear into the air.
Her movements were frantic and acute, but at every point, she kept shouting with enjoyment, "More!"
Such that she had no idea that the night had befell them, and it was not until think in the midnight that her legs gave out, causing her to collapse to her knees and slumped to the ground.
Of course, she had considered the fact that training this much and intense would render her incapable to act anymore when even more dangers came for them.
But what could she do wounded? She would just be an annoying hindrance to Northern.
At least, like this she was trying to get better, she would rest, wake up and try again and keep trying till she feels a breakthrough with this huge wall of limitation.
Meanwhile, Northern was asleep throughout, however, he had woken up in the night and summoned both Night Terror and Black Mamba at the surface of the ship, where they kept watch.
At dawn, when orange hue seeped into the sky from beyond the horizon and their reflection softly fell on the serene ocean surface, giving a warm incandescent glow.
The ocean body began to move again, this time there was a more disturbing movement, several ripples moved as shadows beneath the ocean surface began to appear next to the ship.
Night Terror's four eyes narrowed as he observed the shadows beneath the ocean.
Black Mamba also stood up, his white eyes focused and looking both left and right with curiosity.
Both of them exchanged glanced and jumped into the water.
The water embraced Night Terror and Black Mamba as they plunged beneath the surface, cutting through the ocean with the ease of seasoned predators.
The world below was a murky expanse, filled with strange luminescent creatures and shadows that danced in the depths.
Both of them moved with precision, eyes scanning the waters and observing the creature that moved around them.
Night Terror, with his four glowing eyes, could see farther than most in the dark waters.
His form, sleek and predatory, moved silently through the currents. Black Mamba, more muscular in nature, twisted and turned, his onyx body shimmering in the water as he kept pace with Night Terror.
They were not alone. The shadows that had been lurking beneath the surface were now
converging.
The ocean, which had once been calm, was now alive with movement.
Creatures of various sizes and shapes emerged from the depths, their forms barely visible in the dim light that filtered from above.