Chapter 224: Section 12: Retreat
Magic’s strength was extremely formidable.
He was originally a seasoned Gold fighter, and the strength he displayed in this battle far exceeded the public’s perception of him.
The knight youth, Zong Ge, and Grey Rat, fighting together, were easily suppressed by him.
However, Magic was not without weaknesses.
The most obvious one was that he wore no equipment.
His fists and feet were his weapons, and he wore only a loin cloth over his body, having discarded the captain’s jacket at the start of the combat.
His current state of dress was close to bare.
This was also intentional.
Because his combat skill was very special, having clothes covering his body would actually hinder his performance.
However, precisely because of this, he had no armor in the usual sense. Now, facing the barrage of crossbow arrows from the knight youth, Magic could only use the Golden Fighting Spirit to protect his body.
But this was a great disadvantage.
The knight youth’s use of alchemy crossbow arrows drained a large amount of Magic’s fighting energy.
Generating fighting energy took time; although Magic had a vast quantity, it could not withstand such consumption.
Once his fighting energy was depleted, even though his body was still very strong, he definitely couldn’t beat the knight youth, Zong Ge, and Grey Rat, who still possessed fighting energy.
Magic also realized this and so he soon braced himself against the barrage of crossbow arrows and resorted to his ultimate technique.
Combat Skill — Meat Mountain Giant Transformation!
The fighting energy within his body surged wildly, and after fifteen seconds, he drew a sharp breath as his fighting energy suddenly exploded inside him.
Magic’s body rapidly swelled, especially his belly, which ballooned like an inflated balloon, becoming immensely huge.
He was already very tall, but now, empowered by the combat skill, he had become a giant.
His feet planted on both sides of the gunwale, the Grey Rat’s first deck immediately became several times narrower. Only a towering mainmast reaching up to the waist of the giant Magic was left.
Zong Ge and the others were even shorter than Magic’s knees.
“What kind of combat skill is this?!” Grey Rat exclaimed in shock, having never heard of Magic having such a technique.
“Little mice, you are very lucky, to be the first to witness this form of mine. Of course, you’re also very unfortunate!” Giant Magic sneered, then suddenly slammed both palms onto his own belly.
Combat Skill — Chaotic Skin Drum!
The belly trembled violently, producing a terrifying boom that seemed to strike at the hearts of everyone present.
Boom, boom, boom…
Giant Magic then continued to strike in succession.
The sound waves, semi-transparent, swept across the battlefield.
Zong Ge stumbled, his face deathly pale. Grey Rat knelt on the deck, covering his ears in excruciating pain. The knight youth’s face also turned red, feeling his entire body’s muscles involuntarily twitching and trembling uncontrollably under the effect of the drumming.
Especially the heart.
The heart beats because of the cardiac muscle.
Now, the cardiac muscle too was affected by the drumming, beating erratically and adding a tremendous strain.
A few breaths later, the knight youth’s ears bled, and he felt dizzy and disoriented.
Magic’s combat skill was terrifying; once deployed, he immediately aimed to kill the knight youth and the other two!
The three of them were all Silver Level fighters and were in such a state. The pirates on the Grey Rat fared even worse, with half of them being killed by the first sound of the drum. After three consecutive booms, the rest of the pirates were all dead.
“We can’t keep this up!” The knight youth gritted his teeth, his spirit invoking the Blood Core, as demon energy surged forth.
A flash of red light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.
The knight youth transformed into the Dragon-man youth, mutating into the Dragon Head, Dragon Scales, and Dragon Claws.
But without the Dragon Heart.
The Dragon-man youth’s face was contorted in pain; he was still suffering from the merciless assault of the drumming.
Roar!
The Dragon-man youth, putting all his strength into it, unleashed a Dragon Roar.
Disturbed by the Dragon Roar, Magic paused briefly. The drumming hesitated, and Grey Rat, Zong Ge, and the Dragon-man youth himself finally got a precious chance to catch their breath.
Spell — Vortex Cage!
In the next moment, sea water rose up, quickly enveloping Magic’s legs.
The blue water spun continuously, forming two vortexes, imprisoning Magic’s legs.
It was the Sea Snake Lady who had acted.
“Quick!” The Sea Snake Lady knelt on the Sea Snake, struggling to maintain the spell, her complexion rapidly turning pale.
It turned out that Golden Chin and Sea Snake Lady had joined forces to defeat Magic’s pirate group, and were nearing the battlefield.
But seeing the situation of the Dragon-man youth and others against Magic, they dared not venture deep into the reef cluster, already having decided to retreat.
The Dragon-man youth snorted quietly. If Golden Chin and Sea Snake Lady fought with full force, with the power of five, it wasn’t impossible to defeat Magic. But since the two of them had such an attitude, they had no choice but to retreat.
Immediately, the youth ran towards Grey Rat and Zong Ge, tucking them under his arms, and leaped away from the Grey Rat.
Zong Ge was already unconscious.
“My ship!” Grey Rat was also disoriented, but the sight of leaving the Grey Rat shockingly snapped him back to clarity.
“There will be other chances!” The Dragon-man youth casually reassured him, carrying the two and continually leaping across the reefs, increasing their distance from Magic.
Magic snorted coldly and broke free of the bonds of the Water Magic.
“Three little mice, where do you think you’re escaping to?!” he bellowed, his voice echoing across the wilderness.
Afterward, he slowly bent his knees and squatted, as his Golden Fighting Spirit surged forth, accumulating at his legs and feet.
The next moment, Rou Cang’s legs violently thrust downwards, and the Golden Fighting Spirit roared out, propelling his entire body to leap forward.
The Grey Rat, struck by his terrifying ground thrusting force, abruptly sank before it quickly tilted, flipping over completely!
The Dragon-man youth was hopping between the rock formations when he suddenly saw a shadow enveloping his vicinity.
The shadow swiftly expanded.
The Dragon-man youth looked up to see, and his dragon pupils instantly narrowed.
Rou Cang, like a mountain peak, bore down on the three of them. His momentum was so fierce and grand that even Golden Chin found it hard to breathe upon witnessing this scene.
The Dragon-man youth struggled to retreat, but dragging two others with him, the speed of escape was always just a bit too slow.
Rou Cang revealed a sinister smile; he could already envision the Dragon-man youth being crushed flat by him.
But at the next moment, suddenly a Water Rope emerged from the sea’s surface, wrapped around the waist of the Dragon-man youth, then yanked with great force.
The Dragon-man youth, by a whisker and with the help of the Water Rope, narrowly avoided Rou Cang’s pounce.
The helper was none other than the Sea Snake Lady.
Previously, Golden Chin had been cornered by the knight youth, Zong Ge, and Grey, facing certain doom, and it was her magic that had allowed for his escape. Now, the three youths also enjoyed the same aid.
Rou Cang hit nothing but air and landed on the rocks, causing towering waves to splash up.
He roared in anger, unleashing a Combat Skill—Meat Body Raft.
Golden Fighting Spirit enveloped his entire body, though just a thin layer, it continued to circulate constantly.
Rou Cang stepped directly on the sea surface, the water reaching only above his ankles, and he continued the chase after the three youths.
The Dragon-man youth dodged left and right, his situation looking grim.
Giant Rou Cang’s offensive was extremely ferocious; even his ordinary punches and kicks were comparable to the might of Silver Level Combat Skills.
Thankfully, with the intermittent tugging from the Sea Snake Lady’s Water Rope, the Dragon-man youth managed to keep their lives safe for the moment, despite two burdens.
In the midst of the escape, Zong Ge finally came to his senses.
“Put me down; we should split up and run!” Zong Ge immediately said.
“No!” the Dragon-man youth refused, “I can still hold on a little longer…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Rou Cang struck from behind with another Combat Skill—Meat Spikes!
Golden Fighting Spirit transformed into fine, needle-like spikes, like a torrential downpour, enveloping the three youths.
The Golden Fighting Spirit condensed into needles, and as long as they pierced the skin, they would burrow into the flesh of the three.
The muscles of the three youths were immediately altered, rapidly crystallizing into sharp spikes.
With the slightest movement, the spikes caused intense pain. The key point was that the spikes kept growing, and if left unchecked, they would pierce their internal organs. Should it come to that, minor injuries could turn into severe, if not fatal, wounds.
Zong Ge and Grey groaned in pain, and the Dragon-man youth also suffered from this Combat Skill. His body was wrapped in Dragon Scales, but they couldn’t completely block the Golden Fighting Spirit.
The Dragon-man youth staggered, involuntarily falling onto the rocks below.
Rou Cang pursued relentlessly, right behind them, and this delay directly plunged the three youths into a desperate situation.
“Go!” In the nick of time, the two youths flared their arms and flung Zong Ge and Grey away.
He himself used the resulting recoil to accelerate his fall into the water.
Just as he hit the water, he kicked hard, changing his direction beneath the surface.
Almost immediately after, Rou Cang’s massive foot stomped down, nearly brushing the Dragon-man youth’s leg, and struck empty space.
The huge wave created instantaneously was an impact to the Dragon-man youth’s delight, spurring him to desperately dive deeper.
Rou Cang hesitated for a moment, choosing not to continue his pursuit of the Dragon-man youth, instead turning to attack the nearest Grey.
Along the way, Rou Cang was again impeded by Water Magic but shattered it with a thunderous blow.
Grey had just climbed onto a rock and could no longer evade, only to watch helplessly as Rou Cang executed another Combat Skill against him.
Golden Fighting Spirit gathered into a gigantic palm and slammed toward the Rat-man.
The Rat-man closed his eyes, resigning himself to fate, but in the next instant, he was involuntarily pulled away by Zong Ge.
The two avoided the energy giant palm, which then crashed onto the rock, causing an explosion.
The rock was only partly shattered, but the powerful blast that followed sent Zong Ge and Grey flying.
Rou Cang relentlessly chased after them, but halfway through, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
To his left and ahead, the Dragon-man youth was already standing on a piece of rock.
His dragon mouth was continuously opening and closing, speaking only in Dragonese.
He was casting a spell!
Dragonese Magic—Fiery Dragon Breath!
Seconds later, the spell chant completed, the Dragon-man youth violently expelled a stream of scorching flame.
The flame blast struck Rou Cang head-on, nearly engulfing him in fierce fire.
Rou Cang uttered no sound, bathing in the flames, his form remaining unyielding.
Seconds later, he executed a Combat Skill—Giant Meat Backhand!
The Golden Fighting Spirit condensed into a massive palm, charged at the Dragon-man youth with Dragon Flame burning atop it, now gathering all the flames from Rou Cang’s body onto the giant palm.
The Dragon-man youth could only attempt to dodge with all his might.
After his intervention, both Zong Ge and Grey managed to board the Golden Chin.
Before long, the Dragon-man youth, with the aid of the Water Rope, made it onto the Sea Snake Lady’s ship.
“Retreat! Retreat quickly!” the Sea Snake Lady ordered in panic.
By the time Rou Cang returned to the Bathtub, the Dragon-man youth and the others had already pulled away to a safe distance.
With an unhappy snort, Rou Cang once again submerged into the bathtub on the top floor, giving up the chase.