Chapter 315: Section 103: Blood Core Upheaval
The Justice Pirate Group was being besieged.
Cannons fired incessantly from the pirate ships, weaving a sparse web of fire.
Unlucky wretches hit by bombs, the weak died on the spot, the mediocre could barely hang on to a breath, and the powerful could directly knock the bombs away.
Several lobstermen, relying on their thick shells, charged right through the fire net and onto the deck of a pirate ship. On the deck, pirates of the Extraordinary Level had long been ready for battle, and the two sides immediately engaged in fierce combat.
Water Magic—Serpentine Water Arrow!
A Silver Level Sea Elf cast a spell, conjuring a serpentine water arrow.
...
The water arrow shot forth, piercing through the crystalline glue, and drilled into the gunners’ positions inside the ship’s hull.
The pirates at the guns were taken completely by surprise and one by one met with disaster.
The serpentine water arrow meandered and swam, boring through many gunners’ heads, directly silencing one side of the pirate ship’s guns.
Meanwhile, on a nearby pirate ship, Xu Ma agilely leaped across the crossbar, evading a male mermaid’s long spear thrust.
“Come and support me!” Xu Ma yelled, using obstacles like sails and masts to buy time.
The two bronze pirates that came to support him soon fell at the hands of the mermaid spearmen.
“You can’t escape!” The male mermaid, a Black Iron, was very strong in combat.
But in the next moment, his expression froze as he saw a group of pirates pour out of the ship’s cabin, each armed with alchemy crossbows.
The crossbows fired in unison, their arrows gleaming with various colors.
The mermaid spearmen let out a strange cry, attempting to dodge but still too late, and was turned into a hedgehog, dying miserably on the spot.
“That’ll teach you to chase me!” Xu Ma unconsciously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and after making this gesture, he belatedly realized he was in the water.
Inside Captain’s quarters of the Justice, Cang Xu had been watching the battlefield. Whether it was the Sea Elf’s magical massacre or pirate crossbowmen hunting the mermaid spearmen, it was all under his watchful eye.
“Underwater, Water Magic is greatly enhanced.”
“Human Race is quite constrained here in combat, with generally diminished battle power compared to land, even after extensive prior training.”
“However, every ship has its crossbow squad, and from what we can see, they’re doing quite well.”
Cang Xu was in a state of tension.
He wasn’t good at commanding battles. The one truly skilled in this area, Zong Ge, had already rushed to the front lines.
Cang Xu’s gaze immediately shifted to the Half-Beast.
He knew: Zong Ge wasn’t one to ignore the bigger picture. The Half-Beast possessed a talent for leadership, and had he not charged forward just now, the formation of the Justice Pirate Group would have been directly breached by the enemy.
Not just Cang Xu’s attention, Feng Yao was also closely following the battle performance of both Zong Ge and the Sea Elf Commander.
The outcome of their battle was crucial to the larger conflict.
Zong Ge charged ferociously, his Demon Blood Greatsword gleamed with a red aura, slashing with a powerful force.
The Sea Elf Commander, a Dual Cultivator of Magic and Martial Arts, emanated both Fighting Energy and Spell fluctuations. He wielded his Magic Wand, employing stick fighting techniques while adopting a defensive stance.
Zong Ge’s aggressive onslaught failed to break through the Sea Elf’s defense.
But the Sea Elf’s incantation had already come to an end.
Water Magic—Glue Technique!
Zong Ge, fighting at close quarters, was too close and was instantly hit by the spell.
He immediately felt his movements grow sluggish, as if his limbs, fingers, and greatsword were covered with sticky cobwebs, requiring much more effort to maintain the original speed, strength, and precision of his actions.
The Sea Elf began to chant again.
Zong Ge’s heart sank, knowing this was a sign of impending defeat.
He could still just barely hold the foe at bay, but once the second spell was successfully cast, his situation would deteriorate rapidly. He might even be defeated outright.
Sea Elves were also a race of Elves but lived in the sea, naturally possessing the ability to breathe underwater.
No matter male or female, they had long, beautiful figures and faces, though they lacked the Elves’ signature pointed ears, replaced instead with fin-like ears. The ears were wide, and their gills were concealed behind them.
Elves had long lifespans, and so did the Sea Elves. The Sea Elf Commander that Zong Ge faced was clearly of advanced age, having cultivated Fighting Energy and Magic over the long years. Though limited by talent and potential, only raising his life rank to the Gold Level, he had thoroughly researched both Fighting Energy and Magic domains.
Feng Yao could cast spells while moving, but the Sea Elf Commander was even more powerful, handling Zong Ge’s relentless and continuous assaults in battle while simultaneously casting spells!
However, at that moment, singing echoed once more from the Justice.
Feng Yao took action again.
This time, he went all out. He didn’t just play the harp; he was also singing praises.
Zong Ge received no buffs, but elsewhere on the battlefield, Aeshen, Chou, Golden Chin, and Sea Snake Lady all received enhancements as their power surged, closing in on Gold Level strength.
These four were already Silver Level powerhouses, and with the Bard Feng Yao’s support, their battle power skyrocketed instantly to Gold Level.
Combat Skill—Gray Mist Wave!
At the end of Aeshen’s gray fur, strands began to dissipate, transforming into wisps of gray mist.
The mist mingled with a glint of Silver Fighting Spirit.
Within one breath’s time, the mist accumulated and then violently spread forward, creating an inverted conical ripple.
Wherever the ripple passed, enemies died in droves, leaving the space in front of Aeshen empty.
“The power of the Combat Skill has increased at least threefold, and it consumes much less fur,” Aeshen said excitedly, stroking his head.
He excitedly said to his sidekick, Di Lou, “Look, that’s the power of a bard.”
Di Lou: “…”
Gray, Golden Chin, and Sea Snake Lady fought fiercely, successfully stifling the enemy’s encirclement.
The Justice Pirate Group’s gunfire never ceased since the battle began.
The Sea Elf Commander was furious, for he realized the enemy was rallying for a counterattack. If the battle continued to develop in this way, his squad would suffer a heavy loss.
“You have successfully angered me, good, now, let me show you my true strength!” he exclaimed.
“Oh, many-headed god, please manifest your divine might and let me obliterate these divine enemies!”
The Sea Elf lifted his head and shouted, and instantly, a radiant splendor of Divine Power burst forth from his body.
In the blinding light, the Sea Elf Commander split into two, then four, and four into eight. In an instant, there were seven more Sea Elf Commanders on the battlefield.
The presence of eight Golden Level powerhouses intimidated the entire battlefield.
The pirates of the Justice Pirate Group found themselves holding their breath.
“There was no need for incantation, he just split his form!”
“Eight at the Golden Level, how do we fight this?”
“Don’t panic, they are just clones!”
“That’s right, of the eight Sea Elf Commanders, seven are false, and one is real, just find the real one.”
“Kill those clones, the fake Sea Elf Commanders are far weaker than the real one, they are more fragile!”
However, in the ensuing fight, the eight Sea Elf Commanders showed no weakness; each clone fought just as fiercely, defended equally, and forced the Justice Pirate Group to retreat step by step.
A pirate ship failed to retreat successfully and was directly destroyed by one of the Sea Elf Commanders.
Zong Ge, Golden Chin, and others fought hard, barely managing to delay the Sea Elf Commander’s onslaught.
Golden Chin, Sea Snake Lady, and others sustained continuous injuries. Although they were enhanced by Feng Yao’s magic, they could only be considered Quasi-Gold Battle Power, with only Zong Ge on par with the Sea Elf Commander.
“Do you think this is just any place? This is the temple of my lord! Here, we are unbeatable!” all eight Sea Elf Commanders shouted in unison.
They began to join forces, and under their united front, the defense line of the Justice Pirate Group was greatly stressed and quickly collapsed.
“Such a Divine Arts boost is too exaggerated!” Feng Yao’s expression was extremely grim.
The eight Sea Elf Commanders pressed their advantage; Feng Yao had to engage in the fight personally, still unable to change the overall situation.
The forces of the Justice Pirate Group couldn’t hold their ground and began to rout.
On another front, just like the Sea Elf Commander, the Fishman Commander also demonstrated tremendous divine might.
He received a Divine Arts blessing and was enveloped in a layer of dark green light.
Magic Runes flickered in and out of view within the light, shielding the Fishman Commander from the onslaught of magic.
The Fishman Commander was in a state of magical immunity!
“Damn it!” a Golden Mage on the Catapult cursed through clenched teeth, as his spells were helpless against the immunity shield, forcing him to resort to summoning spells, which he was not proficient in.
One by one, Stone Puppets attempted to halt the Fishman Commander.
The Fishman Commander surged with Fighting Energy, his body swelling slightly, as he rampaged across the deck of the Catapult, shattering the stone puppets into heaps of rubble.
“This Divine Arts power is too strong!” A Fishman youth skulked in the corner of the battlefield, secretly astonished.
He had never seen such long-lasting magic immunity, and despite being attacked by magic, the shield remained rigid, showing no sign of weakening or fading.
With the Golden Mage severely restrained, he could only watch helplessly as the Fishman Commander took apart a large portion of his flagship, the Catapult.
The Golden Mage had no choice but to abandon ship and flee.
Naturally, the Fishman Commander refused to let him escape and pursued him relentlessly.
The Golden Mage was quite fast; he plunged into a small whirlpool, abandoning his subordinates and allies completely and leaving the battlefield.
The Commander’s flight caused the pirate’s morale to plummet and military discipline to collapse.
The Fishmen took the opportunity to slaughter widely, sparing no one, not even those who surrendered.
The Fishman youth emerged victoriously but lacked enthusiasm.
He had long estimated the Fishman Commander’s Golden Level strength, but the power of the Divine Arts was unexpectedly strong and long-lasting; it could be said that this Divine Arts sealed the victory.
After annihilating all the pirates, the Fishman Commander led his troops back in triumph.
Upon returning, the Fishman youth noticed the contingent led by the Naga Commander had returned some time ago.
They were the second victorious army to return.
The miscellaneous forces under the Sea Elf Commander hadn’t come back yet.
“Well done, you have proved yourselves. Although the trial hasn’t stopped, you can now receive some of the rewards you deserve,” the High Priest said with a smile, “Take all of these brave warriors of my lord to the Holy Pool, to be drenched and baptized with Holy Water.”
“Oh!!” The Fishmen cheered loudly.
The Fishman youth, curious, mingled with the crowd as they left the Wave Hall.
Passing through a long, dark underwater corridor, they arrived at a large hall with air.
In the center of the hall was a circular pool, with a column of water pouring down from the ceiling. The water column wasn’t thick, and the flow wasn’t swift, but it radiated a faint white light.
This was the Holy Pool and Holy Water.
A Priest explained to everyone, “Next, according to your individual battle achievements, you will enter the Holy Pool in batches to be baptized.”
The Fishman youth wore a look of excitement but felt a great tumult inside: “What’s going on?”
A strong desire emanated from his Blood Core within.
Devour!
Devour it!