Chapter 650: Section 437: Gum Man Catching Snakes (Extra at the end of the month)
Only two mountain snails remained, no longer able to bind the Golden Level sea snake.
The sea snake writhed its body and quickly shook off the encircling fishing net, angrily charging towards the fish people.
The Extraordinary Fishmen scattered in all directions, but with a gaping mouth, the sea snake violently sucked in the nearest three fishmen directly into its belly, swallowing them whole on the spot.
Qi Ren hurried to join the battle personally, whereas Qiao Miao had already exhausted all his mana and divine power and had to cease fighting temporarily.
With its Gold Level strength, the sea snake thrashed about, killing the fish people one by one, either through poison or consumption.
The belly of the snake quickly bulged, revealing the uneven shapes of some fish people or weapons. But soon, they were dissolved by the sea snake’s powerful digestive ability.
This was a devastating loss for the Da Ji Tribe.
Qi Ren’s eyes reddened with heartache, but he was helpless. Neither the Sea Snake Lady nor Zhou Zhang had given the order to retreat.
This is the world of the strong.
The numerous but weak are merely considered as slightly more numerous cannon fodder.
To the Sea Snake Lady and Zhou Zhang, Silver-Level fighters like Qi Ren and Qi Shu are just advanced cannon fodder.
Fortunately, the sea snake’s intelligence was limited. After freeing itself from the fishing net, it fixated on these fish people, driven by the flames of vengeance, refusing to stop until death.
Qi Ren and the others fought as they retreated, luring the sea snake to the ambush site.
"The casualties are too severe!" Qi Ren was on the verge of shedding blood-red tears.
They were still a short distance from the ambush site, but most of the Da Ji Tribe’s Extraordinary Fishmen were already dead. To preserve the remaining Extraordinary forces, he had no choice but to sacrifice many of the weaker ones, including women and children.
"Am I going to die here?"
"I can’t die, I can’t let more Extraordinary Power be sacrificed!"
Qi Ren was seriously injured; he was not afraid of death, but the losses had already brought the Da Ji Tribe to the brink of collapse.
Just then, the message from Fin Spirit came through with the Sea Snake Lady’s new command: "The Da Ji Tribe may retreat now."
Ironically, it was the Sea Snake Lady who ultimately let the Da Ji Tribe go, not Zhou Zhang, on whom Qi Ren and the others had placed their great hopes.
However, the Sea Snake Lady’s reason for sparing the Da Ji Tribe wasn’t out of overflowing sympathy.
On one hand, the Da Ji Tribe had lured the sea snake to an almost suitable position for them to take action. On the other, the Sea Snake Lady needed the Da Ji Tribe to survive as leverage to threaten Fin Spirit.
"We’re retreating!!" shouted Qi Ren, and like people pardoned from death, the fish people scattered, while he stayed behind to cover their escape.
"Damn, damn it all!!" Fin Spirit, aboard the Softie, was also managing many Water Ghosts for reconnaissance, and was aware of the Da Ji Tribe’s grievous losses.
Her heart was filled with hatred and anger, but she was restrained by the Magic Contract and couldn’t lash out against the Sea Snake Lady.
The ship ghosts that she had pinned her hopes on were stealthily nearby but did not intervene.
Like the Fishman Tribe, the backup Fin Spirit had hoped for did not come through at the crucial moment.
The ships of the haughty pirate group had already moved away in advance, and now, only the Softie, disguised as a white cloud, remained in the sky above the battlefield.
Ba Qi, the Sea Snake Lady, Gum Man, and Fin Spirit all gathered on the deck.
"Gum Man Captain, the next move is up to you," the Sea Snake Lady’s large eyes welling with autumnal tears, filled with expectation and pleading.
Gum Man was invigorated, his spirit rallied, and he patted his chest promising, "With me fully in action, I won’t let you down! Even if it means death, I’ll make sure this plan succeeds."
But then the Sea Snake Lady suddenly extended her index finger, gently stopping Gum Man’s lips: "No, Gum Man, I won’t let you die."
In that moment, Gum Man’s body shook violently, his eyes losing focus.
Once he’d recovered, his face flushed red, he blew out hard through his nostrils, and exclaimed loudly, "Sea Snake Lady, just watch! Just watch!"
Ba Qi witnessed this scene and couldn’t help but smirk.
He might not be old, but having experienced much and shrouded in the shadow of death, he was much more mature than Gum Man and saw through the Sea Snake Lady’s play.
Gum Man had never been so motivated in his life!
He angrily pulled out a large bundle of rope, winding it around his waist.
This rope was thick, with a diameter as big as an adult’s fist, and nearly transparent, only shimmering with strands of golden light on the surface.
It was Bukong Jun’s relaxing fishing line.
The line was thick and long naturally, for Bukong Jun was not of the Human Race, nor an Elf, but a Tree Man mushroom. In the underground world, giant mushroom trees grew. Bukong Jun was awakened by a druid, and thereafter, step by step, he cultivated to become a Legendary Magic Chef.
As a giant, the fishing line Bukong Jun used was, to ordinary people, of such a thick and enormous size.
The Gold Level relaxing fishing line was not only transparent in material but also had an extremely faint aura, with a Gold-Level aura close to non-existent.
Gum Man pulled out the end of the rope and imbued it with his Silver Level fighting energy.
Although Silver Level fighting energy couldn’t exist freely away from the body like Gold Level, it could be imbued into weapons or armor to enhance their power.
Once imbued with fighting energy, the end of the rope immediately sprang to life, as if it had suddenly gained its own.
With all his might, Gum Man flung the relaxing fishing line far out.
The fishing line, pulled along by the rope, flew to the side of the ship and plummeted straight down, immersing into the sea within a few seconds and heading straight for the sea serpent.
The aura of the fishing line was retracted to undetectable levels, but upon closer inspection, a trace of aura still leaked out.
This was after all an artifact of the Golden Level, and Gum Man was only at the Silver Level. Harnessing it with his fighting energy was like a small horse pulling a large cart—his strength was insufficient and he couldn’t fully unleash the fishing line’s power.
Had someone with Golden Level fighting energy taken action, they would’ve been able to retract the aura of the fishing line to a completely undetectable level.
However, for the current situation, this degree of aura concealment was entirely sufficient.
The sea serpent, though it was of the Golden Level, had intelligence far inferior to that of the Fishman, and now in its fury state, it failed to notice the approach of the fishing line.
The fishing line wrapped around the Golden sea serpent with ease, as if it had eyes of its own, binding it up.
Upon realizing it was restrained once again, with every movement greatly hindered, the sea serpent’s fury intensified, raising huge waves in the sea.
On board of the Softie, Gum Man, through his own strength, was contending with the Golden Level sea serpent. He frantically stirred his fighting energy until his face turned red and used all his might until every muscle in his body trembled slightly.
He desperately activated the weakening power of the fishing line, continually depleting the sea serpent’s strength and deepening its state of enervation.
The resistance of the Golden Level sea serpent grew weaker and weaker.
Joy appeared on his face as he looked at the Sea Snake Lady, "I’ve got it under control. Maybe I can handle it without Master Ba Qi needing to lift a finger..."
He didn’t know that the weakening power of the sea serpent was but an illusion of accumulating strength, the calm before a storm.
In the next moment, the Golden Level sea serpent used a magic-like ability, causing its strength to surge more than twofold!
Gum Man’s face changed dramatically, and before he could react, he was dragged away by the fishing line.
With a loud bang, he smashed into the mast, quickly wrapping his lengthened, softened arms around it.
The fishing line, still wrapped around his waist, continued trying to drag him beneath the ship.
The other end of the Golden Level sea serpent was swimming with all its might, diving deep into the ocean.
Had this been a regular Silver Level fighter, they would probably have been pulled apart alive. However, Gum Man’s bloodline was special and his fighting energy spell was compatible, allowing his bones and flesh to temporarily soften, stretch, and even slightly deform.
"See, I’ve got the situation under control, don’t worry!" Gum Man boasted to the Sea Snake Lady.
"That move just now was a bit too much for him," the Sea Snake Lady muttered to herself with an inward eye roll, while a look of concern dominated her face.
But her concern wasn’t entirely feigned.
Of course, the Sea Snake Lady wasn’t worried about Gum Man; she worried that his failure would jeopardize the operation.
However, the Sea Snake Lady had come fully prepared. To miss out on this sea serpent, she had other targets lined up.
Only, there was no second Da Ji Tribe to serve as cannon fodder at this time.
Half a minute later, Gum Man’s complexion worsened. Despite his full strength, the Golden Level sea serpent continued to dive deeper into the sea.
For this reason, he had to release several coils of fishing line around his waist.
The Golden Level weakening fishing line could also deform. Once stretched, it became even thinner, yet its tenacity was ample, and he wasn’t worried it would snap any time soon.
"Damn it, only less than one third of my fighting energy remains!" Another half minute passed and Gum Man finally shouted, "Hurry, give me medicine."
His hands and feet were wrapped around the mast, and with one hand grasping the weakening fishing line, he couldn’t take the medicine himself.
The First Officer promptly came over, opened the medicine bottle, and poured it into Gum Man’s open mouth.
Gum Man successfully consumed the medicine and its effects were immediate. The rate at which his body produced fighting energy surged, and despite the constant depletion, his reserves of fighting energy actually began to rise.
But in the next moment, the Golden Level sea serpent burst forth again.
Gum Man was not torn apart, but the mast couldn’t hold any longer and snapped.
Gum Man’s face turned pale as, without anything to hold on to, he was yanked out.
Just as he was about to crash through the ship’s side and be dragged under the water by the Golden sea serpent, at the critical moment, the sky thundered, and Master Ba Qi suddenly appeared at the ship’s side, stretching out a huge hand to grab Gum Man’s shoulder.
Only then did a wave of air surge over.
With Master Ba Qi’s intervention, as steady as a mountain, Gum Man was immediately secured in place at the ship’s side.
Gum Man, still unsettled, quickly expressed his gratitude, only then truly understanding why the Sea Snake Lady had invited Master Ba Qi to help at such a high cost.
"Captain Gum Man, are you alright?" the Sea Snake Lady asked with concern.
Of course, her concern was not truly for Gum Man but for the sea serpent beneath the water.
However, being adept in understanding the human heart, she did not phrase her question like that and instead inquired about Gum Man’s condition.
Gum Man, a little embarrassed but feeling better from the concern shown by his heart’s desire, quickly replied, "I’m fine, cough, I’m fine, and the sea serpent is under my control too."
He replied rapidly while coughing up blood.
His struggle with the Golden sea serpent was already dire. The recent shock’s force was substantial, causing him injury.
The Sea Snake Lady’s furrowed brows showed her pessimism with the situation at hand.
Ps: Another update coming soon!