Chapter 651: Section 438: The Power of Ba Qi
Gum Man was eager to perform, but actions spoke louder than words and gradually the Sea Snake Lady lost faith in his words.
However, as Gum Man had claimed, the strength of the Golden Level sea serpent indeed weakened progressively.
This sea serpent lacked intelligence, and had recklessly spewed deadly poison in the early stages, wantonly killing Fishmen, which significantly depleted its strength. Later, in its struggle with Gum Man, it failed to take appropriate measures against the nearly transparent fishing line, instead blindly pulling and diving into the sea. As time dragged on, the weakening effect of the fatigued fishing line accumulated, steadily sapping the sea serpent’s strength.
Ba Qi held onto Gum Man with one hand and, with one foot on the gunwale, leaned out to look at the sea.
He used his scouting Fighting energy to see the flailing sea serpent and praised, “You’ve chosen your target well this time.”
This was the intelligence gathering in the early stage of the battle.
The target chosen by the Sea Snake Lady wasn’t simple; it was chosen after many probes and observations to understand the Magic-like techniques possessed by the sea serpent, intentionally selecting one that posed less of a threat to the fishing line.
The sea serpent she was currently targeting evidently didn’t have any Magic-like techniques capable of slashing through the fishing line.
“Weak fishing line does indeed have some tricks,” Ba Qi remarked coolly.
After all, Gum Man, a Silver Level, really managed to contend with a Golden Level sea serpent using this equipment.
Gum Man’s lips trembled, wanting to respond to Ba Qi’s praise, but he couldn’t.
His face grew paler; although he had taken potions earlier, their effects were wearing off and his energy reserves were severely depleted; he was on the brink of collapse.
“I’m going to make a move,” Ba Qi said, pressing a hand on Gum Man, aware of his condition, and spoke nonchalantly.
The next moment, he began to inhale deeply.
This breath lasted for over a dozen seconds, causing the windless sky to churn and the residual force shook the Softie a few times.
Ba Qi finished inhaling, his chest swelled, and he seemed to have grown a few centimeters taller.
He leaned forward to look at the sea, slowly opened his mouth, and exhaled.
His lips tightened, revealing only a small gap, through which a mix of compressed air and Fighting energy jetted out.
A sharp, intense whistle almost pierced the eardrums of everyone nearby.
Combat Skill—One Breath·Needle Type!
Ba Qi practiced pressure Fighting energy techniques and was very adept at compressing airflows. The air he exhaled was heavily compressed, turning muddy white, resembling a thin, elongated needle.
As thin as a thread, the needle pierced the sea in a blink, piercing hundreds of meters and directly punctured the sea serpent’s body.
Under normal circumstances, Ba Qi would aim for the fatal points of a Golden Level sea serpent, like its head or vital organ area. However, since the goal was to capture the sea serpent alive, he directed the Qi Needle through its spine.
The injury it caused was minuscule, at most causing the sea serpent a tickling numbness.
The Golden Level sea serpent still struggled vigorously, its large size being an advantage here, as non-fatal injuries barely affected its combat ability.
Ba Qi’s expression remained unchanged as he continued to blow air gently.
But he secretly employed a second Combat Skill.
Combat Skill—Twist Finger Soft.
This Combat Skill was used for assistance, able to alter the form of other Combat Skills.
One Breath·Needle Type, originally a straight line, now could bend and turn under the influence of Twist Finger Soft.
The Qi Needle continuously extended and lengthened, piercing through the sea serpent’s body, then puncturing out and back again, resembling the sewing of a long strip of flesh.
Each penetration threaded through the snake bones, reaching deep into the bone marrow.
Bones were the toughest and strongest parts of a Golden Level sea serpent’s body, yet they couldn’t resist the attack of the Qi Needle.
The Sea Snake Lady, who was observing the battlefield using magic, witnessed this scene and couldn’t hide her shock.
Aboard the silently approaching Ghost Ship, the ship ghost also felt a slight sinking in his heart.
Gum Man also indirectly felt Ba Qi’s power, as the Golden Level sea serpent increased its strength intensely.
But the pressure Gum Man faced was, contrary to before, greatly reduced.
This was because Ba Qi’s Qi Needle was helping Gum Man, significantly lightening his load. Most of the resistance was borne by the interwoven Qi Lines.
The Qi Needle continuously wove through, stitching numerous white Qi Lines on the body of the Golden Level sea serpent.
Each penetration of the Qi Needle meticulously avoided the weak fishing line. The number of Qi Lines rapidly grew and soon surpassed the fishing lines.
Ba Qi’s control over these two Combat Skills was profoundly meticulous, a level of micro-manipulation that was breathtaking.
The transparent weakened fishing lines were invisible, but the white Qi Lines grew increasingly conspicuous.
They densely wound around the Golden Level sea serpent, as if knitting it a sweater.
Soon, the density of the Qi Lines surpassed that of the previous Golden Level fishing net.
The sea serpent desperately struggled, its blood continuously overflowing, staining the surrounding sea waters red.
“We can try reeling in now,” Ba Qi instructed.
Gum Man followed the order, gradually pulling up the fishing line.
After all, the physical weakened fishing line couldn’t bring the sea serpent ashore like the compressed air Qi Needles and Qi Lines.
After a few pulls, Gum Man was gasping for breath.
He had no choice but to order the First Officer to administer several more potions to him.
The potions quickly restored his strength, allowing him to slowly and arduously pull up the sea snake.
Naturally, the sea snake was unwilling to comply and attempted to dive deeper into the sea.
Ba Qi coordinated his efforts, slightly opening his mouth and expelling a stream of air that suddenly swelled, expanding the air line by five to six times, increasing the damage inflicted on the sea snake by fifty to sixty times!
The sea snake screamed pitifully, the intense pain rendering it almost immobile in an instant.
Gum Man seized the opportunity to reel in forcefully, dragging the sea snake up by several meters.
Ba Qi controlled the airflow, reducing the air line once more.
Once the sea snake regained some mobility, it continued to struggle, and Ba Qi once again enlarged the diameter of the air line, incapacitating the sea snake in an instant.
Gum Man took advantage of the situation to reel in again, pulling the sea snake up by several meters.
After several repetitions of this process, the sea snake was only a little more than 100 meters from the surface.
Seemingly realizing its fate, the Golden sea snake unleashed its strongest counterattack ever.
It desperately deployed every Magic-like skill it possessed, wildly attacking the surrounding sea, even going as far as to envelop itself in its own attacks.
Many air lines were destroyed, and it also inflicted severe damage upon itself.
Gum Man’s vision darkened as he nearly passed out, and the fishing line was released by over 80 meters.
Watching the savage tug-of-war and exhaustion unfold, the Sea Snake Lady expressed her concern with a worried face, “Lord Ba Qi, at this rate, the sea snake will kill itself!”
Ba Qi nodded slightly.
If this battle were merely to eliminate the sea snake, it would undoubtably be much simpler.
However, they needed to capture it alive and restrain it, which undeniably made things much more complicated.
But this was not beyond Ba Qi.
His eyes widened, and on top of the two Fighting energies he maintained, he effortlessly deployed a third Combat Skill.
Combat Skill—Qi Seal!
In the next moment, the air line expanded a hundredfold, merging with the surrounding air lines.
However, the air line that penetrated inside the sea snake did not merge and maintained its previous thickness.
The air line outside the sea snake’s body directly enveloped it, forming wide bands that protected it from its suicidal attacks.
The Golden Level Magic-like skills were indeed powerful, but the air bands continuously received replenishment from Ba Qi’s source. After struggling for over a minute, the sea snake was the first to falter, lacking the strength to use any Magic-like skills.
Its exhaustion was immense, and the demon crystal inside it could no longer assist in deploying any skills.
The air bands continued to spread, covering it layer by layer until it resembled a mummy.
The sea snake’s breath fell to its lowest point, no longer possessing the strength to struggle.
Gum Man was also nearly exhausted, but under the Sea Snake Lady’s hopeful gaze, he once again mustered new energy.
Finally, he clenched his teeth and successfully pulled the sea snake above the water surface.
The mummified sea snake floated on the water, motionless, at the mercy of others.
Ba Qi continued to blow air, maintaining the three Combat Skills.
Compared to him, Gum Man sat collapsed next to the ship’s rail, panting heavily, his entire body soaked with sweat as if he had just been pulled from the water.
For his beloved, he truly exerted all his strength this time.
“It’s my turn now,” said the Sea Snake Lady as she flew down from the Softie, not forgetting to show gratitude, “Thank you both for your mighty support.”
Hearing these words, a new light burst forth from the listless eyes of Gum Man, and he felt reenergized.
The Sea Snake Lady flew down to the sea surface, approaching the sea snake to examine it first.
Although she had been observing the battlefield continuously, this examination involved using different spells at close range to truly detect the actual state of the sea snake and determine if it was suitable to be a Magic Pet.
The examination results were not bad.
The Sea Snake Lady immediately pulled out a Magic Scroll.
The scroll emitted a Silver Level aura and, when unfurled, displayed a Hexagram-based Magic Array map with numerous contract spells rendered in Magic Runes, with crescents and squares on either side of the Magic Arrays. Most special was the snake-shaped pattern at the center of the Hexagram Array.
This was, of course, not a conventional Magic Line but a Totem!
In this scroll, the Sea Snake Lady used not only the standard process for making Magic Scrolls but also incorporated alchemy techniques of the Beastman Totem.
This Magic Scroll was one she had transcribed and crafted meticulously herself. A scroll like this usually took her at least a month to complete. Of course, during this month, she didn’t forgo other tasks, instead dedicating five to six hours each day to crafting the Magic Scroll.
The alchemy materials alone cost over 200 Gold Coins. Including time and labor, the price was even higher. However, these exorbitant costs were completely justified.
Because such a scroll enabled the Silver Level Sea Snake Lady to control a Golden Level sea snake beyond her tier.
Controlling beyond one’s tier wasn’t unusual, but the higher the level, the greater the significance and value.
For a Silver Level to surpass a Golden Level was exceptionally rare.
This was because the former was in the lower layer of the Transcendent Level, while the latter was already in the middle layer, with a clear distinction in social strata.
Many sought such scrolls, willing to pay even greater costs, yet they remained elusive.