Thick tentacles, carrying the force of ten thousand catties, smashed violently onto the deck again and again.
The defensive runes on the ship's surface flashed wildly, resisting direct destruction, but many demons who couldn't dodge in time were directly smashed into meat paste, with blood and shattered bones flowing across the deck.
The warship rocked violently under the massive impacts. Demon soldiers desperately grabbed ropes, masts, or any fixed object to avoid being flung into the sea.
In contrast, the six-clawed Qisi showed astonishing adaptability. Their sharp claws dug into the wood like iron hooks, far steadier on the tilting, rocking deck than the demons.
The two huge evil eyes hovering in mid-air unleashed [Petrification Ray] downward with all their might!
Wherever the gray-white beams swept, large numbers of demon soldiers were partially petrified. In the violent ship rocking, these soldiers who had lost part of their mobility couldn't maintain balance at all and fell screaming into the sea, immediately torn apart by the Qisi lurking underwater, waiting for a chance.
The blood clan's viscount's face was unsightly to the extreme.
He tried chanting Explosive Flame, the scorching fireball bombing a tentacle, filling the air with charred meat smell, but unable to cause fatal damage—the tentacle's flesh regenerated at an extreme speed. By the time he cast the second spell, it had already recovered half!
He switched to condensing a rocket to shoot at the evil eye, but it was negated by that layer of blue magic shield, merely rippling it.
However, on the three ships, diamond-tier combat power was not just the viscount alone.
And these empire elites' strength was not something tribal superior warriors could compare to.
At this moment, on another skeletal-class guard ship, a diamond-tier horn demon general made a decision.
Ignoring the tentacles wrapping around his own ship's hull, his legs suddenly exerted force, and his robust body shot upward like a cannonball. The long spear in his hand, carrying the sound of breaking air, ruthlessly stabbed into one evil eye's eyeball!
Suffering a heavy blow, the two evil eyes both continuously pulled up in height while concentrating their petrification rays on this horn demon, gradually turning him from armor to skin grayish white.
The horn demon showed no intention of letting go. Instead, he continuously dragged the long spear, trying to thoroughly kill this evil eye.
The viscount wanted to fly up to help him, but the temperature around him suddenly dropped.
He turned back. That demonkin with ice-blue magic patterns flowing over his body—Lord Hess—finally walked out of the sealed cabin.
The viscount knew that Lord Hess didn't want to fight first, but that Lord Hess couldn't easily come out.
This lord's power was top-tier even among hall-tier, yet extremely hard to control.
Once leaving the specially sealed rune-etched cabin, the leaking chill could freeze the sea, trapping the ship underfoot.
Just then, the thick tentacle smashed again. Hess took a step forward, not dodging or evading, heading straight under the tentacle.
He raised his right arm upward. Accompanied by a muffled sound, that tentacle capable of smashing reefs was hard-blocked by him!
“When did the sea get so many disgusting things?”
Bone-chilling cold rapidly spread from the contact point. The tentacle's flesh quickly lost vitality, covered in thick ice. In just a few breaths, the entire tentacle had frozen into a rigid ice stick.
Even the blood clan viscount had to retreat a distance to avoid being frostbitten by the dissipating cold air.
The terrifying low temperature didn't stop. Instead, it spread along the frozen tentacle toward the sea surface.
Only to hear “crack crack” sounds incessantly. Large patches of surrounding seawater visibly froze into hard ice at a speed the eye could see, as if instantly dragging the battlefield into the far north ice plains.
Hess suddenly exerted force. “Crack”—a crisp sound. He broke off that massive frozen tentacle.
He swung both arms in a circle, hurling this root thicker than a siege ram toward the sky!
The ice pillar whistled through the air, smashing exactly onto the evil eye entangled with the horn demon. Accompanied by a muffled sound and splashing viscous fluid, the evil eye burst on the spot, and the horn demon fell straight onto the frozen sea surface.
…
Qisi’s heart was bleeding.
Since being chased into this unfamiliar sea by that mushroom, it—having lost its last precious cloning chance—lived like a startled bird.
It cautiously avoided deep-sea behemoths with terrifying auras, only operating in relatively barren, safe edge zones. Like the humblest scavenger, it preyed on ordinary sea beasts, lone merfolk…
Bit by bit, struggling to rebuild strength.
It generally avoided ships—even lone ones.
It was no longer the ignorant, reckless predator from before.
It had learned patience, understood trade-offs.
It knew attacking ships might draw attention from land-based powerhouses it absolutely couldn't resist.
However, this time… the energy fluctuations from those demon warships were simply too rich, like the sweetest bait in the darkness, completely unable to make it endure!
The result? Hit an iron plate right from the start!
Watching the tentacle beast it had painstakingly rebuilt suffer heavy damage, the precious evil eyes destroyed, elite six-clawed Qisi constantly culled on the deck—how could it not hurt?!
That damned mushroom—right now, probably occupying its former nest, frantically expanding the creep and proliferating mushrooms!
And itself?
Had to lose this hard-accumulated family again!
At this rate, forget accumulating strength to return for revenge. One day, some accident would silently extinguish it in this cold, dark, danger-filled ocean, leaving no trace.
Under repeated failures, Qisi suddenly felt a sense of defeat and dejection.
Maybe… just give up?
Let go of that impossible hatred. Find the remotest sea trench to hide, catch small fish and shrimp daily, eke out a meager existence.
If that mushroom's mycelium or Puchi spread here one day, flee deeper, farther…
The sea was so vast. There should be a corner to hold it, right?
That… seemed not bad?
After all… how could it possibly defeat a monster like that mushroom?
Its mushrooms outnumbered its bugs, and it could even steal its bugs' abilities.
Last time the tentacle beast was killed, it must have grown stronger again…
Just give up. Giving up was fine.
But…
How could it accept that?!
That one who toyed with it, devoured it, drove it like a homeless dog from its home, forcing it to struggle in this cold, dark, danger-filled ocean…
Mush! Room!
How could it endure, watching that enemy happily develop and expand on its former turf, while it cowered like a lowly bug, scraping by in hiding?!
Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!
It had to eat it!
Before that, eat these ships first!
Accompanied by several heavy muffled sounds like cracking icebergs, the frozen sea surface burst open!
Several thick tentacles with ferocious maws broke through the ice, carrying sky-high ice shards and surging malice, smashing toward the demon warships like dancing giant pythons!
The remaining single evil eye also shed its previous cautious skirmishing posture. The huge single eye blazed with pale light, charging recklessly toward Hess at the bow, as if ready for mutual destruction!
The residual six-claws on the deck were even more frenzied, like receiving a suicide command. They roared madly, abandoning all defense, attempting to swarm over.
However, reality's cruelty wouldn't change a bit because of a desperate will.
If it were just Hess facing this mad all-out counterattack, he might truly fall into a bitter fight. But at this moment, behind him was a complete demon fleet!
“Block these bugs!” The blood clan viscount roared fiercely, leading elite soldiers to form a defense line. Sword light and magic wove together, firmly holding back the mad charging six-claws.
The evil eye charging from the air was locked by a diamond-tier shadow mage on another ship. Cooperating with the attack arrays lighting up on both sides of the hull, arcane missiles and corrosion rays poured down like a gale and sudden rain on its shield.
That layer of blue magic shield flickered violently, already on the verge of shattering.
And standing at the bow, Hess, facing the massive tentacle lashing out with claws bared, had only a trace of novelty in his eyes: “When did the sea get so many disgusting things?”
The tentacle swept horizontally.
“Got desperate, little octopus!” Hess's mouth curved. Bone-chilling cold instantly gathered on his right fist. A plain, unadorned heavy punch met the tentacle head-on!
However—
Whoosh—!
The expected scene of the tentacle freezing and shattering didn't occur. Instead, it was Hess who was smashed flying—his entire body drawing a parabolic arc in mid-air!
“My lord?!” The blood clan viscount, commanding the battle, noticed this sudden change and looked back in horror. “How is that possible! What hap—”
Whoosh—!
An arrow's piercing whistle cut off his shout.
In the instant he was distracted by his commander's being smashed away, a silver arrow condensed purely from highly compressed mana pierced his chest at extreme speed!
The arrow even carried holy attribute damage!
The viscount staggered and half-kneeled on the deck, looking up in disbelief toward the direction the arrow came from.
On the distant sea horizon, a ship that looked plain on the surface but had the tonnage of a "skeletal-class" had quietly appeared in sight at some point.
“So… so far a distance… how is that possible…” Far apart, he couldn't comprehend how the opponent had attacked him.
In his vision, a trace of silver light that chilled his heart appeared again.
The viscount struggled to condense a blood shield before him, but the heavy blow from the chest piercing slowed his movements fatally by an instant.
A hair's breadth off, the blood shield failed to block the second silver arrow. The arrow shot straight into his brow.
Consciousness was rapidly swallowed by darkness. In the last moment of falling backward, his blurry vision reflected Hess's roaring back as he fought fiercely with several violent tentacles in mid-air.
However… on that lord's right arm, which now hung powerlessly in front of him, there was clearly an identical silver arrow embedded…
(End of Chapter)
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