Chapter 460, page 459: Chaos reigns on the high seas.
On the vast ocean, a large sailboat with a simple and unadorned appearance is slowly sailing north.
The dark brown hull was undecorated, making it look like an ordinary cargo ship.
Only by looking closely can one discover the runes engraved beneath the wood grain and the faint silvery-white metallic luster below the waterline.
Defense matrix, anti-detection barrier, concealment magic, beast-driving array, wave detection...
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this ship is the culmination of the church's magic array technology.
At the top of the high mainmast, Sophia stood atop the mast, the sea breeze ruffling her golden hair tied back. Her eyes, enhanced by her skills, were fixed on the distant horizon, the white square lines in her pupils constantly expanding and contracting, projecting distant scenes beyond the reach of ordinary eyes onto her retina.
"Still no findings?" A crisp voice came from below.
Bella nimbly climbed the mast and handed Sophia a fruit that glowed with a shimmering green light. "Take a break, your eyes must be dry from staring for so long."
The ship was not lacking in reconnaissance capabilities, especially under the control of Priest Samuel, who was proficient in magic arrays. The detection arrays and anti-reconnaissance barriers engraved on the hull were sufficient to deal with most situations at sea.
However, all these advanced magic arrays and sophisticated magical devices paled in comparison to Sophia's unique eyes.
Its vision extends far beyond the limits of ordinary people, allowing it to penetrate most invisibility spells and barriers, in addition to the brief precognitive ability to glimpse the trajectory of the next few seconds.
The combination of these three features makes Sofia an almost irreplaceable "living radar" in this vast sea area.
Therefore, since deciding to attack the demon ships, Sophia has spent most of her waking hours on the mast.
Sofia took the fruit from Bella, and the strange white square pattern in her pupils slowly spread out, eventually dissolving into the whites of her eyes like ripples.
"So far, the only one we've truly managed to intercept is that lone demon transport ship." She took a small bite of the sweet, juicy fruit, her tone tinged with disappointment. "The others we've encountered have all been organized demon fleets, and we've had to avoid them. If only the people in the archipelago could offer some help... then we might actually have a chance to cut off the demons' sea routes."
"Don't count on those scumbags," Bella curled her lip, her face full of disdain. "Complete opportunists! Expecting them to stand up and fight the demons head-on? I'd rather hope that the demons' main fleet gets swallowed whole by some ancient sea monster that appears out of nowhere!"
Of course, this was just something said in anger.
The ocean is indeed teeming with powerful sea creatures, and there are even terrifying individuals capable of overturning an entire fleet, but most of them are of low intelligence and act solely on the instincts of hunting and territoriality.
Just like the beast-repelling array on this ship, it can emit specific magical fluctuations that cause most sea beasts to stay away on their own.
This technology is not unique to the church; given the technological prowess of the demon race, their warships must also be equipped with similar protective measures.
Therefore, the unexpected event that Bella hoped for is almost impossible.
Sofia was about to say something more when her gaze inadvertently swept across the northern horizon and suddenly paused. The white square deep within her pupils instantly shrank to a pinpoint of light, and her voice became slightly hurried: "There's a ship!"
Sophia's discovery immediately alerted the captain of the guard and priest Samuel. The two quickly rushed to the high deck, where Sophia described the details of what she had seen: "Three demon warships have been spotted to the northwest! One 'Sea Monster' class and two 'Skeleton' class!"
"Sea Siren-class?!" Priest Samuel was slightly surprised. Their ship, by comparison with the Demon Clan's standards, was roughly equivalent to the tonnage of a "Skeleton-class" ship. The "Sea Siren-class" ship, on the other hand, was a true behemoth in the Demon Clan's navy. A warship of this caliber would certainly have at least one Hall of Fame-level expert on board, not to mention an entire complete battle formation.
If they were to confront them head-on, they might not be without a fighting chance. However, Samuel bears the heavy responsibility of protecting the growth of heroes. Attacking lone and weak targets to accumulate experience is acceptable, but against a regular fleet with considerable risks, avoidance is the best strategy.
He immediately decided, as he had done many times before, to use Sofia's reconnaissance advantage to quietly distance himself from the fleet.
However, Sophia suddenly raised her hand and added urgently, "Wait, Priest Samuel! Something's wrong... The protective runes on their ship are flashing constantly, it looks... like they're being attacked by sea monsters?"
After reporting this unexpected situation, Sophia subconsciously turned her head and glanced at Bella, who was still clueless beside her, with a somewhat incredulous expression, as if trying to confirm whether her companion's hidden talent called [Cursed Mouth] had really suddenly taken effect.
...
On the other side, the demon fleet was indeed attacked from the sea, but the attackers were not ordinary sea monsters.
A half-demon, with a piece of a long, white blade embedded in the flesh of his right arm, leaned over the violently rocking ship, peering down. On the murky sea floated numerous scaly remains of limbs and severed arms—the remains of the snake-man soldiers who had been ordered to scout the water earlier.
"What kind of sea beast is it?" The half-demon turned and shouted to the vampire viscount not far behind him, "Sir! It seems that the first batch of snake people who went into the water have all surrendered! What should we do next? Should we have the mage freeze this entire sea into a block of ice?"
The defensive runes on the ship's hull flashed incessantly, yet the half-demon's tone betrayed little tension.
The ship's defenses are quite excellent, and it's unlikely that the sea monsters could breach its hull in a short time.
Moreover, the real stabilizing force, Lord Hess, hasn't even made a move yet, so there's no need to panic.
Click... Click...
A strange sound, as if a hard object was scraping against the hull, came from the half-demon. He looked around again alertly, but found nothing.
"Fool! Hide your head!" The vampire viscount's stern shout rang out from behind!
However, the warning came too late. The half-demon felt a chill on his neck, and his vision began to spin uncontrollably. The last thing he saw was his own headless body, standing alone, with blood gushing from his severed neck.
His head fell into the sea with a "plop," and the gushing blood outlined a hideous silhouette clinging to the outside of the ship—six claws!
"Damn it!" the viscount cursed under his breath for his subordinates' slowness and his own oversight, raising his staff, inlaid with a large gemstone, high in the air.
The next moment, a colorful sphere of light, its rays constantly shifting and changing, shot out from the top of the staff and hovered in mid-air, like a miniature man-made aurora.
Under the illumination of the color-changing orb, the [Refraction Shadow] on the six-clawed creatures was broken, and the demon soldiers were surprised to find that many monsters had already climbed onto the deck.
Without the slightest hesitation, a bloody battle erupted instantly!
The clanging of swords being drawn, the dull thud of claws tearing flesh, the screams of the dying, and the hissing of monsters mingled together.
Despite being caught off guard by the surprise attack, the demon soldiers on the ship were no pushovers. After the initial chaos, they quickly regained their footing thanks to their superior equipment and individual strength.
The six-clawed monsters' stealthy ambush failed to achieve enough results, and after losing this advantage, they quickly fell into a disadvantageous position under the fierce counterattack of the demon soldiers.
Until a huge tentacle with a mouth and sharp teeth emerged from the sea and scrambled onto the warship, causing the ship to tilt violently!
At the same time, two enormous evil eyes emerged from the sea, pushing against the constantly flowing seawater.
(End of this chapter)
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