Chapter 461, Section 460: Keith's Determination
Thick tentacles, carrying immense force, slammed violently onto the deck time and time again. The defensive runes on the ship's surface flickered wildly, resisting the direct damage, but many demon soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were directly smashed into mincemeat, blood and bone fragments flowing on the deck.
The warship rocked violently under the immense impact, and the demon soldiers had to desperately grab onto ropes, masts, or any fixed object to avoid being thrown into the sea.
In contrast, the six-clawed Qiss exhibited remarkable adaptability; their sharp claws dug deep into the planks like iron hooks, making them far more stable than the demons on the tilting, swaying deck.
The two enormous evil eyes, suspended in mid-air, poured down [Petrifying Rays] with all their might!
Wherever the gray-white beam of light swept, a large number of demon soldiers were partially petrified. Amidst the violent rocking of the ship, these soldiers, who had lost some of their mobility, were unable to maintain their balance and screamed as they fell into the sea, where they were easily torn apart by Qis, who was lurking underwater.
The vampire viscount's face was extremely grim.
He tried chanting the Exploding Flame spell, and a scorching fireball slammed into a tentacle, filling the air with a burnt smell, but it couldn't cause any fatal damage. The flesh on the tentacle regenerated at an extremely fast speed, and by the time he used his second spell, it had recovered almost half of its original size!
He then condensed a rocket and fired it at the Evil Eye, but it was neutralized by the blue magical shield, only causing a ripple.
However, the Viscount is not the only one on the three ships with diamond-level combat power.
The strength of these imperial elites was far beyond that of the tribe's superior warriors.
At this moment, on another skeletal-class corvette, a diamond-class horned demon general made a decision.
Ignoring the tentacles wrapped around his ship, he suddenly exerted force with his legs, and his burly body shot into the sky like a cannonball. With a whooshing sound, the spear in his hand plunged into the eyeball of an evil eye!
Suddenly struck by a severe blow, the two evil eyes continued to rise in height while concentrating petrifying rays on the horned demon, causing his armor and skin to gradually turn gray.
The horned demon showed no intention of letting go, instead dragging the spear further, attempting to kill the evil eye completely.
The viscount wanted to take off to help him, but the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped.
He looked back and saw that Lord Hess, the demon descendant whose body was covered in ice-blue magic patterns, had finally walked out of the sealed chamber.
The viscount knew that it wasn't that Lord Hess didn't want to confront the enemy immediately, but rather that Lord Hess couldn't easily come out.
This person's power is among the top even among those at the Hall of Fame level, yet it is extremely difficult to control.
Once outside the dedicated cabin marked with sealing runes, the leaking chill is enough to freeze the seawater and trap the ship beneath its feet.
Just then, the thick tentacles slammed down again, but Hess took a step forward and, without dodging or avoiding, went straight to meet the tentacles below.
He raised one arm upwards, and with a muffled thud, he managed to hold back the enormous tentacle that was powerful enough to smash the rocks!
"When did so many disgusting things appear in the ocean?"
A bone-chilling cold spread rapidly from the point of contact. The flesh of the tentacle quickly lost its vitality, covered with a thick layer of ice, and in just a few breaths, the entire tentacle was frozen into a stiff icicle.
Even the vampire viscount had to retreat a distance to avoid being frostbitten by the dissipating cold air.
The terrifyingly low temperature did not stop, but instead spread towards the sea surface along the frozen tentacles.
A series of cracking sounds rang out as large swathes of seawater around them froze into solid ice at a visible speed, as if the battlefield had been instantly dragged into the far north ice field.
Hess exerted his strength suddenly, and with a crisp "crack", he broke off the huge frozen tentacle.
He swung his arms in a wide arc and hurled the ice tentacle, which was larger than a battering ram, into the air!
The icicle whistled through the sky and struck the Evil Eye, which was entangled with the Horned Demon, with a muffled thud and splashes of viscous fluid. The Evil Eye exploded on the spot, and the Horned Demon fell straight onto the frozen sea.
...
Keith's heart was bleeding.
Ever since being driven into this unfamiliar sea by that mushroom, it lost its last precious chance to split, and lived like a frightened bird.
It carefully avoided the terrifying deep-sea monsters, only venturing into the relatively barren and safer edges, like the humblest scavenger, preying on ordinary sea creatures and lone mermaids...
Little by little, they are painstakingly rebuilding their strength.
It generally does not attack ships, even lone ships.
It is no longer the ignorant and reckless predator it once was.
It learned to be patient and to weigh the pros and cons.
It knew that attacking ships might attract the attention of powerful beings on land that it could never contend with.
However, this time... the energy fluctuations emanating from those demon warships were far too intense, like the sweetest bait in the darkness, arousing its hunger and making it completely unable to resist!
As a result, he ran into a brick wall as soon as he made a move!
Seeing his painstakingly cultivated Tentacle Beast suffer severe damage, his precious Evil Eye destroyed, and his elite Six-Clawed Qis constantly being slaughtered on the deck, how could he not feel heartbroken?!
That damned mushroom is probably occupying its former nest right now, frantically expanding its fungal carpet and multiplying into more mushrooms!
And what about itself?
But they will lose all the little bit of wealth they have painstakingly accumulated again!
If things continue like this, forget about accumulating strength to go back and take revenge on Mushroom; I'm afraid that one day, due to some accident, I will silently disappear into this cold, vast ocean, leaving not even a trace.
After a series of setbacks, Keith suddenly felt frustrated and dejected.
Maybe... we should just leave it at that?
Let go of that impossible hatred, find the most remote trench to hide in, and live a meager existence by catching small fish and shrimp every day.
If you ever feel the mushroom's mycelium or spores spreading towards you, then you'll escape a little deeper and further away...
Anyway, the ocean is so vast, there must be a corner that can accommodate me, right?
This... seems pretty good?
Ultimately... how could I possibly defeat a monster like a mushroom?
It has far more mushrooms than I have insects, and it can even steal the abilities of my insects.
It killed the Tentacle Monster last time, so it must have gotten much stronger since then...
Just give up, that's fine.
only,
How could I possibly accept this?!
That mushroom that toyed with it, devoured it, and drove it from its home like a stray dog, forcing it to struggle for survival in this cold, dark, and perilous ocean!
How could it bear to watch its enemy happily grow stronger on its own territory, while it could only eke out a living like a lowly insect, hiding and dodging?
Eat it, eat it, eat it!
I absolutely must eat it!
Before that, let's eat these ships first!
Accompanied by several heavy, muffled sounds like icebergs breaking apart, the frozen sea surface suddenly exploded!
Several thick tentacles with ferocious mouths burst out of the ice, carrying ice shards and overwhelming malice, and crashed together towards the demon's warship like a wildly dancing python!
The remaining evil eye also changed its previous cautious fighting posture. The pale light in the huge single eye shone brightly, and it charged towards Hess at the bow of the ship without any regard for anything, as if it wanted to perish together with him!
The remaining six-clawed creatures on the deck seemed to have received a death warrant, letting out frantic roars and completely abandoning their defenses, attempting to swarm and attack.
However, the harshness of reality cannot be changed in the slightest by a resolute will.
If Hess were alone facing this frenzied, all-out counterattack, he might truly be caught in a fierce battle. But now, behind him stood an entire demon fleet!
"Stop these insects!" the vampire viscount shouted, leading his elite soldiers to form a defensive line. Sword light and magic intertwined, desperately blocking the frenzied charge of the six-clawed creatures.
The Evil Eye, swooping down from the sky, was locked onto by the Diamond-level Shadow Mage on another ship. With the help of the attack arrays that lit up on both sides of the ship, arcane missiles and corrosive rays rained down on its shields like a storm.
The blue magic shield was flashing violently, already on the verge of breaking.
Standing at the bow of the ship, Hess looked at the giant, menacing tentacles with only a hint of curiosity: "Instead of fleeing, it was able to coordinate and launch an organized and desperate counterattack... This monster is getting more and more interesting to look at."
The tentacle came slapping horizontally.
"You're getting angry, little octopus!" Hess's lips curled into a smile, and his body instantly gathered a chilling aura in his right fist, unleashing a simple yet powerful punch to meet the tentacles head-on!
However,
Whoosh—!
The expected scene of the tentacles being frozen and smashed did not occur. Instead, Hess was slammed away and flew through the air in an arc!
"My lord!?" The vampire viscount, who was directing the battle, noticed the sudden turn of events and turned around in shock. "How is this possible! What happened..."
Whoosh—!
The sharp whistling of an arrow piercing the air interrupted his exclamation.
In the instant he was distracted by his superior being sent flying, a silver arrow, formed purely from highly compressed magic, pierced through his chest at incredible speed!
The arrows even possess holy damage attributes!
The viscount staggered and knelt on the deck, looking up incredulously in the direction from which the arrows had come.
On the distant horizon, a large ship with an unassuming appearance but a tonnage comparable to that of a "skeleton ship" quietly came into view.
"So...so far away...how is that possible..." Given the great distance, he couldn't understand how the other party could have attacked him.
A chilling silver light reappeared in his field of vision.
The viscount struggled to conjure a blood shield in front of him, but the severe wound from the bullet piercing his chest slowed his movements, causing a fatal moment.
By a hair's breadth, the Blood Shield failed to stop the second silver arrow, which pierced straight into his brow.
His consciousness was quickly swallowed by darkness, and in the last moment before he fell backward, his blurred vision revealed the back of Lord Hess, who was roaring in mid-air as he fought fiercely against several ferocious tentacles.
However… that person’s right arm was now hanging limply in front of him, and an identical silver arrow was stuck in his arm as well…
(End of this chapter)
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