The golden rain of light enveloped the fatigued warriors of the Lantis Navy. Injuries that required hours to patch up were healed in an instant. Tired bodies, filled with busted blood vessels and buckets of sweat were rejuvenated, giving them the power to fight another day. While the Black Masks were engulfed in terror and catastrophe, the Lantis Navy’s fallen were standing up one by one, as if they were an Immortal Army. The miracle of Yara Pass was finally being replicated.
“Damn it!!!” A Shudra screamed. The blisters on his palms were already bursting, and crimson fluids coloured his black robes into a crisp. He had just cut down a marine that flung into the longboat. It was a deep slice, with flesh and blood spraying everywhere. Yet, the officer that was supposed to be struggling on the floor was now completely unharmed and ready to go for round two. The encumbered Shudra was no match for the freshened marine, and he soon suffered the same fate that many of his men did…
“...” The Fleet Admiral was utterly speechless. Just a few moments prior, he was seething from his teeth at Lady Seph’s reluctance to treat Su Qigang. However, the Divine Healer’s next move was extraordinary. It even made the Fleet Admiral wonder why the Lantis Republic hadn’t procured a Divine Healer of their own!
“No, let’s just be grateful that she’s willing to give us her assistance… The Prince really attracts freaks from all over...” The Navy’s top man secretly gave Shin a grateful mental applause. Shin’s master was a healer that was second to none. His girlfriend was a talent that could match his own and trump any within the Lantis Republic. Furthermore, all of his closest friends and family had remarkable talents of their own. Even without his status as Prince, Shin was certain to climb to the apex of the cultivation world.
Speaking of the Prince… He was in the midst of directing his Spirit Beasts. The Paradise Heart revelation had changed the tides of the battle. Now, the Lantis Navy were focused in on the front of the longboat fleet. Scouts were sent into the air, specifically to identify the ships that housed a Paradise Heart. Their objectives had been altered.
Before, the Lantis Navy was content with destroying as many ships as they could, as vengeance for destroying the Nineteenth Artificial Island. A tooth for a tooth, one might say. However, if they could defang the beast entirely by sinking the Paradise Hearts into the ocean, it would be akin to killing two birds with one stone.
“They’re getting on my nerves,” the Ghost Corsair muttered. There was one Spirit Venerate down on the side of the Lantis Navy. Normally, that would demoralise the troops, giving the Black Masks a fighting chance to escape. However, the presence of Shin, as well as his master, was proving to be too difficult for the Black Masks to overwhelm.
The two brown eyes within the holes of the Brahmin’s Black Mask fluttered wildly. He looked at the Lantis Navy, with their rapidly moving warships. He then looked at the longboat fleet, that was on the verge of being completely destroyed. Then… The Ghost Corsair’s eyes landed on the young man down south. There was a Spirit Venerate protecting him in a shell, an elderly man with a terrifying beastly aura, the snowy white gerbil that caused the ice blockade to form and… at least a dozen more Tier 8 Spirit Beasts were circling his position, protecting him from any underwater threats.
What would be the best move for the Ghost Corsair? Attack the Lantis Navy, that could resurrect like an Immortal Army? Assist the Black Masks in bringing the Paradise Hearts to safety? No, it was neither of those options.
Who caused the Beast Horde that neutralised their own? Who created the ice path that blocked the Black Masks’ fleet retreat out of the Lantis Navy? Who was the one that sunk the longboat carrying the Paradise Heart? Wasn’t it that annoying little brat? As long as Shin lived, the Lantis Navy would always be on the winning track. So, there was really only one move that the Ghost Corsair could do…
Whhooooooooooooooooooooossssssssshhhh!!!
The Spirit Venerate turned into a lightning flash. The air turned dry, which was odd for a snowy day on top of the ocean. Electricity dominated the atmosphere, and the water turned static. Wielding his signature cutlass, the Ghost Corsair sliced through the air and burst forth into the southern territory, away from most of the Lantis Navy. His target was one person and one person only…
“Shin!” Lady Seph, being the closest to the Ghost Corsair, immediately identified the pirate’s objective. Her angel wings turned golden once more, and she turned into a blur.
The Admirals of the Lantis Navy also noticed the sudden shift. Shin was the most valuable person within the battle, there was no doubt about that. If anything were to happen to Shin, most of the Admirals here would lose their heads, courtesy of Saint Longyu Tian. Therefore, even though they were all busy with their own affairs, they always kept a keen eye out on the young Prince. And now… That very Prince was on the verge of danger.
“All units, keep firing!!!” The Fleet Admiral roared as he turned to his Vice-Admiral. “Take reigns over the fleet for now. If the need arises, I will leave to protect the Prince.” Yes, the battle against the Black Masks was important. However, Shin’s value superseded everything else. The Celestial Dragon’s Aura, his potential to become the world’s strongest Spirit Saint, the strategies he formulated… And most importantly, Shin’s seed was needed to progenate the next generation of geniuses.
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The Lady of Water had eight children, all of whom went on to create their own family clans. The Eight Ancient Clans of water were already a dominant force in the world. If Shin’s descendants awakened even more Scions of Water, wouldn’t that make the Lantis Republic close to invincible?
Naturally, the Ghost Corsair wasn’t thinking at such a macro-level. All he wanted to do was to rid the scourge that was plaguing the Black Masks. The lightning in his bottle created maelstroms with a force of a thousand thunderstorms. The cutlass in his hands became coiled with dense lightning elements, and the water surrounding him evaporated instantly. Before anyone could count to three, the man was already right before Shin and the energy barrier that Heigui Xuegang had created.
BBBBBZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!
The cutlass, infused with the Spirit Venerate’s dense lightning mana, slashed downwards without mercy. It was attempting to decimate Shin’s protection with one swift stroke. Coils of lightning split the ocean in two, creating a humongous void right beneath Shin. Heigui Xuegang held his hands up in the air, holding back as much of the colossal weight as he possibly could. The Obsidian Xuanwu of the Heigui Clan was known as the most defensive Spirit among the Eight Scions of Water. Its innate ability to create an outer shell was second-to-none. Some even say that at its peak, the Heigui Clan’s defence would be capable of saving the earth from a falling star.
Yet, at this moment, cracks were forming within the thick shell that Heigui Xuegang had created. Blood pumped all the way to his upper arms, as the weight of the cutlass continued to push him down. Something had to be done, or Shin would be exposed.
Zishen was the first to move. He forced his way out of the barrier from the back, and his humanoid body had turned entirely scaly. Slowly but surely, the lean man morphed into something far more sinister. He reverted back into his Azure Dragon form, and then…
ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!
The Azure Dragon Lord roared. Blood dripped down from many young officers ears, falling straight onto the floor. Immense azure light reflected out of Zishen’s scales and a dense spiritual pressure mounted on the Ghost Corsair’s shoulders. The Brahmin’s grip on his cutlass finally loosened as his body was committed into a somersault. He couldn’t be standing right in front of Shin when the Azure Dragon Lord was baring his fangs.
Zishen opened his terrifying jaws as wide as he could. The water elements danced in euphoria as the oceans turned choppy. Intense azure light flowed out from the Dragon’s gullets and congregated right above his tongue. Temperatures turned from cold to hot… Hot to cold… A pattern emerged, where the Azure Dragon Lord’s mana would overwhelm his surroundings. Particles of light continued to gather until eventually...
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!
A deafening wail, akin to that of a siren’s wail, dominated the Lantis Sea. The particles in Zishen’s mouth began to shriek, and the sound of the ocean had been utterly dwarfed. Everyone’s attention was on the Azure Dragon Lord’s enlarged mouth, which was holding onto a ball made out of dense spiritual particles.
Heigui Xuegang, being the Spirit Venerate closest to Zishen, immediately sensed the danger. Grabbing Shin by the hand, he screamed: “Don’t let go!!!” The Obsidian Xuanwu’s shell dove down into the ocean as more particles covered his tracks.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!
Just like Shin’s ignited shard, Zishen’s mouth released a deadly beam of pure energy, one strong enough to melt the rocks of a volcano. The Ghost Corsair wasn’t just slouching and waiting for the attack to land. Once he noticed that the beam was being charged up, he instantly brought out the Phantom’s Embrace, his most powerful spiritual ability. The ghost ship made out of lightning flashed rapidly out of his cutlass, and so viciously collided with the Azure Dragon Lord’s ultimate ability.
Waves the size of buildings tormented the two opposing fleets. The attacks were far more powerful than anyone could have imagined. A million gallons of seawater had instantly been vaporized, and over half of the remaining longboats were on the verge of capsizing. The Lantis Navy didn’t fare any better. Their warships were all built to withstand the fiercest storms the world could throw them, but even they were barely able to survive. All of their weapon systems had been disabled, and their engines were about to stall forever.
Shin watched the intense tempest unfold from underneath the ocean. Inside the barrier and protected by gallons of water, the young Prince was relatively unfazed by the attack. Yes, he was a little shaken up, but the warrior in him quickly stabilised his faltering mental state.
“Tsk… A Spirit Venerate and a Tier 9 Spirit Beast… So this is what happens when two giants collide...” Shin remarked, his voice as sombre as can be.
“Yeah,” Heigui Xuegang nodded. “They’re probably near the peak of their realm as well… I don’t think that I can defend three strikes from them...” It was high praise, given as to how dominant the Obsidian Xuanwu was when it came to defence.
“...” Shin gulped as he gently threw his head back. There was no point getting in between a battle of two Spirit Venerates. Shin knew his limitations. So, he looked for opportunities to contribute elsewhere.
Shin’s was about two hundred metres down, so he could essentially watch the current battlefield as if he were a strategist looking down on a chessboard. He quickly noticed that something was amiss and pointed straight towards the north. “The longboats are still moving away...”
Amid the mayhem, the Lantis Republic seemed to have momentarily forgotten about the Black Masks’ fleet and the Paradise Hearts. Many longboats had been capsized, but the main few leading the pack were still fine. Ironically, it was Bingbing’s ice path that weathered the storm created by the Spirit Venerate clash. The ability that was meant to hinder the Black Masks had ended up helping them.
“Yip, yip, yip! Yip! Yip!” Bingbing chirped angrily, her teeth were gnawing at the barrier of the Heigui Xuegang.
“What is it, Bingbing?” Shin asked.
“Yip! Yip, yip, yip, yip, yip!!!” The snowy white gerbil continued to cry.
“What? You really think so?” The young man’s hands stopped moving, and his eyes shifted wildly. He couldn’t believe what the Kamaitachi had just said.
“Yip! Yip, yip, yip! Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip!!! YIP!!!” Bingbing spewed out incomprehensible gibberish. Heigui Xuegang grimaced, not knowing what the Spirit Beast was trying to convey. However, Shin clearly knew. In fact, it was the best news that he’d gotten all day.
“Well… If you’re THAT confident, I’m sure we can try it out...”