“Calm your mind and focus on your ships. No matter what happens from now on, you’ll be safe as long as they're intact.” Zyrus’s steady voice resounded across the entire fleet.

*Kiiiek*

The warden of the sea roared at his interference. Fear was its greatest weapon, and even Zyrus wasn’t immune to it.

‘But It’s nothing compared to the Eternals,’

Zyrus blocked the mental interference in just a breath's time. His mind was like a lofty mountain. It stood tall and proud against the mental attacks that hurled at him like fierce winds.

“Surge,”

Cyan waves rose on the black ocean, but just as they were about to form a vortex, they were assimilated with the pitch-black water.

‘There you are,’

Zyrus snickered at that empty stretch of ocean and attacked with Shackles of Nihility. The most annoying part about Nuckelavee was that it didn’t exist in a physical form.

How can you attack something that didn’t exist in the first place? This was the biggest headache for everyone who wanted to sail the seas.

*Neeeigh*

But this wasn't a big issue for Zyrus. Nothing was exempt from the power of laws. It didn’t matter what type of existence Nuckelavee was, for as long as it was within his sight, Zyrus had the means to drag it out.

“Create an opening,”

“You want to drag that thing into the middle?”

“Yes,”

Zyrus didn’t have the time to explain his strategy. He could barely hold onto the chains which were connected to the black mass of water.

Franken didn’t ask anything else and hurriedly spun the wheel under his hooves.

*Whiiish*

The dragon of war made a sharp turn towards the back. Such a feat was possible due to the mana stored within the ship.

Still, after making this 180-degree turn, the warship was rendered useless in combat. Even maintaining the barrier would be a strenuous task.

“Nice work, that was a close call,” Zyrus heaved a sigh of relief and deactivated his skill.

The mighty shackles of nihility were reduced to common hooks and chains. Even with the power of laws, he could only drag the monster into the fleet’s formation.

Damaging it was out of the question.

“Activate the barriers with all your mana, hold nothing back this time. Rotate and recover your MP so that we can last till sunrise,”

It was the first time when players were hearing such an order. No matter how strong the monster was, deep down in their hearts they believed that Zyrus could defeat it somehow.

However, even Zyrus was forced to defend this time. They didn’t dare to imagine how strong their foe was this time.

*Guuuugugugu*

Just as the players activated the barriers at full power, the ocean beneath the fleet churned with gurgling sounds.

“Don’t look at the sea, close all your senses and only focus on the defense. Nuckelavee can’t hurt you as long as you follow my instructions,”

Even as the players were frightened out of their wits, they still followed his orders. It was a result of Zyrus’s invincible status in their minds.

“I see now, what a troublesome enemy,” Franken spoke after he landed beside Zyrus. Beneath the entire fleet was a gigantic mouth that stretched for miles.

Even under the night sky, one can make out the white teeth that were bigger than the longboats. It almost looked like the entire fleet would be swallowed in the next instance.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

‘The scary part is, as long as players thought of such a possibility, it would indeed become a reality,’

Zyrus’s mind was calm even under such a scenario. He knew that the giant maw beneath the fleet wasn’t an illusion. It was the manifestation of their deepest fears related to the sea.

*Shhaaaaa*

Black tides rose from the faraway horizon. Even the shining stars were hidden behind the turbid water.

“Tch.. just how high is it?”

“High enough to drown us ten times over,” Zyrus barely suppressed the shiver in his voice. Just like the giant mouth beneath the ocean, the waves were also real.

The current scene was dreadful enough to haunt one’s dreams for decades. A dark silent night on the ocean, a gigantic mouth beneath their ships, and black tides that seemed to engulf the entire horizon.

“It’s good that you used the night’s blessing beforehand.”

The ominous shroud of dark mana guarded the players from their deepest fears. Nuckelavee had the power to manifest their worst nightmares into reality.

What would happen when thousands of such ‘fears’ were combined into one?

It was for this reason that the deep ocean remained a forbidden territory. One’s fears also became stronger with their power.

“As they say, Ignorance is a bliss,” Zyrus chuckled despite the grim situation. Players would at most think that something like a large whale or a megalodon was attacking their fleet. It was indeed scary, but even their wildest imagination wouldn’t come close to the current scenario.

“This ‘bliss’ is still too much to handle though. What’s your plan?”

“Nothing. Just like we can't attack Nuckelavee, it can't attack us either. It can only deal mental attacks in the first phase.”

“Didn’t you say those are real?”

“They are, but they won’t be when we come into contact with them,”

Although it sounded simple, how many can truly keep their sanity under such a situation? Even after knowing that they wouldn’t be harmed, it wasn’t easy to suppress the body’s instincts.

And Nuckelavee was an existence that fed on that very primal fear.

*Grrrrrr*

Zyrus and Franken were the only ones who were outside of the protective barriers. They could feel the foul breath and the humidity from the giant mow.

“This is quite a horror show,”

“What, you scared?”

“Hmph, as if?”

The giant maw closed around the fleet, and the night sky was hidden by the waves that fell down from above.

Time itself seemed to stop at this moment. Neither Zyrus nor Franken knew how long were they trapped under such a scene. It was a true test of their willpower.

*kiiiiekeiek*

A piercing shriek jolted them back from the never-ending nightmare. Even the shroud of dark mana was torn to shreds under the soundwaves.

‘Phew.. it’s finally over,’

Zyrus sighed in relief despite taking the attack head-on. It wasn’t because he was a moron that he stood alone in the sky.

Nuckelavee would go into its second form if no one was killed by the mental attack. And the first person it would target was the one with the highest willpower.

Just the aftershock of this attack was strong enough to break numerous ships. There was no way that the dragon of war could bear such an attack.

“Motherfucker! Was that a fixed debuff?”

“Indeed. All targets are frozen while the Nuckelavee changes its form. There is no other option besides tanking its first attack,” Zyrus replied while chugging down a vitality potion.

Unlike the fixed recovery potion, vitality recovery potions recovered HP based on the consumers status. It was a much-preferred option for someone who was a Sylvarix.

*Neeeeiiighhh*

A horse’s nigh echoed from the depths of the sea. With the night’s blessing being rendered useless, the players also saw the grotesque form emerge from the ocean.

A gigantic creature resembling a centaur. Its hooves were merged with fins, along with an enormous gaping mouth with a giant eye.

The humanoid part connected to its back held a whip made up of seawater. The most horrifying thing about its hundred-foot body was that it didn’t have any skin.

Everyone could see a tar-like blood coursing through its yellow veins. The monster’s pale sinews and taut muscles were pulsing in an eerie rhythm.

“Recover your mana and prepare to activate the night’s blessing. Observe the upcoming fight and memorize Nuckelavee’s attack patterns, I’ll need your help later on.” Zyrus spoke the last sentence while looking at Ria.

Although dealing with the monster’s second form was easier, it was comparative. It wasn’t a group of lv 45+ players who were attacking the sea’s warden this time.

Nonetheless, a drawn-out fight was the last thing Zyrus was afraid of. Just his recovery rate and high HP made him a cockroach-like existence among players. Even against powerful boss monsters he wasn’t lacking in terms of combat abilities.

‘I’m practically a mini field boss at this point,’

*Neeeeiiighhh*

Nuckelavee also sensed the threat Zyrus possessed. But this was just the beginning.

[Avatar (A-): Draw upon the world’s mana to execute your will.]

[You have learned to integrate yourself with the surrounding mana. The greater your fusion, the more power you can wield]

[Effects: All recovery rate +10%, further enhancements will depend on the environment and rate of fusion.]

*ROOOOAR*

The faint mirage of a flood dragon formed behind Zyrus. The azure dragon coiled around him and roared at the hideous monster.

Despite it being a mirage formed by the resonance of Zyrus’s bloodline and the world’s mana, the flood dragon was the nemesis of someone like Nuckelavee.

“Form,”

Clear water surged from the black ocean. Under the influence of the flood dragon, even Nuckelavee was unable to interfere with the conjuring magic.

“Surge,”

Azure tides surged with a wave of Zyrus’s hand. He was like a god of ocean after fusing with the world's mana. He wasn’t using mana to manipulate seawater.

It was the sea itself that executed his will. Such was the power of Avatar.

“Expand,”

A giant vortex formed at the center of the fleet, separating the two behemoths from the fleet.

The true battle was just beginning.