Among those defending the cabin door, four individuals stood out with their formidable combat prowess. One of them was the legendary knight Baron, who was shirtless, revealing his dark, muscular physique. He wielded an axe with ruthless efficiency, slaughtering the sea monsters attempting to breach the cabin.
Another was the ship's bosun, who, despite having witnessed the legendary knight in action many times, had never been seen fighting before. Armed with a huge sword, his strength was nearly on par with Baron's, earning him newfound respect.
The remaining two were wizard apprentices residing in the wizard's quarters. Nidhogg had learned their names: the male apprentice was Yünli, and the female apprentice was Bibilianna.
To Nidhogg's astonishment, these two apprentices were not only casting legendary spells, but the power and mystery of their sorcery were beyond belief. The female apprentice, Bibilianna, appeared anxious in the face of the giant sea creatures. However, with the protection of numerous sailors, no monster could get close to her. She hid behind the sailors, her golden hair billowing, and a golden eye on her forehead cast a stern gaze at the encroaching sea monsters.
This golden eye seemed to be an elemental energy construct, causing the surrounding air to ripple.
"Drink!"
With a soft, powerful command, any sea monster caught under the gaze of the golden eye screamed in agony. Their bodies would suddenly desiccate, turning into mummified husks. In just a few moments, Nidhogg and his companions witnessed at least five sea monsters succumbing to the eerie power of the golden eye.
However, Bibilianna seemed unable to maintain this powerful sorcery for long, and after a brief period of panting, the eye dissipated.
On the other hand, Yünli had a small white mouse perched on his shoulder, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding danger. Yünli himself appeared indifferent to the presence of the sea monsters, not out of arrogance, but sheer disdain and detachment towards everything around him. His eyes, cold and detached, surveyed the strange oceanic creatures with a hint of amusement on his lips.
Yet it was Yünli's mysterious sorcery that left everyone baffled. Without any visible signs or phenomena, the sea monsters around him inexplicably ended up with severed limbs or missing heads. One even vanished entirely, leaving behind only a twenty-centimeter snake tail that appeared as smoothly severed as a mirror, confirming the reality of what had just transpired.
"This..."
Nidhogg, Nina, Yorkris, and Yorkliana were left with their mouths agape, in utter disbelief. To possess such strange and powerful abilities is why these two resided in the wizard's chambers.
Against these wizard apprentices, not even Yorkris or Nidhogg, nor even Nina, who was already versed in sorcery, stood a chance. Nina’s face darkened with the knowledge of her own capabilities. Her so-called sorcery was reliant on magical instruments her father had prepared, and she couldn’t perform even the simplest spell on her own. She had another powerful magic artifact, but her mana was insufficient to wield it effectively. Even if she could, she knew she was no match for these two apprentices rumored to be prodigious talents.
Nina, aware of some wizard secrets, understood that such potent sorcery could not normally be performed at their level of spiritual power unless they had what were called innate manifestations or accompanying talents.
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Leaving the cabin entrance behind, the powerful Wizard Dira hovered about five meters above the deck. His expansive gray robes flapped wildly as though caught in a tempest. His face flushed strangely while the intricate gear over his eye spun rapidly, intoning a deep, mystical incantation that hinted at a preparation for some destructive spell.
Elsewhere, two colossal black tentacles, each over thirty meters long, continually pounded the deck, adding to the destruction. The deck had already been ravaged, riddled with massive holes, and the cries of surviving apprentices echoed from below.
Suddenly, everyone on deck felt a shiver run through them as if compelled by some unseen force. All heads turned upward, and under an indescribable pressure of the silent, darkened sky, they saw a gray flame ignite in Dira’s hand. The flame was silent and unassuming, seemingly harmless, yet it compelled those who saw it to shudder uncontrollably, as if it could consume their very gaze.
Even Yünli and Bibilianna, usually confident, paled and fixed their eyes on the gray flame in Dira's grasp.
"Death Soul Flame..."
Dira’s weakened voice carried an eerie charm, as it resonated in everyone’s ears like a whispered incantation. The instant the gray flame touched a tentacle, the ocean below erupted with a wailing cry of agony far surpassing the previous ones. The giant octopus thrashed in torment, sending waves crashing across the vast sea.
As if touching a scorching fire, all the tentacles snapped back suddenly, and the octopus's head vanished beneath the waves.
"Master Wizard!"
"Great Wizard!"
The sailors and few remaining apprentices let out joyous cries at witnessing the retreat of the monstrous entity. Dira raised a hand, suppressing his physical discomfort, and silenced them.
His malevolent gaze swept across the many fearsome sea creatures on the deck, and amid the rustling of his gray robes, he descended to the deck.
Wizards are known for being malicious and merciless to their enemies. Even the gentlest wizard, in the pursuit of higher knowledge, would inevitably extinguish countless lives.
Dira looked at the ice-bound sea monster corpse beneath him, examining it intently. Suddenly, his eyes gleamed with delight, and he sneered, “Heh heh, it’s about time. Since you Urado sea monsters refuse to honor the pact with the human wizard alliance, prepare for the wizards’ revenge!”
At his words, the scales of the ice-bound sea monster began to wriggle. To the horror of all onlookers, the massive creature shriveled into an empty skin, as countless palm-sized purple-black centipedes poured out from its body.
To add to the terror, each centipede had four pairs of transparent wings and a pair of vacant eyes on their backs.
“Finally, they are ready! Cackle... Urado sea monsters, savor the nightmare crafted by ancient wizards, designed specifically to devour you. After years of peace, you marine creatures may have forgotten the terror of human wizards. Embrace your nightmares, and tremble in them!”
Dira cackled maniacally. These sea monsters could not comprehend human language, at least the lower-level ones, yet some innate instinct warned them that these insignificant purple-black insects heralded an overwhelming fear, prompting many to leap into the ocean in a panic.
Bzzzz...
As thousands of purple-black centipedes emerged and their wings hardened, they began taking flight one by one, instinctively swarming towards the remaining sea monsters on the deck.
Strangely, they showed no interest in humans or the severed octopus tentacle that lay on the deck.
Roars of horror erupted from the sea monsters as they realized their once-proud scales were as fragile as paper against these monstrous insects. One by one, the bugs bored into their bodies with relentless determination, even willing to sacrifice themselves to burrow inside.
Some creatures tried to yank out the invading centipedes by their tails, but horrifyingly, even when torn in half, these centipedes continued their relentless journey inward.
It seemed their sole purpose was to penetrate the deepest recesses of the sea monsters' bodies.
Watching the sea creatures howl in pain, Dira chuckled darkly, “If these parasitic worms born from ancient wizard ingenuity could be easily killed, they wouldn't be called the nemesis of the Urados, nor would wizards be known as the masters of many alien worlds!”
Dira's voice grew progressively more excited.
“They may only live for a day, but in that brief span, their sole mission is to lay eggs in every Urado body. And their eggs take only half a turn of an hourglass to mature...”