We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 110 Exploring the Royal Court: A Storm is Coming!
"Lord God Envoy!"

Before long, Hela swam up to Shane with a joyful expression and said excitedly.

"I knew you would come back."

Xia En also had some impression of this sea girl, and smiled, "This time, I will stay in Coral City for a while longer."

At this moment, the sea creatures from the surrounding area gathered in small groups.

Their gazes toward Xia En were tinged with a subtle sense of awe.

Perhaps due to the further enhancement of his "mysterious" attribute, Xia En's image in their eyes now possesses an even more inexplicable and enigmatic quality than before.

After a brief reminiscing, Shane, led by the sea creatures, swam toward the academy where the Queen resided.

Soon, Shane met the petite sea queen, Ruthia, again.

However, compared to when they last met, Luticia seemed to be a little shorter.

Her delicate features showed signs of sleepiness, as if she hadn't fully woken up yet.

"Your Excellency, Divine Envoy..."

Luticia rubbed her cheeks with her chubby little hands and said apologetically, "I'm sorry you saw me in such an inappropriate state."

Xia En asked calmly, "Is it... a side effect of the [Immortal Ganoderma]?"

Upon hearing this, Luticia was taken aback for a moment, and then exclaimed, "As expected of the Divine Envoy, you have even heard of such a legendary treasure."

"Could you tell me what exactly happened back then?"

Shane had always been somewhat curious about the researcher who left the [Ember Sanctuary].

Since we're on this topic now, let's ask a few more questions.

Luticia looked on with a look of reminiscence and said, "Actually, there was nothing special about that day."

“I, who was already very old, am now taking a nap here, just like always.”

"Then, a man wearing a special diving suit came up to me."

"They said they were willing to exchange the [Lingzhi of Immortality] for the wealth accumulated by my clan."

Luticia smiled and said, "After all, I am just an ordinary person. How could I resist the temptation of immortality? So I naturally made a deal with him."

A thoughtful look flashed in Xia En's eyes: "Does he have any special characteristics, or has he ever mentioned his name?"

"Characteristics..."

Lutishia recalled, "Underneath his diving suit, he seemed to be wearing a special monocle."

When I asked him what to call him, he said, just call him... [The Undertaker].

"Monoculars... [The Undertaker]..."

Xia En silently noted down these two characteristics and then planned to speedrun the Royal Palace dungeon.

Running dungeons is like playing a game; if you don't run them for a while, you get really itchy.

At this moment, Luticia spoke up, reminding me, "Your Excellency, there is something I need to remind you of."

“During this period, the polluters in the city seem to be somewhat restless, and some of the stronger polluters have also awakened from their slumber.”

Please be very careful!

Upon hearing this, Xia En's eyes lit up slightly.

Is there such a good thing?

As the ship's soul level increases, the experience points gained from defeating low-level monsters become less and less.

At this point, the increased difficulty of the entire [Coral City] dungeon actually made up for this.

Without much hesitation, Xia En headed straight for the royal palace.

Watching his departing figure, several elders emerged from the shadows of the hall, their voices filled with intense surprise.

"It's only been a little over a month, and his aura has almost doubled?"

"This rate of improvement..."

"Moreover, what exactly is his secret profession? It seems to be unlike any profession I know."

As second- and third-tier secret practitioners, these elders naturally possessed extraordinary insight.

That's why they were even more surprised by it.

In fact, before this, the elders still had considerable doubts about whether Shane could help them reclaim the royal palace of Coral City.

But now, most of their doubts have been instantly dispelled.

"If it were him, perhaps it really would be possible..."

……

……

at the same time.

Shaen had arrived at the palace gates.

Looking at the familiar coral patches and the ancient red brick walls, a smile appeared on his lips.

"I wonder how far I can go in the palace this time?"

As the dark figure swam through the gate, hideous coral monsters immediately awoke from the surrounding shadows.

Their colorful corals twisted and wriggled, staring at the uninvited guest with malicious eyes.

In just three or four breaths, they surged up like a tide.

"The long-awaited return gift package?"

"Then I'll accept it without hesitation!"

Xia En drew the Blood Demon Sword, which was constantly wailing, and slashed down without any mercy!
laugh!
The crimson sword light swept across like a crescent moon.

Every coral monster that came into contact with it was, without exception, split in two by the immense force it carried, and quickly turned into a pile of corpses!
[Ship Soul Experience +0.5%!]

[Ship Soul Experience +0.3%!]

【…】

"That little bit of experience isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap."

Xia En shook his head secretly.

Previously, he had found it difficult to move forward even in the area surrounding the palace.

But now, having completed the modification of the [Black Swan] and advanced to the second-tier Mystic, these minor monsters on the periphery pose little threat to him.

Though the enemy is numerous, he will slay them all with a single sword strike!
Xia En did not linger here for long and soon arrived at a wide square in the palace.

And just as we entered the square.

Click... Click...

A clanging sound of metal armor reached Shane's ears.

He looked ahead and saw several tall knights standing beneath numerous griffin statues.

There were twelve knights in total, and their armor was decorated with golden griffins.

Even after being submerged in seawater for so many years, there are still no signs of rust.

"The Griffin Knights..."

Xia En's expression was slightly serious.

In fact, his previous exploration of the royal palace dungeon stopped at the square in front of the main hall.

The reason, of course, was the obstruction of these knights.

Previously, it seemed that only four or five knights had awakened here, but now...

"Halt, you who are coming!"

The twelve knights stood up and surrounded Shane, their hoarse voices revealing the glory of a bygone era.

"To enter the royal court, you must step over our corpses!"

Clearly, like the previous prince's close attendants, they retained a certain degree of rationality.

And the strength of each of these griffin riders is above that of the prince's personal attendants!
In their lifetimes, they were at least second- or third-tier Mystic Path practitioners, or even higher!

Seeing this, a fighting spirit surged in Xia En's eyes instead.

Although the battle against Quinn and Bloodscythe in the Blood Moon Realm was exhilarating, it was ultimately achieved with the help of Karlless's power.

He wanted to see exactly where his true combat strength limit was after advancing to the second tier.
Right now, this is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity!

next moment.

Shane suddenly accelerated, transforming into a shooting star, and arrived directly in front of a griffin rider.

A blood-red greatsword cleaved down from above!
clang--

Faced with the menacing Shain, the griffin knight raised the round shield beside him.

The sound of metal clashing against stone rippled across the water.

Such a powerful and heavy sword strike forced him to retreat several steps.

"Formation!"

The griffin rider shouted, and the other riders immediately stepped forward, an indescribable, invisible bond forming between them.

The knights seemed to move as one, their movements affecting the entire group. The knight in front used his shield to shield Shane, while the knight behind seized the opportunity to draw his sword, each blade aimed at a vital spot.

This immediately increased the pressure on Xia En, and several sword lights even pierced through his body.

"A combined attack technique?"

Xia En touched the ground with his toes, using the recoil to leap to a high place, a smile playing on his lips.

"I also have those exhilarating combo moves!"

"Little black!"

【Owner! 】

The resonance between their souls was completed in an instant. With the double blessing of the ship's soul power, Shane immediately unleashed a speed far surpassing his previous speed, thrusting his sword towards a knight's throat.

laugh!
A flash of sword light, and the knight's head fell to the ground.

A head, mostly coral-like, fell out of the sealed helmet.

The death of their comrade evoked similar feelings of grief and indignation among the remaining griffin riders.

But they didn't stop for a moment, continuing their roaring attack on Xia En.

"For the glory of the Griffin Knights!"

However, in the face of Shane, who had activated the "second phase" ahead of time, their speed and strength were completely outmatched.

In just a moment, Shane found an opportunity and once again cleaved through the armor of a griffin knight with his sword.

Their combined sword formation was clearly less powerful as their numbers decreased.

With one side gaining and the other losing, the balance of power naturally shifted.

It didn't take long.

With a deep sigh, the last griffin rider fell to the ground.

He looked towards the depths of the royal court and murmured to himself.

“My king, be my witness…”

Then, there was silence.

"He is indeed a loyal knight."

Xia En's expression was a little strange, and he thought to himself, "Why does it seem like I'm the villain?"

However, he also knew that sending these knights on their way was essentially giving them a release, and he felt no guilt about it.

The 53/100 power of the ship's soul on the panel also indicates that these knights are not easy to deal with.

It's important to understand that this was even after Shane used the "second stage," yet it still consumed a huge amount of energy.

If it were Xia En from a month ago, he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat even the first griffin knight.

After defeating the monsters, it's naturally time for a relaxing and enjoyable looting session.

[Ship Spirit Level: LV3 (8%)!]

Besides gaining experience points, Shane also found an ancient parchment scroll on the griffin riders.

The Griffin Book

[Quality: Rare]

[Type: props]

[Description: An ancient book that records the history and combat techniques of the Griffin Knights.]

Five or more sword-wielding knights can form a sword formation according to the ancient text.

Swordsmen within a sword formation experience a slight increase in strength, mental resistance, defense, and morale.

The glory of the griffin is etched in our hearts!

A spoils of war that are better than nothing.

Xia En glanced at the description and quickly came to a conclusion.

For some large pirate ships, this sword formation might be quite effective, enhancing the combat power of the smaller pirates.

However, for the Black Swan, this sword formation seemed somewhat useless.

With just these few crew members, they couldn't even gather enough people together.

However, having spoils is better than having none.

Even if all else fails, you can still sell it.

Shaun put away the ancient book, crossed the square with the griffin statue, and arrived in front of a tall and magnificent palace.

This must be the "Royal Court" that the griffin riders spoke of.

It is also the core area of ​​the entire palace.

The palace's color scheme also differs from the surrounding buildings.

The colors of silver and gray resemble crystal, diamond, and silver.

Even though it is covered with colorful and ugly coral, one can still glimpse a bit of its former glory.

But correspondingly,

Xia En also sensed an extremely strong sense of crisis from this royal court.

It was as if countless powerful beings were hiding in the royal court, waiting for his arrival.

"This should be the most difficult area of ​​the Royal Palace instance."

"In other words, as long as we can clear this area, we'll be close to clearing the game!"

Xia En pondered to himself and set up a [submarine anchor point] in front of the royal court gate.

When in doubt, save your work first!
He never intended for the Black Swan to linger on the waters off Coral City for too long.

After setting a [submarine anchor point], you can explore further sea areas while simultaneously conquering the Royal Palace instance.

"The first exploration of the royal court has officially begun!"

Xia En muttered to himself as he strode into the palace.

Meanwhile, a silver-gray, crystal-like coral monster cast a cold gaze down from above...

……

……

[Submarine mission over!]

"hiss……"

Xia En clicked his tongue, feeling a buzzing in his head.

Even though he had some expectations about the difficulty of the Royal Court instance, it was clear that his expectations were not high enough!

The coral monsters there have a strange silvery-gray hue, and their bodies are as hard as steel. Their speed and intelligence are far superior to those of the coral monsters outside.

However, setbacks are inevitable on a first expedition.

Xia En quickly calmed down, took out the nautical chart, and confirmed the course and route.

"Next target: [Rusty Ruins]!"

"Little Black, set sail!"

……

……

Shaen had assumed this voyage would be just like any other.

However, on the third day of their journey to the Rusty Ruins, the Black Swan encountered an accident.

This was an exceptionally terrifying storm.

The sky was overcast and low, with thick, almost tangible clouds layering over the sea, and gusts of turbulent winds blowing in waves.

The undulating sea caused the entire ship to rock violently.

Master, the waves are huge...

Xiao Hei's slightly uneasy voice echoed in Xia En's mind.

"Somewhat something is wrong."

Xia En's expression was slightly serious.

He could sense that at the boundary between the sky and the sea, there seemed to be some kind of mysterious force surging.

It was this surging secret power that stirred up the violent storm.

In terms of sheer force of the wind and waves, the current sea conditions even surpass those described in the ascension ceremony.

Shane had encountered several storms before, but thanks to the Black Swan's capabilities, he had weathered them all without incident.

But this is the first time he has encountered such a huge storm.

Suddenly, Xia En woke up with a start.

"Wait, could this be an effect of the [Deep Sea Favorite]?"

"What kind of favor from the sea is this?!"

(End of this chapter)