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

Chapter 148 The Death of Duke Nova
Beneath the increasingly restless sea surface.

A shadowy figure darted through the turbulent undercurrent, silently approaching the Blood Duke and its escort ships like a fish.

It was Xia En who had entered [Submerged] mode.

In fact, compared to [Netherworld Mist] and the storm summoned by Joey.

This projected body is his true trump card, and the key to his victory over the Blood Duke!

At this moment, Xia En was multitasking.

Sometimes the Black Swan on the sea would launch harassing bombardments against the fleet, and sometimes it would change its position to draw the attention of the enemies on the Blood Duke.

His projected form approached the lower part of the Blood Duke at full speed.

The surrounding undercurrents did not bring a sense of stagnation or obstruction; on the contrary, they subtly became an aid to him.

A gentle call came from the depths of the sea below.

It seemed as if they were welcoming his arrival.

This smooth, light feeling made Xia En's lips curl into a slight smile.

While his fighting prowess on the island was certainly not weak, he would never forget that the world beneath the sea was his true domain!
It didn't take long.

The dark red hull of the Blood Duke is now almost in sight.

It must be said that this ship is indeed one of the largest ships Shaen has ever seen.

Only the Viper can rival it.

Especially when viewed from above the sea, the shadow it casts is quite spectacular, resembling a high mountain floating on the sea.

But now, what Xia En has to do is destroy this mountain!

"Such a big ship, it must be really fun to dismantle it, right?"

At that moment, Xia En inexplicably recalled the first time he encountered pirates.

Faced with the Blood Wolf, he, who was not yet a Secret Pathfinder, was forced to adopt the ship-drilling tactic, dragging the pirates on board into the sea and hunting them down one by one.

At this moment, just as at that moment.

However, both the enemies they faced and Xia En himself were vastly different from what they had been back then.

"【Blood Wolf】, 【Blood Duke】... Fate is truly a wondrous thing."

"However, it's time to end all of this."

Shaun gripped the Giant's Bracelet on his wrist and muttered to himself with unusual calm.

"Transformation."

Boom boom boom boom!
A terrifying roar erupted from Shane's body.

As the secret power of the Giant's Bracelet surged in, it was as if an unprecedented tsunami had occurred inside this projected body!
The violent secret power erupted like magma, surging with heat throughout the body!

Non-existent, illusory flesh, bones, blood vessels, organs... expanded at an incredible speed.

Unlike the previous transformations, this time the activation of the secret power seemed to have broken through some kind of limitation.

This made Shane's physique even taller than before.

Three meters, five meters, eight meters...

His height continued to increase dramatically, eventually surpassing the previous limit of ten meters, and finally stopping at...

Fifteen meters!
"The potential of the forbidden artifact, the Giant's Bracelet, was actually affected by my own physical constitution and could not be fully unleashed."

"Now that I have advanced to the third rank, I have broken through the original limitations."

Xia En suddenly realized: "Fifteen meters is still not the limit of the [Giant's Bracelet], but the limit of my body!"

He couldn't help but think of the over thirty-meter-tall corpse of the King of Giants.

Will he be able to reach that level someday?

Or, even higher?

These distracting thoughts flashed through his mind, and Xia En felt the immense power surging within him, a surge of emotion welling up in his chest.

Roar!
He let out a low growl and pulled his right fist sharply backward.

As its body stretched and contracted, it unleashed a series of loud bangs, continuously accumulating terrifying power.

It was like a siege crossbow pulled to its limit.

next moment.

With a deafening roar, a fist the size of a small mountain landed directly on the solid hull of the Blood Duke.

A terrifying force began to spread from the bottom of the ship and quickly spread throughout the entire vessel, causing the Blood Duke to tilt uncontrollably to one side.

thump—

With a muffled thud, everyone on board felt the deck beneath their feet suddenly shake.

Several sailors lost their footing and nearly fell off the deck.

Bruno, the butler, quickly grabbed the mast beside him, looking somewhat flustered: "What happened?"

The Black Swan was not visible on the sea, but its shells continued to fall on the escort ships from time to time.

If it wasn't the Black Swan, then what attacked them?
"Quick, look! In the sea..."

A sailor's exclamation drew everyone's attention.

People quickly looked towards the surrounding sea.

They saw a massive shadow emerge beneath the increasingly larger waves, staining the nearby waters black as ink.

Due to the fog and the distortion of the seawater, it was difficult for people to see the true appearance of the shadow.

All that could be vaguely discerned was the opponent's enormous size and the eerie, oppressive feeling emanating from the deep sea.

From its body surface, there seemed to be some wriggling, breeding dark things extending out.

As it swayed, the seawater was constantly stirred up, forming wave after wave that was stronger than the last, causing the Blood Duke to rock gently.

"Oh my god, what the hell is that?"

"Is it a monster from the deep sea?"

"Goddess above, please protect us..."

Upon seeing this, the sailors were all terrified, causing a commotion.

Although the Black Swan's previous bombardment and ramming attacks were powerful, they were still within the scope of normal naval warfare, something the sailors had experienced many times before.

However, the appearance of this "sea monster" has exceeded their expectations, and they don't even know what it is.

The unknown is the source of fear!
Duke Nova's expression turned somewhat unpleasant again.

She didn't think things would be so coincidental, that they would be attacked by a sea monster just as they were fighting the Black Swan.

"This must have been done by the captain!"

"But what exactly is this...?"

Boom!
Before Duke Nova could figure out the origin of the giant sea creature, another muffled sound came from the bottom of the ship.

At the same time, the Blood Duke's hull shook violently once again.

And this is just the beginning!
Boom!Boom!Boom!
The third time, the fourth time, the fifth time...

Such a fierce and violent attack would be difficult for even the Blood Duke, with its sturdiness, to withstand.

The deck was creaking, the crew was slumped over, and various debris was rolling around as the ship tilted.

Worst of all, the ocean has been stirred up by an unseen force, causing changes in the celestial phenomena of the surrounding waters.

A storm is coming!

Bad news always comes in waves.

"Your Grace, the cabin is leaking!"

The gasps of alarm from the sailors below the cabin sent another chill down Duke Nova's spine.

But as expected of a strong woman who has been in charge of Duke Island for so many years, she made the right choice after a brief moment of panic.

"Raise the sails and go full speed ahead!"

"Secret cultivators of level two or above, come with me to the cabin and deal with that guy!"

"Either get rid of it, or kill it!"

After saying this, Duke Nova led his men down to the lower deck of the ship.

At this moment, the sailors in the cabin were busily repairing the cracked hull, and a layer of water had accumulated on the ground.

Fortunately, the Blood Duke is big enough.

Even if the ship's cabins leak, the flooded seawater cannot fill all the cabins in a short time.

However, the situation was still worse than Duke Nova had imagined.

In just a short time, seven or eight holes appeared on the ship, and many cracks were found inside the hull.

Boom!
Just then, a muffled thud suddenly came from not far away.

Duke Nova's gaze sharpened, and his obese body transformed into a blood-red shadow as he rushed to the scene at an incredible speed.

Nearby, several crew members stared at the wall in fear and trepidation.

A terrifying spiderweb-like crack is appearing on it.

boom!
The next second, the wooden board was pierced by a dark shadow and then exploded into countless fragments.

The dark seawater immediately surged into the hole.

One unlucky crew member was unable to dodge in time and was struck by the force of the shadowy figure. His entire body exploded like fireworks under the immense force, staining the seawater bloody.

Only then did the first secret travelers arrive and see clearly—

That dark shadow was actually a huge fist!

"fist?"

The crew members stared in astonishment, unsure whether to doubt their own eyes or their own perception.

Doesn't this mean that the monster beneath the sea, outside the Blood Duke, is actually a person?

If his fist is this big, then how huge must his body be?

That's when.

Those large, dark, shadowy hands suddenly grabbed the two sides of the hollow wooden plank and tore it outwards.

Squeak—squeak—

The sound of the wooden planks swaying under the weight was mixed with the roaring, surging seawater.

The Secret Pathfinders saw through the giant's intention: he wanted to use this large hole to tear an even bigger wound into the Blood Duke!

A second-tier Mystic with sea race blood was the first to arrive at the scene.

He roared, and his body swelled as the seawater washed over him, reaching a height of about three meters.

Sharp teeth, smooth scales, and gills were also visible on his body.

Such a strongman was capable of serving as the captain of a pirate ship, and he also inspired awe in the sailors around him.

However, he had only just awakened his bloodline power.

In the seawater, a fist came with tremendous force and slammed into him.

boom!
Under immense pressure, the Sea Clan's secret guide twisted and deformed, exploding into a cloud of blood mist.

Immediately afterward, it shot out with a loud bang from the punch.

Amidst the collapsing planks and seawater, the sea creature's secret pather smashed through the walls of the cabin, crashing directly into the hull on the other side of the ship, and quickly fell silent.

One punch, instantly killing a second-tier Mystic Path cultivator!
Such a sight terrified the nearby crew members, who frantically fled towards the cabins that were not flooded.

At this point, Duke Nova arrived with his other men.

She looked into the depths of the sea, which was stained red. And there, through the gaping hole, she saw a pair of indifferent, cold eyes.

At that moment, even Duke Nova's heart trembled, and he felt an indescribable fear.

But soon, she took out a blood-red scepter and pointed it at the huge shadow in the sea.

"No matter who you are, die!"

In the surrounding seawater, blood-red threads are woven into the shape of a sharp blade.

Then, the blood-red blade slashed straight towards the giant's body.

The seawater that came into contact with it also spread blood-red lines, and the bodies of the crew members who had died from being crushed earlier quickly dissolved in the blood-red lines.

This is Duke Nova's unique talent—

[The Dissolution of Blood!]

She can melt any flesh that comes into contact with her blood power, and can even integrate it into her own body.

With the support of the third-tier secret power, this dissolving power is incredibly domineering.

But it only took a blink of an eye.

The giant shadow that was previously outside the cave disappeared, easily dodging the attack of the blood blade, and was not affected by any of the blood-colored patterns.

"So fast..."

Duke Nova felt a chill run down his spine.

It was only then that she realized that the giant in the sea not only possessed incredible strength, but also an extremely terrifying speed!

boom!
Seawater rushed into the cabin, and another hole exploded behind Duke Nova.

At the same time, a large hand reached out to grab her obese body.

A protective shield with a blood-red aura appeared around Duke Nova, blocking the attack.

However, her body was still swept out of the cabin by the seawater and into the dark ocean.

This was exactly what Xia En wanted to achieve.

He wanted to kill this third-tier Mystic on his home turf!
Suddenly swept into the sea, Duke Nova was not panicked; instead, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

A ruler like her would naturally have no shortage of means to temporarily move freely in the sea.

The moment she made contact with the giant's hand was also the moment she unleashed her killing move!
Numerous blood-red blades and patterns transformed into a terrifying crimson storm, hurtling towards Xia En's arm, attempting to slice through his skin and penetrate his body.

clang!clang!clang!
The blood-stained blade collided with the giant's skin, producing a dull thud like metal clashing against stone.

Duke Nova watched as cracks appeared on the blood-stained blade before it shattered on its own, his eyelids twitching slightly involuntarily.

"This thing, its outer skin is this tough?"

But to her delight, the blood-red patterns imbued with the power of [Dissolving] had already spread upwards along the giant's arm.

"Once the blood veins reach his heart, no matter how strong his body is, he will surely die!"

"Moreover, if I were to drink the blood of this giant, my strength would surely soar once again!"

Duke Nova stared greedily at Shane.

In her eyes, the other person was like prey caught in a spider web, then entangled in layers of it, with nowhere to escape.

At the same time, Shane's movements did not stop at all, and he kept punching Duke Nova's protective shield.

Under this terrifying power, the protective shield rippled continuously, and fine cracks began to appear.

The surrounding seawater surged and churned, almost forming a whirlpool, causing the Blood Duke and its escort ships to sway precariously, as if they would be swallowed up by the sea and storm at any moment.

Finally, the blood-red pattern spread to the giant's chest.

Duke Nova raised his scepter, a sinister smile playing on his lips: "Farewell..."

Numerous crimson lines emerged from her body, echoing the crimson lines on the giant's body, and glowing with a scarlet halo.

However, the expected surge of power did not occur.

At the other end of the blood-red pattern, all she felt was...

nothingness!

It was as if the blood-stained surface wasn't covering the giant's body at all, but merely a wisp of air or a patch of seawater.

"……How can it be?"

Duke Nova was shocked, finding it utterly absurd.

Why is this giant of the sea, who is clearly standing right in front of me, "nothingness"?
Suddenly, Duke Nova remembered the legend of the "Shadow Without a Face" that was being told among the vampires.

"The faceless shadow... Silvermoon Island... Black Swan..."

"Could it be..."

She vaguely guessed the truth of the incident, but at the same time, a cannonball-like punch landed on the protective shield again.

Click!

With a crisp sound, the protective shield shattered into countless blood-red light spots.

Clearly, whatever the truth may be, she has to kill the giant first!
Duke Nova's gaze was grave and somber as he murmured, "You forced me to do this..."

Then, more and more blood-red lines extended from her face, limbs, and palms, forming a rose pattern.

Her thick skin cracked open like a flower, revealing flesh and blood inside that were like candle wax, half-congealed and half-flowing...

……

……

at the same time.

On the Blood Duke and its escort ships, the sailors watched uneasily as indistinct figures appeared in the sea.

"His Excellency the Duke is so strong, he's bound to win, right?"

Originally, everyone firmly believed this.

But after seeing the giant's shadow, their thoughts subtly changed.

"That giant was a monster..."

"Could it be related to the Black Swan?"

"impossible?"

Just as the crew were whispering among themselves, Bruno suddenly let out a scream from the deck.

"what!!!"

"what happened to you?"

Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"It hurts, it hurts so much..."

"Your Grace, why?"

As he let out a wail, roses formed of blood patterns appeared on Bruno's face.

Immediately, his body melted rapidly, turning into a pool of flesh and blood resembling a still-hardened candle.

The sight left everyone on the ship speechless.

Soon, screams of agony erupted from the crowd of those who had ventured into the secret realm, and they began to melt.

"This is the Duke's mark! Duke Nova is draining their power..."

Just as this person said, all those who appeared on the secret path with rose-flower blood patterns turned into melting flesh and blood within a few breaths, flowing down the hull into the deep sea.

It didn't take long.

A scarlet, deformed "flesh and blood candle" appeared on the sea surface.

At this time, Duke Nova's body had exceeded ten meters in height, with writhing flesh constantly merging into it, making him increasingly bloated and obese.

The face at the top looks so bizarre and incongruous.

"Hahaha, the real battle has only just begun!"

Opposite her, the giant spoke amidst the surging waves.

"Start? No, it's about to end."

"Now, in my name, I pronounce judgment on your sins!"

Xia En's voice boomed, majestic like that of a god.

Double Ship Souls!

[The power of the storm!]

With a thought, he unleashed a vast and surging power into the giant's body.

Stronger and stronger waves surged around him, chaotic winds swirled around his body, and thick clouds swirled around him.

At this moment, he seemed to be the master of this sea!
Even though this wasn't a naturally formed storm, Shane could feel that he was being blessed by it.

Rumbling--

Dark lightning formed in Shane's hand and quickly transformed into the shape of a spear.

This is a Dark Thunderstorm plundered from the promotion ritual. Although it can only be used once, it has become a true killing move at this moment.

At that moment, Duke Nova felt an extremely strong sense of crisis.

What's going on with this storm?

What is that pitch-black lightning?
Why did his aura suddenly surge so much?

But at that moment, Xia En, whose momentum had been building up to its limit, had already thrown the spear in his hand!
A dazzling, brilliant black, mixed with deep blue and crimson, blooms together.

In the blink of an eye, the jet-black spear, imbued with the sword intent of the [Sword of Judgment], slashed through the sky and the waves, heading straight for Duke Nova's face.

The Dark Lightning Spear was reflected in his pupils, and Duke Nova's eyes revealed a complex mix of bewilderment, shock, and fear.

She roared in defiance, her flesh and blood transforming into countless weapons in an attempt to block the attack.

However, the power of this spear far exceeded her expectations.

The spear pierced the bloated body, penetrating the heart hidden beneath the flesh and blood, leaving a terrifying trench hundreds of meters long on the sea.

The pitch-black lightning transformed into pitch-black flames, spreading downwards and greedily devouring Duke Nova's flesh and blood.

Then, the pitch-black candlelight suddenly ignited, and the extremely high temperature rapidly evaporated the surrounding seawater, turning the sea surface and clouds pitch black.

Candles are meant to be burned, aren't they?
"No, how is that possible?"

"How could I die here..."

Amid the burning sound of black flames, one could faintly hear Duke Nova's unwilling growl.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop the flames from burning and the life from slipping away; she could only melt away in despair in the candlelight.

The survivors on the Blood Duke fleet stared in stunned silence at the scene, unable to utter a single word.

"finally……"

Watching Duke Nova gradually melt away, Shane felt a rare mix of emotions.

His feud with Duke Nova probably dates back to the old butler at the beginning of his time travel.

Later, Duke Nova became like a mountain weighing on Shane's heart, bringing him immense pressure.

With the death of Duke Nova, the old grudges have been resolved.

Soon, Shane composed himself and looked at the sinking Blood Duke, a glint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

The enemy has been dealt with.

Next up, it's time for some fun looting!

(End of this chapter)