My wife is the stand-in.

"You should have said so earlier! Isn't it better to do these things sooner rather than later? What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for our seventh-day memorial service?!"

Amanosaki glared at Lin Shuyu, but instead of jumping up to the second floor to help, he gave a thumbs-up to the sky.

Icarus, hovering a hundred meters in the air, received Amanosaki's request. She nodded, flapped her wings violently, shed countless feathers, and soared upwards at an astonishing speed.

The girl's calm face looked at the thick, leaden clouds, which she rammed into like cannons, stirring up a spiderweb of electricity within them.

"War mode activated."

Icarus described his state in a declarative sentence, his wings flapped again, an invisible force field spread out, dispelling all the moisture, electricity and dust, and a faint light shimmered on his wings.

The next second, she broke through the low clouds created by the Queen Fish and the monster fish and arrived in the golden sky. Icarus marked the saturated water vapor and electric current around her as "enemies". She spread her wings and absorbed the heat energy of the sun around her. In the thermal imaging of the space satellite, a heat black hole appeared high in the cloud.

A huge, dark cavity with sub-zero temperatures stands out starkly against the surrounding orange thermal maps.

"【Absolute Defense Circle】Activated."

The omnipotent war angel, forged by the gods, unleashed its immense power, pushing the clouds below away in a brutal and almost savage manner!

The wind howled, making the flag on the top of the patrol boat flutter loudly.

The river water rose and fell dramatically due to the drastic changes in air pressure, creating wave after wave of water that crashed into the cabin.

Huang Mao watched as a wave that should never have appeared in the Yangtze River suddenly rose from the ground, sweeping up all the strange fish on the surface of the water and scattering them on the cliffs on both sides, leaving behind dark red petals.

The supersaturated water vapor in the atmosphere was destabilized, and instantly turned into torrential rain, spreading in all directions from the Dajiang River in Fengdu!

The brilliant sunlight pierced through the unobstructed air and fell on the surging river, leaving all the heroes mesmerized.

Which powerful figure from a branch sect came to our aid?!

Everyone looked up and saw huge energy wings covering the vast land from north to south. The expressionless girl floated in the air, pointing one finger to the sky, surrounded by surging clouds and howling winds.

Mythical creatures, angels wielding authority, are now fully revealed.

Chapter 72: I command you, to unite with me at once!

The summer sun is intense in the subtropical monsoon climate.

Icarus used the [Absolute Defense Circle] to push away the clouds, forcefully destroying the demon [Queen Fish]'s setup and weakening the four-clawed scaled fish on the river.

The light from the clear sky was so dazzling that even heroes like Amanosaki had to shield their eyes with their hands, blinking and shedding tears as they adjusted to the change in brightness.

Not to mention those strange fish that have no eyelids and whose dead fish eyes are always hanging on both sides.

These strange fish, with their gray and white markings, claw-like fins, and bodies roughly the size of medium-sized dogs, rolled around on the deck, convulsing, as the fiery swordsmen finished them off one by one.

"Damn it! This is the first time in all my years of killing fish that I've been this pathetic!"

Yellow Hair reeked of fish, his clothes were covered in slime from the headbutt of the four-clawed fish, smelly and wet, and his face was full of disgust.

Li Junzi stood at the stern, his legs transforming into six spider-like claws, countless tiny spines scraping against the deck. Using friction, he stood steadily on the rocking boat, his hands transforming from sickles into harpoons with some kind of hydraulic structure, calling out the names of the strange fish on the surface of the water one by one.

Amanosaki, on the top deck, was the most unassuming. He asked Lin Shuyu for a piece of chocolate, replenishing the energy consumed by both Icarus and himself when using magic. He then opened the box beside him and pulled out two maces from among the various cold and hot weapons.

These two nail-headed hammers are only the size of an adult's fist. Six irregular triangular metal edges extend from the columnar hammerhead, with the tips specially polished into ovals. The metal edges are a full centimeter wide.

A standard killing weapon.

Amanosaki toyed with the hammer for a moment, muttering to himself, "Why does it feel so shabby? Aren't they all the size of pumpkins and cartwheels in TV dramas?"

Lin Shuyu sat in the driver's seat. Amidst the shouts of battle, [Tianrenxiang] caught up with Amanosaki's words and rolled her eyes, complaining: "You know that's just a TV drama. A hammer the size of a pumpkin, that must weigh hundreds of pounds! Ordinary swords weighing six or seven pounds or more require superhuman strength to use for a long time. In war, how many people can such a big hammer kill? It's clumsy and tiring."

"That's true." Amanosaki thought for a moment and chuckled to himself. Aside from superpowers, how many people in this world can wield something weighing hundreds of pounds with such ease?

In ancient times, hoarding armor was considered treason, but swords capable of piercing armor were never heavily guarded in any dynasty. Yet, in TV dramas, the armor is often depicted by directors as flimsy, paper-thin pieces that fall apart with a single cut.

From this perspective, it seems like there's nothing wrong with Hammer making some exaggerated claims.

Amanosaki chatted with Lin Shuyu while his hands were busy working. His body, which had been soaked in the best medicinal bath in the bathhouse, was now surging with vitality. Each of his magic circuits was more than twice as strong as before. Amanosaki now had a magical power release that would make Rin Tohsaka take notice.

Cobalt blue magic circuits spread from his hand to the handle and head of the mace. The weight of the entire hammer did not increase, but its structure was ten times stronger than before.

"Tell them to stop firing missiles, just get the people here quickly!"

After shouting that, Amanosaki excitedly jumped off the top floor, using the acceleration of the fall to flip over and transfer the force and impact to the hammer head, then smashed the strange fish that suddenly darted out of the river beside the blond guy.

Then crimson blood and white brain matter splattered out. The fishbone couldn't withstand the blow and turned to dust, staining half of the blond-haired man's body and one side of the wall red.

"What kind of manners are these?!" The blond-haired man wiped the increasingly foul-smelling fish fluid off his body and cursed at Amanosaki.

Amanosaki, completely unconcerned, wielded two enchanted hammers with their own light and shadow effects with ferocious speed. Fish scales and bones that ordinary swords could not cut were no match for these two spiked hammers, which were designed in ancient times to deal with heavy infantry and cavalry.

Even though some of the strange fish dodged the hammer aimed at their heads, in front of Amanosaki, whose arms were strengthened, these lucky ones still suffered large areas of bruising under their scales after being hit. Their internal organs were smashed and bleeding, and they could only struggle desperately before dying from massive internal bleeding.

Because of the dim light, the four-clawed scale fish, except for those that jumped onto the deck, remained in the water, watching menacingly. Therefore, the heroes on the four patrol boats worked together and ended the battle in a few minutes.

Seeing that it could not break through the patrol boat, the four-clawed scale fish, under the command of the queen fish, began to circle around the patrol boat.

Visible ripples surrounded the Suobianyu. Everyone rushed to push the bodies on board into the water without taking a break, while checking the integrity of the doors and windows and searching for any strange fish lurking in the cabin.

Icarus remained suspended high in the sky, maintaining her [Absolute Defense Circle], completely suppressing the Queen Fish's powers.

Amanosaki was then called up again.

"What?" He glared at Lin Shuyu, wiping the blood off his face with a towel.

"The branch office sent me a message reminding you not to forget your job."

Lin Shuyu tapped the table, raised her chin, and gestured to Amanosaki to stop playing and get back to drawing.

Amanosaki pointed to the river surface stained red with fish blood: "These guys haven't been cleared out yet, and as a chivalrous person, I can't just stand by and do nothing."

Lin Shuyu lowered her head impatiently: "This time, we put you on the team because of your status as a master painter. If you don't paint, the branch will consider expelling you... In fact, if it weren't for the fact that there are many tributaries of major rivers in Yushan Province that require a large number of hall-level heroes to handle, the branch would not have sent these trainees on the ship at all. You don't even have a hero's name yet, you are still a trainee."

Amanosaki wanted to say something, but he noticed that Lin Shuyu, who was squatting on the chair with her legs tucked in, was covered by a large functional windbreaker and looked like a tiny ball. She was wearing a mask, her face was pale, and she was not used to the smell of blood.

Her toes were curled up inside her boots, and the powerful sense of smell brought by the [Celestial Being] was now becoming the culprit that interfered with her thinking.

However, due to work requirements, she cannot relinquish her superpower.

She was responsible for handling the movement of supplies and personnel in the ship's hold, communicating with other patrol boats, and relaying information from various branch wing units.

Physical discomfort and work stress left her feeling listless.

Realizing that Lin Shuyu had been sheltered in a greenhouse and had only ever witnessed martial arts duels, never seeing such a gruesome scene of bloodshed, Amanosaki didn't say anything more and nodded in agreement.

He had no feeling for the smell of blood or corpses. He grew up in the countryside, where the whole village would slaughter pigs, sheep, and chickens together during the Spring Festival. Back then, the men chosen to be butchers were always the strongest and most influential men in the village.

When the slaughter takes place, the entire village, young and old, will gather in the square at the village entrance to watch.

Therefore, Amanosaki had long been accustomed to the act of slaughtering and taking the lives of animals. Moreover, after transmigrating, he had always lived a hard life, fishing and killing fish to fill his stomach, and buying fresh pig offal from the market to clean himself. So he had long been used to it.

To him, these strange fish and the animals in the market were no different.

Silently, he took out three gems and placed them on the top deck, creating a simple barrier to filter out the bloody air outside. He then took off his blood-stained clothes and hung them on the outside of the railing. Bare-chested, he picked up his tablet and used magic drawing to record everything before him.

A dozen seconds later, Lin Shuyu, who was suppressing her urge to vomit, suddenly realized that she could no longer smell the stench. She looked up in surprise and saw the black-haired boy sitting on the railing, his legs swinging gently, drawing with his back bent.

The brilliant sunlight seemed to plate his back with a layer of gold, and the back muscles, which seemed to be made of gold, undulated in a certain pattern and wriggled magically with the owner's movements.

Amanosaki had his back to Lin Shuyu, occasionally turning his head to observe his surroundings, revealing a handsome face that looked as if it had been sculpted by a Greek sculptor. His short hair swayed slightly in the breeze and sunlight, reminiscent of an endless grassland.

This was pure masculine charm, possessing an allure that could penetrate any developing or fully developed female, drawing Lin Shuyu's eyes in like a magnet attracting an iron spoon.

The three glowing gems made her realize that Amanosaki had noticed her discomfort and was taking care of her. As soon as this thought came to mind, her heart skipped a beat.

She turned her head away shyly, her eyes darting around, but she would occasionally glance over, her gaze greedily sweeping over the muscular ridges that symbolized the perfect opposite sex in those fleeting glimpses.

A faint, fresh scent of sweat, carrying something special, seeped into her nasal cavity, which had been blessed by the "Celestial Aura" technique. Her olfactory cells faithfully recorded the information, which was then transmitted to her brain and spine via nerves.

The spine then becomes excited and issues various commands, causing hormones such as dopamine and norepinephrine to be secreted from glands throughout the body.

This mature body, which has never completed the reproductive task engraved in its genes with a member of the opposite sex, begins to transmit a signal to the brain.

'Through scent and pheromones, your body has determined that this is a suitable, even perfect, member of the opposite sex. I command you, quickly unite with him!'

Bioelectric currents surged through her limbs and bones, causing Lin Shuyu to tremble slightly. Hormones, carrying signals, rushed into every cell, and Lin Shuyu began to prepare for some unspeakable, sacred biological obligation.

Her toes were curled up, her legs were gently pressed together, her breathing was heavy, her pretty face was flushed, her mouth was dry, her eyes were glazed, and her breath was sweet as orchids.

She could clearly hear her heart pounding toward 120 beats per minute, and she could feel her arteries thumping under her skin, her red blood cells carrying oxygen and pumping vigorously.

Every cell in her body was screaming and urging her on!

"Charge! Charge! Charge towards quality men!"

Lin Shuyu's legs went weak and she slid off the chair. She reached out to support herself on the control panel, trying her best to keep from collapsing, but her eyes could no longer be controlled by reason. Instead, she stared blankly at the man's bulging back muscles.

The bulging back muscles and spine formed an alluring valley, and the light sweat, mixed with a little oil, moisturized the skin, making it extra smooth, and one couldn't help but want to touch it.

brush--

The owner of the back muscles stood up, most of his feet dangling in the air, his arches pressing against the railing, and asked without turning his head:

"How much longer until the Fengdu branch is up?"

Lin Shuyu replied blankly, "Huh?"

Her voice was low and soft, unconsciously carrying a hint of allure. When Amano Saki heard Lin Shuyu's voice, he turned his head and saw Lin Shuyu's legs dangling in the air, gripping the control panel, looking as if she was about to collapse.

He thought to himself that the little girl was just too timid; she was so scared of killing fish. If she went to work at a slaughterhouse, she would probably get sick from the fright.

Amanosaki was unaware that he had overlooked the gentle and alluring quality in Lin Shuyu's eyes and voice because of the anomaly; he was only concerned with one thing now.

That's the river surface.

A massive number of four-clawed fish stirred up whirlpools underwater. At first, nothing seemed amiss, but within just a few minutes, the whirlpools became so powerful that they could affect the Suckerfish.

The same applies to the other patrol boats.

"These bastards are trying to drag us down! We have to sabotage their operation!" Amanosaki shouted at all the heroes from the top railing.

Chapter 73: The Enemy Is Not Outside

The 300-ton Suobianyu was originally capable of navigating any water condition on the Yangtze River except during typhoon days. Even in the turbulent currents near the Yangtze River Reservoir, thanks to the careful design of the shipyard and design bureau regarding the center of gravity and the ship's tonnage, the Suobianyu could ensure that users would only feel a slight sway when they stepped on it.

After all, these patrol boats were originally designed for patrolling and investigating nearshore areas, apprehending smugglers, and searching for illegal fishermen.

But now Nozaki noticed that the swaying of the large steel ship beneath his feet had become visibly noticeable.

With his magically enhanced toes gripping the railing like eagle claws, Amanosaki quickly put on his clothes, grabbed his mace, and stared intently at the swirling river, saying without turning his head:

"If the ship sinks, I won't even have a place to stand. I'm helping out this time, so the branch office shouldn't have any complaints, right?"