Chapter 468 - 305: Soul-Burning Thread! The ’Sea God’s’ Roar: Upheaval at Broken Star Reef

"Oh no! The Sea God is about to descend through the Spirit Medium!"

The Sea Patrol Envoy’s face fell, and he no longer had time to worry about assigning blame.

"Quick! Activate the backup altar!"

"Use a blood sacrifice! We have to appease the Sea God!

Or we’ll all become its fodder!"

At his roar, the remaining gray-robed figures frantically scrambled toward a crimson altar in the center of the palace, pouring blood from numerous pre-filled jars.

...

「Meanwhile, seven or eight nautical miles off the coast of Broken Star Reef.」

On the rolling waves, over a dozen armed vessels, each bearing a different emblem, prowled restlessly outside the blockade line established by the Jiangbei City Fleet, like sharks that had smelled blood.

These weren’t regular naval vessels. Most hailed from nearby second or Third Level Fortress Cities, or were privateer fleets bankrolled by large corporations. A few audacious, independent Mercenary Corps were mixed in as well.

On the bridge of the Black Shark, the brawny-faced captain, One-Eyed Dragon, raised a pair of binoculars to his eye, muttering curses.

"Those sons of bitches from Jiangbei City have no shame!

They’ve held this blockade for most of the day, not even leaving us the scraps."

His first mate handed him a cigar with a sly chuckle.

"Boss, I heard that ’Ghost’ fighter jet from East Sea City just went in.

The Jiangbei City Fleet seems to be retreating. You think this is our chance?"

One-Eyed Dragon blew a smoke ring, a greedy glint in his eye. "Damn right it is.

’With the Jiangbei City Fleet gone, Broken Star Reef is like a woman with her pants down.’"

Just as he said that, the radar operator suddenly cried out.

"Captain! Look at the sky! Something’s coming out!"

One-Eyed Dragon snapped his head up.

In the distance, a streak of black light shot out from the low-hanging clouds over Broken Star Reef, tearing across the sky.

It was East Sea City’s X-02 "Ghost" fighter.

The jet flew with extreme stability, its movements graceful. Even the missile pods under its fuselage appeared completely untouched, showing no signs of a difficult fight.

It was like a gentleman returning from a dinner party, calmly making its way back toward East Sea City.

One-Eyed Dragon wasn’t the only one who saw this. The lookouts on the dozen-plus ships in the area all witnessed the scene.

The public comms channel instantly erupted.

"It’s the fighter from East Sea City!"

"I didn’t hear any explosions or see any fire. Looks like it’s not dangerous over there."

"Dammit, the guys from Jiangbei City and East Sea City ate their fill and left. The scraps are all mine!"

One-Eyed Dragon smacked his first mate on the back of the head, his eyes bloodshot.

"What are you standing around for? Full speed ahead!

If you let those bastards on the speedboats beat us to it, I’ll throw you overboard to feed the fish!"

"Yes, sir! Full speed ahead!"

RUMBLE—!

In an instant, the sea erupted into a churning frenzy.

The various factions, who moments before had been eyeing each other warily, were now like greyhounds bursting from the gate, each one scrambling to push their engines to maximum power.

An exploration team from Iron Anchor City took the lead. Their catamaran was incredibly fast, and taking advantage of its small size and maneuverability, they shot through the gap between two heavy armed merchant ships.

"Hahaha! We people from Iron Anchor City are getting first dibs!"

The Iron Anchor City captain cackled on deck, even flipping off the rivals eating his wake.

Behind them, the privateer fleet from Windbreak Castle refused to be outdone.

They activated their Spiritual Energy Accelerator, their bow cleaving through the massive waves as they stayed hot on the catamaran’s tail.

"Get the hell out of our way if you want to live!"

Greed had blinded them all.

In their minds, if even a lone fighter from East Sea City could get in and out unscathed, then the so-called "danger" at Broken Star Reef had to be nothing more than a smokescreen put up by Jiangbei City.

Some even speculated that the Jiangbei City forces had retreated because they’d been scared off by a powerful expert from East Sea City.

’Now that the expert’s gone, it’s the perfect time to scavenge.’

At full speed, the few kilometers to the reef passed in the blink of an eye.

The dozen or so ships practically stampeded into the core waters of Broken Star Reef.

However.

The moment the lead vessel—the Iron Anchor City speedboat—rounded a massive reef and its crew saw what lay ahead, the cackling captain on deck fell silent, as if an invisible hand had clamped around his throat.

"What... what the hell is this?"

The once-azure seawater had turned a murky, reddish-brown.

It wasn’t a red tide.

It was blood.

The surface of the water was thick with innumerable dismembered limbs, shredded scales, and viscera.

Even more terrifying, countless pairs of eyes, glowing with a ghastly, grayish-white light, stared up from beneath the surface, fixed on the intruders.

Tens of thousands of Sea Beasts, like Evil Ghosts clawing their way out of Hell, were not attacking each other.

Instead, they were packed together, forming a horrifying wall of flesh and blood.

"Quick... Turn back! Now!"

The Iron Anchor City captain’s voice cracked as he shrieked in terror.

It was too late.

The very instant the ships entered, a song—bizarre, ethereal, yet tinged with an indescribable, foul stench—resounded without warning inside everyone’s mind.

"La... la la..."

The sound didn’t enter through their ears; it bored directly into their minds.

"Wh-what’s that sound?"

"Captain, I think... I see my great-grandma..."

"Hehe, it smells so good... The water smells so good..."

The crewmen, who moments ago had been bloodthirsty and greedy, now wore dull, vacant expressions. Their eyes were unfocused, and strange, contented smiles spread across their faces.

SPLASH!

A helmsman let go of the wheel and, stiff as a board, leaped into the sea.

He was followed by a second, then a third.

"Come back! Get back here!" A Clear Heart Jade Pendant on One-Eyed Dragon’s chest suddenly shattered. A sharp pang of pain allowed him to hold on to his last shred of sanity.

He watched in horror as his first mate, a man who had been with him for ten years, drooled, a captivated look on his face. He tossed aside his submachine gun and began walking, step by step, toward the ship’s rail.

"First Mate! Have you lost your mind?!"

One-Eyed Dragon lunged forward to grab him.

The first mate turned. His pupils were gone, his eyes a sheet of milky white.

He grinned at One-Eyed Dragon, baring a row of stark white teeth.

"Boss, the banquet below is starting. You should join us."

With that, he violently wrenched his arm free from One-Eyed Dragon’s grasp and vaulted over the side.

The sea, once filled with motionless Sea Beasts, instantly erupted into a boil.

Innumerable maws filled with sharp teeth gaped open, instantly shredding those who fell into the water.

Gushing blood stained the waves, driving the Sea Beasts into an even greater frenzy.

"AHHH—!"

Screams, the sounds of chewing, and that bizarre song wove together, instantly transforming this patch of sea into a true slaughterhouse.

"Retreat! Fall back!"

"It’s a Spiritual Attack! There’s something terrifying here!"

"The people from East Sea City set us up! That fighter wasn’t scouting, it was running for its life!"

The captains and Elite Martial Artists who possessed Spiritual Defense Equipment finally came to their senses.

Ignoring their crewmen who had leaped overboard, they frantically tried to turn their ships around.

But the frenzied swarm of Sea Beasts was already upon them.

Several speedboats with shallow drafts were capsized by enormous Deep Sea Giant Crabs, and their crews were instantly swallowed by the tide of beasts, vanishing without so much as a ripple.

Only a few of the larger, well-equipped ships with Spiritual Energy Shields and Spiritual Defense Equipment managed to escape, but only after paying the heavy price of losing more than half their crews, who leaped to their deaths. They barely broke free from the waters haunted by that demonic song.