Chapter 132: Something Beneath the Sea

A black opening ten meters across appeared on the water below Crystal Nine.

The air above the sea warped around it. Within several hundred meters, the surface buckled and twisted as though enormous hands were wringing it out.

Dozens of monsters nearest the center screamed. Cracks opened across their bodies. They thrashed desperately, but the pull held them fast.

In less than three seconds, they were torn apart.

Farther out, sea monsters turned and swam for their lives. A few Epic bosses managed to fight their way clear. The rest could only watch the black opening draw closer, no matter how hard they struggled.

Every Lord nearby was staring at Crystal Nine.

"So that’s what a Legendary Dragon can do!"

"Black Hole? At this level? That form must come from an extraordinary bloodline. Where did he find it?"

"With Fortune like his, no wonder he beat all those great families to become Warden."

"He makes a name for himself, and then he gets something like this. Once he’s ahead, the gap just keeps growing!"

The other eleven Crystal Dragons began casting.

Black openings spread across the sea. Low-grade monsters disappeared into the pull, their bodies shredding under the strain. In moments, several kilometers of water had become a killing ground, stained red from end to end.

On Resolute, Darian gritted his teeth.

"He’s done it again. Stolen the whole show."

He wanted to argue with what he was seeing. The bloody sea gave him very little room.

"Why do I feel like I’m the commoner and he’s the one born into a great Lord family?"

Cassian nearly laughed at the talk of noble bloodlines.

They had watched his Crystal Maidens transform with their own eyes, and they were still trying to find some grand ancestry behind it. He knew exactly where that form had come from. He had bought the compatible Crystal Dragon samples, and now all twelve Maidens had reached Level 40.

This was what his investment had bought him.

They were among the veterans of his Domain. Even if the day came when they could no longer keep up with his strongest troops, he had no intention of casting them aside. He would still keep them well supplied.

For now, they were giving everyone an excellent reason to remember them.

"That’s a good skill," Rhea said, watching from the deck. "Nine finally gets her moment."

Cassian leaned over the rail and frowned at the water.

"It’s just such a waste. They haven’t even left the bodies."

He had shown the other Lords only a fraction of his strength. That was already enough to leave them stunned.

——

Aboard the Epic warship Hurricane, Adrian Wolfe stared at Ghost One with jealous, bloodshot eyes.

"An Epic warship. Legendary troops with a Dragon form like that. His own Epic troop line..."

His hands clenched.

"Why does a commoner have all of it? Why? I’m one of Free Will’s heirs. Those things should be mine!"

Beside him, Edmund, Coldridge’s Military Deputy, lowered his voice.

"Adrian, shall we act now?"

"No." Adrian forced himself to breathe evenly. "Not yet. The Sea Dragon King hasn’t appeared. Let them hurt each other first."

Edmund nodded, then looked back toward the battle.

"That’s strange, though. Forget the King—we haven’t even seen an Epic monster. It wasn’t like this when we came last time."

As he spoke, a huge Sea Dragon burst out of the water.

Dozens of meters of scaled body arched above the surface.

[Sea Dragon | Epic | Level 55]

The Lords immediately grew tense. Any of them could arrange to bring down a monster like this. Doing it without anyone getting hurt would take more care.

"Lady Lydia!" Colonel Mercer called. "Please deal with that Sea Dragon."

"Leave it to me, Colonel."

Lydia was about to give an order when she paused.

"Wait. Something’s wrong with it."

"It doesn’t look like it’s attacking us," Corin said.

The Sea Dragon plunged back into the sea and swam hard in the opposite direction.

"Is it... running away?"

A shrill cry cut across the water.

The dragon’s body jerked. It thrashed with all its strength, churning the surface white, but something was pulling it down. Inch by inch, its back sank from sight.

Then it was gone.

Only a spreading patch of blood remained.

The watching Lords drew sharp breaths. Even Adrian, who had already visited this place, felt a chill run up his spine.

What was down there?

——

Beneath the surface, grapnels several meters long had bitten deep into the Sea Dragon’s body. Heavy chains stretched from them into the darkness, where three enormous shadows waited.

"That’s the fifth Epic monster," Cassian murmured. "Where’s the Legendary one?"

An invisible wave swept across the battlefield.

He recognized the pressure at once.

"Ghostwater Field."

The Ghost Leviathan had used that same skill. A moment later, a hundred-meter body began to emerge from what had looked like empty water.

"Water Source Art. So that’s where you’ve been hiding."

Fortunately, the Sea Dragon King was not particularly clever. If it had stayed hidden instead of releasing its Field, finding it would have been difficult.

Cassian took note of that. His scouts worked well against weaker enemies, but concealment used by something at his own level—or stronger—was another matter.

When he got back, he needed to find a proper scouting skill.

The King was a Hero unit. Cassian immediately used the skill he had just learned.

"Disarming Toast."

Green light fell toward the Sea Dragon King’s head.

[Disarming Toast activated.]

[Sea Dragon King: Hero Command effect reduced by 40%.]

[Select an allied Hero to receive the increase.]

"Aurelia."

[Aurelia: Hero Command effect increased by 10%.]

"Good. Very good."

The result depended on both sides’ Spirit. For all his growth, his Spirit still couldn’t match that of a Legendary monster in the fifties. Cassian was more than satisfied with what the skill had taken from it.

The Sea Dragon King seemed to take the attack personally.

Its enormous body surged toward Ghost One.

Every Lord nearby prepared to fight.

"The King is too strong!" Mercer shouted. "Everyone, get ready to—"

A terrible roar cut him off.

The Sea Dragon King rolled violently on the surface. Blood welled up beneath it, turning the sea red.

Corin flinched.

"Again!"

A Level 54 Legendary Hero possessed immense strength.

Beneath this one waited eleven Legendary Ghost Carriers.

Barbed grapnels held fast in its flesh. The heavy chains tightened, dragging it steadily downward. The King fought for more than ten seconds before the last of its body disappeared.

Great bubbles broke the surface.

Then the water settled, as though nothing had happened.

That was worse than any visible monster.

"What the hell is under us?"

"No wonder we’ve only seen one Epic boss!"

"What if that King was just another small one? What if there’s something much bigger down there?"

"An ocean creature passing through?"

"Will it attack us next?"

"I hate deep water..."

Mercer set his jaw.

"Finish the remaining monsters. Once we have the Fortune reward, we’re leaving this ward immediately!"

Only Darian looked toward Cassian with suspicion.

Was this his doing again?

Some kind of submarine warship?

But what Quality of ship could drag a Level 54 Legendary Hero under the sea?

Cassian had no interest in sorting out their guesses.

Below the surface, Aurelia, the Crystal Maidens, and the Stormlance had already surrounded the bound Sea Dragon King and beaten it to death. Fighting underwater was hardly their specialty. It simply did not matter enough to save their enemy.

Compared with the force that had fought Kodra, their strength had more than doubled.

Barely a minute after the King went under, Cassian was happily checking its drops.

A message from Liora interrupted him.

"My Lord, a large fleet has appeared outside the ward. It was as though the ships came out of nowhere. They’re heading toward you."

She paused.

"I failed to detect them. Please forgive me."

"It’s fine." Cassian let out a relieved breath. "They’ve finally shown themselves."

He still did not know how they had hidden their movements. Now that they were in the open, he had nothing to fear.

Against overwhelming strength, all their schemes would fall apart.